September 18, 2020

Do you know Sinxay?

Illustration of Sinxay
ຮູ້ສີນໄຊບໍ
Artist: LM/Laoconnection.com

The story of Sinxay is a literary heritage shared by the Lao, Thai, Mon and Khmer cultures in many variants as a retelling of the story of one of Buddha’s past lives.  

In Laos, the story is known as Sang Sinxay and is considered a masterpiece of Lao literature.

The story of the hero Sinxay tells of a quest to rescue his aunt who was abducted by a demon. The epic poem was written by a court poet named Pangkham during the reign of King Soulinya Vongsa (Lanxang Kingdom). 

The eponymous character is a symbol of bravery and virtue in Lao culture and the retelling of the story in Lao schools helps to continue his popularity to this day.  

In 2005, the Lao government even went so far as to proclaim Sang Sinxay as part of the nation's cultural heritage in 2005.  

Additionally, his name appears in a few other places including a national literature award and even a large well respected school in Vientiane.

2 comments:

  1. The national literature awards are called the Sinxay Awards.

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    Replies
    1. We've added that tidbit of info to the post itself. Thanks for mentioning it.

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