The Plain of Jars
is also known as "Tong Hai Heen" in Lao. They are stone
jars that are littered throughout the areas in the northern
province of Xieng Khouang. It's quite a sight. When
you learn that these stone objects are considered pre-Angkor
period, it gives a glimpse at how old these stone Jars really
are.
The Plain of Jars
is like a great mystery. The Jars in Laos leave questions
like how they got there, who made them, how they were able to
carve the stones or even transport them and what were they used for?. These are questions
to which no one has answers to, only theories exist. Though many theories such
as the uses of the jars range from them being urns to storage
of food and stuff. A mythical theory as to who created
them include that they were brought and carved by a giant race
of people. Another theory is that the jars were used to store food or for death burial.
There also exists
other artifacts other than the stone jars such as stones carved
in the shape of people, animals carved on to rocks in bas-relief,
large circular/thin slabs of stone erected vertically (very rarely seen), parts
of bowls or religious items and so fourth. No doubt some
artifacts were taken and transported abroad and many were destroyed
during the Vietnam War when Americans bombed Xieng Khouang.
Many years ago in
the early 1920-30s French researchers began an expedition into
the Plain of Jars. To that end, a book was published -
entitled "Megalithes du Haut-Laos" by M. Colani. It's
a two volume set that includes all of her research she and her
team performed during that time. A lot of people don't
know that there are any books on the Plain of Jars but that's
the main one. As you can tell by the
title it is in French. And while there have been more discoveries
since the original publishing of this book, it still includes
an ample supply of research info. and black and white pictures of most of the original archeological findings.
Last heard, there are still archeological
studies being done on the Plain of Jars by universities
from Australia and France and may be even by a branch of the
UN.
This province was
heavily bombed during the Vietnam War by the Americans in the
1970s so if you do visit the Plain of Jars make sure you follow
where your guide takes you and along marked paths only. Never
stray from their instructions or common sense. Not to
mention, some research teams have marked some areas so it
wouldn't be good to disturb those areas while they are studying
it. Nevertheless, there are PLENTY of areas and jars to
see, touch and even jump into.
Your interest in
including the Lao traditional calendar in your next publication
is greatly appreciated. It is correct that information
on the Lao traditional calendar is quite scarce. However
I do know of one book that includes the information you are
looking for; though I must stress how rare this book is.
It's entitled "Kingdom of Laos" by Rene de Berval, France-Asie,
1956, English ed. There is a specific chapter on this topic alone.
The US Library of Congress has a copy
of this book. If your library is not able to find one in your
area, you should be able to do an interlibrary loan to get the
book from there.
If there is any
other information or resources we're able to find, I'll be sure
to forward that to you as well.
