by Pierre Prouteau (LAMC, EASt/ULB)

Anyone attending a Buddhist festivity in Thailand and Laos will be struck by the proliferation and intensity of amplified sound sources: vendors’ chants, calls for donations, monks’ ceremonial blessings and sutras, music and various forms of theatre performed from multiple stages—fixed or mobile—scattered throughout the ritual space.

These sounds overlap into one another and, when sufficiently powerful, form independent “bubbles.” What initially imposes itself on perception from within the event as a chaotic profusion takes on, from the outside, the form of radiating sonic domes extending for kilometers around. As understanding deepens, other structures emerge: hierarchies among sound sources, along with other sonic strategies —most notably the spatial dimension constitutive of hearing. This is amplified by the pervasive use of the ubiquity of loudspeakers by performers. How do sound systems construct the Thai-Lao ritual soundspace? Can we speak of acoustic architecture, and does it contribute to ritual efficacy? We will consider the virtuality that comes with the materialization of sound spaces independent of “actual” spaces, and its possible heterotopian quality.

Tuesday 10th February 2026, from 2pm until 4pm

Free entrance