Visitez Luang Prabang, et le reste du Laos

From a protectorate till today

Benolaos — 2012-06-16T10:21:41Z

The era of French Protectorate

During this period, the French reconstructed Vientiane, supplying facilities, roads and universities. They also enlarged the realm of Louang Prabang by integrating the Provinces of the North and the ancient state of Vientiane. The city of Luang Prabang, where the French Police Headquarters was installed, had an architecture, at that time, which still has many charming traces of French presence. The Royal Palace, which was built between 1904 and 1909 under the reign of King Sisavang Vong, was transformed to a National Museum, after the events of 1975.

It was from this association between the usual Lao style (traditional wooden houses, both in composition and layout) and the colonial style (rich houses constructed solidly and covered with lime to make them white) that the town shows today, its greatest charm. The city keeps it unspoiled, even today, thanks to the efforts of The World Heritage House who insisted on respecting the rules dictated by UNESCO, who catalogued the city as part of the World Heritage Program in 1995.

Today

Luang Prabang is without a doubt, one of the highest symbols of Buddhism in Asia, and has its own karma with a population that is still very ardent and devout. With its dozens of golden temples which occupy nearly a third of the total area of the town, Luang Prabang continues to be the head of many Laotian religious manifestations that still exist today. There are hundreds of bonzes (out of about 20 000 inhabitants), which definitely increases its mystical character.

Architecture is still beautiful, and even though there are many new buildings in the centre of town, they still observe a certain construction code, as decreed by the House of Heritage, so that beauty and harmony continue to radiate from this town, which very few towns in S.E. Asia can better.

If Luang Prabang is no longer the capital of Laos, its inhabitants continue to be proud of their town, as much by its history as by the radiance that still shines from it, its continuously renewed role in the life of Laos and its special culture and particularly important spirituality.

Vientiane, capital of the realm

Benolaos — 2012-06-16T10:20:28Z

The Capital Vientiane

It was in 1520 that Photithisarat decided to transfer the political and administrative centres of the realm to Wieng Chan (Vientiane), because he was worried about the possibility of an invasion from Burma. 25 years later, in 1545, the Pha Bang was transported to Vientiane, to the biggest temple of Laos, the That Luang, which had been specially built to house this Sainted statue. In 1563, the administrative capital of Laos was transferred to Vientiane and the town of Xieng Dont-Xieng Tong finally became Luang Prabang.

40 years later the town withdrew from the union and became the capital of the independant realm of Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang was only the capital of Laos for 170 years but historically kept ascendancy in the political life of the country (several Kings co-existed for a long time in Laos : the kings of Wieng Chan, Champassak and Luang Prabang; sometimes friends, sometimes enemies !). Luang Prabang still kept the position of capital, being as the Kings that succeeded each other had a power that nobody could question.

The small menaced realm

In spite of its glorious past, the town couldn't escape from oppression during the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries, from the Burmese, Siamese and Vietnamese who, one after the other, assumed the protection of the realm against high payments. The town was continuously menaced, sometimes invaded, and often damaged :

in 1479, by the Black Thais ...
in 1525 by the Vietnamese...
in 1764, by the Burmese of Alaungra when Luang Prabang was partially reduced to ashes...
in 1887 by the attack of the « Black Flag Army» from China ...

In 1893, it was time for the realm of Luang Prabang to accept French Protectorate (Vientiane and Champassak were thought as colonies), putting an end to a period of extreme insecurity, and the military presence from Siam that had been sent following the dreadful Chinese attack.

Fa Ngum, the legend

Benolaos — 2012-06-16T10:18:44Z

Fa Ngum is considered by Laotians as being the founder of Laos and the first person to recognise the word of Buddha for the whole country, (the equivalent of our William the Conqueror) as well as the person who gave the country its historical borders, which are recognised, even today, by most Laotians. It all started at the beginning of the 14th century. At that time, a King (Chao Phi Fa) reigned in Luang Prabang (then called Xieng Dong-Xieng Tong) and its immediate area, just like many other small Kings which were dispersed all over the area of what would soon become known as Laos. Like all the kings at that time, Chao Phi Fa had many women around him, and a throng of children. He was the sole ruler over his realm.

Legend tells us that this King had a child, with one of his wives (around 1316.) This child was special at birth : he was born with 33 teeth. The animist mandarins of the region, when they heard about it, came to see the baby, to check this spectacular event for themselves. Faced with such a freak of nature, they were unanimous : something very bad would happen to the realm, if the King didn't take the necessary steps to get rid of the child. The father was obliged to comply, quickly : the omen was final and the sentence had to be carried out. In spite of this catastrophic prediction, the King just couldn't kill the new-born baby. He let the mother bring him up normally : what could he be afraid of from a baby? Fa Ngum could live, at least until the age of 7.

The child quickly showed many signs of precociousness. He was a brilliant pupil, better by far than all of the other children of his age, which made his father very proud.

The King would watch the amazing progress of his son in all the domains essential to the education of high dignitaries. He was also an excellent horse rider and had a lovely character. He was more and more loved by the King, who never stopped regretting the fact that his son was the object of a divine curse. As each day passed, the boy became more handsome, more intelligent and more loveable as well ...

Unfortunately, the mandarins were there to remind the King of his duty and the weight of his responsibilities to the spirits who, according to them, were asking for the young Prince's soul. The fateful day of Fa Ngum's seventh birthday arrived, much too soon for the distraught and desperate father, who couldn't push the execution date of his son any further. He had to obey the spirits and rid the town of the problem. Being as he couldn't take the decision to kill his child, who was so good and obedient, so intelligent and loving, he had a junk built, so as to abandon his son to the Mekong river.

This was in 1323, the large junk was fastened to the quay. 30 of the King's most faithful servants installed the prince comfortably in what was supposed to be his last abode ...

Author's note : Legend tells us that it was because of a dental problem that the Prince was sent away from his realm; history tells us another story : Fa Ngum, as a child, was a particularly precocious and beautiful boy, who, very young, got out of hand with one of the King's mistresses, who fell under his charm. It was that, which caused his disgrace ...

Whatever the real story be, the young Fa Ngum didn't die on the river Mekong as the animist priests had hoped. His boat sailed peacefully on and arrived one morning at the mouth of the Mekong river, where the Khmer realm was situated (actual Cambodia). The Khmer King took the child in, and recognising the child's royal blood, welcomed him into the realm of Angkor. The child refused, claiming to be the victim of a curse and told his story to the King. The King was Buddhist and didn't believe in the primitive superstitions in which Xieng Dong-Xieng Tong was still steeped.

Buddhism started in India, 1800 years earlier, with a simple man who believed he was no more than that. (Siddharta, also called Sakyamuni or Buddha, 560 to 480 years B.C.), and who refused the idea of Gods and spirits and concentrated on his own condition, believing in the principle that Man carries within himself, the seeds of his own perfection. Buddhism spread all over Asia ... Angkor was constructed between the VIIth and XIIth century and was completely under the spell of this religion, creating temples which were each more covered in gold than its predecessor... We are told that the young prince was subjugated by the beauty of the places that were dedicated to this new religion.

The King decided to bring the child up like one of his own sons. Fa Ngum turned out particularly talented, obedient, faithful and trustworthy. As time passed, complicity and love grew between the young Prince and the old King. Fa Ngum never disappointed his new protector : he was a good scholar, a quick and visionary fighter, and was sensible enough to become a man with all the necessary qualities to govern. The King, who loved this young Prince very much, gave him the hand of one of his daughters, Nang Kaew Kaeng Nya.

Past master in the art of war, skilled horseman, and awesome strategist, Fa Ngum wanted to go back to the country of his birth to reclaim the throne that should have been his. In 1340, when he was 24 years of age, he felt ready to leave with his soldiers to conquer all the small realms along the Mekong River. He left with an army of 10 000 men given to him by the King. As a Palladium for the new realm that he intended conquering, the King gave him a statue of Buddha in gold and emeralds, the Pha Bang, which became the palladium of the Lao Realm.

On the way to his birthplace, Fa Gnum defeated the 5 small states north of the Mekong capital, including the Khorat plateau, and finally took over the realm of Muang Seua and its capital Mouang Soua. It is said that his father, seeing his son's victorious arrival, left him the throne and died of sorrow because he had listened to the mandarins. In 1353, Fa Ngum declared himself King of the three territories which, united, formed "The Realm of a Million Elephants and a White Parasol". Being as the animists had banished him with their obscure predictions, and because he had converted to Theravada Buddhism, Fa Ngum introduced this religion to the realm, and had temples built. In one of these temples he installed the golden statuette that his adoptive father had given him (the Pha Bang, of which a copy exists in the Old Royal Palace of Luang Prabang). Mouang Soua then became Mouang Xieng Thong (which ended up by being called Luang Prabang, in 1563.)

In this new capital, he installed a Khmer colony, made up of scholars, artists and Buddhist monks. That was the beginning of Laos ...

But Fa Ngum was impatient to leave again on his quest for peace and unity. In 1354, even though Nang Kaew Kaeng Nya was 3 months pregnant, he became master of the Thai state of Lan Nan. Then he came back to Louang Prabang where the Queen, who had ruled in his absence, had given birth to a son, Oun Heuane (Happiness of the House).

Not long afterwards, Fa Ngum prepared new expeditions into the Central and Southern regions, who had never acknowledged his authority. In 1356, he besieged Vientiane, which was called Vieng Nham (Golden Beech) at the time. It is said that, at that time, Vientiane was an extremely developed and rich town, fortified by impassable bamboo walls. Fa Ngum didn't want to lose too many men by attempting an attack if he wanted to accomplish his dream. Instead he used cleverness to overcome the capital of this small realm...

Knowing that the town's strength rested in this thick barricade of bamboo, Fa Ngum had some small pieces of gold shot into it so that they got caught up in the bamboo. He then started a rumour in the town, saying that the bamboo was special and that there was gold in it. When the villagers found out that there really was gold in the bamboo, they started to rip it apart, frantic and blinded by the idea of gold. Even the soldiers couldn't resist the temptation of getting rich. Fa Ngum had only to wait, in order to take the town which no longer had any defences.

During the first 20 years of his reign, Fa Ngum extended his realm to the East by taking Champa, as well as the mountain range bordering Vietnam, with whom he signed a treaty for peace and for the sharing of the territory. He regularly provoked the King of Ayuthaya and seized many Siamese muongs ... Tired of the endless wars by this man called "The Conqueror", and also tired of his high-handed behaviour and his loose way of living since the death of his wife in 1368, his ministers deposed him in 1371. He died 2 years later, and was replaced by his son, Oun Heuane, who reigned for 40 years and who was nicknamed the Chief of the SamSenThai (the "three hundred thousand Lao-Thais", half-casts of Thai-Lao origin counted in the census of 1376.) The period between 1353 and 1416 (date of the end of the SamSenThai reign) was marked as one of the most prosperous in Lao's history.

This period between 1353 et 1416 (end of the reign of SamSenThai) was recognised as one of the most prosperous periods in the history of Laos.

Fa Ngum and the birth of Laos

Benolaos — 2012-06-16T10:16:36Z

It was during the 14th century, that the prince, Fa Ngum, who came from Xieng Dong-Xieng Thong, tried to unify Laos.

Fa Ngum, The Conqueror

The last born of a family of 4 children, he was banished by his father when he was very young because of an omen by one of the King's animist shamans. Educated by the Khmers in Angkor, he was formed as a warrior and a Buddhist. He came back as a conqueror to his native town having added 2 other provinces on his way; forming for the first time in Laotian history, a united territory.

The new Realm was called Lan Xang Hom Khao, or literally The Kingdom of a Million Elephants and a White Parasol. The capital was naturally established at Louang Prabang (which was called Mouang Seua, or Muang Swa at that time) Theravada Buddhism, which Fa Ngum had brought back with him from his stay with the Khmers, was proclaimed as the new religion for everybody.

The King of Angkor hadn't forgotten his adopted son and son in law (as Fa Ngum had married his daughter Nank Kèo Lot Fa). To congratulate him on his achievements and his fervour for Buddha, the Khmer king sent Fa Ngum a golden Buddha the Pha Bang, also written Phra Bang which became the symbol of the realm and its palladium (the most sacred article in existence which was also linked to the protection of the town and the realm).

Luang Prabang, the capital of the Lan Xang Realm

In 1357, Muang Swa took the name of Muang Xieng Dong Xieng Thong and became the first spiritual, political and administrative city of the Laotian realm. As from then, golden temples were constructed all over the town which, to this day, still exist in fantastic numbers. Most were destroyed during attacks from plunderers and reconstructed or renovated during the XIXth and XXth centuries. The new realm went through 60 years of prosperity before declining during nearly a century, wavering under Kings that were too quickly replaced (there were no less than 7 Kings between 1416 and 1438, and 6 others between 1479 and 1520).

A few principles in the Realm of a Million Elephants

The Lao King is of divine origin. He comes down from Khun Borom the Son of the Heavens; whereas the people came from marrows. (A genie made a hole in a marrow with a red-hot poker ; black men came out : these were the Khas. He made another hole with a cold poker ; white men came out : these were the Laos).

Buddhist religious hierarchy has existed since Fa Ngum – or maybe before – and is like a feudal administration system. There exists a "king of the community" or Sangharaja (sang ha = community + raja = king ) who has authority over the bonze-governors, the bonze-chiefs of the villages as well as the bonze chiefs of the districts. Religious power is very potent; there are no examples of Lao Kings having flouted it.

Transmission of possessions between parents and children is done in a special way.

The husband goes to live with the wife's family
He doesn't inherit from his own family and contributes to his in-laws prosperity, with his work.
He builds his own house, near that of his in-laws.
The youngest daughter finishes by inheriting her parent's house.

Men's authority over women is tempered in this way, the remnants of an old matriarchy. This difference to the Confucius system of China and Vietnam is important to know, so as to better understand Lao society.

The family unit is managed by the eldest man.
The head of the family is in charge of all male members of the family and has the right of life or death.
He can put a member of his family up for wager, in case of debts.
He only has one wife, but polygamy is not forbidden if he is rich.
He is answerable to the administration for the members of his family, for taxes and work.

The Thai Lao, like all Thai's is a free man that no other Thai can make a slave, except in the case of blatant rebellion towards his master or a debt.

At the bottom of the social ladder, the masses of slaves can be given as much work as their masters want. Normally they were Austro-Asians, sometimes they were prisoners of war or even issue from kidnappings.

Before the creation of Laos

Benolaos — 2012-06-16T10:10:51Z

Legend has it that during a trip, King Chanthaphanith saw a hill, whose form reminded him of a huge grain of rice. Beside this hill, there was a magnificent Royal Poinciana (otherwise known as a Flamboyant) covered with bright red flowers, so he called the town "The Flamboyant City ".

Another legend tells us about two hermits who predicted the prosperity of a town if it was built at the foot of this ‘rice grain' hill

A small realm

Up until the 14th century, the town often changed names :

Java
Muang Seua (also written Muang Swa)
Xieng Dong-Xieng Thong
To end up by being called Luang Prabang

It became the headquarters for different reigning dynasties:

The Chanthaphanit Dynasty
The Phra Xay Dynasty
The Xoua Dynasty
The Khun Borom Dynasty, of which Fa Ngum was a part.

Up until Fa Ngum's accession to the throne, the history of Luang Prabang was closely tied up with surrounding realms and influences :

The first Lao leader was Khun Lo, who conquered the town of Luang Prabang in the year 698. Khun Lo was the eldest son of Khun Borom, a mythical figure in the Lao legend of the beginnings of the world as we know it today. Khun Borom came from heaven (possibly a figure indicating China) and supposedly gave to his seven sons equal parts of the new Thai territory. Historically, this territory can be identified as the regions of Myanmar, South Yunnan, North Thailand (Chiang Mai and Ayuthaya), North Laos (Luang Prabang and XiengKhouang) and Noth Vietnam. All the Lao royal families recognised Khun Lo as their first ancestor.

In the centuries that followed, Luang Prabang fell, respectively, under the reign of the Yunnan realm of Nanzhao (Nan-Chao), the Khmer empire (Cambodia of today) and a few Thai overlords.
Then came the Lanna realm, founded in 1259, which extended from Chiang Mai in Thailand to Luang Prabang.
The main religion was still animism, even though many countries (especially the Khmer Empire of Wat Angkor) had converted to Buddhism under Indian, then Chinese influence.

Phra Bang

Benolaos — 2012-06-16T10:06:08Z

The Phra Bang (also written Phrabang, and which literally means "delicate Buddha") is the mystical national emblem of this country. It is a statue 83cm high, covered in gold leaf.

According to the legend, this statue was made in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) between the 1st and the 9th century. It belonged for a long time to the Realm of Angkor before being given to Prince Fa Ngum, after the creation of the Realm of a Million Elephants and a White Parasol. It arrived in Luang Prabang in 1359, and so the town was renamed.

The Phra Bang is considered as a symbol of the right to rule Laos. Only a pure and true government may keep this sacred image. Its story, like that of Laos is tumultuous.

in 1778, the Siamese (the Thai of today) invaded Luang Prabang, seized the statue and took it to Bangkok.
in 1782, the statue returned to Luang Prabang, after a series of unfortunate events which they attributed to the absence of their palladium.
in 1828, the Siamese again took the statue back to Bangkok
in 1867, during a change of government, the sacred statue went back to Luang Prabang.
since 2006, the Phra Bang is in one of the rooms of the Royal Palace (which also does the job as a museum) before being taken at a later date, to a special pavilion which is still being constructed.

Each year, on the 3rd day of the Lao New Year, the Pha Bang takes its place in the courtyard of the Wat Maï Temple to be shown to the population who, in a sort of procession, purifie it by giving it water.