PHA THAT LUANG

This is most certainly the emblematic monument of Laos, both historically and geographically. Originally, his name was Phra Tjédi Lokatchoulamani, which means "Divine reliquary", the precious summit of the world. That Luang is a more generic term that could be translated as Grand stupa. And you'll notice that every city has its own That Luang.

It is Asoka, a great Indian Buddhist ruler, who is said to be at the origin of the foundation of the vat, in the 3rd century BC. According to tradition, a fragment of the Buddha's iliac bone (some say a hair of the master) would have been deposited in the heart of the building. In any case, it is certain that between the 7th and 10th centuries, during the Sikhottabong period, otherwise known as the Mon period, That Luang was an important religious centre.

Subsequently, from the 11th to the 13th century, during the Say Fong period, the plain of Vientiane was occupied by the Khmers; a statue representing Jayavarman VII, who ruled Angkor from 1181 to 1218, was found near That, supporting the idea that That Luang was greatly influenced by the Khmer Empire. The strange statue at the entrance of the cloister also dates from this period. He is a Khmer-style guard, carrying a long club at the height of his lower abdomen.

The lower part of it having disappeared, one now has the impression that he is holding his sex in his hand. This is one of the many symbols that make it possible to associate this vat with the phallic emblem. In the 14th century, the kingdom of Lan Xang was created by Fa Ngum. Vientiane was then downgraded to Luang Prabang and the Vat That Luang was profoundly redesigned, so much so that the Khmer temple was replaced by a laterite stupa.

Nothing remains of this monument because it was covered by what was to become the present That Luang. It wasn't until the 16th century and the reign of Setthathirath that Vientiane regained its hegemony, and That Luang the form it takes today. In 1566, this vast building, 54 m long and 45 m high, was inaugurated. One could already admire the bulb in carafe finished by a gilded copper tip. The thirty small bells built on its perimeter, also called palami, represented the three degrees of each of the ten perfections of Buddhist doctrine.

In the seventeenth century, the That Luang truly became the symbol of national unity, then it was ransacked during the various wars, and left abandoned. However, the French School of the Far East became aware of its importance and, from 1930 to 1935, restoration work was undertaken. The stupa was rebuilt in the image of Louis Delaporte's sketches, the cloister was rebuilt as well as the prayer pavilions and the entrance doors.

In 1957, for the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha's birth, the bulb and the lotus flower-shaped base were covered with a layer of gold. Today, the Vat That Luang is indeed the emblem of national identity. The That Luang festival is celebrated in every stupa in the country at the time of the full moon in October, in every That Luang in the country. It is particularly pompous and lively in Vientiane. This event will show you how much this monument can change its appearance and regain its bright colours when it welcomes monks and monks from all over the country. A true Buddhist pilgrimage to a sacred shrine in Laos.