The Children of Laos: Novice Monks


The Children of Laos:
Novice Monks
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It's tradition for all Lao boys to serve some time in a Buddhist monastary during adolescence. Some boys go for only a summer; others spend their entire schooling there. For those who decide to continue as novices beyond their school days, it will usually take at least 20 years for become a full-fledge monk. Inside a monastary, a novice commits to a strict regimen of prayer and study. Many novices learn English and are quite eager to practice it whenever they can; because of this, it wasn't uncommon for us to be approached by these young men for a little conversation and cultural exchange.

Above Picture: During our first day in Luang Prabang, we stumbled upon this novice who had just finished shaving his head. The full moon was only a day away, and all the young men were shaving their heads in order to prepare for the lunar celebrations.

s Three Novices, That Luang, Vientiane. These three boys were attending the annual That Luang festival, an event that honors Laos' most sacred national symbol, the That Luang stupa (seen in the background). These kids all look really serious, but it's a bit deceiving. Just before Susanne got this picture, the three were playing cops and robbers with plastic toy guns.

Killing Time, That Luang Festival. Over the course of the week, hundreds of novices and monks from around Laos were assembling for the That Luang festival. Those that arrived early got to camp out in the stupa's courtyard, where they could sit in the shade, read, listen to music. Seems like these novices were having a blast. s

s Say hello to Boua Geun, a 17-year-old novice from Sanyabuli province. Boua Geun introduced himself to us at Luang Prabang's Wat Xieng Thong. We became good friends and spent time with him throughout our visit.

Sacred Drummers. Around 4pm each day, the novices of Luang Prabang's Wat Mai would come out and beat an incredible rhythm on giant drums. s

s At Wat Tai, Susanne met this smiling 16-year-old novice. Technically, novices aren't supposed to get too close to women when they're in the monastary, but hey, he's 16, right?

And while their friend talked to Susanne, these four novices watched, probably curious to see how close he'd get to her... s




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