Anisong Manuscripts on the Bun Phawet Festivals in Laos: Studying the Relationship between Manuscripts and Sermons

Anisong sermons describe meritorious rewards for attending annual Bun Phawet chanting festivals (thet mahachat) and are performed during rituals. The religious content of Anisong sermons differs from Bun Phawet chanting itself: Bun Phawet chanting recites the story of Prince Vessantara (phra wetsandòn), while Anisong sermons explain meritorious incentives to listen to or join ritual chanting. As the texts of Anisong sermons are not long, listening to them takes less time than to Bun Phawet chanting. T he corpus for this chapter comprises 10 manuscripts, containing texts of Anisong, or meritorious rewards gained from attending Bun Phawet chantings. Six of the manuscripts are kept in Luang Prabang, two in Luang Namtha, and two in Paris. The study of Anisong manuscripts focuses on such paratexts as colophons, on the production process, and on the usage and storage of manuscripts to explore the relationships between Anisong manuscripts and sermons in Bun Phawet chanting festivals. Textual analysis is also applied to trace these relationships. Different texts were written in different styles, which reveal cultural perspectives. Manuscript analysis, ritual analysis, and textual analysis are applied concurrently to study the relationships between Anisong manuscripts and sermons.