Luang Prabang is surrounded by the Mekong and Nam Khan and naturally these rivers are extremely important to the local people. One of the fascinating aspects of this is the role naga and ngeuak spirits have played in protecting the ancient kingdom and their presence in Luang Prabang's culture.
A float in the Boun Heu Fai parade depicting the naga king Tao Sisatanak that lives within Mount Phousi in the centre of Luang Prabang
Naga and Ngeuak are water spirits, often depicted with five or seven heads, that live in the rivers and ponds well as underground. Naga are generally benevolent and act as faithful guardians so long as they are shown due respect. Ngeuak on the other hand may be malevolent and are often associated with drownings, so must be propitiated with offerings.
According to tradition Luang Prabang was founded by two hermits who travelled down the Mekong river from Tibet. On seeing a beautiful Thong or Flame tree that flowered all year at the tip of the peninsular at the mouth of the Nam Khan River, they decided to found a city there. After establishing the site of the new kingdom the hermits summoned eleven naga and four ngeuak onto the rock Kon Kai Fah ("Rock Bridging the Sky") at the Nam Khan river mouth and requested that these spirits guard and protect the kingdom in the future. Shrines and offerings to these water spirits can be found at various locations throughout Luang Prabang and they feature in many of the town's festivals.
The rock Kon Kai Fah at the mouth of the Nam Khan was where the two founding hermits met with the 11 naga and 4 ngeuak who agreed to protect Luang Prabang
The rock Kon Kai Fah is still the site of the powerful ngeuak Ai Thong Kwang, to whom animal sacrifices used to be made. During the annual boat races the boat crews make offerings here prior to starting the races. A few hundred metres up the Nam Khan river near the mouth of the rivulet Houai Kang below Vat Phon Sa-at was Tha Xang, Elephant Landing, a rock that marked the site of another ngeuak Nang Phom Feua (Sadly this site has been destroyed in 2023 with the construction of the right bank Nam Khan embankments)
Below Mount Phousi in the middle of the town lives the giant naga Tao Sistanak. The golden That Chomsi on the peak of the hill is believed to stand on the back of the Tao Sistanak, his eye was once considered to be located in a pond where Wat Nong now stands and his tail reaches to Vat That Luang. Various shrines exist on and around Mount Phousi to this important spirit.
The naga of Mt Phousi : (Left) A crevice behind Vat Choumsi at the top of Mt Phousi leads to the underground world of the naga.
(Right) At the bottom of Phousi a roadside shrine to the naga spirits by the Nam Khan River.
On the Nam Khan river near the old bridge another important naga Tao Kham La resides. The ancestor spirits Phou Ngeu and Nya Ngeu visit this location during Phi Mai and pay their respects to Tao Kham La before taking water from the river for the aspersion of the Prabang and also before the boat race festival the boat crews make offerings to Tao Kham La.
Also connected with the boat racing festival are two important ngeuak, Nang Done, the White Queen, and Nang Dam the Black Queen. These two spirits are believed to have once been the main and minor wife of the King. The King was famed for his sacred powers but every month at the time of the full moon he would shut himself away for seven days with strict instructions that nobody was to enter his chamber. One day the two wives crept into the King's quarters during the full moon period to spy upon him and found to their shock that he had taken on the form of a naga. When they screamed out the naga king slipped quickly into the palace pond and hence out to the Mekong where he became the guardian spirit Ai Thong Kwang at the mouth of the Nam Khan. The two wives sat on the riverbank looking for him but the king of the naga Phaya Nak swept them into the river with his tail where they became ngeuak. Nang Done fell into a whirlpool at Khok Heua just south of Ban Xieng Mene and now guards this point, whilst Nang Dam similarly guards Khok Thon just north of Ban Xieng Mene. During the boat races each year boat crews from this village race two boats for these two Ngeuak spirits, the white queen's boat always winning this ritual race.
Further down river on the left bank the naga Chai Chamnong resides at the rock at the mouth of Houai Hop below Vat Tai Phuttabat, guarding the southern approach to Luang Prabang.
The southern approach to Luang Prabang is guarded by the naga Chai Chamnong who lives below Vat Phabat Tai
Many of Luang Prabang's festivals involve paying respects to the naga, most notably the annual boat races whose underlying purpose is to propitiate the naga spirits of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers and help maintain the safety of the town. Every year during the Phi Mai festivities large naga lanterns are carried down from Phousi into the old Royal Palace where they are paraded around the pond within the grounds, a place noted for its sacred naga spirits. This represents the guardian naga king of Phousi coming down each New years Day to meet his wife the nagi and assure the prosperity of the kingdom. Later in the year at the Boun Heua Fai festival many of the large illuminated paper floats depict the naga of Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang's famous boat races are held in order to honour the naga who protect the city