P.1156

Landlocked between Siam and Cambodia, the people and products of Laos were known to sixteenth-century Europe through the Portuguese reports of Joao de Barros and the Dominican Father Gaspar da Cruz. Substantial accounts next appeared in Dutch and Italian in the 1660’s. but with the reference to Laos in the 1640’s. Geerarerd van Wusthof, a junior merchant of the VOC, led a commercial mission from Cambodia into Laos in 1641-1642.

p.1158

 The king of Laos was then Souligna Vongsa, one of its greatest and most popular rulers. Early on the morning of November 16, the royal elephants arrive to take Van Wusthof mission to an audience. The letter from Governor-General Van Diemen in Batavia is placed in a golden box on the back of the first elephant. The emissaries follow, each mounted on an elephant and holding his gift. This procession passes through lines of soldiers and in front of the royal palace. Near the audience site they dismount and are ushered into tents to await the royal call. On hour later, the king arrives on a white elephant, and the Dutch imitate the Laotians in the kneeling as he passes their tents. A young man of about twenty-three, the king is preceded by about three armed foot soldiers and followed by a few war elephants and their armed riders as well as a troupe of musicians. Following the king and his bodyguard come a contingent of another two hundred soldiers and sixteen elephants carrying the king’s five wives and their attendants. After this procession passes by, the emissaries return to their tents to dine. Sent for at around four o’clock in the afternoon, they are taken to a large square enclosed by a stone wall pierced by apertures. In the center of the square stands a huge pyramid with gilded designs at the top. When entering this square all the Laotians customarily walk and carry lighted candles. The Dutch gift is carried through a door into another square and placed on a mat sixteen paces in front of the king. Each of the Dutchmen is then presented with a candle as if he were a “Tevinia”. With candles in hand they are led before the king, who is standing in a great temple near a large idol and in the midst of his nobles. Following instructions they sit down on their knees behind the gift and knock their heads on the ground three times. The letter is then read and the Dutchmen relieved of their candles. The king invites them to sit down on mats near him under the dome of temple. The ensuing conversation is carried on through a “Tevinia”. The king expresses his pleasure at their visit and at the letter they have brought. He wonders if he should send an emissary back with them to ask the governor-general to send him a letter annually as well as more traders and other visitors. After being dismissed, the Dutchmen are each given a present and invited to attend plays as well as wrestling, boxing, and fencing matches. After nightfall they witness dances, one by a wife of the king, and a fireworks display.

p. 1159

The Portuguese Jesuit Cardim, the first to try, was in Ayut’ia from 1621 to 1629 with intention entering Laos via Siam. His effort failed because of hostilities between Laos and Ayut’ia. Several Jesuits were sent to Cambodia in 1629 in hopes of traveling upriver to Laos; again local conditions thwarted their enterprise. Giovanni Battista Bonelli, a Jesuit visitor from Macao, was actually enroute from Tonking to Vientiane when he died in 1638. in 1642, Leria entered Laos, as Van Wusthof had, by following the Mekhong northward; in 1647 he departed over the Tongking route.

p.1161

Because of the abundance of life’s necessities, the population continually grows. A cencus taken “not long ago” revealed that there were five hundred thousand men capable of bearing arms. If necessary, another whole army could be formed of those who have reached one hundred years of age. The “Langians” (or people of Lansang, the “land of a million elephants”) are a peaceful and docile people who live quietly and simply in their natural fortified country. Justice is so severe that thievery and adultery are almost unknown. They are most hospitable to foreigners and eager to learn about alien customs, laws, and religions. Generally speaking, they are affable, courteous, trustworthy, sincere and open to reason.

 Their chief town and royal capital is called “Langione” (Vientiane) and it is situated in the middle of the kingdom. It is surrounded by high walls and protected on one side by the great river and on the other by fine moats. The royal palace, visible from a long way off, covers such a vast expanse and houses so many people that it could be mistaken for a town. The king’s quarters in this symmetrical structure are adorned with a splendid gateway through which he enters into a great hall flanked by a number of fine rooms. The palace is built of incorruptible wood and decorated both with and without gilded sculptures. In the surrounding courtyards stand great rows of wooden houses for royal officials, which are likewise admirably constructed and ornamented.(To be continued...)