Ancient Kingdoms

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Interesting stories are heard from guides about life in their country. Following is one about Laotian women giving birth. 2-3 days prior to a birth the woman goes to the hospital. However, if in a rural area a mid-wife is brought in. The husband is relegated to outside the house and his job is to make a tea that is concocted from herbal plants found in the wild forests. During birth the mother's hands are tied with rope to an overhead beam and she squats low while the mid-wife calls out encouragement. After birth the mother and child do not leave the home for a month but family and friends come to visit daily. It becomes a social time. and the mothers mother stays to help take care of the birth mother and baby, as well as cook for all the visitors. While visiting, the men play card games and all winnings are given to the family as a gift. Sometimes additional gifts are also brought in. The mother is required to drink the herbal tea several times daily and also, lays on a short bed that has hot coals under it. She does this at least 3 times daily and stays on the bed for as long as she can stand it -- even in hot weather when it can get to 120 degrees with high humidity. The purpose is for the heat to help heal the body. Mothers are required to nurse the baby for 6 months, then after that they can supplement with formula or other food. After one month a ceremony is held where the Shaman names the baby and the parents always accept this name, even though they had no input in choosing it.

There are 2 types of monks. City monks and forest monks. Men marry, hold a job, raise children, and otherwise, provide for the family. Later, after the family is grown and have their own job, some men choose to leave the family to become a monk --- this practice is supported since it is viewed as a holy effort to reach Nirvana. It is felt that if nirvana is achieved then they will not need to be reborn. If the man does leave to become a life-time monk, his wife will have her own business and/or her children will care for her. Our guide is considering going back to be a forest monk. He says this is more appealing to him because he will have fewer distractions in the forest. City monks are closer and can be visited by family as well as are more distracted and from my understanding, city monks have an easier life. Forest monks eat just one meal a day and need to climb down the mountain each day for alms. Sometimes, village people will bring alms up to the forest monks. The rest of the time is spent in quiet meditation and learning. They sleep on a mat with no shelter other than a mosquito net over them. Dangerous wild animals and/or snakes have been known to kill forest monks. Question: "What if your children marry and have grand-children. Does this mean you will not ever see them"? Answer: "Yes, that is true, it is very hard. In order to go back to being a monk, we have to first receive permission from our wife and children because it is a hardship on them also". A couple years ago our guide decided he wanted to do this and sought permission. His wife and daughter said they wanted him to wait until the daughter finishes her college education and can get a job to support herself, as well as her mother. Their son is currently living with a woman and in the beginning, the parents of the boy were extremely upset. However, they are now learning to be more accepting. It is the custom that couples NEVER live together before marriage.

Political commentary: It is against the law to talk against the government and people are thrown in jail for doing so. This is information I have gathered on my own. This a.m. we visited the Royal Palace Museum which was built 1904-1909. This palace was the residence of King Sisavang Vong, his wife and their 5 children. It is a museum with original furniture and artifacts within and is beautiful. The King is said to have had 15 concubines in addition to his wife. Children were born from these concubines.

In 1975 this king was abdicated and the story goes as follows..........At the end of the war the king asked to stay in Laos with his family. The Communist government allowed him to stay and the government supposedly gave him a position as an advisor. In 1976 the king gave the palace to the government and moved the family to the summer palace in Luang Prabang. The government heard a rumor that he was thinking of escaping to another country and he and his family were captured, then moved to a re-education camp (prison). They were interred near the Ho Chi Minh Trail and lived and died there (all of them). There are 3 theories as to how they all died.

1) Government version ---- They died from getting malaria.

2) Another government version ---- They couldn't stand the lowly life and committed suicide by hanging.

3) Government killed them (this is the story most people believe). It is also widely believed by outsiders that they starved to death in the re-education camp.

Some believe that the 2nd son somehow escaped and lives in the U.S. Also, there are supposedly children of the concubines who are still living in Laos. However, these people never talk about it. In fact, we spoke with one person who went to elementary school with one child and when he played at the house he saw pictures of the mother with the king. However, nothing was ever said. End of stories for today.

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Photos

Water Buffalo
Right next to the hotel pool water buffalo roam freely.

Luang Pra Bang Royal Museum
This is the former palace of former King Sisavang Vong.

Water buffalo
These water buffalo roam around the hotel grounds. The hotel owner rescued 2 orphan calfs a few years ago and now they number many more. It is a common Buddhist custom to rescue and release animals.

View from hotel room balcony
Gardens with Mekong River in background.