KPL
(KPL) The annual festival of Sikhottabong stupa in Thakhek district of Khammouane Province is scheduled to be held from 20-22 February.
By Vinnaly
(KPL) The annual festival of Sikhottabong stupa in Thakhek district of Khammouane Province is scheduled to be held from 20-22 February.
An organising committee meeting for the event was held in Thakhak district on 1 February.
Participants at the meeting also assigned both an organising committee and sub-committee for the festival. They also reviewed organising plans for past Sikhottabong stupa festivals to ensure that this year’s festival maintains the long tradition of Laos.
Chief of Thakhak district, Mr Chan Bouphalivanh also stressed that the organising sub-committee would be responsible for services and facilities for visitors and tourists during the festival.
The Sikhottabong stupa festival will coincide with the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Vat Phou being declared as Laos’s second World Heritage Site.
The Sikhottabong festival is held annually on the full moon of the third month of the Lao Lunar Calendar. The festival is a religious ceremony and has been observed since 1568. People celebrate for three days before the full moon day and give alms on the last day as well as other religious activities along with local trade fairs and performances.
Sikhottabong Stupa is located on the Mekong River front, about six kilometres to the south from Thakhek city. The stupa is believed to be one of the most sacred places in Laos. It was built in the 5th-6th century before Christ and renovated in the 16th century by King Saysetthathirath I and renovated again in the 18th century by Chao Anouvong.
The stupa is 28.89 metres high, has four sides and stands on a 1.5 metre base. Like Phra That Luang in Vientiane and That Inhang in Savannakhet, it is surrounded by a cloister wall.
KPL
