By Savannakhet Secondary School, Savannakhet

Aliya Boulom
Phoumanisone Ounmeuangsack
Phoyphaylinh Sengphachanh

In Laos, there are 3 main ethnies : Laoloum, Laosoung and Laotheung. Each ethnie has different cloths and jewels. Most of the Laotians are Laoloum, therefore Laoloum’s cloths and jewels are our traditional cloths and jewels.
Lao cloths are nice, well arranged, typical, made from silk or cotton and show the good traditions of Laos, in particular girls’ cloths. They wear hand made skirts called Sine, long or short sleeves shirts and a scarf on their right shoulder. Jewels are in silver or gold and can be necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets. Their hair are done in buns where golden jewels like necklaces around. Boys wear a shirt with a high collar, a pagne and a scarf on their shoulder like the girls.
Some of the traditional items from Laos are :
Kitchen objects in porcelaine or clay because we could easily find clay ; they are cheap and do not have any chemical products in them.
Wooden or granit sculptures : we find them on the pagodas’ walls as pagodas are the center of traditions and religions. Apart from pagodas, we decorate other places (houses, restaurants, hôtels, ...) with sculptures which show Laotian nature, ancient architectures of each province and mascots.
Pieces of material : silk ones are nice and expensive, and are good quality products. They are made in several steps which last long. Cotton is also nice and bring freshness when you wear them.
Wooden decorations (small xylophones, small charriots, ...).
These handicrafts are exported and sold around the country. All of this show how important Laos heritage is, beautiful, typical and very interesting. We are Laotians, we invit you in Laos to discover our country’s traditions.