LAOS
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LAOS
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| LAOS
In northeastern Thailand there is a version of the Ramayana entitled Phra Lak Phra Lam which is the same story and title found in Laos. The people of these regions speak the same language, have similar customs, and enjoy the same literature. There are three versions of the Phra Lak Phra Lam and local legend has it that two of them were told by Buddha himself. In Laos, it is believed that the story of Rama was recited by Buddha to his monks. It became a Jataka tale and is considered to be a story of one of the previous lives of Buddha. To the people Rama represents the ideals of righteousness and his life is depicted in dance, music, art, narrative, oral, and folkloric tradition throughout Laos. Two popular versions of the Ramayana are Phra Lak Phra Lam and Gvay Dvorahbi and are told for instructive and entertaining purposes. There are two literary adaptations of Phra Lak Phra Lam. One is from Luang Phrabang and the other is from Vientiane, and both are written in Lao. Both are very similar to the Thai Ramakien. The Gvay Dvorahbi version was written in Yuan and the original palm-leaf manuscript is preserved in the royal palace of Luang Prabang. Vat Oup Moung, a Buddhist monastery in Vientiane has mural paintings of thirty-three episodes from the Lao version of Rama. They were painted by Thit Panh in 1938 with very colorful modern house paint. |