The
Haw Pha Bang (Ho Pha Bang), Royal or Palace Chapel,
is located at the northeastern corner of the grounds
of the Royal Palace Museum. Although it is a new
structure,
it is built in the traditional style and is tied
directly to the history and traditions of this World
Heritage City. The Haw Pha Bang has been designed
as the permanent homeshrine for the Pha (or Pra)
Bang, Luang Prabang's namesake and most sacred image.
The image,
brought to Luang Prabang in 1359, earlier had places
of honor in various city wats (including Wisunalat
and Mai). Most recently it has been on display in
the Royal Palace Museum from which location it is
carried to Wat Mai for ritual cleansing during the
city's New Year's celebration.
Work on this
permanent resting place for the Pha Bang began in
1963 during the reign of Sisavang Vatthana (1959-1975).
Originally to be funded by small contributions from
all over the country, construction of the shrine was
interrupted by invasions, wars, revolution and the
end of the monarchy. The accession of the communist
Lao People's Revolutionary Party, popularly known
as the Pathet Lao, to power in 1975 led to attacks
on Buddhism and the monarchy; it also led to the denigration
of the Pha Bang that was identified with the royalist
tradition. But government policies and practices changed
dramatically, at least toward Theravada Buddhism and
Lao folk religion. Currently state officials take
part in the New Year's and other celebrations that
embody the historic Lao religious traditions.
The change of policy which was also included the
construction, or reconstruction, of the Haw Pha
Bang, which began in earnest again in 1993. The
Haw Pha Bang is built in the traditional Luang Prabang
style, but by using modern construction techniques
and materials, and is set on an exaggerated platform,
befitting its special role as repository of the
paladin of the city. It is highly ornate with gold
and glass decoration covering much of its exterior
and interior surfaces.
A number of naga-flanked stairways and an elaborate
multi-faceted roof
structure add to its over-all impact. It is assumed
that Luang Prabang's namesake and most sacred image
will take its place in the position of honor in
the pavilion in the very near future. As of this
writing (July, 2005), the structure is virtually
complete
Perhaps a
few comments about the sacred Pra Bang would be in
order. It is 83 cm, almost 33 inches, tall and is
90% gold with additional silver and bronze alloys.
It weighs around 50 kg., or 110 lb. The statue, with
both hands raised in the attitude of Abhayamudra (dispelling
fear and offering protection to those who would give
it honor) served as a unifying force for religious
and royal traditions. Although it appears to be of
14th century Khmer origin, legend dates it from Sri
Lanka in the first century AD. In 1359 the Khmer king
gave the Pra Bang to his son-in-law, the first Lang
Xang monarch Fa Ngum (1353-1373); it was to provide
Buddhist legitimacy both to Fa Ngum's rule and theoretically
to the sovereignty of Laos. In 1563 King Sai Setthathirat
(1548-1571) brought the Pra Bang with him to his new
capital at Vientiane. On several occasions (c. 1778
and c. 1827)
Siamese invaders took it back to their lands, but
Rama IV, King Mongkut, finally returned it in 1867.
It was placed first in Wat Wisunalat; then the French
moved it to Wat Mai for safekeeping in 1984. After
a rather complicated series of changes it was placed
in the Royal Palace Museum in 1947. There remains
doubt whether the image in the museum is the same
object that was given to Fa Ngum. Some suggest that
it is a copy and that the original is in a vault
either in Vientiane or perhaps even in Moscow. Nonetheless
the Pra Bang remains an object of veneration and
a reminder of the rich traditions
of Luang Prabang
