Laos Essential Artistry

A Favorite Photo from Laos (On-going Series)

Favorite photo time! I think all photographers get goosebumps when they see monks and constantly are seeing one compelling composition after another. And often when you look at a photo, like the one above, the viewer doesn't know the story behind the photo, and there usually is one, and one of the advantages of this blog is being able to tell the story! In this instance, this photo was taken in a small wat in the village of Muang Vaen where some of our most beautiful Lao textiles are woven.

Sometimes it's difficult to find the time to actually leisurely walk through a village when you're there for "business," but we always try to find the time because you'll never know what you will see and discover. It's really what I enjoy the best. When we walked by the building above, the sleeping quarters for the couple of monks for this wat, I saw this monk look out the window opening and then disappear. My wife was talking to the other monk who was on the porch by the front door where this monk then joined the other monk. I kept thinking, wow, that window opening is a great frame for the monk, but how am I going to get him to come back? Sometimes it's easy to just let it slide and move on, but I couldn't pass this up so I asked Bai if she could ask the monk if he would come back and peer out the window. Sometimes they are shy or just don't want their photo taken, but most monks will accommodate to "visitors" and this one quickly went back to this window where I took several shots. I would have liked to see him smile a little, but he wouldn't "nyeem" (Lao word for smile), but I still really like the shot.

I wonder what is he thinking?

Buddhists request forgiveness at Horkhaosalak Festival in Vientiane, Laos

In the article we're reprinting from the Vientiane Times about a recent Buddhist festival, the observation is made that "Temples around the country were crowded with women of all ages wearing the traditional sinh (long skirt) combined with colorful silk blouses." It is interesting to note that it's not just old women wearing sinhs, but women and girls of all ages. Women wearing a sinh represent the best in Lao culture and we're proud at Laos Essential Artistry to be the only online business in the United States promoting and selling Lao Sinhs. Lao sinhs are Lao textiles and most Lao sinhs are handwoven out of silk. Our silk Lao textiles represent some of the best textiles being woven in Laos. Laos Essential Artistry is just a click away.

_____________________________________________________________________________ "The sounds of Saiyanto, a Buddhist chant, wafted from the temples of Vientiane last Friday as monks and novices gathered to celebrate the Horkhaosalak Festival.

Monks receive gift baskets at That Luang temple.

Believers took time from their jobs and studies to join in the festivities at their local temples.

Though Buddha departed from our world more than 2,500 years ago, his teachings remain to remind followers to make merit for themselves and their ancestors on important days in the Buddhist calendar .

Each year on this occasion the faithful get up early to take gift baskets to the temple by 7am. Offerings may include fruits, sweets, dried fish and meat, salt, sugar, rice or flowers, varying from family to family.

Temples around the country were crowded with women of all ages wearing the traditional sinh (long skirt) combined with colourful silk blouses. Young men were in formal clothing.

Their faces beaming with happiness, long ranks of believers stood on the temple grounds, embracing their silver bowls, waiting to place their offerings on long tables to be received by monks.

At 8am senior monks recited the five commitments to encourage lay people to make merit and give blessings.

After that they were welcomed to give their alms directly to the monks. At every corner of the temples, believers poured water from small bottles to ask Ngamae Thorani (a spirit guardian) to tell the spirits of their relatives it was time to receive their offerings.

If fortunate enough to have the time, festival participants sat on the sala (where monks and novices eat) to listen to the legend of the Horkhaosalak Festival.

Many see sharing a breakfast together after the monks and novices eat as a way of building solidarity amongst the community.

A resident of That Luang Neua, Ms Daomani, said the festival was an important opportunity to make amends with ancestors, relatives and the spirits of those whom she might have ag grieved in the past.

She hopes her actions during the festival will help the spirits grant forgiveness for her errors in this and past lives, and that she will be blessed with good health, success and protection.

However, she said she was aware these actions were symbolic, and that if you wanted to have better health and success in work, love or your studies, it depended on your own efforts.

By Ounkham Pimmata
(Latest Update September 7 , 2009)

Horkhaosalak Festival in Laos: a time to remember ancestors

Older people become an alarm clock for their family members on the important Buddhist day, Horkhaosalak, often rising as early as 4am for the festival.

An activity not familiar to the youth of our society, it's apart of daily routine for the older generation to wake early and provide food, candy and fruit as alms to monks and novices in their community.

This is particularly true during the Horkhaosalak Festival. Members of the older generation get together to fold banana leaves for khaotom and place other offerings into baskets the day before the festival begins.

Older people in each community will go to temples to help monks decorate the centre hall, or sim, and prepare places to welcome devotees.

Offerings include fruit, sweets, dried fish and meat, salt, sugar, rice, or flowers, depending on the family. It has become the festival's symbol, passed down and practiced from generation to generation.

During the festival, markets in Vientiane are bursting with colour due to the various baskets made up by vendors and put on offer for the convenience of believers.

They believe offering these alms directly to monks and novices at temples makes merit to ancestors who have passed away to encourage their rebirth.

A monk at Ongteu temple said the custom of offering a basket to monks follows the legend of the son of a rich family whose father died when he was child. When he became an adult, his mother selected a beautiful woman to marry him.

Unfortunately she was unable to get pregnant, so her mother-in-law decided to look for a new spouse for her son. Eventually, the man's new wife became pregnant and his first wife grew afraid that this child would inherit her husband's property. To ensure that the child did not receive the inheritance, she poisoned the first as well as the second child.

During her third pregnancy, the man's second wife decided to live with her relatives, but his first wife still seeks vengeance, and gets it. Before the second wife dies, she prays to be reborn as a giant to eat her murderer's children.

The two go through several rebirths, each time seeking revenge. Until they are born in Buddha's period, the second wife is reborn as a giant and the first wife is Nang (Ms) Kulatida who marries a rich man.

When Nang Kulatida has children, the giant changes herself to a normal woman so they won't fear her. She succeeds in gobbling up Kulatida's first two children.

Upon the birth of her third child, Kulatida and her husband seek refuge from the giant at Phraxetavanmahavihan temple and ask Buddha for help.

Buddha tells Phra Anon to invite the giant standing outside to enter and listen to teachings about the mistakes of revenge. Buddha then orders Nang Kulatida and her husband to take care of the giant.

From then on, the giant is looked after by Nang Kulatida in her field. Each year the giant gives advice on planting rice. This makes Nang Kulatida's family rich from selling rice and she brings alms to the temple in a basket eight times per day.

This is one reason why Lao people respect this custom.

Aunt Keo explains with a wide smile that each year she prepares several kinds of offerings for her basket.

She joins her children on the afternoon of the festival's eve to make khaotom. The next day she gets up at 4am to cook food and prepare offerings for the important Buddhist day.

She believes that the festival is an important opportunity to apologise to ancestors, relatives and other spirits who they may have faulted in this or past lives. They request forgiveness from those spirits along with blessings of good health.

The Horkhaosalak Festival is an annual tradition, which falls on September 4 this year. The festival usually takes place after Horkhoapadapdin Festival, during the tenth month of the Buddhist calendar.

Getting up bright and early on this Friday will help you touch on Lao tradition and culture. You have an opportunity to see women wearing traditional skirts, or sinhs, combined with colourful silk blouses. Young men wear formal but stylish clothing.

They carry baskets and silver bowls with offerings on their way to temples in their communities.

At temples you can see believers put a small piece of paper into the basket, this is called Salak.

Salak means lucky draw in Lao. People coming to the temples write the names of their family members on the paper. They believe this helps to haven guardians to remember their goodness.

The baskets containing the pieces of paper will be brought to the stage where monks sit. The monks then read the names. When someone's family member is called they will bring Horkhaosalak and baskets directly to the arms of the monk.

They believe these offerings will go to their specific relative spirits.

It is common to see many people pay homage to the wisdom of Buddha.

They ask the spirits of the dead to protect their house and family and to ensure good health, even if they don't have enough time to go to the temple.

After the end of a special ceremony at 9am, monks recite the teachings of Buddha and tell the history of Buddhist Lent.

Sharing a breakfast together after monks and novices eat is also a way of building solidarity amongst the community.

From the Vientiane Times

By Ounkham Pimmata
(Latest Update September 4 , 2009)

Horkhaopadapdin remembers ancestors, preserves traditions in Laos

This month many Lao people will prepare a small decorative offering wrapped in banana leaves. Inside will be fruit, sweets, dried fish, flowers and other small food items. Shaped like a boat, it is called a Hor khao.

Lao people will get up early, at 3-5 am to take their Hor khao to go to the temple or place it around their house.

With only the light from candles, people will pray to relatives who have passed away to accept their offerings.

Abandoned spirits who are suffering will also be offered a gift.

Every year Lao people celebrate the Horkhaopadapdin festival this way

Lao people believe that on this day, August 20, when they remember their deceased ancestors the guardians of hell will release them and other spirits to eat the food being offered.

People believe that if they do not give an offering, then they will not have success in work or business.

Some even believe this is the reason for the global economic slowdown.

Despite this, true believers have never stopped having faith in Buddha nor have they ceased to ask their ancestors' spirits to accept the offerings they have provided.

The festival usually takes place after the Buddhist Lent in the eighth or ninth month of the Buddhist calendar.

The day before Boun Horkhaopadapdin begins you can see people, especially in rural areas, getting together to fold banana leaves with rice and ripe banana. It is called a Khaotom.

Up to nine kinds of offering are placed in a Horkhao.

A monk at Simeuang temple said according to legend, Phra Chao Phimphisan had relatives who stole food and fruit from the temple.

When they passed away they became Pheds, spirits who have to take care of the temple because of their bad deeds.

One day, Phra Chao Phimphisan dreamt of his relative crying in pain and hunger.

In the morning he asked the Buddha what the dream meant. Buddha told him these spirits wanted him to donate something and make merit for them to enable them to be reborn.

Why do Lao people celebrate the Horkhaopadapdin festival?

Lao people believe placing food and sweets in packages wrapped up in banana leaves on the ground and fences at houses and temples during Horkhaopadapdin festival brings merit.

They believe this action will help their ancestors, relatives and other spirits have something to eat. In turn, they will be blessed with good luck and happiness in their lives.

The date of the festival depends on the Buddhist calendar, and this year it will fall on Thursday.

Devotees will prepare nine kinds of food and place them inside a Horkhao on this day.

In temples around the country monks will prepare the areas and decorations in the cental hall or Sim (where monks perform rituals) to welcome people who come to make merit.

Buddhist flags will often be placed on the sides of the temple's entrance to show it is an important day for devotees of the faith.

On Thursday residents of each village will begin emerging from their homes around 3 am, and on arrival at the temple they place their offering around the wall, the stupas of dead spirits, under trees and on the ground.

They invite the spirits to eat and call for mercy for them, so they can be reborn and freed from suffering, blessed with wealth and good health.

About 7-8 am, temples become joyous once again, when they become crowded with young people accompanying their parents to pay homage to the wisdom of Buddha.

Nowadays the festival is also seen as an opportunity for young people to show more modern versions of traditional clothing.

The women wear a traditional skirt called a sinh but will combine this with a colourful silk blouse. Young men wear formal but stylish clothing.

Giving alms begins with the senior monk in the temple telling lay people about the five commitments and encouraging them make merit.

After that they are allowed to bring offerings such as candies, Khaotom and money directly to monks at a long-table with aluminum bowls. They believe these offerings will go to their specific relative spirits.

It is usual at this time if you see many people pay homage to the wisdom of Buddha.

They ask the spirits of the dead to protect their house and family and to have good health, even if they don't have enough time to go the temple.

After the end of a special ceremony at 9 am, monks recite the teachings of Buddha and tell the history of Buddhist lent.

Sharing a breakfast together after monks and novices eat is also a way of building solidarity amongst the community.

Later in the day at 8 pm, people, especially young partners use this occasion to show their love for each other by holding bunches of flowers or candles with incense and pray to Buddha together by walking around the central temple hall three times and to acquire his blessings.

But don't forget, asking for blessing is not just for success in work, business or love.

To improve life depends very much one's own actions.

 

By Ounkham Pimmata
(Latest Update August 19, 2009)

Welcome to the Laos Essential Artistry Blog

Welcome and sabaidee! We consider this blog like our own multimedia loom where we can weave together stories, photos, videos, and music in a way that that will help our readers and customers better understand our passion for Laos and why we've created a Yahoo store to promote and sell the finest in handwoven Lao textiles and Lao handicrafts on the Internet! We hope through our blog the Lao weavers, Lao artisans and Lao galleries that we represent, “the individual yarns and varying patterns,” are woven together cohesively and meaningfully in a way that makes them come alive.

Our interests and passions in Laos are wide-ranging as you will see if you follow our blog, and we are proud to carry silk textiles ranging from Carol Cassidy’s elegant Weaves of Cambodia Rainbow Silk Scarves to simple, but subtly beautiful pastel cotton scarves woven by Tai Dam (Black Tai) women in the remote northeastern part of Laos near Muang Sing.

As always we welcome your comments, thoughts and ideas.

Monk's Robe and Hands

Monk in temple doorway

This was taken in the early evening (usually around 6:00) when most of the monks gather for evening prayers (chanting). I guess this monk was a little late and decided to just "listen in."

Buddha Window Grating

I saw this window grating in a window in a wat in Luang Prabang, liked the design, and took the photo. It's the kind of photo that's fun to apply artistic filters too...

Monk Putting on his Robe (Vientiane)

The Lao are People of the Heart

When I went to Laos in the summer of 1999 there was only one bookstore in Vientiane. As there wasn’t much about Laos available in the US, I searched the shelves for anything that would help me learn more about Lao culture and I came across a little booklet called Working with you Lao Partner: A guide to establishing Effective Cross Cultural Communication and Working Relationships in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, written by Bob Boase and published by UNDP. Although it was primarily written for people who would be working in Laos, I found it valuable for providing insights into Lao culture not available otherwise.

In the chapter Understanding Lao Culture he wrote about how the “Lao are truly a people of the heart.” And then he included a list of expressions that include the word “jai” or “heart.” He then commented that a culture with so many shades of meaning based on the heart is a deeply sensitive culture and that one should bear this in mind before making a strong comment or taking direct action. And after eight years of spending a lot of time in Laos I would agree.

This reminded me of two other books, one written by Katherine Paterson, The Spying Heart, that unfortunately is now out of print. As is written on her website “this second volume of her speeches, book reviews, and essays, award-winning author Katherine Paterson again shares what it means to be a reader and a writer where she states that it is our task as teachers and writers, artists and parents to nourish the imagination-our own and that of the children entrusted to our care."

In her chapter Sounds in the Heart she writes “Among the many Chinese and Japanese ideographs for our word idea is one that combines the character for sound with the character for heart – the heart being the seat of intelligence as well as of emotion. thus, an idea is something that makes a sound in the heart. Now, if ou want to change idea into a verb that means “to remember,” you do so by adding an extra symbol for heart. In preparing to talk of the relation of memory to writing, I tried to ask myself as objectively as I could: What are the sounds that I head in my deepest heart?”

I read this book four or five years before I went to Laos, and consequently as a teacher I was always thinking about how ideas that I had and my students had were making sounds in our hearts. A second book I read before I went to Laos that made similar connections was Voices of the Heart by Ed Young. Ed Young is an illustrator of children’s books and came out with this little gift-size book in 1997. As stated in a review on the Amazon website: “In perhaps his most conceptually brilliant work to date, Young introduces 26 Chinese characters, each having the symbol for the heart as a component. An illustration on each page occupies the two-thirds closest to the margin. The outer third has an English word relating to an emotion, feeling, or moral quality (joy, shame, patience, panic, etc.) with a simple definition containing the word "heart." Each section (or radical) of the word in Chinese is listed below it with a simple definition of each part and an explanation of the whole, followed by the assembled character for the concept. The Chinese writing is in seal script, which is one of the oldest forms of the language and consequently much closer visually and conceptually to its pictographic origins than today's standard printed forms. This choice is a master stroke as it prepares the mind for the stunning collage illustrations that utilize rebus format to represent the Chinese. Illustrations are of cut paper and some cloth on various paper backgrounds; sometimes backgrounds are textured, sometimes the rebus components are. All contain a heart and are bright or somber depending on the concept conveyed.”

Although it looks like it could be a book for children, really it’s adults who will appreciate it best and is a great book to give as a gift. An example of one interpretation is the word “grace.” He defines it as a heart that shows pity, illustrating that the character consists of two pictograms, one for “man” and one for “confined.” Young’s explanation of the combining of these two pictograms is “A man who is confined is oppressed. When the heart feels empathy for the oppressed, it has been touched by grace.”

For me, that makes a sound in my heart and I believe will broaden anyone’s perspective, as does the understanding of how the Lao used the word for heart in so many expressions.

What I want to do in this blog is list some of the expressions containing the word “jai” and what they mean. What I hope, and would certainly like to encourage readers of this blog, share any other words that contain the word “jai” and if you have any additional insights or stories I will add them to this blog, giving you credit if you want, or of course you can remain anonymous.

One expression he didn’t include, is “nam jai,” meaning water from the heart which is written in Lao in the heart image in this blog. My wife is the one who told me about the expression and it’s a favorite of the Thai people. One of the things I like to do in workshops when I talk about Lao language and the use of these expressions is to ask participants what they think a particular expression means. For example, what do you think, “nam jai” means? When would it mean for water to be coming from the heart and “what” kind of water might it be?

I really like the concept of “nam jai” and encourage anyone to share an anecdote or story that would provide a more real world understanding.

OK, here are the expressions listed in the Lao Partner book.

~ to understand is to enter the heart
    khao jai
~ to be glad is to feel good at heart
    di jai
~ to be angry is to feel bad in the heart
    jai hai
~ to be sorry is to have lost the heart
    sia jai
~ to have empathy is to see the hear
    hen jai
~ to feel upset is to be unhappy at heart
    out jai
~ to be sensitive (touchy) is to have a small heart
    jai noy
~ to be stingy is to have a narrow heart
    jai khap khaep
~ to be startled is to drop the heart
    tok jai
~ to be absent minded is to have a heart which floats
    jai loy
~ to hesitate is to have many hearts
    lai jai
~ to be worried is to have a sick heart
    bo sabai jai
~ to be content is to have a serene heart
    sabai jai
~ to be without worries is to feel cool in the heart
    jai yen
~ to be generous is to have a large heart
    jai kuang
~ to have a heavy heart
    thouk jai
~ to be happy
    souk jai
~ to be easily persuaded is to have an easy heart
    jai ngai
~ to be decisive
    jai det
~ to be bitter to the point of revenge is to have a black heart
    jai dam
~ to be charitable is to have a festive heart
    jai boun
~ to be generous is to be big-hearted
    jai nyai
~ to be impatient is to have a hot heart
    jai hon
~ to be patient is to have a persevering heart
    jai o thon
~ to be honest is to have a pure heart
    jai bolisud
~ to be brave is to have a daring heart
    jai ka
~ to be timid is to have a cautious heart
    jai bo kai
~ to control one’s emotions is to have a strong heart
    jai khart

So, there’s the beginning of the list. I know of many more, but will wait to see if anyone can share some of their own definitions and will add to the list gradually. I probably will do this by adding additional blog.. Let us share with the world why the Lao are “People of the Heart!”

Walking Together in Peace

I probably have one of the largest collection of Laos photos exhibited on the Internet. I put up my first photo galleries in December 1998 after my first trip to Laos in November. This photo of the group of monks walking in Luang Prabang was taken way back then! And at the time digital cameras were still quite crude and I was using a Canon SLR shooting Kodachrome slide film. I think I stopped shooting film in 2000 when I got my first Nikon Coolpix camera.

I have hundreds of photos of monks. it’s hard to go wrong taking photos of monks in Laos. Their orange robes stand out and can provide eye-catching compositions. I will in the future put up a photo gallery of some of my favorite monk shots.

I remember when I took this photo. Being as it was my first time in Laos I was hyper-sensitive to  everything around me. Honestly, for three weeks it felt like every pore in my body was wide open and absorbing, absorbing, absorbing. It was an incredible high to have all my senses being bombarded, especially from a photographic standpoint. If I didn’t have my camera to record what I was seeing and experiencing, I think I would have exploded.

Luang Prabang back in 1998 was much less of a tourist destination, even though it had been classified a World Heritage site in 1995. A lot of shops on the main street were still closed, like the one in the background of the monks walking. The colors in this old French colonial city are a photographer’s dream and when a saw these shuttered blue doors I immediately thought how they would provide an exciting contrast to the orange robes of the monks if any walked by.

The monks in the late morning after their morning meal would often walk together in groups going to one school or the other and with their shaved heads, most are always carrying umbrellas to protect themselves from the strong sunlight. So, what I did was find a spot across the street, set my camera up on a tripod and wait for the right combination of monks to come walking by. I don’t remember taking a lot of photos and must have known that this shot had great potential. Of course then, since the camera wasn’t digital, there was no way for me to play back the image to see if it was a “winner” or not. But intuitively I knew.

This photo has been a lucky photo for me. I entered it in a Korean Air photo contest and won a RT business class ticket from SF to Bangkok. Wow, for someone who always flies economy class, that was great fun.

And now San Diego University has asked to use it in their publicity for a Social Issues Conference based on the theme of Walking Together in Peace. In other blogs I’ll talk about how some of my photos have been rightly and wrongly used, but I really like the design of the photograph, and especially the caption of “Walking Together in Peace.” That’s something I can believe in and support...

You can see that I incorporated my banner into by blog banner.