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Laos

Etymologie

V Laoštině je stát nazýván Muang Lao (ເມືອງລາວ) nebo Pathet Lao, což v doslovném překladu znamená "Laoská země". Francouzi, kteří spojili tři separovaná Laoská království do Francouzské indočíny v roce 1893, pojmenovali zemi podle místních obyvatel "Laos" (ve Francouzštině, se koncové "s" vyslovuje velmi tiše, nebo vůbec, tím pádem "Lao").

Historie

Hlavní článek: Historie Laosu

Lan Xang 1353–1893

Hlavní článek: Lan Xang

Pha That Luang ve Vientiane, národní symbol Laosu

Historie nynějšího Laosu začíná v království Lan Xang (doslova Království milionu slonů), založeném ve 14. století, Laoským válečníkem Fa Ngumem, který násilně převzal město Vientiane s 10,000 Khmerských vojáků. Ngum byl potomkem dlouhé řady Laoských králů, sahající až ke Khoun Boulomovi, mýtickému prvnímu králi. Díky němu se Théravádský buddhismus stal státní vírou prosperující říše Lan Xangu, a dodnes je nejvýznamějším náboženstvím. Po 20 letech formace říše, království expandovalo až do Vietnamu. Ministři, kteří se rozhodli přestat tolerovat bezohlednost Fa Nguma, jej roku 1373 vyhnali do exilu v Thajsku, kde později zemřel. Fa Ngumův nejstarší syn, Oun Heuan, vstoupil na trůn a vládl 43 let. Věhem jeho vlády se Lan Xang stal jedním z nejdůležitějších center obchodu v Asii. Po jeho smrti v roce 1421, se Lan Xang rozpadl a o moc po dalších 100 let bojovali jednotlivé válečné frakce.

V roce 1520, Photisarath came to the throne and moved the capital from Luang Phrabang to Vientiane to avoid Burmese invasion. Setthathirat became king in 1548, after his father was killed, and ordered the construction that would become the symbol of Laos, That Luang. Setthathirat disappeared in the mountains on his way back from a military expedition into Cambodia and Lan Xang became to rapidly decline. It was not until 1637, when Sourigna Vongsa ascended the throne that Lan Xang would further expand its frontiers. Under his reign, it is often regarded as Laos's golden age. When he died, left Lan Xang without an heir, the kingdom was divided into three principalities. Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Phrabang, while Champasak eventually came under Siamese suzerainty.

Chao Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese. He encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature and improved relations with Luang Phrabang. Although he was being pressured to pay tribute to the Vietnamese, he rebelled against the Siamese. It resulted in failure and Vientiane was ransacked, with Anouvong brought to Bangkok as a prisoner, where he later died.

Francouzský vliv v Laosu 1893–1954

In the late 19th century, Luang Prabang was ransacked by the Chinese Black Flag and the French managed to rescue King Oun Kham. In desperate need of protection, Luang Phrabang was incorporated into the 'Protectorate' of French Indochina. Shortly after, the Kingdom of Champasak and the territory of Vientiane were also added to the protectorate. Under the French, King Sisavang Vong of Luang Phrabang, became ruler of a unified Laos and Vientiane once again became the capital. Laos was never important to France, except as a buffer state between British-influenced Thailand and the more economically important Annam and Tonkin. During their rule, the French introduced the corvee, a system where every male Lao were forced to contribute 10 days of manual labour per year to the colonial government. In spite of Laos producing tin, rubber and coffee, it never accounted for more than 1% of French Indochina's exports. By 1940, only 600 French citizens lived in Laos.

Following a brief Japanese occupation during World War II, the country declared its independence in 1945, but the French under Charles de Gaulle re-asserted their control and only in 1950 was Laos granted semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the French Union. Moreover, the French remained in de facto control until 1954, when Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy.

Laoské království a válka 1954–1975

Hlavní články: Kingdom of Laos a Laotian Civil War

Royal Arms of Laos

Under a special exemption to the Geneva Convention, a French military training mission continued to support the Royal Lao Army. In 1955, the U.S. Department of Defense created a special Programs Evaluation Office to replace French support of the Royal Lao Army against the communist Pathet Lao as part of the U.S. containment policy.

King Sisavang Vong of Laos

Laos was dragged into the Vietnam War and the eastern parts of the country followed North Vietnam and adopted North Vietnam as a fraternal country. Laos allowed North Vietnam to use its land as a supply route for its war against the South. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese, supported regular and irregular anticommunist forces in Laos and supported a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. The result of these actions were a series of coups d'état and, ultimately, the Laotian Civil War between the Royal Laotian government and the communist Pathet Lao.

In the Civil War, the heavily armed and battle-hardened North Vietnamese Army was the real power behind the Pathet Lao insurgency. In 1968, the North Vietnamese Army launched a multi-division attack to help the communist Pathet Lao to fight against the Royal Lao Army. The attack resulted in the army largely demobilizing and leaving the conflict to irregular forces raised by the United States and Thailand. The attack resulted in many lost lives.

Buddha Statue in Muang Khoun

Massive aerial bombardment was carried out by the United States. The Guardian reported that Laos was hit by an average of one B-52 bombload every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the Second World War. Of the 260 million bombs that rained down, particularly on Xiangkhouang Province on the Plain of Jars, 80 million failed to explode, leaving a deadly legacy. It holds the distinction of being the most bombed country, per capita, in the world. Because it was particularly heavily affected by cluster bombs during this war, Laos was a strong advocate of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to ban the weapons and assist victims, and hosted the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in November 2010.

In 1975, the communist Pathet Lao, along with Vietnam People's Army and backed by the Soviet Union, overthrew the royalist Lao government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on 2 December 1975. He later died in captivity.

Komunistický Laos 1975-současnost

On December 2, 1975, after taking control of the country, the Pathet Lao government under Kaysone Phomvihane renamed the country as the Lao People's Democratic Republic and signed agreements giving Vietnam the right to station armed forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. Laos was requested in 1979 by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to end relations with the People's Republic of China, leading to isolation in trade by China, the United States, and other countries.

Geografie

Řeka Mekong protékající Luang Prabangem

Rýžové pole v Laosu

Laos je vnitrozemským státem v jihovýchodní Asii. Jeho hustě zalesněná krajina, travnaté planiny a pánve kontrastují s vysokými horami, kterým vévodí nejvyšší hora Laosu Phou Bia vysoká 2819 m. n. m.. The Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand, whereas the mountains of the Annamite Chain form most of the eastern border with Vietnam. Klima je zde tropické až monzunové.

Severní část pokrývá náhorní plošina Xiangkhoang, která přesahuje 2800 m n. m. s hlubokými pánvemi (planina Džbánů). Na hranici s Vietnamem tvoří Annamské pohoří. Západní, jihozápadní a jižní část vyplňují úrodné nížiny a na jihu také plošina Bolovens podél největší řeky jihovýchodní Asie - Mekong.

There is a distinct rainy season from May to November, followed by a dry season from December to April. Local tradition holds that there are three seasons (rainy, cold and hot) as the latter two months of the climatologically defined dry season are noticeably hotter than the earlier four months. The capital and largest city of Laos is Vientiane and other major cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Pakse.

In 1993, the Laos government set aside 21% of the nation's land area for Habitat conservation preservation. The country is one of four in the opium poppy growing region known as the "Golden Triangle". According to the October 2007 UNODC fact book "Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia," the poppy cultivation area was {{convert|15}}, down from {{convert|18}} in 2006.

Laos can be considered to consist of three geographical areas, North, Central and South.

Politika a správa

Hlavní články: Politics of Laos a Foreign relations of Laos

Thongsing Thammavong

Laos je komunistická jednostranná socialistická republika. The only legal political party is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The head of state is President Choummaly Sayasone, who is also the General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. The head of government is Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong. Government policies are determined by the party through the all-powerful nine-member Politburo and the 49-member Central Committee. Important government decisions are vetted by the Council of Ministers.

Laos' first, French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on May 11, 1947 and declared Laos to be an independent state within the French Union. The revised constitution of May 11, 1957 omitted reference to the French Union, though close educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted. The 1957 document was abrogated on 3 December 1975, when a communist People's Republic was proclaimed. A new constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a "leading role" for the LPRP. In 1990, deputy minister for science & technology Thongsouk Saysangkhi resigned from the government and party, calling for political reform. He died in captivity in 1998.

In 1992, elections were held for a new 85-seat National Assembly with members elected by secret ballot to five-year terms. This National Assembly, which essentially acts as a rubber stamp for the LPRP, approves all new laws, although the executive branch retains authority to issue binding decrees. The most recent elections took place in April 2006. The assembly was expanded to 99 members in 1997 and in 2006 elections had 115.

Hmong conflict

The government of Laos has been accused of committing genocide against that country’s Hmong ethnic minority.

Some Hmong groups fought as CIA-backed units on the Royalist side in the Laos civil war. After the Pathet Lao took over the country in 1975, the conflict continued in isolated pockets. In 1977 a communist newspaper promised the party would hunt down the “American collaborators” and their families “to the last root”.

As many as 200,000 Hmong went into exile in Thailand, with many ending up in the USA. A number of Hmong fighters hid out in mountains in Xiangkhouang Province for many years, with a remnant emerging from the jungle in 2003.

Lidská práva

Hlavní článek: Human rights in Laos

The Constitution that was promulgated in 1991 and amended in 2003 contains most key safeguards for human rights. For example, in Article 8 it makes it clear that Laos is a multiethnic state and is committed to equality between ethnic groups. The Constitution also has provisions for gender equality and freedom of religion, for freedom of speech, press and assembly. On 25 September 2009, Laos ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, nine years after signing the treaty. The policy objectives of both the Lao government and international donors remain focused toward achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.

However, Amnesty International has raised concerns about the ratification record of the Laos Government on human rights standards and its lack of cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms and legislative measures which impact negatively on human rights. It has also raised concerns in relation to freedom of expression, poor prison conditions, restrictions on freedom of religions, protection of refugees and asylum-seekers and the death penalty.

In October 1999, 30 young people were arrested for attempting to display posters calling for peaceful economic, political and social change in Laos. Five of them were arrested and subsequently sentenced to up to 10 years imprisonment on charges of treason. One has since died due to his treatment by prison guards, while one has been released. The surviving three men should have been released by October 2009, but their whereabouts remains unknown.

Laos and Vietnamese troops were reported to have raped and killed four Christian Hmong women in Xieng Khouang province in 2011, according to US campaign group The Centre for Public Policy Analysis. CPPA also said other Christian and independent Buddhist and animist believers were being persecuted.

Ekonomika

Hlavní článek: Economy of Laos

Noční trh v Luang Prabangu

The Lao economy is heavily dependent on investment and trade with its neighbours, Thailand, Vietnam, and, especially in the north, China. Pakxe has also experienced growth based on cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam. In 2011, the Lao Securities Exchange began trading.

Subsistence agriculture still accounts for half of the GDP and provides 80 percent of employment. Only 4.01 percent of the country is arable land, and 0.34 percent used as permanent crop land, the lowest percentage in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Rice dominates agriculture, with about 80 percent of the arable land area used for growing rice. Approximately 77 percent of Lao farm households are self-sufficient in rice.

Through the development, release and widespread adoption of improved rice varieties, and through economic reforms, production has increased by an annual rate of 5 percent between 1990 and 2005, and Lao PDR achieved a net balance of rice imports and exports for the first time in 1999. Lao PDR may have the greatest number of rice varieties in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Since 1995 the Lao government has been working with the International Rice Research Institute to collect seed samples of each of the thousands of rice varieties found in Laos.

The economy receives development aid from the IMF, ADB and other international sources, and foreign direct investment for development of the society, industry, hydropower and mining, most notably copper and gold. Tourism is the fastest-growing industry in the country. Economic development in Laos has been hampered by brain drain, with a skilled emigration rate of 37.4 percent in 2000.

Laos is rich in mineral resources but imports petroleum and gas. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment to develop the substantial deposits of coal, gold, bauxite, tin, copper and other valuable metals. In addition, the country's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy. Of the potential capacity of approximately 18,000 megawatts, around 8,000 megawatts have been committed for exporting to Thailand and Vietnam.

The country's most widely recognised product may well be Beerlao which is exported to a number of countries including neighbours Cambodia and Vietnam. It is produced by the Lao Brewery Company.

Turismus

Hlavní článek: Tourism in Laos

The tourism sector has grown rapidly, from 80,000 international visitors in 1990, to 1.876 million in 2010. Tourism is expected to contribute US$679.1 million to gross national product in 2010, rising to US$1,585.7 million by 2020. In 2010, one in every 10.9 jobs was in the tourism sector. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 15.5% of total exports or US$270.3 million in 2010, growing in nominal terms to US$484.2 million (12.5% of total) in 2020.

Hmongské dívky na Planině hrnců

Recently, Laos has become popular with tourists for its relaxed style of living and reputation for having elements of the "original Asia" lost elsewhere. The official tourism slogan is "Simply Beautiful". The main attractions for tourists include Buddhist culture and colonial architecture in Luang Prabang; gastronomy and ancient temples in the capital of Vientiane; backpacking in Muang Ngoi Neua and Vang Vieng; ancient and modern culture and history in The Plain of Jars region (main article: Phonsavan); trekking and visiting hill tribes in a number of areas including Phongsaly and Luang Namtha; caves and waterfalls near Thakhek; relaxation, the Irrawaddy dolphin and Khone Phapheng Falls at Si Phan Don or as they are known in English, the Four Thousand Islands; Wat Phu, an ancient Khmer temple complex; and the Bolaven Plateau for waterfalls and coffee.

View from near the sanctuary on the main upper level of Wat Phu, looking back towards the Mekong River

Luang Prabang and Wat Phu are both UNESCO World Heritage sites, with the Plain of Jars expected to join them once more work to clear UXO has been completed. Major festivals include Laos New Year which is celebrated around April 13–15 and involves a Water Festival similar but more subdued than that of Thailand and other South-East Asian countries.

The Lao National Tourism Administration, related government agencies and the private sector are working together to realise the vision put forth in the country's National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan. This includes decreasing the environmental and cultural impact of tourism; increasing awareness in the importance of ethnic groups and biological diversity; providing a source of income to conserve, sustain and manage the Lao protected area network and cultural heritage sites; and emphasising the need for tourism zoning and management plans for sites that will be developed as ecotourism destinations.

Laos is known for its silk and local handicraft products – both of which are on display in Luang Prabang's night market, among other places. Another speciality is mulberry tea.

Environmentální problémy

Laos is increasingly suffering from environmental problems, with deforestation a particular issue as expanding commercial exploitation of the forests, plans for additional hydroelectric facilities, foreign demand for wild animals and nonwood forest products for food and traditional medicines, and a growing population put increasing pressure on the forests.

The United Nations Development Programme warns that: "Protecting the environment and sustainable use of natural resources in Lao PDR is vital for poverty reduction and economic growth."

In April 2011, The Independent Newspaper reported that Laos had started work on the controversial Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River without getting formal approval. Environmentalists say the dam will adversely affect 60 million people and Cambodia and Vietnam – concerned about the flow of water further downstream – are officially opposed to the project. The Mekong River Commission, a regional intergovernmental body designed to promote the "sustainable management" of the river, famed for its giant catfish, carried out a study that warned if Xayaburi and subsequent schemes went ahead, it would "fundamentally undermine the abundance, productivity and diversity of the Mekong fish resources". Neighbouring Vietnam has warned the dam will harm the Mekong Delta, which is the home to nearly 20 million people and supplies around 50 percent of rice output, over 70 percent of seafood and 70 percent of fruit output of Vietnam.

Milton Osborne, Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy who has written widely on the Mekong, warns: "The future scenario is of the Mekong ceasing to be a bounteous source of fish and guarantor of agricultural richness, with the great river below China becoming little more than a series of unproductive lakes."

Illegal logging is also a major problem – environmental groups estimate that 500,000 cubic meters of logs find their way from Laos to Vietnam every year – with most of the furniture eventually exported to western countries.

A government survey in 1992 indicated that forests occupied about 48% of Laos' land areas then. That percentage was found to have decreased to 41% in a 2002 survey. Lao authorities have said that, in reality, forest density might be no more than 35% of the total national land areas because, in addition to widespread illegal logging, various development projects such as dams have considerably contributed to the destruction and decline of forests in Laos.

Infrastruktura

Hlavní články: Transport in Laos a Telecommunications in Laos

Jedním z nejdůležitějších způsobů dopravy je plavba po řece

The main international airports are Vientiane's Wattay International Airport and Luang Prabang International Airport with Pakse International Airport also having a few international services. The national airline is Lao Airlines with other carriers serving the country including Bangkok Airways, Vietnam Airlines, AirAsia, Thai Airways International and China Eastern Airlines.

Much of the country lacks adequate infrastructure. Laos has no railways, except a short link to connect Vientiane with Thailand over the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. A short portage railway, the Don Det - Don Khon narrow gauge railway was built by the French in Champasak Province but has been closed since the 1940s. In the late 1920s, work began on the Thakhek - Tan Ap railway, that would have run between Thakhek, Khammuan Province and Tan Ap Railway Station, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam through the Mua Gia Pass. However, the scheme was eventually aborted in the 1930s. The major roads connecting the major urban centres, in particular Route 13, have been significantly upgraded in recent years, but villages far from major roads can be reached only through unpaved roads that may not be accessible year-round.

There is limited external and internal telecommunication, but mobile phones have become widespread in urban centres. In many rural areas electricity is at least partly available. Songthaews (pick-up trucks with benches) are used in the country for long-distance and local public transport.

Laos has made particularly noteworthy progress increasing access to sanitation and improved sanitation and has already met its 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target. Laos predominantly rural (84%) population makes investing in sanitation difficult, and in 1990 only 8% of the rural population had access to improved sanitation. Access rose rapidly from 10% in 1995 to 38% in 2008, or in other words between 1995 and 2008 approximately 1,232,900 more people had access to improved sanitation in rural areas. This is incredibly successful, especially when comparing it to other similarly poor developing countries. Successes in water and sanitation have been achieved, over the past few years, in part due to small-scale independent providers emerging in a spontaneous manner or having been promoted by public authorities. The Laotian authorities have recently developed an innovative regulatory framework for Public-Private partnership contracts signed with small enterprises, in parallel with the more classic regulation of State-owned water enterprises.

Demografie

Hlavní článek: Demographics of Laos

The term "Laotian" does not necessarily refer to the Lao language, ethnic Lao people, language or customs, but is a political term that also includes the non-ethnic Lao groups within Laos and identifies them as "Laotian" because of their political citizenship. Laos has the youngest population of any country in Asia with a median age of 19.3 years.

Laos' population was estimated at 6.8 million in early 2009, dispersed unevenly across the country. Most people live in valleys of the Mekong River and its tributaries. Vientiane prefecture, the capital and largest city, had about 740,010 residents in 2008. The country's population density was 27/km².

Etnika

Hlavní článek: Lao people

The people of Laos are often considered by their altitudinal distribution (lowlands, midlands and highlands) as this approximates ethnic groups.

Lao Loum (lowland people)

60% of the country's people are ethnic Lao, the principal lowland inhabitants and the politically and culturally dominant group. The Lao belong to the Tai linguistic group who began migrating southward from China in the first millennium AD. 10% belong to other "lowland" groups, which together with the Lao people make up the Lao Loum.

Lao Theung (midland people)

In the central and southern mountains, Mon-Khmer tribes, known as Lao Theung or mid-slope Laotians, predominate. Other terms are Khmu, Khamu (Kammu) or Kha as the Lao Loum refer to them as indicating their Austro-Asiatic origins. However the latter is considered pejorative, meaning 'slave'. They were the indigenous inhabitants of northern Laos. Some Vietnamese, Chinese and Thailand Thai minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many left after independence in the late 1940s, many of whom relocated either to Vietnam, Hong Kong, or to France. Lao Theung constitute about 30% of the population.

Lao Soung (highland people)

Hill people and minority cultures of Laos such as the Hmong (Miao), Yao (Mien), Dao, Shan, and several Tibeto-Burman speaking peoples have lived in isolated regions of Laos for many years. Mountain/hill tribes of mixed ethno/cultural-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos which include the Lua (Lua) and Khmu people who are indigenous to Laos. Today, the Lua people are considered endangered. Collectively, they are known as Lao Soung or highland Laotians. Lao Soung account for only about 10% of the population.

Jazyky

Buddhist Monks in front of Wat Sen, Luang Prabang

Buddhist shrine in Vientiane

The official and dominant language is Lao, a tonal language of the Tai linguistic group. However only slightly more than half of the population can speak Lao, the remainder speaking various ethnic minority languages, particularly in rural areas. The written language is based on Khmer writing script. Languages like Khmu and Hmong are spoken by minorities, particularly in the midland and highland areas.

French, still common in government and commerce, is studied by many, while English, the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has become increasingly studied in recent years.

Zdravotnictví

Hlavní článek: Health in Laos

Male life expectancy at birth was at 63.2 and female life expectancy was at 65.9 in 2007. Healthy life expectancy was at 54 in 2006. In 2006, two fifths of the population were not using an improved water resource. Government expenditure on health is at about 4 % of the GDP. Its amount was at US$ 18 (PPP) in 2006.

Náboženství

Hlavní článek: Religion in Laos

V Laosu se 67% obyvatel hlásí k Théravádskému buddhismu, 1.5% se hlásí ke Křesťanství, a 31.5% obyvatel vyznává jiná menší náboženství, či žádná. Buddhism has long been one of the most important social forces in Laos.

Theravada Buddhism along with the common animism practiced among the mountain tribes, coexists peacefully with spirit worship. Christians are mostly restricted to the Vientiane area, and Muslims to the Burmese-border region. Christian missionary work is regulated by the government.

Vzdělání

Hlavní článek: Education in Laos

The adult literacy rate exceeds two thirds. The male literacy rate exceeds the female literacy rate. In 2004 the net primary enrollment rate was at 84%. The National University of Laos is the Laos state's public university. The total literacy rate is 73% (2010 estimate).

Kultura

Hlavní článek: Kultura Laosu

Jedno z mnoha jídel Laoské kuchyně

Laoští tanečníci oslavují Nový rok

Theravada Buddhism is a dominant influence in Lao culture. It is reflected throughout the country from language to the temple and in art, literature, performing arts, etc. Many elements of Lao culture predate Buddhism, however. For example, Laotian music is dominated by its national instrument, the khaen, a type of bamboo pipe that has prehistoric origins. The khaen traditionally accompanied the singer in lam, the dominant style of folk music. Among the various lam styles, the lam saravane is probably the most popular.

Sticky Rice is a characteristic staple food and has cultural and religious significance to the Lao people. Sticky rice is generally preferred over jasmine rice, and sticky rice cultivation and production is thought to have originated in Laos. There are many traditions and rituals associated with rice production in different environments, and among many ethnic groups. For example, Khammu farmers in Luang Prabang plant the rice variety Khao Kam in small quantities near the hut in memory of dead parents, or at the edge of the rice field to indicate that parents are still alive.

Svatba

Polygamie is officially a crime in Laos, though the penalty is minor. The constitution and Family Code bars the legal recognition of polygamous marriages, stipulating that monogamie is to be the principle key of contracting a marriage in the country. While rare, there have been cases of polygamy practiced within the Hmong people.

Média

Všechny tištěné noviny vydává vláda, až na anglický deník Vientiane Times a francouzský týdeník Le Rénovateur. Additionally, the Khao San Pathet Lao, the country's official news agency, publishes English and French versions of its eponymous paper. Laos currently has nine daily newspapers, 90 magazines, 43 radio stations and 32 TV stations operating throughout the country. Internet cafes are now common in the major urban centres and are popular especially with the younger generation.

Souvvisející stránky

Hlavní článek: Outline of Laos

{{Multicol}}

• Emblem of Laos
• French colonial empire
• Drug policy in Laos
• Lao People's Army

{{Multicol-break}}

• List of freedom indices
• List of Laos-related topics
• North Vietnamese invasion of Laos
• Scouts Lao

{{Multicol-end}}

Leaders of ethnic minorities in Laos

• Ong Keo
• Ong Kommandam
• Pa Chay Vue

Externí odkazy

• Lao PDR News
• The National Portal of Laos
• Lao National Tourism Administration
• Chief of State and Cabinet Members
• BBC News – Country Profile: Laos
• Lao Voices
• Lao Media
• Tageo Laos
• Lao Cooking and The Essence of Life

Hlavní informace

• {{CIA World Factbook link|la}}
• Laos v UCB Libraries GovPubs
• {{wikiatlas|Laos}}
• (anglicky) Cestovní příručka na Wikitravel

Portály: Geografie

Planina hrnců

Planina hrnců (laosky: ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ, [tʰōŋ hǎj hǐn]IPA) jsou megalitické kamenné útvary v Laosu. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau Xieng Khouang, Lao PDR, are thousands of megalithic jars. These stone jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred jars at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys.

The Xieng Khouang Plateau is located at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina. Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930s suggested that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE) and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory. The Plain of Jars has the potential to shed light on the relationship between increasingly complex societies and megalithic structures and provide insight into social organisation of Iron Age Southeast Asia’s communities. To visit the jar sites one would typically stay in Phonsavan. ¨==The jar sites==

Location of Plain of Jars and Xieng Khouang plain (blue shading).

More than 90 sites are known within the province of Xieng Khouang. Each site ranges from 1 up to 400 stone jars. The jars vary in height and diameter between 1 and 3 metres and are all without exception hewn out of rock. The stone jars are undecorated with the exception of a single jar at Site 1. This jar has a human bas-relief carved on the exterior. Parallels between this ‘frogman’ at Site 1 and the rock painting at Huashan in Guanxi, China have been drawn. The paintings which depict large full-frontal humans with arms raised and knees bent, are dated to 500 BCE - 200 CE .

From the fact that most of the jars have lip rims, it is presumed that all stone jars supported lids, although few stone lids have been recorded; this may suggest that the bulk of lids have been fashioned from perishable materials. Stone lids with animal representations have been noticed at few sites such as Ban Phakeo (Site 52). The bas-relief animals are thought to be monkeys, tigers and frogs. No in situ lid has ever been found.

Not to be confused with stone lids are the stone discs. The stone discs have at least one flat side and are grave markers which were placed on the surface to cover or mark a burial pit. These gravemarkers appear more infrequently than stone jars, but are found in close proximity. Similar are stone gravemarkers; these stones are unworked, but have been placed intentionally to mark a grave. To the north of Xieng Khouang and extensive network of intentionally placed largely unworked stones marking elaborate burial pits and chambers are known as ‘standing stones of Huaphan’. These following the investigations by Colani were dated to the Bronze Age. Material associated with the stone grave markers in Xieng Khouang however, is similar to the stone jars artefacts.

The jars lie in clusters on the lower footslopes and mountain ridges of the hills surrounding the central plateau and upland valleys. Several quarry sites have been recorded usually close to the jar sites. Five rock types are known:sandstone, granite, conglomerate, limestone and breccia.

The majority of the jars are sandstone and have been manufactured with a degree of knowledge of what materials and techniques were suitable. It is assumed that Plain of Jars' people used iron chisels to manufacture the jars although no conclusive evidence for this exists. Regional differences in jar shape have been noted. While these differences in most cases can be attributed to choice and manipulation of rock source, form differences, such as small apertures and apertures on both ends (double holed jars) which would affect the use of the jar have been recorded in one district only.

The cave at Site 1 is a natural limestone cave with an opening to the northwest and two man-made holes at the top of the cave. These holes are interpreted as chimneys of the crematorium. The French geologist and amateur archaeologist Madeleine Colani excavated in side the cave in the early 1930 and found archaeological material to support a centralized crematorium theory. Colani also recorded and excavated at 12 Plain of Jar's sites and published two volumes with her findings in 1935.

The material findings and context led her to the interpretation of the Plain of Jars as an Iron Age burial site. Inside the jars, she found embedded in black organic soil coloured glass beads, burnt teeth and bone fragments, sometimes from more than one individual. Around the stone jars, she found human bone, pottery fragments, iron and bronze objects, glass and stone beads, ceramic weights and charcoal. The bone and teeth inside the stone jars show signs of cremation, while the burials surrounding the jars yield unburnt secondary burial bones.

Plain of Jars - Site One

No further archaeological research was conducted until November 1994 when Professor Eiji Nitta of the Kagoshima University in collaboration with Lao Archaeologist Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy surveyed and mapped Site 1. Nitta argues that the surrounding burial pits are contemporary to the stone jar as they are cut into the ancient surface on which the jar was placed. Nitta sees the stone jar as a symbolic monument to mark the surrounding burials.

He dates the Plain of Jars to the late first – early second millennium C.E. based on the burial urn and associated grave goods. Sayavongkhamdy undertook survey and excavation between 1994 and 1996 supported by the Australian National University. Sayavongkhamdy and Bellwood interpret the stone jars as a central single person's primary or secondary burial surrounded by secondary burials of family members. Archaeological data collected during UXO clearance operations supervised by UNESCO archaeologist Julie Van Den Bergh at the in 2004-2005 and again in 2007 provided similar archaeological material results. Van Den Bergh recorded similar to Nitta stratigraphical evidence that the stone jars and surrounding burials are contemporary .

The differing burial practices of cremation inside and secondary inhumation surrounding the jar, as noted by Colani can not easily be explained, in particular as the cremated remains were identified mainly belonging to adolescents and the associated materials do not appear to differ greatly from the surrounding burials. While the UXO clearance operations did not include emptying of jars and thus no additional evidence could be gathered, Van Den Bergh proposes that the stone jars initially may have been used to distil the dead bodies and that the cremated remains within the stone jars represent the latest phase in Plain of Jars. The stone jars with smaller aperture may reflect the diminishing need to place an entire body inside.

The suggestion that stone jars in a similar fashion as traditional Southeast Asian Royal mortuary practices functioned as 'distilling vessels' was put forward by R. Engelhardt and P. Rogers in 2001. In contemporary funerary practices connected to Thai, Cambodian and Laotian royalty the corpse of the deceased during the early stages of the funeral rites is placed into an urn, while the deceased is undergoing gradual transformation from the earthly to the spiritual world. The ritual decomposition is followed by cremation and secondary burial.

The royal burials are located across watercourses from the habitation areas in a geographically high, prominent area. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that amongst the Black Thai people who have been in the region at least since the 11th century, the elite are cremated releasing their spirit to heaven, while commoners are buried, leaving their spirit to remain on earth.

Colani connected the location of the jars sites to ancient trade routes and in particular with the salt trade. He assumed salt was a commodity sought after by the Plain of Jars people, bringing traders to the Xieng Khouang Plateau. The Xieng Khouang area is rich in metallic minerals, mainly due to the granite intrusions and associated hydrothermal activity.

Two principal iron ore deposits exist in Lao and both are in Xieng Khouang. The presence and locations of the numerous jar sites in Xieng Khouang may relate to trading and mining activities. History has also shown that Xieng Khouang at the northern end of the Annamite Range provides relative easy passage from the north and east to the south and west.

Within the geographic setting of Xieng Khouang, the jar sites may reflect a network of intercultural villages, whereby the locations of the jars are associated to long-distance overland routes which connect the Mekong basin and the Gulf of Tonkin System. The jar sites show superficial regional differences such as jar form, material and number of jars per site but share common setting characteristics such as burial practices, elevated locations and commanding views over the surrounding area.

The most investigated and visited Jar site is located close to the town of Phonsavan, and is known as Site 1. Seven jar sites however, have been cleared of UXO (unexploded bombs) and are open to visitors. These are currently most visited Site 1, 2 and 3, and Site 16 near the Old Capital Xieng Khouang, Site 23, near the big hot spring in Muang Kham, Site 25 in the largely unvisited Muang Phukoot district and Site 52, the largest known jar site to date with 392 jars near a traditional Hmong village only accessible on foot.

The UXO are remnants of Secret War in Laos in the 1960s. The large quantity of UXOs (unexploded ordinances) in the area, especially cluster munitions, limits free movement. At Site 1 evidence of the war can be seen in the form of broken or displaced jars, trench systems and even bomb craters.

Legends and local history

Hmong Girls climbing on one of the jars at Site 1

Lao stories and legends claim there was once a race of giants who inhabited the area. Local legend tells of an ancient king called Khun Cheung, who fought a long, eventually victorious battle against his enemy. He allegedly created the jars to brew and store huge amounts of lao lao rice wine to celebrate his victory. Another local tradition claims the jars were molded, using natural materials such as clay, sand, sugar, and animal products in a type of stone mix. This led the locals to believe the cave at Site 1 was actually a kiln, and that the huge jars were fired there and are not actually of stone.

Another suggested explanation for the jars' use is to collect monsoon rainwater for caravan travellers along their journey at times when rain may have been seasonal and water was not readily available on the easiest foot paths. Rainwater would then be boiled, even if stagnant, to become potable again, a practice long understood in Eastern Eurasia. The trade caravans that camped around these jars and could have placed beads inside them as an offering, accompanying prayers for rain or they might simply have been unassociated lost items.

Current situation

The Laotian government is considering applying for status as a UNESCO World Heritage site for the Plain of Jars. The UNESCO-Lao Safeguarding the Plain of Jars Project has been an ongoing effort by UNESCO and the Lao Government to document and rehabilitate the Plain of Jars. Clearing of the UXO hazards is one requirement before the sites can be studied and developed for tourism. Community based involvement in the management and conservation of the jar sites has been one of the main objectives of the project and is proving to be success. Tourism pressure on the main visited sites however, is the main cause of recent damage to the stone jars.

The Mines Advisory Group, a non-governmental organization, in collaboration with UNESCO and funded by the New Zealand Government (NZAID) conducted a UXO clearance phase at the three most visited sites from July 2004 ([1]) until July 2005. A second phase of UXO clearance at the jar sites also funded by NZAID was undertaken in 2007; four more jar sites were made safe.

Notes, References

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See also

• Megality
• Bomb Harvest
• List of megalithic sites
• Sa Huỳnh culture
• Phonsavan
• Xiengkhouang Province

Sources

• Baldock, J and J. Van Den Bergh 2009. Geological Mysteries at the Plain of Jars begin to unravel. Geology Today. August 2009.
• Box, P. 2000. Overview Mapping Using GIS, UNESCO Plain of Jars Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, Richard A Engelhardt, ed., UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.
• Box, P. 2001. Mapping Megaliths and Unexploded Ordnance, UNESCO Plain of Jars Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, Richard A Engelhardt, ed., UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.
• Box, P. 2003, Safeguarding the Plain of Jars: Megaliths and Unexploded Ordinance in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. ESRI, Journal of GIS in Archaeology, Volume 1-April 2003.
• Fred Branfman (compiled by): Voices from the Plain of Jars - Life under an Air War; Harper & Row 1972.
• Karen J. Coates - Plain of Jars (Archaeology magazine July/August 2005)
• Colani, Madeleine 1935. Megaliths du Haut Laos, Publication de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient XXV-XXVI, Paris.
• Giteau, M. 2001, Art et Archeologie du Laos, Editions A et J Picard, Paris, pp. 37–57.
• Higham, C. 1989. The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia, From 10,000 B.C. to the Fall of Angkor, Cambridge World Archaeology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. pp. 228–230.
• Nitta E. 1996. Comparative study on the jar burial traditions in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Historical Science Reports, Kagoshima University 43: 1-19.
• Rogers P., R. Engelhardt, P. Box, J. Van Den Bergh, Samlane Luangaphay and Chantone Chantavong 2003. The UNESCO project: Safeguarding the Plain of Jars. In A. Karlström, and A. Källén (eds) Fishbones and Glittering Emblems: Southeast Asian Archaeology 2002. Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities.
• Rogers, P. and J. Van Den Bergh 2008. Legacy of a Secret War: archaeological research and bomb clearance in the Plain of Jars, Lao PDR. In E. Bacus, I. Glover and P. Sharrock (eds) Interpreting Southeast Asian’s Past. Monument, Image and Text. Selected Papers from 10th Conference of EASAA, Vol. 2: 400-408.
• Sayavongkhamdy Thongsa and Peter Bellwood 2001. Recent Archaeological Research in Laos. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 19: 101-10.
• Stone, R. 2007. Archaeology: Saving a Lost Culture's Megalithic Jars, Xieng Khouang, Laos, Science, 16, February 2007: Vol. 315. no. 5814, pp. 934 – 935.
• Bounmy Thepsimuong. The Plain of Jars. A Guide Book. Vientiane 2004.
• Van Den Bergh Julie 2007. Safeguarding the Plain of Jars, an Overview. Y. Goudineau and M. Lorrilard. (eds.) Etudes thematiques 18. New Research on Laos-Recherches nouveles sur le Laos.

External links

• Obrázky, zvuky či videa k tématu Kuvaly/Pískoviště na Wikimedia Commons
• UNESCO website for the Plain of Jars and Safeguarding the Plain of Jars Project
• Further information, including photo galleries, is available at www.plainofjars.net
• Legacies of War is a traveling exhibition that was created to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos.
• Travelhappy.info's article on visiting The Plain Of Jars
• Photographic Images of the Plain of Jars
• Onasia stock images of the Plain of Jars