OF SOUKHUAN AND LAOS Elena Gregoria Chai Chin Fern Faculty ...

13th century, the Lao Loum adopted it as their national religion under the strong
patronage of King Fa Ngum. The Lao Loum is the dominant group which is made up
of a few ethnic groups residing in the Mekong valley. The Lao also inherited some
Hinduism through the influence of Cambodians, who were very devout Hindus
themselves.
King Fa Ngum was believed to be the founder of the Lao Kingdom in 1353. He was
brought up in a Cambodian court and was married to a Cambodian princess. Thus, the
strong influence of Cambodian or Khmer civilization in old Lao or Lang Xang
Kingdom is evident. When the Lao Loum adopted Buddhism in the 13 th century, preexisting
cults and beliefs were modified and incorporated into Buddhism. Phya
Anuman Rajadhon (1962) was one of the leading scholars to have spotted such
syncretism.
Another leading scholar on religion in Laos, Marcel Zago (1972) mentioned,
“animism and Buddhism form a structural religious unity and appear as two
components or subsystems of the unique religion of Laos” (1972:380). However, he
also mentioned that the functions of animism and Buddhism are different. He noted
that, “With regard to animism, the Lao searches for well-being and terrestrial
protection, while the shift to Buddhism is in response to essential problems of life, a
way of extra-temporal salvation” (1972:380).
Martin Stuart-Fox (1982) explained further, “It can be said that in Laos, obeisance to
the spirit world, to a degree unsurpassed in other Southeast Asian Theravadin
Buddhist societies, does not conflict with the adept’s private spiritual quest for the
accumulation of merit” (1982:64).
In the soukhuan ceremony, there can be Buddhism, Hinduism and animistic elements
incorporated into one ceremony and it can be difficult to single out the different
religious elements. In a seminar on Buddhism and Civilization held on 11 December
2001 (Vientiane Times, 11-14 Dec 2001), the director of Ong Teu’s Buddhist
University in Vieng Chan, Abbot Boukham Saribouth said, “Buddhism originally
entered Laos twice but could not win over the Brahmin and animism, which were the
original beliefs of local people. The first arrival of Buddhism in Laos was more than
2000 years ago during the time of the landlords. This was a time of strength and unity
in original beliefs. Buddhism was easily swallowed by the two older beliefs of
Brahminism and animism. In the 14th century, King Fa Ngum united an area covering
much of modern Laos and adopted Buddhism as the official religion. This was the
emergence of a great movement among Lao people to replace Brahmanism and
animism which were still buried deeply in the hearts of many communities. However,
only the kings and landlords practised Buddhism for their own interest. The people
were discouraged from practicing it. Thus the spread of Buddhism was interrupted and
the belief in the other two older beliefs returned. Today, Lao people integrated
Buddhism in their older beliefs and through centuries, such integrated beliefs has
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