Word: setthathirath
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...Vientiane, once flourishing centers of sin-like the notorious White Rose Café-have been closed down by the puritanical Pathet Lao government. On Rue Setthathirath more than half the shops are shuttered tightly, though not the Large Soviet cultural center on the corner. Rusting hulks of cars and trucks lie at the side of the roads leading out of the city. Even the front garden of the old Royal Palace has fallen into a state of near total disrepair-the King was sent to a reeducation camp...
...Setthathirath? In Kong Le, the Communists thought they had an invaluable tool. Politically unformed, the little captain was immensely popular with his troops and the Laotian people. In superstition-ridden Laos, Kong Le was believed invulnerable to gunfire. The bad, or cotton strings, he wore tied around his wrists and a stone amulet he carried in a pouch at his waist kept his 32 souls (one for each major part of the body) from fleeing. The phi or demon who guarded him was undoubtedly among the underworld's most powerful, for Kong Le had never been wounded...
...myth of his invulnerability took on a new dimension during a festival in Vientiane, where an old woman fell into a trance on seeing Kong Le's photograph. "Setthathirath is returned!" she screamed. Setthathirath is a legendary king of Laos who disappeared in the 16th century while on a jungle expedition. The Lao believe that when Vientiane is in great danger, this hero-like Britain's King Arthur-will return to save them. To this day many Laotians believe Kong Le is Setthathirath. And although Kong Le embarrassedly shrugs the matter off himself, he is not so sure...
...rely for supplies on jealous Rightist Phoumi, Deputy Premier in the coalition government. Kong Le got precious few supplies. His men, unpaid in nearly two years, still remained loyal, and thanks to his legendary status among the Lao, new volunteers appeared daily to fight at the side of Setthathirath...
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