[ 寮 國 ]
- Laos -

Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Its first empire can be traced back to Lan Xang which was established in 1353. Lan Xang lasted for almost four centuries, and was a period of great prosperity. Lan Xang was invaded by Siam and Vietnam in the 18th century, and eventually became a French colony in 1893. It was until 1953 that its independence was announced. Laos is a multiethnic nation with Lao people taking up more than half of the population, and most people believe in Buddhism.

Puppetry first appeared in Laos’s historical records in 1778 from Siam (Thailand). The court performances that were brought from Siam to Laos include large shadow puppetry, nang yai, and khon. It was until the French colonization of Laos in the nineteenth century that these Thai-influenced cultures gradually disappeared. The Second World War and Southeast Asian Wars further caused huge harm to the cultural heritages.

Laos became a socialist country in 1975, and has been restoring traditional cultures since then. For instance, ipok, developed from Thailand’s rod puppet hun krabok, often appears in tourism and cultural events. Besides ipok, there is also small-scaled shadow puppetry, nang daloong, which combines the features of Thailand’s nang talung and Cambodia’s sbaek touch. The most commonly performed piece is Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian epic Ramayana. Though Laos’s shadow puppetry had its origin in Indonesian wayang tradition, it has become a unique Lao-style performance under the influence of diverse cultures.