Note sur des sculptures sur bois de Luang Prabang représentant des scènes du Rāmāyaṇa

Abstract

The sceneries of Ramayana sculpted on the wooden parts of the monasteries in Luang Prabang, do not depict the real Lao version of the Ramayana, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, but either the Valmiki Ramayana or the Ramakerti "Glory of Rama" (Khmer Reamker of the 16th or 17th century, more recently the Thai Ramakian). A sculpted beam in Vat May temple in Luang Prabang, describes the first episodes of the Ramakian; through very altered interpretations of the Indian myths, the artist told about the origin of the main characters in the epic. In Vat Xieng Thong monastery, a chapel erected by the last Laotian king to shelter the royal funeral furniture, is decorated with wall panels and wooden sculpted and guilded corbels. The panels depict the heroic exploits of Rama and are close to the Valmiki tradition whereas on the corbels, the sculptor was inspired by the Ramakerti. Isolated episodes ornament the folding panels and flash-screens of the lighting brackets of several sanctuaries. The pictures thus represented must glorify Rama but they often give the leading role to his allied, his brother Laksmana or the monkeys, especially Hanuman. The sculptor of Vat May is an image-carver who retained mostly the anecdotical side of the legends which he told with the animation of a story-teller. In Vat Xieng Thong, the artist, rejecting all realistic scenery, sought to adapt his compositions -to the surfaces he had to decorate and to the texts which inspired him; that is why he knew how to impregnate his heroes with the buddhistic atmosphere that is proper to the Ramakerti.