DANSAI VALLEY: THE LEGEND OF REGAL LAOS LINEAGE

Abstract

Ban Na Viang Yai is an ethnic community in the Dansai Valley in the NamMhan River Basin, Dansai District, northeastern Thailand. The residents believe that their origins are told by a legend that describes their descent from "Laos Vieng”; immigrant construction workers who founded Si Song Rak pagoda before settling in the Dansai valley (where they remain to the present day). The legend provides a meaningful shared history, relating the community to King Lanxang from "Krung Si Sattana Kanahut", an ancient kingdom from Vientiane, Laos. Rites of succession, religion and ceremonies celebrating their ancestors and their roots, live on today. The Si Song Rak pagoda is a sanctuary that connects their community with the people of the Dansai region. The local beliefs, clan lineage, unique spirits which look after the mysterious and sacred divine power as well as protecting the community as a whole, merge to create a peaceful religion which also combines with general Buddhist practices and rituals.