Lao ArchitectureHISTARC3 3T SY 2015-16

Kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao(Kingdom of a Million Elephants Under the White Parasol)

• After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke off into three separate kingdoms— Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak.

Lao People's Revolutionary Party

Hinduism in Southeast Asia

Greater India

Laos Architecture

Tamil Hindu

Hinudism in Laos• Laos used to be part of Khmer Empire. The Vat Phou is one of the last

influences of that period.

Vat Phou was a part of the Khmer Empire centred on Angkor to the southwest, at least as early as the reign of Yasovarman I in the early 10th century.

Yaso-varman I• “Leper King”

• Angkorian King (889-910)

• he built about 100 monasteries (ashrams)

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Minor changes were made during the following two centuries, before the temple, like most in the empire, was converted to Theravada Buddhist use.

This continued after the area came under control of the Lao, and a festival is held on the site each February. Little restoration work has been done, other than the restoration of boundary posts along the path. Vat Phou was designated a World Heritage Site in 2001.

Like most Khmer temples, Vat Phou is orientated towards the east, although the axis actually faces eight degrees south of due east, being determined primarily by the orientation of the mountain and the river. Including the barays (reservoirs), it stretches 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) east from the source of the spring, at the base of a cliff 100 metres (330 ft) up the hill. 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of the temple, on the west bank of the Mekong, lay the city, while a road south from the temple itself led to other temples and ultimately to the city of Angkor.

The most important buildings in Laos are the wat (a Buddhist temples, sometimes spelled “vat”) and the that (a Buddhist stupa built to hold religious objects).

3 Kinds of Lao Architecture

I. Vientiane Style• Vientiane-style temple

architecture features a large veranda with heavy columns, an ornamented, overhanging roof, carved wood porticos and a carved wood shade along the top of the veranda, often with half-bird, half human kinnari against a background of stylized foliage.

II. Luang Prabang Style• Luang Prabang-style temple

architecture is similar to the northern Siamese Lanna style. It features a roof that is very pointed and steep at the top and gradually flares and is almost horizontal at the bottom and often almost touches the ground. The Lao sometimes say these roofs resemble to the wings of a hen protecting her chicks. Many wats have gold-leaf-covered doors and outer walls

Wat Xieng Thong Temple is the most iconic Luang Prabang style religious architecture.

III. Xieng Khuang Style• The Xieng Khuang style of northern

Laos, of which relatively few examples remain, features a multiple-level platform and a roof that sweeps low and wide and usually isn’t tiered. The Thai Lu style features whitewashed stucco walls, small windows, two or three-ired roofs, curved pediments and naga lintels over the doors and steps. Thai Lu stupas are typically gilded and octagonal in shape of are covered with Thai Lu fabrics.

III.a. Thai Luu Style

Gilded chedi and Thai Lu-style structure at Wat Phra That Chae Haeng

Religios Architecture in Laos• The styles of these Laotian Sanctuaries are determined by their positions in the community and the

layout of the roofs : the vihans (sanctuaries) with circular naves, nearly all situated in the area of Luang Prabang, are in the style of this province. For the others, it is possible to differentiate the three principle styles:

• 1) The style of Luang Prabang, is characterized by its huge pointed roofs made from flat tiles which are put down in successive layers, normally two or three, stopping only a few metres from the ground. [Source: LuangPrabang-Laos.com ^^]

• 2) The style of Xieng Khouang, presents an accentuated form of the characteristics described above : the roofs come nearly all the way down to the ground, and their cross sections are almost perfect pentagons. We can see in this style a provincial version of the Luang Prabang style, structures built in this way are nearly all situated in the province of Xieng Khouang, to the South-East of Luang Prabang. You can also see the original style of the Lao vihans, the style of Luang Prabang only representing the result of a long evolution; it would appear that the old vihans of Luang Prabang belong to the Xieng Khouang style. ^^

• 3) The style of Vientiane is a more tapering style, the part that the roof plays in the structure is less important here and the openings are higher.

Great Stupa of VientianePha That Luang

a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of Vientiane, Laos.

Since its initial establishment, suggested to be in the 3rd century, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions as recently as the 1930s due to foreign invasions of the area. It is generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos and a national symbol.