ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on categorizations of "the Other" and "Us" by looking at what is in-between. It provides an example from the fieldwork in Laos. The generally accepted in-group or inside group, the "Us" group, is the Lao majority of the county's population. This group also includes scholars and academics, of course, both national and international. "The Others" are the numerous ethnic groups, particularly the Mon-Khmer-speaking groups, whose members are supposed to be the indigenous Lao. In the country, there are officially 49 ethnic groups, and in Vilabouly the villages are primarily inhabited by Mon-Khmer-speaking people. Mon-Khmer-speaking groups are strongly connected to the use and production of bronze drums. In Laos, as in many other Southeast Asian countries, the popular Buddhism is the dominant religious practice. The belief in spirits, or phii, is a common expression of popular religious practice.
