The Weights of Laos and the Mekong Region

The weights of Laos are amongst the oldest in Southeast Asia, but have been understudied. There are almost no surviving Laotian records regarding weights. The very first article about the animal-shaped weights of Southeast Asia was published in France in the year 1910, which was primarily concerned with the weights found in Laos. In the following 115 years, there has been one lone publication concerning Laotian weights. The present book aims to assemble all that is known about Laotian weights. Laos has origins of weights dating back to the fourteenth century when the Lan Xang kingdom was established, and in the late 19th century, it fell under European influence as part of the French Indochina colony. Amidst a chaotic and troubled history, Laos has produced an interesting array of endearing weights, mostly intended for small hand-held balances – Laotian weights rarely exceed 130 g in weight. The earliest weights originate from Lan Xang, and the geometric designs were likely borrowed from Islamic trade weights. In the sixteenth century, the adoption of Buddhism fostered a unique style of weights seemingly based on a monk’s alms bowl known as ‘monk-bowl’ weights. Finally, influences from Burma and Siam led to a generation of wonderful small weights, or possibly amulets, primarily based on figures from the Asian zodiac, but often from mythical creatures believed to inhabit the Mekong.