Indic Elements in Laos, a Southeast Asian Country: A Historical Perspective

Prashant Dhage

2023

Abstract

This article is about the influence of Indian culture particularly on Laos, which has been a South East Asian country since ancient times and continues to be so today. There are numerous cultural parallels between India and South East Asia. Over the centuries, various aspects of Indian culture have influenced the lives and civilizations of people living in South East Asia. From the second century onward, the principalities that emerged in the region witnessed the peaceful and non-political penetration of Indian culture. The local elite and people went through a selection and rejection process of Indian elements. Laos represented Indianized culture among South East Asian countries. Laotians have made significant advances in fields such as literature, religion, art, and architecture. Assimilation and diffusion occurred at all levels of society. Cultural elements from various parts of India merged to form local cultural forms. The remainder of the population, including Khmers and Thais, regard India as their primary source of cultural history and contemporary culture. Indic elements pervade their literature, which is written in Sanskrit and Pali scripts. Orissa temples influenced their temple architecture. Their devotion to the Ramayana, Jataka figures like Dadhivahana and Vimalaraja, and so on. It was not a case of Indians subduing Laos and imposing their culture. The Indian cultural superstructure was built on an indigenous foundation. Geographically it is far away from India but culture shortened the distance and made such a relation which can create a platform to fulfill the dream of the world is one family.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Dhage P. (2023). Indic Elements in Laos, a Southeast Asian Country: A Historical Perspective. In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies - Volume 1: PAMIR; ISBN 978-989-758-687-3, SciTePress, pages 937-940. DOI: 10.5220/0012530600003792

in Bibtex Style

@conference{pamir23,
author={Prashant Dhage},
title={Indic Elements in Laos, a Southeast Asian Country: A Historical Perspective},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies - Volume 1: PAMIR},
year={2023},
pages={937-940},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0012530600003792},
isbn={978-989-758-687-3},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies - Volume 1: PAMIR
TI - Indic Elements in Laos, a Southeast Asian Country: A Historical Perspective
SN - 978-989-758-687-3
AU - Dhage P.
PY - 2023
SP - 937
EP - 940
DO - 10.5220/0012530600003792
PB - SciTePress