Kammavacha (ກຳມະວາຈາ) (1795)

This leporello manuscript is written on blackened khòi paper with golden ink in Tham-Lan Na script. The manuscript is kept together by a beautifully decorated wooden cover. This text is about the way a proper ordination ceremony is organized, the qualities of a person who is going to beomce a monk or novice. This text is a compilation of questions raised by the senior monk who presides over the ceremony and the respective questions which the monk should know. The colophon written in smaller-sized letters states taht the manuscripts was written in CS 1157 (AD 1795) near Chiang Saen in present-day Northern Thailand. Furthermore, it states that the manuscript mentions Phὸ (Father) Thu, Mae (Mother) Thu Unnolot Sut Chai and their relatives as sponsors. The manuscript contains several very beautiful drawings. It is very neatly written (caligraphy). It can be assumed that this manuscript was carried to Luang Prabang by Chiang Saen people who were resettled to northern Laos in 1804. Date of original material: CS 1157 (dap mao year); 1795. 25 folios.