During this country’s Rocket Festival, participants fire black powder rockets into the air while also listening to the Epic of the Toad King who waged war against the sky to bring back the rain. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this country whose native epics include the Sang Sinxay. Similar to a neighboring country’s Ramakien epic, this country’s variant of the Ramayana features and is named for the protagonists Phra Lak and Phra Ram.
ANSWER: Laos [or Lao People’s Democratic Republic; or Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao; or Mueang Lao]
[10e] In the Laotian Ramayana, this figure slits the belly of the Ousouphalad Ox to heal his father, Phra Ram, with its droppings. In the Cambodian Reamker, this monkey god falls in love with a mermaid while building a causeway.
ANSWER: Hanuman [or Houlaman; accept Maruti; accept Bajrangabali; accept Anjaneya]
[10m] In another scene, Houlaman seeks out an antidote to his father’s illness from the pillow of these beings. Garuda acts as an adversary to these beings, whose kings include Vasuki and Shesha.
ANSWER: nāga [or nagini; accept nagaraja; prompt on snakes or serpents]
<Purdue, Mythology>