Naga stone sculpture guarding the Buddhist temple of Ho Phra Keo (photo)

Haw Phra Kaew was built between 1565 and 1556, on the orders of King Setthathirath. The temple housed the Emerald Buddha figurine, which Setthathirath had brought from Chiang Mai, then the capital of Lanna, to Luang Prabang. When Vientiane was seized by Siam (now Thailand) in 1778, the figurine was taken to Thonburi and the temple was destroyed. Nāga is the Sanskrit and Pāli word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very great snake or sea serpent, specifically the king cobra. Lao mythology maintains that the Naga are the protectors of Vientiane, and by extension, the Lao state. The Naga is incorporated extensively into Lao iconography, and features prominently in Lao culture throughout the length of the country, not only in Vientiane.