3 Baci ceremony
Baci is a Lao ritual carried out to celebrate good times as well as during bad times. The way it works can be explained by the fact that Lao people believe the human being is made up of 32 organs, each protected by a component of the kwan, roughly translated as the soul, or spirit. Total unification of all the kwan in one’s body is considered the ultimate equilibrium, and any wandering kwan is attributed to illness and malaise.
A Baci ceremony is held to “call back” the spirits to your body, involving the tying of white cotton strings to your wrists and saying prayers. Usually hosted by the elder women in the community, participating in a private ceremony is the perfect way to visit a local home and experience this tradition for yourself.