Laos
100 Kip 1957 King Sisavang Vong 14 July 1885 – 29 October 1959
1000 Kip King Sisavang Vatthana 13 November 1907 – 13 May 1978
In Laos, a curious custom was in vogue for a long time. This custom came from the Buddhist faith, where umbrellas were used to denote the level one held in society. The colors and tiers that a person’s umbrella had would be an obvious indicator to all around to who was who.
Among this hierarchy, the highest level of tiers is 9, and the highest-ranking color is white. As such, this was exclusively used for statues of gods and for the reigning king and queen.
Other colored umbrellas were used by lesser royal dignitaries, along with fewer tiers, and only odd numbered tiers were used. The queen consort would have 7 tiers as would a crown prince, and those that were of lesser royal rank could use 5 tiers with other colors designated to their position. Only odd numbered tiers were used due to the belief that even numbers were not auspicious.
This image is of Arivata, a three headed elephant, which was to become the celestial vehicle for the Hindu god Indra. Atop Arivata is a 9 tiered white umbrella. This image appeared on banknotes and the Laos flags until the overthrow of the government.
The Lao royal family can be dated back to the 1300’s and has, like most royal lineages, a few interesting tales. Today, however, the royal family no longer exists. The last ruling family line was in power from 1959 to 1975 when it was overthrown amidst the turmoil of the 20th century’s communist fascination, which is still rearing it’s ugly head as we are well into the 21st century. The Pathet Lao, a left nationalist party with heavy communist influence waged a civil war in Laos from 1959 – 1975 when they took control of the country. In all, only two Lao kings would appear on banknotes issued for Laos.
Laos had been a French protectorate since 1893, but unlike other countries, the French largely left Laos alone. During WWII, the Japanese occupied Laos until the war ended in 1945, and the Japanese departed. When the Japanese started to leave, a minor prince, Phetsarath, revolted against King Sisavang Vong, and removed the umbrella system for a short period. As soon as the French forces returned to Laos, they exiled the usurper Phetsarth and reinstated Sisavang Vong as king, and the umbrellas returned.
King Sisavang Vong was born as Prince Khao on July 14, 1885. He attended school in Saigon, now in Vietnam, but returned to the royal palace in Luang Prabang, which was then a part of French Indo-China, to ascend the throne in April of 1904, shortly after his father died. He was crowned on March 04th, 1905, and he adopted the name Sisavang Vong.
He was a French loyalist, supporting their administrative works his entire reign, maintaining his position through the emergence of Lao nationalist movements. He was briefly deposed by one such group, the Lao Issara, in 1945 when the occupying Japanese forces fled the country. When the French resumed their administration in 1946, they removed the government and it’s declared leader, Phetsarath, was exiled to Bangkok. It was then that Laos became it’s own country, with Sisavang Vong as king, though it was still a French protectorate.
He is perhaps best known for his efforts to create a new constitution in 1957, which would firmly establish the monarchy in Laos. This new constitution would still have Laos rely on France for national defense and economic assistance. In effect, the new constitution effected little actual change in administration of Laos. Lao officials had to get approval from French overseers before committing to any costs or approving decisions. Some offices such as courts, police schools hospitals, agriculture, etc., while under Laotian control, still had to have French counselors. Larger scale governmental offices such as universities, defense, finance, communication, etc., remained exclusively under French control.
The adoption of the constitution was eventually one that firmly held French values and had little to do with promoting the traditional Laotian cultural values. It did however, create a democratic government amidst a growing communist insurgence with revolutionary ideals. Upon adoption of this new government, the president of the United States sent a letter to King Sisavang Vong:
May 20, 1954
[ Released May 20, 1954. Dated May 10, 1954 ]
His Majesty Sisavang Vong
King of Laos
Luang Prabang, Laos
To Your Majesty and to the people of Laos on the occasion of Constitution Day, I am delighted to send the best wishes of the people of the United States.
It is our fervent hope that your sovereignty and independence will be strengthened and preserved. I am convinced that the forces of freedom, working in unison, will repulse the Communist imperialism that would enslave your Kingdom and your people.
In this crucial struggle of all free men against those who would reduce Laos to the status of a satellite of world Communism, I know that Your Majesty and the people of Laos will continue to provide an heroic and inspiring example for all.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Note: His Majesty Sisavang Vong’s message of May 12 follows:
To the President of the United States of America:
Your Excellency was good enough on the occasion of the anniversary of the Laotian Constitution to extend to me and to the people of Laos the best wishes of the United States of America. In the name of the people of Laos and in my own name I thank Your Excellency for that friendly message. The Kingdom of Laos has struggled and continues to defend its territory against the foreign invasion with the same stubbornness. It can continue the struggle only with the substantial assistance of the United States of America and the moral and material support of the free world.
SISAVANG VONG
Sisavang Vong was also known as a ‘playboy king’ as he had at least 10 wives (some sources say it was 25) and is reported to have had 50 children. He would serve his country, suffering from rheumatism and neck tumors, until his death in 1959, when his son, Sisavang Vatthana took the throne.
Sisavang Vatthana was born during his father’s reign on November 13, 1907 in Luang Prabang. He was the second of five children, but the first male, and as such, heir to the throne. In 1917 Vatthana left Laos to attend school in southern France in the coastal city of Montpellier. For ten -years he would continue his education in France, eventually received his degree in Political Science in Paris. Upon his return to Laos, he had almost completely lost his ability to speak Laotian, and had to take private lessons to relearn how to speak his native tongue.
Sisavang Vatthana married in 1930 (only once as far as we know), having five children, three sons and two daughters. During WWII he was sent to Saigon where he represented his father, King Sisavang Vong for the duration.
Sisavang Vong ruled until his death in 1959. His son, Sisavang Vatthana served as Prime Minister starting in 1951, and upon his father becoming ill, he was designated as Regent. When King Sisavang Vong passed away on October 29, 1959, Sisavang Vatthana automatically ascended the throne. However, Vatthana postponed the official coronation ceremony due to the ongoing civil war with the communist Pathet Lao forces. Sisavang Vattahna wanted to wait until Laos was at peace to hold the official coronation. The war did not stop him from updating the throne room, updating the electricity, adding two rooms on either side, adding mosaics, etc. Even without his official coronation ceremony, Sisavang Vatthana was still King. But as the war continued and the communists eventually took over, the coronation never took place, and Vatthana would be the last King of Laos.
In July 1954, Laos obtained independence from France. Under the agreement, there was no mention of who was to become Prime Minister. There were three opposing princes who were vying for the position. In an effort to keep peace, Vatthana had them serve in regional roles, each reporting to the king. One prince, Souphanouvong, had ties to the Soviets and was also leading a communist resistance movement. In March of 1963 Souphanouvong felt slighted when the king took a different prince on a diplomacy tour of over a dozen countries, including the USSR, in efforts to help maintain the neutrality of Laos in the Vietnamese conflict. Souphanouvong stopped all political relations with the king and other acting prime ministers and continued his association with the Pathet Lao in efforts to depose the royal family. These efforts conducted by the Pathet Lao and increased markedly with and there were several coup attempts.
Peace waxed and waned over the years, but the Pathet Lao forces continued to improve and increasingly had the upper hand. Western allies would give military aid, but it took a backseat to the Vietnamese War also under way. That war also bled into Laos, as the N. Vietnamese used Laos to help resupply their troops in the North of Vietnam. The U.S. military would drop a mind-boggling amount – over 2 million tons – of bombs in Laos alone. This effort did not succeed, as the communist faction in Vietnam eventually succeeded and, like the French before them, the U.S. left the area. Even today, over 50 years later, there is an estimated at 80 million bombs in Laos that are still unexploded.
Finally, on August 23, 1975, Pathet Lao forces, under Souphanouvong, entered the capital city of Vientiane, which was by then the last holdout in Laos. King Vatthana was forced to abdicate on December 2nd, 1975. For a while he was appointed as the Supreme Advisor to the President who was, of course, Souphanouvong. That same August, two of his sons, Prince Thayavong Savang and Prince Sauryavong Savang, along with Soulivong Savang, Vatthana’s grandson, escaped Laos by crossing the Mekong River into Thailand.
Vatthana would soon move out of the old Royal Palace when it was turned into a museum by the new government. And not long after that, Vatthana was arrested and placed under house arrest for a while. Fearing his escape and a possible insurrection movement, Vatthana was formally arrested along with his wife and one son, Crown Prince Vong Savang, and taken to Prison Camp No. 1, which already held other high ranking political officials from the deposed government. It was in this prison camp that Vatthana, his wife and son would spend the remainder of their lives.
Various reports came out about the deaths of the royal family. Official news from such camps, often called re-education camps, was rare and untrustworthy, and much of it came as rumors handed down from a few of the guards. The first came in 1978 when it was reported that the queen and one son died of malaria, complicated by their forced labor and starvation. Some accounts also report that King Vatthana also died then as well, but other accounts of his surviving until 1980 and even 1984 have also been reported. The surviving family that escaped Laos would live on, eventually making their way to France, and trying in vain to regain their positions.
