Grandmother Nyoe, Guardian Ancestress of Luang Prabang

Thai Lao · numen · Lao Isan cosmology; living folk cult · numen

Ya Nyoe ('Grandmother Nyoe') is the ancestress of the guardian pair of Luang Prabang. With her husband Pu Nyoe she came down, at the bidding of the sky lord Phaya Thaen, to cut through the monstrous khua khao kat creeper whose canopy had plunged the world into darkness; the falling vine killed them both, and in gratitude the Lao raised the couple to the rank of devata luang, the great tutelary spirits of the royal capital. Her mask, kept with her husband's and that of the lion Sing Kaew Sing Kham at Vat Aham, is danced through Luang Prabang at the Pi Mai New Year, when the ancestral couple bless the town, join the great processions, and help lustrate the Prabang image. Households calling the couple's names at ceremonies remember them as the nurturing grandparents of the Lao people, givers of protection, prosperity, and abundance.

Domains

guardianship
seasonal renewal

Powers

to cut down the great vine that darkened the world
to guard Luang Prabang and bring prosperity and abundance to its people

Epithets

ເທວະດາຫຼວງ

Relations

spouse: Grandfather Nyoe, Guardian Ancestor of Luang Prabang
subordinate to: Sky Lord

Sources

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