Lao Voices

A video clip of Wat Sisaket, take in April of 2007.

Wat Sisket, part 2

During my visit to Laos last year I didn’t get a chance to visit Wat Sisaket. I had been there a few times as a little kid living in Vientiane and wanted to see the familiar places again. Currently Wat Sisaket is getting a makeover and will be as beautiful as ever. Below is the news article from the Vientiane Times Newspaper about the restoration of this grand temple.

Vat Sisaket to undergo restoration

Laos once was known as ‘the land of a million elephants’ and today is famous for its rich and diverse culture, reflected in its different temple styles.

One of the most famous of these is Vat Sisaket, which also houses a small museum. Although it has lost some of its magnificence over the years through damage due to age and invasion, the museum will be restored to its former glory after the government’s planned restoration.

The building is 190 years old this year, and yesterday Vientiane officials and government members, led by the Ministry of Information and Culture, held a celebration to mark the day.

Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Bouangeun Saphouvong said “As part of the celebrations we will review the museum’s history and there will be dance performances and various cultural activities to entertain onlookers.”

Restoration and renovation work is scheduled to begin this week. The plans involve 21 separate projects that the government has approved to mark the 450th anniversary of Vientiane as the country’s capital, which occurs in 2010.

Mr Bouangeun told the media that the restoration is essential because the structure of the museum is deteriorating. Visitor numbers are growing, with more than 2,000 local people and foreigners visiting each month.

Laos has existed, in one form or another, for a long time and records of Vientiane as a dwelling place go back more than 2,000 years. During its long history the country has faced both civilisation and destruction, joy and sadness, with periods of growth and colonisation by invaders.

Vientiane is an ancient city and its history has been recorded largely in its temples, including Vat Sisaket. The temple opened its doors to monks in 1818 during the reign of King Anouvong, after taking 10 years to build.

During the 1827-1828 Siamese invasion, all the temples and houses in Vientiane were completely destroyed except for Sisaket, which continued to function as a monastery throughout the 19th century, despite the fact that most people had fled the city.

The reason the temple was not destroyed was because Siamese troops were using it as a base. It had a reputation as being sacred and protected by spirits. They believed that if it was destroyed, they would lose the war, so they chose to preserve it.

After the war was over the Lao people set about rebuilding and preserving their style of architecture. In 1935 Vat Sisaket was restored to the form we know today.

Vat Sisaket comprises a sim (ordination hall), surrounded by a walled cloister similar to that of That Luang. The sim is the main attraction of the museum, where visitors can learn of its history.

The four entranceways to the cloister create four L-shaped galleries with a bronze Buddha statue in each corner.

Niches in the gallery walls house a total of 6,840 silver and ceramic Buddha images. On the end walls, fragments of murals, depicting stories like that of Kalaket and his magical horse, are still visible.

The black and red lacquered columns of the cloister galleries still retain some of their original stylised stencilled gold leaf decoration.

The Sisaket wall paintings are not true frescoes, in that they were painted onto dry stucco rather than wet plaster; this makes them fragile and over time the drawings have flaked off.

The murals have been partially repainted, but this is occasionally sub-standard and characterised by the use of brighter primary pigments. The architectural detailing, however, is frequently superb.

Murals are a tradition in most Theravada Buddhist temples in East Asia . Popular stories, legends, and moral tales are usually illustrated.

According to the Department of National Heritage of the Ministry of Information and Culture, restoration work will focus on the sim, walls, roof, fences, grounds, drainage and electricity. The improvements will be based on the original designs, to preserve the building’s rich architectural and cultural identity.

As the materials required are mostly imported and therefore expensive, and the government has a limited budget, it is calling on everyone to contribute what they can to help preserve one of the glories of Lao culture.

By Phonesavanh Sangsomboun
March 05, 2008
Vientiane Times - Vientianetimes.org.la