vThe citiesv

Laos has only a few cities of importance, chief among them being Vientian and Luang Prabang, both on the Mekong River. Vientiane (population 177,000) is the largest city and major commercial center, and it has been the nation's capital since 1560. The country's main airport is located here. Luang Prabang (population 44,000) is about 130 mi. (210km.) northwest of Vientiane. The former royal capital, it is primarily a market town, where farm goods, fish, and lumber are sold.

*The People*

Laos embraces 68 different ethnic groups, each with a distinct culture. Most of their langages fall into two language families, the SinoTibetan of China and the Mon-Khmer of southern Asia.

Lowlanders. The Sino-Tibetans include the Lao, who make up about haft of all laotians. Laotians refer to them as Loo Lun-Lao (Laotian of the Mekong Velley) surrounded by irrigated rice fields and lush tropical vegetation. Their outlook on life is expressed in the Lao saying, Everyone must live simply. Lao is the nation's official language. Lao villages are small, normally containg 300 to 500 people.Houses are usually constructed of bamboo and are space beneath the houses is used to store tools and to secure livstock at night.An elevated granary stands a short distance from each family's living quarters. Settlements are often quite isolated during the height of the monsoon rains in July and August, when the only vehicles that can move in rural areas are oxcarts. Farmers use this period for rest, since it follows the arduous plowing and transplanting of rice seedings in May and June. the dry season, which comes after the Novmber harvest.is a time for traveling and for visiting friends and relatives. by March Laotians look forward to another rice-growing season.

Hill Tribes. The Kha and other Lao-Theung (Laotians of the mountainsides) live at middle elevations and make up about 25 percent of the population. They speak a language that belongs to the Mon-Khmer language family. The Kha, descendants of the Indochina peninsula's original inhabitants, were once thought of as savages or slaves. The Loo-Soung (Laotians of the mountaintops) live at the highest elevations and account for about 13 percent of the population.They include such tribes as the Hmong (formerly Meo) and the Tai. These mountain dwellers live in small, scattered hamlets. They practice swidden, or slash-and-burn agriculture, on the steep slopes near their homes.This primitive form of agriculure consists of cutting down vegetatuon, burning it, and uasing the ashes for fertilizer. Among the loo-Soung are the Hmong tribes. The United States recruited and trained many of these highlanders to fight the pathet Lao,the Communist guerrilla army, during the Vietnam War. After the Pathet Lao's victory in 1975, many Hmonh fled to Thailand and eventually to the U.S. One in 10 Laotians, including some of the nation's most highly educated citizens, fled abroad ater the Communists took over. Life in the hills is rigorous, and the tribesmen have few possesions. Families work long hours to clear and burn the brush and then to plant and harvest dry (or hill) rice, the staple crop. Occasionally they journey to lowland towns to trade. Although the upland peoples make up about 40 percent of the polulation, they remain isolated from the lowlanders, who took advantage of them and even enslaved them in the past.

Religion and Education. The Laotians are Buddhists,althound many people still belive in local spirits, or phi. Village life centers around the local temple, with its guesthoues, monastery, and monastery school.Although officially opposed to religion, the Communist goverment recognizes Buddhism's importance in Laotians life and has left it alone. The French established public schools, and education was made compulsory in 1951.But most villagers still received their education from Buddhist monks. Since 1975, many new schools have been built,and the literacy rate has climbed past 41 percent. There is a  university in Vientiane, and many studnts attend universities in the Soviet Union.