Title Page

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Acknowledgement

Introduction

History of Laos

Religion of Malaysia
Famous Destination and Product
Government of Malaysia
History of Literature of Malaysia
Famous Literary work
“Friends”
Famous Writer
Anwar Ridhwan
Conclusion

Activity

Bibliography

Table of Contents

Foreword
Literature knows no bound. It is handed down from generation to generation.

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 Lao literature is a body of literature written in Lao, one of the Tai languages of Southeast
Asia and the official language of Laos.
However, this instructional material emphasizes various information and ideas about
literature,
specifically, the Laos literature, which is the focus of this paper.
This module will definitely help students maximize their knowledge (critical thinking skills)
into a full potential one as they will learn more about the different laos literature as well as the
history about it.
Hence, the purpose of this study was to encourage students to express themselves more
clearly and to think more critically. This material is an attempt to get learners know how to read,
think, express, create, appreciate, and understand the contents that needs to be focused on.

Objectives:
1. Learn about Laos, their culture, history, government and pride.
2. Understand the literature of Laos.
3. Analyze the changes in Laos Literature through the different era.
4. Interpret the meaning/lessons behind Lao literatures/folktales.

Introduction
Laos, landlocked country of northeast-central mainland Southeast Asia. It consists of an
irregularly round portion in the north that narrows into a peninsula-like region stretching to the
southeast. Overall, the country extends about 650 miles (1,050 km) from northwest to southeast. The
capital is Vientiane (Lao: Viangchan), located on the Mekong River in the northern portion of the
country.
The geologically diverse landscape of Laos, with its forested mountains, upland plateaus and
lowland plains, supports an equally diverse population that is united largely through agriculture,
particularly the cultivation of rice. Interactions—sometimes hostile, sometimes hospitable—with the
neighbouring Khmer (Cambodian), Siamese (Thai), and Myanmar (Burmese) kingdoms between the
5th and the mid-19th century indirectly imbued Laos with elements of Indian culture, including
Buddhism, the religion now practiced by most of the population. Both Buddhist and Hindu lores
have shaped the visual, performing, and literary arts of the country. Many of the indigenous and
minority peoples of the remote highland slopes and mountainous regions, however, have maintained
their own idiosyncratic ritual and artistic traditions.
Colonization by the French from the late 19th to the mid-20th century infused Laos with a
European cultural element, which intensified throughout the country’s embroilment in World War II
and the Indochina wars, as well as a civil war of its own in the second half of the 20th century.
Guided by Marxist-Leninist ideology, Laos emerged from the turmoil in 1975 as a communist
country. Economic reforms of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the development of
tourism, have strengthened Laos’s economy, gradually shrinking the country’s debt and diminishing
its dependence on international aid.

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The Lao people were a tribe originally from Yunnan, China, who were pushed south to the border
of the Khmer empire in the 13th century. The first Lao kingdom, called Lan Xang or “land of the
million elephants,” was founded by Fa Ngum in 1353.

Origins of the Lao Kingdom

Fa Ngum was born into the royal family in Muang Sua, the capital of a small state ruled by
King Souvanna Khampong. When Fa Ngum was a baby, his grandfather, the reigning king,
expelled Fa Ngum’s father (the heir to the throne), for failing to live up to his princely
responsibilities. The family sought refuge at Angkor and thus Fa Ngum was raised in the cradle of
the Khmer empire.As a grown man with a Khmer princess wife, Fa Ngum fought his way back
along the Mekong Valley to regain his birthright in Muang Sua and to establish the unified Lao
Kingdom. In an attempt to unite the various ethnic groups under the kingdom, he introduced
Theravada Buddhism. His father-in-law, the Khmer king, sent Buddhist scholars and scriptures, as
well as a sacred golden Buddha called Pra Bang. Pra Bang was considered a symbol of the right to
rule Laos. It was placed in the capital, Muang Sua, which was renamed Luang Prabang in honour
of the sacred image. For the next 200 years, Luang Prabang was the religious and cultural centre of
the kingdom.

SOME KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF LAOS:

 1893 - Laos becomes a French protectorate until 1945, when it is briefly occupied by the
Japanese towards the end of the Second World War.
 1946 - French rule over Laos is resumed.
 1950 - Laos is granted semi-autonomy as an associated state within the French Union.
 1953 - Independence restored after the end of French rule. Civil war breaks between royalists
and the communist group, the Pathet Lao.
 1975 - Pathet Lao - renamed the Lao People's Front - replaces the monarchy with a
communist government.
 1986 - Laos introduces market reforms.
 1997 - Laos becomes member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
 2011 - New stock market opens in Vientiane.
 2013 - Becomes a member of the world trade organization

What is Laos Renowned for?

Laos is a country of historic temples, tropical jungles, rich cuisine, and beautiful scenery. Unlike
some of its better-known neighbours like Thailand, Vietnam, and China, it is somewhat quiet in terms of
tourism. Its cities are small and quaint and even most major landmarks in Laos do not attract the numbers of
visitors you will find in other parts of the region. This hidden Asian gem of a country is famous for a number
of exciting reasons. Laos is called the “Land of a Million Elephants,” and is famous for its amazing scenery,
ethnic villages, and unexplored lands. It is best known for some of Southeast Asia's most spectacular
waterfalls, including Tad Fane and Dong Hua Sao.

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 Laos is the only country in Southeast Asia without a coastline but makes up for this with its mighty
rivers. The Mekong, Khan, and Nam Song Rivers all flow through major towns and cities in the country and
provide visitors to Laos with unique boat trips and activities like tubing.

Laos has an array of unusual landscapes to explore, from tropical jungle to limestone mountains with
karst rock formations and caves. It is a paradise for people who enjoy outdoor activities. Whether hiking,
spelunking, or cycling between paddy fields, the best way to connect with Laos is by getting outside. The
country also has a unique architectural heritage, with a mixture of Southeast Asian and French
colonial influences. Perhaps the most unique thing about Laos is that it is relatively undiscovered by
international tourists. Compared to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, Laos is off the beaten track, making it
surprisingly compact and tranquil — even major cities like Vientiane have a small-town feel.

What Food Is Laos Known for?

Laotian cuisine shares similarities with Thai and Indian food, rich in spices and flavor. However, it is
distinct from the others with a triumvirate of dishes that are characteristic of Lao culture.

Larb is a spicy dish with marinated meat or fish with green vegetables, herbs, and spices. There are
many variations on the dish, including some that are prepared raw, similar to ceviche.

Tam mak hoong, also known as som tam and “green papaya salad” is a dish made with shredded
unripe papaya and other fruit and vegetables, such as hog plums, eggplant, lime, and chili pepper. Other
ingredients can include garlic, fish sauce, shrimp paste, and brined freshwater crab. It is often served with
rice and grilled chicken, or with noodles.

Sticky rice is the third and most important cornerstone of Lao cuisine. While rice-farming practices
changed in other parts of Asia centuries ago, Laos stuck to the traditional method of farming glutinous rice,
which has become an integral part of the nation’s culture. Lao people eat more sticky rice than any other
group in the world and refer to themselves as luk khao niaow – children of the sticky rice.

Laos Government

"Laos is a one-party socialist republic. It espouses Marxism and is governed by the Lao
People's Revolutionary Party, in which the party leadership is dominated by military figures.
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army continue to have significant
influence in Laos. The politics of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (commonly known as Laos)
takes place in the framework of a one-party parliamentary socialist republic. The only legal political
party is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The head of state is President Thongloun
Sisoulith, who is also the LPRP general secretary, making him the supreme leader of Laos. The head
of government is Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh.Government policies are determined by the
party through the all-powerful nine-member Politburo and the 49-member Central Committee.
Important government decisions are vetted by the Council of Ministers.The capital city is Vientiane.
Other large cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. The official language is Lao.
Laos is a multi-ethnic country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up
approximately 60 percent of the population, mostly in the lowlands. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong,
and other indigenous hill tribes, accounting for 40 percent of the population, live in the foothills and
mountains."

LAOS LITERATURE
THE EARLY LITERATURE OF LAOS

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 As in neighbouring countries, the earliest literature to emerge in what is now the Lao PDR
served to perpetuate the various proverbs, myths, legends and cosmology associated with particular
ethnic groups. Today several of Laos’ ethnic minority groups still preserve a rich tradition of epic
stories, performed by village elders who are charged with keeping the ancient art alive.
Late in the first millennium BCE, Buddhist monks began to appropriate the ancient
storytelling techniques for the purpose of spreading their faith, giving rise to the development of the
jataka, tales of the Bodhisattva (previous incarnations of the Buddha) which were later added to the
tripitaka canonical texts of Theravada Buddhism.
Compiled at various dates in several countries and totalling 547 stories in the oldest and most
complete collection, the jataka were intended to teach the virtues of self-sacrifice, honesty and
morality to the common person. The last and longest, known as the Vessantara (in which the future
Buddha in the form of Prince Vessantara perfects renunciation), was later to become Phra Vet, the
most popular of all the jataka stories in Laos.
From the 8th century onwards, Buddhist practices introduced into the region by early Mon
rulers were slowly adopted by the incoming Tai and syncretised with animist practices. By the start
of the Lane Xang era (14th century) Buddhist wats had begun to emerge as important centres of
learning in which sacred texts in Pali were copied onto palm leaves for study and recitation.

THE LITERATURE OF LAOS DURING THE LANE XANG ERA

The earliest recorded history of the Lao dates from the period immediately following the
establishment of the kingdom of Lane Xang in the late 14th century, but the development of an
indigenous Lao literary tradition is usually attributed to the reigns of three illustrious kings of the
16th century – Wisunarath (1500-1520), Photisarath (1520-1550) and Sai Setthathirat I (1550-1571).
The reigns of these kings were marked by a noteworthy flowering of literary scholarship in
Lane Xang, including the development of a special script known as tham for the writing of religious
texts.
Soon after his accession to the throne, King Wisunarath commissioned the Tamnan Khun
Burom (Legend of Khun Burom), a compilation drawn from various existing chronicles designed to
legitimise the royal dynasty of Fa Ngum by tracing it back to the eponymous mythical Tai ancestor.
During the reigns of Photisarath and Sai Setthathirat I, close political and cultural ties were
forged with Lanna (Chiang Mai), a kingdom with its own thriving literary heritage, and under
Lanna’s influence there appeared a Lao version of the panchatantra moral fables and an important
collection of 50 jataka tales, 27 of which are unique to Laos.
The Lao version of the Ramayana epic, known as the Pharak Pharam, is also believed to have
been created during this period to serve as source material for courtly performance.
Restoring order in the 17th century after a 70-year period of instability, King Suriyavongsa
(1638-1690) presided over a second and final golden age of cultural development in Lane Xang,
which saw the commissioning of a new court chronicle known as Phongsavadan Lane Xang
(Chronicle of Lane Xang, 1656). This period also saw the appearance of the greatest poems of Lao
literature, including Champasiton, Kalaket, Nang Taeng On, Nang Phom Hom, Sithone and Manora,
Linthong and Sinxay.

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 At this time too, the epic poem Thao Hung Thao Cheuang – found widely amongst the oral
traditions of the Tai and Mon-Khmer speaking peoples – evolved into an important work of Lao
literature.
Composed in the style of the jataka tales, these early poetic works are generally afforded a
sacred status as they are believed to be translations or adaptations of much older, devotional texts.
With the single exception of the scholar called Pangkham, who is believed to have written the 6,000-
verse epic Sang Sinxay, the names of their authors remain unknown.
Throughout this period all literature was poetic in form, following a complex series of rules
elaborated during the 1940s by eminent scholars Maha Sila Viravongs and Nhouy Abhay. The works
themselves were designed to be read out loud on special occasions such as religious festivals, with a
view to instilling in the listener the importance of virtues such as honesty and integrity.
The reader was usually a monk who began by paying homage to the memory of the writer
and the spirit of the manuscript and knew just the right intonation for every passage so as to convey
joy or sadness, love or anger, pride or shame. The art of reciting epic poems, jataka tales and other
texts from palm leaf manuscripts became known as an nangsu (literally ‘reading a book’), a term
which is still used widely today in Laos to describe storytelling of all kinds. An nangsu in turn gave
rise to the earliest varieties of the call-and-response folk song genre lam or khap in which the stories
would be sung by a moh lam (see Lam/khap – Lao call-and-response folk songs).

THE LITERATURE OF LAOS DURING THE FRENCH PERIOD

Printing arrived late in Laos; the first Lao publications appeared in the 1920s, but print
quality remained relatively poor for decades after this, and during the latter years of the colonial
period most French-language government publications were still printed in Viet Nam, while Lao-
language material was sent to neighbouring Siam.
Throughout the French colonial period illiteracy in Laos remained widespread – traditional
literature was intended to be performed before an audience by either a monk or a moh lam, rather
than being read silently by an individual, so there was little incentive for the development of reading
skills amongst the general population. When publishing houses in neighbouring Siam began to
produce cheap copies of traditional Lao stories in the 1930s, it was common for monks from
Vientiane to buy and then recopy them onto palm leaves for use during sermons in the Lao temples.
The traditional Lao literature increasingly became viewed as a relic of the past, children of
the Lao elite attended colonial schools where they were taught French language, history and culture,
and by the 1930s the works of French novelists such as Balzac and Voltaire had become popular
amongst the upper classes of Lao society.
The modern Lao literature only began to develop on the eve of independence. The immediate
catalyst for its development was the bi-weekly Lao Nhay (‘Great Lao’) newspaper, launched in 1940
by the French colonial government in order to enhance Lao national identity with the purely political
aim of countering the idea of a ‘Greater Siam’, which was then being expounded by Siamese leader
Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram. During its five years of existence Lao Nhay ran poetry and short
story competitions celebrating Lao culture and history and features recalling the ‘glorious lineage of
the modern Lao’ dating back to the kingdom of Lane Xang, stimulating the development of poetry,
prose and spoken drama. The earliest Lao prose writing dating from this so-called Samay Funfou Xat

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(National Renovation) era was composed in the French language and translated into Lao, but this
subsequently gave way to works composed in Lao. The first modern Lao novel was Phra
Phoutthahoup Saksit (‘The Sacred Buddha Image’, 1944), ‘written in easy-to-understand Lao
language’ by Pierre Somchine Nginn (1892-1971), a noted composer of French verse and the son of
François Nginn, who had participated in the 1892 Pavie mission.
This short-lived period of national renovation also sparked a new academic interest in
traditional Lao literature. At this time leading scholars Maha Sila Viravongs (1905-1987, author of
the 1935 Grammaire Laotien) and Nhouy Abhay (1909-1963) began to transcribe the ancient texts
and Maha Sila Viravongs published Methods of Composition of the Poetry of the Vientiane People
and Kap San Vilasimi (1942), which attempted for the first time to set out the rules of Lao
versification.

THE LITERATURE OF LAOS ( 1953-1975)

Throughout the Royal Lao Government era, scholars such as Pierre Somchine Nginn and
Maha Sila Viravongs continued to transcribe important works of traditional Lao literature which had
not previously been available to the general public; many of these were subsequently published
under the auspices of the Lao Literary Committee (fore-runner of the Lao Royal Academy,
established in 1951) and the newly-established Vientiane General Library (later the National
Library).
During the same period traditional literature was also used extensively by the Pathet Lao
resistance to convey its political message to the Lao people, teaching proper behaviour and
demonstrating the evils of feudal rule and foreign domination.
This period also saw the publication of Maha Sila Viravongs’ Phongsawadan Lao (‘History
of Laos’, 1957) and Lao Language Dictionary (1962). Despite the deteriorating political situation,
the 1960s were an era of considerable literary creativity. Dedicated cultural magazines such as Peun
Keo (Best Friend), Muang Lao, Phainam and Khouan Heuane (Soul of the House) were published
and short stories and novels became increasingly popular.
The leading poets of the period included Maha Sila Viravongs, Thao Ken, Nouhak
Sitthimorada and Maha Phoumi Chittaphong.
During the latter years of the Royal Lao Government period the novels of Outhine
Bounyavong (1942-2000), Dara Viravongs (Douang Champa, b 1940), Pakian Viravongs (Pa Nay, b
1942), Douangdeuane Viravongs (Dok Ked, b 1947) and Seree Nilamay (Seriphap, 1949-2001)
began to move Lao literature into the realms of social commentary and criticism. Other emerging
novelists and poets of this period included Houmphanh Rattanavong (b 1939), Pho Phouangsaba
(1940-2004), Saisuwan Phengphong (b 1943) and Soukhy Norasinh (b 1946).
Meanwhile in the mountainous north of the country the earliest revolutionary literature took
the form of articles and reports detailing the patriotism and self-sacrifice of ordinary people for the
cause of the revolution. By the mid 1960s, these had evolved into short revolutionary stories and
poems by authors such as future President Phoumi Vongvichit (1909-1994, Pathet Lao Suai Ngam
Lae Hang Mee, ‘Beautiful and Rich Lao Land’), Souvanthone Bouphanouvong (1925-2003, Kong
Phan Thisong, ‘Second Battalion’), Khamlieng Phonsena (b 1933, Xi Noi), Chanthy Deuansavanh (b
1940, Senthang Sivith, ‘Road to Life’) and future SEAWrite Award-winner Theap Vongpakay (Dao

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Neua, b 1945). The earliest works by these authors were published in the Lao Hak Xat newspaper
and subsequently in book form.

THE MODERN LITERATURE OF LAOS ( 1975 – present)

The established authors such as Outhine Bounyavong, Dara Viravongs, Pakian Viravongs,
Douangdeuane Viravongs and Seree Nilamay resumed their literary activities alongside
revolutionary writers such as Phoumi Vongvichit, Souvanthone Bouphanouvong, Chanthy
Deuansavanh, Khamlieng Phonsena and Theap Vongpakay. They have since been joined by a
younger generation of writers.
Phoumi Vongvichit was appointed Acting President of the Lao PDR from 1986 to 1991 after
Prince Souphannouvong was forced to step down from the Presidency for reasons of health. Phoumi
is now perhaps best remembered for his Lao Grammar (1967), published in the revolutionary
heartland of Houaphanh Province. However, he is also recognised as one of the leading modern Lao
poets.
Novelist Chanthy Deuansavanh is currently Chairperson of the Lao Writers’ Association and
former editor of its now-defunct monthly journal Xiengkhene Lao. Chanthy received the second
SEAWrite Award in 1999 for his work Khang Khun Thi Pa Leuk (‘Overnight in the Deep Forest’).
Since the 1980s Khamlieng Phonsena has won numerous awards for novels such as Khwam
Hak (‘Love’), Na Xong Muong (‘Rice Field with Two Irrigation Canals’) and Chai Dieu Hak Dieu
(‘One Heart, One Love’).
Theap Vongpakay (Dao Neua, b 1945) has also attracted acclaim for his novels Ngao Muon
Muang (‘The District Sword’), Pit Adit (‘Poison of the Past’) and Kae Khai Sivit (Finding a Solution
to Living’). In 2003 Theap received a SEAWrite Award for his first novel Pha Nhou Xivit (‘Storm of
Life’).
Today Outhine Bounyavong remains Laos’ best-known writer. He wrote four collections of
short stories while working as a journalist, editor, and translator.
Laos, landlocked country of northeast-central mainland Southeast Asia. It consists of an irregularly
round portion in the north that narrows into a peninsula-like region stretching to the southeast.
Overall, the country extends about 650 miles (1,050 km) from northwest to southeast. The capital is
Vientiane (Lao: Viangchan), located on the Mekong River in the northern portion of the country.
Traditional Lao Literature
Traditional Lao literatures consists of Buddhist sutras, jatakas (stories connected with the past
lives of the Buddha), poems and epics. Many works have been lost because they were originally
written in form of palm-leaf books, which perish quickly. Other were recorded and passed down
orally in the form of songs and recitations. For English speakers, the pickings are even slimmer as
very few works of Lao literature have been translated to English.
The most famous piece of classical Lao literature is the “Pha Lak Pha Lam” , an epic based
on the Hindu “Ramayana” . Hindu literature is believed to have been introduced to Laos via the
Angor civilization in Cambodia around one thousand years ago. The Lao version of the story has
uniquely Lao elements. There are even some tribal versions of the Ramayana.

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 There are also many folk stories. A famous story associated with Luang Prabang is the legend
of Pu Yer Yer. It goes: Many, many years, under King Khun Boromrajathirat, a huge tree rose from
the earth and became so big its branches blocked out the sky and brought darkness and coldness to
the earth. The king asked if anyone could cut down the tree. No one responded. Finally an odd
couple named Pu Yer Ya Yer emerged and said they would give it a try. They labored for three
months and three days and achieved their goal. The only problem was that they were standing in the
wrong place at the wrong time when the tree fell and their spirits are remembered today.
Peter Koret wrote in “Contemporary Lao Literature”: “The earliest recorded history of the
Lao dates from the fourteenth century. In 1353, the Lao prince Fa Ngum, with the help of the Khmer,
united Laos and much of present-day northeastern Thailand into a kingdom known as Lan Xang.
Characteristics of literature from this period reveal both the literary influence of various Buddhist
and Hindu civilizations of South and Southeast Asia and that of an early (probably oral) literary
tradition of the Lao themselves. [Source: Peter Koret, “Contemporary Lao Literature,” pp 3-
35,Mother Beloved -]
“The primary cultural influence on Lan Xang was that of the closely related Tai Yuan
kingdom of Lanna, which roughly comprised the area that is now northern Thailand. From the
sixteenth century or earlier, Lan Xang developed a sophisticated tradition of art, literature, and
scholarship. The temple was the cultural and educational center of the kingdom, with a power that
rivaled that of the monarchy. -
“Knowledge of literature, and literacy itself, were skills acquired at the temple, where young
males commonly spent several years as novices and/or Buddhist monks. Regardless of their origins,
literary works were typically presented in the form of Jakarta Tales, life stories of the Bodhisattva
recorded in the Tripitaka Buddhist scriptures. Lao literature was traditionally performed by monks,
novices, or laymen with prior religious experience. Literary works were stored in temple libraries
and private homes, and performed regularly during religious festivals throughout the year.

DECLINE OF TRADITIONAL LAO LITERATURE AND THE RISE MODERN LITERARY

TRADITION
Peter Koret wrote in “Contemporary Lao Literature”: “The same factors that caused the
transformation and decline of traditional literature essentially brought about the creation and
development of modern Lao writing. In the late seventeenth century, the Kingdom of Lan Xang split
into three smaller kingdoms. The subsequent weakness of the Lao led to internal instability followed
by dependence upon and eventual domination by foreign powers. By the end of the eighteenth
century, the region that had once comprised Lan Xang had largely fallen under the political control
of the Thai. At the end of the nineteenth century, Siam was forced to cede to the French their Lao
territories east of the Mekong River, an area that approximates the modern political entity of Laos.
[Source: Peter Koret, “Contemporary Lao Literature,” pp 3-35,Mother Beloved -]
“The Thai and French did not immediately have a significant cultural impact on the Lao.
Before the final years of the nineteenth century, the Thai were mostly content to preserve indigenous
cultural and political systems, and depended on the local elite to deliver tribute and taxes. The French
similarly viewed the development of Laos as a low priority in comparison with the neighboring
colonies of Vietnam and Cambodia, which showed greater economic potential. The traditional
culture of the Lao therefore did not undergo a great transformation until the 1930 or afterward.

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 “The state institutionalization of secular education in twentieth-century Southeast Asia has
had a profound effect on traditional cultures throughout the region. Lao art forms, including
literature, were marginalized as the power of their patron, the Buddhist temple, was reduced, and
religious education was replaced by modern schools with a western-oriented curriculum.
Traditionally, literature served the temple by teaching an individual to accept his place within Lao
society and the greater Buddhist world. Lao education under the French was tailored to suit a
different goal. Students who attended French schools in Laos were taught to see themselves as
colonial subjects in a world with France at its center. In neighboring northeastern Thailand, students
were educated to be citizens of a country under the political and cultural domination of the central
Thai. As traditional literature appeared to discourage rather than encourage modern educational
objectives, it ceased to be taught. Elements of traditional Lao culture came to be viewed as remnants
of an "undeveloped" past whereas western civilization was admired as a model for emulation. During
the colonial period, Lao students educated at government schools were exposed to French literature
in place of that of the Lao. Secular prose fiction, previously unheard of in Lao society, became
fashionable among the upper class, replacing poetic epics in prominence. Exposure of the Lao elite
to French literature at school, and their emulation of the literature, led to the origin of modern Lao
fiction.
“The fact that traditional literature continues to remain a living tradition in Laos in the
present day is testimony both to the limited availability of government education to much of the
country’s inhabitants and the inability of modern schooling to transform the worldview of the Lao. In
comparison with the majority of nations in Southeast Asia, the introduction and spread of modern
education proceeded at a sluggish pace throughout Laos. The first lycee (upper-level high school in
the nation's capital was not established until 1920s, shortly before independence. In the larger towns
outside the capital, middle school was the highest educational level available, and in the rural areas
where the majority of the people lived, government education was nonexistent. Students who wished
to further their education had no alternative but to study at a temple or go abroad. Statistics taken
from the mid-1930s show that twice as many Lao were being educated in the temples as in
government schools (Gunn 1988) Even in the present, many of the rural communities in Laos are
lacking in schools, teaching materials, and qualified teachers.
“A second important factor that retarded the growth of a modern literature was the slow
development of modern technology. Although printed publications in Laos date from the 1920s, the
first Lao language newspaper to appear on a regular basis was not until the early 1940s, considerably
later than in most of the nations within the region. Until the middle of this century, the primary
method of reproducing a manuscript in Laos was the centuries-old practice of transcribing text onto
strips of palm leaves with a stylus. In the 1930s, it was common for monks in Vientiane to take
traditional Lao stories published in the more technologically advanced region of northeastern
Thailand and copy them onto palm leaves for the purpose of circulation. The rugged geography of
Laos, with its extensive mountain ranges and forest, has also proved a formidable obstacle to the
country’s development. Certain areas of Laos remain isolated from substantial contact with the
outside world although the situation is changing rapidly at present.
LAO TRAVEL LITERATURE
In a review of “Bamboo Palace: Discovering the Lost Dynasty of Laos”by Christopher
Kremmer, Dianne Dempsey wrote in The Age, "Now this is what I call a travel book: a journey of
exploration in the jungles of Laos, searching for the lost royal family, which disappeared when the

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Vietnamese-backed Pathet Lao toppled the US-backed monarchy in 1975. Until now, it appears that
nobody much cared what happened to this particular royal family or thought there was political
mileage to be gained in discovering its fate. When Kremmer first started exploring Laos on
occasional leave from his job as a newspaper correspondent in Vietnam, he became fascinated by the
beauty and history of the former royal palace in Luang Prabang. When he describes it as ‘‘the still
eye in the typhoon of Indochina’s history’, you know you are with a writer who not only appreciates
the ethos of the country he is exploring, but who also has the words to express that appreciation.
[Source: Dianne Dempsey, The Age, October 4, 2003 ++]
“He first wrote about his sojourns into Laos in Stalking the Elephant Kings, a book that
ended with a failed quest. His search for the truth of the fate of the Lao royal family was originally
met with obfuscation and officials who were "armed with rubber stamps". After publication of the
book, however, he was put in touch with a former colonel of the Royal Lao Armed Forces,
Khamphan Thammakhanty, who told Kremmer what he knew: he was there in the camp, in the
remote province of Houaphen, where the royal family was kept secretly for several years, until one
by one they died of hunger and neglect and a final defeat of the spirit. While a tough old journo such
as Kremmer wouldn’t dream of casting himself as Marlow in Heart of Darkness, (but) for me it was
hard to resist the image. ++

Books: “ Bamboo Palace: Discovering the Lost Dynasty of Laos”by Christopher Kremmer (2003);
“Stalking The Elephant Kings” by Christopher Kremmer

See Palm Leaf Books

“Mother’s Beloved: Stories from Laos” by Outhne Bounyavong (Hong Kong University Press,
1999)

LAO FOLK TALES:

The Magic White Swan
A farmer went fishing one day. He had a long fishing net. Like other farmers, he wore a piece
of cloth around his head. He cast his net, but he got nothing. He did it again and again, but he got
nothing. There was not a single fish. He cast his net once, twice, thrice, but he got nothing. He cast
his net for the last time and pulled up the net. He pulled and he pulled. "Oh, it is so heavy." Then, he
found a white pebble in his net. It was the most beautiful pebble that he had ever seen. So, he took
the pebble home and placed it on the altar above his head. After dinner, he went to sleep. The next
day, the white pebble had turned into a white swan. The swan approached the farmer and said, "I will
take you to a place, a beautiful place, full of flowers. You can take whatever you like."
So the swan began flapping its wings and flew off to the garden with the farmer sitting on its
back. Once there the farmer enjoyed the garden. He picked one flower and felt that it was heavy. He
picked the second one and it got heavier. He picked the third one and it was even heavier. "Oh, I
don't think I should pick any more flowers. It will be too heavy for the swan to fly and take me
home." So, the swan took the farmer back home and disappeared. The flowers were turned into gold!
So, the farmer became a rich man.

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 The news of his wealth reached the ears of his friend, who came to ask the farmer right away
about how he had acquired his wealth. The farmer told his friend everything. The next day, his friend
went to fish in the river with his long net. He cast his net, but he got nothing. He cast his net once,
twice, thrice, but he got nothing. He cast his net for the last time and pulled up the net. Then, he
found a white pebble in his net. He took the pebble home and placed it in his room. The pebble
became the beautiful white swan who said to the second farmer:"I will take you somewhere today, to
a flower garden."So, the man jumped on the swan's back and the swan took off to the flower garden.
Once there the man picked the flowers, one, two, three.
"Oh, I have to pick a lot since I have come here already," he said. So he picked two arms' full
of flowers and went to the swan. "Take me home now. I will put these away and I will come back for
more." So he jumped on the swan's back. It was so heavy. The swan almost could not fly. He flew,
swaying left and right with weight. But he was able to take the man to his house with difficulty. The
man jumped off the swan's back and said, "Now, wait here. Don't go away. I will go back to the
garden to pick more flowers." Then he took the flowers into his room. When he came back, the swan
disappeared. He returned to his room, but he found . . .only ordinary flowers, no gold.

The Mango Tree

One upon a time a fine mango tree grew in the jungle near the village. Every year when the
fruit was ripe the village children ran into the jungle and picked the fruit. One day, however, when
the children went to the tree, they found a fence all around it. At the side of the fence there were two
huge, fierce dogs. A stranger came out of the jungle. "Go away!" he shouted loudly. " This is my tree
now." "No, it is not," the children cried. "You don't own the jungle. The tree is everybody's tree.
Anyone can have the fruit."
The children were telling the truth but the stranger did not listen to them. He made his dogs
chase the children back to the village. The children went to the village headman and told him what
had happened. The village headman was very wise and, after some thought, he worked out a clever
trick to play on the nasty stranger. The next day one of the girls of the village went to the tree again.
She threw two pieces of meat to the dogs and climbed over the fence. Then she took a mango from
the tree and began to eat it. Again, the stranger ran out of the jungle and he shouted at her : "Stop!
You cannot take my mangoes. Go away." The girl took another bite from the mango. Suddenly she
screamed out loud and fell to the ground. At that moment, the headman came by and asked : "What
have you done to that girl?" "Nothing!" the man answered. "She took one of my mangoes and fell to
the ground."
"The headman looked sadly at the little girl. "She has mango sickness," he said. "Once every
ten years, this mango tree has poisonous fruit. This must be the tenth year for this tree. You must not
eat the mangoes on it this year." Then he picked up the girl and carried her back to the village. The
next morning, the village headman took the children into the jungle to the mango tree. The stranger
had gone, and he had taken his fence and his huge dogs with him. Once again, the children picked up
the fruit, and carried them back to the village, laughing and singing because the tree was everybody's
tree once more.

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Lao literature, body of literature written in Lao, one of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia and the official
language of Laos.

Early Lao literature

The rich oral tradition of poetry and folk tales possessed by the Lao-speaking people predates their written
literature and maintains a wide popularity to the present day. The earliest evidence of written literature
among the Lao dates from the 16th century, during the Lan Xang period. Literature served an important role
as a vehicle with which to convey Buddhist religious teachings and explain proper behaviour for individuals
in society. It was deeply influenced by the literary tradition of the neighbouring kingdom of Lan Na (in
present-day Thailand), through which it was indirectly influenced by Buddhist and Hindu literary works of
South Asian origin. In addition, commonly occurring plots in Lao literature and the conventions by which
they were told owed much to oral traditions of storytelling that are either specifically Lao in origin or belong
to the broader traditions of mainland Southeast Asia.

Early Lao literature existed in both poetic and prose forms. The most prominent characteristics of Lao verse,
which shares similarities with the poetry of other Tai-speaking groups in the region, developed perhaps as
early as the 14th century, although the exact date of its origins are unknown. These characteristics include
the frequent use of alliteration and parallelism and the placement of words of specific tones in assigned
positions within a poetic line. Stories, largely anonymous in their composition, were commonly presented in
the form of Jataka tales, which were believed to be of Buddhist scriptural origin.

Under the patronage of the monarchy and the Buddhist monkhood, literature continued to flourish for two
centuries, during which time such major classical works as Sang Sinsai and Thao Hung Thao Cheuang were
probably composed. The titles of these works are drawn from the names of their subjects: the former relates
the exploits of a legendary prince, and the latter is the tale of a Southeast Asian warrior-king. Following the
decline and subsequent disintegration of the Lan Xang kingdom in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the
Lao literary tradition continued, largely on a village level.

Modern Lao literature

In the 19th century the great social and political upheavals in the region became a prominent literary theme.
They were often represented in Buddhist and mystical terms, as in such works as San leup phasun

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(“Extinguishing the Brilliance of the Sun”) and Pheun meuang kung (“History of the City,” or “History of
Bangkok”). Under French colonial rule, which culminated with France’s annexation of Laos under treaties
agreed to in 1903 and 1907, the lack of widespread secular education and the late introduction of printing
technology delayed the emergence and growth of Western-influenced literature. The first work of
recognizably modern prose fiction in Lao did not appear until the publication of Phaphutthahup saksit (1944;
“The Sacred Buddha Image”), a short novel by Somjin Nginn about a detective of mixed Lao and French
ancestry who investigates the disappearance of an image of the Buddha.

In the mid-20th century, traditional Lao literature declined as religious schooling was gradually replaced by
secular, government-sponsored education and as the Lao came into increasing contact with Thailand and the
West. After Laos gained independence in 1954 and saw the outbreak of civil war a few years later, the
composition and readership of literature in areas under the control of the royal Lao government was largely
restricted to a small, educated segment of the population in Vientiane, the country’s capital. Influenced by
French, Thai, and American fiction, authors in Vientiane produced popular works exhibiting romance and
humour as well as social commentary that attacked the government as corrupt and that bemoaned a
perceived decline in Lao social values. Major writers in Vientiane during this period include three children of
Maha Sila Viravong, an important scholar of traditional Lao literature, history, and culture: Pakian Viravong,
Duangdeuan Viravong, and Dara Viravong (pseudonyms Pa Nai, Dauk Ket, and Duang Champa, respectively).
An equally important writer was Outhine Bounyavong, Maha Sila Viravong’s son-in-law, who remained a
notable writer through the turn of the 21st century; his short stories were translated into English and
collected as Mother’s Beloved (1999). Their writings were published in a literary magazine that they
themselves produced and also in books such as Nao chai (1971; “Cold at Heart”) and Bau ban kau haum
(1972; “Fragrant Without Blossoming”). These books, like many from this period, are collections of the
writings of multiple authors.

In zones controlled by the communist Lao Patriotic Front, the political wing of the Pathet Lao, literature
showed the influence of Socialist Realist works from Vietnam and the Soviet Union. Literature in these zones
was composed for the specific purpose of creating and supporting a communist society, and books were
typically published anonymously. One such example of an anonymous collection of stories from the early
1970s is Bon en thang pot poi (“Along the Road of Liberation”). Important authors of this period include
Somsi Desa and Khamliang Phonsena.

In the decade following the communists’ victory in 1975, the major themes treated in literature were the
virtues of the communist revolution and the great strides Lao society was taking under communist party
leadership. But by the mid-1990s, romance had grown increasingly common as a literary topic. Although the
government continued to produce political works glorifying the revolution, such works were read by few
outside the classroom; melodramatic stories of love instead resonated more strongly among the reading
public in Vientiane. In these stories the focus is on the personal rather than on political concerns.

Economic and political obstacles continued to limit the growth of literature in Laos at the end of the 20th
century. As a result of the prohibitive cost of publishing and the resultant small readership, book-length
works of literature—or even collections of short stories or other genres—were relatively rare. Although the

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government’s “New Imagination” policy of the late 1980s had promised increased liberalization of Lao
society, the government remained strict in its control of the printed word through the turn of the 21st
century, inhibiting the use of literature as a vehicle with which writers could discuss Lao society in a
meaningful manner.

However, despite these restrictions, Lao authors produced a significant and varied body of literature during
the last decades of the 20th century.

One of the most important and outspoken Lao writers was Bounthanong Somsaiphon, whose novels, short
stories, and poetry provide invaluable insight into the rapidly changing realities of Lao culture and society
under the communist regime. His important works include Long su Thanon Lan Xang (1989; “Entering Lan
Xang Avenue”), a semiautobiographical account of his life as a student activist in the years leading up to the
communist revolution. He also wrote several notable short stories in the 1990s, among them “Ran khai lao
rim pacha” (“A Bar at the Edge of the Cemetery”), in which he describes the dangers of public apathy in the
face of corruption and political oppression. The works of Viset Savaengseuksa, who served as a member of
the Lao parliament, are noteworthy for the imaginative and often humorous approach with which they
portray the life of ordinary people in Lao society. One of his short stories, “Khon yang lung Dam” (1995; “A
Man Like Uncle Dam”), is a critical comparison of the values of Lao communist society and traditional Lao
religious principles. It describes the plight of a civil servant who is in immediate need of a blood transfusion.
Members of the Lao government prove uncaring and unwilling to act on her behalf, but she is ultimately
spared as a result of the compassion of an old man who acts in accordance with Buddhist principles. Other
notable Lao writers at the turn of the 21st century include Somsuk Suksavat, Saisuvan Phaengphong, and
Daoviang Butnakho.

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