CHAPTER 10 Naming of traditional rice varieties by the farmers of Laos S. Appa Rao, J.M. Schiller, C. Bounphanousay, A.P. Alcantara, and M.T. Jackson The collection of traditional rice varieties from throughout Laos, together with a sum- mary of the diversity observed and its conservation, has been reviewed in Chapter 9 of this monograph. While undertaking the collection of germplasm samples from 1995 to early 2000, information was collected from farmers on the special traits and significance of the different varieties, including the vernacular names and their mean- ings. Imperfect as literal translations might be, the names provide an insight into the diversity of the traditional rice varieties of Laos. Furthermore, the diversity of names can, when used with care, act as a proxy for genetic diversity. When collecting started, variety names were recorded in the Lao language and an agreed transliteration into English was developed. The meanings of the variety names were obtained from all possible sources, but particularly from the farmers who donated the samples, together with Lao extension officers and Lao research staff members who understood both Lao and English. Variety names were translated literally, based on the explanations provided by farmers. For example, the red color of glumes is often described in terms of the liquid from chewed betel leaf, which is dark red. Aroma is sometimes indicated by the names of aromatic flowers like jasmine or the response to the aroma that is emitted by the grain of particular varieties during cooking. This chapter provides a summary of the information collected on the naming of traditional Lao rice varieties. More detailed information is available from records of the collec- tions maintained by the Genetic Resources Center at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and in detailed reports of the collecting missions (Appa Rao et al 2000). Components of variety names Most rice variety names in Laos have three elements: a basic name, a root name, and a descriptor. The basic name is Khao, which means rice. However, there are several very common root names: Khao na (rice, lowland), Khao hai (rice, upland), Khao niaw (rice, sticky/glutinous), Khao chao (rice, nonglutinous), and others. The third element, a descriptor name, allows farmers to further identify particular varieties within groups. For example, the variety name Khao niaw do refers to a glutinous early-maturing (do) Naming of traditional rice varieties by the farmers of Laos 141 variety, whereas Khao niaw kang indicates a glutinous rice variety of medium maturity (kang). Quite often, the word Khao is understood rather than being formally included in the name, so the name recorded was only the root name and the descriptor, such as Khao phae deng (profusely (phae) tillering, red (deng) variety). Variety names with just one descriptor are the most common, but occasionally they may have two descriptors. Some examples of the dual-descriptor names are Chao oon tam (nonglutinous, soft, short), Khaw pom kon dam (white, globular grain, black apiculus), Peek khaw gnay (winged, white grain, big), and Chao Lao-Soung dam (nonglutinous, highland Lao, black grain). Variants within varieties with similar root names Naturally occurring variants of individual varieties are selected by farmers, tested for their performance, and maintained as new varieties. The number of variant forms varied considerably. For example, the variety chao (nonglutinous) has 159 variants (Table 1) as the farmer-consumers of nonglutinous rice use the prefix chao for most of the varieties they grow. In general, those traditional varieties that are grown extensively because of their adaptability and/or superior grain and/or eating quality have more variant forms. For example, variety Khao kay noi (small chicken rice) is a rainfed lowland glutinous variety valued for its excellent grain quality. It is grown extensively in the provinces of Houaphan and Xieng Khouang in the northern and northeastern regions. Among the collections of this variety, nine different forms were found with differences in glume color and other characteristics, with some of these varieties having additional descriptors in the varietal name to reflect these special traits (Table 2). Similarly, the glutinous variety Khao sanpatong, developed in, and introduced from, Thailand in about 1967, is extensively grown under rainfed lowland conditions throughout Laos. Within the collection, nine variants of this variety were identified, with differences in maturity time, aroma, and morphological characteristics (Table 2). Variation in the shape, size, and color of rice grains is often reflected within the root component med (grain) of the variety name. One of the most diverse varieties found throughout the country was phae (profusely tillering). Found in both upland and lowland environments, 38 different forms of phae were identified, with differences in maturity time and several morphological characteristics, such as presence or absence of hairs, color of glumes, and grain size. Diversity of distinct variety names For the total of 13,192 samples of traditional varieties collected from mid-1995 to early 2000 (Appa Rao et al 2002, Appa Rao et al, Chapter 9), variety names were recorded for all but 6% (789) of the samples (Table 3). As there are 48 recognized distinct ethnic groups in Laos (ADB 2001), most of whom speak markedly different languages, some of which are not all widely understood, some variety names could not be readily translated into the Lao language (and therefore into English). Some farmers, particularly the younger generation, are not aware of the variety names. Of 142 Appa Rao et al Table 1. Number of variant forms for some variety names. Variety Meaninga Variants Variant groups with which name the variety name is associated Chao Nonglutinous 159 Ethnic groups, maturity time, plants and ani- mals Dam Black 26 Grain size, grain shape, endosperm type Kam Black 34 Grain size, maturity time, ecosystem, endosperm type Khaw White 40 Endosperm type, ecosystem, maturity time Deng Red 67 Size, shape, color, and quality of grain, aroma, maturity, pubescence, awns, yield, ecosys- tem Leung Yellow 29 Spikelet shape, awns, adaptation Do Early 105 Ecosystem, endosperm type, adaptation Dok Flowers 27 Different traits such as names of flowers, aroma, color Kai Chicken 10 Color, shape, and awns of spikelets, cold toler- ance Leb Nail/toe 13 Bear, bird, dog, dragon, elephant, lady, rhinoc- eros Mak Fruit 114 Various fruits Pa Fish 33 Grain size, grain shape, flooding tolerance Peek Winged 16 Color, shape, and size of spikelets Met Grain 21 Size, shape, and color of grain Mon Globular (grain) 11 Maturity, endosperm type Namman Fat 11 Cow, crab, duck, sandalwood, sesame Oon Soft (grain) 11 Endosperm, grain size Phae Many (tillers) 38 Size, shape, color, and quality of grain, aroma, maturity, pubescence, awns, yield, ecosys- tem Sanpatong Sanpatongb 9 Maturity time, grain size, aroma aWords in parentheses implied. bSanpatong = name of variety originating from Sanpatong District, Thailand. the 12,404 samples for which names were recorded, 1,414 were recorded as having ethnic names that were later translated into Lao and English, whereas the ethnic names for another 151 samples recorded could not be translated. For the 12,404 samples collected for which variety names were recorded (or recorded and translated into Lao), 3,169 names were distinct. The prevalence of dis- tinct variety names varied among the provinces in which collections were made (Table 3). The largest number of names (1,120) was recorded in the northern agricultural region and the least (583) in the southern agricultural region. The northern province of Luang Prabang, which has the largest area of upland rice of any single province, had the highest number (462) of variety names; the largest number of samples (1,244) was also collected in this province. Although fewer individual varieties were collected in some of the southern provinces, some of these had the highest number of unique Naming of traditional rice varieties by the farmers of Laos 143 Table 2. Variant forms of the varieties Khao kai noi and Khao Sanpatong. Variants of the variety Khao kai noi (small chicken rice) Lao name English name Source of sample of variant equivalent Character Province Ecosystem Khao kay noi Chicken, small Standard variety Northern region Lowland Khao kay noi dam Chicken, small, black Black glumes Houaphanh Lowland Khao kay noi deng Chicken, small, red Red glumes Houaphanh Lowland Khao kay noi khaw Chicken, small, white White glumes Houaphanh Lowland Khao kay noi leuang Chicken, small, yellow Yellow glumes Houaphanh Lowland Khao kay noi lai Chicken, small, Striped glumes Houaphanh Lowland striped Khao kay noi hai Chicken, small, Adapted to uplands Houaphanh Upland upland Khao kay noi hom Chicken, small, Aromatic Houaphanh Lowland aromatic Khao kay noi hang Chicken, small, Awned spikelets Xieng Khouang Lowland awned Khao kay noi/nam yen Chicken, small, cold Cold-tolerant Houaphanh Lowland water (tolerant) Variants of the variety Khao sanpatong Khao sanpatong Sanpatong Standard variety Khammouane Lowland Khao sanpatong do Sanpatong, early Early maturity Savannakhet Lowland Khao sanpatong do Sanpatong, early, Early maturity, Vientiane hom aromatic aromatic Municipality Lowland Khao sanpatong gnay Sanpatong, big Large grains Sekong Lowland Khao sanpatong hang Sanpatong, black Black-awned Borikhamxay Lowland dam awned spikelets Khao sanpatong kang Sanpatong, medium Medium maturity Sekong Lowland Khao sanpatong ngan Sanpatong, late Late maturity Sekong Lowland Khao sanpatong noi Sanpatong, small Small grains Vientiane Lowland Municipality Khao sanpatong pee Sanpatong, late Late maturity Vientiane Lowland Municipality variety names (a variety was regarded as unique to a province when it was recorded as having been collected only in that province). In the southern province of Attapeu, approximately 62% of the samples collected (and named) were classified as unique (Table 3). Other provinces with high levels of unique varieties were Sekong in the south and Phongsaly in the north, for which 54.7% of the samples collected in both provinces were categorized as unique.