Week 7 Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part A

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The Mountain Spirits and the Stone Mortars:

  • spirits needed money so brought stone mortars to village
  • people didn't want because too expensive and useless
  • spirits were angry so they wanted villagers to help bring them back to top of mountain
  • people didn't want to anger spirits but too heavy to pick up
  • people paid spirits and the stones were left in place
  • still in same spot today
Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops:

  • man and women had 12 daughters they didn't love anymore
  • father made basket of rice with ashes at bottom--led daughters to jungle to hunt for game
  • father made them try to construct bamboo water faucet, but he ditched them leaving the basket
  • daughters figured out they were abandoned and slept with wild beasts peacefully
  • women appeared and got daughters to stay with her if they could watch her daughter
  • only rule=no play secret garden
  • one day girls go to garden--find human bones (women=cannibal)
  • ask cow to protect them--all 12 jump in his mouth
  • women asked cow if he'd seen girls, he said no
  • girls went to elephant--maidens jump in, but fabric hanging out
  • women asked if he had seen girls, he said no--she knew he was lying because of the fabric--cursed elephants to have lip droop down like garment
  • great chief who wanted happiness--served others
  • 10 wives with a favorite, one day wanted her
  • came down from sky in form of fish because she was a crane
  • crane pecked at fish and found one to still be alive, but let it escape
  • chief glad she wouldn't destroy life for hunger--made a woman again
  • grew as gardener's child--most beautiful girl and people wanted her
  • chief came down to earth as old man to try to marry
  • people laughed, father shot him--lightening strike=father shooting old man
  • heat lightening=chief flashing glass over earth to search for wife
(Photo of lightening from The Origin of Lightning)

  • man and girl love each other but her dad said no--no communication
  • tried to sneak away but were constantly being watched--waited patiently because they knew it was true love
  • dad thought girl forgot about him--threw feast and tried to set her up
  • snuck out to woods to meet her lover, got married
  • servant saw and went back to dad--tried to stop them
  • only escape was to jump over chasm
  • missed and dashed to pieces by rocks below
Bibliography:  Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).

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