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The Villa Luang Prabang Hosts Artist Nithakong Somsanith for Boun Auk Phansaa
The Villa Luang Prabang is hosting artist Nithakong Somsanith, who will display his artwork and hold workshops from 22-25 October to celebrate Boun Auk Phansaa, the end of Buddhist Lent. Mr Somsanith spent this holy day at The Villa Luang Prabang as a child, when it was his grandmother’s residence. He will bring a collection of decorations and traditional offerings, along with his latest artwork, stencilling on mulberry paper, which will be the highlight of this event. Traditional bamboo and paper lanterns, fabric flags, and banners will hang throughout the garden during this celebration of the holiday and the display of this Lao artist’s work. Mr Somsanith has asked two specialists, Francis Engelmann and Dr. Linda McIntosh, to join him to help create and explain the context and symbols of these decorations and works of art. Workshops will focus on creating different types of offerings, lanterns, and tung ceremonial banners composed for Boun Auk Phansaa and Boun Lai Heua Fai, the Fire Boat Festivals. Visitors will be able to admire the exhibited works, and also experience making some of these decorations. Due to the fragility of the works and exclusivity of the place, The Villa Luang Prabang is limiting the number of visitors, by asking Luang Prabang hotels to invite small groups Guests have can view some unique art forms including stencils based on the murals of Vat Sisaket’s library in Vientiane, the murals of Vat Had Sieo in Luang Prabang, and embroidered leaves in metal threads from a series entitled “The Leaves of the Second Noble Truth”. Different types of banners, candelabras (hao thianh luang), lanterns, and large boat-like floats will be on exhibit in the gardens. Examples of the heua fai bok (land boat), heua fai nam (water boat), spinning lanterns, and wax-castle will be presented at the exhibit. More than 100 works will be on display, and the artist is available to provide explanations. The Villa Luang Prabang is inviting guests to participate in these activities by creating candelabras inspired by ones found in Buddhist temples out of banana tree trunks. Guests can also make their own floats or krathong to release into the Mekong River during Boun Auk Phansaa, and wax flowers or star-shaped lanterns to take home. The exhibit is open 10.00-17.00. From 17:30-19:30, guests can observe the lighting of candles and lanterns in the garden. ACTIVITIES 1. Baci ceremony in the most authentic style (Luang Prabang royal), organised by Tiao Nithakong Somsanith 2. Meet with the artist or with a specialist to receive explanations and discuss these traditions a. Guided tour by Tiao Nithakong Somsanith, an artist and specialist on religious offerings and arts of Luang Prabang, about offerings and his artwork b. Meeting with Dr Linda McIntosh, anthropologist and Asian textiles specialist c. Mr. Francis Engelmann, former UNESCO advisor in Luang Prabang, a specialist on the history, architecture and customs of Luang Prabang 3. Workshops (1.5 hours each, maximum 6 persons per session) a. Make different types of traditional lanterns b. Make your own float (small boat, raft, khratong) c. Make a phrasaat pheung, wax castle offering from the banana trunk d. Make a string mobile or paper banner e. Make wax flowers to decorate phrasaat pheung castle offering 4. View the lantern-lit garden at dusk (17:30-19:30) free viewing but admittance to For hotels to make reservations for their guests and discuss fees, contact thevillaluangprabang@gmail.com. VILLA LUANG PRABANG is a 90+ year-old aristocratic mansion located in the neighbourhood of Vat Maha That. Built in the half-timbered wattle and daub colonial style, the domicile’s layout and elegant woodcut decorations are unique in Luang Prabang. Formerly the residence the Luang Prabang viceroy’s lineage, it is presently the holiday residence of the founder of a renowned group of five-star hotels. Its large garden and reception rooms are now the setting of temporary refined cultural events. TIAO DAVID SOMSANITH: Born in 1958 in Laos, Somsanith belongs to the Luang Prabang Viceroy lineage. He was exposed to different arts, painting, sculpture, lacquerware during his early childhood. His mother and grandmother taught the turbulent young Somsanith the art of embroidery, usually transmitted to girls, to calm him down. He studied medicine in Vientiane shortly after the Lao Revolution in 1975. He departed Laos for France in 1985 where he studied Fine Arts in Orléans and later psychology at Paris Sorbonne University. In 2002, the artist decided to return to Laos. He is now living permanently in Luang Prabang, devoting his time to preserving and transmitting his artistic Lao heritage. His works have been exhibited in Laos, France, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and the USA. Dr LINDA MCINTOSH: For over 10 years, Dr. McIntosh has served as a consultant and a heritage interpretation expert and curator on several projects in Laos. Her doctorate from Simon Fraser University, Canada, took a multi-disciplinary approach, combining anthropology, linguistics, and communication. Her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, McIntosh focused on history, geography, art history, and textiles. She has curated and written extensively on textiles and culture of Laos and Southeast Asia. Publications include Art of Southeast Asian Textiles: The Tilleke & Gibbins Collection and the forthcoming Thread and Fire: Textiles and Jewellery from the Islands of Indonesia and Timor. Currently, she is consulting curator for the Xieng Khouang Provincial Museum, developing its entire concept. FRANCIS ENGELMANN: Mr. Engelmann is writer and independent consultant with over twenty years of work experience in Laos, both in Luang Prabang and Vientiane. His first visit to Laos was in 1991 and has been involved in heritage issues in Laos with UNESCO since 1994 when he was part of the first missions preparing the application for Luang Prabang as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995. He consulted for UNESCO over the last 15 years, working for the Luang Prabang Conservation Authority (The Luang Prabang World Heritage Department) and The Quiet in the Land – Art and Education Project, Luang Prabang. His educational background includes Town Planning, Political Science and Socio-Economy. His personal passions have led him to a wide range of research missions examining Botany, Paleontology, and Anthropology with different scholars’ teams in Asia. Visit: www.thequietintheland.org/laos
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Elephant Friendly Mahout Training Workshop to be Held in Luang Prabang
Submitted by The EU Switch Asia Luang Prabang-Handle with Care project The EU Switch Asia Luang Prabang-Handle with Care project implemented by GIZ, Travelife for Tour Operators and Human Elephant Learning Programs Foundation (H-ELP) would like to invite you to participate in the “Elephant Friendly Mahout Training Workshop” at the Elephant Village sanctuary & resort in Luang Prabang from 14th until the 17th of October 2018. We feel honored to host Dr. Andrew McLean, Dr. Portland Jones and their team of trainers from Australia who will be the instructors during these days. The EU Switch Asia Luang Prabang Handle with Care project is working together with Travelife for Tour Operators to help local elephant camps to improve the animal welfare standard of their properties. Laos is generally more responsible and offers better conditions for domesticated elephants than other countries. We believe that tourism can play a positive role in improving the conditions of captive elephants, and support the objectives of H-ELP. H-ELP Foundation was founded in 2010, with the goal of raising the standard of training for Captive Elephants. H-ELP believes that the traditional way of training elephants can be improved by understanding elephants and their natural behavior. H-ELP Foundation’s mission is to take care of the welfare of elephants, which crucially also includes taking care of the mahouts that closely live and work with them every day. Dr. Andrew McLean is an expert in training horses and elephants based on a psychological and scientific method. He was one of the founders of H-ELP and has been working with captive elephants for more than ten years. He has experience in training mahouts in elephant camps in Nepal, Laos, India, Myanmar and Thailand. He believes that training elephants without using punishment, pain or fear will ensure that traditional training elephants in captivity may be sustained. We invite up to four mahouts per Lao elephant camp to participate in the training. The workshop does not require any registration fee. Attendees living outside of Luang Prabang province will be provided with accommodation funded by this project. EU Switch Asia Luang Prabang Handle with Care has engaged the services of Aline van der Meulen, Travelife for Tour Operators auditor for the elephant camp animal welfare standard to coordinate this and upcoming activities. The training will start at Sunday 14th of October. We will leave by minivan from Luang Prabang to the training venue at the Elephant Village at 08.00 am. The minivans will be waiting for us right in front of Wat Mano. The training day will usually end around 4-5 pm. Please send a reply before the 11th of October. Please inform us about the name of your organization, the names of the mahouts that will participate, their phone number(s), and if the attendee(s) require a specific diet of suffer from any food allergy. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Aline van der Meulen at 020-55812337 or via whatsappnumber +94 769427888 or via email at alinevandermeulen@gmail.com.
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Ancient Pottery Village Opens Tours in Luang Prabang
Meet the Lamphet family, who launched Pottery House Lao Food Tours in Luang Prabang’s Chan Nua Village, a small community that has been throwing clay pots for 400 years. “We started Pottery House Lao Food Tours in cooperation with the Luang Prabang Tourism Department because we feel like the jewels of Laos are found among the people, who call it home,” Mr Lamphet said. “Through our pottery tour, we hope to bring visitors into contact with these people, their culture, history, and food.” The Lamphet family is driven by a passion to preserve the disappearing lifestyle of their village. “Our hope is to use these tours to preserve the tradition of our village and provide a sustainable way of life for families, while showcasing to the world the special things that make us proud to call Laos home.” Learn Ancient Pottery Making Mr Lamphet noted that ancient Lao kings selected Chan Nua Village for its pottery-making skills. Early uses of the pots included fermenting fish and storing water. Today, families produce everything from decorated planters to terra-cotta roof tiles by using hand-made techniques passed down through generations. “We started our company in part to help preserve this amazing history, as it’s slowly fading away with only six families still using these techniques,” he explained. “On a tour, visitors get a behind-the-scenes look at these ancient techniques, and also have an opportunity to get hands-on with the clay.” Mr Lamphet added, “The village’s skilled pottery makers help guide visitors to an up-close-and-personal, truly Lao cultural experience. How many people can say they’ve made Lao pottery using ancient techniques? You will.” Eat Traditional Lao Food The tours conclude with the Lamphet family cooking up sampling of traditional Luang Prabang specialties like khaipan (fried river weed), grilled fish, eggplant dipping sauce, and spicy papaya salad. “One of the highlights of Laos is the delicious food cooked, as always, with lots of love,” Mr Lamphet said. “All the ingredients come from local sources and, depending on the season, they might even come from our very own organic garden.” Experience Village Tours Chan Nua Village, located just across the river from Luang Prabang, offers half-day Pottery House Lao Food Tours that kick off at 08:30 and 13:30 with a hotel pick up. “Local English-speaking guides lead the laid-back experience, and we hope all visitors leave feeling like friends and family,” Mr Lamphet said, adding that the village provides Western-style restrooms and clean drinking water. The itinerary begins with a 90-minute tour of the village pottery center, while learning about traditional Lao life. Next comes an hour-long demonstration of pottery techniques by local families, followed by a hands-on opportunity for each guest including kids. The tour ends with a Lao meal. Mr Lamphet believes Pottery House Lao Food Tours delivers what tourists demand. “Visitors come to Laos because they want to see untouched Southeast Asia. They want to see untamed beauty. They want to see a place and people that can change the way you see the world. We know our pottery tour will help you walk away from Laos feeling like you found what you were looking for.” Pottery House Lao Food Tours
