Joel Martin Halpern
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In January 1957 a young American anthropologist Joel Martin Halpern (1929-2019) together with his wife Barbara, arrived in Luang Prabang for a one year residence working for USOM (Later known as USAID). He later spent time also in Vientiane. His job was to lay the ground work for aid programs and he wrote many papers documenting information and statistics about the condition of Laos. However he was also a keen photographer and during his stay he took hundreds of high quality colour slide photographs of the town and its people. This collection now forms an invaluable record of how Luang Prabang looked just at the very beginning of the period of American involvement in Laos, before large inflows of American money changed the physical appearance of much of the town. Indeed some of his photos capture the early changes that American aid bought in the way of road building and general construction. But other photos capture aspects of daily life that are little changed to this day.
His entire photographic collection is now preserved online by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and can be accessed here. |
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Halpern worked with two cameras. His primary camera was a 35mm camera using colour slide film with which he created stunning photographs of the town and its people, images that captured the beauty that Luang Prabang is still famous for. He also used a black & white polaroid camera, which enabled him to take quick photographs that could be shared immediately with the people around him, helping him build a rapport with his subjects.
On-Line Map
After several months of studying Halpern's Luang Prabang photographs in detail I have identified exactly where he was standing when taking over 470 of them. Many buildings in the town remain unchanged to this day and I have cross-referenced many photos with the UNESCO Heritage Building Inventory (See here) providing an invaluable record of how these buildings looked 40 years before the UNESCO inscription. All geo-located photos have been uploaded to the map below. For ease of reference I have split the photographs into nine categories which are accessed as "layers" in the Google map (Click top left icon). Click on the blue pointers to open the photos. For cross-referencing purposes I have retained the original titles and descriptions used by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This study has however revealed that many of the stated locations in these titles are incorrect.
Highlights
Halpern's colour photographs capture the natural beauty of Luang Prabang that most photographers of that era could not achieve with black & white film. Also by chance he was in town for a particularly busy year.
In mid-April Luang Prabang celebrated Pi Mai or Lao New Year, a festival which spreads over more than one week. As an anthropologist Halpern was clearly excited by the many different events during this time and over 120 of his photos capture the ceremonies, allowing a fascinating comparison with the modern day ceremonies which are equalling well photographed by tourists today.
The year 1957, was also the year that the Buddhist world celebrated 2,500 years of Buddhism. Luang Prabang celebrated this anniversary in mid-May by planting a sapling taken from the famous Bodhgaya Bodhi tree in India and gifted to the nation by Prime Minister Nehru. Halpern took over 60 photographs of this event, creating a unique record of the Crown Prince leading the parade of the Bodhi sapling around the town and its planting with great ceremony on the slopes of Phou Si hill in front of the royal palace, where it still stands today.
During the year the Halperns were also invited to two royal weddings. First in August Prince Sisouphanavong and Princess Ratsami were married. A month later Prince Mangkala Manivong married Princess Savivanh Savang. Each wedding was a major event for the town with school children lining the centre street for the procession of the wedded couples complete with palace officials and elephants.
In mid-April Luang Prabang celebrated Pi Mai or Lao New Year, a festival which spreads over more than one week. As an anthropologist Halpern was clearly excited by the many different events during this time and over 120 of his photos capture the ceremonies, allowing a fascinating comparison with the modern day ceremonies which are equalling well photographed by tourists today.
The year 1957, was also the year that the Buddhist world celebrated 2,500 years of Buddhism. Luang Prabang celebrated this anniversary in mid-May by planting a sapling taken from the famous Bodhgaya Bodhi tree in India and gifted to the nation by Prime Minister Nehru. Halpern took over 60 photographs of this event, creating a unique record of the Crown Prince leading the parade of the Bodhi sapling around the town and its planting with great ceremony on the slopes of Phou Si hill in front of the royal palace, where it still stands today.
During the year the Halperns were also invited to two royal weddings. First in August Prince Sisouphanavong and Princess Ratsami were married. A month later Prince Mangkala Manivong married Princess Savivanh Savang. Each wedding was a major event for the town with school children lining the centre street for the procession of the wedded couples complete with palace officials and elephants.
Joel M. Halpern's photographs are reproduced here with the kind permission of Kay Halpern. Copyright remains with the Joel M. Halpern estate.