Laos Culture
Laos Culture As of 2013 Laos has a population of roughly 6.77 million spread over 236,800 km2 (91,400 sq miles), yielding one of the lowest population densities in Asia. Laos has an official count of over forty-seven ethnicities divided into 149 sub-groups and 80 different languages
Ethnicity
Approximately 60% of the total population is ethnic Lao (Lao Loum or Lao Tai)
24% are categorized as Lao Theung or “upland Lao”
10% are Lao Sung or “mountain Lao”
6% are the Vietnamese and the Chinese.
Language
There are over 80 distinct native languages spoken by the different ethnic populations of Laos.
Lao or Laotian- It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand.
Basic words
Hello – sabaidee Thankyou – khawp jai
Goodbye- La khawn Please – khaluna
Yes- Jao/Dooy No- Baw
Religion
Laos is approximately 60% Theravada Buddhist, which roughly falls along ethnic lines with the majority of practitioners being Lao Loum. The remainder is largely animist, following their unique ethnic traditions and practices. Other religions are in the minority including Islam and Christianity and represent a combined total of less than 2% of the population.
Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao cultural identity. The national symbol of Laos is the That Luang stupa, a stupa with a pyramidal base capped by the representation of a closed lotus blossom which was built to protect relics of the Buddha.
Traditionally in Laos males would become novice monks at some point in their lives, giving them the opportunity to gain both an education and religious merit.
Animism- is the worldview that non-human entities (animals, plants, and inanimate objects or phenomena) possess a spiritual essence.
Collectively the Lao belief in spirits is referred to as Satsana Phi. Phi are the spirits of buildings or territories, natural places, or phenomena; they are also ancestral spirits that protect people, or can also include malevolent spirits. The phi which are guardian deities
Ethnicity
Approximately 60% of the total population is ethnic Lao (Lao Loum or Lao Tai)
24% are categorized as Lao Theung or “upland Lao”
10% are Lao Sung or “mountain Lao”
6% are the Vietnamese and the Chinese.
Language
There are over 80 distinct native languages spoken by the different ethnic populations of Laos.
Lao or Laotian- It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand.
Basic words
Hello – sabaidee Thankyou – khawp jai
Goodbye- La khawn Please – khaluna
Yes- Jao/Dooy No- Baw
Religion
Laos is approximately 60% Theravada Buddhist, which roughly falls along ethnic lines with the majority of practitioners being Lao Loum. The remainder is largely animist, following their unique ethnic traditions and practices. Other religions are in the minority including Islam and Christianity and represent a combined total of less than 2% of the population.
Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao cultural identity. The national symbol of Laos is the That Luang stupa, a stupa with a pyramidal base capped by the representation of a closed lotus blossom which was built to protect relics of the Buddha.
Traditionally in Laos males would become novice monks at some point in their lives, giving them the opportunity to gain both an education and religious merit.
Animism- is the worldview that non-human entities (animals, plants, and inanimate objects or phenomena) possess a spiritual essence.
Collectively the Lao belief in spirits is referred to as Satsana Phi. Phi are the spirits of buildings or territories, natural places, or phenomena; they are also ancestral spirits that protect people, or can also include malevolent spirits. The phi which are guardian deities