The Laos and Siamese nāga tradition in Henri Mouhot’s travel narrative

Record summary

Henri Mouhot’s travel writings, published after his journeys in Siam and the adjoining region, describe local religious practices, animals and legendary beings encountered through interpreters and informants. References to serpentine or dragon-like beings provide a named nineteenth-century source for studying how Southeast Asian traditions were rendered in European travel literature. The material is not a modern sighting dossier and does not demonstrate an unknown species. Exact translations and editorial changes between the French publication and later editions require checking, especially where “dragon,” “serpent” and nāga are treated as equivalents.