Relationship between Anisong Manuscripts and Rituals: A Comparative Study of the Lan Na and Lao Traditions

This comparative research studies two corpora of manuscripts that contain so called anisong homiletic texts which were very widespread especially in Northern Thailand and Laos and enjoy broad popularity. Usually manuscripts with anisong texts are written on palm-leaf and – in a clearly smaller scale – mulberry paper. These are used by monks and novices in different religious ceremonies. They are often donated to Buddhist monasteries and the community of monks and novices and therefore fulfill an important function in the social and economic interaction between Sangha and laity. The corpus of anisong manuscripts in Northern Thailand includes 207 palm-leaf manuscript bundles (Thai: mat) in which 339 fascicles (Thai: phuk) are contained; whereas those from Laos – mainly archived in the ancient royal city Luang Prabang, the Lao Buddhist center – include 143 bundles in which 366 fascicles are contained. Many of the anisong manuscripts are real multiple-text manuscripts (MTMs) or composite manuscripts (COMs). Benefits or rewards gained from meritorious actions are known as Anisong (Pali: ānisaṃsa) which is textually categorized as a Theravāda Buddhist literary genre especially found in the Tai-Lao cultural domain. Anisong constitutes a large corpus of Buddhist literature that is directly associated with the belief in meritorious rewards resulting from generosity. In Northern Thailand, the sermons are known as anisong, representing ‘rewards.’ In Laos, however, the sermon is popularly known by the terms salòng or sòng – from Khmer: chlaṅ ឆ ្លង, “to dedicate,” “to celebrate”) – which literally mean ‘to transit’ or ‘to celebrate.’ Anisong sermons in Laos are held as the Lao terminological interpretation of the term insinuates and their anisong manuscripts diversely conceptualize the notions of anisong or salòng in a broader sense. Anisong sermons originated from the notion of merit expectation, thereby being included as part of religious ceremonies in which practitioners are assured of the rewards for their meritorious acts. Even though the manuscript corpus is derived from Northern Thailand and Laos, the concept of meritorious reward expectation can to some extent reflect the belief in merit among Buddhist people in Southeast Asia where Theravāda Buddhism is widespread. Anisong manuscripts in Laos have been produced in response to actual usage, while those in Northern Thailand were more often made in exchange for meritorious outcomes. Thus, Northern Thai anisong sermons maintain more traditional features than those from Laos. Anisong manuscripts are outstandingly characterized by dynamics, movement, adjustability, flexibility, transformation and a close relationship between Sangha and laity in accordance with their present actual usage in terms of both object and contents and play a crucial role in dedication and preaching rituals. In addition to religious purposes, the manuscripts more diversely and openly serve as academic supplements, historical records and master versions for further copies. Anisong manuscripts from Northern Thailand were mainly aimed at textual preservation, while those from Laos are rather intended for the benefit of actual uses. Anisong texts (contents) and manuscripts (objects) produced in Northern Thailand therefore conventionally focus on textual collections, unlike in Laos where anisong texts (contents) and manuscripts (objects) are considerably involved in sermons and show contemporary influences. Such differences significantly illustrate that Lao anisong manuscripts have been more exposed to modernity, thereby having been developed to include also fashionable donated items or secular events, while Northern Thai anisong manuscripts have rather conserved their conventional or traditional features. Anisong manuscripts from Laos are thus found to be more transformed and notably influenced by modernity in terms of their texts and as objects. However, the common feature of anisong manuscripts in both regions is that they represent dedication items in exchange for meritorious rewards, following the fundamental belief in generosity or dāna which is regarded as the main characteristic of anisong sermons; as a consequence, the supply of manuscripts outnumbers the manuscripts’ demand.