TheravadaBuddhism is the largest and dominant religion in Laos.Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao cultural identity. The national symbol of Laos is the That Luangstupa, a stupa with a pyramidal base capped by the representation of a closed lotus blossom which was built to protect relics of the Buddha. It is practiced by 66% of the population.[2] Almost all ethnic or "lowland" Lao people (Lao Loum and Lao Lom) are followers of TheravadaBuddhism; however, they constitute more than 50% of the population.[3] The remainder of the population belongs to at least 48 distinct ethnic minority groups.[3] Most of these ethnic groups are practitioners of Tai folk religions, with beliefs that vary greatly among groups.[3]
Although the government prohibits foreigners from proselytizing, some resident foreigners associated with private businesses or nongovernmental organizations quietly engage in religious activity.[3] The Lao Front for National Construction is in charge of religious affairs within the country and all religious organizations within Laos must register with it.[4]
History
Vat Phou, a ruined Khmer temple complex in southern Laos. It was originally used for worship of the Hindu god Shiva, but was converted for use as a Buddhist temple.
Buddhism was introduced to Laos beginning in the eighth century by Mon Buddhist monks and was widespread by the fourteenth century.[5] A number of Laotian kings were important patrons of Buddhism.[5]
Beginning in the late 1950s, the Pathet Lao attempted to convert monks to the leftist cause and to use the status of the sangha to influence the thoughts and attitudes of the populace.[6] The effort was in many ways successful, despite efforts by the Royal Lao Government to place the sangha under close civil administrative control and to enlist monks in development and refugee assistance programs.[6] Political scientist Martin Stuart-Fox attributed the success of the Pathet Lao to the inability of the Lao Loum elite to integrate the monarchy, government, and sangha into a set of mutually supportive institutions.[6]
Popular resentment of the aristocracy, division of the sangha into two antagonistic sects, the low level of its religious education and discipline, and opposition to foreign (i.e., Western) influence all contributed to the receptiveness of many monks to Pathet Lao overtures.[6] The politicization of the sangha by both sides lowered its status in the eyes of many, but its influence at the village level augmented popular support for the Pathet Lao political platform, which paved the way for the change in government in 1975.[7]
The LPDR government's successful efforts to consolidate its authority also continues to influence Buddhism.[7] In political seminars at all levels, the government taught that Marxism and Buddhism were basically compatible because both disciplines stated that all men are equal, and both aimed to end suffering.[7] Political seminars further discouraged "wasteful" expenditures on religious activities of all kinds, because some monks were sent to political reeducation centers and others were forbidden to preach.[7]
The renunciation of private property by the monks was seen as approaching the ideal of a future communist society.[7] However, Buddhist principles of detachment and nonmaterialism are clearly at odds with the Marxist doctrine of economic development, and popular expenditures on religious donations for merit making are also seen as depriving the state of resources.[7] Thus, although overtly espousing tolerance of Buddhism, the state undercut the authority and moral standing of the sangha by compelling monks to spread party propaganda and by keeping local monks from their traditional participation in most village decisions and activities.[7]
During this period of political consolidation, many monks left the sangha or fled to Thailand.[7] Other pro-Pathet Lao monks joined the newly formed Lao United Buddhists Association, which replaced the former religious hierarchy.[7] The numbers of men and boys being ordained declined abruptly, and many wat fell empty.[7] Participation at weekly and monthly religious ceremonies also dropped off as villagers under the watchful eye of local political cadre were fearful of any behavior not specifically encouraged.[7]
The nadir of Buddhism in Laos occurred around 1979, after which a strategic liberalization of policy occurred.[7] Since that time, the number of monks has gradually increased, although as of 1993, the main concentrations continue to be in Vientiane and other Mekong Valley cities.[7] Buddhist schools in the cities remain but have come to include a significant political component in the curriculum.[7] Party officials are allowed to participate at Buddhist ceremonies and even to be ordained as monks to earn religious merit following the death of close relatives.[7] The level of religious understanding and orthodoxy of the sangha, however, is no higher than it had been before 1975, when it was criticized by many as backward and unobservant of the precepts.[8]
From the late 1980s, stimulated as much by economic reform as political relaxation, donations to the wat and participation at Buddhist festivals began to increase sharply.[8] Festivals at the village and neighborhood level became more elaborate, and the That Luang festival and fair, which until 1986 had been restricted to a three-day observance, lasted for seven days.[8] Ordinations also increased, in towns and at the village level, and household ceremonies of blessing, in which monks were central participants, also began to recur.[8]
The Buddhist temple at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang.
Theravada Buddhism is by far the most prominent organized religion in the country, with nearly 5,000 temples serving as the focus of religious practice as well as the center of community life in rural areas.[3] In most lowland Lao villages, religious tradition remains strong. Most Buddhist men spend some part of their lives as novice monks in temples, even if only for a few days.[3]
There are approximately 22,000 monks in the country, nearly 9,000 of whom have attained the rank of "senior monk", indicating years of study in temples.[3] In addition, there are approximately 450 nuns, generally older women who are widowed, residing in temples throughout the country.[3] The Buddhist Order is under the direction of a Supreme Patriarch who resides in Vientiane and supervises the activities of the order's central office, the Ho Thammasaphat.[3]
Lao Buddhism belongs to the Theravada tradition.[9] Theravada Buddhism is also the dominant school in neighboring Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia.[5]
That Luang, a Lao-style stupa, is the most sacred Buddhist monument in Laos and the location of the nationally important festival and fair in November.[6]
For the Lao Loum, the Wat is one of the two focal points of village life (the other is the school).[6] The wat provides a symbol of village identity as well as a location for ceremonies and festivals.[6] Prior to the establishment of secular schools, village boys received basic education from monks at the wat. Nearly every lowland village has a wat, and some have two.[6] Minimally, a wat must have a residence building for the monks and novices (vihan), and a main building housing the Buddha statues (sim), which is used for secular village meetings as well as for prayer sessions.[6] Depending on the wealth and contributions of the villagers, the buildings vary from simple wood and bamboo structures to large, ornate brick and concrete edifices decorated with colorful murals and tile roofs shaped to mimic the curve of the naga, the mythical snake or water dragon.[6] An administrative committee made up of respectable elderly men manages the financial and organizational affairs of the wat.[6]
Buddhist ceremonies generally do not mark events in a life- cycle, with the exception of death.[6]Funerals may be quite elaborate if the family can afford it but are rather simple in rural settings.[6] The body lies in a coffin at home for several days, during which monks pray, and a continual stream of visitors pay their respects to the family and share food and drink.[6] After this period, the body is taken in the coffin to a cremation ground and burned, again attended by monks.[6] The ashes are then interred in a small shrine on the wat grounds.[6]
Although officially incorporated into the dominant Mahanikai School of Buddhist Practice after 1975, the Thammayudh School of Buddhism still maintains a following in the country.[3] Abbots and monks of several temples, particularly in Vientiane, reportedly are followers of the Thammayudh School, which places greater emphasis on meditation and discipline.[3]
There are four Mahayana Buddhist temples in Vientiane, two serving the ethnic Vietnamese community and two serving the ethnic Chinese community.[3] Buddhist monks from Vietnam, China, and India have visited these temples freely to conduct services and minister to worshippers.[3] There are at least four large Mahayana Buddhist pagodas in other urban centers and smaller Mahayana temples in villages near the borders of Vietnam and China.[3]
Despite the importance of Buddhism to Lao Loum and some Lao Theung groups, animist beliefs are widespread among all segments of the Lao population.[13] The belief in phi (spirits) colors the relationships of many Lao with nature and community and provides one explanation for illness and disease.[13] Belief in phi is blended with Buddhism, particularly at the village level, and some monks are respected as having particular abilities to exorcise malevolent spirits from a sick person or to keep them out of a house.[13] Many wat have a small spirit hut built in one corner of the grounds that is associated with the phi khoun wat, the beneficent spirit of the monastery.[13]
Phi are ubiquitous and diverse.[13] Some are connected with the universal elements—earth, heaven, fire, and water.[13] Many Lao Loum also believe that they are being protected by khwan (thirty-two spirits).[13] Illness occurs when one or more of these spirits leaves the body; this condition may be reversed by the soukhwan—more commonly called the baci—a ceremony that calls all thirty-two khwan back to bestow health, prosperity, and well-being on the affected participants.[13] Cotton strings are tied around the wrists of the participants to keep the spirits in place.[13] The ceremony is often performed to welcome guests, before and after making long trips, and as a curing ritual or after recovery from an illness; it is also the central ritual in the Lao Loum wedding ceremony and naming ceremony for newborn children.[14]
Many Lao believe that the khwan of persons who die by accident, violence, or in childbirth are not reincarnated, becoming instead phi phetu (malevolent spirits).[15] Animist believers also fear wild spirits of the forests.[15] Other spirits associated with specific places such as the household, the river, or a grove of trees are neither inherently benevolent nor evil.[15] However, occasional offerings ensure their favor and assistance in human affairs.[15] In the past, it was common to perform similar rituals before the beginning of the farming season to ensure the favor of the spirit of the rice.[15] These ceremonies, beginning in the late 1960s, were discouraged by the government as successive areas began to be liberated.[15] This practice had apparently died out by the mid-1980s, at least in the extended area around Vientiane.[15]
Ceremonies oriented to the phi commonly involve an offering of a chicken and rice liquor.[15] Once the phi have taken the spiritual essence of the offering, people may consume the earthly remains.[15] The head of a household or the individual who wants to gain the favor of the spirit usually performs the ritual.[15] In many villages, a person, usually an older man believed to have special knowledge of the phi, may be asked to choose an auspicious day for weddings or other important events, or for household rites.[15] Each lowland village believes itself protected by the phi ban, which requires an annual offering to ensure the continued prosperity of the village.[15] The village spirit specialist presides over this major ritual, which in the past often involved the sacrifice of a water buffalo and is still an occasion for closing the village to any outsiders for a day.[15] To Hang phi ban (feed the village spirit) also serves an important social function by reaffirming the village boundaries and the shared interests of all villagers.[15]
Most Lao Theung and Lao Sung ethnic groups are animists, for whom a cult of the ancestors is also important, although each group has different practices and beliefs.[15] The Kammu call spirits hrooy, and they are similar to the phi of the Lao Loum; the house spirit is particularly important, and spirits of wild places are to be avoided or barred from the village.[15] Lamet have similar beliefs, and each village must have one spirit practitioner (xemia), who is responsible for making all the sacrifices to village spirits.[15] He also supervises the men's communal house and officiates at the construction of any new houses.[16] When a spirit practitioner dies, one of his sons is elected by the married men of the village to be his successor.[17] If he has none, one of his brother's sons is chosen.[17]Ancestor spirits (mbrong n'a) are very important to the Lamet because they look out for the well-being of the entire household.[17] They live in the house, and no activity is undertaken without informing them of it.[17] Ancestor spirits are fond of buffalos; thus buffalo skulls or horns from sacrifices are hung at the altar of the ancestors or under the gable of the house.[17] Numerous taboos regarding behavior in the house are observed to avoid offending ancestral spirits.[17]
Hmong also believe in a variety of spirits (neeb), some associated with the house, some with nature, and some with ancestors.[17] Every house has at least a small altar on one wall, which is the center of any ritual related to the household or its members.[17] Annual ceremonies at Hmong New Year renew the general protection of the household and ancestral spirits.[17] The spirit of the door is important to household well-being and is the object of another annual ceremony and sacrifice.[17] As with other Lao groups, illness is frequently attributed to the action of spirits, and spirit practitioners are called to carry out curing rites.[17] Two classes exist: ordinary practitioners and shamans.[17] Ordinary priests or the household head conduct the household ceremonies and ordinary divinations.[17] The shaman may be called on to engage in significant curing rituals.[17]
According to Hmong belief, spirits reside in the sky, and the shaman can climb a ladder to the heavens on his magical horse and contact the spirits there.[17] Sometimes illness is caused by one's soul climbing the steps to the sky, and the shaman must climb after it, locate it, and bring it back to the body in order to effect a cure.[17] During the ritual, the shaman sits in front of the altar astride a wooden bench, which becomes his or her horse.[17] A black cloth headpiece covers vision of the present world, and as the shaman chants and enters a trance, he or she begins to shake and may stand on the bench or move, mimicking the process of climbing to heaven.[17] The chant evokes the shaman's search and the negotiations with the heavenly spirits for a cure or for information about the family's fortune.[17]
Hmong shamans are believed to be chosen by the spirits, usually after a serious or prolonged illness.[17] The illness would be diagnosed by another shaman as an initiatory illness and confrontation with death, which was caused by the spirits.[17] Both men and women can be summoned in this way by the spirits to be shamans.[18] After recovery from the illness, the newly chosen shaman begins a period of study with a master shaman, which may last two or three years, during which time he or she learns the chants, techniques, and procedures of shamanic rites, as well as the names and natures of all the spirits that can bring fortune or suffering to people.[19] Because the tradition is passed orally, there is no uniform technique or ritual; rather, it varies within a general framework according to the practice of each master and apprentice.[19]
Catholic Church "Sacre Coeur" (built 1928), Vientiane.
Christianity is a minority religion in Laos.[3] There are three recognized churches in Laos: the Catholic Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Lao Evangelical Church.[3]
There are approximately 45,000 members of the Catholic Church, many of whom are ethnic Vietnamese, concentrated in major urban centers and surrounding areas along the Mekong River in the central and southern regions of the country.[3] Catholicism is an established presence in five of the most populous central and southern provinces, and Catholics are able to worship openly.[3] The church's activities are more circumscribed in the north.[3] Church property in Luang Prabang was seized after 1975, and there is no longer a parsonage in that city.[3] An informal Roman Catholic training center in Thakhek prepared a small number of priests to serve the Catholic community.[3]
Approximately 400 Protestant congregations conduct services throughout the country for a community that has grown rapidly in the past decade.[3] Church officials estimate Protestants to number as many as 100,000.[3] Many Protestants are members of ethnic Mon-Khmer groups, especially the Khmu in the north and the Brou in the central provinces.[3] Numbers of Protestants also have expanded rapidly in the Hmong and Yao communities.[3]
In urban areas, Protestantism has attracted many lowland Lao followers.[3] Most Protestants are concentrated in Vientiane Municipality, in the provinces of Vientiane, Sayaboury, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khouang, Bolikhamsai, Savannakhet, Champassak, and Attapeu, as well as in the former Saisomboun Special Zone, but smaller congregations are located throughout the country.[3] The LFNC officially recognizes only two Protestant groups - the Lao Evangelical Church and the Seventh-day Adventist Church - and requires all non-Catholic Christian groups to operate under one of these organizations.[3]
Seventh-day Adventists number slightly more than 1,000 country-wide, with congregations in Vientiane Municipality as well as Bokeo, Bolikhamsai, Champassak, Luang Prabang, and Xieng Khouang provinces.[3] Christian denominations that have some following in the country, but which are not recognized by the Government, include the Methodists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Church of Christ, Assemblies of God, Lutherans, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Baptists.[3] Official membership numbers are not available.[3]
Other religions
There are approximately 400 adherents of Islam in the country, the vast majority of whom are foreign permanent residents of South Asian and Cambodian (Cham) origin.[3] There are two active mosques in Vientiane.[3]
The Baha'i Faith has approximately 8,000 adherents and 4 centers: 2 in Vientiane Municipality, 1 in Vientiane Province, and 1 in Savannakhet Province.[3] A small number of Baha'i also live in Khammouane Province and in Pakse City.[3]
Small groups of followers of Confucianism and Taoism practice their beliefs in the larger cities.[3]
Laos used to be part of the Khmer Empire and has some remaining Hindu temples.
According to the 2015 national census, 64.7 percent of the population is Buddhist, 1.7 percent is Christian, 31.4 percent report having “no religion” (a category which includes those with animist beliefs, who do not fit into other categories), and the remaining 2.1 percent belong to other religions or did not state an answer.[20]
The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia. They primarily speak the Lao language, which belongs to the Kra–Dai language family. Lao people constitute the majority ethnic group of Laos, comprising 53.2% of the country's total population. They are also found in significant numbers in northeastern Thailand, particularly in the Isan region, as well as in smaller communities in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Lan Xang or Lancang was a Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's national historic and cultural identity.
Luang Phabang, or Louangphabang, commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ as Luang Prabang, literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image", is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and "remarkably" well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Wat Tham Krabok is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Phra Phutthabat District of Saraburi Province, Thailand.
Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population of roughly 6.4 million spread over 236,800 km2, yielding one of the lowest population densities in Asia. Yet the country of Laos has an official count of over forty-seven ethnicities divided into 149 sub-groups and 80 different languages. The Lao Loum have throughout the country's history comprised the ethnic and linguistic majority. In Southeast Asia, traditional Lao culture is considered one of the Indic cultures.
'Phra Lak Phra Ram' is the national epic of the Lao people, an adaptation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana.
Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school, which is followed by roughly 93.4 percent of the population. Thailand has the second largest Buddhist population in the world, after China, with approximately 64 million Buddhists. Buddhism in Thailand has also become integrated with folk religion (Bon), Hinduism from millennia of Indian influence, and Chinese religions from the large Thai Chinese population. Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia and Laos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritages. Thai Buddhism also shares many similarities with Sri Lankan Buddhism. Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Laos are countries with Theravada Buddhist majorities.
Theravada Buddhism is the largest religion in Laos, which is practiced by 66% of the population. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of ethnic Lao culture. Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits, particularly in rural areas.
Buddhism in Cambodia or Khmer Buddhism has existed since at least the 5th century. In its earliest form it was a type of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Today, the predominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia is Theravada Buddhism. It is enshrined in the Cambodian constitution as the official religion of the country. Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion since the 13th century. As of 2019 it was estimated that 97. 1 percent of the population are Buddhists.
The Constitution of Laos provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government restricted this right in practice. Some government officials committed abuses of citizens' religious freedom.
The Tai folk religion, Satsana Phi or Ban Phi is the ancient native ethnic religion of Tai people still practiced by various Tai groups. Tai folk religion was dominant among Tai people in Asia until the arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism. It is primarily based on worshipping deities called Phi, Khwan and Ancestors.
Laotian society is a society characterized by semi-independent rural villages engaged in subsistence agricultural production. Ethnic, geographic, and ecological differences create variations in the pattern of village life from one part of the country to another, but the common threads of village self reliance, limited regional trade and communication, and identification with one's village and ethnic group persist regardless of the setting. Rural trade networks, however, have been a part of life since the 1950s. Except near the larger towns and in the rich agricultural plains of Vientiane and Savannakhét, villages are spaced at least several kilometers apart and the intervening land variously developed as rice paddy and swidden fields or maintained as buffer forest for gathering wild plants and animals, fuelwood, and occasional timber harvest.
That Luang is the national symbol and most important religious monument of Laos. Vientiane's most important Theravada Buddhist festival, "Boun That Luang", is held here for three days during the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (November).
Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan is one of many Buddhist monasteries in the city of Vientiane in Laos. This name is given to the temple due to the large, bronze Phra Ong Teu Buddha image that is in the temple: the largest Buddha in Vientiane. This temple was initially constructed by King Setthathirath I in the 16th century when Laos was being bombarded by the Burmese, but was later demolished during a foreign invasion. Thus, it may have gone through many reconstructions during the 19th or 20th century to attain the appearance it has today.
Vientiane Prefecture is a prefecture of Laos, in northwest Laos. The national capital, Vientiane, is in the prefecture. The prefecture was created in 1989, when it was split off from Vientiane province.
Kev Dab Kev Qhuas is the common ethnic religion of the Miao people, best translated as the "practice of spirituality". The religion is also called Hmongism by a Hmong American church established in 2012 to organize it among Hmong people in the United States.
The people of Laos have a rich literary tradition dating back at least six hundred years, with the oral and storytelling traditions of its peoples dating back much earlier. Lao literature refers to the written productions of Laotian peoples, its émigrés, and to Lao-language works. In Laos today there are over forty-seven recognized ethnic groups, with the Lao Loum comprising the majority group. Lao is officially recognized as the national language, but owing to the ethnic diversity of the country the literature of Laos can generally be grouped according to four ethnolinguistic families: Lao-Tai (Tai-Kadai); Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic); Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao), and Sino-Tibetan. As an inland crossroads of Southeast Asia the political history of Laos has been complicated by frequent warfare and colonial conquests by European and regional rivals.
Ban Thapene is a village of Luang Prabang District, Luang Prabang Province, Laos. The village was first established about 130 years ago by Kha Hok families, one of the Khmu ethnic sub-groups. Like many other upland inhabitants in Luang Prabang, the livelihood and culture of ethnic groups such as Lao Loum, Kha Hok, Yao and Hmong in Ban Thapene is dependent on natural resources.
The history of Theravāda Buddhism begins in ancient India, where it was one of the early Buddhist schools which arose after the first schism of the Buddhist monastic community. After establishing itself in the Sri Lankan Anuradhapura Kingdom, Theravāda spread throughout mainland Southeast Asia through the efforts of missionary monks and Southeast Asian kings.
1 2 Yoshihisa Shirayama, Samlane Phompida, Chushi Kuroiwa. Malaria Control Alongside "Sadsana-Phee" (Animist Belief System) in Lao PDR. In: Modern Medicine and Indigenous Health Beliefs, Vol 37 No. 4 July 2006. p. 622, quote: «[...] Approximately 60 to 65% of the population, most of whom are Lao Lum (people of the lowlands) follow Buddhism. About 30% of the population, on the other hand, hold an animist belief system called "Sadsana Phee" [...]».
1 2 Guido Sprenger. Modern Animism: The Emergence of "Spirit Religion" in Laos. Local Traditions and World Religions: The Appropriation of “Religion” in Southeast Asia and Beyond. 2014.
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