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Sinxay: Renaissance of a Lao-Thai Epic Hero By Peter Whittlesey, Baythong Whittlesey
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- Sales Rank: #1669643 in Books
- Published on: 2015-12-15
- Binding: Perfect Paperback
- 320 pages
Review
Retelling a great Lao-Thai tale: A richly illustrated version of a classic
The plot in Sinxay is a classic quest in which a hero prince is banished by the machinations of evil siblings, travels long through forest and mountain, defeats many fearsome enemies, and is eventually celebrated in a great homecoming. Old versions were written in verse for recitation at festivals. Key scenes were popular with artists painting temple murals. During the nationalist era in the 1940s, the great litterateur of Laos, Maha Sila Viravong, began a prose version in a conscious attempt to create a Lao national literature. More recently, Sinxay has been celebrated as a kind of national hero in Laos. In 2005, Khon Kaen municipality adopted Sinxay as symbol of , and characters from the tale sprouted on the peaks of the city's lampposts.
Peter Whittlesey, an American photographer, and his Lao wife Baythong became fascinated by the Sinxay story and its modern revival. They spent a decade translating the texts, visiting the sites, photographing the murals, and interviewing the monks, writers, performers, and politicians involved in the Sinxay revival in Laos and Isan. The result is this self-published book now available on Amazon.
In old Southeast Asia, tales were public property. Authors freely updated old plots and borrowed good bits from other stories. Wisely the Whittleseys have not tried to locate an "original" or "correct" version of Sinxay. They call their contribution a "retelling" in the spirit of this flexible tradition. They have used the modern Lao prose versions for their outline, but have added detail from the old verse manuscripts which legendarily date back to the sixteenth century. They have written this retelling in readable modern prose with minimal academic clutter.
Words are only part of the story. There are pictures too, lots of them. A prominent Vientiane artist, Khamla Phanyasith, has contributed a series of paintings on the tale. An American illustrator, Nick Bowen, has imagined some of the key scenes in a graphic modern style, and also carefully redrawn scenes from temple murals in order to eliminate the deterioration of age. In addition there is Peter Whittlesey's very fine photography of temples, murals, door panels, statuary, textiles, landscape, and public art from all over Laos and Isan. It's a very graphic and beautiful book.
Sinxay has probably become so popular because it is more complex and more subtle than many such quest stories. Sinxay is not just a prince who gets the girl in the end. Indeed, he has no "love interest" in the tale. The object of his quest is his aunt, his father's beloved sister. He is not a strapping superhero, but appealingly small and vulnerable. He is also properly human. In a climactic scene, he disrupts the easy and obvious resolution of the plot by being downright stubborn.
A strong theme of the tale is about overcoming conflict based on difference. Sinxay and his two brothers are banished at the start of the tale because they are born looking different from the normal, but are eventually acclaimed as heroes. The aunt is abducted by an ogre but then falls in love with him and initially does not want to be rescued. At the end, conflicts between humans, ogres, snakes, and birds are all resolved by a Buddhist belief in the unity of life. I suspect this theme lies behind the tale's long popularity among the jumbled peoples of Southeast Asia, and behind its modern revival.
The Whittleseys have produced an unusual and beautiful book. Baythong has contributed her memory of hearing the story as a child while Peterhas a photographer's eye for graphic detail. The book not only provides an English-language version of one of the great stories of the Southeast Asian region, but is also a fascinating study of the politics of literary revival.
Dr Chris Baker, editor, Journal of the Siam Society
This important new contribution to Lao literature in English retells the Sinxay story with vivid clarity and authenticity. The authors have presented the spirited tale of a major Lao hero and his family within the interpretative contexts of Lao culture, the contemporary renaissance of Sinxay in the Isan culture of Thailand, the history of Lao literature, and the Bodhisattva tradition of the Buddhist Jataka stories. What makes this book an especially lively and timely contribution are the fabulous illustrations. The photos by the authors and the paintings by several artists are outstanding, and they enhance the graceful and animated story that the authors have carefully crafted. A must read for anyone interested in Southeast Asian literature.
Dr. Ellison Findly, Chair, Religious Studies, Trinity College, Hartford, CT
The mythical Lao culture hero Sinxay is vividly brought to life in this new publication by Peter and Baythong Whittlesey, faithfully detailing the centuries old story. Their book is not only cogently written, it is also beautifully illustrated with a combination of commissioned paintings, enhanced temple murals and creative photography. The book emphasizes the the moral and ethical principles which underlay an ancient poem once faithfully recited in temples throughout Laos and northeast Thailand at crucial festivals and life crisis rites. Sinxay also brings the importance and relevance of the story directly into the modern world with analysis of contemporary textile design, Buddhist temple decoration, and contemporary interpretation of a key culture hero. The clear, concise and fluid style of this book makes it relevant for area studies scholars, students of Southeast Asia and the general public alike. This modern reinterpretation of a story never before available to English language readers will be a valuable addition to any library. As the first English presentation of the story of Sinxay this book is a remarkable initial contribution by two independent scholars based in Sacramento, California.
Dr. Eric Crystal, Vice-Chair, Center for Southeast Asia Studies. U.C. Berkeley (Ret.)
Although a centuries old tale from another culture, Sinxay is a fascinating story, one that even young adults can understand and enjoy. At the same time it's also incredibly complex, adding meanings and layers of subtlety that will affect all readers. It has a bit of everything; intriguing drama, mysterious creatures, first romances, long relationships, interesting characters, rigorous challenges, and life lessons.
The traditional hero's quest made famous by Joseph Campbell can be seen reflected in the arduous journey undertaken by Sinxay. Letting my mind absorb the story, along with the beautiful illustrations and photos, was a powerful experience imparting a message that I found resonated within my heart and soul as it describes a truth about all people and the world we share.
As I read Sinxay, I was captivated, educated, and enlightened to the similarities and differences between my culture and other cultures. I was moved to sadness but also enthused with great joy. As I learned more about the story's extensive history, what it means to the people who created the story, the amazing architecture and culture associated with Sinxay, and the social structure that it has infused into the Lao-Thai community, I was mesmerized. It gave me completely new insights into an unfamiliar culture and revealed how to use the lessons that this story teaches in my own life.
Joni Wilson, Professional Editor
About the Author
Peter has been an educator for over thirty years and is currently a high school librarian in Sacramento, CA. Peter began traveling to Laos in 1998 when most people believed Laos was a country wrapped in mystery and too difficult to attempt to travel to. Peter quit his job teaching in 2000 and moved to Laos, wanting to learn the language and immerse himself in the culture. During the year he lived in Laos he worked on a variety of research projects and traveled throughout the country photography the amazing diversity of the country and its people. His award-winning photographs of Laos since then have been published in numerous journals.
Peter met his wife, Baythong (Bai), in 2001, and they were married in Laos in 2002. Bai came to the states in 2003 and became a naturalized citizen in 2006. They have a daughter, Phetmany Sidachan, born in April 2012. They have been living in Sacramento since 2003, yet continue to visit Laos yearly.
Bai grew up in a village where many of the women are weavers, and Bai too, was taught to weave at a young age. Before they became aware of Sinxay, Peter and Bai made a decision to establish an online business to promote Lao weavers and their beautiful textiles, which they named Laos Essential Artistry. Over the years they sold textiles to customers throughout the world and their website became an educational resource for anyone to learn more about the wide diversity of Lao textiles.
In 2006 Peter first learned about the story of Sinxay when Peter and Bai visited Bai s parents in Ban Na Ang, the small village where she grew up. The village is located in the Muang Fuang district in the northwestern part of Vientiane Province, known for its spectacular karst formations. One early evening as they were walking on a dirt road back to the village, they stopped to gaze where the sun was setting over the rocky limestone cliffs, serving as a backdrop to a patchwork of village rice paddies. While they were enjoying the sunset, Bai pointed to where a section of rock seemed to be missing. She told Peter that according to a local legend, it had been knocked out during a battle between a famous Lao epic hero named Sinxay, and an evil ogre named Nyak Koumphan.
This captured Peter s imagination and when Peter and Bai returned to Vientiane, the capitol city, they looked to see if there were any Lao versions of Sinxay in book form. Luckily they found one, and over the next two years Bai and Peter painstakingly translated the Lao prose version of Sinxay into English. It was during this lengthy process of translation that they decided they wanted to write a book about Sinxay.
This decision lead them on a quest to learn as much as they could about Sinxay. Over the next six years they traveled throughout Laos and Isan, interviewing monks, community and government officials, exploring hundreds of Buddhist temples and taking extensive photos of Sinxay murals at older temples in Isan. While it was their translation of Sinxay that initiated their six-year quest, what they learned while researching Sinxay motivated them to use the translation as a base for writing a more extensive retelling of Sinxay.
Their intent in writing Sinxay was not to produce an authoritative text (though they hope others may be motivated to pursue this path after reading the book) but to have Sinxay come alive by telling the story in such a way that it is meaningful for readers today, while remaining faithful to the original Sang Sinxay as written more than 350 years ago.
Peter and Bai will be giving two presentations on Sinxay in Bangkok in July 2016, one for the triennial Lao Studies Conference, and one for the Siam Society.
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