The Revitalization of Lao Palm Leaf Manuscripts during French Colonialism

Abstract

This paper is a study of the revitalization of palm leaf manuscripts during the period of French colonialism (1893-1953) leading to the establishment of a Lao national identity. The revitalization in that context was a contested space of meanings between French and Lao intellectuals; each made use of  palm leaf manuscript revitalization to serve its respective goals.  The French colonialists  wanted to recreate a Lao national  identity and make it different from that of  Siam, the previous colonizer of Laos, by using the Roman instead of the Lao alphabet in re-inscribing the manuscripts. They felt that  the study of Lao Buddhism should also be separated from Siam’s tradition.  The French also wanted Laos to be included as a part of Indo-China. In addition, they wanted to colonize Laos’ intellectuals.  In the meantime, Lao intellectuals used the revitalization of palm leaf manuscripts to struggle against French colonial power and  liberate their country from intellectual dependency on France. They especially resisted France’s  notion of using of the Roman rather than the Lao alphabet in revitalizing palm leaf manuscripts.