CULTURE
The official language of Laos is Lao, as spoken and written in
Vientiane. As an official language it has successfully become the lingua franca
between all Lao and non-Lao ethnic groups in Laos. Lao is a monosyllabic, tonal
language but it contains many polysyllabic words borrowed from Indian, Pali
and Sanskrit as well as words from Khmer. It has 6 tones, 33 consonants, and
28 vowels. Lao is also spoken in north-east Thailand and north Cambodia, which
was originally part of the kingdom of Lan Xang. There are five main dialects
in the country, each of which can be divided into further sub-dialects.
In colonial days French was introduced in the country and is
still spoken in towns today, particularly by the older generation.
Increasingly, English is being used by the government and the
younger generation in the towns are also learning to speak English.
Lao music and dance have much in common with those of Thailand.
Popular instruments include bamboo flutes, drums, gongs, cymbals
and pinched or bowed string instruments shaped like banjos. The
national instrument is the kaen, a hand-held pipe organ. It is
made from bamboo and is similar in appearance to the South American
panpipes.
Apart from the classical theatre, there is the traditional folk
theatre. It is called moo lam and might be best compared with
the European tradition of roving minstrels. Moo lam is a very
special Lao form of theatre and it has survived all kinds of
censorship without change. Classical Lao theatre and dance have
Indian origins and were probably imported from the Cambodian
royal courts in the 14th century. Thai influence has also crept
in over the years.
The national folk dance is the lamvong Lao, a circle dance in
which people dance in a big circle, the men on one side facing
the women, so that in fact two circles within each other exist.
