In Laos, when a friend leaves on a long journey, when a child is born, when two young people marry or when an important guest arrives in a village, a rite is often held that is striking for its gentleness. People sit around an arrangement of leaves and flowers, an elder recites words of blessing, and at the end everyone ties white cotton strings around the wrists of those being honoured. This is the baci, or su khwan, the rite that calls back and strengthens the khwan.
What khwan is
Among Tai-speaking peoples, who include the Lao, Thai, Shan and many smaller groups of Southeast Asia and southern China, khwan is an essential component of the person. It is often translated as "soul", but the meaning is more precise: it is the vital essence that gives vigour, balance and good disposition. A person whose khwan is firm is serene, healthy and fortunate; a person whose khwan has weakened or wandered off appears frightened, listless and vulnerable.
One important feature distinguishes khwan from the soul of Western religions: there is not just one. Tradition speaks of thirty-two khwan, linked to different parts of the body and character. Each of them can wander away.
When the khwan flees
The khwan is believed to be timid and easily startled. It can leave the body for many reasons:
- a sudden fright, such as a fall or a narrowly avoided accident;
- a long separation from home and community;
- a life transition, which leaves the person in an uncertain condition;
- an illness, or simply a period of sadness.
Objects, animals and rice fields can also have a khwan, and in the past there were rites for the khwan of rice or of the buffalo, indispensable companions of peasant life.
The baci rite step by step
The baci can be simple or solemn, but it keeps a recurring structure.
- Preparing the pha khwan: at the centre stands a cone- or pyramid-shaped arrangement made of folded banana leaves, flowers, often marigolds, candles and hanging white strings. Around its base are placed offerings of rice, boiled eggs, sweets, fruit and rice liquor.
- The summoning: a respected elder, often a former monk called a mo phon, recites formulas in a solemn language. He invites the scattered khwan to return from wherever it is, from mountains, rivers and forests, because food and celebration await it here.
- The contact: the participants touch the pha khwan or the arm of the person being honoured, forming a chain.
- Tying the strings: each person ties a white string around the honoured person's wrist, speaking personal wishes for health, happiness and success. The honoured person holds their hands joined, often with an offering in hand.
- The feast: a shared meal, music and sometimes dancing follow.
The strings are worn for at least three days and are not cut: they are untied or left to wear away.
A rite for every passage
The baci accompanies many occasions in life:
- births and a child's first months;
- weddings, of which it is one of the central moments;
- departures and returns, for those who go far away to study or work;
- recovery, as a rite of rebalancing alongside care;
- welcoming guests, colleagues and foreign friends;
- the Lao New Year, celebrated in April.
In Laos the baci has become almost a national symbol, celebrated even in official settings and among emigrant communities abroad.
A psychology of the bond
What is striking about khwan is its relational dimension. The rite acts not only on the person but on the group: calling back the khwan means showing someone that the community holds them, that they are not alone, that their bonds are firm. The white strings are visible signs of these bonds, worn on the body for days.
Many traditions in the world have rites to "call back the soul" after a fright or a loss. The baci is one of the gentlest forms: no struggle against hostile spirits, but an invitation, a meal, a collective caress.
In short
- Khwan is the vital essence of the person among the Tai peoples.
- Tradition speaks of thirty-two khwan, which may flee through fright, separation or life transitions.
- The baci or su khwan rite calls them back with a central offering, blessings and white strings.
- It accompanies births, weddings, departures, returns, welcomes and the New Year.
- Its heart is the bond: the community reminds the person that they are not alone.
