Southern Laos

TEXT BY DYAN BARUTZKI & VIPHAT SENGMANY, VILLAGE CHIEF OF BAN KHAN DON PHOTOGRAPHS BY SWISSCONTACT / BART VERWEIJ

Traditional Katou community house at Salavan

One of the beloved characteristics of Laos is its cultural diversity. In Salavan Province alone, there are 12 distinct ethnic groups, the majority of which are primarily of the Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer) language family. The largest sub-group in the region is the Katou ethnic group, who are predominantly scattered along the Bolaven Plateau (Paksong, Salavan, Sekong) and Attapeu.

To learn more about the Katou tribe, we traveled from Pakse to Ban Khan Don – a multi-ethnic village between Sekong and Salavan province. The village is named after the Khan Don river, an homage to their source of life. Ban Khan Don is home to several ethnic groups aside from the Katou, such as the Alak and Nge people. Upon arriving at the community house, a rectangular-shaped wooden hut usually located at the center of the village, we were amazed at the artifacts displayed inside. These told the story of the Katou traditional way of life from when they were still living on the highlands until they decided to settle in their current location in 1961. The artifacts are mostly wooden or bone and are interesting to see. We recommend you book a village guide to learn more about the meaning and the story behind the artifacts in English.

Every year since 1996, the village celebrates the Katou festival on March 5; and every 10 years there is an even bigger celebration where members of the tribe from other provinces attend. During the festival, you can expect a lot of dancing, especially around the community house, and an abundance of food. On the fi rst day, the villagers dance around the main hut three times – as the community believes that the number three, and odd numbers, in general, are good luck – to pay respect to their ancestors. The locals also dress a sacrifi cial buffalo with accessories during this day. We took a walk around Ban Khan Don to learn more about their textiles and coffi n-making, an unusual sight in Laos where it’s customary to cremate rather than bury the deceased. Families carve wooden coffi ns for each family member well before their deaths and the intricacy of the coffi n design depends on one's rank in the village (or how deep one's pockets are). Near the community house, tourists can also see members of the Talieng ethnic group weaving textiles by hand on looms, an important part of their tradition as well as providing a source of income. The striped lines, geometric stripes and decorative patterns denote both cultural beliefs and important historic events of the tribe.

The provinces of Sekong, Salavan, and Attapeu are known for their numerous waterfalls, leftover

UXO collection, cassava industry, and Katou textiles. There are several well-known, and some lesser-known, shops in this region where you can purchase these textiles: Mr. Vieng’s in Salavan, Mr. Khamlay’s in Sekong, and around the morning market in Attapeu. Though there are distinct variations in design and material used, we particularly liked Mr. Khamlay’s natural dyed textiles not only for the traditional Lao sinh, but also for decorations around the house like table runners, rugs, and placemats. While in Sekong, try to visit the lesser-known but equally beautiful Tad Faek located in Lamam District, which got its name from the faek grass that was plentiful in the area before. We traveled a bit further to the neighboring province of Salavan, which only became an independent province in 1984 when it separated from Sekong, to visit the colorful Wat Kang. Filled with magnifi cent paintings depicting ancient stories, this pagoda is situated inside a temple complex in the heart of the city center. If you are in the mood for even more textiles, drop by Toumlan District to experience a Katang weaving village, another ethnic group in

GETTING THERE Lao Airlines has daily fl ights to Pakse from Siem Reap, Vientiane, and Luang Prabang, as well as frequent fl ights from Bangkok.

1

Southern Laos. Of course, a trip to Salavan is not complete without a visit to popular Tad Lo and Tad Hang waterfalls.

Discover Attapeu’s border with Vietnam and experience the Ho Chi Minh trail on a dirt bike or their scrumptious local cuisine, particularly the minced pork and herbs steamed inside papaya leaves known generically as “Mouk Moo.” Attapeu is also known for Ginseng, a plant root that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.

In Attapeu, you can witness the creation of unique and diverse artifacts of several ethnic tribes, such as the ancient art of pottery making and jewelry of the Talieng ethnic group or the woodworking of the Lavae people. Also, learn more about the matriarchal traditions of the Alak ethnic group and the animism and shamanism rituals of the Ta Oy while you’re here.

After spending some days learning about the ethnic groups of Southern Laos, it’s disheartening to fi nd out that modernity is slowly changing the traditions that have remained unchanged for decades or even hundreds of years. As visitors, we felt fortunate to have gained these insights, while we still could, about the region’s different cultures and customs.

MORE INFO Sekong Tourism Offi ce for Ban Khan Don: 038211361

Salavan Tourism Offi ce: 034211528

Attapeu Tourism Offi ce: 02097910333 & 02095219842

Tad Lo Tourism Offi ce: 02054455907

Mr. Khamlay's Textile Shop: Whatsapp +856 20 98 287370

Visit southern-laos.com for more information 23

Photo: Mr. Khamlay

2

3

4

5

1. Tad Lo 2. Lady weaving at Vieng's coff ee and homestay 3. Katou textiles at Khamlay's shop 4. Community longhouse at Ban Khan Don 5. Local residents smoking a traditional Katou tobacco pipe ( korkder)

文化熔炉 翻译 : 尹航 图片来源： SWISSCONTACT / BART VERWEIJ

老挝最受宠爱的特色之一是其文化的多样性。仅沙拉湾 省，就有12个少数民族群，其中大多数属南亚语系（MonKhmer）。该地区最大的子族是加藤（Katou）族，主要分 布在波罗芬高原（巴松，沙拉湾，色空）和阿速坡地区。 为了了解加藤（Katou）族的更多信息，我们从巴色来到 了Khan Don村，该村是位于色空和沙拉湾省之间的多种 族村庄。该村庄以Khan Don 河命名，向他们赖以生存的 母亲河致敬。Khan Don村是几个少数民族的所在地，除 加藤（Katou）族还有如阿拉克（Alak）和恩格（Nge）人。 我们来到了位于村中间的矩形木屋，其内部陈列的史前 古器具让我们感到惊讶。 我们在Khan Don村附近逛逛，了解了他们的纺织品制 作。我们在这发现了一个在老挝不是很常见的现象，老挝 习俗是火花而不是你掩埋死者，这里却采用装入棺材掩 埋。家庭在家庭成员会为其去世的家人雕刻木制棺材，棺 材设计的复杂程度取决于其在村庄中的等级或其财富。 附近，游客还可以看到塔里昂（TALIENG）族手工编织纺 织品的展示，这是他们传统的重要组成部分，也是他们收 入来源之一。条纹，几何图形和装饰图案既代表着文化信 仰，又描述着部落的重要历史事件。 色空，沙拉湾及阿速坡省以瀑布众多，残留的未爆炸物 （UXO）收藏，木薯产业和加藤（Katou）纺织品而闻名。 该地区有一些有名的商店，也有一些鲜为人知的商店，您 可以采购喜爱的纺织品，如“沙拉湾省Vieng先生”，“色空 省的Khamlay先生”以及阿速坡省的早市附近的商店。 更多信息： 色空省Khan Don村旅游局： 038211361 沙拉湾旅游局： 034211528 阿速坡旅游局：02097910333或 02095219842 TAD LO旅游局：02054455907 Khamlay先生的纺织品商店： Whatsapp +856 20 98 287370 访问www.southern-laos.com了解 更多信息

到达： 老挝航空每天有从暹粒，万象 和琅勃拉邦飞往巴色的航班，曼谷也 有抵达巴色的航班。

1. 位于沙拉湾省的传统房子 2. Khamlay 店铺的 Katou族纺 织品 1

纺织品的设计和使用的材料有所不同，我们尤其喜欢“色空省的 Khamlay先生”家的天然染色纺织品，不仅有传统的老挝筒裙，而 有桌布，地毯和餐垫等。 探索位于阿速坡省的中越边界，即可体验沿胡志明小路骑行又可 品尝美味的当地美食，特别推荐的是当地人称为“Mouk Moo”这 道美食，猪肉末和香料混在一起，用木瓜叶包裹后蒸煮，十分美味。 阿速坡也因在传统中医中使用了几个世纪的一种植物⸺ 人参而 出名。 在阿速坡，您可以见证少数民族部落独特而多样的手工创作，如塔 里昂（Talieng）族古老的陶艺和珠宝制作，Alak族的雕木工艺。此 外，您还可以了解到有关Alak族的母系传统以及万物有灵论和Ta Oy的萨满教仪式。 在老挝南部游览几天了解这些少数民族之后，也有些令人沮丧的 发现，那就是现代文明正在慢慢改变着一些几十年甚至几百年未 曾改变的传统。作为访问者，我们很幸运能在这些文化和习俗依然 存在的时候得以见证。

摄影：Khamlay先生