Saravan to renovate historic manuscript store

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Rik Ponne

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Jul 9, 2010, 1:42:16 AM7/9/10

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Saravan to renovate historic manuscript store

Panyasith Thammavongsa

Saravan province is spending more than 2 billion kip to restore an ancient palm leaf manuscript repository at Vat Kang temple in the provincial capital.

Director of Saravan Information and Culture Department, Mr Vannasouk Champakham, said on Wednesday the project aims to renovate the ruins of the more than 230-year-old structure, known as Hortai Pidok (library) and revered as the province’s city pillar.

“We want to preserve our culture through this project.

The Hortai Pidok is a unifying centre for our people, as inherited from our ancestors,” he said.

He explained that the remains of the original Hortai Pidok are located on an island in the middle of a pond in the temple grounds.

The renovated building will be used in its original function, to store ancient palm leaf Buddhist manuscripts describing religious ceremonies and teachings.

Mr Vannasouk said work would be held off until the end of the rainy season, and in the meantime workers would prepare materials, stone and sand to restore the building, adding that the project would be complete in three years’ time.

“After the restoration is complete it will become a cultural attraction for visitors and help teach the younger generation about our heritage, and return to its function as a centre for solidarity,” he said.

Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, who was born in Saravan province, recently attended a ground breaking ceremony for the restoration project.