Today I visited the National Museum of Laos in Vientiane.

Outside the Museum

The building has a stately presence with an image of a Buddhist figure praying near the highest point of the building. The National Musem of Laos was the former king’s residence in Vientiane and displays a royal elegance with the slender columns and gently sloping rooftops.

Read more about Sisavang Vatthana, the last king of Laos

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

The museum had large stone jars outside, which I believe come from the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khoung. They looked very heavy! I am not sure how the museum transported them to Vientiane.

Read more about the Plain of Jars

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

The First Floor Collection

The National Musem had a collection of objects spanning from the age of the dinosaurs (the plaques don’t say which period) to the present day. The first floor focused on pre-history (the dinosaurs and tools from the predecessors of homo sapiens), the ancient history of the kingdoms in present-day Laos, and objects discovered in archaeological excavations (e.g., spear points, axe heads, and arrow heads). This floor included beautiful wood carvings of elephants and dinosaurs from the present day created by local artists and dinosaur bones found in Savannakhet.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

I saw many drums from Savannakhet and Luang Prabang featured in the museum. When people were clearing UXOs (unexploded ordinances) from those regions they found these drums, recognized that they were not UXOs, and sent them to be cleaned and studied.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

An especially large drum from Savannakhet

The Second Floor Collection

The second floor focused on the history of the kingdoms in present-day Laos, the Vietnam War, and different ethnic groups located throughout Laos.

I saw many images of Buddha that had been excavated from Luang Prabang. In Laos, there is a Buddha for every day of the week. Everyone has a specific Buddha depending on what day of the week they were born. In Lao and Thai culture, your Buddha says something about your personality. This particular Buddha is my special Buddha since I was born on a Monday.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Courtesy of Medium

Read more about the 7 Buddhas

I learned that Lao people wrote on baylane, a special type of palm leaf, and kept their records in large compilations of leaves. Here is a diagram that explains the process of making baylane and some examples of completed, bound texts.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Diagram of making baylane

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

A collection of baylane leaves that make up a law text

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

A complete manuscript of the Ramayana

I did not take any pictures of the Vietnam War items since it was very painful to learn more about the damage that UXOs and bombs did to the Lao people. There were statues from student artists from Savannakhet University of decorated soldiers and other important political figures.

Finally, I stopped by the room with objects created by different ethnic groups throughout Laos. Many ethnic groups in Laos are known for creating beautiful textiles and celebratory wear for important celebrations.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

An example of celebratory wear for one ethnic group

At this point, I was rushing through the gallery since the bus was coming in 10 minutes. I wish that I had had time to learn more about celebratory wear!