The Ramayana
Phra Lak Phra Lam is a Lao adaptation of the Indian literary epic The Ramayana. This Hindu poem with about 24,000 verses was written by the Hindu sage Valmiki during the fifth century BCE. The main characters of the story are the god-prince Rama of Ayodhya, his wife Sida and his brother Lakshman. The poem relates how Rama wins the hand of Sida in marriage, his subsequent exile from Ayodhya, the abduction of Sita by the evil Ravana, King of Lanka, and her rescue by Rama and Lakshman with the aid of Hanuman the monkey. It is an exciting story of palace intrigues and epic battles which also conveys ethics and morals.
Phra Lak Phra Lam Stories
In the Lao Phra Lak Phra Lam the story has shifted to a Lao cultural setting. Events take place in cities along the Mekong river and the underlying messages reflect Lao moral sensibilities. Most significantly, at the beginning and end of the story it is revealed that the prince Rama is in fact the Buddha in one of his previous lives. Phra Lak Phra Lam therefore falls into the category of popular stories known in Lao as Sadok (Pali: Jataka) which relate the previous lives of the Buddha. The original Hindu epic has thus been absorbed into Lao Buddhist culture.
The Rescue of Nang Chantha
The first part of Phra Lak Phra Lam establishes the background of the main protagonists. In the city of Inthapat (Angkor) King Tapparames has two sons Thotaroth and Wirulhok. Passed over for the succession, the elder son Thotaroth leaves the city had travels south , where he follows the advice of a naga king and founds a new city by the Thon river, Chanthaburi-Sisattanak (Vientiane). Later Wirulhok's son Ravana comes south and forcibly takes Thotaroth's daughter Chantha. Thotaroth's two sons Phra Lak and Phra Lam, skilled with the bow, set out avenge the wrong done to their house by their cousin Ravana. The long journey by the two brothers along the great river is described in detail. Chantha is returned to her father who gives her hand to Ravana in marriage after the latter has requested this and presented dowry in the proper manner.
Phra Lam Marries Nang Sida
The second part of Phra Lak Phra Lam sees Ravana leaving his kingdom of Inthapat for Lanka. Assuming the form of the god Indra he seduces Indra's wife. After learning the truth she sets out to avenge this wrong by being born as Ravana's own daughter, Sida. The court astrologer, Ravana's brother, sees that Sida will bring about her father's downfall and Sida is banished to the forest where she is looked after by forest deities and later by a sage. On reaching adolescence the sage offers her in marriage to the man that can lift an ancient bow. Ravana, unaware that Sida is his own daughter, travels to the island but fails in his attempt to lift the bow. Finally only Phra Ram can fulfil the task and so Phra Ram is married to Sida. They leave to live in the forest together with his faithful brother Phra Lak.
The Abduction of Nang Sida
Full of jealousy Ravana persuades a demon to take on the form of a golden deer in the forest. On sighting this beautiful deer Nang Sida begs Phra Lam to go and catch it for her. Phra Lak is left to guard Nang Sida but the demon imitates Phra Lam's voice crying for help. Urged on by Nang Sida, Phra Lak leaves her side to help his brother. This creates the opportunity for Ravana to abduct Sida and carry her off to Lanka.
Phaya Khout Battles With Ravana
Phra Lak and Phra Lam return home empty handed to find Nang Sida gone. Running through the forest in search of her they soon come across the fabulous bird Phaya Khout lying on the ground with broken wings. He gives Phra Lam the ring of Nang Sida and tells him how he had met Ravana as he was abducting Nang Sida and of the great battle as he tried to stop Ravana. But in the end the mighty bird had been defeated by the ring from Nang Sida's finger, the only object to which Phaya Khout was vulnerable.
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The Proud Buffalo Tholaphee
At that time a demon named Nantakhan was punished by Phra Esuan and reborn as a white buffalo named Tholapha who grew up to be the leader of a large herd of female buffalo. But Phra Esuan also put a curse on Tholapha such that if he would die if a son of his grew up to adulthood. Whenever a male calf was born Thorlapha would kill it until one time a female named Nilakasorn hid in a cave where she gave birth to a male son called Tholaphee who grew up in secret, protected by deities in the cave.
When Tholaphee grew up he learnt how his father would kill all his male offspring and he was filled with anger. He left the cave to find his father and after a great fight killed him. Tholaphee was now head of the herd and filled with pride and confidence. He went on to fight with others, going to Muang Kasi where he injured the Queen. The King of Kasi, Thao Sangkhip, called Tholaphee into a cave to fight him there. As they entered the cave Thao Sangkhip told his brother Thao Phalichanh to wait outside and watch for blood flowing out from the cave. If the blood was dark blood from a buffalo it meant Thao Sangkhip was victorious. But if the blood was light in colour it meant that Tholaphee had won and in this case Phalichanh should block the entrance to the cave to prevent Tholaphee from escaping.
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After a great fight Thao Phalichanh saw blood flowing from the cave, but it was mixed with rainwater and he mistook it for the blood of his brother and he blocked up the entrance to the cave. Nevertheless Thao Sangkhip escaped and returned to his palace but now believed that his brother had betrayed him. Due to this misunderstanding the two brothers fell out and fought each other.
The Birth of Hanuman
Phra Lam heals the wings of Phaya Khout and now the two brothers embark on a long journey to rescue Nang Sida which involves many battles. At one point Phra Lam is turned in to a monkey for three years after eating a nikhot fruit. Whilst in this form he mates with Nang Phaengsi, daughter of a sage, who has also turned into a monkey after eating nikhot fruit, resulting in the birth of the monkey Hanuman. After three years Phra Lam eats another nikhot fruit which returns him to human form and he returns to his quest joined by Phaengsi, who is also retored to human form, and Hanuman. Phra Lam also receives military assistance from Thao Phalichanh in return for which Phra Lam promises to help defeat Phalichanh's brother Thao Sangkhip.
Hanuman Finds Nang Sida
Hanuman and Thao Khouan Thau Fa, a son of Phra Lam's, fly ahead to Lanka to forewarn Nang Sida of her impending rescue. They also tie together the hair of Ravana and Nang Chantha whilst they are sleeping, leaving the latter a note to tell her to strike her husband on the head three times to untie their hair. This action would also weaken Ravana's magical powers making it easier for Nang Sida to be rescued. Finally they set fire to the city before flying back to Phra Lam. Appearing back before their father to report on their success they find that some flames were still alight on their faces and tails. Phra Lam tells them that they must return to Lanka because "to extinguish a fire one must use the water from the same country". The flames are eventually extinguished with water drawn from the well at Nang Sida's palace in Lanka.
The Rescue of Nang Sida
Phra Lam now instructs Hanuman and Thao Khouan Thau to lead their armies to Lanka. Arriving at the ocean they are delighted to find a bridge and their armies begin crossing to Lanka. But in fact this bridge was just the tongue of the demon Khoun Sieo Ha which he rolled out to lure the armies into his trap. As Khoun Sieo Ha retracted his tongue Hanuman magically enlarged his hands and picked up all the soldiers from the water and bought them back to dry land. Hanuman then slashed the tongue with his sword and destroyed Khoun Sieo Ha.
Phra Lam now ordered his armies to build a bridge across the ocean to Lanka which they did despite the intervention of the King of the Naga. After multiple additional adventures and battles Phra Lam succeeds in killing Ravana using an arrow from the bottom of the ocean which was Ravana's only vulnerability. Nang Sida is finally rescued and peace and order is restored to the world.
Phra Lak Phra Lam in Dance
One of the ways visitors to Luang Prabang may encounter the stories of Phra Lak Phra Lam is through traditional dance. A good opportunity to see the dance is during Lao New Year when it is performed in the grounds of the former royal palace. A large crowd always gathers to watch these skilled and beautifully costumed dancers perform the stories which all Lao people know well.