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Stupa: Wat Si Meuang

Keywords : Phra That, Laotian Art, Laterite

Artwork alternative name-
Site common nameWat Si Meuang
Site alternative name-
Type of artworkArchitecture
Village-
Province/CityVieng Chan
StateVientiane
CountryLaos
Geographic Coordinates
Decimal degree		Lat : 17.9580413
Long : 102.6170683

History of production-
ArtStupa at Wat Si Meuang is made of laterite, which is different from stupas in other arts that are normally made of bricks. The remains include the inverted lotus base with the plain middle element decorated with a pointed moulding. This stupa is often mistaken as a Khmer architecture. However, the laterite is smaller than that of Khmer and the use of pointed mouldings consolidates that this is definitely not a Khmer architecture.
SchoolVientiane
PeriodHistorical Period
Art periodLanchang
Age24 century BE.
ReligionBuddhism
SectTheravada
Religion and beliefWat Si Meuang is the city pillar of Laos. There is a story saying that when the city pillars were constructued, someone needed to sacrifice their life in the hole of the pillars, otherside; the abbot had to do it himself. There was a 3-month-pregnant woman sacrfied her life by jumping into the hole with a horse. It is not certain that this sacrificing legend was true, but it reflects the belief about “Seu Meuang”, whcih is the ghost guardian of the city in Southeast Asia.
Related artwork-

Type of LicenseAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
RightsPrincess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
Date of record creation2015-02-00
Record creatorChedha Tingsanchali