The Jewel of Laos

Relief carvings on the walls of the funeral chapel at Wat Xieng Thong.

Wat Xieng Thong

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A Wat?
The closest English can come to translating "wat" is with the word "monastery" or "temple," but neither fully explains its significance. As the focus of a town (or in a city, a neighborhood), a wat is the religious center, meeting place, school, and house of healing. Without a wat, a village is not a community.

Monks, originally wandering ascetics, would often visit shrines, which in the 14th century came to be called wats. By the end of the 18th century, the wat had developed into a monastery, and since then has grown in significance to become the focus of Lao villages and towns.

Each wat is unique, but they all conform to a basic traditional design. Separated from the secular world by an outer wall, wats encompass an entire compound, complete with monk's quarters, a bell tower, relic chambers, and an ordination hall, or "sim." Larger wats can include schools, a library of sacred texts, and administrative buildings.

The most important building, the sim, is built on holy ground, with its walls separating what's inside from the profane. The sim is usually a large, rectangular building with high walls and an odd number of sloping roofs shingled with clay tiles. At the end of each roof are bunches of flowers, and flame-like protrusions on the corners.

The doors to the sim are usually elaborately carved in relief with images of the Buddha. Inside, every detail serves as a meditation aid. Interior walls are painted with murals depicting stories of the Buddha or Hindu mythology, and eight stone tablets arranged in the form of a bodhi tree usually mark the consecrated ground. It is a quiet place where shoes are left at the door.

The wat owns no land and has no source of income beyond gifts from the laity. Even for food, the monks must walk the streets at sunrise with a rice bowl, "begging" for alms. If it loses its patronage, the wat will be deserted and fall into ruin.

With about 60 percent of Laotians practicing Therevada Buddhism, many wats are well supported by their communities. Every Lao male is expected to don the saffron robe of the monk for some portion of his life. Many women choose to become nuns as well, to reside in the temples, study dharma and meditate alongside the monks. For many poor families, sending their children to the wat as a novice is the only way they can afford an education.

Wat Xieng Thong, on Xienthong Road
So striking, this wat motivated UNESCO's recognition of Luang Prabang as a World Heritage Site. This most important and significant royal wat consists of a tranquil compound filled with intricate carvings and mosaics, detailed paintings, and low, wide, tiled roofs.

Built by King Saisetthathirat in 1560, it was spared destruction by the Chinese raids of 1887. (The Black Flag leader, Deo Van Tri, had studied here as a young man and used the grounds as headquarters for his invasion.) The sim's rear wall has an impressive tree of life mosaic.

The interior walls and ceiling are decorated with beautiful frescoes and dharma wheels. Wat Xieng Thong houses a standing Buddha, which is paraded through the town every year, as well as a rare reclining Buddha, a bronze that dates to the construction of the building. Also in the compound is the royal funeral carriage of King Sisavang Vong, a 12-meter-high wooden hearse with a carved seven-headed serpent.

Wat Mai, beside the Royal Palace on Sisavang Vong Street
Originally called Wat Souvanna Phommaram, this was the original home of the Buddhist leader, Phra Sangkharath, and is a standard of the Luang Prabang style of religious architecture. After 70 years of construction, the building was finally inaugurated in 1788. The five-tiered roof protects walls of golden bas-relief, which tell the story of the Buddha's incarnation and depict scenes of village life.

Inside, the central beam is carved with the Hindu epic of Ravanna and Hanuaman. This wat once housed the golden Pra Bang, or "large buddha image," after which the town was named. Every year, the statue is returned here for its ritual cleansing.

Wat That Luang, off Thanon Phu Wao Road
Local rumor has it that Wat That Luang was established by missionaries from India in the 3rd century B.C. Today it houses the most monks of all the wats in Luang Prabang. The current sim was built in 1818 by King Manthaturat, and the gold stupa in the end of the compound contains the remains of King Sisavang Vong, the last king of Luang Prabang.

Townspeople to this day remember him fondly by leaving flowers and other offerings. Also in the courtyard, a stone stupa supposedly contains some remains of the Buddha. On this site in May, the pious hold the Vien Thiene candlelight festival. The wat is typical of the Luang Prabang style in many respects, including its gold leaf bars on the windows of the sim.

Phu Si, the hill at the center of town
Aside from offering excellent views of Luang Prabang, the Mekong River, and the surrounding jungle, the 100-meter-high hill has some significant sites. On the northeastern side of the hill are the ruins of Wat Pra Putthabaat, built at the end of the 14th century, supposedly on the site of the Buddha's footprint.

On the northern side is Wat Paa Huak, also abandoned. The carved doors of the decaying sim are locked, but a small bribe of a few hundred Kip to the groundskeeper should gain you access. The faded interior murals, depicting rural scenes and mythological stories, give an insightful contrast to the restoration work of UNESCO in other wats around town.

At the top of the hill is the 24-meter-high That Chomsi, constructed in 1804 and restored in 1914. This gold stupa is all that remains of the temples that once covered the hill during the 18th century. On the Lao New Year, townspeople walk from the little sanctuary down the hill carrying candles and effigies of Naga, the town's protector. Also on the hill is an abandoned Russian anti-aircraft cannon, a stark reminder of the years of conflict.