Wat Xiengthong

We visited Wat Xiengthong, an exquisite 16th century temple complex, two days ago, and I was struck by its beauty. The history of religion in Laos shows shifts back and forth – sometimes the court religion was Hindu, other times, Buddhist, and overlaid with that is the believe in animism – that everything in the world has a spirit (including our body, which has 32). The decorations of the main temple (the sim) show this interplay, and make for an almost overwhelming design, with patterns and images overlaying each other on every surface.

First and foremost, is the Buddha, whose statue is magnificent.

He sits on a throne above a smaller one, which is lavishly decorated and covered with offerings.

Behind the main statue of the Buddha are many smaller ones, given by people to the temple.

We learned that these are not touched after their donation, and that they are allowed to gradually deteriorate over time.

The entrance to the sim is decorated with gilded carvings. And the one to the right, amazingly enough, bears a marked resemblance to the Virgin Mary.

Next to the temple (the sim) is a funeral temple dedicated to the next to the last king. It includes a palanquin that holds the urns of the king and two queens. This is so large that it is impossible to photograph the whole thing. This is detail of the rear of it – showing the tail of the ‘naga’ which is a snake-dragon, and the queen’s urn, with that of the king partially visible to the left.

this is the head of the naga:

In the main temple (sim) is a special wood structure which allowed the king to ‘wash’ the Buddha with water which had been perfumed by gardenia petals. It is constructed like a trough, which carries the water from the sink into which the king poured it, down to be used for washing the figure. The water was collected after being used for this purpose, and then was considered holy water, used much as the Catholic Church uses holy water.,

There are also two lavishly decorated items that look as though they might have been attached to the palanquin

They seem to be decorated with the feathers and heads of the Phoenix, another holy animal.

In the funerary temple every surface – even the rafters supporting the roof – is decorated.

And every wall (I think that these figures actually come from a Hindu saga)

The exterior of the main temple (sim) does not lack for decoration, either.

This is a photo of the rear of the sim building, with not only painted and gilded decorations, but also mosaics made up of colored class imported from Japan, and created by local artists living in Luang Prabang at the time.

Here’s a detail of the mosaic – love the owl sitting in the tree of life, apparently keeping an eye out for the peacock below!

And last but not least, an item which I believe to be a stupa (meant to hold the ashes of a person or several family members). I suspect that it is probably contemporary.

Luang Prabang, Laos 2/1/18