Word: sisavang
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...languid, landlocked little Indo-Chinese kingdom of Laos, a man's rank is told by the color of his umbrella.. Old King Sisavang Vong, who reigns in the royal capital of Luang Prabang, rates a white umbrella. Lesser noble fry rate umbrellas of varying hues and sizes. Viceroys, for instance, are entitled to yellow...
When the Japanese set up the independent kingdom of Laos on the eve of their departure in 1945, an autocratic and petulant prince named Phetsarath decided he was tired of his viceregal yellow umbrella, deposed his uncle King Sisavang Vong, and named himself head of a short-lived Laotian republic. For a brief time nobody had any umbrellas...
Pathet Lao is Prince Souphanouvong, a half-brother of the Premier, Prince Souvanna Phouma, and because both brothers have sworn fidelity to aging, gout-crippled King Sisavang Vong, the Laotians have been inclined to dismiss Pathet Lao as une affaire de famille. Since August the moonfaced, Paris-educated princes have been going about the capital of Vientiane arm in arm, sipping champagne together, and promising an early settlement of their "family affair." Says trusting Prince Souvanna Phouma: "My brother has never been a Communist, only a misled patriot...
...still its own native Thai. Its religion is still Buddhism. Even the French prefer to channel their rule through Laotian kings, and they have established their own purely administrative capital at Vientiane 130 miles from Luang Prabang. Since 1904 the French have ruled through one venerable monarch, King Sisavang Vong, now old (68) and gouty, but no easy man to scare. When the Communists threatened Luang Prabang November 1952, the King refused to quit, declaring: "This is my country. This is my palace. I am too old to tremble before danger." The King's elephant's were used...
...temple opposite King Sisavang Vong's palace sits the most celebrated Buddha of all: the golden Luang Prabang, at least 1,100 years old, from which the town takes its name and its religious and political significance. The expression on this graven, gilded 'image is one of silent, secretive, comforting contemplation. People come thousands of miles to worship before it. Black-haired Thai maidens pray that the enemy will be defeated, and this week the chief bonze assured them that the enemy would be. The battle that is in preparation will, in effect, be fought for possession...