Reading Notes: Laos, Part B

Laos: The Magic Well. Story source: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).

• The prince of a large province was sick
• Even after all of the doctors had seen him, nobody could cure him or understand what was wrong with him
• One day, an old man stopped by his house and asked to speak to him because he had a message from the spirits
• Upon being let in to see the chow, the old man said that he had a vision the night before
• He explained that in his vision, a spirit came and led him to the bank of a river where a boat was waiting for him
• After entering the boat, the boat was rowed down the river by unseen hands..... creepy!!!!
• The boat stopped at the edge of a tall mountain and the spirit led him up the mountain, however there was no visible path
• The spirit and the old man continued until they reached the top of the mountain
• At the top of the mountain were two huge rock walls
• Between the walls, there was a gate which appeared to be lead into a city
• The spirit led the old man to the other side of the mountain and took him ascend the tall rock where no other person had ascended before
• At the top of the steep climb, a small opening was revealed to the man
• This was the magic well
• The man laid down and reached his arm out to reach the bottom of the opening, but couldn't reach the bottom  
• He grabbed a cup and filled it with the water from the well
• When he was about to drink the water, the spirit stopped him and told the man to tell the prince that the water would heal him
• When the man told the prince of this vision, the prince did not doubt him, and commanded a boat to be ready for the two of them immediately
• He also ordered for servants to join them in the journey
• Soon, the orders were completed, the crew embarked on the same journey, as described, with the help of two strong men
• Everything that the crew saw on the journey followed the vision of the old man
• When the crew reached the top and filled a glass full of the well water, the prince drank it
• After drinking the water and pouring it on his head and his hands, the prince was healed of his sickness and was a completely new man

• To this day, the water of the magic well is used to heal people...

(Nam Ou River confluence in Mekong Laos. Source: Wikimedia Commons)