Laos Essential Artistry

Tai Daeng (Red Tai) Shaman in Ban Sop Hao, Huaphan Province, Laos

Tai Daeng Shaman in Ban Sop Hao in Huaphan Province, Laos from Laos Essential Artistry on Vimeo.

When we were researching with Elli last summer we met quite a few shamans and witnessed different ceremonies and blessings. Here, the shaman is performing a ceremony to bless a new house and rid it of all its bad luck and clear the way for good luck in the future. Part of a ceremony is often a display of "power" and in the video toward the end you will see the shaman balance a long candle on top of a knife he sets in a small bowl of rice. Pretty impressive!

Yin Sibai Saonaa

In looking through some of our photos showing various rice activities I couldn't help but think of the classic Lao song, Yin Sabai Saonaa, "The Contented Rice Farmer." I'm not sure how many Lao rice farmers are truly contented, but if all goes well, no droughts, no floods, few weeds, few snails, few rodent/insect pests, plenty of labor to plant, maintain and harvest the rice, then I think there definitely is contentment. Rice, is life in Asian countries and to know in whatever way one is an important part of that cycle, can provide contentment. And of course the song celebrates Lao patriotism and reflects a socialist viewpoint, but regardless, the song has a great melody and is loved by the Lao people.

In the Animoto video we made above using some of our photos from Laos we use Yin Sabai Saonaa as the musical track. Do you like it?

You can our set of photos from Laos showing a wide variety of rice activities on our Flickr channel here.

In reading the book Rice in Laos published by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research I came across the lyrics to Yin Sabai Saonaa and will include them in this post along the a popular version of the song. Enjoy!

Yin Sabai Saonaa (The Contented Rice Farmer)

We are rice farmers’ children
We take plows and buffaloes to the fields.
We look for food in the forests.
We look for food in the forests.

After sunset, we go home.
Everyone in our village is very happy and contented.
Very happy, very contented.
In our village, there is rice and there are fish in the rice fields,
When the wind blows, we have fresh air,
Contented, contented farmer; contented, contented farmer.

In the afternoon, we ride wild buffaloes,
We sing songs, dance, and play the “khaen.”
We urge everyone to come together to play, work, and develop the nation.
Contented, contented farmer; contented, contented farmer.

The direction of our lives is a happy thing.
In the fields, our skin becomes dark, but we are still happy to work for our nation.
To work to fight hunger and poverty.
Contented, contented farmer; contented, contented farmer.


We are proud to use our work to develop our nation,
We have buffaloes as powerful friends,
Our leaders direct us on the right path,
Contented, contented farmer; contented, contented farmer.

 

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?

Carol Cassidy Video Explaining Pattern Creation on the Loom in Vientiane, Laos

As we've mentioned in other posts we are very excited to announce that we will now be carrying Carol Cassidy’s Weaves of Cambodia Rainbow Silk Scarves. If there is anyone is who synonymous with the best in Lao textiles it’s Carol Cassidy. Just type in “Lao textiles” in Google and see who is the first person/business listed. Laotextiles.com is Carol Cassidy, and her gallery in Vientiane is always a must see for anyone interested in Lao textiles.

We’ve known Carol now for about ten years and although these gorgeous silk scarves are woven in Cambodia, not Laos, all the principles we value with Laos Essential Artistry are more than upheld in the weaving and finishing of these beautiful silk scarves.

When we were in Laos in June we shot some video of Carol explaining how patterns are created on the loom, which a skilled weaver then weaves into her fabric. It seems so complex that it appears magical to watch a weaver at the loom as she weaves these incredible patterns into a textile. It's not an easy process to understand, but we think if anyone can demystify the complexity of the techniques used, it's Carol. And in fact watching this seven minute video we think will give viewers an even greater appreciation for the artistry of Lao weavers.

We encourage anyone traveling to Laos and Vientiane to visit Lao Textiles: Carol Cassidy. It's in an amazing old French Colonial Building and be sure to ask to walk out back and see all the weavers at their looms. It's an intoxicating experience!

We always stay at the Vayakorn Guest House when we're in Vientiane and it's across the street from Carol's Gallery and the photo below is taken from our room on the third floor. Her gallery includes the old French Colonial and the buildings to the right and behind it.The second photo shows a street view of Carol's Gallery.

Some of our favorite photos of Laos in an Animoto video

Animoto videos are pretty darn cool. We see great potential with the videos for the work we do. And while most of the process is automated in an intuitive way, there's enough flexibility to let someone creatively control some of the process. I like being able to add our own music tracks and iTunes makes it easy to convert music tracks to mp3's.  As long as the track is not protected you'll be able to convert it to MP3format which is required by Animoto. And for the video beneath this one featuring our Hmong storycloths we extracted the audio from a video we took in Xieng Khuang Laos of young very talented Hmong girls singing Kwv Txhiaj, a kind of sung poetry. We did that in iMovie exported the audio as an AIF file, imported it into iTunes and then converted it to an MP3 file. We will soon be experimenting with adding some video clips to the video too. Lots of potential, so look forward to more Animoto videos from Laos Essential Artistry!

Like/love photography and want to take photos like these in Laos? Or even better? Think about going on our tour to Laos next June. Limited to six people. The tour will provide plenty of fantastic photo opportunities, count on it. More info on our Yahoo store site here.

Laos Woven Bamboo Strips Photo

Laos Bamboo Woven Fence5
Originally uploaded by Laos Essential Artistry.

Does anyone else love the contrasting texture and color of the woven bamboo strips? We saw these panels being dried in the sun in Sam Neua. Check out the other photos in the series on our Flickr site.

Weaving in Nongbouatong

As we write in our Laos Essential Artistry website, under the section Nongbouatong, most of the families are Tai Daeng and almost all of the weaving being done is by Tai Daeng Weavers. This weaver was quite good, and watching her you can begin to understand the how talented the weavers must be to create a quality textile, like our Tai Daeng Silk Ceremonial Cloths.

Isn't she impressive? It takes about 12 long days to weave one of our Tai Daeng Silk Ceremonial Cloths.

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."

Children at That Luang Festival 2007

The last time I was in Laos during the That Luang Festival was 2000 and I made sure my wife and I could document the whole festival as fully as possible. I have lots of photos to share and aren't these kids cute?

Girls Carrying Wood

When we were driving up in Huaphan Province between Sam Neua and Sam Tai we passed this group of four girls carrying wood. Since my wife is Lao, it works out great in a situation like this because we stopped the car and got out and Bai was able to ask them some questions and I was able to take a few shots. Bai is super friendly and it makes a huge difference when she is able to talk with people, such as these girls, which makes them more relaxed and open to having their photo taken.

The reality in Laos that girls work hard and it's almost always the girls and women who you see carrying wood. It's a never-ending task because without wood there's no fire, and without a fire, how can one cook a meal? There is in larger towns and cities the option of using charcoal, but that costs money, and wood, with effort is free, so in rural areas photo opportunities like this are fairly common...

Sam Neua from the Air

Even if someone didn't want to fly to Sam Neua just to get there, I would recommend flying to Sam Neua and back for the photographic opportunities. Currently, Lao Airlines, the main Lao airline, doesn't fly to Sam Neua. They've retired the old Chinese 17 seat Y12 and a new smaller airline that specializes in charter flights, including flights to Sam Neua, now uses a Cessna Caravan. The Caravan is smaller, but more comfortable inside, and for photographers, the great news is that the windows are clear with minimal scratching. The Cessna flies lower than the Y12 did and consequently there are great aerial photographic opportunities.

On the second flight we made into Sam Neua, rather than coming in low into the valley and landing on the runway from east to west, the plane flew in higher, circled round and landed from the west. Since we came in at a higher altitude we had a beautiful shot of the entire city/town of Sam Neua.

You can see how Sam Neua is nestled in the mountains, which in the cold season months of December and January with the accompanying fog/low ground cover, means that often times the flights are canceled because the fog doesn't clear.

The Soul of Hmong New Year

When I saw these four young girls as we walked through a Hmong village north of Sam Neua I knew there was something special here. I started taking photos and surprisingly they didn't run away or cover their eyes, but looked right at me and actually came together for this informal portrait.

Like the photo of the young woman washing her hair, my wife's sister's boyfriend also created a series of three painting with these four young girls as the main subject. Below is a photo of the first one in the series.

Girl Washing Hair

Whenever one is traveling, where ever you may be, it's a good idea to have one's camera ready at all times. When we were in Laos this last December we traveled to Luang Prabang with my wife's mother and aunt. Here they've both lived in Laos their entire lives, but had never been to Luang Prabang, the old royal capitol. We were there for three days and on one day  took them to the Pak Ou Caves and went by boat up the Mekong River, about an hour and a half boat ride. On the way back the boatman stopped by his village to drop off some laundry for his wife. When we pulled up to the shore there was a large group of women, men and children on the shore, with some of the women washing clothes and some of the women and children bathing. I saw this one young woman and thought there was the potential of a good photo. If we had been just a group of tourists in a boat stopping to take photos, most of the people would have been wary and on guard. But as the boatman was related to them and I was the only foreigner, the villagers more or less ignored us. But I still had to be careful and watched the girl and gradually raised my camera, a Canon 40D with a 70-300mm f 4-5.6 IS USM Canon lens shooting at a focal length of 220 mm at 400 ISO.

You can imagine if you were bathing, or swimming at a river or creek, and some stranger came by with a camera and started taking photos of you, you probably wouldn't be too comfortable, or possibly even angry. Taking photos of people is an art and I think a good photographer takes a lot into consideration when taking photos of people. Some of the best photos are spontaneous and not staged and a good photographer anticipates the moment that will best express what the photographer has in "mind." You don't want to be rude, but at the same time you can't be timid. It's a fine line and I've learned to be less self conscious and try to establish some kind of rapport with my subject, even if it's very fleeting.

I remember reading the book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, and sometimes reflect how as a photographer, some of my best photos were taken when I felt like I was "one" with the subject I was photographing. I really believe that in taking photos of people you have to be in a state of mind where you connect with your subject, consciously, or more likely, unconsciously. As Daniel Goleman writes in Social Intelligence, the New Science of Human Relationships, "We are born to connect... and how we connect with others has unimagined significance." And I think about that a lot when I'm traveling and photographing people.

So, to continue the story of this photograph, as soon as the girl lathered up her hair I raised my camera and took some shots. I was maybe twenty feet away and only got about three shots when she noticed me and became self conscious and turned away. But I was "lucky" and I got the shot above which I feel captures an essence of Laos that I feel is captivating and "timeless." My wife's sister's boyfriend, who is an artist, painted a series of paintings for us, including a set of three based on this young woman washing her hair. We will be selling the paintings in our online store beginning this spring. One in the series of three you can see here. What do you think?

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...