Of merit and ancestors: Buddhist banners of northern Thailand and Laos

This dissertation examines Tai Buddhist banners of Northern Thailand and Laos and highlights the diversity of banner types that abound throughout the region. An understanding of this art form is essential for developing a broad context for the connection between the Theravada laity's conceptualization of merit and heaven and the visual arts. This is particularly the case of the cloth banners because they are made and donated by women, who are frequently underrepresented in studies of Buddhism and art in Theravada Southeast Asia. Because women are integral to the survival of the monastery (wat) and because their attention to the stories told there are reflected in the banners, the study presented here is helpful to other researchers whose interests may include learning about how popular Buddhist stories such as the last ten lives of the Buddha and the story of Phra Malai are interpreted by female laity.;This research was accomplished through field research, in which eleven months were spent traveling and documenting banners in Thailand, Laos, and Sipsongpanna. This fieldwork also involved formal and informal interviews with Buddhist laity and monks to understand the meaning and context of the banners, their use in the wat, and their specific connection to the earning of merit. In addition to the fieldwork portion of this research, I also examined a variety of sources to gain further contextual and historical understanding of the banners, where possible. These sources include: other regional art, such as textiles and murals; Thai language materials such as publications and religious texts; published works on Buddhism and Buddhist art; and historical accounts written by Europeans in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.;My examination makes it clear that these art objects have a complexity to them that is reflected in their widely varied appearances and multifaceted and complex iconography. The diversity of types and appearance comes from two major factors: the Theravada Buddhist context and the creativity of the women who make them. Local styles and interpretations add to the complexity of the Tai Buddhist banners. The banners' specific function is integral to not only understanding their role at the wat and for women, but also provides important connection to other Buddhist banners that differ in appearance and construction but have the same basic meaning.