Homsombat, Thongbang and Gisa Jähnichen (2012).Music and Dance of Bun That Luang and the...

Music and Dance of Bun That Luang and the Standardisation of Cultural Memories in Present Laos

Thongbang Homsombat & Gisa Jähnichen

Bun That Luang is one of the most important cultural events of the small

inland country Laos. It is a traditional Buddhist festival as well as a

demonstration of national culture. This paper aims to give an overview of

its current organisation and of how music and dance performances are

connected to the core activities of the traditional festival such as the

circumambulation of the Golden Stupa (That Luang), processions of

Buddhist and state hierarchy, offerings, and ritual field hockey.

Due to the long term sharing of performance duties and having to consider

the aesthetic values of certain state representatives, the variety of

performances is becoming smaller each year. Modern media, on the other

hand, distributes performances from Bun That Luang all over Laos which

seem to equalise music and dance styles.

These recent moves towards standardisation replace the notion of diversity

in the cultural memory of Bun That Luang. The paper includes

comprehensive audiovisual examples (03-01).

Introduction

Vientiane's most important Theravada Buddhist festival, "Ngan Bun That

Luang", is held for three days during the full moon of the twelfth lunar

month. The Golden Stupa, the That Luang, is situated at the highest point of

the Laotian capital next to the National Assembly. It has been destroyed,

ransacked and renovated numerous times. The site is sacred as the Lao

believe that the stupa enshrines a relic of Buddha. That Luang, is the most

remarkable site where the That Luang festival is held in November every

year (Grabowsky, 2007: 128). The stupa was built after the model of the

Cetiya Luang in Chiang Mai by employees of the king Setthathirat in the

year 1566 and is said to be the “central symbol through which the nation

remembers itself” (Evans, 1998: 41). The Golden Stupa “became the new

symbol following the death of Kaysone, replacing the hammer and sickle as

3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha

32 Thongbang Homsombat & Gisa Jähnichen

the new national insignia. (It is also the signature emblem appearing in the

corner of the screen for Lao national television).” (Holt, 2009: 178).

Therefore, everything connected to the That Luang Festival bears rather a

national meaning than a strictly religious one. In terms of current cultural

life, to which joint religious activities of the ruling majority belong, the That

Luang Festival represents the model of interethnic relationships within the

country. Pholsena summarises as following: “The That Luang festival has

become the locus of the State's representational project of the nation, a

crossroads between socialist ideals, Buddhist rituals, exhibition of the multi-

ethnic national culture, and the politics of opening to the world. The

conflation of Buddhism and Socialism is openly celebrated and benefits

from extensive media coverage” (Pholsena, 2005: 96). However, such

relationships create a number of difficulties as well. Though socialist ideals

might not be very far from Buddhist rituals in public performance, multi-

ethnic celebrations aiming to represent national sentiments that use modern

audio technology radically alter the soundscape to become modernised

sound environments that strongly impact valued traditions.

Figure 1: One of the ‘small stages’ at the That Luang Festival 1999.1

1 All photos are taken by the authors.

Music and Dance of Bun That Luang 33

Focusing on cultural representation of minorities and the impact of the That

Luang Festival on it, policies that smoothed the way to a new national

memory play an important role. In 1992, the ‘Resolution of the Party Central

Organisation Concerning Ethnic Minority Affairs’ in the New Era was

recast. As Pholsena (2005) summarises, the important principles included:

Strengthening national sentiment.

Strive to gain equality between ethnic minorities.

Increase solidarity among ethnic minorities within the greater Lao

nation.

Resolve problems of inflexible and vengeful thinking, as well as

economic and cultural inequality.

Gradually improve living conditions of ethnic minorities.

Expand the cultural heritage and ethnic identity of each group,

while increasing their capacity to participate in the affairs of the

nation.

Questions of how cultural heritage and ethnic identity expands and how to

measure or, at least, evaluate the capacity of groups to participate in the

affairs of the nation, are crucial to the understanding of cultural

standardisation. All points made pose further questions of the nature of

national sentiment, of equality and which improvements to aim at.

Moreover, this example of cultural policy towards minorities living in

present-day Laos shows clearly that economic and ideological matters are

interwoven in inseparable ways, thus leading to the current appearance of

the That Luang Festival.

The Course of the Festival and the Role of Music and Dance

In Figure 2, the sites of the important ceremonial acts in the That Luang

Festival are marked in chronological order. After all, festival requisites as

well as musical instruments return to Wat Ong Tu, which is further in the

West near to the Mekong (out of sight on the map in Figure 2). This closing

act is infrequently accompanied by informal songs and drumming on the

load platform of a trolley along the way.


Figure 2: These are the space and the main sites of the That Luang Festival in the chronological order of their use: A = Parade square; B = Wat Simeuang; C = Wat Nongbon; D = That Luang; E = place in front of That Luang.

The structure and musical repertoire of the festival is listed in the following

table (Figure 3):

Day Time Place Ceremonial Activity Music played

13th day of the 12th month (Buddhist lunar calendar)

7:00-12:00

Parade square in front of the That Luang area

“Parade of cultures” from all provinces

(not every year, but recently more often)

selected samples from diverse ethnic groups of the Lao provinces

12:00 Wat Simeuang

Decoration of Wat Simeuang

informal music and dance (live music of popular folk bands, cassettes/ CDs)

16:00 drumming the temple drum and beating the small gong

18:00-22:00

3 circumambulations of Wat Simeuang with prayer items dedicated to That Luang such as small banana trees, offering

traditional phinphat music and followed by prayers led by the monks of Wat Simeuang


stupas made of banana leaves and decorated with small bank notes, flowers and candles


14th day of the 12th month (Buddhist lunar calendar)

6:30-8:00

Wat Simeuang

Takbat (offering gifts to the monks of Wat Simeuang), followed by prayers led by the monks of Wat Simeuang

after that procession music played by the same phinphat ensemble

13:00-14:00

Procession from Wat Simeuang to Wat Nongbon

procession (partly with cars)

musically supported by drums, khen, and cymbals

14:00-15:00

Wat Nongbon

preparation for the main act (changing dresses), waiting for visitors and those people who intend to join the circumambulation of the That Luang

15:00-15:30

from Wat Nongbon to That Luang

short procession led by the Buddhist hierarchy behind the three Buddhist flag bearer, followed by the state officials, their wives and daughters, then the full phinphat, dancers and imitated minorities, finally normal people

full phinphat, dancers and imitated minorities’ music

15:30-16:00

That Luang

3 times circumambulation of That Luang in the order described above

full phinphat, dancers and imitated minorities’ music

16:00-19:00

followed by prayers of the Monks of That Luang

19:00-open end

cultural shows, amusements, dance performances, open eateries

Lao traditional, modernised and transformed repertoires


15th day of the 12th month (Buddhist

1:00 That

Luang

cleaning of the place

3:00 Preparation for a large scale Takbat at That Luang (tables and tents)

36 Thongbang Homsombat & Gisa Jähnichen lunar calendar)

6:00-9:00

Takbat (offering gifts to all present monks from all over the country), followed by prayers led by the leading Buddhist monks of the country

after praying music is played by a phinphat ensemble (or cassettes/ CDs)

10:00-11:00

cleaning of the place, preparation of the hockey field

13:00-13:30

Place in front of the That Luang

one further circumambulation of That Luang with the three flag bearers in front, followed by hockey veterans and the two teams in different colours (one farmers’ and one state officers’ team) which are separated by the phinphat ensemble and followed by dancers and imitated minorities

phinphat ensemble followed by dancers and imitated minorities’ music

14:30 the crowd goes to the hockey place, where the start ritual is held by the veterans, the phinphat ensemble continues to play

phinphat ensemble

15:00-

16:00

Place in front of the That Luang

at least percussion instruments are used over the entire time of the hockey play

additional drums, cymbals

16:00 awarding ceremony, the musicians take their instruments into Wat That Luang Tai

till 18:00

That Luang is open for everybody who wants to execute his circumambulation

19:00-22:00

evening prayers by the leading monks

21:00-23:30

entertainment outside the ceremonial area with additional music and dance performances

additional music and dance performances such as modernised theatre

Figure 3: Timetable of the That Luang Festival in relation to the musical

repertoire.


Music and dance appearing during the That Luang Festival can be

categorised into at least seven parts. The first performances to be heard

during the That Luang Festival consist of informal dance and music played

either by popular folk bands, or sometimes with cassettes or CDs of older

analogue recordings made during previous festivals. Secondly, the most

prominent sound which the majority of people associate with the That

Luang Festival are the drumming of the temple drum and the beating of

the temple gong at specific times followed by the phinphat music (Figures

4a and 4b).

Figures 4a and 4b: The traditional phinphat of the Lao in Vientiane as used

for processions.


Recently, the traditional phinphat has been ‘enriched’ through percussion

instruments such as pole rattles, stamping and concussion tubes played by

Lao musicians who wear abstract dresses of ‘minorities’ (Figures 5a and 5b).

The many sections of processions that are not accompanied by the phinphat

are further musically supported by drums, the mouth organ khen, and

cymbals. Outside the core area festival, informal music and dance

performances are presented—such as modernised theatre (Figure 6a) or

traditional court dances of which do not belong to the festival repertoire,

while modernised and transformed repertoires—such as military brass

band music (Figure 6b) or re-arranged folk songs are played.2 The newest

part of the repertoire are the model-like selected samples from diverse

ethnic groups of the Lao provinces to be displayed during the festival

parade preceding the religious acts.

Figures 5a and 5b: Ethnically ‘enriched’ phinphat during circumambulation of the That Luang.

2 For example, during beauty competitions and breaks between the core events of the

festival.


Figure 6a: Lam long, a modernised popular opera is performed during the second evening of the That Luang Festival; Figure 6b: An abandoned set of military band instruments on the parade field.


Discussion

Three major problems should be discussed:

1) Standardisation of Lao ritual repertoire: Stupa circumambulation and

hockey use the same music, shaped according to a “multi-ethnic

nationalisation”.

The music played belongs to the repertoire of the National School for Dance

and Music and comprises the following pieces: Pheng vai, Pheng kao nok,

Pheng kao nai. During hockey, Pheng xoet is also played.

These pieces are played without variation,3 using short structures with

simple repetition accompanied by percussive effects that represent an

abstract minority image. In this case, music functions as an ornament of the

festival and its ideology. Musicians are “schoolboys” and not—as it has

been in the past—“respected experts” who are responsible for the sound

organisation of the various rituals conducted during the That Luang festival.

As a result, ritual music will lose its cultural significance through its

transformation into a non-specific, multicultural act belonging to an abstract

“nation” of many different people, whom neither the performers nor

visitors know very well. Similar processes can be observed in regard to the

dancers. We can observe Lao students wearing costumes of ethnic

minorities, sometimes in strange combinations, including too heavily-

applied make up and odd shoes that suggest an unfocused impression.

Often these students look bored by the event as they are compelled to

attend for an academic course, rather than attending due to an

understanding of the traditional That Luang Festival. Precisely executed

rituals are only visible among the Buddhist laymen and monks who serve

their institution and the festival, which is above all a religious festival. Their

authority is still the source of power in a state in which government and

religion are traditionally closely related despite all ideological discussion.

2) Presented minorities become models for music and dance

developments (compared with original recordings) through the

procession for the state hierarchy on the place of the national assembly.

3 The version played is fixed through notation in the teaching repertoire of the National

School for Music and Dance.


Another topic is the self-presentation of minority groups in the parade

alongside the tribune of the National Assembly. Here, we can observe

delegates from all over the country which were chosen by their local

administration due to their status as performers and their loyalty to the

country. They travel from far away to take part in the event. Then, they

have to wait a few hours in a long procession row from where they start

performing their “specialities”. These specialities are chosen by their local

administration and reviewed by the festival organisers. 4 Though

“Expanding, to the greatest extent possible, the cultural heritage and ethnic

identity of each group as well as their capacity to participate in the affairs of

the nation” (Pholsena, 2005: 97) is one of the main goals, many of the

cultural workers do not know much about performance or traditional

culture of minorities presented in the procession. Therefore, a colourful

construction is created based most likely on the popular image they have of

those minorities. Typically, they try to exhibit tools and art objects of these

groups, which usually are not used in dances or music performances. These

tools should help to identify the different groups of which there are only

few items known to the Lao majority such as special baskets, pottery or

even spinning wheels. Structures of those performance choreographies can

pre-programme difficulties and clashes of cultural perspectives as the

simplification of cultures such as reducing their identification on single

objects often mislead cultural perceptions. Many so called “specialities”

have their roots in music practices and dances that require a co-educated

audience that takes part in the performance. Many of these standardised

performances derive from music and dance events that are made for a small

group of listeners in a limited space, such as those connected to certain

rituals, which are usually not performed as staged entertainment for

strangers.

Nevertheless, the displayed performances have a noticeable impact on the

cultural development in remote areas, where each presentation is taken as a

model in order to secure an official invitation into the capital of the

country.5 Furthermore, these models inspire imitations of processions in the

cultural centres of the provinces thus choreographies and musical

4 The local administration is trained by the festival organisers according to actual

requirements resulting from political decisions. 5 After introducing modern media, many young people in remote areas dream of

travelling to the capital, which means to them the “window to the world”.


arrangements are rehearsed to become similar to the given model. In doing

so, most of the cultural workers in the provinces also prevent a detailed

examination of ideological contents that is processed in advance of national

events. Once a model is approved through public performance in front of

the state hierarchy, the performance can run without any problem.

3) Additional activities become “nationalised” and create standard

aesthetics of performance styles (technical equipment, outer

appearance).

The third complex of questions arises in the context of an increasing number

of additional music, dance and theatre performances that were traditionally

not to be observed at the Bun That Luang. Among them are:

Bands playing popular music in the style of Thai pop groups but

transformed into a slightly local shape using amplified traditional

instruments;

Traditional dance, which was traditionally performed mainly for secular

entertainment of the hierarchy;

Modernised music theatre on open air stages with an enormous effort to

amplify the singers;

Playing of Music cassettes and CDs at all stalls and kiosks without any

consideration on noise pollution or mutual interference following the

confident thought; “what I like, everybody likes”.

These additional performances have a strong influence on small local

festivals throughout the country. They suggest similar ways of organisation

and legitimate their development although many serious musicians do not

agree with this kind of “nationalisation”.

Laos does not have a great number of intellectuals and artists who studied

culture, music, dance of the various people living there, not even

anthropology or ethnology. Thus, the rapid dissemination of publicly

sanctioned music and dance appears without internal reflection, except

among some educated musicians and music teachers. Therefore we urge

our Asian colleagues to support research and publication in the Lao

language to create a thoughtful and responsible approach to the diversity of

cultures found in present-day Laos.


Conclusion

The standardisation of traditional music and dance repertoire among the

people living in present-day Laos is closely connected to technical,

ideological and economical developments within the country. Through the

That Luang Festival, the coincidence of political and religious

demonstrations of power leads to an amplification of a countrywide

cultural standardisation.

We have great hope that the creativity of different groups in society will

always find a way to shape self-expression, even while ethnic diversity may

vanish. New group identities will emerge soon based on radical social and

economic changes, especially in previously isolated areas. “Ethnic

diversity” will be virtually reduced to a few remarkable performance items

that will construct its national memory. As a result, we fear that

performance cultures of ethnic groups will transform into the “popular

domain” of arbitrariness. The performance culture of the Lao majority is

affected as well. The possessive mentality shown in various acts of cultural

appropriation will change cultural self-perception and weaken the

traditional open-mindedness towards the diversity of group interests and

communication patterns. Exactly that could be needed in the near future of

an all encompassing cultural globalism, which will not evade Laos.

References

Evans, Grant (1998). The Politics of Ritual and Remembrance: Laos since 1975.

Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Grabowsky, Volker (2007). Buddhism, power and order in pre-twentieth

century Laos. Buddhism, Power and Political Order, edited by Ian

Charles Harris. New York: Routledge, 121-142.

Holt, John Clifford (2009). Spirits of the Place—Buddhism and Lao Religious

Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Homsombat, Thongbang (2001). Restoration of a Lao traditional manuscript

of songs from Vientiane. Research Report: The Archive of Traditional

Music in Laos, edited by Gisa Jähnichen. Vientiane: Ministry of

Information and Culture, National Library of Laos, 221-302.


Jähnichen, Gisa (Ed.) (2001). Research Report: The Archive of Traditional Music

in Laos. Vientiane: Ministry of Information and Culture, National

Library of Laos.

Pholsena, Vatthana (2005). A liberal model of minority rights for an illiberal

multiethnic state? The case of Lao PDR. Multiculturalism in Asia,

edited by Will Kymlicka & Baogang He. Oxford: Oxford Univers.

Multiculturalism in Asia ity Press, 80-109.

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