Mekong Lao Phuan Profile

Language
Linguistic Family: Austro-Thai
Language Group: Tai-Kadai
Language Branch: Tai Southwestern

History
The Phuan once had their own kingdom and state located in today’s Xieng Khouang province. Though little is yet know about the early history of the Phuan kingdom, it is quite possible that they established their small kingdom around the Plain of Jars even before King Fa Ngum founded the Lan Xang Kingdom in 1353. They called their state Muang Phuan. Xieng Khouang, today called Muang Khun, was the capital. The Phuan lived there for centuries in peace and harmony until foreign powers began to interfere heavily in their affairs.

During the first decades of the nineteenth century, the population of the Phuan kingdom was constantly decimated as a consequence of the depopulation policy adopted by the Siamese court in Bangkok; namely taking tens of thousands of slaves from Laos into Siam to use as forced labor. In 1834, orders were given by the Interior Minister in Bangkok to the commander of the Siamese army to continue the depopulation of the Phuan state and to cleanse the plateau of its people.

Later, in the middle of the nineteenth century, armed Haw bandits came in bands on horseback down from Yunnan to steal, rob, plunder and massacre everything and everyone they came across. They inflicted a reign of terror on the people of Xieng Khouang.

In 1873, the Siamese army expelled the Haw from the region as they had marauded not only the relatively independent Phuan state, but also the Sip Song Chau Tai region and the region around Luang Prabang and Vientiane, areas which were under Siamese suzerainty. But shortly after they came back and the terror continued.

After another marauding season across the Phuan state by the Haw in 1875, most Phuan packed their goods and valuables and fled from the carnage on the plateau into the plains near the banks of the Mekong. Siamese commanders saw a unique opportunity to accomplish in a single mission a task that Bangkok had tried to realize for decades. The refugees were soon rounded up and the Phuan, having just escaped from one disaster, simply walked into another.

The Siamese forced them to march south to central Thailand to become slaves of the court. After decades of depopulation by the Siamese and two decades of marauding by the Haw, the population of the Phuan state had been reduced by three quarters. The Phuan state never recovered from the carnage of those years. Partly as a result of the exodus of its people, the Phuan state ceased to function as a political entity.

The earliest census for the Phuan region dating from 1899 records a total population of just 24,920 souls, of which 49 percent were Phuan, 44 percent hill tribesmen (including Tai Dam) and about 7 percent Lao immigrants from Lao towns. Today, it is estimated that only 45,000 to 50,000 Phuan live in their former homeland of Xieng Khouang province, with about 60,000 to 70,000 Phuan settled in other provinces of Laos. In Thailand, however, due to the depopulation policy of the Siamese court in the nineteenth century, the number of Phuan population is much higher than in Laos. Through there are no exact figures available, there might more than 200,000 Phuan in Thailand.

Muong Khun town survived the ravages of the Haw bandits in the nineteenth century, but was totally destroyed by American bombing during the height of the Vietnam War in 1967-70. Due to its destruction, Phonsavan became the new capital city of Xieng Khouang province after the war in 1975.

Houses and Villages
The Phuan in Laos live in small and simply constructed houses raised on stilts about 1.50 to 1.80 meters above the ground. Walls are often made of bamboo mats, flooring of split bamboo and corrugated iron instead of thatch. A steep bamboo ladder or wooden staircase leads to a covered porch that runs along the front side of the house.

A single room is all what is needed to shelter the humble Phuan family. An earthen fireplace is located in one corner, sleeping mats for the family members in the opposite corner and the space between functions as a living room. Another popular Phuan house design separates the kitchen and the sleeping/living room in two parts. Such a separate kitchen space is more spacious and contains a collection of most interesting objects and features. From a board darkened by smoke above the fireplace hang dozens of pieces of meat on rattan slings to be dried. Smoke blackened pots and pans of different sizes stand around the earthen fireplace. Several different shaped and sized bamboo baskets and containers hang along the wall or stand on the floor. When raining outside, laundry hangs on a long line to dry opposite the fireplace.

The place under the house is for the family loom, a wooden sitting platform and some agricultural tools. The Phuan family fences their compound with bamboo sticks, hedges or leaves it totally open to the neighbor’s property.

Costume and Crafts
Both Phuan women and men traditionally wear plain dark indigo clothing. The classic daily costume of elderly Phuan women consists of an ankle-length black phaa sin without any embroidery, a long-sleeved black blouse buttoned in front and a black turban. The turban is folded around both sides of the head and the end falls freely down the back of the neck. Younger Phuan women and girls prefer to wear a white blouse and turban. On festive occasions, Phuan women like to be more colorful and wear costumes consisting of phaa sin, bodice and sash with predominantly purple, maroon and orange woven silk. A silver belt completes the festive outfit. Married Phuan women twist their long hair like a garland, winding it around the head like the lower border of a crown and coiling it up from behind to the top of the head. Phuan girls have a slightly different hair fashion, but no less elaborate than the married women. Phuan women wear little jewellery. They adorn their ears with small silver earrings and the hair arrangements with a silver button. In public, the flamboyant hair-do is hidden under a turban.

Phuan men dress in long black trousers, a long-sleeved black shirt buttoned in front and a turban. The turban is also often used as a waistband and has black, white and grey quadrangles.

The Phuan are masters in making a wide variety of baskets, containers, vases, traps and other household utensils from bamboo. Almost every Phuan man is skilled in this art. Unlike their kin group in Thailand, who balance two baskets on a stick carried over the shoulder, the Phuan of Laos still make back-baskets to carry agricultural produce home from the fields. In addition, they manufacture rectangle and quadrangle cases to keep vegetables, flat trays to winnow paddy and many more. They also modify natural products, such a gourds, to carry water or rice to the fields.
Phuan women are experts in making colorful silk or cotton phaa sins, sashes and bodices, both for their own need during festive events and for sale. Phuan women accomplish all phases in the production of these garments, from a rising silkworm to silk cocoon preparation, spinning weaving yarn on their looms into garments and embroidering. Those Phuan living near a river or stream make hydraulic operated rice huskers to mill the paddy.

Agriculture and Economy
The Phuan are traditional wet rice cultivators. Around their former capital Xieng Khouang (Muang Khun), paddy fields stretch along the valley floor for many kilometres. They cultivate both ordinary and glutinous rice. Rice is also the most important cash crop for the Phuan. Besides rice, they grow millet, maize, cabbage and cassava.

The Phuan grow some lettuce, spices, herbs and fruit on small plots of land, so called kitchen gardens, close to the house. The household consumes most of the produce and the surplus is sold in the local market. Around the periphery of the village stand bigger fruit trees, such as coconuts, banana, custard apple and mangoes.

The Phuan raise silk worms and use the cocoons to make fine yarn for weaving garments, pillows, tablecloths and other objects, which are often sold to the Lao, Tai Dam or other ethnic Tai groups in the neighborhood.

The Phuan breed buffaloes as draft animals and a few cows, oxen and pigs. Large domesticated animals have traditionally not been raised by the Phuan. Almost every Phuan household, however, keeps chickens and ducks

Fish and other aquatic creatures play an important role in the daily diet of the Phuan people. Fish are caught with nets, spears or traps in river and streams. Many Phuan villages have their own ponds where fish is raised for all year round supplements. Fish is a common foodstuff, taking second place only to rice. Occasionally. Phuan men hunt small animals like rats, squirrel, deer and birds.

Society
The former Phuan state or principality around the famous Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang was headed by a king and the administration was organized similarly to the Lao administration. Each Phuan town had four principal officials chosen by semi-hereditary right from among the eligible men of the ruling family.

Phuan family structure is nuclear and patriarchal. Most Phuan, both in Laos and Thailand, still have a deep sense of following their traditional customs and habits. Sexual activities prior to marriage are taboo, at least for the girls, since virginity is regarded by the Phuan as a highly desirable quality for the bride. Traditionally, Phuan parents have the duty to maintain strict control of their daughter’s mores, and courtship between the sexes must conform to the rules accepted by Phuan society as a whole. The ideal marriage age for Phuan girls is between seventeen and twenty and for boys between twenty-one and twenty-five. When a Phuan couple wishes to marry, the boy informs his father, who approaches the parents of the bride.

There is no specific or traditional price required for a Phuan bride. Depending on the wealth of both families involved, the groom’s family pays a price in cash up to two million Kip or more. It is not customary to include animals, such as a buffalo or a pig, in the transaction. Phuan tradition does require the family of the groom to pay for the outfit of the bride on the wedding, including a silver or gold necklace, silver belt or other jewellery.

After marriage, the newly wed couple spends the first year in the house of the bride’s parents. During this time, the son-in-law has to perform all sorts of work requested by his parents-in-law. After that period, the couple is free to build their own house.

The Phuan of Xieng Khouang inter-marry with all ethnic groups in the area: Lao, Tai Dam, Tai Deng and Khmu, except the Hmong.

Ceremonies, Myths and Beliefs
The Phuan have been devout Buddhists for many centuries and also believe strongly in spiritual powers. Their beliefs differ from those of the Lao only in detail. According to Phuan Buddhist ideals, three major events in each person’s lifetime are required. Most important, the individual should help a son to be ordained, because ordination of a son brings the highest form of merit to Phuan parents. Second, a family as a group should sponsor one of the annual post-Lent presentations of robes to the monks. And third, every Phuan should participate in the construction of a monastery.

Their animistic view of the world includes many guardian spirits for the village, house, family, livestock and more. In addition, they respect the spirits of the surroundings, such as the spirits of the forest, river, sky, tree, loom and spinning wheel. Both good and bad spirits must be placated in order to receive blessings and avoid curses.

Their most import spirit is tha phu ban, the guardian of the village. On specific days, the villagers gather around the spirit house of tha phu ban and sacrifice white rice whisky, candles, fruit and betel nuts. Every person can also approach the spirit individually, asking for a favor. In case the favor is granted, the person will sacrifice a whole chicken and several eggs, or a pig’s head.

The Phuan religious village leader is called jau jam, either male or female, who is the master of religious celebrations. They also have a sorcerer, often female and called poe moe, to cure sickness in the traditional way. Poe moe has several procedures to cure different sicknesses. For instance, holding a knife over a fire, stepping onto the hot metal and then stepping on the stomach of the patient, helps to cure stomach-ache. After several minutes, the patient is cured.

The Phuan hold a number of ceremonies during the agricultural cycle. Their most important ethnic festival, called gampha, is held annually on specific days between January and March. They also celebrate Songkran, (New Years) but some days later than the Thai and Lao do. They have adopted Songkran from the Lao.

The Phuan distinguish three possible types of death. To die naturally of old age is regarded as the best death. The second type of death results from an illness, such as malaria or cholera. The third type is a violent death or accident, which is the most undesirable of all. Premature deaths are feared because of the involvement of the spirit world. In cases of death caused by violence, accident or epidemic disease, the body is not cremated as usual when death is from natural causes, but buried near the monastery. Such an eventuality is greatly feared, not only by the Phuan but also by all Buddhist believers, because without cremation there is no release of the spirit of the deceased so that it can ascend to heaven or be reborn into another earthly body. Those Phuan who die the natural way are cremated at the temple’s crematorium.

Source: Ethnic Groups of Laos Vol. 3 Profile of Austro-Thai-Speaking Peoples, Joachim Schliesinger published by Lotus