The Grammar and Function of Colophons in Lao Manuscripts:The Case of the Vat Maha That Collection, Luang Prabang

This article discusses the structure, grammar, and function of colophons in Lao palm-leaf manuscripts containing Buddhist texts. The manuscripts which form the corpus of this study have been selected from the monastic repository of Vat Maha That, one of the largest monasteries in the old royal capital of Luang Prabang. The colophons are almost exclusively written in the Lao vernacular with rather short, standardized Pali phrases at the end. The main emphasis is on the role of scribes and of sponsors in the making of manuscripts. The vast majority of Lao manuscripts are elaborately dated according to the Lao lunar calendar. In the case of manuscripts from Luang Prabang the relatively high number of female sponsors and the presence of royalty among principal lay initiators is a most striking feature.