Linguistic diversity in Thailand

Recently meeting a linguistic student the other day, I surprised him by declaring that Kmer and Thai did not belong to the same family group. He thought they belonged to the same linguistic family.  I had a vague memory of a classification of the three large linguistic families of Southeast Asian languages I had read in Joachim Schiiesinger's "Ethnic Groups of Thailand: Non-Tai Speaking Peoples of Thailand" (published by White Lotus Press, 2000.)  I looked up this book as soon as I got home, just to make sure I hadn't made a rash declaration. Sure enough, page 8, a diagram, adapted from James A. Matisoff, "Linguistic Diversity and Language Contact", in John MacKinnon and Wanat Bhruksasri, eds, Highlanders of Thailand (Oxford University Press, 1983): The three linguistic superstocks of Southeast Asia:

1. Austro-Asiatic, to which belongs the languages of Munda (India), Nicobarese, Mon-Kmer (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, China, Assam), and Aslian (Malaysia).
2. Austro-Thai, to which belongs the sub-family languages called Austronesian, Tai-Kadai, and Mioa-Yao.
3. Sino-Tibetan, subdivided into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman.

Now if you're not a linguist (which I'm not, but I'm an extremely curious person), it's easy and forgivable to make a simple and common conclusion that people of same geographic region will be speaking similar and related languages. However, it turns out that Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse and linguistic regions of the world. My new linguist friend, who specialized in Spanish and is more interested in learning about prehispanic languages, of course, was not expected to know this.

How would you explain to people who don't have a clue, the minefield of linguistics? What exactly do linguists do? Well, my husband's niece who had decided to go into that field of study, is now working on the construction of a dictionary of Spanglish, of all things. I met another, who worked with a computer software company, using her speciality in Latin, putting a natural order to computer programming. Then, there's a blogger I avidly follow who doesn't write so much about linguistics as much as she writes about Thai cooking!

Wikipedia says, "linguistics is the scientific study of natural language". It also goes on to say that there are several sub-fields (ie, grammar and semantics), and sub-disciplines (ie, evolutionary liguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, discourse analysis, and pragmatics), and even relate fields (like phonetics). Interestingly, "outside the field, this term is commonly used to refer to people who speak many languages fluently".

So from the understanding derived from reading the above wiki article, the classification of family languages falls under historical linguistics, branching out from philology, the study of ancient texts.  Well, if you're in interested in what linguistics is all about just keep following those numerous links provided by wikipedia. I hope it will inspire you to develop a keener interest in what linguistics is about, if not to be fascinated enough to become one yourself.  Meanwhile, I'm looking at the topic heading that I put up and sees that it's saying "Linguistic diversity in Thailand"!

What then is the distinction between Austro-Asiatic and Austro-Thai? "Austro" means south, so therefore, Austro-Asiatic is basically South Asia. That is an interesting revelation, because only a small group of people are left that speak Austro-Asiatic (Munda) in India which geographically is considered South Asia. Instead, the language of the Indians are mainly of the Indo-European and Dravidian language groups. Another quirk of linguistics.

The grouping of the language family of Austro-Tai is based on a hypothesis that the Tai-Kadai and Austronesian language families of southern China and the Pacific are genealogically related. There are a number of possible cognates in the core vocabulary.  The word for rice, for example.

While what is seen on the surface is that the Thai language is THE one and only official language of Thailand, in reality a multitude of languages and dialects are spoken in Thailand. I enjoy being able to point out the differences of Isaan dialects spoken in Northeastern Thailand. Sakon Nakhon, where my family is from, has a special kind of sing song lilt (influenced by Puthai) that in my opinion makes it sound softer than for example the dialect of its neighboring province of Kalasin. Nobody will deny that the dialect of the North is different from the dialect of the Northeast, even if we can quite easily understand each other, but have a Southerner speak his dialect to me and I'm lost, but not as lost as having a Karen hilltribe speak to me.

The book, "Linguistic Diversity and National Unity", by William A. Smalley (1994), singularizes the success of Thailand's official language policy. Unlike other multi-ethnic nations, such as Myanmar and India, where official language policy has sparked bloody clashes, Thailand has maintained relative stability despite its eighty languages. 

Another notch on the belt for Thailand, it seems.

Mor Lam and Monks

Mor lam, is a northeastern Thai tradition that is slowly dying due to the influence of pop music. It would be wonderful if a new generation of Isaan youngster with talent could revive this lyrical art.

An unforgetable talent that had helped keep this artform current was Pumpuang Duangjan, R.I.P. While there are current artists like Jintara Poonlarp, Siriporn Ampaipong, and even a Dutch singer Christy Gibson, these studio-produced mor lam pales in comparison to the excitement and appreciation of a spontaneous talent shown in the live sparing of a mor lam contest or performance among the Isaan people.

I was fortunate enough to witness one such performance at a young age.  Maybe multimillion Thai pop music studio businessmen can be tipped to fund these contests in the Isaan country side, in the way that Nelson Mandela did for South African rugby, as shown in the movie, Invictus, not only to promote the goodwill of Luk Tung, a local musical genre not imported from abroad, but to give a sense of pride in cultural identity of the young, as well as to discover new natural talent.

I had always thought that this musical form is in some ways similar to modern rap, only much more traditional. It challenges its performers to dig up the best use of language and rythm on the spot. The best perform from a memory or repertoire of word play, rythm, rhyme and metaphors. It's what I would call a neobaroque form of entertainment because the musical accompaniment is simple and repetitive yet intuitive and spontaneous. It's a whole performance that engages and pulls in its viewers or in this case audience and listeners.

So what does mor lam performances have to do with monks?

I just recently read the history of Phra Ajaan Mun Bhuridatta Thera (1870-1949), the most venerable founder of Thailand's famous forest monk tradition. Here's what http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ says,

The unusual style of Phra Ajaan Mun's sermons may be explained in part by the fact that in the days before his ordination he was skilled in a popular form of informal village entertainment called maw lam. Maw lam is a contest in extemporaneous rhyming, usually reproducing the war between the sexes, in which the battle of wits can become quite fierce. Much use is made of word play: riddles, puns, innuendoes, metaphors, and simple playing with the sounds of words. The sense of language that Ajaan Mun developed in maw lam he carried over into his teachings after becoming a monk. Often he would teach his students in extemporaneous puns and rhymes. This sort of word play he even applied to the Pali language, ...

The best of buddhist teachings comes from oral traditions, in the forms of rhetorics, whether in the Tibetan debating or in this case the teachings of humble monks of Isaan origins, that towers above the more conventional Thervada style of Thailand's center. The language of mor lam and the language of forest monk tradition is Lao, which is (central Thais would probably love to deny) the true origin of the Thai language. Acharn Mun and other forest tradition monks had so internalized the teaching of the Buddha, which they had learnt in Pali, but it was practice and practice (of meditation) that allowed them to master the knowledge and thereby able to transmit in simple yet enlightening forms (in Lao) to their students and the common people. 

An interesting note to leave, pondering on oral tradition, links to languages, and preservations of cultures.

Acharn Mun passed away in 1940 at Wat Pa Suthawat, Sakon Nakhon. A small museum was built in his honor where there is an exhibit of his personal belongings and a brief account of his life.

Wax image of Pra Acharn Mun Bhuridatto, 

at Wat Pa Suthawat, Sakon Nakhon

Thai ceramics: an ancient, yet living tradition

Living under the shadow of a greater neighbor such as China has its disadvantages as recounted in my previous post relating the Haw Wars.  It also has many advantages. One boon was the boosting of a prosperous international trade in ceramics in the 13-14th century Sukhothai.

King Mengrai of Chiang Mai, King Ramkamhaeng of Sukhothai, and the Kingdom of Lopburi all sent several diplomatic missions to Chinese courts. Some Chinese potters were probably brought back to Thailand during 13th century as a result of these friendly and profitable visits.  Later around late 14th century, the ban on exports of early Ming Dynasty most likely encouraged frustrated Chinese potters to relocate to several pottery cities around Southeast Asia.

The famous Sangkhalok ceramics of Si Satchanalai flowered around the 14th century. These beautiful green glazed celandon and fish painted stoneware ruled the seas for some 300 years before blue and white porcelain from China took over international Eastern maritime markets. Recent discoveries of numerous shipwrecks, such as the Turiang shipwreck discovered by Sten Sjostrand in the South China Sea, have provided more detailed information about Sukhothai ceramic production than historical records could have provided.

Hundreds of ancient kilns have also been archeologically excavated in several locations all over Thailand.  Most of them were centered around Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai, Suphanburi, and Tak. The Chao Praya  River system obviously had been a key artery of distribution.  Eventually it seemed that the deterioration of river access to Si Satchanalai could have been a major cause for the decline of ceramic trade from Si Satchanalai and subsequent geopolitics shifted the center of power from Sukhothai to Ayudhya, where other products of trade gradually gained more importance over ceramics.

Southeast Asia has an old tradition of pottery that dates back even before the times of Sukhothai.  There were ancient Mon, Kmer, and Vietnamese 8-11th century traditions.  Pots have been excavated from burials dating 6,00BC to 4,000BC. Buried red earthenware were so abundant in Ban Chiang that thousands of years later, a teenager kicks up its shards leading to the discovery of an extensive Bronze Age pottery production.  

Looking around present day common life in Thailand, you'll find evidence abound that such pottery traditions continue to be an important element of Thai culture. From fine high cultured, five-coloured  Benjarong porcelain and imitations of antiqued ceramics sold to tourists and collectors, to commercial modern dining wares for exports and day to day items of household use such as, Ratchaburi dragon water jars, ubiquitous red-tiled roofs and sculptured terra cotta motifs in temples.  

For those who have such as a pottery craze as I do, a tour of just pottery sites in Thailand alone can easily fill up any touring plans.  A day trip out of Bangkok to Ratchaburi is as good a place to start as a river trip down the Chao Praya river to Ko Kret.

There are 42 factories of dragon jar makers in Ratchaburi, all of them descended from early 20th century Chinese pot makers who were brought in to make to pots during the World War when imports of these important jars were not allowed.  You can find a description of how these dragon jars are made in this page of Sea East Asia Pottery.

One can also visit production villages that had evolved out of old pottery communities. Dan Kwian, in Nakorn Rajasima (Korat), about  three hours out of Bangkok is a good detour on a trip to the Pimai Kmer style archeological site.

If you plan a trip up North towards Chiang Mai, drop by to support the Muang Kung Pottery Village.

However, if you have to save your plans of travel for sometime in the future, don't despair. You can just visit online this exquisitely produced Shaw collection website, where you will be able find descriptions of dated ceramic traditions, as well as rare pictures of ancient kilns that dot the geography of Thailand.  You can use the map provided to mark out places you must try to visit when you eventually make it to Thailand.

Admiring the variety and genius of ceramic traditions around the world, old and new, never fails to touch me with the ebb and flow, the persistence of humanity's creative spirit to shape, out of so humble a material such as earth, to produce such venerable objects as these enduring pots and jars... that, even after several hundreds of years buried under sea salt... can still shine their lustrous beauty.

Don't miss checking out the extensively, resourceful Maritime Asia website for detailed information about Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai pottery.

The Haw Wars, 1865-1890 (สงครามปราบฮ่อ)

Around the time that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte's regime was ending in France, the Taiping rebellion having failed in China, King Mongkut (Rama IV)had just gained an acceptance for Siam as a rightful nation in world diplomacy. Between the years 1865 and 1890, the Thai Kingdom's northern parts which was then bordering with the French protectorate Tonkin, were being raided by Chinese rebels that had fled southwards after their defeat in Nanking and other rebellions.

Rama IV

Armed, organized and trained but outlawed warriors banded together under different leaderships who distinguished their different groups by using colored flags. There were red, black, yellow and stripped groups of flagged bandits roaming the country side. The Black Flag group, led by Lui Yongfu was the most legitimate of the colored flags and fought for both the Viet and Chinese rulers against the French.

The Yellow Flags, led by Huang Chongying, were modeled after, but rivalled the Black Flags, failed to gain legitimacy and were pursued by both Qing and Vietnamese armies, as well as their original contenders, the Black Flags.  They were broken and on the run, raiding, looting, and harassing defenseless towns.

Many of those rebels roaming the countryside in the South of China towards the ending of the 19th century were Muslim Chinese, known as Hui in China and Panthay to the Burmese, while in Siam and Laos they were known as Haw.  

By 1872, bandit groups had drifted across the frontier of Laos and were occupying a large part of Laos which was then a tributary state of Thailand. In 1873, the Red Flags sacked Dien Bien Phu (a place where, at that time, French opium dens were making fortunes), and the Stripped Flags gained control of the Plain of Jars and the area of the Phuan (Xieng Khouang).

Several unsuccessful attempts to subdue the rebels were pressed upon by Viet, Laos and Thai kings.  A prince of Phuan was killed in one attempt and a Thai Praya was shot at in another. Each time that the Siamese army retreated, the rebels came back to raid towns. The rebels had equipped themselves with modern repeating rifles and Birminghan-manufactured ammunition and were skilled in guerilla warfare.

The Thai army was mostly made up of untrained men recruited from the North and Northeastern farmlands.  The commanders sent by King Chulalongkorn were unfamiliar with the terrain and logistics.  In one campaign, supplies were lost to the rebels, in another campaign an outpost was lost because its captain fell ill with malaria.  The Thai army's offensive to subdue the Haw bandits took so many years because it was also difficult to fight during rainy seasons.  Without success in one year, the army would have to regroup again the next year to push for another offensive.

In the end, the Thai army was supplied and trained with foreign weapons to match the fighting power of the Haw rebels. A British surveyor, James McCarthy, under hire by the Thai king to map Thai terrain during that period, was an observer of the Haw Wars.  He had noted that on one occasion some of those weapons carried by Thai recruits weren't even loaded!

A successful strategy was finally planned and the Thai army moved in a more coordinated offense, and managed to squeeze the perimeters of the bandits into a smaller territory. After some key towns the Yellow Flags had taken were freed, the Haw bandits were pushed out of the Northeastern borders of Siam and Laos back into China. 

The observation of this particular historical moment is very interesting for me personally due to an unquenchable curiosity to know more about a hometown and family that I hadn't grown up with.  In answer to my constant pestering questions about the past,  my Mom once recounted to me that the Promasakha Na Sakon Nakhon family was related to ours, the Singhakul family (a story that I will tell later in another blogpost).

Sakon Nakhon is a province in the Northeast of Thailand, about two hours from the Mekhong River border with Laos.  When I unearthed, in the scantily recorded history of this town, an interesting record of how the name Promasakha Na Sakon Nakhon was given to a highly esteemed governor of the Muang, relating his role for recruiting and leading people in support of the offensive against the Haw bandits, the Haw Wars became for me an important reference point to find out more about events that had shaped the times of my mother's grandparents.

Since I am now able to use the internet to access sources in English and increasingly more in Thai, I am seeing a clearer picture of how a sleepy town on the edge of empires is, in fact, not as insignificant as one had perceived. Several connections to many other important world events could be drawn from this single event.

The little details recounted by McCarthy of repeating rifles and Birmingham manufactured ammunition opened my eyes to how British imperial ambitions, whether intentional or not, were entwined in that moment.  The name "Haw", before just a name of an ethnic group, led me to discover that they were the same as Hui, Muslim Chinese who were, at that moment in history, leading a serious rebellion against the Qing dynasty.  Those rebels weren't just mindless raiders, they were pretty likely sent to that specific area. Whether as part of mercenaries simply following a campaign to harass French powers in the area, or as part of the Panthay Rebellion's leader's plan to occupy as much area as possible in readiness for his planned move into Burma, I will have to investigate further.

The lengthy campaign against the Haw also revealed in finer details the growing pains and mistakes of then a still evolving administration of the fourth, fifth, and sixth reign of the Chakri dynasty, learning, modernizing bit by bit, on the ground, less than 150 years ago.

The picture of elephants standing in formation with the Thai army above recalled to mind a funny anecdote of how King Rama V had once offered to send elephants to aid the US during its Civil War.

A revelation more relevant to the present, was the idea invoked of how, in actuality, not so far away China is, from the frontiers of Thailand. Our modern maps show that the space between the center of Thailand and the heart of China is quite immense, but if in the 19th century, all that space was takable by rebels, refugees moving over land, in a matter of months, fighting prolonged for decades, the illusion of that safe distance seems rather foolish indeed.  If anything such as a serious political unrest were to happen in that great land up North, Thailand would be receiving the brunt of an unimaginable deluge of refugees. We've never really overcome problems generated by refugee situations of the Vietnam wars, and even now, we are having increasing difficulties managing illegal immigrants in a million or two, escaping the oppression of the Burmese Junta. 

The different colored flags was also an odd reflection on the yellow and red colored political polarization happening currently in Thailand.

Recommended further reading:

Islam and Commerce in Old Yunnan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_wars
สงครามปราบฮ่อ
Surveying and exploring in Siam, by James McCarthy

Himmapan Forest-2: A description from King Lithai's Traibhumikatha

King Lithai, fifth of the Kings of the Pra Ruang Dynasty, was ruler of Si Satchanalai, twin city Sukhotai, the first Thai kingdom.  He succeeded his father, King Lelithai, as the fifth monarch of Sukhothai Kingdom in 1347 and reigned until 1368.  His reign was peaceful, and he was a great patron of religion. He was the first Thai monarch who was ordained as a Buddhist monk, yet he supported studies of both Brahmanism and Buddhism alike.  In 1357, he sent royal envoys to Ceylon for the Buddha's relics which were later kept in a great stupa in Nakhon Chum, as town near the present Kam Phaeng Phet.  In 1361, he invited a great patriarch, Pra Maha Swami from Ceylon to preach Buddhism in his kingdom.

As a young prince, he had studied under two royal sages called Upasena and Atharaya.  When he was ordained as a monk, his named teachers were, Maha Thera Muneewong, Anomthassi, Thamma Pala, Maha Thera Sitthattha, Phuthaphong, Panyanantha, and Phutthakhosajaraya.

King Lithai was inspired by the teachings of Buddhism and wanted to encourage his people to  learn  more about Buddhism, and therefore composed one of the first Thai literary works, "The Traibhumikatha", in 1345.  Traibhumikatha expounds Buddhist philosophy, quoting references from over 30 Dharma scriptures, a demonstration of substantive research.  It was written in beautiful rhythmic prose rich in allusions and imagery, explaining  Buddhist cosmogony, ethics, biology, and the Buddhist faith as understood then.

The "Three Planes of Existences"  was made up of 10 books.  In the 9th "Book of Nature",  I have extracted the following description of Himmanpan Forest:

"The Himmapan mountain range is 500 yoth high, 3,000 yoth wide and has 84,000 peaks.  A gigantic jambloan tree grows at the foot of this mountain range.  This tree stands on the banks of a river named Sida Nadi, the River of Coolness.

Next to the river are six forest: Kurabha, Korabha, Mahavideha, Tapandala and Somolo.  In these forests dwell sages of the Dharma who eat only fish and animals that die naturally. Yaksa, or giants roam these forests in great numbers.  People who live in these forests have no need to till the land for a living because rice and beans grow without the need for toil and trouble.  All the fruits of this land are as sweet as honey.

There are 7 large mother lakes: Anotata, Kannamunda, Rathakara, Chaddanta, Kunala, Mandakini, and Sihapapata.  All seven lakes are of equal sizes.

Lake Anotata is encircled by five mountains: the golden mountain Sudassanakuta, the mountain of seven precious gems-Chitrakuta, the green Kalakuta, the fragant mountain-Gandhamadanakuta, and the silver mountain-Krailasa. All five mountains are of equal sizes and curve into the Lake Anontata whose clear waters are fed by the powers of nagas and devatas.   

Waters from the lake flows out at four cardinal points marked by the face of a lion, face of an elephant, face of a horse, and the face of a bull.  Each outward flow of water encircles the lake three times before they exit midways between each cardinal point.  However, the river of the south does not behave like a normal river, after flowing southwards, it is blocked by a mountain, so it shoots upwards into the air, and then falling on a three-sided stone, it forms a three sided Lake of Lotuses, out of which flows a massive river above ground as well as one below the ground until they meet an animal shaped mountain and breaks into five rivers: the Ganga, Yamana, Aciravati, Mahi, and Sarabhu.  These rivers flow through towns and cities of men and out into the ocean."

Source: From Anthology of ASEAN Literatures,"Traibhumikatha: the Story of the Three Planes of Existence" by King Lithai, published by ASEAN in 1987.

The stories of the beautiful mythical lands of Himmapan, were used in Buddhist teachings usually imparted orally at temple gatherings to encourage people to study the Dharma which were inserted in the telling of tales of Buddha's own lives or his previous lives, so that they can refine themselves to be able to see or enter this wonderful land, but also to go beyond to reach the celestial heavens.

The several names of a Stupa

An important Bhuddhist structure, the Stupa, is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics. The word ‘stupa’ is a Sanskrit word, in Pali, the language that Gautama Buddha used for teaching the Buddhist religion, the related word is ‘thupa’.  In the Thai language, it is more commonly known as ‘chedi’, which is related to the Pali word, ‘cetiya’.  In a more colloquial Thai, or the northeastern dialect, it is also know as ‘pra that’, which is related to the Sanskrit word, ‘dhatu’, for which the Sinhalese’s name for the stupa, “dagobah’ is derived from.  In Tibet, the stupa is known as a ‘chorten’.  In Koren, Vietnam, China and Japan, they are known as ‘Tap’, ‘Thap', 'Ta', and 'To', respectively.

 

Shwegaddon Pagoda, Myanmar

In Myanmar, the stupa is more commonly known as ‘pagoda’, the general English term for tiered tower with multiple eaves. According to wikipedia, the word is first attested for in English in the period c. 1625–35; introduced from the Portuguese pagode, temple, from the Persian butkada (but idol + kada temple, dwelling.)  Another etymology, found in many English language dictionaries, is modern English pagoda from Portuguese (via Dravidian), from Sanskrit bhagavati, feminine of bhagavat "blessed" bhaga "good fortune."

The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across Asia, taking on many diverse forms as details specific to different regions are incorporated into the overall design.  After his conversion to Buddhism in the third century BC, King Ashoka had several thousand stupas build across the Mauryan empire. According to Brahmi, Kharoshti, Pali and Sanskrit edicts Ashoka The Great  founded 84,000 stupas all over the south Asia.

 

Advanced engineering techniques and knowledge, for example the use of lightning conductors, were used and shared across cultures in their construction. Numerous stupas across South and Southeast Asia have been standing undamaged for a thousand years or two.

A stupa is essentially made up of a square base, a hemispherical dome, a conical spire, a crescent moon, and a circular disc, representing the five purified elements which constitute the fabric of manifest existence.  The elements are earth, water, fire, air and space. The shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire; his head is the square at the spire's base; his body is the vase shape; his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace, and the base is his throne.

To build a stupa, transmission and ceremonies from a monk is necessary.  Which kind of stupa to be constructed in a certain area, is decided together with the teacher assisting in the construction. Some times the kind is directly connected with events that have taken place that certain area.  All stupas contain a treasury filled with various objects.

A very important element in every stupa is the Tree of Life. It is a wooden pole covered with gems and thousand of mantras, and placed in the central channel of the stupa.  It is placed here during a ceremony or initiation, where all the participant hold colorful ribbons connected to the Tree of Life. Together all make their most positive and powerful wishes, which are stored in the Tree of Life. In this way the stupa is charged up, and will start to function.

There are eight kinds of stupas which are related to major events of the Buddha’s life, however, a ninth, the Kalachakra Stupa’s symbolism relates to Tibetan Kalachakra Tantra, is created to protect against negative energies.  A Kalachakra Stupa was built in Karma Guen, Benalmádena city, Spain in 1994.

If it had not been for King Ashoka

The visit of cvltvre's colleagues to India prompted me to reread the few books I had about that great country, especially one written by John Keay, "India Discovered: The Recovery of a Lost Civilation".

My favorite chapters were "Thus Spake Ashoka" and "Black and Time-Stained Rocks", about how James Prinsep, a British official sent to work at the mint in Bengal in 1819, who was key to the deciphering of then unknown scripts found on impressive polished sandstone pillars and boundary stones scattered over an area so wide it was challenging to imagine who had done such a remarkable feat.

from flickr, photographer: Sunaina Suneja.

Nowadays, we know that these remarkable pillars and edicts were left by King Ashoka two thousand years ago, forgotten until it caught the intrigue of British enthusiasts in the early nineteenth century.

King Ashoka (304 BC-232BC), who had signed these edicts as "Devam Piya Priyadasi Raja", was grandson of Chandragupta (also known in ancient Greece as Sandracottus), founder of the Mauryan Empire.

Ashoka was a terrible warrior, and in his rage for the murder of his mother, he not only murdered his half-brothers who had schemed against him, but also killed some 100,000 people of Kalinga. However, once the war was over, the sight of such destruction sickened him to the heart and turned him to pursue ahimsa (non-violence) and thus became the greatest patron of then relatively new religion of Buddhism, building temples, hospitals, universities, irrigation systems, sending monks to many parts of the world to spread its teaching.

King Ashoka convened the Third Buddhist Council, led by his brother, an ordained monk, in 250-253 BC. He also sent his own son and daughter to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to spread the teachings of Buddha where it has never faded out as it had in India soon after his death. Historically significant for Thailand (where I am from) was sending of Sohn Uttar Sthavira, a royal monk and many other with sacred texts to Suvannabhumi (Burma and Thailand) around 228 BC.

The following entry in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka_the_Great) explains how important King Asokha was for Thai culture:

"One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka Maurya was the model that he provided for the relationship between Buddhism and the state. Throughout Theravada Southeastern Asia, the model of ruler ship embodied by Ashoka replaced the notion of divine kingship that had previously dominated (in the Angkhor kingdom, for instance). Under this model of 'Buddhist kingship', the king sought to legitimize his rule not through descent from a divine source, but by supporting and earning the approval of the Buddhist sangha. Following Ashoka's example, kings established monasteries, funded the construction of stupas, and supported the ordination of monks in their kingdom. Many rulers also took an active role in resolving disputes over the status and regulation of the sangha, as Ashoka had in calling a conclave to settle a number of contentious issues during his reign. This development ultimately lead to a close association in many Southeast Asian countries between the monarchy and the religious hierarchy, an association that can still be seen today in the state-supported Buddhism of Thailand and the traditional role of the Thai king as both a religious and secular leader."

Silpakorn's University Electronic Resources on Art in Thailand

Silpakorn University is the leading Thai university in the fine arts and archaeology.  It was founded in 1943 when the Italian art professor Corroda Ferroci (Silpa Bhirasri), who contracted under King Rama VI to work as sculpture for the Thai government started giving free sculpture classes for those interested. 

Searching for new information on prehistoric cave painting, I found this excellent website, a generous gift of images I can only hope to see.  Two sections are my favorites (text only in Thai, but the numerous images provided more than made up for the disappointing lack of English explanations):

• Mural Paintings in Thailand  (Three categories to choose from: by region, by period, and special projects)

                                         

• Cave Art (Click on the regions on the map and it will bring you to provinces of the region chosen, after which will be a list of caves that are located in that province.  Clicking further will lead you to a page with brief description, location of cave and sample images of the cave paintings/art.)

                      

Buffalo caravans that lasted until the early 20th century

My mother was born in 1925. She has vague recollections of a near mystical childhood that I love prompting her to recount. One of the stories that I found most interesting was about her first trip to Bangkok from Sakolnakorn when she was less than ten years old and allowed to accompany her mother to visit her mother’s family in Bangkok.

She had to travel with a buffalo caravan to Khon Khaen to board the train there. It must have been a long trip and it certainly left a lasting impression on her. For me, what was amazing was the recollection that not so long ago just one generation away travel by car on paved roads were not possible throughout the country.

Buffalo caravans were trading caravans whose trade routes crisscrossed North and Northeast Thailand, a trading route whose importance historians have overlooked with their focus on the more important sea routes that Ayudhya dominated. However, it was this land route that supplied Ayudhya with items that its trading partners valued, such as various natural dyes, forest products, and animal skin.

Some interesting things I found on the internet about the land trade routes are one, from a chapter on Chiang Mai from Joe Cummings’ "Lonely Planet Thailand".

An insert about the Chiangmai Night Bazaar reports that from the 15th century Chinese muslim traders from Yunnan brought down silk, opium, lacquerware, tea, dried fruit, musk, ponies and mules while northbound caravans brought gold, copper, cotton, edible bird’s nest, betel nut, tobacco and ivory. By the 19th century, artisans had settled along the route to produce craft for the trade. The Chinese traders preferred to use ponies and mules, while the Thais preferred oxen, water buffalo and elephants.

There were three main land trading routes in Northern Thailand: one from Sibsongpanna (Yunnan) to the Gulf of Martaban (Burma) via Mawlamyiang, this route extends westward from Simao to Chiang Roong-Keng Tung-Fang (Chiang Rai).

The middle route went south to Mengla to Luang Nam Ta in Laos, to Chiang Kong where it merges with the first route and continues further south through Chiang Mai to Mae Sariang continued along the Salaween River down to Mawlamyiang.

The third route went from Simao to Ponsali, Luang Prabang, Nan, Prae, Lampang, and Lampoon, to Chiang Mai.

Another interesting article I found on the internet relating to buffalo trade routes was an extensive wikipedia page about the Kula traders who travelled in small and large caravans.

“Some of these caravans would consist of more than 100 people traveling in ox carts, horses and elephants. Kula merchants would sell and buy items during their travels such as elephants, ivory, animal horns, antlers, silk, water buffalo, firearm, caskets, case etc. Smaller groups of Kula would travel in groups of at least 5,10 or 50 people and would be armed with knives, swords, firearms and scared magical charms for protection. The Kula engaged in commerce differently from the Chinese where they didn't establish themselves by setting up shops in communities but preferred to travel from destination to destination and rest along temples, jungle, prairie and forests along the way.”

Tung Kula Ronghai (the crying plains of the Kulas), the driest region of the Northeast, was called such, because the plain of grass and swamp was so sparsely populated during the early of 19th century that many caravans and individuals would enter the plain and find themselves lost. People living in the community had to erect wooden poles and plant trees to identify the safer route to make navigation possible.

There is also a research paper by Junko Kmsumi of Tokyo University, “Why the Kula wept”, that describes a historical dispute between the Kula traders and the officials of Siam during the reign of Rama the third.

Finally, from a book by Prince Dilok Nabarath, “Siam’s Rural Economy under King Chulalongkorn”, a picture from the past:

                          

_{Oxen carts bring produce to waiting river barges}

The financial crisis in 1932 that took down absolute monarchy

A long lost cousin of mine connected with me on Facebook today making me a little bit homesick and thinking about my family from Sakolnakorn. I originally wanted to write about the year 1910 and some events that had rippled from the center to my hometown close to the border of the Mekhong.

I was looking through a history book for ideas about how to shape my post on 1910 but got sidetracked by an account of a "financial war" in the year 1932. It’s curious how we tend to overlook small details in history when it is overshadowed by larger events like the end of absolute monarchy and the birth of Thailand’s first constitution.

This small detail of how bad public financial management can put a government in a tough spot seemed to be a more worthy subject to write a blog post about to relieve myself a bit (just a teeny, weeny bit) of my self-imposed theme of economics which doesn’t seem to gather much attention here (yet still a point of interest close to my dear subject), so 1910 got pushed aside and here’s an interesting anecdote from the year 1932 in Thai history:

Anyway, the connection between 1910 and 1932 was that 1910 was when one of Thailand’s greatest king past away, leaving the country in a bit of a shock and vacuum. From the short period of 1910-1932 we saw two kings come and go.

King Prajadhipok didn’t expect to reign but many unfortunate events left him with a legacy of chronic problems, one of which was the finances of the state. The budget was heavily in deficit and the royal accounts a nightmare of debts and questionable transactions.

Pages 235 to 239 of David K. Wyatt’s “Thailand: A Short History” makes an interesting reread. So many echos of the present found in the past. I hope my readers can find the book on some dusty bookshelf, I don’t want to be accused of plagiarism or infringement of copyright.

So the Great Depression hits Siam and the price of rice dropped by two-thirds, inducing a spiral of reduced cash income, less taxes, credit falling apart, inability to buy retail goods and government expenditure cut by a third.

If Wyatt’s publisher’s reads me, I am asking permission to quote some words here and now (I know I can get away with a limited number of words):

“To make matters worse, a financial crisis developed as, under the prodding of the British financial adviser, Siam doggedly maintained the gold standard as the basis of its currency, while Britain abandoned it. This came to mean that Siam’s rice was priced much higher than competing rice sold in currencies that had left the gold standard. It also brought about a significant outlfow of gold from Siam.”

“The crunch came as the government prepared the budget for B.E. 2475, the financial year that was to begin April 1, 1932. Battles raged.....”

Public dissatisfaction, prophecies, drafted constitutions, coup d’etat and “Promoters” (49 military and naval officers and 65 civilians) later, history was made.

Debt and monetary standards, I wonder who’s going to be in government when that nasty knot unravels our system again.

Part II (added)

King Prajadhipok inherited a bad account he couldn’t undo coupled with complex incidences happening in and outside of Thailand. His administration’s inability to split the pie properly could have been the crucial tipping point for that important political change in Thailand.

Here’s my summary of the internal and external events that contributed to political malaise during that time:

Internal:

1. Huge budget deficits inherited from King Vajiravudh. Some of which were: 8% of 1910’s budget went to the new King’s coronation ceremonies costly nationalist to build Rama VI’s personal power base, such as, for a special palace guard and Wild Tiger Corp (a paramilitary group). Wild Tigers Corp was most expensive... nearly 20% of royal budget, 1.6 million out of the 96. million state budget-10% royal expenditure; 23% to military expenditure; Privy Purse and Ministry of the Palace were consuming nearly 10 percent of the annual budget
2. Inability to find an accounting standard to control government expenditure causing power struggles within and between ministries and eventually laying off govt. work3. Financial mismanagement that aggravated the situation, such as borrowing from abroad, unpopular salary taxes, taxing land owned by peasants
3. No policies for distribution of income, Thais becoming increasingly left out of economic activities dominated by Chinese and foreign merchants
4. Lack of social investments, especially insufficient budget in support education, only 3 percent of the budget was allocated to education
5. Rising affluence of Chinese minority accentuated by nationalistic sentiments, anti-Chinese and fear of communism among the Thais, anti-Japanese among the Chinese who had private schools and own press
6. Only one dominant industry: rice export, controlled by Chinese merchants
   

External:

1. The post war environment, rise of nationalism, fear of communism, perceived threat of China’s proximity
2. The great depression, price of rice fell
3. Delayed exiting of the gold standard exchange regime, silver and gold just bled out of the country
   

One of the first things Pridi Panomyong and the People’s Party did once they took over government in 1932 was to propose an economic development plan. The Plan was rejected as being too socialist. Industrialization, however, was set into motion with establishments of a number of state enterprises. First being the Fuel Division of the Ministry of Defense which later became the Fuel Organization (1953), the precursor of PTT (so my posts are more connected than I thought). Other key state enterprises set up that was the beginning of industrialization (much earlier than the 60s as I originally thought) were: a spinning and weaving factory, also under the Ministry of Defense, to produce military uniform, later to become Siam Cotton Mill (1953); a paper mill; and a sugar refinery.

The Bunnag family

(Just a note for myself to find this link. Not blogging much now because I'm so busy.)

Found this webpage set up by the Bunnag family, The Bunnage Lineage Club. Hopefully, I can write more about them one day.

Traditional Thai Dance Forms

Interesting read about how they used to dress thai dancers in the old days, and someone's efforts in reviving it: "Reviving a Thai art one stitch at a time" By Seth Mydans, International Herald Tribune.

Names to remember: "Octoberists"

Names I need to remember, interestingly provided by The Nation's OCTOBERISTS' - 33 YEARS ON
A divided political ideology

Thirayuth Boonmi, his name I can remember, in fact I got an MA from ISS where he went for a fellowship after he came out of the jungle.

According to the article quoting Dr Kasian Tejapira, now Thammasat University's professor of political science., Thirayuth leads this camp:
Pibhob Thongchai, Prasarn Marukapitak, Chermsak Pinthong, Chaiwat Surawichai, Kaewsan Atibhodhi, Kamnoon Sithisamarn, Chatcharin Chaiwat, Tienchai Wongchaisuwan and Suwinai Poranawilai.

Octoberists who joined Thaksin's camp: Prommin Lertsuriyadej, Phumtham Vejayachai, Surapong Suebwonglee,
Chaturon Chaisang, (wasn't he just elected acting TRT's leader?)
Sutham Saengprathum, Pinij Charusombat, Adisorn Piengket and Kriengkamol Laohapairote.

Some Octoberists have been recruited to serve the new legislative body appointed by the Council for National Security. They are Gothom Areeya, Surichai Wankaeo, Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, Pinij Charusombat and Kamnoon Sittisamarn.

Nithinand Yorsaengrat, is also named an Octoberist and is a journalist.

I think Acharn Kasian paints a conflictive picture because he makes the common mistake trying to categorize these people. Limiting academic discipline also keeps one trapped in out of date vocabulary, like "ideology" and "leftist", even new generation political scientist Kanokrat can't see beyond her discipline, or was she misquoted?

Interesting also that Thongchai Winichakul, who wrote a really good book, "Siam Mapped", is Ass.Prof at University of Wisconsin, involved in the October events himself doesn't get named.

The cat book of Siam

Cont'd from my previous post, the promised cat poems.

What amazes me when I read the number of poems from "The Legend of Siamese Cats" is how the poems, even if they repeat similar decriptions of certain kinds of cats, were written in different ways, revealing the creative use of words with different "authors". Names of "authors" are rarely recorded in ancient Thai literature. I can imagine that as the manuscripts gets copied, each copier who was creative enough would have added some of his own poetry. Depending on whose was most poetic, his was probably more copied and therefore endured via recieving the honor of being copied in other people's verses.

It's sort of similar to what we're doing with blogs, except nowadays we have to declare who we are in some way for readers to trust our authenticity.

The poem I'm posting here is Kaap Chabang on the "Benefits and Drawbacks of Cats"

The first cats referred, this treatise describes in their forms
Black on body, beautiful face two paws, stomach, back and tail
Nine places clear as cotton wool, eyes like jewels compared
Melodious voice, much loved by humans female and male
Whoever intends to raise them will become a master, promoted
Servants, retainers, wealth will come continually ample
With prosperity and dignity, enemies will not come near
Raising them yields results as the masters say in the treatise

One with white body, fine all over, and black in nine places
Like a piebald horse, whoever feeds it well, will trade swell
Much riches and treasures will be found, everything will come
That person is a rich man, for a good cat benefits its owner

One named fine sapphire, entirely, claws and tongue, fine black
Whichever cat you meet, black as they say, must be looked after
It will bring you all, retainers and food in ample amounts
With power, happiness, and welfare against danger

One copper, luminescent, claws, tongue and teeth as dyed red
Who raises it will gain great rank, a general or minister

One lao of flower of clear color, off-white fur, see black mixed
Who finds one, hurry to support it, that cat brings happiness
Women, men everywhere will cherish it, as this cat has charm
Loved all over by the people, both female and male

One called the jewel cat, of white body, with eyes like gems
Four black feet, ears and tail black as if ink applied
Has incalculable value, will bring great gain, more property
Who raises it will gain power, retainers and all good things

One a mercury color, a glowing shine, as if applied
Feed it well and great benefits rush in, raise it, do not doubt

One called Mongkol Amphai, the treatise says is auspicious
Black body, white neck round, good for the raiser, great wealth

One with a hourse-saddle mark, fine face with two black eye rings
Worth 100,000 gold tamleung, it brings its owner honour

One is black around the body, of great beauty, strange,
Who feeds it will have rank, power, with people fearing

One glows black all over, its nose clear white, a lovely face
Who raises, gains rank in seven months, the lords grant fortune

One with marks all over, its nose clear white, a lovely face
Who raises, gains rank in seven months, the lords grant fortune

One with marks all over, flashing beauty, strange,
Who feeds it will have rank, power, with people fearing

One glows black all over, its nose clear white, a lovely face
Who raises, gains rank in seven months, the lords grant fortune.

One with marks all over, flashing beauty, they say has dignity
Who raises, will be a minister, or chief of council, with rank

One marked large on mouth and nose, who finds it, should care for it
Will get land, fields, riches, a commoner becomes a master

One with underbelly markings is good for trade by boat
Merchants raise it hoping the cat is a bank of gold and silver

One has the line all along, good by the book, will further the family
With rank and power, replete, on an eternal base

One with amusing feet, they say to keep only for queen's lines
This cat brings virtue, so kindly do not endanger it

One marked on two ears, the treatise says should be raised by monks
For studying well, without forgetting with success as desired

They repeat in the books, one must study, raise and all will follow
Even in death, never discard the ghost, bury it, and keep the bones
In a pot to keep, which is also a virtuous act
When keeping do not despise it, or hit it, but care for it with love
Give it fine food, rice and fish, service it with everything replete
The cat will prosper, do not fret, or doubt the text

There are many more bad cats with tiger patterns,
They eat their young and have still births
Red tail markings of loss, twisted white tails, they say let go.

Here endeth the cat treatise, the bad and good in summary.

This particular poem didn't give the names of most of the cats, but other texts name 17 auspicious cats and 6 kinds of bad cats.

Just to show their poetic names, the 17 are: Ninlarat (Dark Sapphire), Wilat (Beauty), Suphalak(Excellent) or Thong Daeng (Copper), Kao Taem (Nine Points), Maaleht (Flower) or Dork Lao (Lao Flower), Saem Sawet (Alternate White), Ratanakamphol (Jewelled Cloth), Wichien Maas (Moon Diamond), Ninlajak (Sapphire Circle), Mulila, Krop Waen (Spectacle Frame) or Aan Maa (Horse Saddle), Pat-sawe (White Line) or Pattalort (Line Throughout), Krajork (Sparrow), Singha Sep (Lion), Karawek (Bird of Paradise), Jatubot (Four Feet), Konjaa (Sarus Crane)

Even the bad have exotic names. Six bad cats: Tupphalaphet (Weakness), Phan Phayak or Lai Sewa (Tiger Breed), Pisaat (Fiend), Hin Thot (Bad Stone), Korp Phleng (Fire Raiser), Nep Saniat (Dagger)

I wonder how these verses were used. Unless you were a cat breeder there isn't much use. I don't think cat breeding could have been such an important job (even if you could sell one cat for 100,000 gold pieces), but the survival of these texts certainly means that there was an abundance of them. An abundance of texts, but because of the nature of medium they were preserved in, never as ubiquitous as books in the west, and so Thailand was more of an oral society and a literate one.

These cat poems needed to be shared by being read aloud. I think they could have been tools for young students to learn how to memorize (and eventually read and write) since these cat poems didn't serve any practical purpose like buddhist texts or housebuilding manuscripts. They certainly are entertaining and the motivation of knowing your cats would be an incentive young ones to learn the verses.

6th October

A day many choose to forget. The recent military coup certainly helped refresh its memories. Here are some links about the anniversary of a very black day in Thai history.

Added Oct. 12, Chaiwat Satha-Anand's "Hurting, haunting, hoping", a deep articulation on how violence freezes time.
Former activists mark Oct 6 bloodbath
Democratic stance torn apart by coup
TRT figures fail to attend ceremony
Charoen honoured as an 'October 6 martyr'
Army 'never back in barracks'

And a page from "The Balancing Act: A History of Modern Thailand" by Joseph J. Wright Jr.

...and so a round-the-clock vigil began on the Thammasat campus. Though the university had been closed down earlier, 4,000 determined students broke through the gates and took over the Bo Tree Courtyard and the football field. There were reports later that some of these students had smuggled in firearms which, if it were true, would seem a precaution, wisely taken or not, against the kind of violence used by Red Gaurs against defenseless marchers in the anti-American demonstrations six months earlier.

While the four thousand sat cross-legged in clusters around the campus grounds, singing their protest songs and making speeches, the capital braced itself for a reprise of Fourteen October, the anniversary of which was now just 10 days off. Counter-demonstrations began right away. A group of 400 rightists protested outside the prime minister's office, on the fourth, demanding he take a definitive stand. They stayed through the night, and their angry shouts intensified the following day, 5 October, when he announced his cabinet changes. Seni had dismissed the conservative Samak from his post as a deputy in the interior ministry, and had placed the apparently neutral Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryu at the head of Defense.

Meanwhile, at Thammasat, a troupe of students actors staged a pivotal drama, a reenactment of the lynching two weeks before of the union men who had protested Thanom's return. On a make-shift stage in the campus courtyard, a young actor was strung up on a harness to stimulate the hanging, while others portrayed those responsible for the deed. One of the performers-the one dangling from the rope- was said by some to have borne a certain resemblance to the crown prince, an unpopular figure then among the members of the left. Soon, somehow, word got out that the play had been an act of lese majeste, an insult to the crown, in which radical leftists had hanged the king's heir apparent in effigy.

By evening a photo story about the skit had made Bangkok's front pages. Dao Sayam-a "rabid, right-wing newspaper," says Anderson -printed apparently retouched pictures of the performers, exaggerating the features of the one in question to make him look more like the prince. Then, in what seems to have been a coordinated effort, the armed forces radio network broadcast a similar version of the story and urged the citizenry to buy Dao Sayam and see for themselves.

Considering the theme of the student's skit-the murder of innocent citizen by corrupt authorities- it does not seem logical that the dramatists would have planned to make the victim, who was a sympathetic figure, look like the crown prince. In another photograph of the skit, one sees a young man in the guise of a monk - apparently Thanom- seated half-lotus style beneath the dangling "corpse". In the monk's lap is a human skull; standing guard beside him is a soldier with a Nazi arm band. Several students lay about, face-down, nearby, obviously mimicking more dead bodies, those who had fallen on fourteen October. A placard beside the tableau reads "Students, don't worry. I only want a few more corpses."

Plainly, then, the hanging figure would not have intentionally resembled the prince. It simply would not have fit in with the rest of the scene if it had.

Yet, even if this was an act of mockery against the sacred institution of the throne, it would not have justified what followed. Heeding the call of the army broadcast for "all true Thai patriots" to quash the supposed anti-monarchist demonstrations, thousands of militants, led by the Red Gaurs and other neo-fascist groups, flowed into the Thammasat area and surrounded the campus.

It was now the morning of Six October, another date which requires no mention of the year to distinguish its place in Thai history.

Perhaps sensing what was to come, the NSCT (National Student Center of Thailand) leadership left the campus, not in flight but to surrender themselves to the prime minister and try to explain the true meaning of the play before the misguided mob could carry out its intentions. The NSCT leaders left behind some two-thousand of their fellow demonstrations who had spent the night on campus as promised. By the time the students leaders arrived at Seni's office, however, it was too late.

Claiming they had been fired upon from inside the campus, police who had been shepherded the mob outside called for reinforcements. By 7:30 am the streets outside the university compound were lined by special units of the police and military, armed with machine guns, recoilless rifles, grenade and rocket launchers. The mob had by now swollen to ten thousand, and as if the police needed more help, had armed themselves with swords, clubs, and guns of their own. Suddenly police and soldiers opened fire, pouring as many as 1,000 rounds per minute in sporadic intervals into the compound. They used no tear gas. By comparison, shooting a fly with an elephant gun seemed reasonable.

They smashed through the campus gates with a dump truck and charged the cowering demonstrators inside. There must have been snipers within firing upon the invaders, as photographs do show armed soldiers and policemen hiding behind trees and walls as the civilian mob carelessly blundered through the compound. But whatever armament the students possessed could not have been enough to make a difference, for soon the demonstrators were overcome by the rabble, some trying to flee, leaping into the Chao phraya River, others trying to give themselves up. Reporter Richard Nations was there.

"I saw one university student emerge from the auditorium unarmed only to be swamped by the mob and kicked and beaten to death with bottles, mangled chairs and jagged bits of metal torn from the main gates. Other students who tried to escape were hanged from the trees outside the campus. Later, their bodies were doused in petrol and burned. At least one girl was reported to have drowned among the many who tried to swim across the river to safety."

The rampage went on for hours, as police went from building to building to flush out the students. Once outside, the demonstrators were rounded up and herded into the football field where onlookers cheered from the bleachers, waving flags, and laughing as boys and girls alike were made to strip to the waist and lie facedown on the playing field; any show of reluctance earned a rifle butt in the head. Among the sprawling mass of half-clad students, prone and paralyzed with fear, strolled policemen, kicking and beating the quivering forms as they went. At least one officer went about stripping students of any Buddha images, violently ripping chains from around their necks; he said he did so "because communists are not Buddhists," but he did not mention the amulet's gold content.

By midday, police arrested 1,700 students and carted them away to detention facilities, driving them along the way, past the mutilated corpses of their friends, strung from the trees around Sanam Luang. Their job at Thammasat done, the victorious patriots marched to government house to confront the premier.

"I did my best," a tearful Seni Pramoj told the crowd. "I tried to keep law and order in this kingdom, but if you wish, I will go."

Somehow the honor and prestige of governing the people of Thailand did not seem worth fighting over now. A dark and ugly side of a normally pleasant people had just been revealed, and the Thai elite seemed revolted by it. That evening it was announced that the military had taken over the government. No one else seemed to want it anymore.

Siamese cats and old manuscripts

If you didn't already guess, I must warn you I am a cat lover. My previous post about Ms. Pook prompted me to work on this post about cats in ancient thai manuscripts, a post I intended to write a few years back but got sidetracked by life.

The pictures posted here are scanned from "The Legend of Siamese Cats" written by Martin R. Clutterbuck, printed by White Lotus Press (my favorite publisher). I was quite amused to find, when I googled for the book, that it was being offered for $1,711 at amazon.com. It seems that this book I bought in 1998 has become a rare and out of print book. (I've got to remember to never give up any of my White Lotus books.)

"Tamra Maew" (cat treatise or cat poems) were found in old thai manuscripts known as "smut khoi", rice paper books. The ones M. Clutterbuck used for his research were between 100-200 years old. However, research I've done previously on ancient literature revealed that manuscripts were copied by hand and passed down generation by generation in the family. They may date much older than those 100-200 years old. Another popular form of preserving ancient literature was with palm leaf manuscripts in which most buddhist literature is preserved. These are also copied by hand, and are said to last 600-700 years with correct preservation.



Some pictures from original khoi manuscripts can be found in the "Smud Khoi of cats from khoratworld.com where you can find info about the khorat cats.

The studies done wtih tamra maew reveal that these cat poems flourished from at least the 17th century. The first Siamese cats travelled to Europe around the 1860s when cat shows in Victorian England were already popular. The Siamese color-pointed, good humored, "talkative" and intelligent cat was an instant hit.

In Thailand, or rather Siam in those days, the (brown pointed) siamese cat was only one of a group of designated "auspicious" and lucky cats to have around for cat fanciers. King Chulalongkorn himself searched out cats with good appearances. The Korat cat, also known as "Si-sawat" was named "Korat" when King Chulalongkorn found them in this new region. In that newly annexed Northeastern region, there was a rain calling ceremony where a cat in a bamboo cage was paraded through the village, sprinkled with water and then set free.


I witnessed one such ceremony as a teenager visiting the Boon Bang Fai festival in Yasothorn in the early 80s. The "bang fai" or sky rockets, also a rain calling ritual, was already attracting more attention than the cat parade at that time. I don't think any villages perform the cat parade ritual anymore.
The samut khoi are made from the pulp of the khoi tree (streblus asper). This small shrub grows easily in the boggy and well-watered fruit plantations of Thailand's central plains. The stripped bark is pounded into pulp with wooden mallets: this is then poured over a wire mesh and dried in the sun. The resulting sheet is removed from the mesh and polished with stones before being folded concertina fashion to create a whole book from a single sheet. Nowadays, they are produced as luxury paper for soveneir making and exports.

The sheet can be blackened with the charcoal of the sanoh khang khok tree to create the black "samut thai dam". If bleached with lime in the pulping process a white "samut thai khao" is produced. The black books were written on with a pastel-like white pencil, which is usually written over with yellow ink made from gambage for permanence. The white books were written on with black ink. Chiangmai-chiangrai.com has a short page about the making of khoi paper books.

Chiangmai Mail, the first English language newspaper from Chiangmai, has an interview with Mr. Ed Rose who is a cat lover and became well-known for the numerous siamese cats he takes care of.

Prestwick-Beresford Old-Style Siamese
Breed Preservation Society has a page on history of siamese cat breeding in US.

Coming up next will be one of the cat poems.