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Culture and Customs of Laos
Laos. Courtesy of Bookcomp, Inc.
Culture and Customs of Laos

ARNE KISLENKO

Culture and Customs of Asia

Hanchao Lu, Series Editor

GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut r London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kislenko, Arne.
Culture and customs of Laos / Arne Kislenko.
p. cm.—(Culture and customs of Asia, ISSN 1097–0738)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–313–33977–6 (alk. paper)
1. Ethnology—Laos. 2. Laos—Social life and customs. I. Title.
GN635.L28K57 2009
306.09594—dc22 2008040735
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright 
C 2009 by Arne Kislenko

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be

reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008040735
ISBN: 978–0–313–33977–6
ISSN: 1097–0738
First published in 2009
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the

Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The author and the publisher gratefully acknowledge permission for use of the following material:
Thao Worra, Bryan. Touching Detonations: An E-Chapbook. Published On-line by Sphinx House Press,
2004, at http://members.aol.com/thaoworra/poetry.htm.
For McB—still the Queen of tom yam kung—and that guy with
the milkshakes in L.P.
This page intentionally left blank
 Contents

Series Foreword ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Note on Transliteration, Names, and Dates xix
Chronology of the History of Laos xxiii

1 Introduction: Geography and People 1

2 A Brief History of Laos 17

3 Religion and Thought 51

4 Literature 65

5 Art 85

6 Architecture and Design 95

7 Theater, Dance, Music, and Film 107

8 Cuisine and Traditional Dress 117

viii CONTENTS

9 Gender, Courtship, Marriage, and Family 131

10 Festivals and Fun 145

11 Social Customs 159

Glossary 169
Chronology of Lao Kings 175
Suggested Readings 179
Bibliography 185
Index 193
 Series Foreword

Geographically, Asia encompasses the vast area from Suez, the Bosporus,
and the Ural Mountains eastward to the Bering Sea and from this line south-
ward to the Indonesian archipelago, an expanse that covers about 30 percent
of our earth. Conventionally, and especially insofar as culture and customs are
concerned, Asia refers primarily to the region east of Iran and south of Russia.
This area can be divided in turn into subregions, commonly known as South,
Southeast, and East Asia, which are the main focus of this series.
The United States has vast interests in this region. In the twentieth century,
the United States fought three major wars in Asia (namely the Pacific War of
1941–1945, the Korean War of 1950–1953, and the Vietnam War of 1965–
1975), and each had a profound impact on life and politics in America. Today,
America’s major trading partners are in Asia, and in the foreseeable future the
weight of Asia in American life will inevitably increase, for in Asia lie our
great allies as well as our toughest competitors in virtually all arenas of global
interest. Domestically, the role of Asian immigrants is more visible than at any
other time in our history. In spite of these connections with Asia, however, our
knowledge about this crucial region is far from adequate. For various reasons,
Asia remains for most of us a relatively unfamiliar, if not stereotypical or even
mysterious, “Oriental” land.
There are compelling reasons for Americans to obtain some level of concrete
knowledge about Asia. It is one of the world’s richest reservoirs of culture and
an ever-evolving museum of human heritage. Rhoads Murphy, a prominent
Asianist, once pointed out that in the part of Asia east of Afghanistan and
x SERIES FOREWORD

south of Russia alone lies half the world, “half of its people and far more that
half of its historical experience, for these are the oldest living civilized tradi-
tions.” Prior to the modern era, with limited interaction and mutual influence
between the East and the West, Asian civilizations developed largely indepen-
dent from the West. In modern times, however, Asia and the West have come
not only into close contact but also into frequent conflict: The result has been
one of the most solemn and stirring dramas in world history. Today, integra-
tion and compromise are the trend in coping with cultural differences. The
West—with some notable exceptions—has started to see Asian traditions not
as something to fear but as something to be understood, appreciated, and even
cherished. After all, Asian traditions are an indispensable part of the human
legacy, a matter of global “common wealth” that few of us can afford to ignore.
As a result of Asia’s enormous economic development since World War II,
we can no longer neglect the study of this vibrant region. Japan’s “economic
miracle” of postwar development is no longer unique, but in various degrees
has been matched by the booming economy of many other Asian countries
and regions. The rise of the four “mini dragons” (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, and Singapore) suggests that there may be a common Asian pattern of
development. At the same time, each economy in Asia has followed its own
particular trajectory. Clearly, China is the next giant on the scene. Sweeping
changes in China in the last two decades have already dramatically altered
the world’s economic map. Furthermore, growth has also been dramatic in
much of Southeast Asia. Today, war-devastated Vietnam shows great enthusi-
asm for joining the “club” of nations engaged in the world economy. And in
South Asia, India, the world’s largest democracy, is rediscovering its role as a
champion of market capitalism. The economic development of Asia presents
a challenge to Americans but also provides them with unprecedented oppor-
tunities. It is largely against this background that more and more people in
the United States, in particular among the younger generation, have started
to pursue careers dealing with Asia.
This series is designed to meet the need for knowledge of Asia among stu-
dents and the general public. Each book is written in an accessible and lively
style by an expert (or experts) in the field of Asian studies. Each book fo-
cuses on the culture and customs of a country or region. However, readers
should be aware that culture is fluid, not always respecting national bound-
aries. While every nation seeks its own path to success and struggles to main-
tain its own identity, in the cultural domain mutual influence and integration
among Asian nations are ubiquitous.
Each volume starts with an introduction to the land and the people of a
nation or region and includes a brief history and an overview of the econ-
omy. This is followed by chapters dealing with a variety of topics that piece
 SERIES FOREWORD xi

together a cultural panorama, such as thought, religion, ethics, literature and

art, architecture and housing, cuisine, traditional dress, gender, courtship and
marriage, festivals and leisure activities, music and dance, and social customs
and lifestyle. In this series, we have chosen not to elaborate on elite life, ide-
ology, or detailed questions of political structure and struggle, but instead to
explore the world of common people, their sorrow and joy, their pattern of
thinking, and their way of life. It is the culture and the customs of the majority
of the people (rather than just the rich and powerful elite) that we seek to un-
derstand. Without such understanding, it will be difficult for all of us to live
peacefully and fruitfully with each other in this increasingly interdependent
world.
As the world shrinks, modern technologies have made all nations on earth
“virtual” neighbors. The expression “global village” not only reveals the na-
ture and the scope of the world in which we live but also, more importantly,
highlights the serious need for mutual understanding of all peoples on our
planet. If this series serves to help the reader obtain a better understanding of
the “half of the world” that is Asia, the authors and I will be well rewarded.

Hanchao Lu
Georgia Institute of Technology
This page intentionally left blank
 Preface

During the Vietnam War an American diplomat working in Laos once re-
ferred to the country as “the end of nowhere.” Foreshadowing what became
the sad reality for Laos during nearly twenty years of war and revolution,
he added, “We can do anything we want here because Washington doesn’t
seem to know it exists.”1 In some respects he was right. Over much of its his-
tory Laos has been caught in a vortex of internal divisions, imperial rivalries,
and ideological struggles. Given its small size, population, and relatively iso-
lated location, many people outside the region know almost nothing about
the country. They are surprised to discover its rich heritage, a remarkable eth-
nic and cultural diversity, and the brutal fact that it was the scene of a long
“secret” war that saw it become the most bombed country in history.
Some are also surprised to learn that Laos is one of the few remaining com-
munist states in the world. Indeed, given the trappings of an ever-growing
tourist trade, many travelers to Laos probably do not realize that an authori-
tarian government is in power. Nor would they understand that in some parts
of the country an armed insurgency, more than thirty years old, against that
government continues today. The pace of development and the exposure to
foreign influences is such that few visitors can tell that the country opened
up to tourists only slowly over the past twenty years. Nor would many guess
that Laos today faces very difficult choices for the future. As one of the world’s
poorest nations its need for economic growth is obvious and immense. How-
ever, that necessitates outside involvement, which the current government
xiv PREFACE

views with suspicion, especially when it comes to managing its economic re-
sources or introducing new political ideas.
Yet despite all these enormously complicated issues, Laos is also a very sim-
ple and traditional place. It is a remarkably relaxed country to travel, with
places so beautiful, pristine, and remote that one really does feel that he or
she is in the middle of nowhere. Some people say that being there is like go-
ing back in time. The pace of things is noticeably slower than almost anywhere
else, even in relation to its Southeast Asian neighbors. The Buddhist faith has,
for many Lao, been the one constant over decades of turmoil, and it remains
a major influence for most people in everyday life. Various cultural traditions
and the central role of the family also remain strong, particularly in the face
of tremendous change.
This book is designed to introduce Laos and to present the traditional cul-
ture and customs of its peoples in the context of the twenty-first century
world. As it quickly should be apparent, defining the country and its culture
is a problematic exercise. With a population that represents multiple ethnic
and linguistic groups, establishing a national identity for Laos is no simple
task. Moreover, surrounded by much larger and more developed neighbors,
Laos has for centuries existed in the cultural, economic, and political orbit
of others. Devoid of the beaches, big cities, and high-profile tourist indus-
tries that draw millions to places like Thailand every year, Laos also has re-
mained off the beaten path for most Westerners, even in an age of increasingly
easy travel. Although there is a sizable expatriate Lao community, particularly
in the United States, it is dwarfed by other Asian populations like the Chi-
nese and Japanese. Even communities from other Southeast Asian countries,
like Vietnam and Cambodia, have a more established and recognizable pres-
ence abroad. Aside from the occasional news report or documentary on the
Vietnam War era, Laos rarely captures much international attention.
However, this by no means suggests that the country is unimportant.
Both historically and in the contemporary sense Laos is worth careful
study. In many respects it is a crossroads of cultures in Southeast Asia. Its
ancient history reveals an impressive kingdom that safeguarded some of the
most important Buddhist sites, relics, and traditions. In modern times the
revolution and war that ravaged its neighbors consumed the country, and
thus Laos offers much to those studying colonialism, decolonization, and
cold war conflict. The diversity of its people is quite remarkable and presents
a host of issues about identity and the state. Although it will never be a
major economic or political power, Laos has always been key in the complex
relationships of those on its borders, particularly Thailand and Vietnam,
and therefore it has considerable regional significance. With some of the last
 PREFACE xv

untouched wildernesses in Southeast Asia, Laos also will be an important case

for environmental protection in the midst of pressing economic development.
In fact, on many fronts Laos is a microcosm of globalization. The spread
of outside influences, although not all negative, threaten traditional ways of
life in the country. Democratic freedoms as they are known in the West do
not exist, and many both in Laos and abroad are anxious for fundamental
political change. Despite the ravages of war and a period of severe repression
under communist rule, Laos never witnessed the extremism of Cambodia or
Vietnam. In some respects it was the first Asian communist nation to experi-
ment with economic and political reforms, ahead of both China and Vietnam.
Today many problems remain, most centered on the fact that for nearly two
hundred years Laos lagged far behind other states in the region in terms of
development. Its commercial infrastructure is small, and it lacks major indus-
tries and exports. Corruption is a serious problem, as are prostitution and the
drug trade, albeit mostly for export. Human rights abuses are all too familiar.
Perhaps most difficult are questions about identity and a well-defined, inde-
pendent Lao culture after centuries of foreign domination. These matters are
all integral to the nature and existence of the state, particularly as it continues
to open up the country after decades of isolation.
Of course, the best way to understand Laos, its cultures, and the issues it
confronts is to go there. Even for the seasoned traveler Laos will impress and
amaze. In fact, many say that Laos is one of the last relatively untouristy places
left on earth, especially outside its few major cities and towns. Standing almost
anywhere in the country, one is struck not only by the physical beauty and
magnificent temples but also by the genuine friendliness and relaxed nature of
its people. To be sure, Laos today faces incredible changes that will continue
to challenge, if not undermine, its cultures and traditions. However, there is
still a certain mystery to the country that makes it one of the most interesting
places on earth—and far from nowhere.

NOTE
1. Charles A. Stevenson, The End of Nowhere: American Policy towards Laos since
1954 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1972), 240.
This page intentionally left blank
 Acknowledgments

Many people have helped me in researching, writing, and editing this book.
I am grateful to two excellent research assistants at Ryerson University in
Toronto: Angela Wallace and Samantha Goodspeed. Angela got things off
to a great start, while Sam’s enthusiasm and dedication were indispensable
to see this project through. Another Ryerson student, Jeffrey Phisanoukanh,
showed me what learning is really about by attending my class all term, with-
out enrolling, just because he was interested. He and his family then gave me
valuable insight into Laos and its communities. Jeff and his family members—
Nene Phisanoukanh, Kham Wong, and Simon Wong—also contributed some
of the photographs for this book. Other photographs have been drawn from
gifted artists who deserve special thanks: Christina Smit, Martine Duprey,
Alfred Molon, Rick Madonik, Danny Callcut (Sticky Rice Travel Photogra-
phy), and several professionals coordinated by Bob Turner, of Art Directors
and Travel UK. I would also like to thank Jason Sahlani, Tony and Kerry
Barlow, and David Begg for contributing photos to the selection process as
well. I am grateful to Bookcomp Inc., which provided the map illustration,
and I would like to extend sincere thanks to librarians at the University of
Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Freie Universität Berlin. Very
special thanks are owed to Bryan Thao Worra, who gave permission to include
some of his remarkable poetry in this volume.
Financial support for this project came from the Faculty of Arts and the
Department of History at Ryerson University, and I am grateful to both.
For her endless patience, kindness, and tremendous help in seeing this book
xviii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

through, I would like to warmly thank Kaitlin Ciarmiello, acquisitions editor

at Greenwood Press. I am also grateful for the assistance of my copy editor,
Katherine Faydash, at Aptara Corporation. Last but not least, I want to say
thanks to my family and friends for just about everything in life, and to no
one more than my wife, friend, travel partner, adviser, editor, and much more:
Christine McCullough.
 Note on Transliteration, Names,
and Dates

There is no official method or single convention for transliterating the

Lao language, which makes research on the country problematic. Many Lao
sounds do not have an equivalent in English. Some Lao vowels do not exist in
Western languages. Moreover, the first transliteration was based on the French
colonial system, which bears little semblance to how an English speaker would
phonetically sound out words. For example, the capital of Laos, Vientiane,
would be pronounced in English as Wieng Chan or Wieng Jan, given that
the v sound in Lao is closer to that of the English w. French does not have a
written consonant that corresponds to the w sound, so the v was employed
instead. Similarly, the ch or j sound in French is represented by ti. Confusion
continues with the vowel ou in French, which sometimes translates into En-
glish as u and other times as a w sound. Luang Prabang can appear as Louang
Prabang. An o is often used for a short aw sound in Lao, so Bo would be
pronounced baw.
Some scholars follow System for the Romanization of Lao, Khmer, and Pali,
published by the American National Standards Institute in 1979, and others
use a hybrid of this and the French systems. In the former, s is used instead of
the French x. Thus, Lan Sang can be Lan Xang, with identical pronunciations.
Both the public and the private sectors in Laos are adopting a more univer-
sal system based on the Royal Thai General Transcription, given similarities
between the two languages. However, problems still occur. Where an l or h
sound in Lao is appropriate, an r sound in Thai is often employed because
xx NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION, NAMES, AND DATES

Lao symbols closely resemble it, and an equivalent r in Lao does not exist.1
Accordingly, Luang Prabang can also appear as Luang (or Louang) Phabang.
This book tries to follow the sound-based system commonly used in
English-language works based on the Royal Thai General Transcription, al-
though occasionally other styles may be used. Alternate phonetic spellings are
given in brackets. The conventional contemporary spellings of Vientiane and
Luang Prabang are used in this book, while the more Lao spelling Phabang
is used in reference to the sacred image. Given their complexity to those un-
familiar with tonal languages, accents on Lao words have not been placed.
Lao refer to themselves by their first names, and that is reflected in this book.
Surnames and honorary titles are given when applicable. Proper names and
most place-names have not been translated, but alternative names and rough
English language meanings have been given when appropriate.
It is also important to note the usage of Laos, Lao, and Laotian. Given
that the Lao language has no s, some foreigners refer to the country as Lao.
The term Laos first appeared in the texts of Portuguese missionaries, and it
is probable that French and English explorers followed this source. Also, in
European languages the addition of the s is useful in transforming the adjec-
tive Lao into the country Laos. Some also use the term Laotian as an adjec-
tive. Literal translations of the Lao terms for their country are Muang Lao or
Pathet Lao, which mean simply “Lao land.” However, for reasons that remain
unclear, this reference never took root. The s in the word Laos for the Lao is
unnecessary because the word Lao is almost always joined with another word
that it describes. Thus, khon Lao refers to a Lao person. There is no official Lao
government position on the matter, although most publications, businesses,
and media sources in the country refer to the country as Laos.2 Historians and
anthropologists use the word Tai in referring to the people inhabiting Laos
and Thailand in the period before the creation of unified political entities.
This also signifies a common linguistic and cultural identity between peoples
in the region. In this book I refer to the Tai people prior to the establishment
of modern kingdoms and states such as Laos.
Dates in this book follow the Gregorian calendar, the (unofficial) global
standard. It uses the notations b.c.e. (before common era) and c.e. (common
era) in reference to year 1 of the calendar where the context requires specifi-
cation. Dates given without designation are otherwise all in the common era.
Where exact dates are unknown or a matter of dispute, the abbreviation ca.
(the Latin circa), indicating “approximate,” is used. Dates of rule are given
for most kings, while life spans are indicated for the most prominent political
figures in modern Lao history.
 NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION, NAMES, AND DATES xxi

NOTES
1. Joe Cummings, Lao Phrasebook (Footscray, Australia: Lonely Planet Publica-
tions, 2002), 11–16.
2. Grant Evans, A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between (Crows Nest, Aus-
tralia: Allen and Unwin, 2002), xiii–xiv.
This page intentionally left blank
 Chronology of the History of Laos

ca. 40,000 b.c.e. Permanent hunter-gatherer sites established in

Southeast Asia.
ca. 20,000–10,000 b.c.e. Agricultural settlements emerge in Southeast
Asia.
ca. 10,000 b.c.e. Language and culture differentiate in Southeast
Asia.
ca. 3,000 b.c.e. Iron working and pottery emerge in northeast-
ern Thailand, and wet-rice paddy growing in
Southeast Asia.
sixth century c.e. Chinese sources refer to Tai people living in
southern China and Southeast Asia.
ca. sixth to ninth centuries The rise of the Dvaravati civilization.
ca. eighth to ninth centuries The rise of the Nan-Chao kingdom in southern
China and northern Southeast Asia.
ca. ninth to thirteenth centuries The rise of the Khmer civilization.
ca. eleventh to thirteenth centuries The rise of the Pagan empire in Burma.
ca. eighth to thirteenth centuries Southern Tai peoples expand through Thai-
land, Laos, Burma, and northeastern India,
supplanting the Mon and Khmer.
xxiv CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF LAOS

ca. eleventh to thirteenth centuries The rise of small Tai-speaking states on the
frontiers of pagan and Khmer empires.
1253–1300 Mongol armies invade Southeast Asia, under-
mining Pagans and Khmer.
1279–1298 Sukhothai Tai kingdom established.
1281–1292 Lan Na Tai kingdom established.
1353 Kingdom of Lan Xang is founded.
Fourteenth to sixteenth centuries Ayutthaya Tai kingdom enters expansion
phase.
1421–1520 A succession of weak rulers, internal divisions,
and wars occurs in Lan Xang.
1479 The Vietnamese invade Lan Xang.
1520 King Phothisarat reunifies the kingdom.
1545–1546 Lan Xang and Lan Na are unified briefly.
1558–1569 Burmese armies sack Tai kingdoms.
1560 Capital of Lan Xang moves to Vientiane.
1563–1575 Burmese armies sack Luang Prabang (1563),
Vientiane (1565), and Ayutthaya (1568–
1569).
1610–1688 The height of Ayutthaya’s expansion.
1638–1695 The golden age of Lan Xang during the reign
of Surinyavongsa.
1641–1642 The first Europeans to leave records appear in
Vientiane.
1688–1733 Ayutthaya further expands in Cambodia and
Laos.
1707–1713 Lan Xang separates into three kingdoms: Lu-
ang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champasak.
1760–1767 Burmese armies invade Tai kingdoms; Ayut-
thaya is destroyed (1767).
1763–1769 The Siamese control northern Laos, including
Luang Prabang, while the Vietnamese Nguyen
dynasty controls central Mekong, including
Vientiane.
1767–1768 Thonburi Tai kingdom founded.
 CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF LAOS xxv

1768–1782 Thonburi campaigns against the Burmese; Chi-

ang Mai captured (1776); Tai influence ex-
pands in Cambodia and Laos (1778).
1785–1793 Wars continue with the Burmese; Tai king-
doms consolidated under Siam.
1800–1822 Siam controls most of Laos; Chao Anuvong at-
tempts to establish independent Lao kingdom.
1820–1840 Earliest Hmong migrations into Laos occur.
1826–1828 Chao Anuvong’s war fails and he is executed;
Siamese armies ravage central Laos.
1860–1885 Haw Wars in Laos; Vientiane sacked (1885).
1861 French explorer Henri Mouhot arrives in Lu-
ang Prabang.
1867 French expeditions take place to map the
Mekong River.
1875–1887 Three Siamese campaigns are carried out to
crush the Haw in Laos; the Haw sack Luang
Prabang (1887); the Lao King Unkham appeals
to the French for aid.
1893–1907 The Franco-Siamese conflict (1893); treaties
give France all Lao territories east of the
Mekong River.
1900–1939 The French encourage Vietnamese migration
to Laos; the territory becomes a colonial back-
water.
1908–1922 Ethnic minorities in Laos revolt periodically.
1933–1936 Kommadam rebellion occurs in the Bolaven
region.
1939–1945 World War II occurs, and Japanese gain control
of Southeast Asia.
1941 The nationalist government in Thailand (re-
named from Siam in 1939) launches attacks on
French Laos; Japan mediates treaty that gives
Thailand parts of Laos.
1945 Japanese overthrow the French government in
Laos and push for Lao declaration of indepen-
dence (September); Lao Issara provincial gov-
ernment formed (October).
xxvi CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF LAOS

1946 French troops retake Laos (March–April) and

occupy west bank of Mekong following Thai
withdraw (November).
1947 Laos becomes a constitutional monarchy with a
national assembly under French rule (August).
1949 Laos declared independent within the French
Union (July).
1950 Laos receives international recognition; the
communist Pathet Lao reject the government
and ally with Vietnamese communists.
1952–1953 The Pathet Lao insurgency against the French
occurs in the Northeast; Vietminh communists
invade Laos (1953).
1954 French forces withdraw following the Geneva
agreements (July), leaving Laos divided be-
tween the Pathet Lao and royalists.
1955 Laos is admitted to the United Nations; the Lao
People’s Party is formed.
1956 The Lao Patriotic Front is founded.
1957–1960 Souvanna Phouma leads three coalition gov-
ernments; the United States periodically sus-
pends aid to Lao government and provides
covert assistance to right-wing militarists who
take power (1958–1960).
1960 A series of coups overthrow the right wing and
destabilize Laos; the Pathet Lao insurgency in-
tensifies.
1961 Neutral and Pathet Lao forces seize the Plain
of Jars region ( January); the John F. Kennedy
administration backs neutralization of Laos
(March); the Geneva Conference on Laos be-
gins (May).
1962 Right-wing forces are defeated at Nam Tha
(May); coalition government returns ( June);
Geneva Conference ends ( July).
1963 Communist forces in North Vietnam use the
Ho Chi Minh trail through eastern Laos to
fight in South Vietnam; U.S. forces respond
with covert military operations in Laos.
 CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF LAOS xxvii

1964 A failed right-wing coup occurs (April); Pathet

Lao forces neutralists from Plain of Jars and
U.S. strategic bombing of Laos begins (May).
1965 First overtly deployed U.S. combat troops in
Vietnam (March).
1966 Political turmoil and new election in Laos con-
tinue (September); Pathet Lao gains more con-
trol.
1969 Hmong forces with American direction take
the Plain of Jars (September).
1970 Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese forces take
the Plain of Jars (February).
1971 South Vietnamese forces invade Laos to inter-
dict the Ho Chi Minh trail (February).
1972–1973 Multiparty negotiations on coalition govern-
ment lead to cease-fire (February 1973).
1973 U.S. forces begin withdrawal from Vietnam
and the secret war in Laos stops.
1975 Communists gain control of government; King
Savangvatthana abdicates (December); Lao
People’s Democratic Republic proclaimed (De-
cember).
1975–1989 Hard-line communist policies are imple-
mented, and many flee the country.
1977 Hmong uprising occurs (February); the king
is imprisoned (March); Laos and Vietnam
sign the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation
( July).
1978 Forced collectivization program begins (May);
Laos supports Vietnam in conflict with Cam-
bodia and its supporter, China.
1984 Border conflict with Thailand breaks out (June).
1986 Economic reforms and market liberalization
introduced.
1989–1990 The collapse of the Soviet Union leads to eco-
nomic and political reform in Laos.
1992 President Kaysone Phomvihane dies, which
leads to further liberalization in Laos; émigrés
xxviii CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF LAOS

are encouraged to return, and tourism and for-

eign investment begins.
1994 The Friendship Bridge linking Laos and Thai-
land across the Mekong opens.
1997 Laos is admitted to the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
1999 Vietnamese influence in Laos wanes as Thai in-
vestment and cultural links grow.
2001–present Reforms continue, as does the opening up of
the country; small-scale insurgencies and at-
tacks by rebel groups occur.

SOURCES
Griffiths, Clare, ed., Insight Guides: Laos and Cambodia (London: Apa Publications,
2005), 18–19.
Northern Illinois University Center for Southeast Asian Studies, “Resources for Lao
Studies,” http://www.seasite.niu.edu.
Stuart-Fox, Martin, A History of Laos (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997), x–xiii.
 1

Introduction: Geography and People

GEOGRAPHY
Slightly larger than Great Britain or the state of Utah, Laos is in the
heart of mainland Southeast Asia, covering an area of just more than 235,000
square kilometers (90,700 square miles). Laos borders the People’s Repub-
lic of China (PRC), Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
The country comprises sixteen provinces (Phongsali, Luang Nam Tha, Luang
Prabang, Udomxai, Hua Phan, Sainyabuli, Xiang Khuang, Vientiane, Saisom-
bun, Bolikhamsai, Khammuan, Savannakhet, Salavan, Sekong, Champasak,
and Attapeu) and the national capital, Vientiane. Officially known as the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Laos is the only landlocked coun-
try in the region and thus has always been more insulated and remote than
its neighbors have been. The predominantly mountainous and forested ter-
rain adds to that isolation: More than 90 percent of the country is 180 meters
(585 feet) or more above sea level, and high plateaus dominate 70 percent
of that area.1 Rugged mountain ranges slice Laos into narrow river valleys,
particularly in the north, giving way to lowland floodplains in the south.
Most of the many rivers in Laos eventually flow into the Mekong River
(Mae Nam Khong, in Lao), the world’s twelfth-longest river, which forms
the borders with Burma and Thailand. The Mekong stretches 4,350 kilome-
ters (2,720 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau through China into Laos. It then
passes into Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the South China
Sea. The Mekong has the tenth-largest volume of water among rivers in the
2 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

world, but that volume fluctuates considerably depending on the season. At

its widest in Laos, near Si Phan Don in the south, the river reaches 15 kilo-
meters (9 miles) across during monsoons, but it can be shallow and difficult
to traverse in its upper reaches in drier months.2 The Mekong has always been
the economic and cultural lifeline of the country. The word itself reflects that:
Me is an old Lao word meaning interchangeably “giver of life,” “chief,” “the
biggest of all,” and “female” (as in one who bears life). Kong is a Khmer word
meaning “river,” derived from the holiest river in India, the Ganges (Kong-ka,
in Khmer).3 Laos’s major cities and towns, including Vientiane, Luang Pra-
bang, Thakhek, Savannakhet, and Pakse, lie on the banks of the Mekong. The
river provides the lowland floodplains with fertile silts that enrich the soil, es-
sential for a predominantly agricultural country. As it has been for centuries,
the Mekong remains the major conduit for trade, transportation, fishing, ir-
rigation, and, increasingly, tourism.
Geographically, Laos is also defined by the jagged limestone peaks of the
Annamite Cordillera that runs through the country from northwest to south-
east and has historically provided a buffer from neighboring Vietnam. These
mountains extend nearly 1,100 kilometers (688 miles) and, in effect, divide
the Mekong from the South China Sea. Many peaks exceed 2,000 meters
(6,500 feet) in height, the highest of which is Phu Bia at 2,820 meters (9,165
feet). At the foot of the mountains is the Xiang Khuang Plateau, the sin-
gle largest geographical feature in the country. This series of rolling grassland
hills is best known for the mysterious stone “jars” that dot the landscape,
which has earned it the nickname the “Plain of Jars” (see Chapter 2).4 There
are also important plateaus in central and southern Laos, such as the Kham-
muan and the Bolaven, the latter extending 10,000 square kilometers (3,860
square miles) at an elevation of about 1,000 meters (3,250 feet). Much of the
country’s mountain rice, coffee, and tea cultivations are based here. Almost all
other rice and many other agricultural products are grown in the floodplain
between Sainyabuli and Champasak: the flattest and most tropical part of the
country.

ENVIRONMENT
Laos has a tropical climate with three distinct seasons based on the annual
monsoons. The wet season begins between May and July and runs through
November. Rainfall, particularly in the southern lowlands, can be heavy and
result in severe flooding, but without this period of intense precipitation,
rice cultivation—the staple of Lao agriculture—would be impossible. From
November to March is the dry season, during which most places are rela-
tively cool and precipitation is low. From March to May the hot season brings
 INTRODUCTION 3

substantially increased temperatures with little rain. It often reaches 40 de-

grees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the country. Mountainous
areas are almost always cooler and drier than the low-lying plains. During the
dry season the temperature can dip down to single-digit Celsius temperatures.
Among the most important environmental features of the country are its
forests. Laos still has extensive tracts of virgin forest, despite illegal logging over
the past few decades. According to the International Union for Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), unmanaged vegetation covers as
much as 85 percent of the country, with 50 percent of that being native forest.
In terms of the percentage of natural forest cover, Laos ranks eleventh high-
est in the world. Only Cambodia has a higher proportion of natural forest
cover in Southeast Asia.5 It is not surprising that forestry is one of the most
important sources of revenue in the country, and the vast majority of timber
is destined for foreign markets like Thailand and Japan. Hardwoods like teak
and rosewood are particularly prized. About 50 percent of the gross domes-
tic product (GDP) of Laos comes from natural resource products, much of it
forestry, and agricultural production accounts for almost 40 percent. Nearly
80 percent of the labor force in Laos works in these two sectors, and the vast
majority in farming.6
The forests of Laos are also important for biodiversity and tourism, as they
are home to one of the most diverse collections of animals left in Asia. There
are an estimated five hundred wild Asian elephants in the country, probably
the biggest number left in the world. Laos is also home to a number of endan-
gered or threatened species, including macaques, monkeys, flying squirrels,
wildcat, deer, martens, tigers, gibbons, langurs, lesser pandas, pygmy lorises,
and raccoon dogs. There are 69 verified species of bats, 437 types of birds,
and numerous varieties of snake and lizards. To illustrate how remote some of
the forests in Laos are, as recently as 1994 new and rare animal species were
being discovered, such as the spindlehorn (nyang in Lao: a horned, deerlike
mammal thought to be extinct for centuries). A few Javan and/or Sumatran
rhinoceroses are thought to live in the Bolaven Plateau, while koupreys—wild
oxen extinct elsewhere in Asia—have been reported in areas around Attapeu
and Champasak.7
Laos does have a surprisingly extensive environmental protection program.
Since 1993 it has established twenty official National Biodiversity Conser-
vation Areas, covering nearly twenty-six thousand square kilometers (sixteen
thousand square miles), or 14 percent of the nation’s territory, much higher
than in most Western countries. The conservation areas are not technically
preserves but rather are managed environmental zones. Some are reserved for
forestry and others for conservation; the latter are particularly important to
the burgeoning tourism trade. Unfortunately, despite fairly substantial laws
4 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

protecting the areas, illegal logging within their boundaries is increasing. Fur-
ther development of the Mekong River for hydroelectric power exacerbates
the problem, as large swaths of forest are cut down to make way for facilities
and roads connecting towns on the power grid. Slash-and-burn agriculture on
forest peripheries also threatens environmental balance.
Still, the majority of people in Laos today get their food from the forest and
not farms. Many environmental experts fear that this dependency will eventu-
ally destroy ecological systems. Overfishing of lakes and rivers and illicit inter-
national trade in wildlife adds significantly to the problem, as does rampant
government corruption, a weak judicial system, and a lack of environmental
awareness throughout the country.8 For example, Laos has still not ratified the
United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) and does very little to educate the public
about environmental issues. Moreover, even today the environmental effects
of the Vietnam War era are unclear. Large tracts of northern and eastern Laos
were damaged from herbicides and chemical defoliants that American forces
used extensively for nearly twenty years. Tourism may in fact be the best tool
with which to protect the flora and fauna of Laos, but to date its effects seem
negligible. In fact, over the past few years the Lao government has yielded to
developers and allowed large-scale resorts, hotels, and even casinos aimed at
prospective tourists.

ECONOMY
Beyond forestry and hydroelectricity, the Lao economy’s main exports are
coffee, spices, tin, gypsum, garments, and handicrafts such as silver jewelry,
pottery, silks, carvings, and wicker. Agricultural production, for both domes-
tic consumption and export, includes rice, corn, tobacco, cotton, beans, and
fruits. Mining (tin and gypsum) along with cement manufacturing are the pri-
mary industrial activities, although the production of cigarettes, bricks, tiles,
and beverages has increased over the past few years. The chief export markets
are Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Europe. Laos imports almost all
other goods, including foodstuffs, fuel, manufactured goods, and machinery.9
After two decades of isolation under communism, Laos began opening
up to foreign investment in the mid-1990s. Since then Thais, who control
much of the current economic stimulus, have displaced Vietnamese interests.
Japanese and, more recently, Chinese investment, particularly in natural re-
source development, have also increased. In fact, external trade is growing at
an annual rate of 10 percent. Economic growth, driven largely by foreign in-
vestment, has averaged 6.3 percent annually since 2002. Real growth in the
GDP is projected to be about 7 percent between 2006 and 2010.10
 INTRODUCTION 5

However, Laos still ranks very low on the U.N. index for human develop-
ment; as of 2003, it placed at No. 135 of 175 countries. It ranks No. 23 on
the U.N. Least Developed Countries Index. Between 1966 and 2001, Laos
absorbed US$950 million in loans from just the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), and today it takes in more than $250 million annually in combined
aid, which is why some experts refer to it as a “sponge.”11 It also has a thriv-
ing black market, estimated to control nearly 20 percent of all wealth in the
country. Through a host of economic initiatives launched with the assistance
of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the ADB, and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Lao government rather
ambitiously hopes to end its status as a developing country by 2020. Planners
are hoping that Laos will emerge as the pivot point in expanding overland
transportation between China, Vietnam, and the rest of mainland Southeast
Asia. They are also hopeful that tourism, which paradoxically revolves around
the country’s isolation and untouched wilderness, will also provide for eco-
nomic development in the coming decade.

THE PEOPLES OF LAOS

As of 2007, the population of Laos had reached an estimated 6 million peo-

ple. One-third of the population lives in the Mekong River Valley, mostly in
four cities: Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. Another one-
third lives along rivers like the Nam Ou, Set Don, and Nam Seuang.12 With
slightly more than twenty people per square kilometer (nine per square mile),
Laos has one of the lowest population densities in Asia. Its annual growth rate
since 2000 has averaged 2.3 percent, but numerous problems, most stemming
from widespread poverty, continue to affect its population. Gross national in-
come per capita is only about US$400. More than 20 percent of the popula-
tion suffers from malnutrition. Life expectancy is just fifty-eight years for men
and sixty for women. Only a very small percentage of the population is over
the age of sixty, and slightly more than 45 percent of the population is under
the age of fifteen, which makes Laos’s population among the youngest in the
world. The mortality rate for children under five years of age is ninety-one
per thousand births, one of the highest in Asia. The literacy rate for men is 76
percent, but it is just 53 percent for women. Only 20 percent of the popula-
tion has access to electricity, and health care in the country is rudimentary at
best, even in the bigger towns and cities.13
The ethnic diversity of Laos is staggering. In fact, the exact number of
groups is a matter of considerable debate. In 1995 the government of Laos
recognized forty-seven separate ethnicities with 149 groups within them.
The opposition group Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC), which
6 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

operates in exile, recognizes forty-nine ethnicities and 160 groups. Most in-
dependent research suggests that there are anywhere between 40 and 170 sep-
arate ethnicities in Laos. The range in estimates stems from a lack of in-depth
research on many groups given their physical isolation and the fact that revolu-
tion and war have made Laos a difficult place to conduct studies for the past
sixty years. Indeed, a definitive study of all the country’s ethnic groups and
their numerous branches has yet to be completed.14 Estimates are also wide
ranging because in some circumstances there exist only slight linguistic and
cultural differences between groups. Some observers merge groups together,
whereas others identify the groups as separate. However, it is clear that even
with the most conservative assessment, Laos has tremendous ethnic diversity,
which has given rise to the contention that the country is more of a collection
of tribes than it is a nation.
About 50 percent of the population is ethnic Lao, known locally as Lao
Lum (or Lao Loum), who are closely related to Lao speakers in northeast
Thailand and, more remotely, to the Thais. In fact, distinctions between the
Lao and Thai are historically blurry and relatively recent creations designed
for political purposes. There is no question among ethnologists that the two
groups are from the same family, but many Lao resent Thai suggestions that
they are their “little brothers.” The traditional defining lines between the Lao
Lum and other groups in the country have been location, agricultural practice,
and religion. The Lao Lum dominate the lowland river valleys and grow wet
rice, whereas most other ethnic groups live in the highlands and are sustained
by dry-rice farming, hunting, gathering, and slash-and-burn agriculture.15
The Lao Lum are also Buddhists, and most follow the Theravada practice (see
Chapter 3), but many other groups practice other religions. About 20 per-
cent of the population belongs to closely related ethnic subgroups of the Lao
Tai, who live at slightly higher elevations and farm dry rice. These include the
Tai Dam (Black Tai), Tai Daeng (Red Tai), and Tai Khao (White Tai). It is
important to note, however, that the Lao government considers the Lao Lum
and Lao Tai inseparable.
The Lao Theung (Lao Thoeng), literally “those Lao approaching the top of
the mountain” but more often called “upland Lao,” comprise another 15 to
20 percent of the population. They are also sometimes referred to derisively
as kha, or “slave,” by the Lao Lum. The Lao Theung are predominantly peo-
ple of Mon and Khmer lineage that live at still-higher elevations and practice
animism rather than Buddhism. About 9 percent of the country’s population
is Lao Sung (Lao Soung), or “high Lao.” The Lao Sung live in communities
more than 1,000 meters (3,200 feet) above sea level. Often referred to collec-
tively as “hill tribes” in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, this group includes quite
distinct ethnicities like the Hmong, Yao (Mien), Akha, and Lahu. Laos is also
 INTRODUCTION 7

home to sizable communities of ethnic Vietnamese (Viet Kieu) and Chinese

(Hua Chiao), both of which are concentrated in urban centers and are most
closely identified with commercial interests. There are small communities of
Chinese Muslims (Chin Haw), mainly traders living in low mountain areas,
and South Asian Muslims, who are primarily businesspeople in Vientiane.

ETHNICITY AND IDENTITY

The diversity of populations is an extremely important factor shaping Laos.

It has produced at times a violent history and remains a complicating factor
in the national identity of the country. Indeed, one of the foremost experts on
Laos, the anthropology professor and historian Grant Evans, points out that
the paradox about studying the country is whether a common identity even
exists. The historian Arthur Dommen once described Laos as a collection of
tribes. The respected journalist Bernard Fall characterized it in the 1950s as
“neither a geographical nor an ethnic or social entity, but merely a political
convenience.” A former official in the administration of the American Pres-
ident John F. Kennedy, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., said that the Lao state in the
1960s was simply a “diplomatic courtesy.”16 Not surprisingly, some national-
ist historians in Laos have claimed the opposite. Writing in 1995, the director
of the Institute of Culture in Laos, Houmphanh Rattanavong, argued that
Chinese texts confirmed the existence of Ailao, a clearly Lao kingdom dating
from the second and third centuries b.c.e. However, most experts believe that
the Lao are Tai people—historically, ethnically, and culturally extremely close
if not indistinguishable from their neighbors in Thailand. In this light, the
definition of Laos and the Lao people is a creation of more modern times.
Still, scholars like the historian Martin Stuart-Fox have tried to establish a
truly Lao identity through its diversities, arguing, in effect, that the country’s
ethnic and cultural mix has produced a unique “Lao-ness.”17 It is also impor-
tant to note that the question of identity is by no means only for Laos. Many
countries and people around the world confront similar dilemmas, often with
even more difficulty.
Complicating matters further, the geographic borders of Laos today are
creations of more than a century of French colonialism, regional wars, revolu-
tion, and foreign interventions. The boundaries of old kingdoms throughout
Southeast Asia have, for the most part, long disappeared, and they do not
reflect the ethnic dispersion of people in the region. The best illustration of
this is the fact that more Lao speakers live in northeastern Thailand (19 mil-
lion) than in Laos itself (3 million). Often referring to themselves as khon Isan
(people of the Isan region in northeastern Thailand) to be distinguished from
Thais, Lao speakers demonstrate the historical dislocation of Lao peoples.
8 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

The current Lao government has done little to clarify questions of history
and identity. Officially, authorities in Vientiane consider the Lao Lum and
Lao Tai one large group, which thus constitutes a clear majority of the pop-
ulation (60 percent). The Lao Theung and Lao Sung are considered separate
groups, making up about 34 percent of the population, whereas the Viet-
namese and Chinese make up the remaining 6 percent. The government has
further distinguished populations by linguistic categorization. All ethnolin-
guistic Tai groups are considered Lao Lum. Thus, there is no official recogni-
tion of the Lao Tai at all. Those from the Mon-Khmer ethnolinguistic group
are deemed Lao Theung, whereas people from the Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-
Burman) or Hmong-Yao (Mien) language families are considered Lao Sung.18
In doing so, it is apparent that government authorities have consciously tried
to create a Lao identity by downplaying divisions, and, in the process, they
have entrenched a dominant political, social, and cultural narrative in the
country. Vatthana Pholsena, a leading scholar of modern Laos, points out
that there are important cultural and political implications in definitions of
ethnic groups, nationality, and nation, particularly when used by the govern-
ment. She also notes the role that language has in determining such concepts.
The term Lao is often used to describe both ethnicity and nationality, and
thus applies to the whole population, despite the fact that in many respects it
refers to one specific ethnic group. Officially, however, the diversity of peoples
in Laos is recognized. The government still quotes its first communist leader:
“each ethnic group has a nice and beautiful culture and belongs to the Lao
national community, just as all kinds of flowers grown in a garden of various
colors and scents.”19 Recently, the government has begun to promote eth-
nic diversity, primarily to attract tourism and improve its international image
with respect to human rights.
For many who study Laos, the problem of whether Lao is even a legiti-
mate ethnolinguistic term remains. Countries like Vietnam and China define
dominant groups (Kinh and Han, respectively), but in both instances there
are well-documented historical references to support them. The absence of
a definitive separation from the broader Tai ethnolinguistic grouping makes
this much more problematic in the case of the Lao. These distinctions are
not simply academic. They speak to the very concept of national identity.
For example, although Laos and Vietnam have been extremely close politi-
cally since communist takeovers in 1975, traditional cultural and historical
animosities persist. Some experts see the Annamite Cordillera not just as a
mountain range or the boundary between the two countries but as a kind
of cultural fault line that divides Southeast Asia between its two greatest in-
fluences: India and China. Whereas the Lao (along with the Thai, Burmese,
and Khmer) have absorbed more Indic traditions, the Vietnamese are more
 INTRODUCTION 9

Sinitic, or closer to the Chinese. A number of proverbs reflect this division,

such as the old Lao saying “Lao and Vietnamese: Cat and Dog,” or the adage
“the Vietnamese plants the rice, the Khmers watch them planting, but the Lao
listen to the rice grow.”20
More pragmatic considerations have also played a part in shaping the rela-
tionship between Laos and Vietnam. The Vietnamese have always been more
numerous and expansionist, something the Lao and especially the Khmer view
with great suspicion. The period of French rule did little to change this, given
the primacy of Vietnam in all matters and the fact that Laos (like Cambodia)
was considered an appendage of its much larger neighbor. Moreover, French
administrators encouraged, and indeed forced, the migration of Vietnamese
into the rest of Indochina. Many came to dominate the commercial and bu-
reaucratic elites in Laos, with rather predictable resentment from the Lao.
This also dramatically changed the shape of Lao society as a whole. By the
time of independence from France in 1953, more than half of the population
of Vientiane was Vietnamese or Chinese. Thakhek and Pakse had even higher
proportions: 89 percent and 85 percent, respectively.21 Although many of
those immigrants have returned home over the past fifty years, there remains
a strong ethnically Vietnamese presence in places like Vientiane, and their
profile in the economy continues to draw Lao resentment. In contrast, most
ethnic Chinese in Laos have blended in over time and do not provoke the
same reaction.
Lowland Lao relations with Lao Theung peoples undermine the govern-
ment’s insistence that they are part of the same family. Although some have
been integrated into a more mainstream existence, most Lao Theung remain
culturally distinct with different languages, religions, and practices. The largest
of these groups is the Khmou (also spelled Khmu, Kmhmu, Khammu, Khamu,
and Kammu), who, according to a 1995 government census, number slightly
more than five hundred thousand, or 11 percent of the national populace.
Khmou means “person,” so many subgroups distinguish themselves by addi-
tional names, such as Khmou Rock, Khmou U, Khmou Khrong, or Khmou
Mae. The Khmou are among the oldest inhabitants of northern and central
Laos, having migrated during the first millennium c.e. from either Burma or
southern China. The Khmou claim to be the founders of the ancient Lao
capital at Luang Prabang. They speak a Mon-Khmer language and follow
animist religious beliefs. Other larger Lao Theung populations include the
Katang (roughly 110,000), Bru (70,000), Kui (52,000), Laven (40,000), Mal
(24,000), Phai (15,000), Katu (15,000), Lave (13,000), Ngae (12,000), Jeh
(8,000), Khuen (8,000), and Jeng (7,000). The Alak, Ir, Kasseng, and Khlor
all number between four thousand and six thousand people, whereas the
Aheu, Bo, Halang Doan, Hung, Xinh Mul, and Khua number between two
10 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

thousand and four thousand people each. Smaller groups include the Arem,
Bit, Chut, Maleng, and a host of other tribes.22 Today, some of these tribes
live in very remote locations and have a traditional hunter-gatherer existence.
Many Lao Lum consider such remote groups to be strange peoples who en-
gage in black magic, bizarre rituals, and even human sacrifices. For example,
as traditional, nomadic hunters, the Mlabri are derisively referred to khon pa
(“jungle people”) by Lao who still view them as “savages.”23
Relations between the Lao Lum and Lao Sung, or hill tribes, have also
been problematic. The ethnic groups that make up the Lao Sung have con-
sistently been the poorest and most marginalized in the country. Some have
also forcibly resisted attempts to be integrated into the mainstream Lao Lum
majority. In fact, as discussed in Chapter 2, the Hmong were important com-
batants throughout French rule and the Vietnam War era, when many worked
with American forces against the communists. Not surprisingly, following the
communist takeover in 1975 the Hmong were persecuted.
The Lao Sung are relative newcomers to Laos, most having migrated there
in the early nineteenth century from southern China. As discussed in the sec-
tion on languages, the Lao Sung stem from two distinct linguistic families: Tai
and Sino-Tibetan. The Hmong make up the largest group, numbering about
320,000. They are best known to travelers by their array of colorful costumes
and unique handicrafts. There are actually four subdivisions of Hmong: the
White, Red, Black, and Striped Hmong. They live primarily in nine northern
provinces and are most concentrated in Hua Phan, Xiang Khuang, and Luang
Prabang. Most Hmong practice slash-and-burn agriculture to grow dry rice
and corn, as well as to raise livestock.24 However, many also cultivate opium
poppies, which are integral to the international narcotics trade of which the
Golden Triangle of Laos, Burma, and Thailand is a major producer. Despite
recent attempts by the Lao government to showcase the Hmong as part of the
country’s ethnic diversity, the reality is that they and other Lao Sung remain
problematic for authorities in Vientiane. They are notoriously independent
and suspicious of the Lao majority. Their history in Laos is a painful one,
full of betrayed promises and almost continuous war. Tens of thousands of
Hmong fled the country after 1975 and many still reside in camps in Thai-
land, which muddies relations between Vientiane and Bangkok and, from the
Lao point of view, constitutes a potential threat to national security. This is
particularly true in light of the intermittent insurgency led by Hmong who
reject accommodations with the Lao Lum and aspire to varying degrees of
autonomy within Laos.
The Yao (also known as the Mien, Lu Mien, and Man) come from the same
linguistic family as the Hmong but are generally more Sinitic, as they use
Chinese script for writing and incorporate Taoist deities into their faith. The
 INTRODUCTION 11

Yao number approximately fifty thousand, mostly in the north. They engage
in the same farming practices as the Hmong, including opium production.
There is also a population of about five thousand Kim Mun people, closely
related to but distinct from the Yao, in Laos. Within the Sino-Tibetan family
the Lao Sung are primarily represented by the Kaw (60,000), Lahu (10,000),
Kaduo (5,000), and Lisu (4,000). There are also smaller populations of Hani,
Phana, Si La, and Kado.25
No discussion on the peoples of Laos would be complete without mention-
ing sizable émigré communities outside the country. More than 10 percent of
the entire population, or some four hundred thousand people, fled the com-
munist takeover in 1975.26 Perhaps even more taxing was that this exodus
included nearly 90 percent of those with formal education.27 Some estimate
that as many as 50 percent of various Lao Sung groups left to seek save haven
elsewhere. The large ethnically Lao populace of northeastern Thailand and
the large Hmong communities scattered along the Laos–Thailand border are
of concern to authorities in Vientiane. So, too, are the considerable numbers
of Lao and Hmong who eventually resettled abroad, primarily in the United
States and France. By some accounts there are almost the same number of Lao
speakers in the United States as there are in Laos itself. One the one hand, the
Lao government has viewed these communities as potential threats. More re-
cently, however, it has come to view them as possible assets for the economic
development of the country, even encouraging successful Lao émigrés to re-
turn and open businesses. Moreover, as discussed in Chapters 4 and 5, overseas
communities, especially in the United States, are extremely important to the
literature and art of Laos.

LANGUAGES
Given such ethnic diversity it is not surprising that there are at least eighty
distinct languages spoken by the different ethnic populations of Laos. Experts
differ on the precise classification of all languages, especially considering the
numerous groups, subgroups, and dialects found in the country. However,
most sources identify three major language families in Laos: the Tai-Kadai,
Austroasiatic, and Sino-Tibetan. Within the Tai-Kadai family there are two
groups: the Tai and the Hmong-Yao (Mien). Each is in turn divided into
branches and numerous sub-branches, making any discussion on language
in Laos rather complicated. For example, the Tai-Kadai has three principal
branches based on geographic region: the northern, southwestern, and “un-
classified” Tay-Tai. Within the northern branch are at least twenty-three sub-
branches, while the southwestern branch numbers approximately fifteen sub-
branches. The Austroasiatic family of languages is represented in Laos by only
12 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

one group: the Mon-Khmer, which has six major branches and at least forty
sub-branches. Sino-Tibetan languages include two major branches, the Han
(Sinitic) and Lolo-Burmese, both of which have several sub-branches.28
The official language of Laos is Lao, part of the Tai-Kadai group, as spo-
ken and written in Vientiane. There are also a multitude of “tribal” languages
spoken among the many ethnic minorities in the country, representing the
other linguistic families and groups. Lao serves as the lingua franca between
these groups. Linguists identify five major dialects of Lao according to re-
gions: Vientiane, northern, northeastern, central, and southern. Northern
Lao dominates the provinces of Sainyabuli, Bokeo, Phongsali, Luang Nam
Tha, Udomxai, and Luang Prabang. Northeastern Lao is spoken primarily in
Xiang Khuang and Hua Phan, whereas central Lao is heard in Khammuan
and Bolikhamsai. The regions of Champasak, Salavan, Savannakhet, Attapeu,
and Sekong are home to the southern Lao dialect.29 There are many subdi-
alects and different vocabularies as well. As part of the Tai-Kadai family of
languages, Lao is similar to Thai. Spoken Thai is easily understood in Laos,
especially in the Mekong River Valley, given the influence of Thai culture.
Many of the words in both languages are the same, although the two are not
mutually intelligible given differences in grammar, usage, and pronunciation.
The Lao used in the Isan region in northeastern Thailand is exactly the same
as the standard or Vientiane form. However, the written languages diverge
slightly. Most educated Lao also understand written Thai given that the ma-
jority of texts used in Lao colleges and universities are from Thailand.
Lao is a monosyllabic, tonal language. Tones differentiate the meaning
of words. For example, the word sao means “girl,” “morning,” “pillar,” or
“twenty,” depending on the tone used.30 There are six tones in Lao: three
level tones (low, mid, and high) and three inclined tones (rising, high falling,
low falling). Languages like Thai, Mandarin, and Cantonese are similar in this
respect, although standard Thai has five tones, while Mandarin has four and
Cantonese has nine. The tones are relative to the speaker, in that each speaker
can give different pitches to each tone.
The Lao script is fairly new, first developed during the Lan Xang period.
It was devised from Tai script, which was itself based on Khmer and earlier
Indian scripts. Prior to the communist takeover in 1975 there were multiple
writing systems in Laos. As most published material was in French, Thai, or
Vietnamese, no standardized Lao script existed. Since 1975 government au-
thorities have established a common system, but variations based on region
continue. Although there is some debate, many scholars agree that the writ-
ten form today has thirty-three consonants based on twenty-one sounds and
twenty-eight vowels and diphthongs (various combinations of vowels used to
form special sounds) based on twenty-seven sounds. It has also four diacritic
 INTRODUCTION 13

marks used with other symbols to indicate the six spoken tones.31 As indicated
in the note on transliteration at the beginning of this book, translating Lao
words into a romanized alphabet can be extremely difficult because of unique
vowel sounds. It is important to note that other scripts are still in use today in
Laos, including lao tham (dhamma lao), for writing ancient religious scripture
in the Pali language of Theravada Buddhism, and assorted Thai tribal systems,
such as Thai Neua, the standardized language form of the Thai language in
southern China.
Languages of the Lao Theung all come from the Austroasiatic family and
are of Mon-Khmer origin, which many scholars consider indigenous to large
parts of Southeast Asia. Linguists count 147 separate Mon-Khmer languages
among the 168 in the Austroasiatic family, the most widely spoken of which
are Vietnamese and Khmer. Six major branches are found in Laos, including
the Bahnaric, Katuic, Khmuic, Palaungic, Viet-Muong, and Lavy. There are
at least thirty groups within these branches. For example, the Htin, Khmou,
and Mlabri are part of the Khmuic branch, whereas the Brau, Chieng, Sedang,
and Sou are Bahnaric.
Lao Sung languages stem from both the Tai-Kadai and Sino-Tibetan fam-
ily. The former is represented by the Hmong-Yao (Mien) group, which, as
the name suggest, has two principal branches. Hmong speakers are further
grouped into three categories—the Chuanqiandian, the Qiandong, and the
Xiangxi—upon which Hmong tribal divisions are based. The Hmong Do
(White Hmong), Hmong Lenh (Striped, Flower, or Variegated Hmong),
and Hmong Njua (Blue or Green Hmong), along with their further sub-
groups, are Chuanqiandian. The Qiandong sub-branch includes the Hmong
Du (Black Hmong), whereas the Hmong Si (Red Hmong) are within the
Xiangxi. Yao (Mien) speakers include exclusively the Yao (Mien) and their
subgroups. The Lao Sung also includes a small number of ethnic Cham
peoples, who belong to the Malayo-Polynesian group of the Austronesian
linguistic family. Sino-Tibetan representation within the Lao Sung includes
southwestern Mandarin–speaking Haw and ethnic Chinese, as well as Lolo-
Burmese speakers like the Akha, Lahu, Phanna, and Si La.32 It should be
noted that some scholars identify a Tibeto-Burman subfamily within the Sino-
Tibetan classification. There are an estimated 350 Tibeto-Burman languages,
the most spoken of which today is Burmese.
Chinese languages and Vietnamese are spoken in those ethnic communi-
ties, but many Lao also understand the latter given the two countries’ close
economic and political association over the past few decades. A few Lao, most
of whom worked with the government or military, also speak Russian, which
reflects Laos’s strategic alignment during the cold war. Many elderly Lao may
also speak French, which remains the official second language in the country
14 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

and is used widely in government and business. However, English is the com-
mon tongue of tourism and international development and is fast supplanting
all others as the unofficial second language of Laos.

NOTES
1. Clare Griffiths, ed. Insight Guides: Laos and Cambodia (London: Apa Publica-
tions, 2005), 43.
2. Ibid., 44–45.
3. Houmphan Rattanavong, “What May Be in Store for the Mekong, Our Great
and Sacred Ganges?” Juth Pakai 2 ( June 2004): 37. See also Nguyen Thi Dieu, The
Mekong River and the Struggle for Indochina: Water, War, and Peace (Westport, CT:
Praeger, 1999).
4. Joe Cummings and Andrew Burke, Laos (Footscray, Australia: Lonely Planet,
2005), 45–46.
5. Ibid., 48.
6. U.N. Special Report, Blue Book of Laos (Japanese Bank for International Coop-
eration), www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/lde/ldc-rep/LaoDemRep.htm (retrieved Feb-
ruary 2008).
7. Cummings and Burke, Laos, 46–51.
8. Jeff Cranmer and Steven Martin, The Rough Guide to Laos (London: Rough
Guides, 2002), 376–383.
9. U.N. Special Report, Blue Book of Laos ( Japanese Bank for International Coop-
eration), www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/lde/ldc-rep/LaoDemRep.htm (retrieved Feb-
ruary 2008).
10. U.N. Common Country Assessment (CCA), Lao DPR, June 2006, 4.
11. Vatthana Pholsena and Ruth Banomyong, Laos: From Buffer State to Crossroads?
(Chiang Mai: Mekong Press, 2004), 70–72.
12. Cummings and Burke, Laos, 34.
13. U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Statistical Profiles
of Least Developed Countries, 2005, www.unctad.org (retrieved June 2007).
14. Northeastern Illinois University Center for Southeast Asian Studies, “Re-
sources for Lao Studies,” www.seasite.niu.edu/lao (retrieved January 2008).
15. Griffiths, Insight Guides, 51.
16. Grant Evans, “What Is Lao Culture and Society?” in Laos: Culture and Society
(Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1999), 1.
17. Ibid., 1–3; see also Stuart-Fox, A History of Laos, chapter 1.
18. Grant Evans, ed. Laos: Culture and Society (Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm
Books, 1999), 8–9. See also Vatthana Pholsena, “Ethnic Classification and Mapping
Nationhood in Contemporary Laos,” Asian Ethnicity 3, no. 2 (September 2002): 175–
197.
19. Vatthana Pholsena, Post-War Laos: The Politics of Culture, History, and Identity
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006), 93–95, 173–177.
 INTRODUCTION 15

20. Griffiths, Insight Guides, 52–53.

21. Ibid., 54–55.
22. Visiting Arts Culture Profile Project, “Laos Cultural Profile,”
www.culturalprofiles.org.uk/laos (retrieved September 2007).
23. Cranmer and Martin, Rough Guide, 372–373; see also Joachim Schliesinger,
Ethnic Groups of Laos, vol. 1, Introduction and Overview (Bangkok: White Lotus Press,
2003).
24. Cummings and Burke, Laos, 36.
25. Schliesinger, Ethnic Groups of Laos, vol. 4, Sino-Tibetan Speaking Peoples
(Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2003); see also Laurant Chazée, The Peoples of Laos:
Rural and Ethnic Diversities (Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 1999), 150–160.
26. Si-Ambhaivan Sisombat Souvannavong, “Elites in Exile: The Emergence of a
Transnational Lao Culture,” in Evans, Laos, 180.
27. Chithtalath Seng Ampone, “Education Improvement for Ethnic Children in
the Moksuk-Tafa Area,” Juth Pakai 7 (October 2005): 5.
28. N. J. Enfield, Linguistic Epidemiology: Semantics and Grammar of Language
Contact in Mainland Southeast Asia (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003), 45–72,
365–369.
29. Joe Cummings, Lao Phrasebook (Footscray, Australia: Lonely Planet Publica-
tions, 2002), 11.
30. Ibid., 17.
31. Northeastern Illinois University Center for Southeast Asian Studies, “Re-
sources for Lao Studies,” www.seasite.niu.edu/lao (retrieved January 2008); see also
Cummings and Burke, Laos, 290.
32. Schliesinger, Ethnic Groups of Laos, 1:85–95.
This page intentionally left blank
 2

A Brief History of Laos

PREHISTORY AND THE TAI MIGRATIONS

The first permanent settlements in Laos developed approximately forty
thousand years ago. Little archaeological evidence of these peoples exists, al-
though it is known that they used stone tools and were primarily hunter-
gatherers. By about 10,000 b.c.e. inhabitants of the area were farming and
raising livestock. Evidence of agricultural activity near Ban Chiang in north-
eastern Thailand dates back to 4,000 b.c.e.—one of the oldest finds in
the world—pointing to the fact that Southeast Asia was a cradle of hu-
man civilization.1 By 500 b.c.e. people in the Khorat Plateau and Mekong
River Valley were using iron. Bronze drums from northern Vietnam sug-
gest that sophisticated metallurgy in the region appeared during the first mil-
lennium c.e.
The earliest Iron Age settlements in Laos were found in Xiang Khuang
Province on the mysterious Plain of Jars. Here, scattered across a plateau
roughly 15 kilometers (10.3 miles) wide are large urns, resembling giant jars,
more than two thousand years old. The largest are about 2 meters (6.1 feet)
tall and weigh up to ten thousand kilograms (ten tons). Their remote loca-
tion and decades of conflict made research difficult, but most archaeologists
think that they were used to hold the ashes of the deceased. Massive stone
pillars and underground chambers discovered more recently support this no-
tion. Although the exact purpose of the urns is unclear, there is no doubt that
the Plain of Jars was home to an advanced Iron Age civilization.
18 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

Looking down on the Plain of Jars. Courtesy of Martine Duprey.

Broad linguistic and cultural differentiation in Southeast Asia began around

10,000 b.c.e., but it was not until the first millennium c.e. that distinct
groups began to emerge. The early inhabitants of Laos spoke Austroasiatic
languages, like Mon and Khmer. Tai peoples were still confined to south-
ern China. Confronting more numerous neighbors, between the sixth and
eighth centuries c.e. the Tai began to form larger units, called muang. These
were run by powerful men, called chao, who protected the muang in return
for labor or goods. The muang drew Tai peoples together. Gradually pushed
out by the Chinese and Vietnamese, the Tai migrated into present-day Laos
and Thailand. In turn they displaced indigenous inhabitants, who moved
into the mountains. By the ninth and tenth centuries Tai peoples occupied
upper Southeast Asia, centered on the kingdom of Nan-Chao in present-
day Yunnan, China, and a second state called Yonok in Bokeo Province,
northern Laos. However, they were surrounded by larger rivals—the Indi-
anized kingdoms of Champa in Vietnam, the Khmer of Angkor, and the
Mon of Burma—all of which had profound effects on the development of Tai
identity.
Indian cultures more than Chinese cultures influenced the Tai. As early as
the first century c.e. Indian traders crisscrossed the region en route to China
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAOS 19

by both land and sea. Traders and merchants helped to spread the Hindu
religion. Local rulers also likely invited monks and scholars from India to
come and help develop new a social structure and belief system. They brought
Pali and Sanskrit systems that form the basis of many modern languages in
the region. Hindu kingdoms like Funan controlled parts of Laos between the
first and sixth centuries c.e. Between the sixth and eighth centuries they were
held by Chenla, another Mon-Khmer, Hindu kingdom that stretched into
Cambodia.
One of the most important Indianized cultures that shaped the evolution
of Laos was the Dvaravati. Although never an empire in the true sense of the
word, the Dvaravati had enormous influence in the region, stretching from
India through to the Gulf of Thailand. Much of this civilization remains a
mystery, but it is clear that between the sixth and ninth centuries it established
profitable trade networks in the Chao Phraya River Valley of Thailand. Two
kingdoms—one called Sri Gotapura, near Thakhek, and the other known as
Muang Sawa, today’s Luang Prabang—controlled much of Laos between the
eighth and twelfth centuries. It is also known that the Dvaravati were Mon
people who converted to Theravada Buddhism. By the eleventh and twelfth
centuries Buddhism was solidly entrenched in Laos, as evidenced by relics and
statuary.2 The spread of Buddhism in turn reinforced the sense of uniqueness
among Tai peoples and strengthened the muangs.
This was especially important given the rise of the Khmer empire toward the
end of the ninth century. The Khmer are most famous for the massive temple
complex at Angkor in Cambodia, which today is one of the most important
ancient sites in the world. The Khmer pushed into southern Laos, northeast-
ern Thailand, and southern Vietnam. They were predominantly Hindus, al-
though under King Jayavarman VII (ruled 1181–1201) the empire adopted
Mahayana Buddhism. The Khmer built numerous temples, fortifications,
trade posts, and roads. They also controlled a vast trade network between
China and India, which brought them into direct contact with the Tai. Most
experts agree that by twelfth century the people of Laos were predominantly
Khmer, but war and the expansion of the Tai changed this.
Khmer culture dramatically influenced the Tai. Most important was the
Khmer political system, which the Tai adopted for themselves. This was based
on the mandala—a Sanskrit word meaning “essence” or “containing” that un-
derpins Hindu and Buddhist notions of the cosmos. In political terms, the
mandala is a spatial representation of the state as an organism made up of con-
stituent parts. In this respect, the mandala was consistent with the structure of
Tai muangs. Each could be a separate geopolitical entity while simultaneously
part of a larger state. Tribute, in the form of goods and armies, was given to
a centralized authority in exchange for defense and support. However, each
20 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF LAOS

tributary maintained independence and, theoretically at least, could withdraw

support from the mandala should the central authority fail. Mandalas were
designed to minimize warfare and conquest by force.3
By absorbing Dvaravati and Khmer cultures, the Tai became increasingly
diverse. However, Buddhism provided cohesion while the collapse of Khmer
rule provided opportunity for new Tai states to emerge. Khmer power faded
in the late thirteenth century as Mongol armies invaded Southeast Asia. Al-
most simultaneously two major Tai kingdoms developed, both in northern
Thailand. One was at Sukhothai, founded between 1279 and 1298 by King
Ramkhamhaeng (ruled 1279–1318), while the other was at Lan Na (Lanna),
established between 1281 and 1292 under King Mangrai (ruled two king-
doms, 1259–1317). Both were initially tributaries of the Mongol-Chinese
Yuan dynasty but quickly expanded their influence. Lan Na incorporated Tai
muangs in Burma, Laos, and southern China. Sukhothai eventually controlled
lands in Thailand and Laos, including Muang Sawa.4 It was there that the first
Lao muang began, originally called Xiang Dong Xiang Thong (“City of Flame
Trees beside the River Dong”). By the mid-fourteenth century the mandala
system allowed for the emergence of an even more distinctly Lao-Tai kingdom
there known as Lan Xang (Lane Xang).

LAN XANG
Lan Xang, “Kingdom of One Million Elephants,” is the historical center
of Laos. Legend has it that a young prince from Xiang Dong Xiang Thong
named Fa Ngum was exiled from the kingdom after his father attempted
to seize power and fled to Angkor to seek Khmer protection. He ended up
marrying a Khmer princess and mobilizing an army, first to conquer terri-
tories in the Mekong Valley and then to turn against his home. Capturing
Xiang Dong Xiang Thong in 1353, Fa Ngum renamed the kingdom Lan
Xang Hom Khao (“Kingdom of One Million Elephants and the White Para-
sol”) and ruled through 1368. During his reign the kingdom expanded into
northeastern Thailand and southern China.5
Although a magnificent general, Fa Ngum was a despotic ruler. He did not
tolerate dissent and disregarded the mandala system by demanding absolute
control of the empire. Fearing insurrections, his top advisers appealed to Fa
Ngum’s queen, Keo Keng Ya (Kaew Keng Nya), to intervene. She convinced
her husband to moderate his ways and seek the counsel of Buddhist monks
specially requested from Angkor. They came bearing holy scriptures known
as the Tipitaka (see Chapter 3) and one of the most important figures of the
Buddha, the Phabang (Prabang), sent by the king of Angkor. Reputedly then
already 1,400 years old and crafted in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the Phabang was
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAOS 21

solid gold, weighed 40 kilograms (88 pounds), and was carried by eight at-
tendees. It came in a procession of almost ten thousand people: mostly crafts-
men, engineers, and attendants given to Fa Ngum. According to legend, the
Phabang made it as far as Vieng Kham (Phainam), north of Vientiane, but
mysteriously could not be moved further—thus convincing Fa Ngum that it
wanted to stay there. He built a temple to house it and the statue remained
in Vieng Kham and Vientiane for nearly 150 years before finally making the
journey to Xiang Dong Xiang Thong in 1512.
Fa Ngum did not introduce Buddhism to Laos. The religion was established
long before him. However, it is possible that he recognized Theravada Bud-
dhism as the religion of Lan Xang, and thus gave Laos its majority faith today.
Nor is it true that Fa Ngum single-handedly redeveloped the mandala system
or secured his kingdom’s frontiers. Both were achieved over nearly 150 years
following the establishment of Lan Xang. Nonetheless, Fa Ngum remains an
epic figure in Laotian history. In the search for a uniquely Lao identity today,
he and the kingdom of Lan Xang have become pivotal, leaving some prone
to mythology.6 Fa Ngum was succeeded by his eldest son, Sam Sen Thai (also
called Oun Heaun or Unheaun; ruled ca. 1373–1416), who was known as
the Lord of Three Hundred Thousand Tai, in reference to the number of men
at his disposal after a census was taken in 1376. He consolidated Lan Xang’s
power by strategically marrying into the royal families of both Lan Na and
the increasingly powerful kingdom of Ayutthaya (Ayudhya). He also mod-
eled the administrative, financial, and military systems of Lan Xang on other
Tai states, giving rise to the Tai people as a whole.
However, following his death in about 1416 Lan Xang declined. The fact
that there were eight kings in twenty-two years speaks to internal political
rivalries and a crippling succession crisis. Some scholars contend that dur-
ing this period a senior queen known as Maha Devi, or Great Goddess,
whose identity remains unclear, dominated Lan Xang.7 Then, in approxi-
mately 1438, the ruler of Vientiane and Sam Sen Thai’s only surviving son,
Vangburi, took over the kingdom. Taking the name Sainyachakkapat Phaen
Phaew, or Chakkapat—derived from the Pali term for “universal Buddhist
monarch”—he set about stabilizing Lan Xang. His most important contri-
butions were establishing a clearer line of succession and further entrenching
Theravada Buddhism.8 However, war with the Vietnamese ended his efforts.
The Vietnamese occupied parts of the kingdom and sacked Xiang Dong Xiang
Thong, forcing Chakkapat to flee.
Over the subsequent twenty years, his successors managed to regain con-
trol of the kingdom, force the Vietnamese to withdraw, and secure Lan Xang’s
frontiers through close relations with Ayutthaya, which by the early six-
teenth century was the most powerful Tai state. This was the golden age of
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PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.

PROFESSOR PERRY'S WORKS ON POLITICAL ECONOMY.

1. INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ECONOMY.

Fifth Edition. 12mo. 357 pp. Price, $1.50.

2. PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.

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Crown 8vo. 600 pp. Price, $2.50.
 PRINCIPLES
OF

POLITICAL ECONOMY

BY
ARTHUR LATHAM PERRY, LL.D.
Orrin Sage Professor of History and Political Economy in Williams
College

"No task is ill where Hand and Brain

And Skill and Strength have equal gain,
And each shall each in honor hold,
And simple manhood outweigh gold."

Whittier.

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1891
 COPYRIGHT, 1890,
BY ARTHUR LATHAM PERRY.

Dedication.

TO MY PERSONAL FRIEND OF LONG STANDING

J. STERLING MORTON
OF NEBRASKA
A FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE ALSO
FOUNDER OF ARBOR DAY
 PREFACE.
It is now exactly twenty-five years since was published my first book
upon the large topics at present in hand. It was but as a bow drawn
at a venture, and was very properly entitled "Elements of Political
Economy." At that time I had been teaching for about a dozen years
in this Institution the closely cognate subjects of History and Political
Economy; cognate indeed, since Hermann Lotze, a distinguished
German philosopher of our day, makes prominent among its only
five most general phases, the "industrial" element in all human
history; and since Goldwin Smith, an able English scholar, resolves
the elements of human progress, and thus of universal history, into
only three, namely, "the moral, the intellectual, and the productive."
During these studious and observant years of teaching, I had slowly
come to a settled conviction that I could say something of my own
and something of consequence about Political Economy, especially at
two points; and these two proved in the sequel to be more radical
and transforming points than was even thought of at the first. For
one thing, I had satisfied myself, that the word "Wealth," as at once
a strangely indefinite and grossly misleading term, was worse than
useless in the nomenclature of the Science, and would have to be
utterly dislodged from it, before a scientific content and defensible
form could by any possibility be given to what had long been called
in all the modern languages the "Science of Wealth." Accordingly, so
far as has appeared in the long interval of time since 1865, these
"Elements" were the very first attempt to undertake an orderly
construction of Economics from beginning to end without once using
or having occasion to use the obnoxious word. A scientific substitute
for it was of course required, which, with the help of Bastiat, himself
however still clinging to the technical term "Richesse," was discerned
and appropriated in the word "Value"; a good word indeed, that can
be simply and perfectly defined in a scientific sense of its own; and,
what is more important still, that precisely covers in that sense all
the three sorts of things which are ever bought and sold, the three
only Valuables in short, namely, material Commodities, personal
Services, commercial Credits. It is of course involved in this simple-
looking but far-reaching change from "Wealth" to "Value," that
Economics become at once and throughout a science of Persons
buying and selling, and no longer as before a science of Things
howsoever manipulated for and in their market.
For another thing, before beginning to write out the first word of
that book, I believed myself to have made sure, by repeated and
multiform inductions, of this deepest truth in the whole Science,
which was a little after embodied (I hope I may even say embalmed)
in a phrase taking its proper place in the book itself,—A market for
Products is products in Market. The fundamental thus tersely
expressed may be formulated more at length in this way: One
cannot Sell without at the same instant and in the same act Buying,
nor Buy anything without simultaneously Selling something else;
because in Buying one pays for what he buys, which is Selling, and
in Selling one must take pay for what is sold, which is Buying. As
these universal actions among men are always voluntary, there must
be also an universal motive leading up to them; this motive on the
part of both parties to each and every Sale can be no other than the
mutual satisfaction derivable to both; the inference, accordingly, is
easy and invincible, that governmental restrictions on Sales, or
prohibitions of them, must lessen the satisfactions and retard the
progress of mankind.
Organizing strictly all the matter of my book along these two lines of
Personality and Reciprocity, notwithstanding much in it that was
crude and more that was redundant and something that was ill-
reasoned and unsound, the book made on account of this original
mode of treatment an immediate impression upon the public,
particularly upon teachers and pupils; new streaks of light could not
but be cast from these new points of view, upon such topics
especially as Land and Money and Foreign Trade; and nothing is
likely ever to rob the author of the satisfaction, which he is willing to
share with the public, of having contributed something of
importance both in substance and in feature to the permanent up-
building of that Science, which comes closer, it may be, to the
homes and happiness and progress of the People, than any other
science. And let it be said in passing, that there is one consideration
well-fitted to stimulate and to reward each patient and competent
scientific inquirer, no matter what that science may be in which he
labors, namely, this: Any just generalization, made and fortified
inductively, is put thereby beyond hazard of essential change for all
time; for this best of reasons, that God has constructed the World
and Men on everlasting lines of Order.
As successive editions of this first book were called for, and as its
many defects were brought out into the light through teaching my
own classes from it year after year, occasion was taken to revise it
and amend it and in large parts to rewrite it again and again; until,
in 1883, and for the eighteenth edition, it was recast from bottom up
for wholly new plates, and a riper title was ventured upon,—"Political
Economy,"—instead of the original more tentative "Elements." Since
then have been weeded out the slight typographical and other
minute errors, and the book stands now in its ultimate shape.
My excellent publishers, who have always been keenly and wisely
alive to my interests as an author, suggested several times after the
success of the first book was reasonably assured, that a second and
smaller one should be written out, with an especial eye to the needs
of high schools and academies and colleges for a text-book within
moderate limits, yet soundly based and covering in full outline the
whole subject. This is the origin of the "Introduction to Political
Economy," first published in 1877, twelve years after the other. Its
success as a text-book and as a book of reading for young people
has already justified, and will doubtless continue to justify in the
future, the forethought of its promoters. It has found a place in
many popular libraries, and in courses of prescribed reading. Twice it
has been carefully corrected and somewhat enlarged, and is now in
its final form. In the preface to the later editions of the
"Introduction" may be found the following sentence, which
expresses a feeling not likely to undergo any change in the time to
come:—"I have long been, and am still, ambitious that these books
of mine may become the horn-books of my countrymen in the study
of this fascinating Science."
Why, then, should I have undertaken of my own motion a new and
third book on Political Economy, and attempted to mark the
completion of the third cycle of a dozen years each of teaching it, by
offering to the public the present volume? One reason is implied in
the title, "Principles of Political Economy." There are three extended
historical chapters in the earlier book, occupying more than one-
quarter of its entire space, which were indeed novel, which cost me
wide research and very great labor, and which have also proven
useful and largely illustrative of almost every phase of Economics;
but I wanted to leave behind me one book of about the same size as
that, devoted exclusively to the Principles of the Science, and using
History only incidentally to illustrate in passing each topic as it came
under review. For a college text-book as this is designed to become,
and for a book of reading and reference for technical purposes, it
seems better that all the space should be taken up by purely
scientific discussion and illustration. This does not mean, however,
that great pains have not been taken in every part to make this book
also easily intelligible, and as readable and interesting as such
careful discussions can be made.
A second reason is, to provide for myself a fresh text-book to teach
from. My mind has become quite too thoroughly familiarized with the
other, even down to the very words, by so long a course of
instructing from it, for the best results in the class-room.
Accordingly, a new plan of construction has been adopted. Instead
of the fourteen chapters there, there are but seven chapters here.
Not a page nor a paragraph as such has been copied from either of
the preceding books. Single sentences, and sometimes several of
them together, when they exactly fitted the purposes of the new
context, have been incorporated here and there, in what is
throughout both in form and style a new book, neither an
enlargement nor an abridgment nor a recasting of any other. I
anticipate great pleasure in the years immediately to come from the
handling with my classes, who have always been of much assistance
to me from the first in studying Political Economy, a fresh book
written expressly for them and for others like-circumstanced; in
which every principle is drawn from the facts of every-day life by
way of induction, and also stands in vital touch with such facts (past
or present) by way of illustration.
The third and only other reason needful to be mentioned here is,
that in recent years the legislation of my country in the matter of
cheap Money and of artificial restrictions on Trade has run so directly
counter to sound Economics in their very core, that I felt it a debt
due to my countrymen to use once more the best and ripest results
of my life-long studies, in the most cogent and persuasive way
possible within strictly scientific limits, to help them see and act for
themselves in the way of escape from false counsels and
impoverishing statutes. Wantonly and enormously heavy lies the
hand of the national Government upon the masses of the people at
present. But the People are sovereign, and not their transient agents
in the government; and the signs are now cheering indeed, that they
have not forgotten their native word of command, nor that
government is instituted for the sole benefit of the governed and
governing people, nor that the greatest good of the greatest number
is the true aim and guide of Legislation. I am grateful for the proofs
that appear on every hand, that former labors in these directions
and under these motives have proven themselves to have been both
opportune and effective; and I am sanguine almost to certainty, that
this reiterated effort undertaken for the sake of my fellow-citizens as
a whole, will slowly bear abundant fruit also, as towards their liberty
of action as individuals, and in their harmonious co-operation
together as entire classes to the end of popular comforts and
universal progress.
 A. L. PERRY.
Williams College,
November 25, 1890.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE

CHAPTER I.
Value 1
CHAPTER II.
Material Commodities 80
CHAPTER III.
Personal Services 181
CHAPTER IV.
Commercial Credits 271
CHAPTER V.
Money 361
CHAPTER VI.
Foreign Trade 451
CHAPTER VII.
Taxation 540

INDEX 587

PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.

 CHAPTER I.
VALUE.

The first question that confronts the beginner in this science, and
the one also that controls the whole scope of his inquiries to the
very end, is: What is the precise subject of Political Economy? Within
what exact field do its investigations lie? There is indeed a short and
broad and full answer at hand to this fundamental and
comprehensive question; and yet it is every way better for all
concerned to reach this answer by a route somewhat delayed and
circuitous, just as it is better in ascending a mountain summit for the
sake of a strong and complete view to circle up leisurely on foot or
on horseback, rather than to dash straight up to the top by a cog-
wheel railway and take all of a sudden what might prove to be a less
impressive or a more confusing view.
The preliminary questions are: What sort of facts has Political
Economy to deal with, to inquire into, to classify, to make a science
of? Are these facts easily separable in the mind and in reality from
other kinds of facts perhaps liable to be confounded with them? Are
they facts of vast importance to the welfare of mankind? And are the
activities of men everywhere greatly and increasingly occupied with
just those things, with which this science has exclusively to do? Let
us see if we cannot come little by little by a route of our own to clear
and true answers for all these questions.
If one should take his stand for an hour upon London Bridge,
perhaps the busiest bit of street in the world, and cast his eyes
around intelligently to see what he can see, and begin also to
classify the things coming under his vision, what might he report to
himself and to others? Below the bridge in what is called the "Pool,"
which was dredged out for that very purpose by the ancient
Romans, there lie at anchor or move coming and going many
merchant-ships of all nations, carrying out and bringing in to an
immense amount in the whole aggregate tangible articles of all kinds
to and from the remote as well as the near nations of the earth. All
this movement of visible goods, home and foreign, is in the interest
and under the impulse of Buying and Selling. The foreign goods
come in simply to buy, that is, to pay for, the domestic goods taken
away; and these latter go out in effect even if not in appearance to
buy, that is, to pay for, the foreign goods coming in. At the same
hour the bridge itself is covered with land-vehicles of every sort
moving in both directions, loaded with salable articles of every
description; artisans of every name are coming and going;
merchants of many nationalities step within the field of view; and
porters and servants and errand-boys are running to and fro, all in
some direct relation to the sale or purchase of those visible and
tangible things called in Political Economy Commodities. Moreover,
vast warehouses built in the sole interest of trade on both sides the
river above and below the bridge, built to receive and to store for a
time till their ultimate consumers are found, some of these thousand
things bought and sold among men, lift their roofs towards heaven
in plain sight. Doubtless some few persons, like our observer himself,
may be on the spot for pleasure or instruction, but for the most part,
all that he can see, the persons, the things, the buildings, even the
bridge itself, are where they are in the interest of Sales of some sort,
mostly of Commodities. What is thus true of a single point in London
is true in a degree of every other part of London, of every part of
Paris and of Berlin, and in its measure of every other city and village
and hamlet in the whole world. Wherever there is a street there is
some exchange of commodities upon it, and wherever there is a
market there are buyers and sellers of commodities.
If the curiosity of our supposed observer be whetted by what he saw
on London Bridge, and if the natural impulse to generalize from
particulars be deepened in his mind, he may perhaps on his return
to America take an opportunity to see what he can see and learn
what he can learn within and around one of the mammoth cotton
mills in Lowell or Fall River or Cohoes. Should he take his stand for
this purpose at one of these points, say Lowell, he will be struck at
once by some of the differences between what he saw on the bridge
and what he now sees in the mill. He will indeed see as before some
commodities brought in and carried out, such as the raw cotton and
new machinery and the finished product ready for sale, but in
general no other commodities than the cotton in its various stages of
manufacture, and those like the machinery and means of
transportation directly connected with transforming the cotton into
cloth and taking it to market.
But he sees a host of persons both within and without the mill, all
busy here and there, and all evidently bound to the establishment by
a strong unseen tie of some sort; he sees varying degrees of
authority and subordination in these persons from the Treasurer, the
apparent head of the manufactory, down to the teamsters in the
yard and the common laborers within and without; he will not find
the owners of the property present in any capacity, for they are
scattered capitalists of Boston and elsewhere, who have combined
through an act of incorporation their distinct capitals into a
"Company" for manufacturing cotton; besides their Treasurer
present, whose act is their act and whose contracts their contracts,
he will see an Agent also who acts under the Treasurer and directly
upon the Overseers and their assistants in the spinning and weaving
and coloring and finishing rooms, and under these Operatives of
every grade as skilled and unskilled; and lastly he will observe, that
the direct representatives of the owners and all other persons
present from highest to lowest are conspiring with a will towards the
common end of getting the cotton cloth all made and marketed.
What is it that binds all these persons together? A little tarrying in
the Treasurer's office will answer this question for our observer and
for us. He will find it to be the second kind of Buying and Selling. At
stated times the Treasurer pays the salary of the Agent, and his
own. He pays the wages of the Overseers and the wages of all the
Operatives and Laborers,—men and women and children. Here he
finds a buying and selling on a great scale not of material
commodities as before, but of personal services of all the various
kinds. Every man and woman and child connected with the factory
and doing its work sells an intangible personal service to the
"Company" and takes his pay therefor, which last is a simple buying
on the part of the unseen employers. Here, then, in this mill is a
single specimen of this buying and selling of personal services, which
is going on to an immense extent and in every possible direction in
each civilized country of the world, and everywhere to an immensely
increased volume year by year. Clergymen and lawyers and
physicians and teachers and legislators and judges and musicians
and actors and artisans of every name and laborers of every grade
sell their intangible services to Society, and take their pay back at
the market-rate. The aggregate value of all these services sold in
every advanced country is probably greater than the aggregate value
of the tangible commodities sold there. At any rate, both classes
alike, commodities and services, are bought and sold under
substantially the same economic principles.
The inductive appetite in intelligent persons, that is to say, their
desire to classify facts and to generalize from particulars, almost
always grows by what it feeds on; and our supposed observer will
scarcely rest contented until he has taken up at least one more
stand-point, from which to observe men's Buying and Selling.
Suppose now he enter for this purpose on any business-day morning
the New York Clearing-House. He will see about 125 persons
present, nearly one half of these bank clerks sitting behind desks,
and the other half standing before these desks or moving in cue
from one to the next. The room is perfectly still. Not a word is
spoken. The Manager of the Clearing with his assistant sits or stands
on a raised platform at one end of the room, and gives the signal to
begin the Exchange. No commodities of any name or nature are
within the field of view. The manager indeed and his assistant and
two clerks of the establishment who sit near him are in receipt of
salaries for their personal services, and all the other clerks present
receive wages for their services from their respective banks, but the
exchange about to commence is no sale of personal services any
more than it is a sale of tangible commodities. It is however a
striking instance of the buying and selling of some valuables of the
third and final class of valuable things.
At a given signal from the manager the (say) 60 bank messengers,
each standing in front of the desk of his own bank and each having
in hand before him 59 small parcels of papers, the parcels arranged
in the same definite order as the desks around the room, step
forward to the next desk and deliver each his parcel to the clerk
sitting behind it, and so on till the circuit of the room is made. It
takes but ten minutes. Each parcel is made up of cheques or credit-
claims, the property of the bank that brings it and the debts of the
bank to which it is delivered. Accordingly each bank of the circle
receives through its sitting clerk its own debits to all the rest of the
banks, and delivers to all through its standing messenger its own
credits as off-set. In other words, each bank buys of the rest what it
owes to each with what each owes to it. It is at bottom a mutual
buying and selling of debts. There is of course a daily balance on
one side or the other between every two of these banks, which must
be settled in money, because it would never happen in practice that
each should owe the other precisely the same sum on any one day;
but substantially and almost exclusively the exchange at the
Clearing-House is a simple trade in credit-claims. Each bank pays its
debts by credits. A merchant is a dealer in commodities, a laborer is
a dealer in services, and a banker is a dealer in credits. Each of the
three is a buyer and seller alike, and the difference is only in the
kind of valuables specially dealt in by each. In all cases alike,
however, there is no buying without selling and no selling without
buying; because, when one buys he must always pay for what he
buys and that is selling, and when one sells he must always take his
pay for what he sells and that is buying. This is just as true when
one credit is bought or sold against a commodity or a service, and
when two or more credits are bought and sold as against each other,
as it is when two commodities or two services are exchanged one for
the other.
But the Clearing-House is not by any means the only place where
credits or debts (they are the same thing) are bought and sold.
Every bank is such a place. Every broker's office is such a place.
Every place is an establishment of the same kind where commercial
rights, that is, claims to be realized in future time and for which a
consideration is paid, are offered for sale and sold. The amount of
transactions in Credits in every commercial country undoubtedly
surpasses the amount in Commodities or that in Services.
Now our supposed observer and classifier, having noted on London
Bridge the sale of material commodities, and in the Lowell Mill the
sale of personal services, and within the New York Clearing-House
the sale of credit-claims, has seen in substance everything that ever
was or ever will be exhibited in the world of trade. He may rest.
There is no other class of salable things than these three. Keen eyes
and minds skilled in induction have been busy for two millenniums
and a half more or less to find another class of things bought and
sold among men, and have not yet found it or any trace of it. This
work has been perfectly and scientifically done. The generalization is
completed for all time.
The genus, then, with which Political Economy deals from beginning
to end, has been discovered, can be described, and is easily and
completely separable for its own purposes of science from all other
kinds and classes and genera of things, namely, Salable things or
(what means precisely the same) Valuable things or (what is exactly
equivalent) Exchangeable things. In other words, the sole and single
class of things, with which the Science of Political Economy has to
do, is Valuables, whose origin and nature and extent and importance
it is the purpose of the present chapter to unfold. We have fully seen
already that this Genus, Valuables, is sub-divided into three species,
and three only, namely, Commodities, Services, Credits. A little table
here may help at once the eye and the mind:—
 ECONOMICS.

The Genus Valuables

{ Commodities
The Species { Services
{ Credits

If only these three species of things are ever bought and sold, then
it certainly follows that only six kinds of commercial exchanges are
possible to be found in the world, namely these:—

1. A commodity for a commodity.

2. A commodity for a personal service.
3. A commodity for a credit-claim.
4. A personal service for another service.
5. A personal service for a credit-claim.
6. One credit-claim for another.

Though the kinds of possible exchanges are thus very few, the
exchanges themselves in one or other of these six forms and in all of
them are innumerable on every business day in every civilized
country of the globe. And this point is to be particularly noted, that
while buying and selling in these forms has been going on
everywhere since the dawn of authentic History, it has gone on all
the while in ever-increasing volume, it is increasing now more rapidly
and variously than ever, and moreover all signs foretell that it will
play a larger and still larger part in the affairs of men and nations as
this old world gains in age and unity.
Damascus is one of the very oldest cities of the world, and its very
name means a "seat of trade." We are told in the Scriptures, that
Abraham about 2000 years before Christ went up out of Egypt "very
rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold," and the only possible way he
could have acquired these possessions was by buying and selling. He
afterwards purchased the cave and the field in Hebron for a family
burial-place, and "weighed unto Ephron the silver which he had
named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of
silver, current money with the merchant." We may notice here, that
there were then "merchants" as a class, that silver by weight passed
as "money" from hand to hand, and that in the lack of written deeds
to land, as we have them, sales were "made sure" before the faces
of living men, who would tell the truth and pass on the word.
Abraham indeed seems to have given the pitch for the song of trade
sung by his descendants, the Jews, from that day to this; for Jacob,
his grandson, was a skilled trafficker, not to say a secret trickster, in
his bargains; and wherever in the Old World or the New the Jews
have been, there have been in fact and in fame busy buyers and
sellers.
But the Jews have had no special privileges in the realm of trade; on
the contrary, they have always been under special disabilities both
legal and social. Even in England, the most liberal country in Europe,
they were exiled for long periods, maltreated at all points of contact
with other people, more or less put under the ban of the Common
and the Statute law, often outrageously taxed on their goods and
persons, and studiously kept out of the paths of highest public
employment even down to a time within the memory of living men.
[1] Yet so natural is the impulse to trade, so universally diffused, so
imperative also if progress is in any direction to be attained, that the
English and all other peoples were as glad to borrow money, that is,
buy the use of it, of the persecuted Jews, as the latter were to get
money by buying and selling other things, and then to loan it, that
is, sell the use of it, under the best securities (never very good) for
its return with interest, that they could obtain. Happily, the mutual
gains that always wait on the Exchanges even when their conditions
are curtailed, of course attended the mutilated exchanges between
Jews and Christians: otherwise, they would not continue to take
place.
Christianity, however, as the perfected Judaism, gradually brought in
the better conditions, the higher impulses, and the more certain
rewards, of Trade, all which, we may be sure, were designed in the
divine Plan of the world. What is called the Progress of Civilization
has been marked and conditioned at every step by an extension of
the opportunities, a greater facility in the use of the means, a more
eager searching for proper expedients, and a higher certainty in the
securing of the returns, of mutual exchanges among men. There
have been indeed, and there still are, vast obstacles lying across the
pathway of this Progress in the unawakened desires and reluctant
industry and short-sighted selfishness of individuals, as well as in the
ignorant prejudices and mistaken legislation of nations; but all the
while Christianity has been indirectly tugging away at these
obstacles, and Civilization has been able to rejoice over the partial or
complete removal of some of them; while also Christianity directly
works out in human character those chief qualities, on which the
highest success of commercial intercourse among men will always
depend, namely, Foresight, Diligence, Integrity, and mutual Trust; so
that, what we call Civilization is to a large extent only the result of a
better development of these human qualities in domestic and foreign
commerce.
Contrary to a common conception in the premises, the sacred books
of both Jews and Christians display no bias at all against buying and
selling, but rather extol such action as praiseworthy, and also those
qualities of mind and habits of life that lead up to it and tend too to
increase its amount, and they constantly illustrate by means of
language derived from traffic the higher truths and more spiritual
life, which are the main object of these inspired writers. It is indeed
true that the chosen people of God were forbidden to take Usury of
each other, though they were permitted to take it freely of strangers,
and that they were forbidden to buy horses and other products out
of Egypt, for fear they would be religiously corrupted by such
commercial intercourse with idolaters; but there is nothing of this
sort in the law of Moses that cannot be easily explained from the
grand purpose to found an agricultural commonwealth for religious
ends, in which commonwealth no family could permanently alienate
its land, and in which it was a great object to preserve the
independence and equality of the tribes and families. Throughout
the Old Testament there is no word or precept that implies that
trade in itself is not helpful and wholesome; there were sharp and
effective provisions for the recovery of debts; there were any
number of exhortations to diligence in business, such as, "In the
morning sow thy seed, and at evening withhold not thy hand"; King
Solomon himself made a gigantic exchange in preparation for the
temple with King Hiram of Tyre, by which the cedars of Lebanon
were to be paid for by the grain and oil of the agricultural kingdom;
chapter xxvii of the prophet Ezekiel is a graphic description of the
commerce of the ancient world as it centered in the market of Tyre,
a description carried out into detail both as to the nations that
frequented that market and as to the products that were exchanged
in it,—"silver, iron, tin, lead, persons of men, vessels of brass,
horses, horsemen, mules, horns of ivory, ebony-wood, carbuncles,
purple work, fine linen, corals, rubies, wheat, pastry, syrup, oil,
balm, wine of Helbon, white wool, thread, wrought iron, cassia,
sweet reed, cloth, lambs, rams, goats, precious spices, precious
stones, splendid apparel, mantles of blue, embroidered work, chests
of damask, and gold"; and chapter xxxi of Proverbs describes the
model housewife in terms like these,—

"The heart of her husband trusteth in her,

And he is in no want of gain.
She seeketh wool and flax,
And worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth while it is yet night,
And giveth food to her family,
And a task to her maidens.
She layeth a plan for a field and buyeth it;
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She perceiveth how pleasant is her gain,
And her lamp is not extinguished in the night.
She putteth forth her hands to the distaff,
And her hands take hold of the spindle.
 She maketh for herself coverlets;
Her clothing is of fine linen and purple.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them,
And delivereth girdles to the merchants."
Still more explicit and instructive are the words and spirit of the New
Testament. There cannot be the least doubt that the whole influence
of Christianity is favorable to the freest commercial exchanges at
home and abroad, because these depend largely on mutual
confidence between man and man, of which confidence Christianity
is the greatest promoter. It may be conceded at once that our Lord
"overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of them
that sold doves" within the sacred precincts of the temple, but this,
not because it is wrong to change money or sell doves, but because
that was not the place for such merchandising; so He himself
explained his own action in the sequel; provincial worshippers
coming up to Jerusalem must needs have their coins changed into
the money of the Capital, and must needs buy somewhere the
animal victims for sacrifice; but the whip of small cords had
significance only as to the place, and not at all as to the propriety, of
such trading.
One of our Lord's parables, the parable of the Talents, sets forth in
several striking lights the privilege and duty and reward of diligent
trading. "Then he that had received the five talents went and traded
with the same, and made them other five talents." And when this
servant came to the reckoning, and brought as the result of his free
and busy traffic "five talents more," the prompt and hearty approval
of his lord—"well done, thou good and faithful servant"—becomes
the testimony of the New Testament to the merit and the profit and
the benefit of a vigorous buying and selling. For this servant could
not have been authoritatively pronounced good and faithful if the
results of his action commended had been in any way prejudicial to
others. The truth is, as we shall abundantly see by and by with the
reasons of it, that any man who buys and sells under the free and
natural conditions of trade, benefits the man he trades with just as
much as he benefits himself. But the parable has a still stronger
word in favor of exchanges. There was another servant also
entrusted with capital by his lord at the same time, when the latter
was about to travel "into a far country." We are expressly told that
distribution was made "to every man according to his several ability,"
and thus this servant was only entrusted with a single talent, the
size of the capital given to him being in just proportion to the size of
the man,—the smallest share falling of course to the smallest man.
But he had the same opportunity as the two others. The world was
open to him. Capital was in demand, if not in those parts then in
some other, to which, like his lord, he might straightway take his
journey. But when his time of reckoning came, and he had nothing
to show for the use of his capital, he upbraided his lord as a hard
man for expecting any increase, and brought out his bare talent
wrapped in a napkin, saying, "I was afraid, and I went and hid thy
talent in the earth." His wise lord at once denounced this servant as
"wicked and slothful," insisted that his money ought to have been
"put to the exchangers," and said finally in a just anger "cast ye the
unprofitable servant into outer darkness."
It is moreover in incidental passages of the Scriptures, in which the
methods of business are commended to the searchers after higher
things, that we see their high estimate of those methods and gains.
"Buy the truth, and sell it not; buy wisdom and understanding"
(Prov. xxiii, 23). "Buying up for yourselves opportunities" (Col. iv, 5).
"I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest
be rich; and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed; and eye-
salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see" (Rev. iii, 18). "But
rather let him labor, working with his hands at that which is good,
that he may have to give to him that is in need" (Eph. iv, 28). "But if
any one provideth not for his own, and especially for those of his
own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an
unbeliever" (1 Tim. v, 8).
Now, the universal test and proof of any truth is its harmony with
some other truths. Does an alleged truth fall in with and fill out well
some other demonstrated and accepted proposition, or a number of
such other propositions? If so, then that truth is proved. Human
reason can no further go. The mind rests with relish and content in a
new acquisition. To apply this to the case in hand,—if men were
designed of their Maker to buy and sell to their own mutual benefit
and advancement, if mankind have always been buying and selling
as towards that end and with that obvious result, and if the Future
promises to increase and reduplicate the buying and selling of the
Present in every direction without end, and all in the interest of a
broad civilization and a true and lasting progress; and if, in harmony
with these truths, the written revelation of God in every part of it
assumes that buying and selling in its inmost substance and
essential forms be good and righteous and progressive, and suitable
in all its ends and methods to illustrate and enforce ends and
methods in the higher kingdom of spiritual and eternal Life;—then
these coördinate truths will logically and certainly follow, (1) that
Trade is natural and essential and beneficial to mankind; (2) that it
constitutes in an important sense a realm of human thought and
action by itself, separate from the neighboring realm of Giving, and
equally from the hostile realm of Stealing; and (3) that a careful
analysis of what buying and selling in its own peculiar nature is, a
thorough ascertainment and a consequent clear statement of its
fundamental laws, and a faithful exposure of what in individual
selfishness and in subtle or open Legislation makes against these
laws, must be of large consequence to the welfare of mankind.
Accordingly, let us now attempt such Analysis and Ascertainment
and Exposure. This is precisely the task that lies before us in this
book—just this, and nothing more. The term, "Political Economy,"
has long been and is still an elastic title over the zealous work of
many men in many lands; but in the hands of the present writer
during a life now no longer short, the term has always had a definite
meaning, the work has covered an easily circumscribed field, and so
the present undertaking concerns only Buying and Selling and what
is essentially involved in that. This gives scope and verge enough for
the studies of a life-time. This has the advantage of a complete
sphere of its own. Terms may thus be made as definite as the nature
of language will ever allow; definitions will thus cover things of one
kind only; and generalizations, although they may be delicate and
difficult, will deal with no incongruous and obstinate material.
1. The grandfather of the writer, an illiterate but long-headed farmer,
was able to give good points to his three college-bred sons, by
insisting that they look "into the natur on't." What, then, are the
ultimate elements of Buying and Selling? What are the invariable
conditions that precede, accompany, and follow, any and every act
of Trade? Of course we are investigating now and throughout this
treatise the deliberative acts of reasonably intelligent human beings,
in one great department of their common foresight and rational
action. We have consequently nothing to do here with Fraud or Theft
or Mania or Gift. Acts put forth under the impulse of these are direct
opposites of, or at best antagonistic to, acts of Trade. They tend to
kill trade, and therefore they are no part of trade. These, then, and
such as these, aside, we will now analyze a single Act of Exchange
at one time and place,—which will serve in substance for all acts of
exchange in all times and places, and just find out for ourselves
what are the Fundamentals and Essentials of that matter, with which
alone we have to do in this science of Political Economy.
Incidental reference was had a little way back to an Exchange once
made between King Solomon of Jerusalem and King Hiram of Tyre.
Let that be our typical instance. (a) There were two persons,
Solomon and Hiram. Those two, and no more, stood face to face, as
it were, to make a commercial bargain. They made it, and it was
afterwards executed. The execution indeed concerned a great many
persons on both sides, and occupied a long period of time; but the
bargain itself, the trade, the exchange, the covenant, concerned only
two persons, and occupied but a moment of time. It made no
difference with the bargain as such, with the binding nature of it,
with the terms of it, with the mutual gains of it, that each person
represented a host of others, subordinates and subjects, who would
have to coöperate in the carrying of it out, because each king had
the right to speak for his subjects as well as for himself, for
commercial purposes each was an agent as well as a monarch, the
word of each concluded the consent and the action of others as well
as his own. Nor did it make any, the least, difference with this
exchange or the advantages of it, that each party to it belonged to,
was even the head of, independent and sometimes hostile Peoples.
Commerce is one thing, and nationality a totally different thing. The
present point is, in the words of the old proverb,—"It takes two to
make a bargain." And it takes only two to make a bargain. When
corporations and even nations speak in trade, they speak, and speak
finally, through one accredited agent. We reach, then, as the first bit
of our analysis of Trade, the fact, that there are always two parties
to it, "the party of the first part and the party of the second part."
(b) There were two desires, Solomon's desire for cedar-timbers to
build the temple with, and Hiram's desire for wheat and oil with
which to support the people of his sterile kingdom. "So Hiram gave
Solomon cedar-trees and fir-trees according to all his desire: and
Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to
his household, and twenty measures of pure oil." The desire of each
party was personal and peculiar, known at first only to himself, but
upon occasion became directed towards something in the possession
of the other, and each at length became aware of the desire of the
other, and also of his own ability to satisfy the want of the other. If
Solomon could have satisfied his desire for timber by his own or his
subjects' efforts directly, this trade would never have taken place; if
Hiram or his subjects could have gotten the wheat and oil directly
out of their narrow and sandy strips of sea-coast, this trade would
not have taken place; and so there must be in every case of trade
not only two desires each springing from a separate person, but also
each person must have in his possession something fitted to gratify
the desire of the other person, and each be willing to yield that
something into the possession of the other for the sake of receiving
from him that which will satisfy his own desire, and so both desires
be satisfied indirectly.
Here is the deep and perennial source of exchanges. Men's desires
are so many and various, and so constantly becoming more
numerous and miscellaneous, and so extremely few of his own
wants can ever be met by any one man directly, that the foundation
of exchanges, and of a perpetually increasing volume of exchanges,
is laid in the deep places of human hearts, namely, in Desires ever
welling up to the surface and demanding their satisfaction through
an easy and natural interaction with the ever swelling Desires of
other men. Here too is a firm foundation (a chief foundation) of
human Society. Reciprocal wants, which can only be met through
exchanges, draw men together locally and bind them together
socially, in hamlets and towns and cities and States and Nations, and
also knit ties scarcely less strong and beneficent between the
separate and remotest nationalities of the earth. It is certain that an
inland commercial route connected the East of Asia with the West of
Europe centuries before Christ, and that a traffic was maintained on
the frontier of China between the Sina and the Scythians, in the
manner still followed by the Chinese and the Russians at Kiachta.
The Sina had an independent position in Western China as early as
the eighth century before Christ, and five centuries later established
their sway under the dynasty of Tsin (whence our word "China")
over the whole of the empire. The prophet Isaiah exclaims (xlix, 12),
"Behold! these shall come from far; and behold! these from the
North and from the West; and these from the land of Sinim." The
second bit of our analysis leads to Desires as an essential and
fundamental element in every commercial transaction.
(c) There were two efforts, those of the Tyrians as represented by
King Hiram and those of the Israelites as represented by King
Solomon. It was no holiday task that was implied in the proposition
of Solomon to the party of the other part,—"Send me now cedar-
trees, fir-trees, and algum-trees out of Lebanon; for I know that thy
servants are skilful to cut timber in Lebanon; even to prepare me
timber in abundance, for the house which I am about to build shall
be wonderfully great." On the other hand, the efforts insolved on the
part of the people of Israel in paying for these timbers, and for their
transportation by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, were equally gigantic.
Solomon's offer in return for the proposed service of the Tyrian king
was in these words,—"And behold, I will give to thy servants, the
hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat,
and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand
baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil."
The reason why two efforts are always an element in every act of
traffic, however small or however large the transaction may be, is
the obvious reason, that the things rendered in exchange, whether
they be Commodities, Services, or Credits, invariably cost efforts of
some kind to get them ready to sell and to sell them, and no person
can have a just claim to render them in exchange, who has not
either put forth these efforts himself or become proprietor in some
way of the result of such efforts. Efforts accordingly are central in all
trade. Every trade in its inmost nature is and must be either an
exchange of two Efforts directly, as when one of two farmers
personally helps his neighbor in haying for the sake of securing that
neighbor's personal help in his own harvesting, or an exchange of
two things each of which is the result of previous Efforts of
somebody, as when a man gives a silver dollar for a bushel of wheat.
The third bit of the present analysis brings us to Efforts, perhaps the
most important factor in the whole list.
(d) There were also two reciprocal estimates, the estimate of King
Hiram of all the efforts requisite to cut and hew and float the timber,
as compared with the aggregate of efforts needed to obtain the
necessary wheat and barley and wine and oil in any other possible
way; and the estimate of King Solomon of all the labors required to
grow and market these agricultural products, as compared with what
would otherwise be involved in getting the much-wished-for timbers.
Such estimates invariably precede every rational exchange of
products. It is not in human nature to render a greater effort or the
result of it, when a lesser effort or the result of it will as well procure
the satisfaction of a desire. Efforts are naturally irksome. No more of
them will ever be put forth than is necessary to meet the want that
calls them forth. No man in his senses will ever put more labor on
anything, with which to buy something else, than is necessary to get
that something else by direct effort or through some other
exchange. Here we are on ground as solid as the very substance of
truth can make it. The Jews of Solomon's time were too shrewd and
sparing of irksome labor to devote themselves for years to the toils
of the field and of the vat to get by traffic the materials for their
temple, if they could have gotten those materials by a less
expenditure of toil in any other way. Those Phœnicians of Tyre and
Sidon, the born merchants of the East, the founders of commercial
Carthage in the West, if they could have extorted from the reluctant
sands of their coast the cereals and the vines and olives requisite for
their own support with only so much of exertion as was needed to
get that to market with which to buy them, would never have taken
the indirect in preference to the direct method. They took the
indirect, because it was the easier, and therefore the better.
It may, accordingly, be laid down as a maxim, that men never buy
and sell to satisfy their wants but when that is the easiest and best
way to satisfy them. It saves effort. It saves time. It saves trouble. It
divides labor. It induces skill. It propels progress. But in order to
determine which may be the easier way, requires constant estimates
on the part of each party to a possible trade. Shall I shave myself or
go to the barber? Before I decide, I estimate the direct effort in the
light of the effort to get that with which to pay the barber for his
service. If I trade with him, it is because I deem it easier, cheaper in
effort, more convenient in time. Trade means comparisons in every
case—comparisons by both parties—and in the more recondite and
complicated cases, elaborate comparisons and often comprehensive
calculations involving future time.
Now these estimates inseparable from exchanges, and these
calculations which are a factor in all the far-reaching exchanges, are
mental activities. They quicken and strengthen the minds of men.
Trade is usually, if not always, the initial step in the mental
development of individuals and nations. Desires stir early in the
minds of all children; efforts more or less earnest are the speedy
outcome of natural desires; direct efforts, however, to satisfy these
soon reach their limits; it is now but a step over to simple
exchanges, by which the desires are met indirectly; exchanges once
commenced tend to multiply in all directions, and the estimates that
must precede and accompany these are mental states,—the more of
them, the greater the mental development, the higher the
education; consequently, commerce domestic and foreign is a grand
agency in civilization, a constant and broadening impulse towards
progress in all its forms; and Christianity, as we have already seen, is
friendly to commerce in its every breath. Those, therefore, who talk
and preach about Trade as tending to materialism, do not know
what they are talking about. Because Commodities are material
things, and because a portion of the trade of the world concerns
itself with commodities, these shallow thinkers jump to the
conclusion that trade is materialistic. It is just the reverse. Let us
hear no more from Professor Pulpit or Platform that buying and
selling is antagonistic to men's higher intellectual and spiritual
culture, because the present careful analysis has brought us
indubitably to mental Estimates and prolonged comparisons, which
are activities of Mind, as the fourth and a leading factor among the
radical elements of Sale.
(e) There were two renderings, King Hiram's rendering at Joppa the
desired cedars from the mountains of Lebanon, and King Solomon's
rendering in return at Tyre the food products grown in his fertile
country. These renderings were visible to all men. Unlike the desires
and the estimates, which were subjective and invisible; the actual
exchange of the products, the culmination of the previous efforts,
the stipulated renderings by and to each party, were outward and
objective—"known and read of all men." This is the reason why
public attention is always strongly drawn to this particular link of the
chain of events which we are now unlocking and taking apart, while
other links of the series, that are just as essential, almost wholly
escape observation. The ports and the markets are apt to be noisy
and conspicuous, when the desires and the estimates and the
satisfactions, without which in their place there would be no market-
places, work in silence, and leave no records except the indirect one
of the renderings themselves.
It is of great moment to note here, that each of the two parties to
an exchange always has an advantage over the other, either
absolute or relative, in the rendering his own product, whatever it
may be, as compared with his present ability to get directly or
through any other exchange the product he receives in return. Take
the example in hand. Cedars and sandal-wood were natural to
Mount Lebanon; there were no other workmen in those regions of
country that could "skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians"; the
Mediterranean afforded a level and free and easy highway from its
northern coast to the Judean seaport at Joppa; and all these natural
and acquired facilities put King Hiram into a posture of advantage in
the rendering of timber, not only over the Jews, but also over all the
other peoples in the basin of the midland sea. Still this advantage,
great as it was, could only be made a real and palpable gain to
themselves, the proprietors of the timber, by means of some
exchange with somebody else, by which some wants of their own
greater than their present want of timber, could be supplied by
means of the timber. They had more of that commodity, and more
skill to fashion and transport it, than their present and immediately
prospective needs could make use of; and the only way in which
they could practically avail themselves of their advantages, was, to
sell their surplus timber and buy with it something that they needed
more. Otherwise their very advantage perished with them. God has
scattered such a diversity of blessings and capacities and
opportunities over the earth on purpose, that, through traffic, on
which his special benediction rests, the good of each part and
people may become the portion of other parts and peoples.
So, on the other hand, of the southern neighbors of the Tyrians.
There the earth brought forth by handfuls. There was an abundance
of corn in the land, even to the tops of the mountains. Its fruit did
indeed shake like Lebanon. But there were no cedars there, no fir-
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