The Tai World: A Digest of Articles from the Thai-Yunnan Newsletter

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TAI WORLD A DIGEST OF ARTICLES FROM THE THAI-YUNNAN PROJECT NEWSLETTER

Ed. by Nicholas Tapp & Andrew Walker A publication of The Thai-Yunnan Project, Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University 2001

Cover design by Nicole La Paik, Graphic Art Unit, ANU.

THE TAI WORLD

Contents

Introduction

iv

Part One: Folklore

Dao Guodong and Wu Yutao: The Legend of Ba Alawu (Balaiwu)

as told by Zha Jianfeng

1

-

Gehan Wijeyewardene: Ba A!awu Some Preliminary Comparisons

11

Li Ziquan: An Investigation of Tattoos among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

12

Dao Guodong et al.: The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna

28

Dao Guodong et al.: Instructing Wives in the Etiquette of being a Daughter-in-Law

39

Yu Shi-jie: Zhuang Frog-Worship

42

Gehan Wijeyewardene: The Prince and the Moulmein Market-Girl

47

Gehan Wijeyewardene: More on the Princess Dara Rasmi

52

Dao Xin Hua: Two Lii Songs

54

Li Daoyong, Kristina Lindell, Jan-Gjvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin: Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

59

i

ii Parr Two: Essays

Gehan Wijeyewardene: Australian Studies on Tai Peoples

'74

Gehan Wijeyewardene: Rethinking The Fronh°ers of Burma

79

John C. Eade: Chulalongkorn and the Tithi Mahasunya

89

Scott Bamber: Tai Traditional Medicine and Ethnicity in Thailand,

Laos and China

91

Chusit Chuchart: From Peasant to Rural Trader: The Ox-Train Traders of Northern Thailand, 1855-1955

98

Xie Yuan Zhang: A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun with an Account of the Close Relations between Ancient Xishuangbanna

and Lanna

111

Li Hang Yang: The Luchuan Local Regime in Thai History

125

Phillipe Le Fallierz Creating the Political Borderlines of the French Colonial Empire in Indochina: An Example of the Using the Ethnic Minorities, the White Thai of Lai Chau (Vietnam)

129

Philip Taylor: An Anthropo]0gist's Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution

133

Andrew Walker: Trade and Transport in North-Western Laos

147

Part Three: Languages and Classyicazion

Anthony Diller: Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

158

Xie Yuan Zhang: Chinese Names for Tai

179

Tran Quoc Vuong and Cam Troff: Black Thai-White Thai and the Distribution of the Ancient Tay-Thai Populations in Vietnam

182

Zhao Jiaqing: Customs of the Huayao Tai of Mengyang

184

iii

Julie D. Forbush: The Laughing Nagas of Northern Thailand:

Alternate Names

191

Serge Thion: On Some Cambodian Words

204

Part Four: People and Places (Notices, Reviews, and Travel)

Cholthira Satyawadhna: Sir James George Scott and the Political Institutions of the Wa

218

Gehan Wijeyewardene: Kraisri NimmaMaeminda (an Obituary)

227

Ann Turner and Ian Wilson: C.P. Fitzgerald, 1902-1992 (an Obituary) 230 Charles Key's: Lauriston Sharp and the Anthropological Study of Thailand: Some Reflections (an Obituary)

235

Herbert R. Swanson: The Historical Context of William Clifton Dodd's The Thai Race

243

Gehan Wijeyewardene: The Little World of Dehong

247

13./_

Terwiel: Data from White Tai and Nung

254

Thawi Swangpanyangkoon: Kengtung: Past and Present

258

Jackie Yang Rettie: Kokang

267

Andrew Walker: The Myanmar Trade Fair: Tachileik 21-31 December 1993

271

Cover illustration' Achaean Thawi in front of the old palace at Chiangfwzg.

iv

THE TAI WORLD INTRODUCTION Nicholas Tapp This collection of articles and translations from the old Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter has been prepared in the belief that back issues of the Newsletter contained so many priceless gems of Thai and Tai folklore and history, culture and ritual, that a well chosen selection of them collected together would form a valuable book which a wide range of readers would enjoy and appreciate' The Digest has been prepared by members of the Department of Anthropology, in the Research

School of Pacific and Asian Studies at The Australian National University, where the late Gehan Wijeyewardene, the founder and maintainer of the Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter, worked for so many years. Gehan was the inspiration behind the Newsletter and under his editorship the Newsletter flourished and acted as a kind of forum for news and current events, upcoming conferences and exhibitions, reviews of new books and articles and pieces from the field collected together here, as well as many original and valuable translations from the languages of the region. So this Collection forms one tribute, for we hope there will be others, to the memory of this remarkable man and his endeavours and achievements in the field of Thai/Tai Studies. We have not tried to do justice to the full scope of the Newsletter, since it also

covered economic and political affairs, such as the Beijing Massacre in 1989, which is not appropriate in a collection of this nature since many of the issues dealt with have passed and immediate reflections on them are often of limited long-lasting value. Fortunately the back issues of the Newsletter, besides being housed in the

Department of Anthropology at the ANU, are also online, so that interested readers

l

'Thailand` refers to the modern nation-state of Thailand, 'Tai' refers to the languages spoken by the dominant Thai majority population of Thailand, as well as to many smaller groups in the neighbouring countries of Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Assam, Burma and China. In China these peoples and their languages are referred to as 'Dai'.

v

may care to browse through these issues However, many interested researchers and

scholars are not aware of these resources, nor have the patience to browse through back issues looking for articles of possible interest. It was partly with this in mind that it was thought a collection which focused on some of the most valuable and potentially long-lasting of the articles contained in the Newsletter would be useful. It is because we have wished to include articles which might outlast the radical

and sweeing social and economic changes the region has recently experienced that we have included quite a number of the translations which the Project with great financial difficulty funded, those from the Chinese 'Social History' Project Reports on the Chinese legend of Phya Alawo, on the tattooing of Tai peoples in the Singsong Panna (Xishuangbanna) and their civil and criminal codes and regulations between

the sexes, besides Gehan's own translations of Thai folksongs and more academic translations from the Chinese,

of articles

dealing

with the history of the

Xishuangbanna region, Luchuan and translations from the Thai on the history of ox trading in Northern Thailand. In our opinion this is all valuable work which should be collected together and preserved in some form other either than online access or back copies of the Newsletter. The scope of the Thai-Yunnan Project, as conceived by Gehan, was extremely wide, and its name perhaps a little misleading, since it dealt not only with Thailand and the relevant (Tai-speaking) parts of China in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, but also the area of what used to be called northern Indochina; the northern parts of Laos and Vietnam, parts of Cambodia, and the Shan States of Burma which are of course

also Tai-speaking. It was from the mid-1980s that China began to open up properly for the first time to foreign researchers, and several of the International Conferences

on Thai Studies, in which Gehan played a leading part, hosting the third in Canberra in 1987, began to be attended by Chinese specialists on the Dai and other Chinese minorities from Yunnan and elsewhere in China. For students of the Thai and related Tai peoples of Burma, Vietnam, Laos and southwester China, this was an exciting time indeed, and a number of South East Asian specialists turned their attention to the Tai-speaking parts of China and visited Laos and Vietnam. The broad range of the Newsletter from Cambodia and China through Laos, Vietnam and Thailand to Burma, reflected this, and in this collection we have tried to give some idea of the scope of the project by including a useful essay on Vietnamese literature, an etymological article from Cambodia, reflections on the Kokang, Kengtung and 2

The easiest way to access these is through the 'Thai-Yunnan Project' link on the homepage of the Anthropology Department, httptfrspas.anu.edu.auJanthro-pology.

'vi Tachilek areas of Burma, and notes on the Tai peoples of northern Vietnam. The Newsletter, like the International Thai Studies Conference itself, also attempted to include a comprehensive coverage of the ethnic groups within these areas other than the Thai and Tai-speakers themselves, so there were a number of articles on the Khmer (Karamu), the Miao (Hmong), the Wa and other groups who formed a part of the historical Tai principalities (meting) of the past. Our scope here, however, has been somewhat narrower than this; we have largely focused on the Thai and Tai peoples themselves, while also including some comparable Khmu folk-tales and reflections on the We. Besides translations and pieces of folldore, then, and a selection of the more academic and learned articles which the Newsletter also contained, such as articles by

Gehan on Australian Tai studies, and a rethinking of Leach's pioneering work in the region, there are some valuable bibliographic and classificatory essays presented here, particularly that of Anthony Diller on the varieties of the Tai languages. The

final Part focuses on people and places, here we have included some obituaries since these are often valuable pieces on academic giants of the region, such as Lauriston Sharp and Kraisri Nirnrnanhaeminda, which newcomers to the region as well as oldtimers may benefit from, and some samples of the kind of travel-based reports the Newsletter often carried, covering rarely visited regions of Burma and Vietnam. The Thai-Yunnan Project hopes to continue its work on this whole region in the future with renewed vigour, this Collection forms we hope an appropriate bow towards the past, on the basis of which we can continue with our plans for new research, publications and meetings on the region over the next five years. We hope this Collection will be received in the spirit in which it is offered, a joyous bouquet of folklore and history, legend and myth, interwoven with the names and spirits of some of those who have devoted themselves to the understanding of this fascinating region and its local places.

Nicholas Tapp

May 200 I

FOLKLORE

1

The Legend of Ba Alawu (Balaiwu) As Told By Zha Jianfeng Dao Guodong1 and Wu YutaoW

(1) The Birth of Ba Alawu Ba Alawu was bom and grew up in Mengzhanbanaguan [Campanagara'?]. His grandfather was called Gusongpala. His grandmother had no name but people called

her "Yazhasun", meaning, the old woman who kept watch over the garden. Ba Alawu's grandfather died rather early, so the grandmother took [her daugl*1ter],

Wubadibangma in hand and they went to be the keepers of the gardens of the lord of Mengzhanbanaguan.

In a mountain forest far way from these gardens, there was an ancient cave known as "Tangpakang". Inside the cave there was an ox-king with 11,000 oxen as his followers. One day the ox-king came out of his cave and said to his oxen subjects:

"Friends, since we were born we have all lived in this remote mountain forest and have never seen anything of the outside world. Today I will lead you out into the world to see for yourselves." The oxen all wished to follow the ox-king out into the world. They went to all sorts of places, and on their way back they stayed for a time beside the gardens of the lord of Mengzhanbanaguan. The oxen saw that inside the garden there were ripe coconuts, beautiiiil flowers and sweet sugarcane. They entered the gardens to amuse themselves, and ate sweetgrass, sugarcane and all sorts of fruit. On eating a coconut the ox-king ate only half before letting the rest drop to the ground, feeling that he could not eat any more. He then left with the oxen, arriving back at Tangpakang the next day. On the morning of the next day Wubadibangma, who was looking after the

gardens, noticed the half-eaten coconut and then picked it up and ate it. She felt very pleasant after eating it and soon after became pregnant. This was on the tenth day of

* Transcribed by Dao Guodong and Wu Yutao. Translated by Tend Narramore. l

Dao Guodong is now (1988) Deputy Governor of Yunnan Province and is a member of one of the families which were part of the court of Wiang Pha Khrang, the capital of the kingdom of Sipsongpanna (ed.).

2

Transcribed by Dao Guodong and Wu Yutao

the fourth month in the year of the rat. On the third day of the second month in the following year she gave birth. When the child had grown to ten years of age, one day he asked his grandmother

and mother: "This garden of ours has no villages and I have never seen other people

in it, and who is my father after all?" His grandmother told him: "Grandson, ten years ago your mother ate a coconut that had been partly eaten by an ox and then gave birth to you. Your father is the ox that ate that coconut." On hearing this the child wanted to look for his ox-father. His mother and grandmother tried to dissuade him, saying: "Your father is far away in a remote mountain forest. The mountain is high and the road dangerous. Child, you cannot go there." The child was determined to go and, not being able to stand in his way, his mother and grandmother simply prepared some food and simple accoutrements forhis journey. Just before he set off his mother gave

him the hoofprint of an ox and said: "This hoofprint is your father's", and then, pointing, said, "Your father lives in the forest south of that mountain." The child walked for fifteen days before he came to the Tangpakang cave where lived the ox-king. The ox-king and his oxen were outside grazing. The child entered the cave where he saw a lot of manure and, in the place for sleeping, a large oxen's hoofprint. The child then took the hoofprint given to him by his mother and compared it to the one in the cave. They happened to be an exact match... The child then swept out all the manure and made the cave spotlessly clean. Later he thought,

"my ox-father does not know me, he might harm me when he returns". He then left the cave and found a high mountain peak where he could stay. On this mountain peak there was a small Buddhist temple where lived a god that had been changed into a monk. The child asked the monk if he could stay in the temple and, after he had understood the child's past and origins, the monk allowed him to stay. When the sun was setting behind the mountains, the ox-king and his oxen returned to their cave to find it had been cleaned. They felt very strange and a little frightened. Who had done this? The next morning as the sun came up the oxen all wanted to go out to get something to eat. The ox-king said to the oxen: "Friends, today I do not feel so well, my legs and girth are painful. You go out on your own, but be alert. Everyone must stay together and take care along the way. It seems that, judging from what we discovered last night, someone else has been here." So that day the ox-king stayed inside the cave. The next day, after the child had taken some bathing water and boiled it for the monk, he bid farewell to the monk and headed for the cave- When he saw the ox~king alone in the cave and recognized him as his father, the child ran over to the ox-king and and called out "father". The ox-king said: "Child, I am not your father, do not misunderstand." The child replied: "That's not possible. My mother has told me about how, ten years ago, a herd of oxen came to eat the grass, sugarcane and

The Legend of Ba Aiawu (Balaiwu-

3

coconuts in the garden that she and my grandmother were tending. You are my father, the one who ate the coconut that had been half eaten by my mother, and later she gave birth to me." The ox-king said: "What proof do you base this upon'?" The child then took out the hoofprint that his mother had given him and compared it with the ox~king's hoof. It happened that they were a perfect match. The ox-king then became very happy, and the child liked him very much. The child then massaged the

ox~king's legs and rubbed his back and the pain went away. The child swept the cave clean as he had done the day before. As the sun was about to set behind the mountains the ox-king said to the child: "Tonight you should sleep in the same place as you did last night because your oxen uncles do not know you and I am afraid they might harm you. When they return I will explain everything to them and you can come again tomorrow." The child then retreated according to his f`ather's instructions. As the sun set a rosy glow was reflected in the sky, black ducks and their young were noisily returning to their nests. The oxen had brought back coconuts, bananas and some fresh grass for the ox-king. When they saw that the cave had been swept clean they t`elt strange and asked the ox-king what had happened. The ox-king said: "Friends, my child came to see me." The oxen really felt strange as they carefully listened to what the ox-king said. He told them about how he was the child's father. When they heard this story the oxen all became very happy, and they wanted to meet this lovely child as soon as possible. The ox-king said: "It is already too late today. He will come to look for me again tomorrow so you can see him then." The next day, after the child had finished preparing the bathing water for the monk, he again bid farewell to the monk and headed for the ox-king's cave. The oxen had already gathered at the entrance to the cave to welcome him. From this moment

the child then lived with the oxen and they brought him all kinds of fresh fruit and delicious things to eat. The child stayed with the oxen for six years, and then thought that he should go back to visit his mother and he told this to the ox-king. The ox~king agreed to let him go. Before the child left the ox-king gave him the name "Alawu", being a combination of the word for temple, "ala", and the ox-king's own name, "Wu". On the day that he left Alawu went to say goodbye to the monk and the ox-king and his oxen escorted the child to the plains, that is, about one and a half days' journey from this mother's home, the gardens of Mengzhanbanaguan], before they turned back. When Alawu arrived home he told his mother and grandmother about the way he had looked for his father and how he had spent the last six years.... A few days after the child had arrived home, the lord of Mengzhanbanaguan died so that a new lord had to be selected... At the time for selecting a lord the chieftains used a resplendent horse drawn cart, on top of which were placed felt blankets and padded mattresses, as well as a silver plate with wax candles. Some of the chieftains rode on the horse's

4

Transcribed by Dao Guodong and Wu Yuma

back to a place outside the city. There they lit candles and prayed to the gods, saying:

"Oh gods! select for us a lord who possesses virtue and good fortune!" When the

prayers were over the horse was released. The horse drawn cart lead off and the chieftains followed along behind. When the horse had reached the garden of Mengzhanbanaguan he stood still outside Alawu's house. When the chieftains had caught up with the horse they used whips to attempt to make it move on, but the horse would not budge. The chieftains then began to whistle and dance as they welcomed Alawu as the new lord. Alawu's mother and grandmother were both very

frightened. The chieftains said: "You have been chosen by the gods to be our lord, you possess vitue and good fortune, we all support you as our lord." But Alawu and his mother and grandmother said: "We are poor people and are not belssed with good t`ortune,` nor are we good at managing things. You should choose someone else." The

chieftains pleaded with them over and over until Alawu and his mother and grandmother finally agreed. The chieftains took Alawu back to the city to be their lord, When Alawu had become the lord the chieftains found a wife for him. Her name was "Badournanatadiurni" [Padumalada Devi ?].

With Ba Alawu as the lord of Men zhanbanaguan everything was very peaceful, rice harvests were bountiful and conditions were even better than they had been under the former lord. Later, Ba AInu's wife became pregnant. (2) Ba Alawu Pursues the Golden Deer

When the gods looked down upon Mengsuo, Mengjian and Mengle they saw that these three plains were Lmpopulated. These areas were covered with grass and the gods very much wanted to have people settle on such fertile land, so the gods thought Ba Alawu should be allowed to establish meng in these three plains. Ba Alawu was very fond of hunting. One day he told his wife he wanted to go off hunting and he was able to get his wife to agree to join him. The next morning Ba Alawu beat the drums to call the chieftains and the people together for a meeting. Ba Alawu said: "I want to go hunting, what about you?" They replied that they too wanted to go hunting with Ba Alawu. So Ba Alawu prepared bows and arrows and all kinds of hunting weapons. On a fine day he led his wife, the great chieftains Mensan and Mengaile, the chieftain hunter Naipan, the chieftain Nuowai and other chieftains, and forty thousand people, and they all went into the mountains to go hunting. When they reached the mountains they hunted without result for one day. At night they stayed in the forest. The next day Ba Alawu gathered together his fellow hunters and said: "We did not even catch a single animal yesterday, let us return home today." Wishing to lure Ba Alawu to the unpopulated areas of Mengsuo, Mengjian and Mengle, the gods sent down a god that had been changed into a beautiful golden deer

The Legend of Ba Ainu (Balaiwu)

5

to attract Ba Alawu into the area. At the time when Ba Alawu had already packed up and was about to return home, he saw this beautiful golden deer. He quickly shot an arrow toward it and the arrow caught the deer's thigh, but the deer was still able to escape. Ba Alawu then gathered his fellow hunters and they set off in pursuit of the deer. They chased the deer for a great distance until the it lay down to rest. But if Ba Alawu and his chieftains approached, the deer would get up and run away again. They chased the deer to Jilawai (a vine-covered mountain) where some of the hunters found they were unable to proceed. Some of these people stayed there to rest while the others continued the chase with Ba Alawu. [Further on into the mountain] some of the people said: "There is no pathway, it is difficult to pass through the forest and

our feet are worn out through walking, we can't follow our lord any further." Thus some of these people stayed where they were. The stronger ones continued on with

Ba Alawu, travelling from Nahuiwai (where two rivers meet) to Huoha (name of a river), then to Yanhuo and Pateng (places with great rock cliffs) where one night they finally stopped after they had chased the deer for four days straight. The next day after they had eaten they thought of returning home. But then they saw a golden deer that was even more beautiful than the one they had been hunting. It was walking slowly in front of where they had stopped for the night. Ba Alawu led another group of his people to chase this particular deer. They chased it to a place with a river on the south-western side of Longwu where Ba Alawu directed the people to enclose the river bank. But the golden deer simply crossed the river and lay down on the opposite side of the river as though it were dead. Ba Alawu and his people then made a bamboo raft on which they could cross the river and reach the place where the golden deer was sleeping. As soon as they had crossed the river the golden deer again escaped. Ba Alawu became very angry and ordering his people said: "We must capture that deer today." But by nightfall everyone was resting and the golden deer had also stopped running. The next day after they had finished eating Ba Alawu and

his people were thinking of returning home when the deer appeared once again. The chase began again as they passed over several mountains and crossed many rivers, and at each place that they rested some of the people would who could not go on

would stay behind and settle down. They passed through places such as Wuwulonge, Habanglongwai, etc. Still they could not catch the golden deer. Ba Alawu tried to

encourage everyone by saying: "We surely can catch that deer." He ordered the chieftains Merle and Menjiao to lead a group of people in the chase, Naipan and a group of armed hunters were ordered to move on in front, calling out and stirring up a noise as they went. Then Ba Alawu again caught sight of the deer and he shot out an arrow. The deer fell to the ground, but as they approached the deer it again ran away. Ba Alawu again angrily said: "I must catch that deer." But the people that had followed him were tired and worn out, and they settled down on the spot. Ba Alawu

6

Transcribed by Dao Guodong and Wu Yutao

surveyed the people that had followed him in the chase, and though there were less

than forty thousand there were still many left. Later this place came to be known as Ruartnongrnenbu. [Ba Alawu and the remaining people] set off again, and by the time they arrived at Longhao they had already come to the border area between Laos and Mengle. They had been travelling for a month. They then went on further to the banks of the Suowahahuangkang River [Suvannakhom-ldlam?] (the lower reaches of the Mekong), where the deer swam across the river to the opposite bank. Ba Alawu ordered his people to stay temporarily at the river's edge so they could rest. They out some bamboo to make a raft in preparation to cross the river. Yanbenghuang led some of the people out onto the plains where they settled, while Menjiao led another group of people to Huihua (the upper reaches of the river) where they crossed the river and resumed the chase. They came to a low, concave part of the forest in which

there was a pool 01° water. They saw the deer splashing about in the pool. Later this place became known as "Nongkang" [Nomkham'?] As they went further in their

chase they came to a larger forest where the soil was damp. Menjiao settled down at the edge of this forest, and this place is now known as Mar dong in Jinghong. Ba Alawu, Menlo and Naipan led another group of people to surround a large forest in the centre of a plain (today known as Brannan). Ba Alawu then ordered Merle to block the way out of the forest and told Naipan to take a bow and arrow and go in after the deer. Naipan went in as far as a place known today as Manda, but the god that had changed into a deer had disappeared and the only thing remaining was a hoofprint. However, he chased another, normal deer to a place today known as Manzang (Manzhanlao '?) and was able to kill the deer. Ba Alawu divided up the deer among the chieftains: Menjiao was given the rear

right leg, Kangwai was given the rear left leg, Menlo was given the front legs, Naipan received the internal meat, and Ba Alawu took the exterior meat.

(3) Ba Alawu Establishes Villages in Mengle After Ba Alawu had killed the deer, he had already lost the way home so he

constructed villages {where he had killed the deer]. The names given to villages at that time were; Mande, Mar pan, Manmo, Man fun, Mandonglao, Mar dong, Manhai, Manjiuzheng, Mannong, Manjingdai, Mannongmei, Mannuandian, Brannan, Manznalao, and Manlong (Marilian). (Some people say that Mannuandian and Manjingdai were named by forest monks). Ba Alawu assigned his chieftains to manage these regions as follows: Menjiao

was assigned to manage the area near the river--Longkuang, and his title was Ba Longkuang. Kangwai was assigned to manage the area where the deer had been killed-Longdai (which later became known as Longsa), and he took the title Ba

The Legend of Ba Alawu (Balaiwu)

7

Mannuandian. Another chieftain was assigned to Manda and was called Ba

Longmanda. He acted as deputy to Ba Mannuandian. Merle was Ba Alawu's most trusted chieftain, and he was given the title Longjingbang. Another chieftain was given the title Ba Longmeng and acted as Longj ingbang's deputy. Naipan was made the official responsible for hunting, known as Nagang. He managed the forest area Longdong. There was also a Ba assigned to Longhui called Ba Longhui. Ba Alawu took the title Ba Longban-

(4) Ba Alawu and Piya Ba Alawu and his people established villages in Jinghong, but the inner plains were covered with forests, thorny vines, and thick weeds and bamboo. There were no ricefields, maize Or other grains; people found what they could in the way of grasses, plants and wild fruits, but every day there were people starving to death. When the gods became aware of this they wanted to make these plains into a

prosperous area bustling with people. The gods ordered all the birds of flight-vultures, peacocks, magpies... to fly to a far away place and to look for grains, sesame and all kinds of fruit. They were to eat the seeds and carry them back in their stomachs so that the seeds could be speed around Mengle and it would then become an area rich in food. From this moment on people came out of the mountains that were rich in food and onto the plains to gather food.... Ba Alawu's wife, Badumalatadiumi [Padumalada Devi] gave birth, and when the child was one month old the people came to celebrate and a sorceress placed a string around the child's wrist to bring him good fortune. Ba Alawu used a combination of his and his child's names in calling one of the meng Mengalamilong. When Alawa Zhaogongman [probably Caokhrongban] [Ba Alawu's son] was seven years old, Ba Alawu wanted to go on a hunting trip, so he beat the drums and called the chieftains and the people together for a meeting, had all sorts of hunting baskets and weapons prepared, and set off into the mountains with some hunting dogs. At first they caught rabbits and squirrels and Ba Alawu was very pleased because he was not too concerned about what kind of animals they hunted. If they caught a yellow muntjak [a species of deer] then all the better. After a few days, Ba Alawu was leading his chieftains and his people in to the forests in pursuit of prey as usual until they entered an area not far from where Piya lived. Before they am'ved

Piya changed into a beautiful golden deer and appeared in front of Ba Alawu. Ba Alawu was immediately very happy and he set off on horseback in pursuit of the deer. The deer ran very fast and Ba Alawu gave chase with great speed so that soon Ba Alawu's people and chieftains were left far behind. Ba Alawu soon came to the place where Piya lived, but the deer had disappeared. Ba Alawu thought of returning but he had lost his way and his followers were nowhere to be seen. He felt miserable

8

Transcribed by Dao Guodong and Wu Yutao

all alone and was also very frightened, soon he began to cry. Then Piya roundly

cursed Ba Alawu, saying, "You villain. Why do you come here to disturb me? You are something I can eat-" With that Piya opened his mouth as if to eat Ba Alawu. Ba Alawu cried even more pitifully, shaking all over he pleaded: "Let me go. Eating me is of no use. Let me return home and I can find more people for you to eat." Piya agreed. Finally, Piya and Ba Alawu made an agreement: Ba Alawu was to send one person every seven days for Piya to eat before Piya would set Ba Alawu free. Ba Alawu returned home feeling depressed and full of remorse. When he arrived home Ba Alawu beat the drums to call the people together for a meeting. Airer everyone had arrived Ba Alawu explained the sorry situation he found himself in, and asked his people to think of a way to send people to be eaten by Piya.

Everybody discussed the problem until they finally said: "How can we possibly send good people to be eaten by Piya? Let us send criminals to be eaten." Ba Alawu had a straw shed built at Baguan (Gongmanguan) where, according to the agreement, every seven days a criminal would be sent to be eaten by Piya. Finally, when all the criminals had been eaten, Ba Alawu sent his own slaves to be eaten by Piya, and they, too, were all eaten by Piya. Ba Alawu had run out of options so he called the people together again and asked each village to send one person to be eaten by Piya- Weeping, the people said: "Old people have sons and daughters, while

young people have mothers and fathers; who will be willing to send people to be eaten by Piya'?" The chieftains were also very upset, and one of the chieftains with great authority said to Ba Alawu: "This all came about because of your greed in hunting that deer. Piya has already eaten many people, we simply cannot send any more people for him to eat. You are our lord, yet you do not manage things according to the laws nor abide by the system of "fair lordship". This is your own affair, why not give your own child to Piya to eat." Ba Alawu had no alternative, so decided to send his son to be eaten by Piya....The next day, with Ba Alawu and all his people in tears, Ba Alawu's son, Alawazhaogongman, was taken to "Shanaguanya" (the straw shed).... Every seven days Piya would go to worship the gods. Once when he went up to

Heavan to worship,..Pa Zhao [legendary figure, see below] was leading a Buddhist elder, a monk and Mengtai's Ba Ashao to Mengalarnilong. When they had reached .lingliang daylight was just breaking. Later this village became known as Jillian. When they had reached Manjingdai they found some people still sleeping...-It was only later that this village was known as Manjindai. When they had reached Mannuandian, the local people prepared some food as offerings to Pa Zhao. It was only later that this village became known as Mannuandian. When they came to Baguan they a saw child crying. Pa Zhao went over to the child and asked him why he was crying. The child told Pa Zhao about his father's encounter with Piya and how

The Legend of Ba Alawu (Balaiwu)

9

Piya had been eating people, and related how he was to be eaten by Piya that very day. He asked Pa Zhao to save him, so Pa Zhao let him go and went to look for Piya. This happened to be August, the time for sowing the crops. Alawa Zhaogongman walked to a place where he saw a person called Zaibana sowing seeds. When Alawa Zhaogongman asked Zaibana what he was doing so up early, Zaibana replied [in the local language] "sowing". That is how a village known as Manjia [the local word for 'swing'} came to be built in this place. Alawa Zhaogongman wanted Zaibana to go

together with him to tell the story of his release to [Ba Alawu]- When Ba Alawu heard of what had happened he was very happy and called all his people together. He told them: "Pa Zhao has saved my child. Quickly, get elephants and horses ready so we can greet him." Thus over one hundred thousand people from all the villages

prepared some elephants and horses to greet Pa Zhao. Alawa Zhaogongman told the people of how he was saved by Pa Zhao , and the people began to dance and sing in celebration of Alawazhaogongman's rescue. Ba Alawu told everyone that today was the day that Pa Zhao and Piya would fight each other, and that they should guard against some unforseen event.

When Piya returned from heaven he saw Pa Zhao sitting on his bed....With a great roar he rushed over to Pa Zhao saying: "Who might you be, sitting on my bed like that? You are outrageous!" Pa Zhao said: "I am the Saviour; I am leading humanity to paradise [Sukhavati '?]. My name is Pa Zhao Gotama." Piya listened but still wanted to get rid of Pa Zhao. Pa Zhao sat motionless. Piya then brought out his first magic weapon. He motioned toward the heavens and immedi ately great buckets of rain fell from the sky. Pa Zhao gently raised his begging bowl toward the sky and suddenly the rain stopped. Piya brought out his second magic weapon as he flung a

great boulder toward Pa Zhao-But as the boulder approached Pa Zhao it turned into a lotus flower. Pisa was livid, and he then changed into a giant bull hoping to gore Pa

Zhao to death. But he was afraid to even go near Pa Zhao. Finally, Piya brought out his only remaining weapon, he hurled a blanket of fire at Pa Zhao. But this also turned into a lotus flower- Piya became so furious he could not contain himself and

he ran toward Pa Zhao hoping to seize him. Pa Zhao said: "You will not move." In an instant Piya was standing still like a piece of wood, unable to move. Pa Zhao chanted

a few incantations which caused Piya to recall that Pa Zhao was good and, looking as though he had become conscious, Piya recited a few words: "there is no need to fear, Shabanadenghugugei, Tangmopashatangzhaogaizhai, Sanghuopasanghapalohengdazhaogei." (Ceremonial proclamation of loyalty to Buddha, to the sutras, to all Khubc, to Buddhist elders and to Buddhist 1nor1ks).[The chant appears to have been garbled when rendered into Chinese characters. If it is what it purports to be, it should read Buddham serener gacchami, Dhammam serener gaechamf, Sangham serener gaeehamf] When he had finished reciting

10

Transcribed by Dao Guodong and Wu Yutao

Piya could move his body again. Piya immediately became prostrate before Pa Zhao and asked Pa Zhao tO forgive his sins. Piya expressed his desire to follow Buddhist ways and respectfully worship Buddhism. Pa Zhao instructed him on the five precepts of Buddhism: Mona [Pane], Adingna [Adinna], Gangmi [Kome], nus ha [Musa], and Shuna [Sara] (never kill living creatures, do not steal, do not take liberties with women; do not lie, and do not drink wine)....Piya obeyed everything to the letter and memorized the three loyalties, the five precepts and some incantations. He lifted up Pa Zhao's begging bowl and other things and returned to the plains with Pa Zhao. When they came upon a bustling, busy place Piya lead the way with Pa Zhao following behind. The people saw Piya and ran away in fright. Pa Zhao said: "He cannot eat people, you can come out." Some game people came closer, but were

afraid to get too close to Piya....Later this place became known as Jiasa. When Ba Alawu discovered that Pa Zhao had defeated Piya and had brought Piya back with him, he beat the drums to call the people and his chieftains together to welcome Pa Zhao's return. The people from all the meng came, so many that they looked like ants....Ba Alawu kowtowed to Pa Zhao and presented him with many offerings. Pa Zhao instructed Ba Alawu and Piya to make a pact: Piya was never again to eat people and Ba Alawu was to build a temple for Piya and send offerings once every year to him....From this time on Piya was known as An awa Jiazhida Pimento (the spirit master of all the m e g ) . To this day offerings are made to him

every year. In Tuozhuangdong Pa Zhao [where he now lived] told his disciples: "This is a vey nice place. In future it can serve as a place for the people to worship the dragon spirit. When I die take the bone on the crown of my head and you can begin to build a pagoda." Later this [is exactly what his disciples did]. Later generations called this pagoda Zhuangmeng_

After Alawa Zhaogongman had been saved by Pa Zhao he changed his name to Bendaha Alawa Zhaogongman. His father died when he was twelve years old, he then took his father's place as lord, responsible for Mengalamilong. At the same time he also got married. Twelve years later, at the age of twenty four, he already had four sons. On thinking back to how Pa Zhao had saved his life, he felt that to repay his debt he should go to become a monk while concurrently acting as lord. His name was then changed to Songling Pabingzhao. After another three years he passed on his .position to his son. From: Dczizu Shehui Lissi Diaocha: Xfshuang Banner [Investigations of Tai Society and History], vol. 3, pp. 13-18.

The Legend of Ba Alawu (Balaiwu)

11

Ba Alawu - Some Preliminary Comparisons Gchan Wijeyewardene

The major point that needs to be made in a comparison of the versions Of' the Ba Alawu (Phaya Alawo) stories (this one, and that in the Xishuangbanna Chronicle) and the Kham Miiang chronicles is that the Lil versions seem to incorporate two myths which are separate in the latter. The two relevant chronicles in the first volume of Annales du Siam (Stzwcm Khan Daeng and Mahathera Fa Bot) collect together a number of stories, of concern here are the legend of the golden deer and the story of Pu Sae-.la Sae. The golden deer occupies a significant section of thelfonner, and the story of the demons is tagged on to the latter. The latter story has to do with two maneating demons, who are forced into a pact with the Buddha-to-be to refrain from this

practice in exchange for an annual buffalo sacrifice. Amphay Doré draws a possible historical connection with similar legends and rituals in Luang Phrabang

- Pu See-Ja

See. In Ba Alawu the appearance of the golden deer alternates with a mysterious man-eating creature Piya. In the Chronicle the man-eating creature (Thikha) itself becomes a golden deer and is killed by the hero Bun Pan who rescues the last of Ba AIawu's daughters. Thikha/golden deer alternates with a man-eating giant dog (man khwaaf Huang). Two, of many other possible, points may be made. First the Suwan Kham Daeng Chronicle begins with the strange statement that 'In the beginning there were four bands of pigs each with a thousand followers' from one of which descended Suwan Kham Daeng. In Ba Alawu the father of the king-to-be is the leader of a band of

eleven thousand oxen. The Xishuangbanna Chronicle gives no indication of the antecedents of Alawo, though the suggestion is that the dog, first eats the men, then is reborn in human form to initiate a new line. Ba Alawu is conceived by his mother

when she eats the half-eaten coconut discarded by the ox-king. Finally, Ba Alawu does seem to act as a kind of map for the territory, a feature hinted at in Suwan Kham Daeng, but with the names dropped out. On the other hand, Suwan Kham Daeng is concerned with the instant lotion of the Inthakhin (Irzdakhila) the city pillar which is the

symbol of centralized rule. Neither Ba Alawu or the Xislzuanbanncz Chronicle have any equivalent theme, The equivalent, in at least some aspects of the lnthakhin in Sipsongpanna was probably the car mrliang, but not much is know about this. There is clearly much work to be done in the comparison of chronicles and similar narratives.

Issue No. 3, December 1988

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An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna Li Ziquan Dai Traditions Concerning Tattoos

l. Traditional Accounts of the Origin of Tattoos

1)

In ancient times, our ancestors ate raw meat and subsisted by hunting. They

used bunches of leaves and animal skins to conceal their bodies and offer protection.

From long usage, the patterns of these coverings became imprinted .on their flesh and did not fade. In ancient times, our ancestors often dreamt that their bodies were adorned 2) with beautiful patterns of flying birds and roaming beasts. When they awoke, their bodies were indeed indeliably printed with wonderful designs. The Bing bao sang Misha rneng ('On why the Dai have tattoos') tells us that 3) long ago our ancestors lived by rivers and lakes where they caught fish and prawns for food. In the vast river hid a huge monster called Mianzelun which constantly

raised the wind and waves to harm the people. The Mianzelurl specialised in mauling people who made a living from the waters, particularly those who exposed their white legs by not wearing trousers. As the Dai lived in the tropics, they were unaccustomed to wearing trousers and always entered the water bare-legged. Mianzelun Haunted his strength by ripping apart great numbers of people, causing the Dai ancestors to call a meeting and devise a counter-strategy, It occurred to the people that the sap extracted from the leaves of the maisegeng tree could be used to dye their legs black (Dai women use it to stain their teeth) and it would not fade for a long time. Thereafter, the Mianzelun did not dare to molest the Dai. in times past, there was a Dai youth of unsurpassed bravery who sought the 4) light of the sun. Day and night, year in year out, he searched throughout the world in all weathers, but always moving toward the east. He inscribed the four cardinal points on his chest with charcoal to prevent losing his way. Trudgirig through the deep forests for many years he faced frequent threats from fierce animals and cleverly c

Translated by Irene Bain.

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sought protection from them by emblazoning images of animals such as tigers,

leopards, wild bears and lions on his body. Yet these pigment and charcoal pictures were not permanent and were easily smeared by sweat or rain. To prevent this, the youth cut Lhoms from a tree and squeezed sap from its leaves to tattoo indelible

images on himself 5) Mapomiaopo ('The Story of the White Cat and the White Dog') records how a man drew dragon feet. A Dai youth named Yanzaipan cast his fishing-net upon the waters and caught the seventh Princess of the Dragon King. The Dragon King hurriedly dispatched his Minister to secure her rescue. The Minister arrived at the

house of Yanzaipan. Yanzaipan threatened that if he was not given the luminous pearl from the head of the Dragon King, he would kill the Princess and make a meal

of her. The Minister pondered the matter deeply as the luminous pearl was a unique treasure of the Dragon King and he would be as good as dead without it. So the Minister offered another priceless treasure called the pearl of the dragon's tail instead. This pearl could grant all wishes and so Yanzaipan eagerly agreed to collect it from the palace of the Dragon King. Yet he feared the water-dwelling dragon ghosts which specialised in eating humans and so he told the Minister that his poor swimming prevented him from attending the palace. The Minister replied that this posed no problem, Yanzaipan need only draw dragon's feet upon his own to become like a flood dragon and to enter the water without fear. Yanzaipan followed these instructions and was able to obtain the pearl which made him a Shatie (very wealthy man). 6) Zkaornengyangruohei ('Worshiping the Dragon'). In olden times, the Prince of the Zhaomengyang tusi [hereditary chief] possessed great strength and skill in martial arts. One year a long tree toppled into a dragon's cave. The Zhaopianling [Liao phaeirz din 'Lord of the Land'] feared that the Prince would usurp his position and planned to trap him. He ordered the Prince to dive into the water and retrieve the tree, hoping that the attempt would kill him. When the wife of the Prince (the Dragon Princess) heard of this evil scheme she travelled from Mengyang to investigate the matter. She saw that her husband had become a great dragon in Nanliujing and, in his anger, had created a raging water tempest which engulfed the territory of the Zhaopianling. The Zhaopianling was terrified and implored the Dragon Princess to placate her hLlsband's anger. The Dragon Princess retorted that she was the pfmeng (local spirit [phi ruing]) of this place and that on the fifth day of the seventh month in the Dai calendar a sacrifice of 1,200 eggs should be tipped into the Mengyang river as an offering for her. Thenceforth the Zhaopianling designated a sacrifice to the Meng, at which time a flawless black ox (valued at fifteen Yuan bankaf) would be offered and the whole Meng would undertake sacrifices. Since then, the weather has f to red the or ps and both man and beast have ii d in peace.

14 ?)

Li Zfquan

'The Colourful Snake King (Huashewong)' (Yiwu place-name). Once there

was a Zhaorneng [tsao rrzuerzg in Luc] of the Dai dwelling in Puer who had a beautiful daughter. One day the colourful Snake King forced the Princess into his

cave to coerce her consent to marriage. The Princess swore death rather than agree to such a proposal. There was a poor Dai youth of the area who daily collected firewood for a living, He was brave and honest and delighted in righting injustice. After the loss of his daughter, the Zhaomeng issued a proclamation that whosoever saved her would become his son-in-law (furn). The poor youth risked life and limb to kill the colorful Snake King and was rewarded with the Princess in marriage. The Princess made a mark beside her husband's ear to signify their` betrothal. The

Zhaomeng regretted his offer and attempted to pull the youth into a dragon pond to kill hirri. Instead of dying however, the lad became son-in-law of the Dragon King.

Meanwhile, the Princess refused to re-marry and remained constant in her affections. At last her patient search for him was rewarded and she became first wife, and the

daughter of the Dragon King his concubine. Nanmozong ('The Story of the Great Boa') A widow gave birth to a beautiful 8) daughter. One day, when mother and daughter were walking in the mountains they came across a bunch of mouth-watering tnangoes. The mother announced that if someone could secure her these mangoes she would give thorn her daughter. At that moment, the great boa coiled about the trunk and dislodged the mangoes with his tail. The two women were delighted with their gain which they quickly gathered up and ate before turning homeward. When the snake had slithered down, the women were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately the boa met a rooster rooting around for food. The snake inquired after the two women but the rooster replied 'I don't know'. The boa [finally] traced mother and daughter to their home and slept in the chicken coop. When the cock crowed the daughter awoke and, on seeing the snake, rushed to tell her mother the news. They asked the snake to sleep beside their fire pot. During the night the snake attempted to heat water to get warm and, in so doing, transformed into a handsome Dai youth. The two women were overjoyed. The snake then announced his abiding love for the girl promised in exchange for mangoes and pleaded that her mother not renege. When elder sister saw the younger girl's good fortune, she also went into the mountains. There she trussed a snake and dragged it home to her bedroom only to be devoured during the night. The Dai are descended from a dragon. The Sutra says that those who like to 9) live along the river are dragons. In order to recall their ancestor the Dai tattoo their legs with a dragon-scale pattern (similar to fish-scales). Some people cap their teeth with gold to imitate those of the dragonShepo ('The Story of the White Tiger King') One day a lone girl became 10) thirsty while collecting fire-wood in the mountains and drank a handful of water from ,

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

15

a pond. After returning home she became pregnant and some months later she gave birth to a daughter called Shao Shepo. The mother asked her daughter about the pregnancy. She realised that her daughter had eaten feces of the White Tiger King and become pregnant. When the girl was grown she went in search of her father, the White Tiger King, and he admitted paternity. The girl then became his Princess, married the Dragon King's son and became a Nanzhaomeng (wife of the Zhaotneng). Bamoufang ('The Story of the Pig King') In early times there were no monks 11) and the world was only controlled by a King who invested rank Willy-nilly upon the animals. The wild boar was appointed King Pig and gifted the three great treasures of the great umbrella which upholds heaven (the wind, sun and rain). The King

-

considered the umbrella should be armed with sharp weapons awe-inspiring sharp teeth so that even the most fearsome on earth would not dare approach. The new daughter-in-law of a Dai household was very lazy and failed to rise 12) even after the sun was high. Her mother~in-law was a diligent woman and greatly aggrieved by this state of affairs. Yet every time she sought to drag the girl from her bed she hauled her son out by mistake, much to his displeasure. She thereupon devised an ingenious solution and marked his ankle with charcoal to prevent further

mishap when she sought out the girl. The Susi feared the escape of his domestic servants and especially of his 13) body~guards. He therefore cut marks on their bodies to discourage their flight and facilitate their return.

2. Traditional Accounts ofTatlooing from the Buddhist Classics 1)

At a time now forgotten, the land was devastated by floods, the villages and

terraces of the Menu all submerged and it seemed the surging waters would engulf the Buddhist temples. The octagonal pavilion (a repository for Buddhist classics and chants) contained a great many sutras of the pazhao. The monks fled in confusion, seeking to save themselves. Only one young monk remained still and montaigne

pondered how to save the sacred works. He was suddenly inspired and taking an iron needle, threw off his robes and began to painfully puncture the scripts on his skin. The Buddhist follower Dishading (a Lohan) journeyed on foot to the Dragon 2) City where he dressed as a beggar and sought alms. The Dragon King and his daughter took human form and came to see hirn.They found him to be of most

pleasing appearance and the Dragon Princess was enamoured, despite opposition from her father. After the Buddhist follower departed, the Princess found herself

pregnant and soon gave birth to a son. When the child grew-up he asked his mother about his father and she informed him accordingly. He then left home to seek him.

The young man also became a monk and attained the status of priest at twenty years of age. The Dragon King also thought to take religious orders but the Buddhist elder

16

Lf

Ziqfuan

replied that a dragon was not suited to be a monk. The Dragon King fervently sought to devote his body to Buddha and determined to act as a throne for him. He coiled

himself up and positioned a lotus on top (Buddha was born within the lotus-petals and the Era of Sakyamuni is also termed the Lotus Period). The Dai monks admired the devotion of the Dragon and began to tattoo dragon scales (shaped as fish-scales) on their legs as a mark of respect and shared faith. Bianhadelanglai ('The Tiger Drags the Crown Prince'). The Crown Prince of 3) Mengdekasu was only seven day's old when a tiger bounded up to his bed in the

Palace- The Zhaomeng, Princess, Minister and servants were all aghast, but the tiger neither mauled the child nor dragged him off. Instead, it used the claws of its front paw to draw three indelable marks on the boy's body and stood a spear beside his bed. When the Crown Prince grewup he displayed great velour and was enfiefed as Zhaorneng.

Mosanhuo. A young woman abandoned her baby boy and it was carried off 4) by a tiger who raised it with the help of Shangyaxi (the wild monk). They collected several dozen medicinal herbs and prepared a black liquid wanapi with which they tattooed a tiger-skin pattern on the boy. The effect on the boy was miraculous, he would not deign to be touched and struck out at all who approached. Weapons could not harm him but bounced or veered away instead. On reaching adulthood he was chosen by a Zhaorneng to be his son and named Jiangangxing (son of a tiger and a wild monk). He later became a zhaomidi monk. Hansanyang. A Zhaomeng ordered that a l a n be captured and killed outside 5) the city and the brains sacrificed for heaven to consume. The heavenly spirit Baying became a ferocious tiger as large as an elephant and carried off a l a n for the wild monk and the tiger to rear. They cared for aluan well.

The Tiger King was a master of tattooing. The book of divination states: 6) 'Once there was a Bashehong (Tiger King) who told Baying (The King of Heaven) 'I am the complete man, skilled in all things. I know magic (fortune-telling and tattoing) and medicine and can revive the dead.' Baying considered this could truly be so, but also retained some doubt. One day, Baying dressed as a pauper and came

before the self-proclaimed hula (diviner), Bashehong. He asked him, 'Is Baying in heaven? to which Bashehong replied, 'He has come to earth'. Baying inquired further, 'In which village of what Menu? Bashehong responded, 'He stands beside me'. Thereupon, Baying believed in him deeply and the people believed in him also. (according to Hfnayarzn Buddhism and the original religion o f Xishuarzg Banner

investigation materials).

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

17

3. Latter-day Accounts of Tattooing [This section comprises a string of quotations collected by the interviewers] 'Tattooing is the If (regulation) of the Dai. The tusi [hereditary headman] has ruled that those who are not tattooed will be beheaded.' 'Those with tattoos are Dai, those without, are Han or Hani peoples'. 'Tattoos are manly, without them one is not a man.' 'Those with tattoos are heroes, true and brave men of ability. Those without, are yanlfbaixfu (immature), uncouth youth, savages lacking courage. They are treated with contempt and teased by females.' 'The blacker the men are (their whole bodies tattooed), the better." 'They are mighty and magnificent to behold, and loved by all the ladies. Unadorned men cannot find wives.' 'Those with tattoos can dwell among the Dai and pass without impediment, un-tattooed, one risks being murdered and beheaded.' 'After death, only those with tattoos can be identified by their ancestors, the others remain un-recognised' 'Those with tattoos will also be Dai in the next life.' 'Those with tattoos can transform into tigers and their red tattoos and magic incantations make them immune to bullets. Those who scramble for medicinal herbs, those who tear apart and consume raw meat and those who run smock can become

tigers.' Some explanations were closely related to Buddhist beliefs, such as 'Those with tattoos will ascend to heaven after death' 'Those who were officials in this life will continue to be nobles of the Zhaomeng in the next. Those who were commoners can attain the status of good persons in the coming life.' 'Corpses without tattooos will have the skins removed to make large drums for the Buddhist temples and will suffer being beaten down through the ages'. 'Those with tattoos will be reborn as humans, the rest will become red deer,

tnuntjac and such wild animals." 'Those with tattoos will be born good in the next life, but those without will become balcony pillars which are defecated against'

'Tattooing indicates one has been a monk and a believer in Buddha' 'Women with tattoos will be reborn as men.'

4. Proverbs Concerning Tattoos 'Ha yang nay ha gun yang Mai, ha gun zhe wu nay sf If nay', the gist of which is: 'the stone-oyster and the legs of the frogs are patterned, if elder brother's are not so, he is not a man.' 'She na her gun he her nay ', which may be rendered as: 'leopards and

tigers have their patterns, if a man has no design what is he'?' 'She yue Yao yue n a , gun zhe y e Yao yue hu'. The gist being: 'Leopards and tigers have patterns, youth

ought also to have ciesigns.' 'Ha lai bin day, ha lun bin he', or 'the toad has wrinkles, how can it be that a man has no tattoos?' 'Those men without ability are also without

18

Li Ziquan

tattoos." 'Those with tattoos are men, those without are women.' 'Those with tattoos are true men, those without are white water buffaloes.' The Tattooing Process

I . Tattooing Masters Most masters are Kanglang (ex-monks, also called Sanla or sorcerers, a term for those in villages with religious occupations). They are conversant with religious ceremony, the Dai script and religious scriptures, with magic (divination and fortunetelling), healing and herbal medicine, singing, dancing and music:-making, and with drawing, moulting Buddha»statues and with temple decoration. Some are adept in martial arts and the use of various weapons. Some monks are also sorcerers.

Knowledge of tattooing is usually transmitted from master to pupil but, as it was mysterious, it could not be passed to outsiders or women and only inherited from father to son or immediate family member. Those without sons or nephews may transmit their skill to outsiders, but only those who have paid well, provided a banquet and offered obesiences.

2. Collection ofT_g'gtoo_ing I_llustrations Each tattooing master possesses a hand-copied book of tattoos, a vast collection of detailed pictures covering human forms, those part-human part-beast, animal forms, those of birds, reptiles, insects, plants, utensils, tools, knives, architecture, Buddhist tattoos, cloud patterns, incantations and decorative tattoos. The book also contains captions explaining the function of the form. The master carries the book with him, hangs it in the street or displays it so that people can make their choice of designs

from those for good luck, wealth, protection against spirits, troubles and disasters, weapons, for maintaining intelligence and good health, and for enjoying the goodlife. Whatever one wants, the master can supply it. 3. Instruments

Instruments are the key to tattooing. The Travels of Marco Polo (1287) provides the earliest account of tattoing instruments: 'five needles are combined and inserted into the skin until blood is drawn'. The instruments of recent times are a great improvement and very easy to use. The best are made of cuprite, but iron and stainless steel are also used. The metal is cast into tubes comprising three sections with each section having a different function. The first section is the main needle, a

copper tube 17 cm. in length and 0.9 cm. in diameter with the tip cleft in two or four points which are pushed together somewhat like a modern fountain-pen nib. This stylus can dispense ink or other colourants. The second tube is 18 cm. long and one

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

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cm. in diameter with screw threads at either end for attaching the other tubes. It is this part which the master holds. The third part is a diamond-shaped block of lead (or sometimes a lead ball) which is 12. cm. in length and 1.5 cm. at its widest. The major function of this section is to increase the pressure being applied. The three parts form a single copper needle 40 cm. in length and weighing about 200 gm. There are six types of needle with two, four, six, eight, ten and twelve points. The two-pointed needle is the finest and the coarsest is that with twelve points. Fine needles are used to tattoo detailed patterns and the coarse needles to tattoo simple religious incantations and linear decorations.

4. Ink Tattooing ink consists of pigment and medicine, so it contains a c o l o r , cure and

spiritual component. Colourant: is only for decoration and is not tattooed deeply into the skin. a) Lampblack or sap from indigo leaves is mixed with gall from a bear, red deer, ox, pig or fish. Lampblack is obtained by making a fire of kindling soaked in with pine resin in a large covered pot. The ash will collect on the underside of the lid. Common Chinese black ink may be substituted for these pigments-

Curative: This medicinal liquid is made by very experienced tattoo masters b) who collect up to several dozen medicinal herbs which they wash, dry and place in a special wooden tub. In pulverising the herbs the use of iron tools is prohibited and only bone utensils such as ox or red deer horns may be used for cutting or crushing the ingredients. The crushed herbs are put in a new cloth bag and compressed with a

stone to extract the medicinal liquid. It is said that this type of medicine comprises a mixture of numbing, hot and bitter tastes. The animal gall is used as an antiphlogistic to both kill disease and prolong life. c) Spirituality: is also obtained from herbs mixed with gall and ash produced from paper inscribed with religious quotations. Otherwise, a precious stone is used to rub a stick of compressed-ink powder to make wanshapi which can be used to prevent injury from weapons.

Herbal dyes are generally dark green or light blue. Red is produced from a fruitjuice called 'maxi' but cinnabar is also used. Colours are divided into aqua, dark green, black and red, with red being the most spiritual . 5. Anae5thetic

There are two types of anaesthetic, namely herbal medicine and opium. The herbal medicine is specially collected and infused by the master using the utmost care to prevent poisoning the recipient. Indeed, most masters are old sale of long experience. As the herbal medicine is slow to take effect its anaesthetising effect is poor and

20

Li Ziquan

clients must be men of brave heart and fortitude. Opium is a form of poisonous anesthetic which has a very rapid and effective result. The amount administered must be measured with extreme care however, (usually an amount equivalent to the

tip of the little finger) as there have been cases of death from overdose. 6. Tattooing Ceremony

Three or four different sorts are common in different areas and, in recent times, these have also been influenced by religion. Secrecy. The tattooing is often undertaken deep in the mountains or on an a) 'isolated island' with the aim of increasing the mystery of the event. Isolated islands are places surrounded by water, symbolising separation from the world. The remote mountains and. the dense forests are similarly far from human settlement. Tattooing is a kind of cruel 'art' and one must undertake aesthetic training and leave behind the secular world- In a gloomy and silent place the tattoo ancestors make their presence felt for only in the absence of human interruption will the tattooing ceremony be successful. During the ceremony a spirit altar to the tattoo ancestor is prepared using bamboo to make a large square box (50 cm. square) upon which 5 Chi [167 c:m.] of new white cloth is spread. A paper umbrella is erected on the box and a roll of cloth, some rice, bananas, sugar cane, candles etc. are added to symbolise the spiritual place of the tattoo ancestor bohuwubucha. The tattooing master first worships the spirits and prays for protection of the process. He then gathers all those wishing to be tattooed into a group which collectively how-tows and prays for protection against festering sores and for potent tattoos. The Buddha Provides a Proof. The tattooing master (sometimes an elder b)

monk acting in a part-time capacity) tattoos the monks and young boys in the temple and the ceremony is the same as that for worshipping Buddha. Evidence of the Buddha's Decree. The tattooing master applies the tattoos in c) the octagonal pavilion (a repository of Buddhist sutras). In this case an ex-priest (kanglang) is not suitable as it would be inappropriate for him to show his skill in the temple. The Buddhist superior or Cuba inscribes the magic figures (as the greater the spiritual knowledge of the individual, the more efficacious is the symbol). Witness by the ancestor. The tattooing master places a spirit altar in his d)

house. A picture of the tattoo ancestor is hung above and it is fearful to behold, with hair and beard forming a spiky mane, round eyes and long, sharp, protruding teeth. Its fiendish body is hairy from head to toe and it holds a magic tablet called an and in

each hand. The offerings are as above. Sometimes the tattoo master goes to the house of those who wish to be tattooed to hold a ceremony and tattoo. Tattooing masters are ofter itinerant as this provides a chance to display their skill. Tattooing may be

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

21

undertaken in the recipient's house, in which case a commercial transaction is involved, but no ceremony.

7. Prohibitions Pertaining to Those with Tattoos l) 2) 3) 4)

Do not kill living thing. Do not commit theft. Do not indulge in uimatural relations between the sexes. Do not cheat people. Do not eat food which others have consumed or food which has been gnawed

5) by rats. 6) Do not walk beneath a bridge (as others can stand over your head and the tattoo will lose its efi'icacy.).

7) 8)

Do not pass beneath the awnings of a bamboo house. Do not pass by a woman's skirt which is drying on a clothes-stand.

9) Do not pass beneath an angled luffs (Lula acutangula) growing on a trellis as the luffs resembles the female genitals in shape and is unclean. 10) Do not pass beneath a bamboo tub. 11) Do not partake of dog-meat or lamb. 12) The common people are not permitted to tattoo the pattern of the tiger (this is for those of tusi rank, but this regulation is falling into disuse).

18) Do not permit strangers to visit your house in the month following tattooing. A sign should be placed at your enterence to prevent such an occurrence. Tattooed persons should adhere strictly to these precepts or their tattoos will become ineffectual and unable to prevent injury from weapons. Those who bear tattoos to which they are not entitled or who consume prohibited foodstuffs will rot

and their brains become addled. 8. Payment of the Master The master will strike a price and receive payment before beginning a tattoo. According to our investigations the highest price is forty Y u a n banzai (Dian

[Yunnan] currency under the old system). The usual sum is about ten yuan, but can be as little as one Yuan or some eggs and cotton. There is no uniform price and fees are determined freely between the parties concerned. If sons of the higher ranks of tusz' request tattoos then the price can be raised and, conversely, greatly reduced for impoverished persons. If an official hosts a banquet to offer thanks to a famous tattooing-master he may have a feast and slaughter a pig or ox, but the common people offer vegetarian dishes and, at a bare minimum, may only tender a meal of simple fare.

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Li Ziquan

9. Age of Tattooin2 This -can vary greatly, ranging over 10 years old to about 50. Most people are tattooed between 12 and 30 years of age with some being tattooed in two stages: on the waist and legs when they are 15, and then on the back and chest when they are 20. Most people consider the best age for tattooing is between 20 and 25 years of age. If a recipient is only 12 or 13 years old at the time of tattooing the bones and the muscles are not yet full-formed and as the skin stretches with later growth the pattern becomes distorted, unclear or even disappears. People around 20 years of age are considered to be fully-developed. Those who request tattooes at around the age of 50 do so to obtain longevity. Women are only partially tattooed, generally on the backs of their hands and wrists at about 20 years of age. 10. Positioning of Tattoos The Dai use both full-body tattooing and individual tattoos. Some interviewees stated that the Dai-Luc subdivision of the Dai (the Water Dai) tattoo the whole body whilst the Dai-nie subgroup (the Land Dai) are only partially tattooed, but this is not a strict distinction. a) Full-body tattooing includes the head (skull, forehead, temples, bridge of the nose, behind and before the ears, on the lips, tongue and back of the skull [occipital bone]), all of the neck, both shoulders, the indentation above the collar~bone, the chest (flanks, arm-pits, belly and waist) upper arms, t`ore~arrns, wrists, back of the hand, the skin between thumb and fore-finger, the knuckles, the back (buttocks and pelvic region, excluding the genitals), thighs, knees and calves. (The feet are generally not tattooed, but in our investigation we encountered a number of cases.

These people are referred to as 'iron-feet'). Some people also tattoo their joints.

M_9;hod

b) Partial body tattooing involves the upper-arms, wrists, back of the hands, the back and calves, all of which are embossed with simple linear patterns, incantations or magic symbols such as birthdays, names or humourous patterns. 11.

of Tattooing

The copper needles should be sterilised either by boiling or rinsing in herbal medicine before tattooing commences. The same process is repeated after tattooing to avoid transmitting disease. The tattooing master must worship the tattooing ancestor and pray for a safe and smooth operation. He then asks the recipient his time of birth as this may be either hard or weak (indicating a favourable or cruel fate in life). The

tattooing treatment varies accordingly. If the treatment for favoured persons is admin stored to those of less fortunate disposition these poor souls will suffer sorely and even risk death. After ascertaining the time of birth, the strength of the pulse is checked and the complexion of the recipient is classified as being red, purple or

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

23

black. Again, these require different tattooing treatment- If persons of a black complexion are tattooed three times they will become immune to injury from weapons.

The recipient is rubbed all over with antiseptic until the tattooing-master considers the person protected. Then he is administered opium as an anesthetic. c) The drugged individual is laid face~down or up on a grass mat and two or

four strong persons steady the limbs. The tattooing-master squats beside the body (Dai people are accustomed to sit on the ground) with his feet astride or pressing down upon the part to be tattooed. He bends over and holds the tattooing stylus upright with the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand (as if holding a caligraphy brush) and makes a fist of his left, leaving the thumb and fore-finger extended to steady the stylus. He punctures the skin to a depth of 1 mm. with a downward movement and blood appears when the nib is retracted. The master tattoos in a rapid, tapping, free-form manner.

If all goes well tattooing normally requires about one week, but if redness or

swelling occurs the healing process will require much longer. On the first day the left leg is tattooed, on the second the right, the third day is for recouperation, on the fourth day the hands and arms are tattooed, on the fifth the back, on the sixth the chest and on the seventh the head. If the person is very strong, a so-called iron-man, the whole process can be completed in three to five days. Inflammation and fainting will occur for the next one or two days and the whole body will be feverish. No solid food should be consumed for four days. Instead the recipient can drink more water and take some brown sugar. On the third or fifth day scabs will form and on the fifth or seventh day these will peel off and reveal the tattoo, but this time differs. Some people take 15 days to be tattooed in four stages with three to four days of

recuperation between each session. Indeed, some people even take five years between the ages of 15 and 20. At 15 years of age the legs and chest are tattooed and at 20 the back and waist. In summary, the tattooing times vary according to the stamina of the individual and sometimes an accident may occur during tattooing and severe inflammation or overdose may kill the recipient. 12. Tattooing for Different Sexes Before the 1950's about 95% of all males now over 50 years of age were tattooed. Fewer people are tattooed in the areas near the interior and around the cities. Females were not generally tattooed, but this depended on location as tattooed females are

relatively common in the Damenglong district of Jinghong County.

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Li Ziquan

13. Ranks of .T_a¥;tooing

In times past, there were different classes of Dai tattoos. The Xinan Yi Fengtu Jo ('Record of Customs Among the South-western Barbarians') (llth Year of Wanli, Ming Dynasty [1583]) records that those from the the lower social ranks were only tattooed on the legs, higher ranks on the waist and officials on the shoulders. This tattoo ranking system lasted until recent times. Pre vi ously, only the nobility could be tattooed with lions, tigers and dragons or with the c o l o r red, and commoners had to content themselves with linear patterns on their calves and forearms. Those who disobeyed this ranking system would be punished or ridiculed or their flesh rot and death result. The officials of the tusk, military officers (kunhen [Khufu Ha:n]),

elephant officials, horse officials, spear officials, sword officials, and his body-guards and the kunhan of large villages were required to bear tattoos with magic symbols to ensure protection against weapons. Monks were tattooed on the shoulders and novices on the fore-arms. The common-people could be tattooed on the feet and hands. With the evolution of society, weakening of the Susi system and especially commercialisation of the tattooing system, the tatttoo~masters have become moneyminded and ignore the tattooing stipulations. Commoners can now tattoo any pattern whatsoever as long as they can pay. Many patterns are now popular among the masses and may be tattooed on any part of the body. 14. Types of.Tattoos

As tattooing is a popular Dai custom and links between religion and sorcery are strong, a great many types of tattoo can be found. In tattooing it is the scars which form the pattern and the most common I) colorant is black. Inlaying involves inserting gold or silver, a precious stone or a piece of flat 2) metal on which a tattoo picture is carved into a cut. The skin then heals over the embedded object. Swallowing a piece of flat metal on which a tattoo picture is carved or burnt 3)

paper on which a tattoo was drawn. A tattoo picture marked on a piece of flat metal or paper is placed in a cloth 4) bag and hung around the neck on a piece of string, worn on the arm or hung from the waist. A tattoo pattern is drawn on cloth which is sticked to form a special, spiritual, 5)

tube-shaped wrap which is draped over one shoulder. Tattoo pictures are drawn on pieces of white spirit clothing which is worn by 6) mounted horse~men going into battle. Tattooing is an agonising process and some

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

25

have been known to run away when they could bear the pain no longer. Others have abandoned the attempt mid-way through fear, have fainted, bitten through the tip of their tongue, gnawed the pillow to a pulp or torn the mattress. The last three methods listed above have been developed as substitutes for such suffering. The Dai consider that only the technique has been changed, the significance is still the same. '[_he Prgoteggtive Function of Religious and Superstitious Tattoos Tattooing the tiger Shehonglong protects the bearer against the tigers and leopards of the forest and against injury from weapons. Tattooing the Tiger King Bashehong protects the body and prevents injury from weapons. Tattooing the tiger and the religious term s h a n g gives great courage and prevents injury from weapons. Tattooing the tiger eating the pig Shelaimou signifies protection against weapons because even the pig which is flexible and fleet of foot can be consumed by the tiger, king of the beasts. Tattooing the seven-sectioned tiger can prevent injury. It is said that the Tiger King Bashe can divide into seven segments during a fight and that each segment goes in a separate direction. There are eight cardinal points but Bashe has only seven segments (four limbs, a head, body and tail) because Buddha did not give the Tiger King food. The seven-sectioned tiger is a tiger spirit similar to the tiger cub [ b i o ] of the Han Chinese. The story of the seven-sectioned tiger is explained in detail in the text 'Bashelong'. Tattooing the King Pig Bamou protects the bearer from being gored by a boar while in the mountains. Similorly, dogs will not dare to bite or, if they do, their teeth will fail to penetrate. Tattooing the Pig King and the incantation Mouxishuang, or the Pig King and the three umbrellas of Bamoufang protects against knives and spears. Tattooing the pig spirit Moufang protects the bearer from injury by animals. Tattooing the gecko and religious quotations grants protection similar to

received from parents. Tattooing this symbol on the mouth gives eloquence and an appreciative audience. Geckos are classified as having one or two tails- The two-

that

tailed gecko signifies civil and martial skill, capability and universal success in business. The Gecko King had five hundred followers.Tattooing the black-scaled insect Mianbu protects the bearer from poisonous snakes or centipede bites or, if one is bitten, the animal will fail to secrete its poison. Tattooing the mole cricket Mianzhuang gives the bearer priority in becoming an army officer. Tattooing the monkey Ling gives the bearer intelligence and cunning. Tattooing a belt of linked monkeys Linglainayao engenders respectful admiration of the bearer and fearlessness

in the face of death. Tattooing the peacock Luoyong gives beauty to the bearer.

Tattooing the peacock spirit Jinnah grants beauty and protection. Tattooing the golden bird makes the bearer liked by all and also gives protection. Tattooing the phoenix Bahong protects the spirit of the bearer. Tattooing the Ox King Bahuai and a religious quotation prevents illness. Tattooing the Sheep King and a religious

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Li Ziquan

quotation earns the bearer trust and grants persuasiveness. Tattooing the Snake King prevents dog-bites and makes one fleet of foot. Tattooing the King of the Beasts Yuzhai gives protection from disasters as he is controller of the world and only he can prevent calamity. Yuzhai can fly and is empowered to travel everywhere. The text Laishaomeng provides a detailed account. The tattoo Moyalong is the great sorcerer, the tattoo ancestor and can empower the bearer. Tattooing the great sorcerer and the symbol and can prevent disasters and offer protection against demons. Tattooing the great spirit Bayaman gives protection against spears and grants success in commercial affairs. Bayaman opposed the Buddhist monks and also went naked. His disciples killed even their own parents without conscience in order to become his tattooing pupils. Tattooing iinmortals gives protection against spears. Tattooing the great spirit Padong of the pointed head and covered eyes or the Parnao (also with a pointed head) gives protection against knives and all other forms of threat. Tattooing the great spirit Mianyanzhuang makes the bearer quick-witted. Tattooing the greatest spirit Lahti gives unsurpassed bravery and protection from weapons. Tattooing the classic text 'Tanrnu' gives protection against illness or injury from weapons. Tattooing the text title 'A, la, an' does likewise. Tattooing the incantation Kata or

the symbol Xin or Ang protects against spirits and weapons. A tattoo of the Pall character abanaiuo (exactly one thousand 'o' characters must be tattooed or the symbol lacks efficacy) acts like armour and can protect against bullets and spears. Tattooing the Buddhist Pazhao and adding the incantation Kata puts fear into ghosts. Tattooing the Buddhist pagoda Pagewa or the Buddhist temple Pasa grants the protection of Buddha. Tattooing the Buddhist jewel Pazhaoxiangse prevents pain, illness or attack by ghosts when travelling at night. Tattooing the great Buddhist ghost Papi prevents injury from knives and prevents guns from firing. Tattooing the

Dragon King Bala gains protection from the dragon's spirit and prevents drowning. Tattooing the Lion King Shedir grants beauty, protection by the spirit and prevention of injury from weapons. Tattooing the lotus Nanmo prevents one from sinking more than waist-deep or drowning while swimming, fording streams or working in the water. Tattooing the great bell Gongpalang grants beauty and prevents the bearer being drowned by water spirits. Women who tattoo a cross [+] show that they are truly Dai. Those who tattoo a weaving loom Hanpi evince their womanhood and will become men in the next life. Similarly, women who tattoo the weaving loom Shabi will remain Dai in the coming life and those women who are tattooed with an inverted triangle will not be used as temple drum»skins after death. Tattooing the head with Mao or Guohe protects the head from being beaten or, if one is killed, restores life the following day. Those who tattoo religious scripture and the incantation Nolie will have heads of iron which cannot be penetrated by weapons.or

shattered by an explosion. The tattoo Mohelie works similarly and also protects the

An Investigation of Tattoos Among the Dai of Xishuangbanna

27

head from being struck by rocks. Tattooing a triangle made up of three dots prevents fainting. Tattooing Pali script on the tongue gives eloquent speech which is pleasing to listeners. On the neck it offers protection against weapons. It prevents the wrists from being bound or becoming sore. On the chest, waist and back it prevents injury from spears and behind and before the ears it prevents the skin rupturing if struck. Tattooing Yan on the shoulders prevents the bearer being trussed by even the strongest bonds. Tattooing Mianbu on the arms or hands gives protection against poisonous snakes and prevents sore joints. Tattooing scissors on the hands and feet prevents attack by water monsters, snakes or crabs and guards against drowning. Tattooing a red Mao on the chest causes the opponent's gun barrel to explode or fail to fire. Tattooing a snake pattern on the thighs prevents attack by dogs or leopards. Three swords tattooed on the calves give great courage. Tattooing a concentration of black tattoos on the arms, chest and back produces thick skin which weapons cannot penetrate. Tattooing rhomboid shapes on the joints prevents rheumatism and arthritis-

Tattooing one's own name on the neck, arms or chest prevents one becoming lost. Tattooing one's birthday on the hands or wrists will ensure longevityFrom: Xishuangbarzna Daizu Wencher Diaocha (Investigation of Tattooing Among the Dai Minority of Xishuang Banner) Daizu Sheri Lissi D:'aocha.'

Xfshuangbanna [Investigations of Tai Society and History: Singsong Panna] VOLIU, p=p.11I-120, I22~3.

Issue No. 4, March 1989

28

The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna * 1. Murder: i. If a Daoba (Polang) has murdered a commoner (be they adult or child) and a case is not lodged against him, the reason must be identified and, if none is apparent, a fine often-and~a-half silver bankaiyuan' will be served against him. ii. If one harbours resentment toward another and instructs someone to do violence to that person which results in murder, then the initiator of the crime and the assailant shall each pay half of a fine based on the price of a person (1,500 silver bankai Yuan)

.

iii. If an evil person is caught in the act of administering poison, that person will be executed. iv. Those who commit patricide or defile the Buddha will be exiled from the Meng. v. Fines for murder will be waived under four circumstances: a) A husband, be he headman or commoner, who murders his wife after discovering her adultery.

b) Those who kill a person of evil intent or one who is cam/ing fire-arms or knives with murderous intent. c) A household-head who kills an intruder who has run amuck in his house

during the depth of the night. vi. Yuan vii.

d) Those who apprehend and kill a thief engaged in the act of stealing. A person who knifes another during argument will be fined ten silver barrkai If relatives (including persons who come to the home to conciliate affairs)

who have been invited to your house for drinks are not escorted home and are murdered en route, the household-head will be deemed responsible. If the host requested that the guest reside in his house but the latter demurred and returned home alone, the household-head will not bear responsibility for any ensuing misfortune. * 1

Translated by Irene Bain. A silver coin worth half yuan. This was referred to locally as banzai, yuan.

The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna

29

viii.

If a robber who has committed murder seeks to enter a monastery as a monk and is accepted by the abbot, the High Commissioner of Pacification must first investigate and approve the matter. ix. If a son commits patricide, his hands should be hacked off but his life spared. This is a reasonable punishment (The Chinese translator notes that this clause contradicts clause four above).

x. A wife who poisons her husband will be fined ten-and-a-half silver bankai Yuan. xi. A husband who poisons his wife will be fined sixteen-and-a-half silver bankai Yuan.

xii.

If a husband finds his wife to be adulterous and murders both parties this is

not a crime. If the husband requests fines from both parties, the wife must pay seventeen yuan and the adulterer in accordance with his rank as follows, a commoner of the first rank seventeen-and-a-halfyuan, a headman of the first rank twenty-seven Yuan and a chief of the first rank, thirty-three Yuan. In the case of a Lulang Daoba, no fines are incurred.

2. Bodily Harm: i. If blood is drawn during a tussle, a fine of seventeen-and~a-half Yuan is incurred. ii.

A husband who beats his wife, and pursues and beats her again after she has

sought shelter in the house of the headman must pay a fine of seven yuan to the headman. iii-

If the husband beats his wife and she is found and given shelter after

escaping or attempting suicide then he must repay the benefactor for her food-costs. 3. Seizure of Public or Private Land:

i. Those who infringe the Meng boundary will incur a penalty of fifteen Yuan. ii. Those who seize farmland or vegetable plots will be penalised thirteen-and-ahalfyuan and must return the stolen land.

4. Damage to Public Property, Private Property and to Production: i.

Damage to public property, a) Demolition of road-side houses which sell goods will incur a penalty of seven-and-a-halfyuan.

b) Damage to a bridge will incur a fine of seventeen-and-a-halfyuan. c) Knocking or cutting down the trees of heaven which surround another village will incur a fine of sevenyuan.

30

Dao Guodong et al.

d) Cutting down the 'dragon' trees belonging to another village will incur responsibility for the ceremonial costs of the whole village. If a resident of this village dies then compensation must be made in accordance with the price of that person (1,500 yuan).

ii.

Damage to private property, a) Hewing down another person's house will incur a fine of ten-and-a-half yuan. b) Inadvertently burning down another person's house will not incur penalty if the house of the guilty party is also destroyed. This party must, however, pay for sacrifices to the ghosts, twenty~seven yuan if the person is rich and a minimum of six yuan if poor.

iii.

Damage to production,

a) Cutting down banana trees belonging to another person, penalty three Yuan. b) Cutting down betel-nut palms belonging to another person; penalty sevenand-a-halfyuan . c) Hewing down the house of another person, penalty ten-and~a-halfyuan. d) Demolishing a house located in the fields, penalty ten-and-a-halfyuan. e) Digging a channel in the fields of another person, penalty three yuan. D Riding an ox or horse through the fields of another person which have been harrowed but not yet sown, penalty three yuan. g) Riding an OX or horse through the fields of another person which have been sown, penalty seven Yuan. h) Riding an ox or horse through the fields of another person in which the grain is already golden, penalty seventeen-and-a-halfyuan.

1) Using a gun to shoot grain-eating sparrows while people are threshing the crop, penalty ten-and~a-halfyuarz. j) Using a gun to shoot small birds which alight on the roofs of other people's graneries, penalty three yuan. k) Carelessly shooting an ox while out hunting requires compensation in accordance with the price of the ox (the meat remains the property of the hunter). If a person is also injured, the hunter must meet all medical costs.

l)If oxen or horses are grazed carelessly and consume grain belonging to another person, the ensuing fine will be in the range of nine to eighty~one tiao of grain (a unit of measure equal to the amount of rice carried in two

baskets slung across either end of a carrying pole) for damage by oxen and seven-and-a-half to seventy-two f i a o of grain in the case of horses. Compensation should be offered if a vegetable patch has been ravaged.

The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna

31

m) If oxen or horses belonging to a certain family eat vegetables from the patch belonging to family A, and are hacked to death by a person of family B but he or she cannot be found, then party A should offer compensation. If the animals are only injured and are returned to the owner, but he/she refuses to accept them, then a conciliator will sell the animals and repay the original owner who will then be fined three Yuan.

n) If oxen eat vegetables and the owner fails to collect them after being notified three times, the oxen ought to be given to the chief. If the owner then requires them, he/she must buy them back from the chief, in addition to receiving a reprimand. o) If chickens or ducks consume grain from the fields and the owner fails to respond after receiving two or three requests from the afflicted party, then the

iv.

poultry may be slaughtered and half returned to the owner. If the owner refuses to accept, then the birds should be sent to the chief. If the poultry is slaughtered without prior notice, then the owner ought to be compensated and the grain losses of the afflicted party met. Death or injury of livestock, a) Cutting off an ox-tail without cause will incur a penalty of ten-and-a-half yuan. The ox should then be sold to the culprit at a stipulated price. b) A hunter who carelessly kills an ox must give compensation according to

value (the meat will be awarded to the hunter). If a person is injured, then all . medical costs should be covered. c) If an ox or horse belonging to another person is tethered without his/her knowledge, compensation ought to be paid in accordance with value. If the

animal dies, further compensation should be forthcoming, and if the animal was killed for consumption, then four oxen should be given to the ownerd) After the fields have been sown, written notification should be given to other villages requiring them to tether their oxen and horses. If three such

missives are ignored, the owner of the wasted fields can kill the marauding livestock. One leg of the carcass must be sent to the chief, and one to each headman. The field-owner can consume the remaining Ieg(s). Other parts of the carcass are to be divided among the butcher, the owner of the animal(s) and the field-owner. e) If an ox is found but the owner cannot be contacted, the animal should be harassed, led to the village centre and reported. After the owner has been

found, he should redeem the animal at a cost of one-and-a-half Yuan for a water buffalo and one Yuan for an ox. If the owner cannot be traced and the beast remains unclaimed, it should be divided equally among the chief and the headman. Oxen and horses should be tethered some distance from the

32

Dao Guodong et al.

fields and pregnant cows should be kept at home. If oxen or horses escape and cannot be tethered, assistance should be sought. If even these combined efforts fail and the animal(s) enter fields belonging to another person and are killed by him/her, no redress should be sought. 1) Fences should be erected around fields which are close to the village. Livestock should be watched carefully. If animals ravage the rice or vegetable crops and the owner ignores three notifications to take action, then the animals may be slaughtered. Half of the carcasses should be returned to the owner and the rest remain the property of the afflicted party.

5. Violation of Irrigation Regulations: Those who do not participate in repairing water channels, but still monopolise large quantities of water shall be fined the-eeyuan. In cases where two families own adjoining fields and one is discovered :: stealing water, then appropriate action will be taken.

6. Public Procedure and Traffic Regulations: Beating the drum in the discussion chamber without justification, penalty

ninety-nine yuan. ..

Blowing the ox-horn at night without justification, penalty ten-and-a-half

If an elephant-driver fails to give right-of»way to a vehicle, a penalty of ten~ and-a-halfyuan will be imposed by the vehicle-driver. If a pedestrian fails to give way to an ox, a penalty of three Yuan will be

imposed by the ox-herd. If an ox~herd meets a person leading a horse and fails to give way, then the latter may impose a fine of sevenYuan. If an elephant-driver meets a person leading a horse and the latter does not give way, then a fine of ten-and-a-halfyuan will be incurred. If a boatswain carelessly overturns the craft he/she must compensate losses. ...::

..:

7. Theft: Theft of one chicken, penalty ten chickens Theft of one duck, penalty nine ducks Theft of an ox, penalty four oxen

TheN of a water buffalo, penalty four water buffalo Theft of a pig, penalty nine pigs Theft of a person, penalty four persons

The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna

ix.

Theft of wood used for roofing, penalty ten-and-a-halfyuan Theft of a fish, penalty half yuan Theft of a tethering post, penalty threeYuan

X.

Theft of firewood, penalty three yuan

vii.

viii.

33

xi. Theft of firewood which has been stacked in the mountains but not yet carried h me; pe ally three y Theft of the posts used to fence fields, penalty ten-and-a-halfyuan xii. Theft of unfenced trees of heaven, penalty ten-and-a~halfyuan xiii. xiv. Theft of a string of betel-nuts, penalty nine strings of betel-nuts xv. Theft of a basket of grain, penalty nine baskets of grain xvi. Theft of Buddha-money; penalty servitude in a monestary xvii. Theft of a pregnant water buffalo, penalty three adult animals and one-and-ahalf calves. xviii. Theft of a pregnant cow, penalty three adult animals and one-and-a-half calves.

xix. xx.

Theft of a pregnant sow, penalty five pigs and five piglets Theft of another man's wife, in which the husband has no knowledge of the detailed circumstances, penalty ten yuan. After details are understood, a fine of thirty-one-and-a-halfyuan should be paid. If the wife has been stolen for more than

three days and the husband still has no detailed information, then no fine can be imposed. xxi. Theft of slaves will not incur a fine if the slaves are returned, but the owner must be compensated one silver coin for each day of absence. xxii. If a person gives shelter to a thief he/she will be deemed a thief; if the person

assists in and aprehending the criminal, no penalty will be incurred. xxiii.

Sheltering thieves or criminals will incur a penalty of ninety-nineYuan.

xxiv.

If a person unwittingly provides shelter to a thief who then perpetrates a

crime, the host must pay a fine of thirty~three yuan. xxv. If oxen of another village are stolen but fellow-villagers remain unaware of the thief amongst them, they cannot be held responsible by the owner of the animals, otherwise the whole village must be held culpable.

8. False Accusation of Theft will incur a penalty of ten~and-a-halfyuan.

9. Marriage: i.

Betrothal a) If bethrothal does not lead to marriage within the prescribed period, then a new partner may be sought.

34

Dao Guodong et al.

b) If a fiancée receives engagement gifts from her betrothed but then declines to many and elopes to the home of her beloved, she will be fined two yuan. c) If a couple agree to marry but parental consent is denied and the woman subsequently changes her mind, she will be fined seven yuan. d) If a woman is compelled to marry a man she dislikes and has left home in consequence, no fine will be incurred if the household~head returns the brideprice. ii.

Divorce and seperation

a) If marital relations are poor and the husband rejects his wife, he should pay her twelve Yuan and a penalty of one-and~a-halfyuan to the headman. b) If a wife mistreats her husband and wishes to be rid of him, she ought to pay him fifteen Yuan.

c) If a husband has provided for his wife in terms of food and clothing and they later agree to seperate, the woman should not receive compensation. d) If the husband treats his in~laws poorly and they cast him out, be is entitled to take those items which he brought with him. e) If a husband has already deserted his wife for three years ,the marriage can be deemed void. If he returns before three years have elapsed, a marital relationship is still considered to exist. iii. With regard to illigitimate children; ( a translation from a text kept by the Tiao family of the Belong rank in Menglong is provided by the authors)

In the region between Manrnai and Longle it is considered that an unwed mother should travel to Jingweng and offer in sacrifice a pig (weighing approximately twenty to thirty catties), four chickens and a table of "muhLlan" which should all be sent to the "Nangzhaomeng" (wife of the chief).

If the father desires to wed the woman, he ought to proffer sixty-six grams of silver, four strings of betel-nuts, four pairs of candles, one chicken, two small bottles o/` wine, a pair of hind pig-trotters and a table of "muhuan" containing 132 grams of silver, four strings of betel-nuts, four pairs of candles, a pair of t`owls, two small bottles of wine and a pair of pi s-trotters. If the affair did not occur in Longle then the business must be settled at the home of the chief. If it transpired during the period when sacrifices were being offered to the Long, a fine of 1,165 grams of silver must be paid. At other times, a penalty of 330 grams of silver applies.

If a child is bom within the first year of marriage, a penalty of sixteen-and-ahalf grams of silver is incurred, of which between a quarter and ten grams should be offered to the Long spirit. A further 525 grams of silver should be paid, of which 150 grams passes to the discussion hall, two-and~a-half grams to the "Balonggao", two~ and-a-half grams to the copy clerk, a quarter-gram to the "Zhankang", and the

The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbarma

35

remainder divided into three parts , one each for the chief, the discussion hall and the Menu "purse" (the Chinese translator notes that this sum will probably be allocated to public expenditure).

10. Vilification of Women: i.

Rape, Rapists will be severely punished in accordance with their rank and

position. ii. Adultery a) Between those of the Hani and Dai minorities i) Adultery between mountain-dwelling minorities and Dai women, penalty seven-and-a-halfyuan ii) Adultery between Dai males and Hani women, penalty seventeen-anda-halfyuan b) Between commoners and head-men (trans. note, the term headman in this usage is generic and also refers to his wife, as applies in the usage of chief; below.) i) Sexual relations between a commoner and the wife of a headman,

penalty ten-and-a-halfyuan ii) Sexual relations between a headman and the wife of a commoner, penalty seventeen-and-a-halfyuan c) Between head-men and chiefs i) Sexual relations between a headman and the wife of a chief, penalty twenty-two Yuan ii) Sexual relations between a chief and the wife of a headman, penalty thirty-two yuan d) Between commoners Sexual relations between a commoner and the wife of a commoner, penalty sixteen-and-a-halfyuan e) Between head-men

i) Sexual relations between a headman and the wife of a headman, penalty twenty-eight yuan ii) Sexual relations between a chief and the wife of a chief, penalty 111.

thirty-sixyuan Taking liberties with married women

- embracing another man's wife,

a) Involving a Hani and a Dai i) If a Dai man embraces a I-Iani woman, penalty ten-and-a-halfyuan

ii) If a Hani man embraces a Dai woman, penalty seven yuan b) Involving head-men If a headman embraces the wife of another headman, penalty ten-and-a-halfyuan

36

Dao Guodong et al.

c) Involving chiefs If a chief embraces the wife of another chief, penalty twenty-two yuan Suspected misconduct iv. If a man who is entertained in a house goes upstairs without reason and then departs without explanation, he need not be questioned if the house contained women. What can he have been doing? If he was not eaves-dropping or stealing he must have had an assignation (sometimes the woman will not dare to appear if she knows others are at home). If the man is not related to the woman of the house, then he must be a thief and he should be fined three yuan. If the two were indeed having an affair, then a penalty of ten-and-a-halfyuan applies. v. Regulations concerning the suitability of witnesses in cases of misconduct with women

In cases of rape or molestation the following persons may testify, wealthy people, true adherents of Buddhism, honest laborers who hold fast to Buddhism, those of candid character who would uphold the innocent, those who have remained blameless for three generations, charitable souls who often give sacrifices to Buddha and alms to beggars, those who often listen to scripture-readings and Offer Buddhist prayers and those of upright character. Persons unsuited to act as witnesses are, the elderly, minors, women, drunkards, gamblers, womanisers, lunatics, mutes, venal persons, forgetful persons, singers and dancers, members of beggar gangs, liars, persons with impaired senses, exiles, those who delight in the misfortunes of others, those who sell and then repossess women who were once servants, self-opinionated persons, misanthropists,

relatives or enemies of the accused.

11) Inheritance and Division of Property' l.

Assets and debts, a) If disputes among siblings result from confused transfer of property following the death of both parents then the assets ought to be divided into three portions, one to be used in offering prayers to the parents, the second

for the siblings and the third for the High Commissioner of Pacification. b) If the relatives of a deceased husband seek to partition his finances and property, this will be divided into two parts, one distributed in accordance with the intent of the deceased and the second part allocated by the wife. c) If the husband desires to return home, his in~laws will allocate property to

ii.

him. If both husband and wife die, the property will cared for by the parents. If the parents are deceased then control will revert to the relatives. Debt repayment and debt-bondage

The Feudal Civil-Criminal Code of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna

37

a) If a husband borrows money without the knowledge of his wife, she cannot be held responsible after his death. b) If children repay a debt incurred by their father they need only recoup the capital, the interest should be waived. c) If details concerning interest were not clarified at the time of borrowing,

this sum cannot be requested at a much later date. d) If a debt cannot be repaid, the parents or relatives may sell the debtor to relinquish the debt.

iii.

iv.

Rent of land or oxen a) If a landlord repossesses mountaimfarmland or ponds which a tenant has created and rented for five years, the tenant must be paid a development fee b) If a rented ox is stolen, the user must compensate the owner for the ox, in addition to paying the rental fee c) Compensation is not required when a rented ox has died before being used for ploughing. The user must compensate half the cost of the ox if it dies from illness and according to value if death results from usage.The user is not liable if the ox dies several days after being returned to the owner. d) When tenants return fields to the owner they should offer four pairs of candles and four strings of betel-nuts Guarantees relating to the sale of miscellaneous items; Sellers should specify the warranty period (for instance whether the item

can be used for one month, two months) before the buyer makes a purchase. If product quality suffers during the specified period, the seller will be liable for a fine in addition to providing a cash refund. V.

General procedure for restoring lost property

a) Any person picking up gold or silver which is lying on the ground must give half to the High Commissioner of Pacification as a form of punishment. No other person may lay claim to any part of the find b) Lost property may be picked up if three inquiries do not bring forth the owner. The affair should be announced to villagers and the item placed in storage. If the owner reclaims it, he or she must portion one-third to the finder, otherwise the repossession will be deemed a theft. c) If livestock or poultry are found in the mountain terrace-land the owner must pay the finder half a silver bankaiyuan coin. If animals are returned by a resident of another Meng, this person should receive two Yuan., or two-anda-half yuan in the case of a water-buffalo. If the animal was found on the boundary of the settlement then half of the value of the animal should be

awarded to the finder.

38

vi,

Dao Guodofz et al.

d) If lost animals are slaughtered without giving prior notification to villagers this constitutes a theN. If animals are butchered after giving notice, the finder must give compensation in accordance with value to the owner. Those responsible for shepherding animals belonging to the High

Commissioner of Pacification or a chief must recompense half the cost of lost animals. if the father has died the debt must be bore by his sons. vii. Method for dealing with lost animals in the Menglong region (translated from a book kept by the Tiao family of the Belong rank in Menglong) Each October and November (of the Dai calendar) the "Ba" will announce to the common people "If you have found lost oxen, care for them well". If there are no claimants, the "Zhaobo" should notify the "Naijia" (Jiezhang) The "Naijia" will travel through the village calling for " the person who has lost an OX to come and reclaim it". If three such announcements elicit no response, the "Zhabo" ought to inform the Polang following completion of sacrifices to the Long. He should also lead the animal to the chief and report the matter. The chief ought to give 825 grams of silver which is nine-tenths pure for an ox, 150 grams for a water buffalo and 200 grams for a horse. The Pol am will receive eight-and-a-quarter grams of silver for an ox, eleven-and-a-half grams for a water buffalo and twenty-five grams for a horse. This sum will be divided into three portions; one part will be given to the discussion hall and the remaining two-thirds will be given to the "Zhaojia" to divide between the chiefs of each "Huoxi"[ho sip]. The "huoxi" who found the lost animals will receive from the chief 150 grams of nine-tenths pure silver, a jug of wine and ten thousand betel-nuts. The recipient(s) should give the Pol am sixteen~and~a-half grams of silver and one thousand betel-nuts.

[(From: Dao Guodong et. al. "Xishuangbanna Daizu de Fengjian Fagui he Lilli Guicheng" [The Feudal Legal Code and Customs of the Dai Minority in Xishuarzgbanna], in Daizu Sheri Lishi Diaocha: Xishuangbanna [Investigations of Dai Society and History: Sipsong Panna], 10 vols., ed. Minzu Wenti Wuzhong Congshu Yunnan Shena Pianji Weiyuanhui [Yunnan Editorial Committee for the

Five Series on the Nationalities Question] (Kunming: Yunnan Minzu Chubanshe, 1983-7),3I 29-36. Issue No. 3, December 1988

39

Instructing Wives in the Etiquette of being a Daughter-In-Law* (Translated from a text kept by the chief of Manfeilong) How a married woman ought to act: A wife faces many difficulties and so she must hold to reason and carefully administer to the affairs of the household. As a woman you should not think yourself able to live independently. You must marry. When you enter the man's house you should be skilled in all matters great and small, you should sweep the upper and lower floors daily, tidy all the rooms with patience and forbearaNce and refrain from frolicking like a little girl. You should love

and protect your husband and desist from playing around with youths to avoid raising his suspicions. Settle yourself and take up your household duties, guard the gate,

weave clothes and a few squares of red~thread head-scarves, sew new shirts and a few long skirts with colorful waist-bands. Do all these tasks well. Hold in mind the benevolent up-bringing given by your parents. Care for your husband with patience, cook rice and vegetables with suitable salting and speak softly. When the men enter the mountains to cut kindling, you should hung to complete your tasks and offer a timely welcome, inquire from whence they came, commend

their labours and request them to rest! When your husband enters the room you should hung to lay the meal before him and entreat him to eat. Bring forth tea, pour water and attend to his every need. After the meal, wash the dishes, sweep the floor and go directly to feed the pigs and chickens. Rest awhile before taking up your spinning, then work on it till night-fall. Set aside the spindle and carry the fire-wood to prepare the evening meal. When this is ready, invite your husband and his parents by kneeling down and raising your hands. When your husband rises follow after him and sit after he is settled- Wait for your husband to take three servings before taking one yourself, only thereby will good fortune adhere to your house.

After dinner, clear away the dishes and take up your sewing once more. When you have worked two or three Hang ( a unit of weight equal to 50 grams) and the hens

*

Translated by Irene Bain.

40

Dao Guodong et al.

are cackling, the moon is in the tree-tops and the whole family is resting peacefully, then walk quietly to the foot of the bed and how~tow to your husband three times. Unloose your hair and sweep it thrice across the soles of his feet. Your pillow should be four inches lower than that of your husband and you should not sleep with your head at the same level as his. Arise before day-break and revive the ashes gently to avoid getting cinders in your eyes. Cook the meal on the re-kindled flame, only adding the left-over rice when the new grain is half-cooked.. Boil a kettle of hot water on the hob, ready for the man when he arises. When it is day-light, sweep the court-yard and the rice will be cooked by the time you have finished. Turn the rice out onto the bamboo mat and allow the cool breeze to waft away the steam. Take a little of the rice and present it on the spirit shrine then return the rice to its container. Husk more rice and carry the water. By then, the man will have arisen so you should quickly bring him water to wash his face and offer him an opened towel with your out-stretched hands. Go immediately to stir-fry the dishes and, after laying out all the bowls, invite your husband to come and eat. Clear away the dishes and bind to your waist the squarebottomed bamboo basket in which you carry your knife before joining with several sisters and friends to collect fire-wood in the mountains. Do not tarry, but gather a large quantity of wood and bear it home happily. Check whether the water vat is empty. Household affairs are a matter of careful daily concern. Firstly, you should be

worthy of the exhortations made by the elderly and secondly, the neighbours will praise you as a good daughter-in-law. If you have the good fortune to become a daughter-in-law of the headman then you can step out with pride, but bear in mind, do not be haughty or conceited, be congenial with the servants, do not venture out

alone before dawn OI' after dark, divide the items given to you by the common people among your friends and speak with gravity, only thereby can you be the daughter-in law of a (Zhao ran) chief The servants will love you and the common people support you. Of the bad, you should also be informed, those women who treat their men-folk poorly and who cannot manage household affairs will be un-loved and divorce is the only solution. You are all urged to abstaih from laziness lest run ours arise that you are unscrupulous. No-one will want you then. If your ears are blocked to edification and you retort to your husbands with curses, you will henceforth be regarded as a devil-widow by all. Another type of woman is she who does not go to the home of her husband and, when he comes to her home, leaves him and refuses to prepare his rice and vegetables. No one would dare to want this sort of woman-

Instructing Wives in the Etiquette of being a Daughter-In-Law

41

(From: Dao Guodong et al. "Xishuangbanna Daizu de Fengjian Fagui he Lilli Guicheng" Feudal Legal Code and Customs of the Dai Minority in Xishuangbanna], in Daizu Sheri Lishe Diaocha: Xishuangbanna [Investigations of Dai Society and History: Sipsong Panna], 10 vols., ed. Minzu Wenti Wuzhong Congshu Yunnan Shena Piano eiyuanui* [Yunnan Editorial Committee for the Five Series on the Nationalities Question] (Kunming: Yunnan Minzu Chubanshe, 1983-7),3:41-42 Issue No, 3, December 1988

42

Zhuang Frog Worship* Yu Shi~jie Zhuang frog worship is most evident in the 'Frog Festival' which is still held in Nan~ dan, Dong-Ian, Tian-er, Ba-ma, Feng-shan and He-chi of the Red River [Hong-shui] catchment in Guangxi Autonomous Region. This celebration is also known as the 'Frog-woman festival' or Mai-ma-guai, Mai-guai meaning frog in the Guangxi dialect. The festival is an annual event held in the first lunar month and lasts between three to five days and one month. On the first day of the new lunar year the villagers' gather and walk to the fields, beating drums and gongs as they go. The first person to find a frog calls out and is immediately surrounded by an excited throng. Three or seven bangs from locallymade firecrackers notify the spirits that a frog has been captured. The finder of the first frog is considered to have good luck for the rest of the year and receives congratulations from the other villagers. This individual then encloses the frog in an intricately carved coffin and places it in a palanquin made of wood and coloured paper. Two young men, surrounded by villagers beating gongs, then carry the chair to the She Huang temple or pavilion outside the village where the coffin is placed. In the evening the villagers reassemble here to keep vigil beside the coffin. They are in a joyous mood, the elderly beating gongs and bronze drums and the young people performing the frog and bronze drum dances in time with the music. This group of

young men and women sing folk-songs throughout the night. The fess vities continue until the day for burying the frog-coffin. During the period of the coffin vigil, the village children continue to catch frogs and to parade through the village singing and dancing to the accompaniment of drums and gongs. At each door they pause to sing the "Frog Song" and offer good

* 1

Translations by Irene Bain. According to Guans-xi Fend-wu Zhi [Gazeteer of Guangxi Scenery] edited by Mo Jie (1984 Guangxi Minorities Publishing House), the scope of the ceremony encompasses several villages and between 10 and 20 youths are involved in searching for the frog. This account suggests that the frog is considered to be auspicious because it eats harmful insects and so protects crops trans.

-

Zhuang Frog Worship

43

wishes to the household head. The household head responds with gifts of rice, zongzf [glutinous rice dumplings which have been wrapped in bamboo leaves and boiled, glutinous rice cakes, meat, coloured eggs and so forth which are offerings to the frog. In fact, only a small portion of these gifts are placed with the frog, the remainder are divided up and taken home since it is considered that children who consume these offerings will be strong and clever, young people healthy and the

elderly blessed with long-life. A suitable day for burying the frog is selected. That morning the villagers erect bamboo poles at the pavilion where the frog rests and top these with different coloured flags- At the appointed lucky time, gongs and drums are beaten and firecrackers lit as sacrifices to the frog. Youths wearing all sorts of crudely-made masks dance in clever imitation of the frog to the sounds of bronze drums, skin drums and .so-no homs. Each villager carries a triangular flag of coloured paper and

an elder leads them in carrying the frog-coffin around a field outside the village. The villagers sing the "Frog Song" as they carry the frog to a specified site where the coffin will be buried and soil heaped on top to form a mound. The villagers first disinter the frog buried the previous year and examine the colour of the corpse to determine prospects for the coming harvest. Blackened frog~bones indicate an unlucky year of natural disasters, bleached bones portend a bumper cotton crop and This yellow bones presage favorable growing conditions and abundant grain custom has a long history; in discussing the customs of Nan~dan»tu Prefecture, the Gazetteer of He-chi County records that "during the first lunar month villagers in each settlement bury frogs to the accompaniment of gongs and drums and will stick coloured flags in the grave mound. On the eve of the new lunar year they divine their

fortunes from frog bones".' Zhuang frog worship is also depicted on bronze drums. Guangxi possesses the largest collection of bronze drums in China and most have been excavated or obtained from areas of Zhuang settlement. Since 1949, a number of drums from the Warring States [475-221 BC] and Western Han [206 BC-8 AD] periods have been

2

'Frog Burial' by Hu Meng-sheng in Guangxi Min-zu Yan-Jfiu Tong-xun

[Guangxi

Ethnographic Research Bulletin] Vol. 7, published by the Ethnographic Research Association of Guangxi, Ou»yang Run-xiu et. al. Literary History of the Zhuang , Vol. 1

pp. 79-80, 'The Frog Festival' by Tan Jiao-ping in Records of Customs among the Minorities of Guangxi , Guangxi Minorities Publishing and fieldwork by the author in

Nan-xiaI1~dan.

Huang Zu-yu, He-chi Xian-zhi [Gazetteer of He-chi County] Vol. 2. 1919 relief-print.

44

Yu Shfjie

excavated in Gui~xian, Tian-lin and Tian-dong Counties." These bronze drums can be divided into four different shapes. Four or six cast frogs can be found on the edges of' most types of drum. Those from Long-zhou and Qing-xi have a large cast

frog bearing a smaller one on its back. It is evident from historical records and from drum excavation sites that the Long-shui~chong, Bei~Iiu and Ling-sham shaped drums were distributed in the region of present~day Yu~lin, Qian-zhou and Nan-ning.S Zhuang frog worship is also depicted on cliff murals. The cliff mural made by the first Zhuang on Hua Shan [Mt. Hua] at Ning-ming is the largest yet found in China. The mural comprises over 1,000 figures of humans and animals. Only the Hue-shan Mural contains such a large number of figures. The figures are all drawn in the same stance, with both arms raised but bent at the elbows and the knees bent in a corresponding manner.

Some scholars in China consider that this posture

resembles that of a frog preparing to leap and represents the first Zhuang imitating frogs during the dance for the frog sacriiice.° Indeed, contemporary Zhuang frog dancers at the Frog Festival bear a close resemblance to the figures in the cliff murals.

The Origin Of Frog Worship: Religion only emerges after societies have reached a certain stage of development. During the earliest stages of human history it is common for natural phenomena which are closely associated with everyday life to become the objects of worship. The Zhuang are agriculturalists and archaeological material provides evidence that agricultural production was developing in Guangxi during the earliest stage of the Neolithic Period and by the late Neolithic this primitive agriculture had recognizably improved. By the end of the Warring States period, agriculture occupied a significant place in the economic life of the Lug-Yue. The Records of Wu Ti in the Han History

4

.M_.M

Tan Yi-ran, 1955: 'Bronze Drum Discovered in an Ancient Grave in Gui County, Guangxi', Wenwu Camkao Zi-liao, Vol. 7. Cultural Work Team, Guans-xi Autonomous Region, 1978: ' A Brief Report on Excavation of Grave No. l at Luo-po-wan, Gui County, Guangxi', Wen-wu , Vol. 9. Cultural Work Team, Guangxi Autonomous Region, 'The Bronze Drum Grave at Pu~tuo, Tian-lin County, Guangxi', Wen-wu , Vol. 9. Cultural Work Team, Guangxi Autonomous Region, 1978: 'Discovery o f a Grave from the

Warring States Period in Tian-dong, Guangxi', Kao-gu [Archaeology] Vol. 6, 5

Hong Shena, 1974: 'Research on the Ancient Drums of Guangxi', Kao-gu Xue-bao, Vol. 1 and Jiang Ting-yu, Concise History of Bronze Drums, Wen-wu Publishers.

6

Mo Jun-qing, l986: 'A Detailed Discussion of the Cuo Jiang [Cuo River] Cliff Mural', Min-zu Y a n i u Vol. 6. Liang Ting-wang, 1987: ' A Hypothesis to Explain the Distribution of Hua Shan Cliff Murals in the Cuo Jiang Region', .San-yue San Vol. 6.

Zhuang Frog Worship

45

note that "South of the Yangtze River [they use] slash and burn techniques before growing paddy". The section describing the Jiao~zhou hinterland in- the "Commentary on the Water Classic" [Shut-jing Zhu] states that "During the time

when the area was divided into Counties, there were Luo fields in the Chao River valley. The farmers who cultivated the land were known as Leo-min, people of Luo. From these accounts it is evident that the history of Zhuang agriculture is comparatively long. According to the Ye-wu Zhi [Chronicle of Oddities] the people of Luo-Yue cultivated two rice-crops per year during the Chin and Han dynasties. Knowledge of nature and the capacity to alter natural conditions were extremely limited, particularly among those who were heavily dependent on the impact made by the natural world on agricultural production. In terms of rice cultivation the role of water was crucial to ploughing, harrowing, planting and seedling growth.

In the

period before irrigation developed, rice production was reliant of rainfall. Although Guangxi has a subtropical climate and abundant rainfall, the monsoon and the mountainous topography make drought, waterlogging and low temperatures common

occurances. Of these natural disasters, drought is the most common, particularly in springtime. The likelihood of spring drought is 70-90 per cent in the west, 30-50 per cent in central Guangxi and 3-10 per cent in the east.' These drought conditions frequently precede spring ploughing and adversely affect prospects for harvest. The miriad changes in the weather were beyond the comprehension of the first Zhuang and they devised explanations for processes, conditions and causes which they could neither explain nor control. After a long period of observation they discovered that

frogs had a close association with the thunder spirit since shortly after the frogs chorused, thunder would roll. The Zhuang personified and socialised this

relationship to produce the tale of the frog spirit and the thunder spirit as retold in the "Frog Song" and similar myths. According to an account from Dong-Ian County, the frogs are the children of the thunder spirit and the humans who slaughtered the frogs

-

incurred the thunder spirits' wrath a great drought in which "birds built nests in the river-beds, mice lived on the lake-bottom and the Dragon King became a pauper begging everywhere for drinking water." Only after the people undertook a solemn funeral ceremony for the frogs under the direction of the ancestors By-luo~tuo and Mu-Iiu-jia did the thunder spirit allow rain to fall. After this event, the people made annual offerings to the frogs. A traditional account from Feng-shan County relates that the frogs were sons of the thunder spirit who interceded on behalf of humanity and were cast to earth by their father to act as messengers from humans requesting

_ 7

Guangxi Quo-Qing {Conditions in the Guangxi Area}, Guangxi Min-zu Chu-ban-she [Guangxi Minorities Publishing I-Iouse], p. 12.

46

Yu Shijie

rain. The humans appreciated the honest words of the frogs [presumably those which caused their downfall] and presented offerings, witholding nothing. When the frogs died, the people held funeral rites to send their spirits to heaven, thereby hoping to obtain assurance of bountiful harvests. A story from Tian-er County tells of a drought in ancient times. The Zhuang sacrificed pigs and sheep under the direction of Bu-luo~tuo and placed frogs on top of the bronze drums as offerings. The frogs were touched by the sincerity and suffering of the people and called for their father to let rain fall. After this, the people worshipped the frogs every year.° Although these stories differ in detail, the common core is that the thunder spirit controls rainfall, the frogs are his children and they have been sent to earth as messengers. Humans who want bountiful harvests should worship the frogs or risk devistation by drought. This worship evolved into a request for rain, but also a joyous celebration.

The Nature Of Frog Worship:

Zhuang frog worship is a form of primitive religion, but whether it can be termed totemism is a question requiring further research. Totem is a term taken from the language of the Ojibwa American Indians, meaning 'his relatives'. Totem worshippers consider that their clan has blood-links with a certain plant, animal or natural phenomena and name themselves after it. The Pan-hu worship of the Yao is a clear example of this. Yet when Zhuang in most districts are asked to explain why the first Zhuang worshipped frogs they make no mention of a blood~relationship or of totemic function. As discussed above, the Zhuang worship the frogs to obtain rain and this constitutes an agricultural sacrifice as part of nature worship. By contrast,

the Yao worship of their ancestor Pan-hu who married a daughter of the Geo-xin clan

and begat six sons and daughters who intermarried to produce the 12 Yao family names, is totemism. From Fan Hong-gui and Go You-shi (eds.) 1989, Huang-zu Lun-gao (Collected Papers Concerning the Zhuang Minority) Guangxi Ren~min Chu-ban-she (Guangxi Peoples' Publishing House).

Issue No.8, March I990

8

On-yang Run-xiu et. al. Zhuang Literary History, Vol. I pp. 80-4.

47

The Prince and the Moulmein Market Girl Gehan Wijeyewardene The elliptical style of the Charan Manophet 'folk song' is well illustrated in his telling of the tale of Sukasem, the son of a prince of Chiangmai, and the Moulmein market girl. It is a song of allusions which ultimately depends on the prior knowledge of his listeners. What follows is a fairly literal translation of the Thai.

Ma Mya Ma Mya was a market girl from the city of Moulmein, As beautiful as the moonlight. They came to woo her, bemused with love of her. But Ma Mya loved none of them.

She gave her heart to a noble youth, The son of a lord of Chiangmai. When his student days were done, must he then abandon Ma Mya? It was like a knife through the heart, like a sword. Secretly she followed her love.

He was the son of a prince, She a woman of Burma.

Tradition would not allow it, and they must part. Oh, that day when he must send her home!

The prince ordered a caravan of elephant And bade her farewell with tears. With leaden hem, Ma Mya lowered her head And anointed his feet with her hair. She said farewell to him, and to this world. The Prince soon died of a broken heart.

Ma Mya ended her days as a nun. Oh, Love is often like that.

When first released the song was sung by his partner, Sunday, whose voice, in

his early collections, enriches the Northern Thai lyrics, like veins of honey through a

48

Gehan W eyewaJ'defle

treacle cake. Some of his fans think the quality of his songs and of his performance never recovered when, on her marriage, she left the partnership and the country. Charan says the song gave immense trouble at its recording, as Sundari could scarcely contain her tears while singing it. He also says he rarely performs it at concerts because of the emotion it generates in the singer. There is pathos in the story, but why does it somehow seem more than any other story of frustrated love? Perhaps we need to reconstruct the circumstances in which those pathetic characters fulfilled their destiny. But can one really imagine the Moulmein of that period? It was not so long ago, but it is also aeolus away. Moulmein

was a sleepy fishing village on the Gulf of Martaban which the British turned into an admin strative town after the first Burmese war in the 1820s. The British imposed harsh conditions on the Burmese, and Arakan in the west and Tenasserim in the southeast passed into their hands. The new provinces were administered from Calcutta, and Moulmein became an outpost of Empire, largely because it lay at the Mouth of the Salween, the conduit for the teak of Upper Burma and the principalities of northern Siam. Moulmein was originally, probably, inhabited by Mon, for this is a an area in which Mon and Karen-speakers predominate, but early in the nineteenth century the Burmese presence must have become quite considerable. We have however no idea as to Ma Mya's ethnic affiliations. The Thai accounts treat her as Burmese, and they have no doubt that the language she shared with Sukasern was

Burmese. Kipling was once on a ship that made a brief call at Moulmein, and out of that visit came the sentimental 'Road to Mandalay'. Kipling never went to Mandalay, and there are no flying fishes four hundred miles from the sea. But by a stretch of the imagination the old Moulmein pagoda might be thought of as the beginning of that

road, even though time may have dimmed his memory and put the town on the wrong side of the bay. By all accounts it is a beautiful location, but it was a little town, and at the time of Kipling's visit, not of great importance. During the latter part of the l 9th Century the French and British colonial empires stood like the jaws of a nut cracker, ready to break open the north west dominions of the Bangkok kingdom and make an insignificant meal of the kernel. When the British took Ava and laid claim to the territories of the deposed king, there were some, like the American Presbyterian missionaries, who looked with mixed feelings on the possibility of an Anglo-French boundary on the Chao Phraya river. European colonization would greatly further their attempts at missionization

- the British had

given more or less carte blanche to their fellow American Baptist allies in Burma, but the French sometimes seemed to look none too kindly on heretical pratestants. During this time the weak princely rulers of Chiangmai had been all too willing to make the most of the teak trade, in fact they sometimes sold leases many times over,

The Prince and the Moulmein Market Girl

49

giving the British the excuse to threaten intervention in protection of their economic interests. In the 1870s Bangkok began to tighten its grip on the control of the northern principalities, and after the Shan revolt of 1902, the last traces of autonomy began to disappear. The Shan were mostly British subjects and the British Consul's intervention to bring the revolt to an end, could not in the long run have given the court in Bangkok much comfort. Sukasem was the nephew of the ruling prince, his younger brother's son. Sukasem's father was to be the last recognized prince but no one was yet to know that. Moulmein was throughout the 19th century Chiangmai's most convenient link

with the outside world. In the 1850s and 60s, missionaries made the arduous journey up the Chao Phraya and the Mae Ping rivers to Chiangmai, first Roman Catholics, who did not stay long, then the bearded Scottish-American Presbyterians, McGilvary and his companion Jonathan Wilson. Periodically the prince and his court made the reverse journey down to Bangkok, to drink the waters of allegiance to the monarch.

But as early as 1820 British officials from Moulmein were visiting Chiangmai and the other princedoms of the north, cattle trains were trading with the British, the trade in cattle between Moulmein and Chiangmai, became a matter of state importance, and it was hoped the Chinese caravans would soon travel to the British-Burmese port as well. It seems that in the early years of the 19th Century, the still powerful King of Ava discouraged trade, by his subjects or by the caravans which passed through his dominions, with either the British or Bangkok. Until the railway finally came to the north, first to the town of Lampang, the most convenient means of communication with the outside world was through Moulmein. Though the missionaries travelled through Bangkok and were provisioned through Bangkok, their mail came via . Moulmein.

So Chiangrnai had long-standing links with Moulmein, and it seemed that members of the nobility from time to time sent their children to be educated in the British schools of that time. Which school Sukasem went to is not known, perhaps it was St Patricks, said to be an old school, now perhaps operating under another name? So at the age of ten or so, this great-great-grandson of Kawila, the liberator of Chiangmai from the Burmese, went to learn about the big world outside to a school in colonial Burma. We do not know how he spent his years there, where he lived and what he learned. All we do know is that he fell in love with a teenage girl, the daughter of a

tobacco merchant, who sold her father's wares in the market. Her name was Ma Mya,

a common Burmese name meaning 'Emerald'. When he returned to Chiangmai he was sixteen, Ma Mya, fourteen.

Members of the court met the young prince at the border, and are said not to have been too surprised that he had brought a young school friend with him. They

50

Gehan We"eyewardene

spoke to each other in Burmese, which none of the court, or servants, could understand. On reaching the palace the two young people retired to the prince's

rooms and locked themselves away from everyone for a number of days. But the secret could not be long hidden, and the palace soon knew that Sukasem had brought back a young Burmese girl whom he said he was going to marry. Sukasem's family was not only the ruling family of Chiangmai, and every other northern principality of Siam, it was connected by marriage to the Cakri dynasty, for Dara Rasmi was one of Chulalongkom's queens. Dara Rasmi was the sister of the reigning prince and of Sukaseln's father. Photographs convey her appeal to us over the years, her erect posture, her round, attractive, unsmiling face, full lips and disdainful eyes. She was married very young and entered the harem in Bangkok. It was from all accounts a dreadful experience. It was a society of intriguing women, who, because the newcomer was young and favored, did all they could to make her life miserable. She was disdained as a country bumpkin and subject to all kinds of

petty indignities such as having smelly condiments, pickled fish, associated with the

food of the provinces, hidden in her sleeping apartments. She had one child, who died young. She was forbidden to return home for many years, being held hostage for the good behaviour of her princely relatives in Chiangmai. She is now much revered in Chiangmai, but it seems she also grew up into a hard and imperious lady. The Princess Dara Rasmi is thought to have been most adamant that no marriage between Sukasem and Ma Mya be recognized. To allow such a union would be to present the heir to the princedom into the hands of the British consul. The latter might even claim the prince as a British subject on the strength of the marriage. Under old northern law, a man on marriage owed service to the feudal master of his wife, not to his own, if the two were not the same. Of course, of the family, Dara

Rasmi was probably in a better position than any other to assess the views of the Bangkok court and the diplomatic consequences of the marriage. So the teenage lovers were parted, and the story goes, when Sukasem bade goodbye to his Ma Mya at the Hai la gate, now known for its silver shops, she knelt and bathed his feet in her hair. But die reason the story captured the imagination was the way in which the two people pursued their lives, each in his and her own way apparently renouncing any real compromise with the world. Ma Mya was ordained a nun, a Buddhist nun, and spent the rest of her long life in the order. Sukasem was sent to Bangkok where he was married to a childhood acquaintance. He died at the age of about thirty, never, it seems, coming to terms

with his society or his time. The story also goes that Ma Mya was informed of his approaching death and returned to Chiangmai, but was not allowed to see the dying

man.

The Prince and the Moulmein Market Girl

51

It is a simple tale, but it has worked its way into common discourse. Charan says that mothers admonish their sons, 'Don't fall in love with a Burmese or a Shan. All you'll get is a broken heart like Sukasem'. The people of Chiangmai think Burmese women are particularly beautiful. In a world besieged by the sentimental, songs, films and television, the story of Ma Mya and Sukasem is easily slotted into a familiar niche. But the story comes from a time before that sentimental onslaught and perhaps there is something more than a love song. Perhaps there is an appreciation of a passive rebellion. Rebellion in that a pair of teenagers could decide that nothing in life was worth more than their commitment to each other, passive, because they bore the costs of rebellion themselves, with no attempt to defy the institutions of the

society that demanded the sacrifice. Note: The two Thai sources of the Ma Mya story which are reasonably accessible are an interview of Charan Manophet Yy Ca Ca .. Caron Manophet (Rocka-bye. Chatan Manophet) by Siray and Chan, Bangkok: P-M. Publishing, 1984 and Chfwit Rak Caw Chiangmai (Loves of the Princes. of Chiangmai) by Prani Sirithom no Pathalung, Chiangmai: Sahanavakit Press 1980.

I am grateful to Roy Hudson and his A Magic Tour of Burma for information]§onEMoulmein, and for his comments on Kipling's visit. Issue No. 5, June 1989

52

More On The Princess Dara Rasmi Gehan Wijeyewardene In 'The Prince and the Moulmein Market GirT (Number Five, June 1989: 2648) I included some comments on the Princess Dara Rasmi. A recent issue of the Thai journal Sifpawatrhanarham (Number 13, October 2532) has an article which takes a rather different view of the princess and the court of King Chulalongkorn. Below are some translated extracts from the article and brief comments . Phrarachachaiya Caw Dara Rasmi map phra rachachobai "khrongrak" phys

"throng-myang" by Sansani Wirasilpchai pp.52-59. [The title may be translated 'The Royal Consort Caw Dara Rasmi and the Royal Strategy of the "control of love" for the "control of the state"'] The princess was fourteen when she was sent to the Royal Palace in Bangkok and her father the Prince of Chiangmai gave her into the custody of Prince Darnrong. On that occasion Caw Inthawichayanon was very concerned that as his royal daughter was so young she would not know how to behave in the proper way. Krom Phraya Damrong Rachanuphab relates how Phracaw Inthawichayanon gave his royal daughter into his care with the words [in a representation of

khan miiang] 'Royal Lord I put Nang Yng [the name by which she was known to family and friends] in your care. If she does anything improper or incorrect

(thee ham anjang be thunk be tong sade caw ko Cong risk fur Free week hut aw toe)[note that the Thai 'keep is used and not the khan miiang ' a t ' ] Royal Lord, please summon her and give her a knock on the head.'

On the death of his daughter the king is repented to have Said, I am to blame. My daughter should have been made a princess, but I forget to confer [the title] (Junk khaw khuan pen caw faa) and she died.

The article also says, The palace of the royal consort was different from other palaces, that is, it was like a little kingdom of Chiangmai, from their dress, the princess and her courtiers were wont to wear sin, they spoke khan mtliang and ate northern type

food. Though their customs were different from that of other palaces, there was

More On The Princess Dara Rasmi no one who disdained them, because the royal consort always conducted herself with great propriety.

This view is at odds with other sources. Gehan Wijeyewardene Issue No. 7, December 1989

53

54

Two Lii Songs* Translated from Tai Lii into Chinese by Dao Xin Hua and into English by Li Xiang Yang & Wang Biao [These songs, part of a weaving ritual, belong to the category known to the Lil as

keep and in north Thailand as sor.] SONG OF OFFERINGS Listen I My dearest brother, Pray listen carefully. My songs are like broth without salt, Which to you may not be delicious For I have no talent of striking my heart's chord

At the sight of things. My songs are like pure boiled water, No aroma will you taste, For I possess no capacity of singing extempore. Oh, my dearest!

Your songs are more fragrant than Yulan magnolia Making me lose my way home.

Oh, my dearest! Your songs are far sweeter than dried bananas Distracting me from thinking of my beloved at home. You were bom earlier than I, You see the Sun more often than I do, And you sing longer songs. Your songs are as num erous as the leaves of the trees, Your knowledge much deeper than the seas. Today I am here with you,

*

Translations by Irene Bain.

Two Lil Songs It's Yu Guans's best luck. Today I am here with you, Yu Guans has gained inexhaustible power. It's a pity today that I've forgotten to bring flowers and candles here Only my constricted throat for songs. O my true master! I will offer my coil of hair As a gorgeous lotus flower And produce my fingers As five straight pairs of candles. Now, let me present the flowers, And now allow me to light the candles Before kneeling in worship, offering the sacrifice. O the clean robe Is the ceremony garment of my master, The soft kneeling cushion Is the mat of silk cotton flower by my master, The pillow towel with the design of various flowers Is the brocade embroidered by my master, And the endless array of sacrifices, Both food and daily necessities, Are all made for my master. They are offered to clean the sins of this life, And ask for good luck and happiness in the after life. I devoutly wish all the sacrifices here Become a basin of clear sacred water Washing away the master's sins in his life, I piously wish all the sacrifices here Become a holy ship Taking my holy master on board And sailing against the strong wind and fierce waves, Across the place where his soul is punished, Until the destination people yearn for ~~- "Sukhavati"

*

55

56

Dao Xin Hut

ONE MARCH IS DIFFERENT FROM ANOTHER Pray listen! Your beloved sister is going to sing That one March is different from another. The golden bamboo joints are short in March, And the Jiali trees are luxuriant in April. My dearest brother is to make a big spinning wheel, Together with a cotton gin. Oh, my dearest brother, Forget not the baskets and the winding stand. After finishing the requirements for weaving, You must clean the cotton fields, Fell the parasitic trees and bamboos, Hoe out the reed and cogongrass. Open up the field on the gentle hillsides And fence it with bamboo sticks. The field cannot be too large, But cleaned according to actual requirements. Too large a piece of land is hard to manage, And could be spoiled by horses and cows. The best acreage is large enough to sow Seven large bamboo baskets of cotton seeds, And ten large baskets of sesame seeds. Excessive close planting and small seedlings, my dear

Will encourage encroaching grass, And you must weed with sharpened hoe Not long after the sowing.

Oh my dearest brother, Be careful with the weeding Lest the grass return everywhere. May in the Dai calendar is known to be Spring When taro and mulberry sprout. Cuckoos sing in the trees about the field, Turtle doves and crickets chirp here and there.

When the felled reeds and bushes are dried, my dear,

You must set fire to them on the hills. As the fire dies out, brother, You and I will go up in the hills,

Two Lil Songs

Cut short the unburnt branches, And carry them home as firewood. When June in the Dai calendar comes, We will go to the field alter washing our hair, When the sky is streaked with sunny clouds.

It will rain spring rains in July, And we will sow the cotton seeds on the hillside. You will dig holes with a bamboo stick, my dear. And I will place the cotton seeds in the holes. In August, the season of the cicada's cry, Cuckoos will sing gaily in the bamboos. The sown cotton seeds will burst into two tender leaves, And the cucumber and gourd plants will vine, Requiring weeding and earthing up their roots.

In September, cucumber and muskmelon plants Will bear innumerable fruits. The big one is worthy of 'yibaiyin' While the small one sells for 'siliangsi' Ah, God grants us a fortune. In October, the cotton plants will bear cotton boils. Those bursting first will be picked first,

Carried back and piled about the village. There is a market for the picked cotton. The November sky is a clear expanse,

As crystalline as the water-drops on the banana leaves. When December comes, all the cotton boils will burst, All the hills look white. We will carry the cotton back in baskets, DearDry it in the sun before sorting and ginning. O what an ocean of white cotton. Fluff the cotton after you gin it, my dearest sister, And set up the spinning wheel after the cotton is fluffed. Then the valley night will be lit by fire. The two flames are different. The glowing flames are torches carried by the young men

Who seek the love of young girls. Before the sun goes down in the west,

The girls go to bathe in the river, And then go home to dress , waiting for their beloved.

57

58

Dao Xin Hua

When night falls They will go down from the bamboo buildings, Spinning cotton threads until Dew moistens their clothes. After the threads are spun, The girls will starch them in the red rice gruel. If they want to dye the yarn red, They'll add Perilla to the gruel. The thick threads are used to weave coarse cloth,

While the thin are woven into brocadeThe woven cloth may be used at will, Making clothes or for offering to the Buddha. Such is the custom in Asia. If you want to make a robe to worship Buddha, The cloth should be dyed yellow in ginger and indigo. The design of horses and elephants woven into the brocade And offered to the Buddha in the temple, Where the monks will pray for your happiness. The next day, people will offer their own children To the monastery as novices, There they have to team to chant the scriptures. That is the task of the monks and novices. They must finish chanting one page in ten days, And finish one text in twenty days. Monks cannot be idle in the monastery. Novices should not disappoint their parents,

Who send them meals every day. Novices should carry meals for the monks, And rise early to sweep the grounds. That's the job of the novices. In the Buddhist texts such words are written: Ifyou've done your duty, You'Il be lucky and happy in the after life.

The happiness is as fragrant as the lotus flower, That you can find throughout Asia. Here, at the end of the singing, Let my song bless you! Issue No. 6, September $989

59

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan Li Daoyong, Kristina Lindell, Jan-Ojvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin Tha Karamu in China live in the Merola and Jinghong counties of Yunnan Province in southwestern China, There are some 22 villages altogether -..- the number varies somewhat, since sometimes villages are divided and new villages erected. At present the Karamu population amounts to more than 1,700 persons. Despite the fact that the Karamu population in Yunnan is rather small, there are two distinct dialects. One of them has tones, as have the norther dialects of Laos, the

other one has retained unvoiced initials, as in the southern dialects in Laos. The two dialects are mutually intelligible' It seems, however, as if the toneless variant is more

common in China. The story presented here was recorded on tape in 1988 in Pungsoo village in Mengla county by Professor Li Daoyong of the Central Institute of Nationalities, Peking. The story was told by Miss Lun Kaar_],2 a twenty-one year old Karamu lady bom in the village where she took part in all kinds of women's work. Thus she had ample opportunity to- hear stories told in the traditional way. In 1988 she was still living in her home village, but since then she has moved and is now working in a

sugar factory in Mengpeng. As will be noted, Miss Lun Kaaij is not a very

- it requires many years of training to become really adept - but she heard and learnt stories from other tellers, especially from a lady of some seventy or eighty years of age." experienced teller

1

This is verified by Damrong Tayanin who found no difficulty whatever in transcribing the texts from the recordings. Tayanin's mother tongue is the Yuan dialect spoken in norther

Laos. 2

Lun indicates that the girl is the youngest daughter in her family. Kaag comes from the Karamu name of the village Maas Kaag,

q

J

We are particularly glad to be able to present stories told by a lady teller, since we have managed to record few stories told by women.

60

Li Daoyong, Kristina Linnell, Jan-Ujvind Swain and Damrong Tayanfn

It is a pleasure to note that a young lady of twenty-one is able to tell some of the age-old stories in the traditional way. Up to the present she has recorded ten stories, but not all were learnt from the same old lady. We very much hope that it will be possible to record even more stories told by both these tellers. Li Daoyong has not met the old lady teller in person, although she is still living, but information from the villagers seems to indicate that her idiolect is a more pure variant of Karr mu than the common daily speech in the village.

During a year-long stay as a guest researcher on the Karamu Village Project at Lund University, Li Daoyong presented stories in his collection from the Karamu and Wa ethnic groups in Yunnan. Dr Damrong Tayanin transcribed some of the stories, and the tales were then translated and commented upon in co-operation with Professor Jan-Ojvind Swalm and Kristina Lindell.

In the Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter No. 13 (June 1991), a brief note was published on our computer-based Mot lndex for Folk Tales from Southeast Asia, which uses Stith Thomson's Mot lndex of Folk Literature as a basis. We selected the Naaij Keen Knew story as an illustration of the work on motifs, The tale was not chosen because it is an unusual story. Quite the contrary, it was chosen because it contains several motifs that anyone who has read folktales will recognise, The nurnber(s) of each motif is in parentheses after the section where it was

found, and after the story there is a list of all the motifs in the order they appear in Thompson's Mot lndex.

In order to work on motifs one needs to have a general understanding of the organization of the General Synopsis of the Mot lndex, presented on pages 29-35 in Volume I : A. Mythological Motifs B. Animal C. Taboo D- Magic, etc.

Unfortunately the index found in Volume 6 is not easy to use and will have to be reorganised at a later date. At the very beginning of the flag Kong Kesw tale, we hear of a widow who

became thirsty when she weeded her field. To quench her thirst she formed a cone out of a leaf, filled the cone with urine from an elephant's footprint and drank it. After that she found herself pregnant and had a daughter.

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

61

One interesting piece of information in this section will not be found in the Mot Index and should not be inserted in it, the cone for drinking. This is not a folklore motif, it is a cultural fact. In Southeast Asia one often drinks water in this way, and this piece of information therefore has nothing to do with epic imagination.

The unusual way of begetting a child, on the other hand, is clearly a motif. As Jan-(jjvind Swalm expresses it: "If a man kills his enemy with a sword, that is just what a man usually does when he kills an enemy, but if he possesses a magic sword which flies off and kills his enemy for him, you have a folklore motif'.

In our list of motifs, the Strange Conception has no less than three different numbers, and these will serve as an explanation of the work. In the General Synopsis the letter T stands for Sex, and numbers T500-T599 deal with Conception and Birth. This is obviously where the correct number should be sought or, in case no suitable motif is found, inserted. The Detailed Synopsis preceding T (Sex) in Volume 5 informs us that T510 begins a section dealing with Miraculous Conception, and thus we have placed the motif in a broad way- Within this same section, however, T512 Conception ii-om Drinking is also found. Under this number the Motzyilndex gives us sufficient bibliography to facilitate comparisons with, for instance, Hindu and Indonesian tales. Should we like to zoom in closer to the motif as it appears in our tale, there ought to be something about elephant's urine. This idea could hardly occur anywhere but in Southeast and Southern Asia or in Africa, and is therefore of part cular interest for a motif~index of Southeast Asian tales. However, it is not found in Thompson's Mot lndex. In our list it has the number T5I2.2.2.*, and is marked with an asterisk because it is a suggested new

number. Hopefully it will not be too difficult to follow our reasoning when reading through the story and looking up the motifs in Thompson's Mot lndex. In doing so, the reader will certainly observe that some of the motifs we have listed are of little importance to the flow of the story. Normally we would not have mentioned some of them, but since in this case we are trying to illustrate practice in tracing motifs, we have squeezed in almost every motif from the tale.

Out of forty-eight motifs, no less than seventeen have an asterisk, showing that they are suggested new numbers. It is significant that about one»third of the motifs are new and shows that motifs in Southeast Asia do not totally agree with those of Europe, from the Bibliography in the Mot lndex it is also clear that there is a much greater correspondence with Indian and Far Eastern motifs. The letter P for Society has a great share of the asterisked new motifs, and they all fall within the group

62

Li Daoyong, Kristina Lindell, Jan-Ojvind Swahn and Darning Tannin

P200-P299 (The Family). This is an indication that perhaps family matters are of great importance in Southeast Asian tales. How other Karamu tellers use some of the motifs may be seen from a comparison with the tales we have published. All our publications of tales have a list of motifs appended. There are other things to be learnt from the work on the motifs. For instance, it will be found that the teller - despite the many glaring errors in the telling - has put her motifs together coherently so that they form a comprehensible tale. It will also be

seen that the teller does not handle all her motifs well. She introduces motifs which she then just drops without making full use of them, we sometimes find it difficult to intepret her motifs. By working on the motifs the reader will thus be able to form quite a precise opinion of the teller's performance as regards the contents of the tale. Motifs may thus be used for many different purposes, and it is our hope that researchers collecting the rapidly vanishing treasure of tales in Southeast Asia will

consider giving their publications some folklore comments relevant to folklore's classifications to facilitate the work of folklorists.

The Story of Naalj " Keel; Kesw I am Karamu and from Miang Maa, and today [ w i l l tell one story, that of Naaq Keel] KSEWI

Now you know, a certain widow who had no husband went to weed her field. Then she was thirsty, but the water in the pool had gone dry. Wherever she looked for water there was none, wherever she looked for water there was none.

When she then went to look for it on the mountain ridge, she came across an elephant eating rattan there. The elephant let its water [i.e. urinated], and she then went and made a cone from a Ieai filled it and drank, filled it and drank.

After that NaaI} Keel] Kssw was bom. (B63I.10.*, T5 loft, T512, T512.2.2.*) She then grew up and became a young girl, and she asked about her father. Her mother said: "Your father is an elephant, If you want to find your father, go

and look for him at the mountain ridge down there!" (HI381.2, I-I1381.1.I) She went and finally she came across that elephant which was eating rattan there. She called out: "Fatherl"

4

Naa13, is a common designation for girls.

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

63

The elephant scolded her: "I do not yet have any children"-

She said: "Long ago my mother who has no husband went to weed the field and became thirsty. She went and scooped up your urine and drank it, and she became pregnant and bore me. Now regarding me, everybody else has a father, and all of them have silver and riches and I don't. After that I want to get bracelets, to get necklaces, to get earrings. Please, be my father and see to it that get sorel"

"Well, if you really are my child, yes, if you really and truly are my child, then go round my elephant tusk seven times. If it falls out, you are not my child, but if it does not fall out you are". She thus went tound it seven times, and since it did not fall out, it did not hurt her feet. (I-1486, H486.3.*) Consequently he gave her a box, gave her bracelets and necklaces. (B584, B584.2.*) She then returned, she returned returned ...S He told her to take an egg and to pull out a hair and wrap it around the egg and set it afloat on the river.' Set afloat. (D991, DI024) She returned and set it afloat, returned and set it afloat. (N513.4.1.*) After that young men from every village and every place went to seize it, went to

fetch it, but they did not succeed. Even those who had a wife did the same dressed up his father and mother went to bathe wanted to bathe, and thus others fetched the water to give him a bath (inaudible)'

On that day a young man wanted to go and bathe, go and bathe. The box came floating, and he stretched out his hands and the box landed in the palm of his hand,

landed in the palm of his hand. He went home and brooded that egg, and when it hatched, out came a cock. (DI 174, F989.20) After that he went to look for the master, he looked for Naaij Keel] Knew. He

took a hundred underlings with him and went When he went the cock crowed, the cock (H138l.3.l, 13172, B211.3.2, B450, B469.5) Then that cock crowed: Cock-a-doodle-do,

5

This comes prematurely, since the elephant father continues to instruct her.

6

Later it becomes clear that it is the box she is to set afloat.

7

The story is very confused here.

64

Li Daoyong, Kristina Liddell, Jan-Ojvind Swarm and Damrong Tannin Nam] Kong Knew with the knot of hair. Cock~a-doodle-do, rang Keel] Kar-:w with the knot of hair. Is the dear lady in this village

Or in the next, dear? Then the hens of their village answered: "Not here". (B131.7.*) They then went up to the second village, and the cock crowed again; Cock-a-doodle-do, Naag Keel] K€£w with the knot of hair. Is the dear lady in this village Or in the next, dear? Then the hens of their village answered: "Not here", They then went up to the third village, and the cock crowed again:

Cock-a-doodle-do, Naag Keel) KE€w with the knot of hair. Is the dear lady in this village Or in the next, dear? The hens in the third village answered: "Not here". They then went up to the fourth, went up to the fourth village, and the cock crowed again. Then the demon hens answered that she was in their village.

They then invited his underlings to enter, but however many entered just vanished, however many entered they just vanished. The demons made an enormous

drum from rye-wood, and then they caught everyone who entered and threw them, everyone who entered they caught and locked inside the ryE~wood drum. Finally only

the master himself remained. (G422. I, D1210) He thought: "However many enter, all my underlings are gone". He for-iowed them in and looked for his underlings, but they were not there, since she had taken them and thrown them into her rye-wood drum- He looked at the drum

and saw a heard a knock. He let them out, he asked them He took his knife and cut the drum open, and all of them came out. (RI 10, R112.3.1.*) They then went higher up again, went up to the fifth village, went up to the tish village, and the cock crowed, went up and asked there, if she stayed there, Nam]

Knox] Knew.

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

65

She took the rice water along and waited, sat in the house and waited, went out to sit on the balcony and gazed and saw the leader and his people come up, and then they came up and asked her. After that they stayed in this village and got married, celebrated their wedding, celebrated their wedding. Then they had two children, one was a daughter and one was a son. After that they were to return to let her be the daughter-in-law," after three years they were to return and let her be the daughter-in~law. When they had packed up their things, they were to return on horseback. (P2l5.*)

The daughter returned carrying her younger brother, they went homewards and came along the path. They went homewards and her mother warned her and said: "When you return along the path, if your brother cries, don't pick red flowers and let your brother play with them" (CSIS, C515.1.*, C90I.l.'7.*) She said: ccno77_ Then rang Keel] Kesw returned on horseback with her husband. The daughter went homewards on foot carrying her younger brother. When they came along the path, the brother began to cry and wanted to get red flowers. Whatever flowers she got to let him play with, he did not play, whatever flowers she got to let him play with he did not play, and when she suckled him," he did not suck. ($253, P253.6.1-*)

Finally she picked some red flowers for him to play with, and then a demon woman went to beat their mother, to trample their mother- their mother died and became a fish. The demon woman changed, changed herself into Naal] Keel] Knew. (C920, D170, D665.4.*, G400, G407.*, Kl911, K1911.2.1l

They returned, returned and came to the village, returned and came to the The father, the mother, people of the village went to meet village. The husband [them], old people, old people went to meet them. They took material, took eggs, took food to give them, were to meet ..., were to eat ..., were to meet the daughter-im what was it, she was ..., however many eggs they gave her, she just law. Then broke them and ate them, broke them and ate them, and what, well, the material she tore in pieces and flung away. They then lived like that, and she pretended to be the mother of the children.

8

ran g Kong KEEW has not yet met her parents-in-Iaw. Now they are to return to the groom's father's house, to let Naag Keel] Ki-:ew take up her duties as daughter~in~law.

9

The teller forgets that it is the sister and not the mother that is carrying the baby.

66

Li Dacyong, Kristina Lindell, Jan-(vinal Swain and Damrong Tayanfn

She returned _--, as for the child she carried her younger brother, took her brother along to go and wash his hair in rice water. She went down to the Mekhong, and there she saw that fish- When the fish which stayed near the river saw her own

children, it cried pitifully and said: "Mother, I am your mother". It said: "she who returned to live with your father is a demon woman. She trampled me, ate me. I died and became a fish, and then she married your father. That is not their" real mother, their real mother is me". (B21 LS) For a while she suckled the younger brother, suckled the child. Then she jumped

over twelve mountain ranges. (D688, F684, F`l07l) Her child then went home to her father, went home and told her father. The father did not believe her. (P235.*)

She went again, went and called her mother to come out and suckle her brother: "Mother, oh mother, if mother is still in the Mekhong, come down and come out to suckle my younger brother, please!" She then returned, returned and suckled the younger brother

her child.

After that she went, went and jumped over the twelve mountain ranges. The child went home and told her father: "Father, our mother became a fish and

stays near the river. The one here is a demon woman". She said like this. (P235.l.*) She then

the father did not believe her and said: "Are you lying, child?"

She said: "No, I am not lying. Tomorrow I will go to suckle my brother again". Their father said: "If that is indeed so, get some of her breast milk and bring it

along home! Is she really your mother?" The following day she went, went and called again: "Mother, oh mother, come

down the Ou river, the Mekhong river, please, come back and suckle my younger brother" She returned, returned and suckled her child. Then she let her child press out her breast milk and put it in a leaf cone. She returned, with the cone with her mother' S breast milk she returned and let her father take a look. She said: "Father, this is mother's breast milk. You did not believe it, so she pressed it out for you to see, she then pressed it out If you do not believe it, just look!"

10

This should of course be 'your'.

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

67

He then looked, and, indeed, it was true. (I-162, I-I62.1.3.*) He then thought of getting his wife back. He ordered, thought of a way to get his wife back, gave orders to catch his wife, and thus he ordered his underlings to go.

They went up and surrounded the village, surrounded the path. Then he let his child go and call again.

The child went to call again, went to call, just at the moment she was to escape along the On, along the Mekhong, she was on a raft in the midle of the Mekhong. Just then her child arrived, went to call her, call. She then did not go away, she then returned, then then she suckled her child, returned and warned her child: "Don't

come again, child I will

I will escape, will go away, will

will go to the are of

S'ca, of the Ou, of the Mekhong down there. You should take your younger brother to stay with your father" The child said: "Oh mother, if I return, you please send me off, I am small, I am afraid"

At the path the others had now completed the encirclement, and the underlings had gone to wait at the path, wait in order to catch her. She went, returned in order to follow her child. The child said that she feared the fishing cat and let her mother return to follow her. When they came to that spot, she said: "Now hurry up home, child, I will go my way." The child then said: "Oh, return and follow me over there, I fear the tiger".

She then returned to follow her there, returned to a certain spot and then said: "Now hurry up home, child, mother will be going". "Oh mother, I am afraid of there!"

those bushes. Please mother, return and follow me

When she had followed her to those bushes, the others jumped out, out and caught her, fettered her and brought her back and tied her under the house. (P232.3-*) On her own account the demon woman went around snooping, went around snooping. Then she said to herself: "Today I will be able to eat meat. Today I will be able to eat fish meat".

68

Lf Daoyong, Kristina Lindell, Jan~O]vind Swain and Damrong Tannin

He wanted to strengthen her soul," it was the husband who said to the demon woman: "Fetch rice water today and take a bath and dress up beautifully. Today we kill this Fish and bind your wrists". She thus washed her hair in rice water, combed her hair carefully and poured out water on a leaf to mirror herself, combed her hair carefully and put flowers behind her ears, thus He who was her husband took his sword and cut her down. She then shed red blood, the blood poured out, and thus he took it and poured it over the fish, and look!

She became Naag Keel] Keew as before. (D766.2)

The two of them got married. (KI911.3) There it ends .

Motifs B131.7.*

Cock's and hens' conversation reveals where certain girl lives.

B172

Magic bird.

B211-3.2

Speaking cock.

B21 L5

Speaking fish.

B450

Helpful bird.

B469.5

Helpful cock.

B584

Animal gives man other gifts.

B584.2.*

Elephant gives human daughterjewelleiy.

_

B631 10.* Human offspring of woman and elephant (Jfr T5 l2.2.2.* nedanl).

C5 I5

Taboo: touching (plucking) flowers.

C515.l.*

Taboo: plucking red flowers.

C901.1.7.* Taboo: taboo imposed by mother.

C920

II

Death for breaking taboo.

The husband continues to treat the demon woman as if she were his real wife until the

moment he is able to kill her.

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

D170

Transformation: man to fish.

D665.4.*

Transformation of rival to get rid of her.

D688

Transformed mother suckles child.

D766.2

Disenchanted by application ofblood-

D991

Magic hair.

D1024

Magic egg.

DI174

Magic box.

D1210

Magic drum.

F684

Marvelous jumper.

F1071

Prodigious jump.

F989.20

Egg becomes crowing cock.

G400

Person falls into ogre's power.

G407.*

Child's play with red flowers allows demon to kill its mother.

G422.1

Ogre imprisons victim in drum.

H62

Recognition of transformed person (animal).

H62.1.3.* Mother transformed to animal recognized by her breast milk. H486

Test of paternity.

H486.3.*

Test of paternity: if elephant's tusk does not fall out when run around by girl.

HI381.2

Quest for unknown father.

H1381.2.2 Child seeks unknown father.

H13s1.3.1 Quest for bride. K1911 .2.1 True bride transformed by false.

Kl91 I .3

Reinstatement of true bride,

N513.4.1.* Treasure set afloat in river. P215.*

Wife brought home to live with in-laws.

P232.3.*

Daughter lures transformed mother home.

P235.*

Daughter warns father.

P235. I .*

Daughter warns father that his wife is a transformed demon.

69

'70

Lf

P253

Daoyong, Kristina Liddell, Jan-Ojv:lnd Swahn and Damrong Tannin Sister and brother.

P253.6.I* Sister takes care of brother. Rl10

Rescue of captive.

Rl 12.3.1.* Rescue of captives in demon's drum. T510ff

Miraculous conception.

T512

Conception from drinking.

T512.2.2.* Conception from drinking elephant's urine (Jar. B631.9.* above).

Bibliography Thompson, Stith 1966. Moritlndex ofFoUc Literature, Indiana Univ. Press. Lindell, Kristina, Jan-Qjvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin 1976. The Flood, Three Northam Karamu Versions of the Story of the Creation, in Acre Orientafia 37, Copenhagen. (Reprinted in Dundes, Alan: The Flood Myth, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1988). Lindell, Kristina, Jan-Ojvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin

1977.

A Karamu Story-Listener 's Tales. Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series 33, Curzon Press, London.

Lindell, Kristina, Ian~Ojvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin

1980.

Folk Talesjiom Karamu H: A Store-Teller 's Tales, Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series 40, Curzon Press, London and MalmO.

Lindell, Kristina, Jan-Gjvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin 1984. Folk Tales jiorn Karamu HI: Pearls ofKarnmu Literature, Scandi navian Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series 51, Curzon Press, London and Ma1m6.

Motifs in a Karamu Story from Yunnan

Lindell, Kristina, Jan-5jvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin Folk Tales or Karamu IV: A Master Teller is TaZes, Scandinavian 1989. Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series 56, Curzon Press, London. Issue No. J6, March I992

71

II

ESSAYS

74

Australian Studies 011 Tai Peoples Gehan Wijeyewardene The study of Thailand and Tai speakers in Australia must be seen as part of two larger projects. In the first instance it is part of a regional project, and this is particularly true of the Research School of Pacific Studies in The Australian National University. Set up as one of four research schools shortly after WWII it was part of the wholly research university. The charter of the school was to research the societies, languages and cultures of the region, the island societies of the Pacific itself and the nations of east and southeast Asia which lay adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, now known as the region of the Pacific Rim. This enterprise was from the first a cooperative one between the various disciplines. Anthropology, then including prehistory and linguistics, was the leading discipline, but from the very start economics, history, geography and later political science were full participants in the enterprise-

In the early years mainland Southeast Asia was under-represented, but with Professor Thomas Silcock's work in the early 1960s, there began a continuing effort, largely centred on Thailand- ln the 1950s Professor Bill Geddes took over the Chair of Anthropology at the University of Sydney and this began a whole series of research studies in Southeast Asia, mainly concentrating on the hill tribes of Thailand.

And this leads to the second series of projects within which Australian studies of Thailand and Tai must be seen as part of a series of disciplinary studies. I feel most competent to talk about the discipline of anthropology. To summarize, I may say that »

to understand Australian studies of Thailand and the Tai, it should be viewed as Australia's attempt to understand, at the highest intellectual level, the societies of our neighbours to the north and of individual scholars to pursue the interests inherent in their own discipline as represented by the societies and cultures of Southeast Asia. I should also mention another interest which is of great importance, has always been present and has particularly assumed importance in recent years. This is development the creation of development and the study of development. I shall not, however,

-

discuss this in any detail.

\;» _.,.

:at

Australian Studies on Tai Peoples

75

I begin with these brief comments because if one is to appreciate the anthropological and sociological studies of Thailand and the Tai these must be seen in the Australian academic context. Let me take as an example the paper presented by Dr Amanda Rajah at the International Conference on Thai Studies just concluded in London. Dr Rajah is a Singaporean now teaching at the National University of Singapore, but he did his field research and was awarded his PhD from the Australian National University. His fieldwork was with Shaw Karen in Amp fur Mae Taeng, Chiangrnai, but he has recently written on the relations between Karen and the 19th

century states which now comprise the Kingdom of Thailand. This work is of importance because it raises questions as to how the Thai saw their non~Thaispeaking neighbours and how those neighbors saw the Thai and the Tai. These matters are of consequence because their study helps understand, as Ananda Rajah points out, relations between the Thai of the central plain and the Khan Miiang of Chianginai and the relations of the Khon Mtiang to the Tai Jai and Shan (and here these two terms are not inter-changeable) and we may extend this further - the Tai Jai to the Khoen, the Khoen to the Lil and so on. These relations are not transparent and each requires investigation. It may be recalled that until the Khon Mtiang were fully incorporated into the Thai state, the Thai of Bangkok const steely called the Khon Miiang 'Lao', a term not used by them as self-reference. Perhaps I may also add the fact that until quite recently it was not unusual for Thai newspapers to refer to the Shan as a 'hill tribe'. I may also, in passing, refer to the part the Australian National University has

-

played in fostering Southeast Asian's studying other Southeast Asian societies though I should hasten to add that it is not this university alone. Dr Amanda Rajah is

one, but the ANU has also had Anrini Sofian from Indonesia who worked with a Thai-Islam community in South Thailand. I should also mention Dr Cholthira Satyawadhna who has put forward very controversial ideas about the relationship of Tai (Khan Mtiang) and Lua in northern Thailand. #**

For the record let me briefly note the research being done on Tai peoples outside Thailand, in Australia. I do not mention the extensive linguistic work as this will be dealt with by Dr Diller. professor Terwiel is reporting on European research at this conference, but on behalf of Australia let me start by claiming him as an Australian pioneer of Tai research. We are all aware of his extensive studies on the Ahom and Tai in Assam. This work was done in Australia. However it is only polite to let him discuss his own work. I may add, however, that he was also one of the first, with Tony Diller, to work with the Black and White Tai from outside Vietnam.

76

Gehan W§eyewardene

The Thai-Yunnan project has had much coverage in connection with Yunnan Tai, but I should acknowledge that this is largely because of the circulation of the Newsletter. In fact our actual field research has been confined to my own two brief trips to Sipsongpanna and Dehong and Scott Bamber's much more extensive work with Tai Lit both in Sipsongpanna and Chiang Kham. He also has experience with Lao speakers both in Isarn and Laos. His major interest is medical anthropology. He is no longer with the Thai-Yunnan Project though he continues to edit our Newsletter.

I may add here that the Newsletter has also contributed to studies of the Tai by publishing translations of Chinese papers on the Tai. Paul Cohen of Macquarie University has also worked with the Lu on medical anthropology and specifically on the delivery of primary health care. Philip Hirsch, who is a geographer, has recently worked with Tai in Vietnam. Grant Evans, who is now at the University of Hong Kong, may perhaps be claimed by Asia. In fact he has worked for many years through the University of

New South Wales and La Trobe University in Melbourne. He has written extensively on Laos on a wide variety of topics. His most recent work on Tai-ization presented to the ICTS in London is in my opinion most important in considering the nature of the Australian contribution to the study of the Tai people, and it picks up a theme which is becoming increasingly crucial to the international study of ethnicity. Finally, related to the question of ethnicity, Niti Pawakapan, a student in our department is looking, among other things, at the relation between Tai Jai speakers and Kham MUang speakers in the town of Khufu Yuan in Maehongsorn, and at the sociolinguistic relations of the three versions of Tai (Thai) spoken there Thai, Tai Jai and Kham Miiang.

-

*** I shall use the work of Grant Evans to represent what I consider to be an important thrust in Australian work in Tai studies. Let me try very briefly to s u m m a r i z e his argument. He starts with the most important work by George Condominas 'Essay on the evolution of Thai political systems', the English translation of which was published by the Thai-Yunnan Project. Essentially Condominas argued that the spread of Tai societies and political systems was by small armed groups of nobles who occupied and dominated autochthonous groups of Mon-Khmer and other language speakers. Through inter-marriage and political domination they created the typical mzlang structure. This view was attacked by

Michael Vickers in his review of the translation and I cite Evans' summary of the criticism.

Australian Studies on Tai Peoples

77

The drift of Condominas's argument relates to the so-called rapidity of Tai

conquest of mainland Southeast Asia, but Vickery shows that the consensus emerging now is that the penetration of this area by Tai originating in contemporary Guangdong and Guangsi began 2000 years ago 'which is after all not so rapid'.

The counter proposal, with which Evans appears to agree, is that Tai domination of the plains and more rapid population growth were the main mechanisms of domination. But of course, Evans is not one who insists on either/or theories. Essentially he appears to take the view that the Tai-ization hypothesis is insufficient, that Tai-ization itself is a much more complex process, is not a total explanation and needs much more careful analysis. One of the cases which keeps being referred to is that of the Laha, mentioned briefly in Condominas. The Laha are one of the peoples used by Benedict in the construction of his Kadai hypothesis the link between the Tai languages and Austronesian. In fact it appears that the Laha are actually an Austronesian-speaking people who have been heavily Tai-ized, but whose domestic language remains identifiably Austronesian. Evans shows that the Sing Moon, a group undergoing Tai-ization both through contact with Black Tai and the policies of the government, still maintain essential symbols of ethnic identity. Tai-ization does take place, but the conclusion must be that it is not specifically a Tai process after all the Tai in Vietnam become Vietnamized. Many of the features of the process such as marriage alliance with native chiefs are strategies used by all elites of the region, not just Tai, and perhaps

-

-

more important there is a confusion of modem notions of 'nation' being identified

with "ethnicity" being transferred to traditional systems in which such identification was not made. I would however add a caveat here. Because notions of a congruence of ethnic group and national territory are 'modern', this is not to say that the notion of territory was absent from the thinking on traditional political units. The ideology of the mustang had clear ideas of deinarcated territory. The message one has from Evans's work is that detailed study advises caution. There are no simple answers. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that demands of political interest play a large part in the creation and definition of ethnicity. The work of the Thai-Yunnan Project, Scott Bamber, Niti Pawakapan and myself demonstrate this is different ways. Niti's work, which is still incomplete, appears to show how in a community like Khufu Yuam, the demands of a Central Thai-speaking policy are

balanced by community interests where Tai Jai and Kham Miiang-speaking groups interact at official and some other levels, but maintain their own organizations, particularly war. This is in miniature a picture of what we traditionally had for

'18

Gehan Wijeyewardene

Chiangmai where at the tum of the century Luang Anusam created a Thai-speaking war - Uppakut Thai, and such groups as Burmese, Tai Jai, and Pa-o had their own at which used their own languages a situation which continues today. The centralizing policies of governments is clearly a major factor in the study of Tai communities today. One must see this very conference as a cultural manifestation of a strong government trying to incorporate, by understanding, groups with which it has cultural and national identity. In Dehorn, and Sipsongpanna, in Kengtung as well as elsewhere we see this process in action. In norther Thailand I may mention the attempts early this century to curtail the activities of Khru Ba Sri Wichai as part of standardizing the Buddhist religion. In Kengtung the vandalism of destroying the palace of the Caw Fa is a stark symbol of this process. Chinese government policy

-

towards all minority ethnic groups is quite clearly to transform them into harmless

tourist attractions. They would like to make water~splashing at Songkran the symbol of Tai both in Dehong and Sipsongpanna. This process is largely helped by taking the best students from minority primary schools and streaming them into the Han education system. Scott Bamber's work demonstrates similar processes in the field of traditional medicine. Strong government control and destruction during the cultural revolution - has now defined those fields in which Sipsongpanna Tai have access to thei r own medical tradition. On the one hand there is control of herbal medicine with prospects of future profit and the ideologically-based suppression of spirit-based curing

-

practices. I am not advocating spirit healing, I rather point to this as a gross interference with a peoples' liberty. On the other hand there is the ineptitude of trying to promote local training within a language policy which destroys whatever good intentions may have

motivated the policy in the first place. Training is in,Pu Tong Hua rather than in Tai. This language policy even pervades academia where scholarship on Tai, and presumably on other cultures is done only through Chinese language and Chinese sources. I hope things have changed, but in 1990 the International Conference on Thai Studies gave the clear impression that scholars of the Tai in China did not seem to think knowledge of the language was a necessary tool of scholarship. 24 August 1 9 9 . Issue No. 25, June /994

79

Rethinking 'The Frontiers Of "Burma" Gehan Wijeyewardene In 1960 Edmund Leach published a paper entitled 'The frontiers of"Burmaass! which had a great influence on Southeast Asian anthropology at least, and perhaps on a much wider audience. It was provocative in many ways not least in its definition of

-

'Burma' - which he deliberately placed in quotes. He wrote 'By the "Burma" of my title I wish to imply the whole of the wide imprecisely defined frontier region lying between India and China and having modem political Burma as its core' The ambiguity I am sure was deliberate - Leach's own experience was in Burma, now the Union of Burma, and mostly in the highlands of Burma. Therefore it is of this region he writes. Nevertheless, there is the clear suggestion he is also talking of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. He writes that his basic distinction of 'hill people' and 'valley people' goes back at least to the 13th Century account of Angkbor by Chou Ta-Kuan. The paper argues that notions of frontiers and nation-states are the product of Western colonial expansion. 'The whole of '"Burma"' he writes, 'is a frontier region

continuously subject to influences from both India and China and so also the frontiers which separated the petty political units within "Burma" were not clearly defined lines but zones of mutual interest.' Real traditional frontiers in pre-colonial times were ecological boundaries which separated the hill people, who had Chinese notions of kinship, chiefship, religion, marriage and the importance of trade from the valley peoples who had Indian notions of these matters. In each case the ecological base

-

being the type of agriculture intensive wet-rice cultivation in the plains and bidden agriculture in the mountains with the important exception that some parts of the

-

hills developed intensive terrace agricultureIn more recent years a widely influential book on related themes has been Benedict Anderson's account of nationalism - Imagined Communities, in which he argues that national consciousness is the product of the growth of 'print capitalism' and the efforts of politically active, educated elites to create the stage for their own achievements a process which he interestingly links to 'pilgrimaged It is very

I

Comparative studies in society and history 3 (1) 1960: 49-68

80

Gehan Wyeyewardene

significant that both Leach and Anderson attack the notion that language is inherently tied to nation. Leach attacks the historical linguistic view that genetic relations

between languages give any historical evidence of migrations or connections between people. Anderson suggests that languages could be learned by anybody and it is only time that prevents all humans speaking all languages. In the latest edition of Anderson's book2 he has used the work of Thongchai Winichakul3 on 'mapping' to bolster his case. Thongchai, argues, as have many others that the 'nation~state' is an European product purveyed to the rest of the world though colonialism. To talk of the

traditional frontiers of Thailand is an anachronism because until the modern technology of mapping such a notion was not in fact possible. Anderson sees the technology of mapping as a fitting handmaiden to 'print capitalisms There are a number of theoretical issues that arise out of the Leach and Anderson points of view, but for this seminar I wish to take up only a few, particularly insofar as they relate to contemporary Burma. First of all I think one needs to have some idea about the confusions that inhere in the use of the terms "nation" and 'ethnicity'. I will here follow a recent paper by Hobsbawm.4 Hobsbawm points out the very important difference between a 19th Century

view of 'nation' and a current 20th Century one

- the latter conflating notions of

ethnicity with that of nation. In the 19th Century, particularly if we take the United States of America as paradigmatic, the nation was a superordinate entity within which minorities and ethnicities would merge their identities. It was this notion that was embraced by anti-colonial movements which created the nation-states of India, Ghana, Nigeria and Ceylon, among others. Burma too, was the product of this view of the nation-state. In the communist world nation and nationality were used in a

different sense. In both the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China the words translated as 'nation' and 'nationality' referred to politically recognized ethnic

groups- The political recognition was important, because this brought the proliferation of theoretically independent (autonomous) national republics, provinces, prefectures etc. It should be also mentioned that this echoed a rather different American use of the word 'nation' where it was used to refer to Indian political

groups such as the Iroquois and Cherokee nations. 2

imagined commuMries; rejleciions on the origin and spread

of narionalfsm

Verso: London

and New York. Revised edition 1991. *I

J

4

Safar Mapped' a history

of

the geo-body

of

Siam PhD, University of Sydney- 1988.

EJ. Hobsbawm 'Ethnicity and nationalism in Europe today' Anthropology today 8(1)

1992: 3-8.

Rethinking 'The Frontiers Of "Burma"

81

These last mentioned groups are in some ways prototypes of the politicized etlmicities which are emerging as one of the major political problems of the late 20th Century - particularly in central and easter Europe. The post-colonial states have been remarkably stable as far as boundaries are

concerned, for a number of reasons. Most important, the post-colonial ideology insisted that borders were for them, the post-colonial states, to decide thus the often arbitrary borders imposed by colonial powers were declared, if not sacrosanct, inviolable except by decision of the states concerned themselves. One major exception has been the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan - which overturned what may have been the stupidest of the post-colonial arrangements. Post-colonial borders were also reinforced by the Cold War. These were part of the stand~oft` between the great powers. Another notable exception, to the extent that

-

borders were redrawn, was the Ne Win-Chou Enlai agreement which settled disputes on the Burma-Chinese border. In a sense - it is not an exception, but an example of the principle that it was for the post-colonial states to re-negotiate their borders if necessary. The problem is complicated because there are such examples as Timor and Goa, but the general point that needs to be emphasized is that borders were the entire

responsibility of the emergent states and this principle was generally re-inforced by the exigencies of the Cold War. 'Ethnic groups', in the Hobsbawm treatment, as opposed to 'nationalism' which is a 'political progralnrne', is 'a readily definable way of expressing a real sense of group identity which links the members of "we" because it emphasizes their differences from "them"'. Very open what links the 'we' is language or religion both. The sociological reality of this cannot be questioned

- or

- Leach and others would

contest the necessary historical reality which putatively binds the ancestors of the people claiming such unity. Arising out of the Andersonian thesis is the suggestion that it is elites, particularly political elites, that create such 'ethnicity' where consciousness of it had not existed before. This is a point of view criticized by Ranajit Guha in his review5 of the first edition of the book. Not only elites, but peasants could have a view of ethnicity or nationhood, and fight for it. Guha also points out that the central notion of 'imagined' in Anderson's work is so obvious that it loses any explanatory power. A strain that runs through the Anderson-Thongchai view, and found in the writings of many others, for example Geoffrey Benjamin (The Unseen Presence: a theory o f the nation state and its mysryicarions), is the suggestion that ethnic identity,

politicized ethnic identity, is a confidence trick perpetrated on an innocent population

5

Nationalism reduced to 'official nationalism' ASAA Review 9(1) 1985: 103-08.

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Gehan Wyeyewardene

by its leaders. The other side of this particular coin is revealed by Anderson who at the end of the book accepts post-colonial nationalism and ethnic identity as essentially benevolent, without the vilification and violence that characterizes colonial racism. This is to ignore the nauseating violence and hatred that accompanied the partition of British India, the Sri Lankan conflict, Malaysian race riots and a multitude of other recent historical events. To return to Leach, one should keep clear that he was fighting battles on many fronts. He was objecting to the idea that there was some fixed, recoverable territorial frontier which defined traditional Burma. He was here recognizing, but then discarding, the validity of British efforts over a century to demarcate the boundaries of what they considered theirs. He was by implication questioning the rights of the government in Rangoon to the territories it claimed ignoring the realities of the post-colonial world. Traditional Burma may have no frontiers of the kind drawn on maps and customs and immigration control - but modem Burma did. The only valid point, it seems to me, here is that there is a historical discontinuity in traditional views of political units and modern ones. I, among others, have argued that traditional notions of frontiers in mainland Southeast Asia had to do with the political recognition of river valleys as units and watersheds as boundaries. When colonial boundaries were drawn the occupying powers both recognized this fact and ignored it to Suit their convenience hence the distorted boundaries of the post-colonial states. Another battle he was fighting was that against the historical linguists - whom he accused of confusing the use of language and the historical relation between languages with the movement of peoples and the ancestry of living populations. Here one need not jump to the deface of linguists who are quite able to defend themselves, but Leach was again distracting attention from one of the important

-

-

phenomena which were beginning to shape modern Burmese history - what we may perhaps call 'linguistic nationalisms It may be that Karennic nationalism whereby the Kayak and Pa-O have become associated as allies of the Karen National Union, is partly the creation of linguists identifying these languages as related, but it is also partly the recognition of similarity by the peoples themselves, and, most important, the political fact cannot now be disputed. Hobsbawm recognizes the phenomenon and writes that he speaks as 'part of my subject. For historians are to nationalism what poppy~growers in Pakistan [he could as well have said Burma] are to heroinaddicts; we supply the essential raw material for the market.' The third battle is only implicit

and it could be quite unfair to raise it at all.

Leach was concerned with history and the error of projecting the modern on to the historical. But as with Anderson and Thongchai there seems to be a clear suggestion that an understanding of the past will create a different program for the present and future. To recognize that the frontiers of historical Burma are illusory is perhaps to

Rethinking 'The Frontiers Of "Burma"

83

recognize that some other view should be taken of the frontiers of modem Burma- In Thongchai's case there are clear statements that indicate his argument about the *geobody of Siam' is an attack on Thai chauvinism. Though the implied criticisms I wil]

now make may be unfair, perhaps some good may come of it. When Leach's paper appeared in 1960 the Karen rebellion was already well over ten years old. In 1949 part of the Kachin forces who had served under the British went into rebellion led by Naw Song, but he did not carry the bulk of his fellow

Kachin and he went into exile in China.' It was not till 1958-9, while Leach's paper was in press that the Kachin Independence Organization went into revolt. In the previous year the Shan had begun their revolution. At the time the paper went into

print the people with whom Leach was most familiar, the Kachin or Jingpo, were expressing their ethnic identity as a political fact

- they were no longer a cultural-

ecological category. But, to go back to Leach's paper, I should make it clear that Leach had a pretty good understanding of the political-ecological situation. He understood very well the nature of the valley state and the valley princes. His main concern was the relation of these states, particularly when they comprised more than one valley, with the hill peoples that lived on the borders between valleys. He writes that the control princes could exercise over them 'was seldom more than marginal'. He also writes that language and ethnic identity were determined by place of residence and agricultural practice. Thus a Kachin who moved into the valley and cultivated irrigated rice became a Shan, became a Buddhist, and could marry a woman from among his neighbours. A Burmese (or Shan) Buddhist, he says, cannot marry a non»Buddhist. In contrast, Chinese traders very often established a network of connections throughout the hills by marrying local women. This is very neat, but it is not I think entirely

accurate. Robert Taylor, for instance, writes of the Restored Tour goo and Konbaung states Further from the king's supervision lay the third zone, that of the tributaries. Here immediate authority was exercised by hereditary rulers from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. These rulers, Shan Sawbwas, Kachin Duwas, Karenni Sawbwas, Karen and Chin chiefs etc., paid allegiance to the central court through tribute missions, marriage alliances, military forces and similar non-permanent, non-bureaucratic displays of obligation.7

6

Most of my historical comments are owed to Martin Smith Burma: insurgency and the politics of insurgency Zed: London and New Jersey 1991.

7

Robert H. Taylor The State in Eurma Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press 1987:22.

84

Gehan Wyeyewardene

It seems, intuitively, a mistake to attribute such a view of marriage to Theravada Buddhists. In terms of agriculture it is quite clear that from pre-colonial times the Karen spanned a range of ecological niches, though one should also remember that the extensive rice-growing of the delta is a colonial phenomenon. As Amanda Rajah has shown us rice ecology and ethnic identity have complex relationships. The Karen with whom he worked cult voted irrigated rice on fields originally established by Hmong, a hill-tribe of non-local origin, but reserved their mystical connections with agriculture, for their swiddens. Leach, in his book on the Kachin, does give examples of individuals that changed their identity when they changed their agricultural way of life, but this does not prove that many others did not practice wetrice agriculture and remain Kachin. Though it is not a conclusive argument, in Thailand there are many Hmong and Yao who cultivate wet rice for part of the year and return to their hill villages at the end of the season. Leach has argued that traditional systems are no longer recoverable - and this may well be true (though Martin Smith, while agreeing with Leach, also says this is disputed by KIO leaders), but we need to approach these assertions with some scepticism. Leach's experience was of the particular Kachin/Shan divide and he attempted to

generalize it, not only to modem Burma, but to the greater region itseI£ When we try to see what lessons his theory has for the modern conflicts of Burma, the brief discussion above seems to suggest - very little. Ethnicity for Leach was an epiphenomenon of ecological boundaries. It would be foolish to deny its reality today. As Martin Smith eloquently points out, a full understanding of Burma's linguistic divisions is still beyond our grasp. The divisions and sectional loyalties are couched in memories of history that go back long before the colonial period. He

writes that in Tavoy-Mergui districts in CPB controlled areas, Burmese speakers refer to fellow Burn ans as 'Pagans', harking back 'to an age long ago'. The Karen, despite continuing political differences, have given to the outside world an illusion of unity, embracing such distinct, though Karennic-speaking, groups as the Kayah (Karenni) and Pa-O. In fact large groups of mostly Pwo-speaking hill Karen have almost nothing to do with the insurrection and in the delta many Karen are opposed to the insurrection and fight on the side of SLORC. Clearly what is required is a framework for understanding the relations of these groups - among themselves, with each other and with Burn ans a theory, so to speak, which replaces the neat formulation of Leach and which recognizes the reality

-

of ethnicity. Language and religion are important

- though the

importance can vary

and convictions of ethnic identity may exist though both language and religion are lost. Chao Tsang Yawnghwe son of the first president of Burma and a leader of the

-

Shan rebellion describes his frustration during the early days of the rebellion, sitting

Rethinking 'The Frontiers Of "Burma"

85

with Shan and not having the language to express his disagreement or expound his views.8 Such a theory is not merely an academic exercise. One of the major political activities of the Democratic Alliance of Burma is to revive the old call for a federal constitution to face the difficulties that must arise at the end of SLORC. A search for principles to describe the on-the~ground reality of ethnicity in modem Burma is essential if the DAB constitution is not to flounder in uncertainty and wishful thinking. As a start I will go very quickly through the major groups that occupy the borders of Burma and try to bring out some of the issues that are most prominent in the situation as it is in the final decade of the 20th Century.

Mon Christian Bauer writes of the Mon that they themselves tend to equate ethnic identity with language and, 'In spite of reports over the past century that Mon is a dying language, there is no evidence to suggest that its use is declining in Burma". Bauer arrives at a tentative population of Mon in Burma as I million. As comparison Smith reports that 'leaders of the main ethnic minority communities estimate the Shan and All figures, particularly the Mon populations at approximately four million each Mon, need treating with great circumspection, being projections based largely on (1991:30). On Bauer's discussion the ancestral records or regions of habitation ceiling on Mon~speakers in Thailand (as opposed to those who might claim Mon ethnicity) is about 50,000. These communities were probably established in the 18th Century after the fall of Pegu (1757). Though the Mon insurrection has been of some importance in lower Burma, particularly in the region of the Three Pagodas Pass, it

has been relatively small . From a theoretical point of view, it seems unlikely that there is any ecological detrmination of Mon ethnicity nor a religious one, the Mon

-

being Theravada Buddhist as are Burn an and Thai. Mon ethnicity is linguistic first and foremost, though, as noted by Smith, the phenomenon of ethnic identity connected only to a historical name is also a Mon characteristic.

Karen Smith writes of modem population figures 'No reliable figures have been collected or released since independence and those that are published appear deliberately to play down ethnic minority numbersi He provides the estimate of three to four million, 8 g

'The Shan of Burma: memoirs of a Shan exile' Singapore: ISEAS 1987. 'Language and ethnicity: the Mon in Burma and Thailand Ethnic Groups across national

boundaries in mainland Southeast Asia Singapore': ISEAS 1990: 14-47.

86

Gehan Wyeyewardene

with another 200,000 in Thailand. The KNU estimate their population , including PaO, Kayan and Kayak (Karenni) as 'some seven Million'. It should be noted that whatever the true figure this includes a very diverse population even in ethnic terms- It is of course in the interests of the KNU to accept a single ethnic identity. We may briefly mention that there is a large Buddhist population, some Burmese-

-

speaking, in the Delta, and older Buddhist chiefdoms such as the Pa-O, a Christian population from, which the KNU leadership is largely drawn, and many hill Karen who are probably only now being drawn into the insurrection and military conflict. Leach's ecological divisions may be informative at some points, but are certainly inadequate to deal with the general situation. Were a tme Karen ethnicity to emerge it would be a created ethnicity, though this is not to deny the nationalist fervor which has maintained the insurrection for nearly half a century.

Shan

The Shan are among those who claim that they were betrayed by the British grant of independence. The Shan states were not, they claim, administered as part of lowland Burma and should not have been handed to Rangoon. Claims are made that even in

1942 Shan State, as the agglomeration of small chiefdoms had become, was not considered part of Burma. These views are criticized by Chao Tsang Yawnghwe who writes that the 'tales sprang more from wishful thinking than facts'. Essentially the Shan, who are Tai-speakers, fit part of Leach's model very well they were after all one factor in his model. The Shan rebellion did not begin till 1958-9 and was, it appears, directly a result of the Kuomintang invasion of Burmese territory. Apart

-

from a short period in the 80s, they have been faction ridden, left by alliance and

opposition to the communists, by the opium trade and by their ethnic relations with Thailand. The heavy-handed occupation of Kengtung by the Siamese during the war, probably ruled out a major option of Shan insurrection a demand for unification

-

with Thailand. The current position of the Shan insurrection is difficult to guage. Some groups have made their peace with Rangoon and others are part of the DAB. The major player, however, is still Khufu So, who trades opium, is said to have an agreement with Rangoon, is at war with the Wa and has strong informal relations with Tai Jai i.e. Shan, in Thailand. Despite any agreement with Rangoon, earlier this year .Rangoon seems to have been supporting, militarily, the Wa, and certainly until the events of May in Thailand this year, the Shan were also coming under attack from the

Thai air force. When the Shan groups were last in a position to make a statement of policy, they clearly chose independence and rejected the Union of Burma.

Rethinking 'The Frontiers Of "Burma" '

87

We Smith gives the insurrectionists estimate of Wa population at two million, but this figure probably includes much of the population in China. The Wa began to make an impact on the insurrection in their own right with the self-destruction of the Communist Party of Burma. The CPB was well-known as having a Burn an leadership and minority, particularly Wa, fighters at least in upper Burma. Smith reports that Wa themselves say that it was not the Shan, not the Burmese, not the British, not the Chinese who intruded into their tribal life - but the Communist Party ofBunna.

-

The We have embraced the opium trade and certainly until recently have been in fierce dispute with the forces of Khufu Sa. There is no clear indication of their political demands, though it seems they do aim for territorial independence. As we have looked at the border groups against the Leach model, I may just say that the Wa, like the Naga and the Chin, do demonstrate an aspect of the model with which I have not dealt here, but may briefly mention a dual chiefly/democratic social structure with movement between the two poles- The evidence, except for the Kachin, is not extensive.

-

Kachin These people were of course the core of Leach's theoretical model. Smith's figures for the Kachin are one and a half million. There are a number of questions that need to be asked about the Kachin. Leach claimed that the term Kachin was not an ethnic, but a political term. The Jingpo-speakers made up the majority, but the Kachin

chiefdoms and the egalitarian communities were made up of speakers of a number of different languages. In China the word Jingpo is used and the application of the word Kachin is unclear. Nevertheless these are related communities the national border sometimes bisects villages. Movement is free across the border, and though, at least since the demise of the CPB, China supports SLORC, Jingpo are allowed to support their kinsmen across the border, though officially not allowed to provide arms. The KIO leader Bran Song is a welcome visitor in Beijing, and I was told that KIO leaders find it much easier to visit their headquarters via Beijing than through

-

Burmese territory.

The Kachin are said by some to have more fighters in the field than the KNU. On the other hand Bran Song has on occasion upset his DAB allies by negotiating with SLORC. Early this year it was said that there was now an agreement in place

among the DAB leadership that such unilateral talks would not take place.

Gehan Wzjeyewardene

88

Chin The Chin in fact comprise a large number of different groups (whose names for themselves usually has the word zo as part) who have on the whole been supportive of the Rangoon government. There are, however, groups representing the Chin in the DAB. Baas Terwiel recently visited the Mize on the Indian border and reports that they have established their headquarters on the Indian side and largely manage their own affairs, even though there was an Indian government reprentative stationed there.

Arakan The majority of the population of Arakan are Buddhist Rakhine whose numbers are given as two and a half million. Smith gives a figure of 'one to two million' Muslim Arakanese or Rohingyas. He says 'many of whom are now living in exile'. The Arakan was a major centre of communist activity and the main area of operation of the 'Red Flag' communists. Smith writes, 'It is certainly no coincidence that since the fall of the CPB's Pegu Yuma base areas, the CPB's only remaining footholds in predominantly Burmese-speaking areas have been in the Rakhine State (where determined separatist movements remain active).

Conclusion This presentation must be considered a preliminary reconsideration of Leach's theory and its application over all Burma's borders and into the contemporary situation. BLtrma's frontiers were never all like the Kachin-Shan boundaries, and many of the elaborations of theory may be questioned. Nevertheless, it still remains to be considered how much the ecological factors behind Leach's theories continue and influence contemporary developments.

Material for the distribution of ethnic groups is based on Frank M. Lebar et. al. 1964.10 A major point needs to be made. The maps of this book show no Burn an populations on Burma's borders except in Arakan. These groups are probably Rakhine. This term is not used in the book and Arakanese are subsumed under

-

Burmese. The term Rohingya does not occur. Issue No. 19, December 1992

10

Ethnic groups of mainland Southeast Asia New Haven; HRAF Press 1964.

89

Chulalongkorn and the Tithi Mahasunya J.C. Eade1 Each year in Thailand a publication is produced, called Patithin rock for:-roek Lang. It devotes one page to each day of the year and gives special attention to how the moon is behaving on a given day. Just as the sun's path is divided into twelve compartments called rash, which westerners know as signs of the zodiac (everyone knows in which sun sign they were born, even if they don't really know what a "sign" is), so the moon's path is divided into 27 sections, called rock. Inevitably some rock are good ones and some are bad, and the whole scheme has been made complicated enough by the astrologers to guarantee them a 400-page publication every year. (at a supermarket~style 99 baht in 1991, an increase from 85 baht in 1988). The apparatus of astrology on the whole tends to balance things out-good fortune tends, overall, to lie in equipoise with bad. But in the case of the rock Lang, the bad ones outnumber the good ones-in number, if not necessarily in the duration of their effect-by three to one. Defining the rock Kang operating at a given time on a given day is therefore a lucrative business. But there is yet another kind of warning these astrologers issue, which is when a given day may have its rock all well disposed, but is none the less a rfzhf mahaswuya). Of such days all the authorities say that even if everything else is good,

nothing at all should be attempted. The criterion has here changed from rock to tithe, from determining which of its 27 compartments the moon is in, to determining how old it is. In each month fifteen tfrhf

(lunar days) take the waxing moon from New to Full, and either fourteen or

fifteen zizhi take the waning moon from Full to New. The procedure for determining these very bad days also takes account of where the sun is, grouping the twelve Iasi in pairs. Having done that, it selects the first six even-numbered r i f f and employs them in both their waxing ahd their waning phases. By this means it establishes a system whereby all twelve rash have the opportunity to generate a mnhasunya day twice in each lunar month, such that a really bad year could have 24 mahasunya days. 1

Asian History Centre, Faculty of Asian Studies, ANU.

90

JC. Eade The distribution is as follows:

tithi

sun Aries/Cancer Taurus/Aquarius

6

Gemini/Virgo Sagittarius/Pisces

8 2

Leo/Scorpio Libra Capricorn

waxing/waning 4

10

12

Because of the dislocation between the sun's motion and the moon's motion, however, it is possible for a year to have fewer than twenty-four of these terrible days. In 1988, for instance, when the sun arrived in Sagittarius (on 16 December) the moon was already at 8 waxing, so the 2 waxing required for a match with the sun in Sagittarius was avoided. It is only when one is possessed of this rather arcane knowledge about

mahasunya that an entry in the Chotmaihet Hon o f Kongsin ( P r a c h um Phongsawadan, Vol. 8, pp. 159-60) can be properly assessed. There is in fact not a great deal of astrology in Kongsin's record, but at this point one of his rare astrological comments does appear. The date is CS 1230, 12 waning of the 12th month, a Wednesday (=II November 1868). The item is the Coronation

of King Chulalongkorn. And the comment is the dire and terse one that this was indeed a rirhi mahasun. Were the h o r s asleep? Should some heads have rolled? The answer is in fact "no". The record also defines the time of the coronation as "dawn plus 9 bat", i.e. as 6:54 a.m. My computer program tells me that at 6:54 the r i f f was still only 11:24. The sun was indeed in Libra, but the rithi was not yet also 12 and would not become so until 8.10 pm. The point here is that although the civil calendar called the day "12 waxing", the 12th rizhi was reckoned more precisely (there being one rftki for every l2° of separation between the longitudes of the sun and the moon). A Fifhi will therefore almost never -coincide exactly with its calendrical equivalent. On the critical day, a tithi mahasunya was indeed going to come into operation,

but Chulalongkorn's coronation avoided it and the Cholvnaihet was wrong so to damn the occasion. l May 1991

Issue No. 13, June 1991

91

Tai Traditional Medicine and Ethnicity in Thailand, Laos and China* Scott Bamber University of Western Australia Introduction This paper addresses the association between traditional medicine and definitions of

Tai ethnicity in three countries, Thailand, Laos and China or, in other words, how traditional medicine relates to being Thai, being Lao or being Tai in China. By 'traditional medicine' I mean the complex of beliefs and behaviour associated with the prevention and treatment of illness which has existed apart from the system of modem medicine. Among Tai peoples this is extremely heterogeneous, with individuals availing themselves of a wide variety of options, including herbal remedies, massage, spirit belief, and dietary change. While I will not go into the

argument of whether traditional medicine is more or less effective than modem, it is worth noting that, through language and culture, traditional medicine is also closely bound to the natural environment in the form of plants and animals, and for this reason the efficacy of traditional medicine may be related to regions or groups of people.

In the course of my research on traditional medicine in these three countries over a number of years it has become apparent that, in addition being about the treatment of illness, traditional medicine also has another dimension, that of defining ethnicity. I have referred to this briefly previously in an article in the Thai-Yunnan Project Newsl etter (TYPN) (Bamber l 989a) and, as Gehan Wijeyewardene

has recently

indicated, my work on Chinese Tai peoples describes some of the ways this has taken place in Sipsongpanna. Recently, in April this year, I was also able to gain some insight into the use of traditional medicine in Laos, particularly in the northern provinces of Luann Nam Tha and Phone Saly.

1

Paper presented to the seminar on Tai ethnicity, Department of Anthropology, RSPAS, ANU on 30 August 1994.

92

Scot! Bomber

Through a comparison of information from these three places, some useful insights on Tai ethnicity can be gained. Here I want to briefly go through the evidence, such as I have at hand, from Thailand, China and Laos, then I will attempt

to relate this back to some of the broader issues which have been raised concerning ethnicity in the region.

Thailand Traditional medicine, while widely practised in Thailand, until recently was either

officially suppressed, or at best ignored. From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, however, there was a resurgence of official interest in traditional medicine. This took

the form of backing from the MOPH, for establishment of herb gardens attached to universities,

hospitals

and other institutions,

support

for research, written

publications, and even a series of stamps featuring some of the better known plants from the traditional pharmacopoiea. Support for these activities came from several areas. Partly it came about through foreign support, for example with funding from the development assistance arms of the Netherlands and Germany. There was also interest shown by the Thai royal family, and one of the princesses, Chulabhorn, has spoken publicly on the

scientific investigation of some medicinal plants. This resulted in a publication titled The Princess' Book of Medicinal Plants (Bamber 1989a:11). Much support also came from government and non-government organisations (NGOs). Perhaps the greatest interest in this context is the support for traditional medicine which came from the Ministry of Education's Office for the Promotion of Thai Identity in the late 1970s. This took the form of a number of publications on herbal medicine and massage, the

text emphasising the long history of medicine in Thailand, and its efficacy, reflecting the ingenuity and self-sufficiency of the Thai populace (Bamber l989a:ll). It is also useful to look at the type of traditional medicine which was being promoted, and the places where it was being used. For the main part it was central Thai in character, and was largely determined, it seems, in conjunction with the school of traditional medicine at Wat Pho. It was mainly herbal or massage, free from any associations with spirit beliefs and magic and was also very limited in regard to the range of therapies selected. Whereas some prescriptions used in traditional

medicine had over a hundred ingredients, the form of medicine promoted has far far fewer, and these are often used in a way which is similar to modem medicine. That is a single drug for a specific ailment. There was also a corresponding change in the

names of diseases: in some cases the old names were abandoned completely, and in others there was an attempt to translate old name into a modern equivalent, with a subsequent nan-owing of meaning. For example you find Ion only in the names of a

Tai Traditional Medicine and Edmicity in Thailand, Laos and China

93

couple of conditions these days whereas in the past it was common, and applied to a wide range of illnesses (Bamber 1989b). While the traditional Thai medicine which was promoted was central Thai in character, the intended beneficiaries were generally of quite different origin. Apart from a small number of middle-class Central Thai consumers, mainly interested in herbal shampoos or skin care products, traditional medicine was directed towards the rural poor. By and large this meant Northeasterners and Southerners- As I have argued elsewhere, given the regional specificity of traditional medicine, it is questionable whedier taking medicine from one region and applying it in another is of great benefit, and to Northeastern villagers medicine derived from the Central Thai

region is probably almost as alien as modern medicine, and a lot less effective (Bamber l989a:l1). The situation would have been similar for Southern Thais, with the added problem of expecting the Moslem section of the population to accept a traditional medicine whose origins are closely bound to Buddhism. It is also of interest to look at the role of NGOs in promotion of traditional medicine- While there is no reason to doubt that their intentions were sincere, it is evident that a number of the early NGO projects tended to impose central Thai medicine on regional peoples- This probably reflects the background of those who ran the NGOs, who were generally of tniddleclass Bangkok origins. Later there was a move towards more truly community-based projects which attempted to make use of local knowledge. An example of these is the NERDEP project at Phon, near Khon Keen, where an effort was made to locate people with knowledge of traditional medicine from the local area. With their help a catalogue was compiled of local plants which had medicinal value and villagers encouraged to either grow these or to

conserve forest areas where they could be gathered. It is worth noting that the official movement for promotion of traditional medicine seems to have lost a lot of enthusiasm in recent years. The number of publications has decreased and the herb gardens are looking rather neglected- The main force for sustaining interest seems to be the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has led to a search for effective drugs among the traditional pharmacopoiea. Nowadays, with the decline in official interest, NGOs appear to be doing much more than other bodies in regard to traditional medicine. Another important point is that at the same time that traditional medicine was being officially promoted, local beliefs and practices related to health were being eroded in various ways. To take one example, feeding practices for children. In

Thailand, and other countries of the region, the practice of early introduction of solid food to infants is widespread. This practice, which is especially common in the north, can be as early as the first week of life, and usually involves die feeding of sticky rice and banana which has been pre-chewed by the mother. For some time this practice

94

Scott Barber

has been frowned on by the MOPH and it is actively discouraged by community health workers, although there appears to be no evidence that it does any harm to the child (Chawapornpan 1992). A similar process may be seen in relation to other advice given to pregnant women, including practices during confinement (Yu far,Yu yen, Yu k m ) after childbirth, and even cutting of the hair. In all these areas the pattern is one of the imposition of a model emanating from Bangkok, and often rationalised by reference to Western practices. In sum, the picture which emerges for Thailand is of the official promotion of a sanitised, 'ethnically cleansed', version of traditional medicine, and a simultaneous erosion of certain other cultural features related to health. The approach has been top down, with little attempt to involve community participation or to acknowledge regional differences. In the end, it was left to the NGO movement to attempt to

achieve this. It is probably no coincidence that the period of greatest government interest in traditional medicine coincided with a time, in the 1970s and 19805, of considerable political division when national unity was at threat. With greater political stability in recent years this accent on popular culture was no longer as important, and the promotion of traditional medicine ceased to be of use as a political strategy. This scenario seems to have been the case for all regions except the far South. As far as I am aware, no such programmes have been carried out in provinces such as Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, where there is a substantial Moslem population, who are among the poorest, if not the poorest, in the country and probably most in need of health services. It would appear that in these places any action which would have sewed to emphasise ethnic differences was discouraged. Sipsongpanna In Sipsongpanna the Tai Lue also have a traditional medicine which has many features in common with that of Tai groups in Thailand, incorporating herbal medicine, a belief in spirits, and practices such as blowing air or water over the body of the sick person. In Sipsongpanna, however, there has been a concerted effort on the part of the state to impose restrictions on the types of practices which can be carried out. The most dramatic examples are the suppression which occurred during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Since the early 1980s there has been considerable easing up of restrictions, however spirit-based curing practices in particular are still strongly suppressed (Wijeyewardene 1994:7). The result has been that, of the range of medical practices formerly in use, only

herbal medicine is officially recognised. Even here there is strict control. For example, I have previously described how an attempt was made recently to establish a 'Tai traditional medicine course' in Jinghong. This course seems to have been a

Tai Traditional Medicine and Ethnicity in Thailand, Laos and China

95

poorly-conceived and token effort, initiated by the government as a form of recompense for the potentially lucrative research into Tai materia medical (Bainber 1993). It made no allowance for differences behwveen Tai people from Sipsongpanna and those from Dehorn who were also included among participants and it focussed solely on herbal medicine. In this case, as Gehan Wijeyewardene has indicated, the state has effectively defined the form which the Tai medical tradition may take, and the conditions under which it can be practised (Wijeyewardene 1994).

Laos I would also like to make a few comments on the situation in Laos. These are based on a brief three week trip in April where I looked at Primary Health Care in a number of norther provinces. As it happened my official companion on this trip was a deputy director of the Research Institute for Medicinal Plants in Vientiane and I was therefore able to get a close look at the way traditional medicine is supported and

used. In Laos traditional medicine is officially encouraged. This may have less to do with its perceived efficacy relative to modern medicine than necessity; in view of the low priority given to funding of health services, traditional medicine is a real alternative for people living in remote areas, The official encouragement for traditional medicine also accords with World Health Organisation (WHO) policy, and thus the Ministry of Health may be seen to be doing the right thing by the WHO, thus opening the way for funding in other areas. Traditional medicine is also encouraged as a commercial enterprise. The

Research Institute for Medicinal Plants has a factory in Vientiane where some of the medicinal plants it has investigated grown and processed for sale. Apart from domestic distribution, an important market for these is Lao communities overseas, primarily in the US and France. This is not the only place in Laos where traditional medicines are produced in commercial quantities, small medicinal plant factories are attached to the health offices in some provincial centres. I visited on such factory in Phone Saly which has staff nurnbering about five or six people. From what I could see the traditional medicine being promoted by the Ministry of Health is mainly ethnic Lao in origin, rather than being based on that used by other

ethnic minorities. Research appears to be conducted very much on an ad hoc basis without any attempt to understand the usage of medicines in a cultural context. The

basis for selection of most medicinal plants appears to be the textual tradition, supplemented by information obtained through discussions with practitioners. As a consequence medicinal plants are viewed singly in terms of pharmacological

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Scott Barber

efficacy. Non-textual, or non-ethnic Lao, traditions also appeared to be neglected, as were other forms of medicine, for example spirit-based curing techniques. I was not in a position to get any information on spirit curing, and would be interested to know whether the official support for herbal medicine is accompanied by a corresponding antagonism towards such practices. Certainly outside the official traditional medicine, there does not seem to be any restriction on the use of herbal medicine by minority groups. Medicinal plants, of many different origins, and animal parts intended for medicinal use, are freely available for sale at markets, for example the market at Mu'ang Sing and Luang Nam The.

To sum up, a superficial look at the use of traditional medicine in Laos suggests that its official support is weighted heavily in favour of the ethnic Lao herbal tradition. As in Thailand, there seems to be an attempt to impose a 'scientific' approach, with laboratory research, and technology for processing and packaging the product in a way which resembles that of modern medicines. In contrast to Thailand, however, there does not appear to have been any overt political use of traditional medicine to promote ethnic or national identity. Rather, the process is a more subtle one which can probably be attributed more to ethnocentricity.

Conclusion What does all this say about Tai ethnicity? It is perhaps useful to consider first the situation from the point of view of the sick person: in illness there doesn't seem to be any rigid ethnic boundary which defines what is perceived to be effective and what is not. Tai villagers in Sipsongpanna avail themselves of modem vitamin injections and Chinese acupuncture, as well as herbal remedies. In Laos, the efficacy of Chinese-

manufactured artemisinin (ring hao so) appears to be equally appreciated by Tai Lue, Haw Chinese and Khrnu- Similarly, I recently interviewed a modern-trained Thai doctor who has been working at Najaluai in Ubon, who complained that the villagers kept demanding injections. Thus, at least in regard to matters of personal health, Tai peoples seem to take a heterogonous approach to treatment. think it is clear from this account that the suppliers of services in the three countries described here, government and, to some extent, non-government, have defined traditional medicine

very narrowly. This has tended to be, in Thailand and Laos, in terms of a sanitised version of the predominant culture or, for China, the local Tai culture. In all three places it is interesting to note the role which 'science' fulfils in legitimising this centralising process.

Tai Traditional Medicine and Edmicity in Thailand, Laos and China

97

References Bamber, S.,

'Preliminary Notes on Health Care in Sipsongphanna',

I7¢af-Yunnan

Project Newsletter, No.7, 1989a, pp-9-13.

Bamber, S, "Trope and Taxonomy: An Examination of the Classification of Illness in Traditional Thai Medicine", PhD thesis, Asian History Centre, Faculty of Asian Studies, ANU, ]989b. Bamber, S,

'The Tai Traditional Medical Course in Sipsongpanna', paper presented at the International Conference on Thai Studies, SOAS, London,l993.

Chawapornpan Son-Ngai, Thesis Abstract, Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter, 1992.

Wijeyewardene, Gehan, 'Australian Studies on Tai Peoples', Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter, 25, 1994, pp.S-7. Issue No. 27, December 1994

98

From Peasant to Rural Trader: The Ox-Train Traders of Northern Thailand, 1855-1955* Chusit Chuchart The purpose of this paper is to examine the institution of 'village trader' or 'ox-train trader' in North Thailand during the period 1855-1955. It is an outline of research on this subject using both documentary sources and interviews.. Material was gathered from documents in the National Archives, from the reports of European travellers in North Thailand during the 19th and 20th centuries, and from other secondary sources. Interviews were conducted with over sixty persons who had either been engaged

in this trade or had connection with it. Most of these people live in the provinces of Chianmai, Chiangrai. Maehongsom and Nan. Chiangmai was the major trading centre of the western part of the norther region (Uttaradit being the centre for the east). Land communication in Maehongsom and Nan developed much later than in the other provinces, so that ox-train trading continued till quite recently, and consequently it was much easier in these provinces to find people who had participated.

The people concerned were largely villagers engaged in peasant agriculture who became traders when the harvest was over, though some were engaged in trade the

whole year round. The latter too were owners of rice fields but would rent out their fields for others to cult vote, or, if they decided not to trade in any year, would cultivate themselves. The questions worth investigating are, first, why did these individuals leave the security of their villages to trade in the towns, and to what extent did this activity improve their status above that of the ordinary peasant? To what extent did the traditional political and economic system, the culture and modes of thought, act as obstacles to their activities? We may also consider whether any general principles .underlie the answers to our questions.

*

Translated from the Thai by Gehan Wijeyewardene.

From Peasant to Rural Trader

1.

2.

99

The reasons the years 1855-1955 are specified are: In 1855 Thailand entered a period of relatively free foreign trade with the signing of the Bowring Treatyl between Thailand and the United Kingdom. The treaty brought to an end the system of Royal trading monopolies under which the Royal Treasury was the only institution empowered to engage in foreign trade, and allowed much freer trade between Thai nationals and foreigners. Northern Thailand, during the period 1774-1884, was part of the Principality of Lannathai,2 a dependency of the Kingdom of Siam and the effects were felt in Northern Thailand as well (Chusit 1981). After 1855 Thailand changed from a basically subsistence economy to one

based on trade in rice, teak and tin, and at the turn of the century they were still the main exports. Imports were mainly ready-made goods such as clothes, metal tools and equipment and fuel. Goods reached North Thailand by two routes (Chusit l 980:48-60, Suthy 19"/5:26l-269)

-

2-1

2.2

The route from Moulmein through Tak, Lampang, Lamp fun, Chiangmai, Chiangrai, or from Moulmein through Tak to Maehongsorn. These routes used ox-trains or horse-trains or a combination of" bearers and boatsThe route from Bangkok was by water. Boats came up the Chao Phraya past the Mae Nam Ping to Pak Nam Pho in Nalduom Sewer province. From there the goods were distributed to the various parts of the north again by boat. One major route from Pak Nam Pho was along the Nan River, through Uttaradit to Nan. Ox-train traders met the boats at their destination and bought goods for resale in the

villages. 3.

After 1855 the political system too underwent changes in step with the economic changes. Slaves were freed between 1874 and 1911 and peasants freed from serfdom between 1905 and 1917, enabling the development of a

1

National Library of Thailand, Documents of the Fourth Reign, Culasakarat E217 (1855) No.l4.

2

King Mangrai (1262-1311), the founder of the Mangrai Dynasty (1296-1558), founded

Chiangmai and made it the centre of the dominions of Lannathai in 1296. His heirs and successors ruled as kings of Lannathai for about 262 years, when the kingdom lost its independence to Burma in 1558. The country was governed by Burmese for about 170 years. Independence was regained in 1727, but the Burmese again conquered parts of Lannathai in 1761. The people of Lannathai, in alliance with the Thai army, drove the

Burmese out of Chiangmai in 1774. Lannathai was a Thai dependency between 1774 and 1884, when it was incorporated into the Thai kingdom.

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Chusit Chuchart

free l a b o r force in a capitalist system. The peasants, once freed of the traditional obligations of serfdom, were free to pursue their own livelihood, and this too had its effects on the development of inter-village trade and the ox-train traders. These events all contributed to the development of the ox and horse caravans and the river trade particularly during the years 1855-1910. But during the 1910s there was some decline due to the introduction of the railway and motor vehicles to the norther region. The old pattern of trade slowly began to disappear.

-

The Origin Of The Ox-Trains We may speculate that trading with ox-trains occurred in the time of King Mangrai (13th century) and before, though there is no clear evidence. In The Laws of King Mar graf there are references to the use of bearers, carts and boats in trade (Prasert 1978:59-62), but there appears to be no reference to ox-trains. But in The Teachings of Phaya Mar graf there is a reference to such trade, The line may be translated, 'If you trade with oxen, make sure your goods and equipment are in order' (Sommai:14), In the manuscript Mangsarop Chiangmai, a work concerning the forcible resettlement of the citizens of Chiangmai in Burma by the Burmese king in 1615 and written two or three years later, there are many references to ox-trains (Singkha 1979:58, 61, 73, 77, 84). Though these references seem to indicate that the use of ox-trains for trade and transport is ancient in the region, before the 19h century the political and economic structure of Lannathai society placed many limitations on their use, as we shall see in a moment.

Reasons For The Use Of Ox-Trains In North Thailand On the evidence available, there seem to have been only two regions of Thailand in which ox-trains were used before the development of modern communications - these are the North and the Northeast (Chambutr 197'7:34-35). The reasons for this are as follows Geographical constraints: North Thailand is a heavily-forested, mountainous 1. region with numerous inter-montane basins (Sawart 1978:31, Pendleton

-

1963:40) which are the main centre of population. Between Huang, and even between villages, mountains and forests prevent easy communication. Before the development of the road and rail system, the only effective means

of transporting goods between neighboring population centre was through the use of oxen (and other pack animals)- Even cart tracks were rare or nonexistent. Villagers kept cattle for ploughing so these were already available

From Peasant to Rural Trader

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101

when required. Training cattle for use in ox-trains was not a difficult task. No more than a week was required. It was not surprising that when the circumstances were favourable the use of ox-trains rapidly increased throughout the villages of the north. Political constraints: The economic and political organization of Lannathai society before the end of the 19th century, the relationship between the capital and rural villages, between the rulers and the serfs, placed the latter in a situation of great inequality. A share of what the serfs produced had to be given to the lord as tax ( s u i or phasizj. In addition to this, he was liable to be conscripted to provide l a b o r (Chusit I 980:22-29). Serfs had no rights in

land or other natural wealth such as mineral ores, forest timber, or other forest products (Wanchali 19'/'7:7'7-l05). All these were the property of the ruler of the muang, caw r a n g (Prasert 1978: I10-1 I 9). The various taxes which the caw r a n g collected were not put to public use in Me sense that they went to provide a productive infrastructure - et., roads, reservoirs, dams and canals. Irrigation works, since the time of King Mangrai or before, were built by the communal efforts of the populace or through conscripted labour (Tanabe 1975-6:73-7, Wijeyewardene l965:2589). Taxes were used for the deface of the r a n g , for religious purposes or

for the requirements of the palace. Up to the 18th century there were no roads, no dams, etc. These began to be provided at public expense only during the first half of the 19th century?

With the absence of roads between cities and between cities and villages, the ox-trains were the most important means of transport and trade. 3.

The need among villagers for the supply for certain kinds of goods: Before the liberalization of trade with Europe during the middle of the 19th century," Thai villages were mostly self-sufficient, producing most of what they required themselves. There was some barter and exchange of goods, but this was limited to goods which they had difficulty acquiring themselves, such as salt, metal tools, earthenware, and luxuries desired by the nobility and urban

trading families in the cities, such as gems and silk (Chusit 198031-39, 6066, Suwit $979:73-4). Demand for such goods engendered some trade 3

For an account of developments in the infrastructure see Sunthari 1979, for communications Kyakol 1976.

4

Britain was the first country to sign a trade treaty with Thailand, in 1855. The. treaty allowed trade through the Royal Treasury

_

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Chusit Chuchart

involving most villages. Trade and the demand for foreign goods were, however, given a massive boost by the introduction of freer trade with Britain in 1855- The use of ox-trains for trade, which existed in a modest way before the second half of the 19th century, began then to slowly increase in volume-

The Status Of The Ox-Train Traders The ox-train traders were rural traders. They lived in villages and though trading was in most cases their primary occupation, their secondary occupation was agriculture.5 Some traded almost all year round, though between the months of July and October the heavy rains made trade difficult and many stopped. This type of trader did not engage in rice cultivation himself, but hired others to cultivate his fields. Trading was a more profitable enterprise than rice cultivation, yet in some villages the OXtrain traders only operated after the harvest was over. Not all villages in the north had ox-train traders and in those villages which did engage in such trade it was usually about three or four men who were involved. There were a few exceptions, special villages in which many of the inhabitants were engaged in the trade. The village of Pa Ngiw in Ban Pa Pong, Doi Saket district (Chiangmai) was engaged in the fang (pickled tea) trade, and was such a village. The villages of Makaphot and Chiang Khaeng in the Muang district of Nan Province bought mineral salt from the ambon of Bor Klya North and Bor Klya South in Pua district and transported it for sale in the Muang (urban) district of Nan. (This trade was extensive before 1950.) The villages of Muang Porn, Ban Pang Mu, Ban Khufu Yuam, Ban Mae La Noi and Ban Mae La Luang of Masehongsom Province were mainly inhabited by Shans who engaged in trade between Chiangmai and Maehongsom.

(This trade was extensive

till l 960.) The economic position of these traders was better than that of their fellow villagers. They possessed better houses, more rice fields and larger swiddens than others of roughly their place and time.

L i l

5

1

For this paper, specific data is used from interviews with the following persons (name, age, district and province are given): Kao Caikwang, 90, Mae Rim, Chiangmai, Dual Ninkaew, 76, Doi Saker, Chiangrnai, Kaew Khitchob, 89, Mae Chan, Chiangrai, Chamnuan Sirinam, 83, Doi Daket, Chiangmai, Samran Carunkitpracharom, 65, Amp fur Muang, Nan; Suriya Khampai, 86, Amp fur Muang, Maehongsom, Thap Namhawoug, 80,

Amp fur Muang, Nan, Duang Kaewani, 66, Mae Taeng, Chiangmai; Ma Mangloi, 53, Mae Tseng, Chiangmai, Mi Panyakham, 65, Wiang Papao, Chiangrai; Khankaew Phromkom, 82, Doi Saker, Chiangmai, Khan pan Suwantha, 57, Amp fur Muong, Nan, Bunsom Thatchai, 43, Amp fur Muang Maehongsom- Ages are at date of interview 198 L

-

From Peasant to Rural Trader

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Ox-train traders were mostly conservative in their opinions. They were bound up in village society and had no desire to expand their economic activity and operate within the city. They were too overawed by the unfamiliar things they saw. They were also probably deterred by the use of conscripted l a b o r in the urban society and the higher level of taxes. (This was before the changes in the economic and political

structure in the early 20th century.) Even today, though circumstances have changed, people's psychology remains the same many are not willing to leave their villages and live in the city. Capital for these trading ventures was provided by the traders themselves. For the most part the idea of borrowing money was not congenial to them, as they did not like the idea of being in debt. In some villages there were those who lent money, but interest rates were very high, and generally it appears that traders did not borrow capital to finance their trading enterprises.

-

Like other members of their society, ox-train traders believed in merit and

karma. Merit acquired in this life would have its reward in a future life, or even later in this one. Likewise, good fortune was the result of merit acquired in some past life, or earlier in the present incarnation. More pragmatically, they believed that action brought its own rewards. The diligent and industrious became rich, the lazy remained poor. But even these attitudes were ultimately based on the foundation of a belief in merit and karma.'

The Organization Of The Ox-Trains The ox~trains had not merely to travel from one town to another, they had in the process to cope with a wild countryside made up of forests, mountains, valleys and passes, all inhabited by many kinds of dangerous animals. The caravans were

therefore usually made up of many traders travelling together. The company would

-

be made up of 3-5 nai k i or ox-train traders [na hoi employer, lit. 'master of a hundred'].

Each na hoi would have 10-60 oxen, sometimes as many as 100. Each ten oxen needed one man to control them. A trader with 100 oxen would have nine employees, he himself taking charge of 10 beasts. Caravans were composed of different sized teams, some having more, others less. The trains travelled at a speed of about 3 kilometres per hour, though on level ground they might travel somewhat faster. When compared with horse-trains, they were much slower and their ability to cope with steep, high terrain was much less. Horse-trains perhaps averaged about 4 kilometres per hour.

6

This is inferred from most of the interviews, from all provinces.

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Chusit Chuchart

Ox-trains set out very early in the morning, about 580 am, and stopped about 10.30 am. That is, they travelled about five hours a day and then stopped to prepare their food and allow the oxen to graze. Oxen could be used between the ages of 3 and 35 years and usually carried weights of around 100-140 pounds (44.6-62.5 kilograms) (Hallett 18901210-213). Some traders might load their animals with as

much as 65 kilograms, but usually about SO kilograms. The cost of an ox was about 20-40 baht during the period 1932-1945. After 1945 the price rose rapidly and in 1956 an animal cost between 800-1000 baht.

The Major Articles Of Trade Before the mid-19th century there was probably not much trade in the north of Thailand, as villages tended to be mainly self-sufficient. Each village provided most of what it needed and it was only those things which the village could not produce itself or find in the neighbourhood, that were traded. Of these the major items were salt, metal tools, ornaments, silk and such goods (Chusit 1980:3l-39, 60-66). Luxury goods for the most part were traded in the cities rather than in the villages. After the British trade agreement with Burma in 1826 (Mating Htin Aunt 1976:I37), ready-made goods from Britain entered Burma at an increasing rate. Some portion of these goods crossed the border and were traded in neighbouring North Thailand. Traders brought ready-made goods in from Moulmein (Thipakorawong 1961:l96). In order to facilitate this trade, in 1856 the Thai and British governments reached an agreement on the types of currency that could be used. The rupee, baht, gold and silver ingots were all recognized as legitimate currency in the trade between British traders and the inhabitants of North Thailand.7

The rupee and Thai currency thus became the main mediums of exchange, replacing the old barter system. Trade between Britain and Thailand expanded rapidly after the Bowring Treaty of 1855. Britain exported to Thailand woven cotton goods, fuel, metal tools, etc. Bangkok was the centre of distribution, and North Thailand received these goods by way of the Mae Ping, Nan, Wang and Yum rivers. The goods which came up by boat were sold in the markets of the towns and large villages which lay close to the rivers (Chusit 1980;57-63), while the more distant towns and villages were served by the ox-train traders who bought goods for resale.

7

National Documents Division.

Publications of the Fifth Reign.

Ministry of

Communications 26/13 from myyn mahismm rarckaharythai kraal bank:om rhuun phra boat border phra c u f a calm k a w cawjuu h a 24 November 121 Ratanakosirl Era (1903) (Krommamuen Mahisorn Ratchaharythai to his Majesty King Chulalongkom).

From Peasant to Rural Trader

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The goods most sought after by the inhabitants of the north during the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century were of three kinds :

1.

Factory-produced goods such as ready-made clothes, cloth, thread, kerosene, matches, candles and metal tools. The sale of these goods in the villages destroyed many local industries (Chusit 1980:31-41; 64-7), as the villagers stopped planting cotton, and weaving, gave up the use of fuel from plants and trees, and used kerosene instead for lighting.

2.

3.

Goods which the villagers could not produce themselves and had to buy from other areas, sometimes near, sometimes a distance away. The most important of these was salt. Villages in the hills also required dried and salted fish. Luxury goods such as cosmetics, alcohol, cigarettes, silk and ornaments. These things were sold mainly to the nobility and traders in the towns, rather than to the farmers in the villages.

The Major Trade Routes Of The North The routes used by traders to bring factory-made goods to the towns and villages of North Thailand fall into the following three groups:

1.

The land route from Moulmein. This route passed through Mae Sot, Tak, Hod to Chiangmai. From Chiangmai it continued to Wiang Pa Paw, Chiangrai, Mae Sai and then to the Shan States of Burma and Yunnan in China. Chiangmai was the important centre for this route, From here routes led to Lampang and Maehongsorn." There were routes connecting other towns with these centres and with each other. Besides Thai traders, there were also Shan

and Yunnanese Chinese (Hof) traders. The latter mostly used horse-trains (Hallett 1890:l70-2, 213).

2.

The river route from Bangkok to the north. There were two important rivers involved in this route:

2-1

8

The Mae Nam Ping which had Chiangmai as its trade distribution centre,

National Documents Division, Ministry of Fine Arts, Publications of the Sixth Reign. Ministry of Communications 5.3/2 Mr L. Wyler caw krom rot far kraal thuun phra caw borornawong :ham from £ua".nareer worarir 1111 p.. 20 November 2455 (1912)- (mr L. Waler, Head of the Railway Department to Prince Krorn Luann Naret Worarit.) Publications of the Sixth Reign, Ministry of Communications 5,3/8 banthyk rya" keen :am (Papers relating to the thee. for fat cook nakh7l.'?1'n lampas" pay nakhnvzvz cNianazmaf

extension of the railway from Lampang to Chiangmai) 6 August 2461 (1918).

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Chusit Chucharr 2.2

The Mae Nam Nan which had Tha It in Uttaradit Province as the main distribution centre for the north.

The river routes corrected with the ox-train trade routes, the main products supplied to the traders from Bangkok being clothes, thread, kerosene, matches, candles, salt and dried fish. All boats came up the Chao Phraya to Nakhom Sewer. Here they branched either up the Mae Ping or the Nan to Chiangmai or Tha It. Ox-train traders from Maehongsorn or Chiangrai for example, would buy goods from the boat traders at Chiangmai for resale in more distant towns and villages. Traders from Nan, Phrae or Phayao would do the same at Tha lt. These traders would bring goods from their home base or buy from towns and villages on the way, either for sale along the route or to the boat traders who would take the goods back to Bangkok. The goods involved in the return trade were animal hom, animal skins, lac ( k a n g ) , honey, sappy wood (maifang), and cutch (siisiat). These goods were either forest products or the produce of their own village.

Prices And Profits Trading with ox~trains often involved long and difficult journeys, for example, the journey between Mae Sariang and Mae La Noi districts of Maehongsom Province and Hot district in Chaingmai took ten to twelve days. Traders would buy fish sauce in Hot at 1.25 baht a bottle (1947 prices) and sell in Mae La Noi at 3.50 baht a bottle. They would buy salt at 5 baht for twenty litres and sell the same quantity at 25 baht. In the trade between Sa-Moeng district in Chiangmai and the urban district of

Larnpang, traders bought kerosene in Lampang Rs. 5 for a twenty l i t e barrel (1918

prices), transported it to Chiangmai, journey of about four days, and sold it in SaMoeng for Rs.20. The high price was justified by the difficult terrain that had to be negotiated. Information from other areas was similar i.e., traders would sell goods at 2-5 times the price they paid. The justification for these high margins was the difficulty I'

.-

of the journeys, the time taken and the amount of capital at risk. The customers in any particular village, too, were not numerous. In the period

1910-1930, villages ranged in size from 20-40 houses and, assuming an average household size of six, populations of between 120-240 persons. The quantity of goods that could be traded was limited, and consequently profits also limited.

The End Of The Ox-Trains The use of ox-trains for trade probably goes back to the time of King Mangrai. The period of its greatest development, part cularly as a consequence of trade with

From Peasant to Rural Trader

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Britain, began in the 19th century. The Moulmein-Chiangmai route was the most important in this trade. The early years of the 20th century saw a rapid development of land transport. In 1914 the northern railway system reached Lampang, in 1921 Chiangmai. There was in addition the development of the road system between the bigger towns. In 1914 work commenced on the roads between Denchai and Phrae, Lampang, Phayao and Chiangrai, Larnphun and Chiangmai. The progress of this construction, however, was slow, as there were continual problems with funding (Chusit 1982:54-6, Phornphen l974:34). The road systems linking villages to towns fared even worse. Thus, though the building of the road system began in 1914, the ox-trains continued well beyond that date, to a decreasing extent, but well into the

20th century. The First National Development Plan (1961-66) and the Second National Development Plan (l967~'7l) saw the rapid development of the road system linking towns to each other and villages to the towns. The long history of the ox-trains came to an end, being replaced by the swifter and more convenient road and rail transport. The ox-train traders went back to rice cultivation. Of the 60 or so ox-train traders interviewed throughout North Thailand, only five (about 8.3%) continued to trade in a small way around the villages. Nevertheless, these ex-traders had a better economic position than other rice farmers, though they were less wealthy than their fellow traders in the towns. They were respected by their fellow villagers and were

often chosen as headman, karna, and irrigation headman. The ox-train traders were rural traders who came from the ranks of the rice farmers. They engaged in trade after the harvest in order to improve their economic position. The institution continued for well over a hundred years, probably much longer. The trade continued over many generations, based in the villages, for the

traders were unwilling to leave their homes for the unfamiliar surroundings of the towns. It could also have been the strong attachment to the culture of the rural village which kept them there and prevented them from becoming big traders or big capitalists like the merchants of the city. When motor vehicles replaced the ox-trains,

the traders had to return to an agricultural life as their capital resources did not allow them to venture into motorized transport. Motor vehicles required as much as 10 or 15 times more capital. Their fear of the cities and lack of capital also prevent them from re-establishing themselves as traders there. There was little they could do but go back to their old way of life in the village. They went from farmer to ox-train

trader, and finally back to farmer again when the ox-trains were superseded in the

mid-20th century.

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From Peasant to Rural Trader

109

Prasert Na Nakhom (Ed.). magrafsaat (The laws of King Mangrai) edited and rendered in modem 1978. Thai. Bangkok: Sri Nakharinthawirot Prasammitr University. Sawart Senanarong. phumisaat prafheet Thai (Georgraphy of Thailand). Bangkok: Social 1978. Science Association of Thailand. Singkha Wannasai (Ed. And Trans.) magsarop chia"maz° (The Burmese war against Chiangmai), edited and 1979. translated into modern Thai. Chiangmai: Chiangmai Book Center. Sommai Pren cit (He-). khan soon phraya maxjrai (The teachings of King MangTai), rendered 1976. in modern Thai. Chiangmai: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Chiangrnai.

Sunthari Asawaiya. kaan patthanaa nabob keen chonprathaan an' pratheet Thai tang Fee 1979phoo see 2431-2493 (Development of irrigation systems in Thailand 1888-1950). MA thesis, Chulalongkom University. Sithy Prasartset.

1975.

A Study of Production and Trade of Thailand 1855-1940. PHD thesis,

University of Sydney. Suwit Phaithayawat. wiwatrhana-akaan se rhakit chonlabot nai phaak klaag k g o f pratheet 1979.

Thai rawaag poo see 2394-2475 (Rural economic development in central Thailand between 1851 and 1932). MA thesis, Chulalongkom University. Tanabe Shigeharu. 1976.

keen chonprathaan phys kann kaset na prawatsoat seethakft Thai

(Irrigation agriculture in Thai economic history). Wamsarn

Nzammasart vol. 5, no. 2.

Thipakorawong Chao Phraya. phra ratchet phogsawadaan hug ratanakosin ratchclkaan .rhine 3 1961. (Chronicles of the third reign of the Bangkok Period), vol- 1.

Bangkok: Kuru Sapha Press.

110

Chusit Ckuchart

Wanchali Bun mi. 1977. kwaam samphan kap agkrit nay baas Zaksana samai phrabaar sorbet phra cola cam klaw cawjuU h a : keen pa m a i is myay res (Some

aspects of relations with England during the reign of King Chulaiongkom: forestry and mining). MA thesis, Sri Nakharinthawirot Prasammitr University

_

Wijeyewardene, G. 1965. A Note on Irrigation and Agriculture in a North Thai Village, Felicitation Volumes of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 2: 255-259 Bangkok: The Siam Society. Issue No. 7, December 1989

Ill

A Study 011 the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun with an Account of Close Relations Between Ancient Xi-shuang-ban-na and Law-na= w

Xie Yuan Zhang This paper comprises two parts: The first investigates the origin of the Zhao shu-run [saw suthon] and Nan-ma-nuo-Za [rang manohara}, a famous local story common among the Dai minority in China, and also found in Thaiiarid, Laos and northern Burma. The first part contains nine sub-sections: 1. The Zhao vhu-tun [saw 5uzhon]in Xi-shuang-ban»na 2. The Pai-.su-run [phra author} in Thailand

3.

The Nun-Ia [nom] in south Thailand

4.

The Tao-xi-run [thaw siphon] in north-east Thailand

5.

The Ban-ya~5a-she-tuo-jia (Pazirisajataka) in Chiang-mai

6. 7. 8. 9.

The Ban-ya~sa [PafiN'asa] in countries neighbouring Xi-shuang-ban-na Materials in the Ban-ya~sa [Pafiiiasal of Indian origin The Shu-run-a~bo-tuo-na (Sudhana Avadana) in Tibet

The influence of ancient Indian religions on the So-run-ben-seng Scripture (Sudkanajataka).

Part two of this paper is translated below:

How could the So-twz-ber:-seng Scripture (Sudhanajataka) and the Ban-ya-sa (Paiifiasajataka) be introduced into Xi-shuang~ban-na from Lanna (Chiangmai), and what were the conditions for cultural change between Xi-shuang-ban-na and Lanna which favoured such a transfer? To answer these questions, we must examine the close relationship between Xi-shuang~ban-na and Latina-

}

This paper was written by Professor Xie for a Chinese scholarly audience. It is hoped it will form the basis of a social history of Sipsongpanna and its relations with Lanna. Our translator, Irene Bain, originally rendered names directly into Pin Yin. Most Thai names

(in particular) have been altered into a form more recognizable to English-speakers, though some original Pin Yin has been retained. Ed. of

Translated by Irene Bain.

1. 12

Xie Yuan Zhang

1. Lanna as the Ba-hai [Eight-hundred] Lanna was a kingdom which existed from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries AD and was centred on present-day Chiangmai in northern Thailand. In Chinese historical records it is referred to as Ba-bai X i u (the 800 wives) or Ba-bar' Do-dian (the 800 fields). In modern times Thailand has termed it Lenna Tai to emphasise its close relationship with the ancient kingdom. Lanna translates literally as "the million no of rice-fields". Its direct predecessor was the ancient kingdom of Yonaka which was founded in Chiang-mai during the eighth century AD and shared its northern boundary with Meng-le (Xi-shuang-ban-na). The people of Lanna were a branch of the Tai, and were also called Tai-yuan, Yuan being the abbreviated form of Yonaka.

Their language resembles Dai-lii and the Lanna script (also called Yuan or Dai-yuan script) uses the same characters as Dai-lti. Lanna and Xi-shuang-ban-na also shared the same religion and customs. Lanna was founded by King Mangrai in 1296 (The second year of the Yuanzheng era, Yuan dynasty).2 The Yuan dynasty established the Prefectures of Mu-an and Meng-jie and the marshal headquarters of the High Commissioner of Pacification at Meng-qing in 1327 (the fourth year of the Taz'-ding era, Yuan Dynasty).3 The marshal headquarters of the High Commissioner of Pacification was established in Ba-bai in 1331 (the second year of the Zuni-shun era, Yuan Dynasty)." The Ming Dynasty established two High Commissioners of Pacification in 1404 (the second year of the Yong-Ze era, Ming Dynasty), one at Ba-bai Zhe-nai-er and the other at Babai Da-dian.5 These were later amalgamated as Ba-bai Da-dian. In 1557 (the thirtysixth year of the Jim-qfng period of the Ming Dynasty) King Mang-ying-long [Bayinnaung, Burennong] from the Burmese Kingdom of Dong-yu [Tour gou] and

his army occupied Chiangmai and Lanna became a dependency of Burma.6 The people of Lanna struggled against Burmese colonial rule for over 200 years and

Chiangmai was finally recovered by the Xian-luo [Siamese] army of King Zheng [Taksin] in 1774 (the thirty-ninth year of the Qian-long era, Qing Dynasty).7 Lanna {-l

Chronicle of Yonaka see National Library of Thailand (ed.), 1964: (Collection of Historical Documents) Vol. 5, no. 2 p. 1043. I-Iereafter refered to as COR.

3

Yuan Shi (History of the Yuan Dynasty) Vol. 30 p.682

4

(ism Vol. 35 p. 785

5

Tai-zong Yong-Ze Ski~Iu (Historical Record of the Tai-zung Emperor of the Yong-le Era) p. 6

6

G.E. Harvey (trans. Yao Shan), $957: The History of Burma p. 206 Beijing: Commercial Press

7

COR p. H16

A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun

113

was formally incorporated into the Bangkok Xian-luo [Siam] Kingdom in 1804 (the ninth year of the Jig-qing era, Qing Dynasty)." Most areas which once belonged to Lanna are now divided among seven states in northern Thailand, Chiangmai, Chiangrai, Payao, Nan-ben [Larnphun], Nan-bang [Lampang], Phrae and Nan. Exceptions are the areas of Jing-dong [Chianttung, Kentung]and Menu-yong ]Muang Young] located in the south Shan states of Burma. 2. Fraternal Relations Between Xi-shuang-ban-na and Lanna

Meng-le and Lan-na were not merely close neighbours but also enjoyed fraternal relations (San phi r a n g long) from 1237, on the eve of Lanna's establishment. Tao-long Jian-zi, the third Zhao-pian-ling [Cawphaendfn] (Lord of the Land) in Meng-le, permitted his daughter Niang~kang-kai to marry King Lao-ming of the

Kingdom of Qing»sheng-en-yang [Chiangsaen], predecessor of Lanna.9 D. G. E. Hall,

a famous historian of South-east Asia, has referred to this as "the chiefs of Jing-Hong and Qing-sheng in the upper reachs of the Mekong River becoming allies by rnarriage"'° ['... the T'ai chiefs of Chieng Rung and Chieng Sen on the upper Mekong made a marriage alliance' Hall 1966: 159, ed.]. Two years later, Niang-kang-kai bore a son named Mangrai who later succeeded to the throne and used military might to unite the tribes and finally establish Lanna with a capital at Chiangmai- The Cawphaendin Tao-long Jian-zi gave Long-pu-ka and Meng-ba as a dowry on the marriage of his daughter" and Mangrai reciprocated by bestowing land to his grandparents as their fief (z'ang~muji). Each year the two kingdoms also exchanged presents as a gesture of goodwill." Mangrai promulgated the famous Laws o f King Mangrai in 1292. These are the

earliest Laws found among the Tai, Dai, Shan, Lao and other ethnic groups of the Tai language family. The code was introduced into Xi-shuang-ban-na where it had a profound influence on the laws and organisations through which political power was exercised at local level. The semi-military "Huo-xi" [Hun sib] administrative system

8

ibid p. 1134

9

Le-shi (History of the Le) trans. Li Fu-yi, 1947 Vol. 1, COR p. 1015: According to this account Many,-lai was born in 1240, but the Le-shi dates this event as 1239.

10

D.G.E. Hall (trans. Zhao Jia-wen), 1979: History of Sout.*z~east Asia Kunming: Yunnan

Institute of Historical Studies p. 252. 11 12

Le-shi (History of the Le) Vol. 2 fbfd Vol. l . Mengrai presented his grandfather with gold and silver banner-poles, goidcrafted gourds, and 20 mattresses and 20 sheets. Tao-long-jian-zi gave his grandson 20

horses, 20 cows, 20 felt blankets 20 knives of steel, etc.

114

Xie Yuan Zhang

for instance, has its direct origin in the Laws." The Dai of Xi-shuang~ban~na regarded the Code as an ancient and revered document." . Xi-shuang-ban-na was originally called A-la-wei [Arawi] Kingdom (or Menu je). In 1570, Dao Ying-meng, the Lord High Commissioner of Pacification in Che-li,

divided the area into 12 ban-na [dharma in Central Thai pronunciation] as an administrative unit for tax and other fuedal tribute, resulting in the area becoming known as Xi-shuang-ban-na," Xi-shuang meaning twelve in Dai and no being a unit of measurement for land. Ban-na means a thousand no of land and Lan»na a million no of land. Law-na adopted Ban-na as an administrative unit and this is confirmed by historical records. For instance, in the tenth century, Kuen~en-leng, the twelfth leader of the Kingdom of Qing-sheng~en-yang [Chiangsaen t e r n yang] (Yonaka),16 installed his second eldest son, Kuen-zhuang-tan, as Magistrate of Po-yao [Phayao] Prefecture. Po-yao was then divided into 36 Ban-na.17 Qing-sheng [Chiang Saen] was also divided into 65 Ban-na and Qing~lai [Chiangrai] into 27 Ban-na during the thirteenth century." The system of administrative division using Ban-na was probably created by Lanna as Meng-le only undertook such division after Lanna. This system of divisions lasted until the early seventeenth century when the Burmese kingdom of Dong-yu [Tour gou] appointed a chief in Chiangmai called Pi-ye-zaman-chiang-mai` to be "White Crow King of the Seventy-five Ban-na in Qingsheng".19 The documentary evidence cited above indicates that Xi-shuang-ban-na and Lanna shared a close political and legal relationship from early times.

13

Institute of Ethnology, Academics Sinica (ez. al), 1964; Dai-zu Jian-shi Jian-.zhi He-bian (A Collection of Brief Dai Histories and Chronicles) (Draft) p. 46

14

Quan-guo Ren~da Min-wei Ban-gong-shi (Office for Minorities, National Congress), 1958 Xi-shuang-ban-na She-hui Jingo Shf~!iao Yi-cong ( A Translation of Historical Socioeconomic Documents of the Xi-shuang-ban-na Dai Minority) p. 27, Zhang Gong-jin, 1980: Dai-zu de Wen-zf he Wen-xian (Script and Documents of the Dai Minority) (mimeo)

Beijing: Central College of Anthropology p.3, Ba-se-na-na-kong, 1980: Preface to the

Laws OfKing Mangrai. 15 16

(op. cit.) (draft) p.40 The Thai form of the twelfth ruler's name is uncertain. The name given by the Phonsawadarn Yonok is quite different.

I?

COR p. 1010

18

Sfnhonnawatkumarn Chronfcfe in Collection of Historical Documents Vol. 61, p. 8013

19

(ibfd) p. 8044

A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu»Tun

115

3. Neighbours for 600 Years Despite occassional conflict and war, Xi-shuang~ban-na and Lanna generally enjoyed peaceful relations from the thirteenth to the nineteenth century. King Mangrai, founder of Lanna, harassed the Xi-shuang-ban-na boundary in the late thirteenth century (Do-de era of Ming Dynasty)2° and the ninth CawpNaendin [Lord of the Land], Dao Xian-da, led the Dai army with Ming Dynasty troops commanded by Xi-

ping, Marquis of Mu-sheng, to attack Lanna in 1405." The headmen of Meng-long and Meng-hun in Xi-shuang-ban~na appealed to Zhao-di-luo-ge-Ia [Caw Tilokaraj] (who was called Zhao-meng-lu in Ming-shi-lu (History of Ming Dynasty) and Ba-deci-ga in Le-shi (Le History), King of Lanna, for armed support to resist the thirteenth King Shan-bao in Jing-long." Caw Tilokaraj subsequently invaded Xi-shuang-ban-na in 1462 and Dao-qi, the headman of Meng-a and Meng-kang took this chance to flee with some of the Dai people to Lanna where he stationed troops in Meng-yong [Muang Yorng] and opened-up wasteland." Conflict occured again in the nineteenth century when Ga-yu~la [Kavila] from Chiangmai, invaded Xi-shuang-ban-na in 1806 and 1822 at the request of some Cawphaendin in Xi-shuang-ban-na who sought to gain power with support from the Siamese military. Kavila also fought the Burmese army in Xi-shuang-ban-na." In general however, Xi-shuang~ban-na and Lanna have enjoyed 600 years of peaceful co-existence. They jointly resisted submission to the Yuan Dynasty and also joined in presenting tame elephants and local produce as tribute to the Yuan Dynasty. According to the Yuan-shi (History of the Yuan) bandits had disrupted daily life in Xi-shuang-ban-na and Lanna during 1309 and 131 1.25 The Yuan Emperor dispatched an army to suppress the unrest and Xi-shuang-ban-na and Lanna responded by

sending emissaries with gifts of tame elephants and other items 10 the Yuan capital in

20

Yuan-shi Vol. 19 p. 413; Zhao-pu Zone-lu), on Chi-li and the 800 wives see Yuan-wen Lei (Yuan Documents) Vol. 41

21

Tai-zong Yong-le Shi-Zu Vol. 39 p. 4

22.

Le-shi Vol. I ; COR p.l084 states that Zhao-di-luo-ge-la attacked Menu-hun and Menglong in 1455 and attacked Meng-zhe the following year, but the author(s) gives no reason for these actions. The Chronicle of these events differs from that given in the Le-shi)

23

ibid

24

Le-shi Vol. 2, COR p. 1135-6 records that the army of Chiangmai invaded Xi-shuang-banna in 1805, but offers no explanation for this invasion. The invasion of 1822 is unrecorded.

25

Yuan-shi Vol. 23 p. 518, Vol. 24 p. 542

116

Xie Yuan Zhang

1312.26 Kings of Lanna occasionally used military force to meddle in the internal power struggle of Xi»shuang~ban-na during the reigns of Zhao-xian~meng-ma [Caw Saen Muong Ma], Zhao-san-feng-jian [Caw Sam Fan Kaen] and Zhao-di-luo-ge-la [Caw Tilokarajl, the tenth, eleventh and twelfth rulers of the Mangrai Dynasty of Lanna (I380s'-l480's). Relations were generally good however and The heads of Lanna and Xi-shuang-ban~na visited each other frequently. Friendly exchanges during the period were as follows: According to the Records of Yonoka, Caw Saen muang Ma (also called Dao-ban-mian in Ming-shi-lu and who ruled from 1364 to 1402) and his wife spent almost seven months travelling to each Menu of Xi-shuangban-na during 1398. After returning to Ban-na Meng-jian [Muong Kaen'?] in Lanna

the couple were blessed with a child which they named Caw Sam Fan Kaen." Travel from Lanna to China necessitated travelling through Xi-shuang-ban-na. It is recorded in Ming-shf~!u (The Historical Record of the Ming Dynasty) that 21 delegations were dispatched from Lanna to pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor during the reign of the

eleventh King, Caw Sam Fan Kaen (also called Dao-zhao~san in Ming-shi-Zu (14021442)), and the twelfth king Caw Tilokaraj (also refered to Zhao-nleng~lu in Mingshi-lu" and who ruled from 1442 to 1488.29) Eight of these trips were undertaken jointly with Xi~shuang-ban-na.3° Spread of Buddhism The Buddhism of Xi»shuang-ban-na came from Lanna. It is necessary to understand the history of Buddhism in Lanna before attempting to analyses its spread into Xishuang-ban~na. No final conclusion has yet been reached on the exact time when Buddhism was

introduced into Lanna (or its predecessor Yonaka). Yonaka was established in the

26

ibid Vol. 24 p, 542, 553

27

COR p. 1069

pa

Ying-zong Zheng-rong Shi-lu Vol. 157 refers to it as Zhao-meng Lu Vol. 201 refers to it as Dao-meng Lu The character `yu' may have been misread as `meng'.

29

30

In determining the reigns of the rulers Caw Saen Muong Ma, Caw Sam Fan Kahn and Caw Tilokaraj we have relied on The Past Territory of Thailand 1979 p. 455, by the Thai archaeologist Nikhom Musikama. Tai-zong Yong-Ie Shi-fu Vol. 128 p. 8, Xuan-zong Xian~de Shi-lu (The Historical Record

of the Xuan-zong and Xuan-de periods) Vol. 42 p. II, Vol. 110 p. 2, Ying-zong Zhengtong Shi-lu) Vol, 'It p. 3 , Ying-zong Shi-lu (Historical Records of the Ying~zong Period) Vol. 201 Jing-tai Appendix no. 17 p. 22, (ibid) Jing-tai Appendix no. 71 p. 9, Xian-zong Cheng-has Shi-Zu (Historical Records of the Xian-zong ?? ) Vol. 34 p. 5, Vol. 204 p. 29.

A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun

117

eight century" and it is said that its third King, Achutaraj, who reigned from 921 to 1021, was presented with the holy Buddha's bones by the two elders Jig~ye-po and Jia-zhan-yan." Achutaraj built two pagodas called Lei-dong and Lei~gu-jiao." Anuruddha who reigned from (1044-1077), became the King of the Pagan Kingdom in Burma during the eleventh century and it is said that he brought Hinayana Buddhism of Pagan to Yonaka with the spread of his power." However, none of this is supported by historical documents or archaelogicai studies and historians remain divided in their opinions." It is recorded in the Chronicle of Hariphunchai that Princess Chamathewi of

Lawo Kingdom travelled northward and founded the Hariphunchai Kingdom to the south of Chiangmai. This event is also recorded in the Chinese historical records Man Shu (The History of the Southern Barbarians) and Yuan-shi (The History of the Yuan Dynasty) which named Hariphunchai Nu~wang-guo or Kingdom of the Queen.

Princess Chamathewi was accompanied by 500 Buddhists who began temple~ construction and missionary work in I-Iariphunchai.3' This is the earliest and most reliable description of the spread of Buddhism in norther Thailand. Hariphunchai 31

When it was founded Yonaka was referred to as Nagaphansinghonnawatnakhorn or Qingsheng (.ling~xian) ]Chiang Saen]. The Sinhonnawatkumarn records that Yonaka was

established in 691 AD. but this is incorrect. A History ofzhe Laos by Manich Iumsai gives the date of establishment as 773 and we will follow suite. The Past Territory of Thasfarzd dates the founding of Yonaka as 615 and the publication Where is the Golden Land? by

Manish Vallibhotama gives AD 18 as One of these monks is Kassapa, which is the only name given by Phongsawadarn Yonok. Ed. 33 34

Sinhonnawafkumarn (see The Collection of Histrorical Documents) p. 7918~2I. COR p. 1008 states that Aniruddha introduced Buddhism to Yonaka but provides no evidence. The Tam f a n /Phraphulrhacedi (Buddhist Pagoda Chronicle) written by Prince Damrong in 1926 confirms this event. The Past Territory of Thailand p. 444 states that

Chiang Saen (Yonaka) may have embraced Pagan I-Iinayana Buddhism under the guidance of Aniruddha. 35

The Tartan Phmphurthaeedi p. 129 states that the pagodas of Lanna were built after Hinayana Buddhism was introduced to Lanna in the thirteenth century. Alexander B.

Griswold considers that Buddhism was not common among the Tai people before the Sukhothai period (thirteenth to fourteenth century) see Tannin Phraphutzhacedi p. 135. The Past Territory of Thailand p. 403 states that the people of Yonaka believed in spirits before the tenth century. They converted to Buddhism during the twelih century. Prince

Suphatradis (son of Prince Damrong) expounded on the Tam f a n Phraphutthacedi and called for further research to determine what extent Aniruddha controlled the territory of

Thailand Tannin Phraphutthacedf p. I I ) 35

ChamatNewfwamsa, Chronicle oflrlariphunchai) (1973 Thai translation) pp. 83, 89, 126

118

Xie Yuan Zhang

was then EU] independent Kingdom, not a subordinate of Yonaka and there is no documentary evidence to support the contention that Buddhism spread' to Yonaka from Hariphunchai. Buddhism became the religion of Lanna only after King Mangrai of Lanna conquered Hariphunchai in 1292." A Sukhothai stone tablet records that King Rarnkarnhaeng of Sukhothai (1277-1317) invited an eminent monk of Hinayana from Nakhorn Sri Tharnmarat (Luo~kun) to head the monks in Sukhothai and promote the Lankawong [Lankawamsa] (Mahavihara) branch of Buddhism. lt is said that Lankawamsa Hinayana was introduced to Lanna from Sukhothai during the thirteenth century as a result of the close relationship between Mangrai and

Rarnkamhaeng." Lankawarnsa Buddhism did not become popular in Lanna until the latter part of the fourteenth century. A Fifteenth century document from Lanna, Zongjiao Benyuan-zhi [This probably the Mulasasana] (History of the Religious Origin), records

that the nineteenth King of Lanna, Kana (1356-1386), asked the fifth King of Sukhothai, King Litai, to invite the Buddhist-elder Sumatra to spread the Lankawamsa Hinayana which he had brought from Burma to Lanna. King Ktina renovated a temple named Pai-ren [Pa jolyn '?]in Lamp fun in 1369 to provide a temporary residence for the Venerable Sumatra and his nephew, the monk Jia-yie-poTwo years later, he ordered a Buddhist temple called Wa-sun-nuo [Wat Suan Dork] to be erected in his imperial garden at Chiangmai and invited the two missionaries to reside there. He also raised the elder to the status of Susana Suvannararrma M a f i a Swami." Wa-su-nuo (Wat Suan Dork) afterwards became the font of Hinayana "Baisun" [gamavasi]. During the reign of the eleventh Lanna King, Caw Sam Fan Kaen (1420-1442), eighteen monks led by the Fa-shen elder (Tang-kang-pi Dharma Gambhira), Zuo-hui Elder (Mic-tang-guan Medhankra), Xiang-zhi Elder (Yia-na-

meng-gun Yang Margalo) and four other senior monks (in total, 25 people) from Lanna went to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1424 to study Lankawong Buddhist scripture."

3?

so 39

COR pp. 452-4 The Past Territory

of Thailand p. 467

Zongjiao Een-yuan Zhi (History of the Origin of Religion) (Thai Bureau of Arts edition,

1976) pp.22.9~244, The Yunnan Institute of Historical Studies, l 9'79: Xi-shuang-ban-na Daz'-zu Xiao-sheng hjiao Ji Yuan-shi-zong-jiao De Diao-ca-cai-liao) (A Survey of the Indigenous Religion and Hinayana Buddhism in Xi-shuang-ban-na) p. 3 which states that "Ha-gci~na" built "We-sun-nuo" in Chiang-mai and appointed "Sun-mu-na-lang-xi"

[Sumanathera] as Sha-mi [swami]. 40

Zonggiao Bemoan Zhi p. 353, Sha-yuan-chu-su-ka-Ia, 1955: Bet-fang Zhu-shu (Chronicle

of the North) p. 448, Xi~shuang-ban-na Dai~zu Xiao-sheng-fu-jiao Ji Yuan-shi-zong-jiao De Diao-ca-cai-liao) p. 13 states that "Tang-pi-na" and other monks were appointed as

A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun

119

They invited the Sri Lankan monks Ying-wan-bi-qiu (Vilcronbahzt) [probably should be Vikramabhikkhu] and Shang-hui-bi-qiu (Uttma-panna) to accompany them.to Lanna when they left Ceylon in 1430- This group promoted "Bai-ba" [airaiiNawasf] Hinayana, a more strict form of Buddhism than "Bai-sun", from their base at BaHang Temple in Chiang~mai. Both "Bai-sun" and "Bai~ba" originate in the Hinayana Buddhism of Sri Lanka. "Bai-sun" is a more mundane branch based on "urban proselytising" (Gamavasi), whereas "Bai~ba" is more esoteric and favours seeking hermitage in the mountains and forests (Arannavasi). Da-si-pai (Mahavihara) was generally termed Lankawong in Thailand and Lanna, resulting in Gamavasz' being called Larikawong and Arannavasi New Lankawong-

Some documents from Xi-shuang~ban-na state that monks from the Sun-nuo temple were sent to Jing-long (now in the south Shan states of Burma) where they established the temples Wa-fa~jiao and Wa-fa-gang, and extended the Lankawong Buddhism of "Bai-sun" into areas such as Jing-hong, Meng-han, Menu-Ia, Mengbang and Meng-wang. The New Lankawong faction ("Bar-ba") also used Jing-dong [Chiangtung, Kentung] as a relay-point and undertook temple construction and proselytising in areas such as Meng-hun, Menu-hai, Menu-zhe and By-lang-san." The American missionary W.C. Dodd writes in his book (The Tai Race) that the son of King Mangrai of Lanna and a monk from Chiangmai constructed temples to expand Buddhism in .ling-dong after the Wa had been suppressed and the area occupied." This point supports the statement that Jing-dong was a staging-post in the spread of Buddhism. We can conclude from the above discussion that Buddhism was introduced into Xi-shuang-ban-na not earlier than the thirteenth century because only then did

Buddhism become popular in Lanna. The "Bai-sun" and "Bar-ba" branches of Hinayana reached Xi-shuang-ban-na shortly after they were first expounded in Chiangrnai during the late fourteenth century and the first part of the fifteenth century. Buddhism existed in Xi-shuang-ban-na for several centuries.

Origin of the Lanna Script The Dai-le script of Xi-shuang-ban-na and the Lanria script (also called Yonaka script or Tai-yuan script) possess only subtle differences in usage and in the forms of some

Buddhist elders in "Meng-lan-ga" and they returned to Chiang-mai to expand "Bai-ba"

Buddhism. 41

Xi-shuang-ban-na Dai-zu Xiao-sheng-fu-jiao Ji Yuan-shi-zong-jiao De Diao~ca-cai-liao) p. 3, 13

42

W.C. Dodd, 1923 The Tai Race lowa, USA. p. 207 of the Chinese language edition

120

Xie Yuan Zhang

characters which have resulted from centuries of separate development. The scripts of each area are mutually comprehensible" and this has permitted these two languages to act as an important medium for cultural exchange and friendly relations between Xi-shuang-ban-na and Lanna. When and where did the characters of these language originate? Textual research by George Coedes proves that the scripts of Cambodia,

Thailand, Burma and Laos all relate to the spread of Brahmanism and Buddhism from India. The scripts of the Tai, Lao, and modem Khmer emerged from old Ii-mie (Khmer) script and those of Burma, Shan, Le (Lama) and Ahom Tai, from old Mon (De-leng) [Talaing] script. Both the Old Khmer and Old Mon scripts originated from

Ke-luo~na-tuo script [Grantha]."' It is plausible to state that Le (or Lanna) script emerged from the Old Mon script. The two share great similarity in character shape, word order and pronunciation. Moreover, the stone tablets written in Old Mon script support this conjecture. Some scholars have assumed that Le script originated from the Burmese script because of their resemblance, but these scholars have failed to appreciate that such similarity is due to a common origin. George Coedes was correct in suggesting that Le script stemmed from Burmese, but he did not resolve when and where this occured. Coedes assumed that the Tai had adapted the "original Tai script", a derivative of Mon, from the Mon people themselves during a southern migration into what is now present-day Thailand but was then a region neighboring Mon territory. Coedes considered this occurred before the Tai were subjugated by the Khmer in the tenth century. The "original Tai script" evolved into the scripts of Le, Ahem Tai and Dian-bian Dai in addition to exerting some influence on the Ramkamhaeng Tai script-" Was there

really then an "original Tai script"? No-one has proved SO since Coedes presented this proposition.

It is important to clarify the situation of southeast Asian scripts before undertaking a study of precisely when the Le script was created. Textual research on the excavated Fa-lun [Dharma] indicates that Hinayana was introduced into the Mon Kingdom of Dvaravati some time before the Christian era.46 The spread of Buddhism 43

Wen-chui-xi~sa-wa, 1955: The Tai in Xi-shuang-ban-na Vol. 2 Kang-wei-ta-ya Publishers p. 478

44

George Coedes History of the Tai Script see Coedes 1964 History of the Tai Script: A History of Budd/'dst Portraits: Excavation in Peng-de and its Importance for Ancient Thai History: Sukhorhai Arts; The Early Capitals of Thailand) Teachers' Association

Commercial Institution, pp. 5-17 45

ibid pp. 10-1 I

46

Prince Damrong, Fu-ta Zhi p. 98

A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun

121

necessarily led to the import of Old Indian script, the Old Indian epigraphs of the sixth or seventh century which have been found in peninsular southeast Asia are all written in south Indian Grantha script." It is not clear when Grantha script evolved into Mon and Old Khmer script. We only know that the earliest epigraph found so-far

in Mon script is Lopburi stone stele completed around 507 AD" and the earliest epigraph in Khmer is one found in the Menu River Valley which was probably constructed in 609 AD." The Ramkamhaeng inscription of 1292 (number l ) states that in 1283 Ramkamhaeng invented Tai script and this was based on the cursive forms of Old Khmer." The Burmese invented the Burmese script, using the forms of

Old Mon, during the reign of the Pagan King A-nuo~lu-tuo [var.sp. Aniruddha, Anawratha] in the eleventh century. The earliest inscription in Burmese was engraved in 1053.51 Another task we face is to resolve whether Le (Lanna) script was invented in Xishuang-ban-na or Lanna. It is evident that Le (or Lanna) script originated in Old Mon script. There was no direct exchange between Xi-shuang-ban-na and the Mon national ties (Leng in Burma and Meng in Lanna and Sukhothai) due to geographic barriers and no historical documentation or epigraphs relating to the Mon nationality have been found as yet in Xi-shuang-ban-na. So Xi-shuang-ban»na could not be the site where Mon script was transformed into Le. Let us now turn to the situation of Lanna. The Mon established kingdoms such as those of Gotarapura, Pegu, Dvaravati,

Lawn and I-Iariphunchai in the Tennaserim region of Burma and along the middlereaches of the Mekong River in Thailand. All of these kingdoms were closer to Lanna than to Xi-shuang-ban-na. Historically, Lanna had direct links with Hariphunchai, Pegu and De-Ieng (Ta-tong, from where the Hinayana of Mahavihara

spread across Thailand, Burma and Lanna) and finally absorbed the kingdom in 1292. The more advanced Mon culture (including Buddhism) necessarily promoted devel opment in Lanna following its incorporation of Hariphunehai. I consider that 47

George Coedes, The History

of the Tai Script p.

516 states that The Ye-da~mo Scriptures

were engraved in the Fo-tong Pagoda, Thailand around 557-657 AD. Three pieces of gold engraved with Buddhist scripture in 507-607 were found in Burma. Buddhist inscriptions

which were engraved in 607 were also found in Cambodia. 48

(45) Chai Liang-xin, 1980: A History ofAnciem' Tai Society Before :he 25th Century

of

the

Buddhist Calendar p. 69. This inscription is number 18. 49

D.G.E. Hall History ofSouFh-east Asia (trans. Zhao Jia-wen, second edition, 1979) p. 155

50

Sukfrofhafi No. I Inscription see National Library of Thailand, (Collection of Historical Documents) Vol- 1 p. 146.

51

G.E. Harvey, The History o_fBurmo p. 63

122

Xie Yuan Zhang

the characters of the Lanna script were developed from the Hariphunchai script. It is recorded in the Chronicle of Hariphunchai that the Mon people- fled from

Hariphunchai to Ta-tong to escape a cholera epidemic. They then escaped to Pegu when Ta-tong was subjugated by King Aniruddha of Burma. When the cholera epidemic ended six years later, the refugees returned to their home Kingdom in the company of some Mon people from Pegu. These fellow travelers brought the Pegu Mon Script to Hariphunchai." Three inscriptions engraved during the early thirteenth century were found in Hariphunchai their script is identical to early Mon writing found in Burma." It was probably Old Menu script which came from Peru. The late Mr Chen Xu-jing attached great importance to the spread of the Mon script over Hariphunchai and stressed that "this is an important record because even now the scripts of north-west Laos and north Siam closely resemble Mon script".5" The Mon script which emerged in Hariphunchai, only a short distance south of Chiangrnai, favoured the invention of Lanna script. One scholar of Tai social history has proposed that because Lanna was close to I-Iariphunchai, it may have used Mon script." It is worth mentioning that the motive for inventing Lanna script may have increased with the spread of Hinayana into Lanna and with the growing power of the Kingdom. On the basis of my reading, I consider that the formative period of the Lanna script should post-date invention of the Burmese script in the eleventh century, but precede the emergence of Sukhothai Tai script in 1283. l ) Dao Shi-xun of the Research Institute of Anthropology at the Yunnan Academy of Anthropology has seen one sheaf of hand-written notes in Xi-shuang'oan-na Dai script. This states that the Dai did not possess writing and so all Buddhist scripture was committed to memory. A monk named Du-ying-da first wrote scripture

on palm-leaves in the 639th year of the Dai calendar (1277). Thereafter, Buddhist scriptures were able to be stored and disseminated." 2) A Tai named Zhuang-Nuan-ta»tan announced in 1967 that he had found a palm-leaf scripture engraved in Pall using Lanna script at the Lai-xin Temple of Ge52

Zhan-rna-dai-wei~weng: Chronicle of Hariphunchai) p. 195

53

Chen Xu-jing, 1979: Menu-zu Zhu-guo Chu~kao (Preliminary Research on the Menu Kingdoms) in Dong-nan-ya Shi-lun Cong ( A Collection of Historical Studies on Southeast Asia) Institute of South~east Asian History, Chung-shan University Vol. 1 p. 33

54

ibid p. 35

55

Chai Liang~xin: A Hzsrory of Ancienr Tai Sodezy Eefore the 25th Cenzury Calendar p. 32.

56

Dao Shi-xun, 1980: "Xi»shuang-ban-na Dai-yu" (The Dai Language of Xi-shuang-ban-na) Min-zu Yu-wen (Language and Literature of the Minorities) No. I

of

the Buddhist

A Study on the Origin of the Zhao-Shu-Tun

123

kg County, south Bang State, which had once been an outlying area of Lanna- This document was written before the year 1800 of the Buddhist calendar (I257).57 If this document is reliable, then Lanna script should have emerged during the early wars of unification undertaken by King Manirai.

In his book The Tai Race, the American missionary W. Dodd quotes the History and a monk from Chiangmai built a number of Buddhist temples and expounded Lanna script in Jing-dong

of Yonoka which states that the son of King Manrai

[Kentung] after first suppressing the indigenous Wa during the mid-thirteenth

century." If this statement is accurate, it provides important evidence to illustrate that the Lanna script and Buddhism were introduced from Lama through Jing-dong into Xi-shuang-ban-na (see above). It is regrettable that historic documents concerning Lanna, such as the Chronicle of Yonaka and The History of Sinhonnowatkumorn describe events such as the subjugation of the Wa nationality of Jing-dong by Mangrai in 1262; the appointment of his grandson Zhao-nan-tong as Magistrate of Jing-dong Prefecture in 1291, and the construction on Nan-tong Temple as the tomb of Zhao-nan-tong," but not that a descendant of Mangrai and some monks preached Buddhism and popularised the Lanna script in Jing-dong. This statement requires verification through further research.

Dodd also stated in The Tai Race that he had collected a palm-leaf scripture that was engraved before that in the Lanna script (1300).'° This proves that Lanna script was invented before the end of the thirteenth centuryZhao-pu-zong-lu (The Complete Records of Zhao-pu) states that Hun-qi-lan (Kun-ke-lan) second-eldest son of Mangrai, dispatched his younger brother Hun-qi~ lou (Kun~kc-lc) with four officials as emmisaries accompanying the Bar~yi-wen zou-

zhang (a memorial from the Bar-yi) and a gift of two elephants to the Yuan Emperor." l contend that the Bob-yi wen zoo-zhan was written in Lanna script because several documents from Lanna listed below support the claim that the

Sukhothai script was only introduced into Lanna in 1369 by the Venerable elder (Xurno-na Sumatra). I

-

_ u n

so Zhuang-nuan-ta-tan then wrote an article which was broadcast by the Air-force Radio

Station, Chiangmai. I have quoted this article from So-yuan-chu-su-ka-la, 1979: Tall-yuan: Kun-meng (Indigenous inhabitants)] p. 246 58

59

W.C. Dodd, 1923 The Tai Race lowa, USA. p. 207 of the Chinese language edition, but unfortunately Dodd did not cite his source.

Xin-kuo~na-wa-gz1~man-zhi see (Collection of Historical Documents) pp. 799, 8015-16

60

W.C. Dodd, 1923 The Tai Race lowa, USA. p. 207 of the Chinese language edition

GI

Zhao-pu Zone-Zu on Che-li and the 800 wives see Yuan-wen Lei' (Yuan Documents) Vol.

41

124

Xie Yuan Zhang

I mentioned in the section discussing the spread of Buddhism that the ninth King of Lanna, King Kiina, invited an eminent monk from Sukhothai to Lanna in 1369.

The Venerable Elder engraved the first inscription in the Ramkamhaeng Tai script on the stone stole of Pair~ren [pcyyynf Temple, Lamp fun in 1370. The Sukhothai Tai

script of Ramkamhaeng was influenced by Lanna script and the form of its characters changed after the Tai script was introduced into Lanna. This variant Tai script was

called "run fuk khan" (meaning characters shaped like a tamarind fruit) in Xi-shuangban-na." The inscriptions, engraved on a stone at the rear of the great hall of Pair-xin [phra jolyn] Temple, [and] in the Chiangman Temple of Chiangmai and in the Nan~ bang-luan-pai [Lampang luang char] Pagoda of Larnpang are all written in the "tua fak khan" Tai script63(60). This factor also proves that Lanna had its own script before the introduction of Tai script. From the above evidence it may be concluded that Le (Lanna) script may have originated from the Old Mon script of Hariphunchai and was modified in Lanna during the late thirteenth century and then introduced into Xi-shuang-ban-na along with the spread of Buddhism, whence it became known as Le or Dai-le script.

Xi~shuang-ban-na has enjoyed fraternal links with Lanna over a long period. Dai-Ie and Tai Lanna (those of the Lanna Tai nationality) belong to the same language family of Dai (Tai). These two branches are closely linked and share the same origin, religion (the Theravada branch (Lankawong) of Hinayana), script and a mutually comprehendible language. The hornogenoues Dai culture is a result of the closeness between these two groups. The heritage of the Dai-le and Tai-lanna is a matter requiring further research, which will also promote deeper understanding between Thailand and China.

Issue No. 5, June /989

sz 63

Ta-wa-ben-na-nu-tuo: Dong-bei Wen-xue 0~Iorth-east China Literature) p. H4 Sa~yuan-chu-su-ka-la, l979:Tai-yuan: Kun-meng (Indigenous inhabitants)] p. 245

125

The Luchuan Local Regime in Thai History Li Xiang Yang1 The period at the end of 13th to the beginning of 14th centuries was a turbulent period for Tai society, mainly because of the intensity of wars between Tai political units. The aims of war changed from being solely concerned with the taking of captives and the looting of property, to the annexation of territory and political power. The annexation of territories disrupted the division of the local administrative areas, and created contradictions between local regimes and the feudal dynasty. The rise and fall of Luchttan local regime in Tai history is an example of this process. Luchuan was one of the six administrative areas in the Tai area of southwester Yunnan Province during the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century. The Ming Dynasty changed its name to Lucian-Pingmain Pacification Commission and designated it a Tai hereditary headman's area at the southwester frontier. Its central area was what is now Ruin, Longchuan and the southern parts of Lianghe and Luci counties in Dehong Dai-Jingpo A.P. During the hundred years covering the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of the Ming, the influence of the Tai hereditary headman, Si's family, expanded from that central area. The Luchuan Tai hereditary headman occupied vast areas surrounding the centre of Lucian, and ruled the Tai as the

largest of various minorities. It formed a local regime resisting the Ming Dynasty. The activities of the regime constituted an important chapter of Tai history, especially

of the Dehong area in Yunnan, Burma and Assam. Though it was in theory a local regime under the Yuan and Ming dynasties, it had a quite complex relationship with the central government. Sometimes, the Luchuan hereditary headman's regime

showed respect and submission to the central government, but at other times, when it felt its power was greater, confrontations with the central government often occurred, even full-scale war - the famous Luchuan battles of the Ming Dynasty. With the loss of these battles, the Luchuan local regime withered away. The rise and fall of the Lucian Tai Regime may be divided into three stages:

1

Mr Li Xiang Yang of the Yunnan Institute of Southeast Asian Studies is currently a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Anthropology.

126

LzlXz'czng Yang

1. The Period of Si Ke Fa (1340-1371) During its last years, the feudal Yuan Dynasty was tottering under the attack of peasant uprisings in Central China which greatly crippled the control of the central government. During this period the Tai Headman of Luchuan, Si Ke Fa, seized the opportunity of asserting the independence of his regime, which became stronger day by day and emerged as a power to be reckoned with in the Tai area. Si Ke Fa expanded his influence to external areas and annexed the neighbouring tribal areas of Luchuan. He dismissed the local headmen of the occupied areas and granted this land to those he considered meritorious under his leadship. The Yuan Dynasty tried many times to suppress the rebellion, but their efforts were inconclusive In 1355 Si Ke Fa sent his son Mansard to the Yuan imperial court to pay tribute, whereon the Yuan Dynasty was forced to ignore Si Ke Fe's past actions and set up the Pingmain

Pacification Commission. Si Ke Fa was appointed the Pacification Commissioner and his actions were legalized. Si's Genealogy ofLuchuan records: 'Even the ethnic groups from Siam, Jingxian (a kingdom in Northern Thailand), Jinglao (Laos), Zhengmai (Chiangrnai), Zhengdong (in Northern Burma), Cheri (Jianghong), and Baigu (Rangoon) respected Si Ke Fa as an overlord and paid tribute_' It is doubtful that those ethnic groups were really respectful and submissive, but it shows the strong influence of Si Ke Fa.

2. The Period of Si Lun Fa (1381-1399)

In this period Si Ke Fa's grandson succeeded to his father's post. He made further advances on his ancestral heritage and took the influence of the Luchuan regime to the height. Li Si Cong wrote in his Bar Yi Zhuan: 'The region inhabited by Bai Yi is

Luchuan and Pingmain, a thousand ii2 southwest from Yunnan, is an area about ten thousands square ii, bounded by Jingdong at its east, Cheli at its southeast, "Eight Hundred Concubines Of King" at its south, Mainguo at its southwest, Jiali at its west, Xitian Guci at its northwest, Tufan at its north, Yongchang at its northeast." This indicated the vast areas controlled by the Luchuan Tai Regime at that time. The expansion of Luchuan influence impelled Si Lun Fa to try to cast off control

of the Ming Dynasty. Though he sent his envoy with tribute in 1384 and accepted the appointment as Luchuan-Pingrnain Pacification Commissioner, the next year he and his troops attacked Jingdong, and also united other minorities and sought to attack the interior of Yunnan Province. The Ming armed force won the battles in Moshale and Dingbian. Due to the loss of these battles, and perhaps for other reasons, civil strife

happened against Si Lun Fa. This was suppressed by the Ming army and Si Lun Fa .I

2

Ni = half a kilometer.

The Luchuan Local Regime in Thai History

12,7

re-occupied his post. At the same time, the Ming Dynasty set up several headmen and

administrative organizations in Si's family-controlled area, so that the Ming Dynasty strengthened its own control over the Luchuan area.

3. The Period of Si Ren Fa (1413-1442) After the death of Si Lun Fa, his son Si Xing Fa succeeded to the post (1404-1413). In 1413 , Si Xing Fa abdicated in favour of his younger brother Si Ren Fa. The Ming Dynasty appointed him as Pacification Commissioner- On the one hand Si Ren Fa showed respect and submission to the Ming Dynasty, and on the other he started a policy of military expansion. He first captured neighbouring hereditary headmen's areas, such as Mubang, Ganya, Nandian, and then further areas, such as Mengding, Lujiang, War dain, Tengchong and Mengyang. About 1440, he had re-occupied most of the areas which were under the rule of So Lun Fa at the height of his power. It caused great menace to the security of the southwestern frontier of the Ming Dynasty. In 1441, the Ming Dynasty ordered Wang Ji and Jianggui to lead an army of 150,000, called up from Hunan, Guizhou, and Sichuan Provinces, and launched the famous 'Three Campaigns over Luchuan' of Ming history. At the end of the third campaign, the Ming army made an agreement with Si Ren Fa's youngest son Si Lu Fa, promising him the headmanship, and set up a boundary stone tablet on the bank of the Irrawaddy River and restricted Si's family to Lucian. On the stone tablet, was carved: 'You may not cross, until the river dries up and the stone is smashed.' After the victory in 'Three Campaigns over Luchuan' by the Ming Army, the Lucian Tai regime withered away.

References Jiang Yingliang, Dai Zhu Shi (History of the Dai People). Chengdu: Sichuan 1983 Nationalities Press. Fan Guoyu1981

Lucian Si Shi Pu Die Jiao Zheng (Notes and Commentary on Si '5 Genealogy ofLuchuan) Kunming: Min Cu Zu Xue Bao

Inst. of History Research, Yunnan Shoo Shu Min Zu (National Minorities of Yunnan). Kunming: 1983 Yunnan People's Press.

128

Lf

Xiang Yang

Liu Ya Chao, Shi Ping Lucian De Xing Shuai (Review of the Rise and Decline of 1983 Lucian). Kunming: Journal of Yunnan Minorities Institute. Issue No. 4, March 1989

129

Creating The Political Borderlines Of The French Colonial Empire In Indochina: An Example Of The Using The Ethnic Minorities, The White Thai Of Lai Char (Vietnam) Phillipe Le Failler Pacific and Southeast

Asian History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies When in 1888, the French explorer Auguste Pavie, undertook to persuade the leader of the White Thais to ally himself with the new colonising power in Indochina, he proposed that the latter could in fact continue his secular leadership under French

domination without abandoning any part of his power. Thus Deo Van Tri, former feudal lord, became an official representative of the Republic with the title of Quan Dao, or district chief Pavie, an atypical colonizer, wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to join peoples to the French power without using canons and weapons. He did not realize that he was making the same kind of agreement that had been made three centuries previously by the Annam court, to give an earlier member of the Deo family the hereditary leadership of the Sip Song Chau Thai region- Explaining the

particular history of this family is one way of understanding the geopolitical stakes which have made the four borders region one of the world's most complicated political areas. The Deo family began its known story around 500 AD. in China, remaining there until the fall of the Ming dynasty, when the clan leader, a former mandarin, decided to escape Manchu power by going to Vietnam. He settled in the Bac Ninh region, where the family name was changed from La to Deo to avoid Manchu reprisals. During the uprising in the Sip Song Chau Thai region against the power of the Vietnamese Le dynasty, a Deo clan member was sent to fight the rebels and, in recompense, received the conquered area's hereditary leadership. Into the early twentieth century, Deo Van Tri was a powerful man, ruling with

his family, over the Black River region, its colourful Thai population in the valleys, and Meo tribes in the hills. He inherited from his father the role of warlord, from the

130

Phflfrpe Le Fafller

age of sixteen, he fought the Burmese and, assisted by the Luu Vinh Phuoc Black Pavilions, fought off bands of Chinese irregular troops, submitting to the Annam court, to expel them from the north of the Empire. The Hut imperial government then

gave him the title Quan Dao of Muong-Lai, his father Phu of Muong Theng. He resumed fighting against the Red Pavilions, small groups of Chinese troops issuing from the Yellow Pavilions, until the arrival of die French troops. At the beginning of the war of conquest in 1884, he took part in the resistance against France. He led three Thai companies of the Luu Vinh Phuoc army in the battle of Nguyen Quang and, after the dispersal of the Black Pavilions, he retired to Muong Lai where, in 1885, he gave asylum to the fugitive regent, Turret and former

emperor I-Iam-Nghi. Taking advantage of this troubled time, `the Siamese invaded the Sip Song Chou Thai area. With a small number of troops, Deo Van Tri went to take revenge, his three brothers having been captured, chained, put in a cage and sent to Luann Prabang, waiting to be sent to Bangkok. His revenge was the destruction of the city. When he heard about the imminent arrival of French troops from Lao Cai coming to his domains, he tried to organize their defense but was unable to prevent the French soldiers from taking Lai Chau which they found burnt under Turret's orders. Deo Van Tri decided that his interests lay in a rapprochement with France, and decided to push Turret out of the Lai Char region, thereby ending his involvement with the Vietnamese insurrection. His family submitted to Auguste Pavie and Commandant Pennequin in 1888, who obtained the submission of Deo Van Tri himself in 1890, This short résumé of DVT's early life shows the pressures to which this frontier

region was subjected. With Burmese and Siamese incursions, Chinese bands, the

Vietnamese resistance and colonial troops, all jostling for influence in this area, to regard the frontiers as isolated is pure fiction. Paradoxically, the frontier was hypersensitive to the smallest change affecting the centre. As we shall see, that which was in evidence in times of war, was equally true in peace time. Bom in 1849, as Deo Van Tri came to the end of his military career in 1890, his new role as clan leader, administrator and opium smuggler was only just beginning. In 1891, as the head his clan, Deo Van Tri offered up proofs of his loyalty to the French. He accompanied Pavie on his voyage to Yunnan and even entrusted to him,

four young kinsmen to be sent for a European education (they later went on to the Ecole Coloniale, the institution for training the highest colonial civil servants).

1894 was the year in which the power of the White Thai was consolidated: taking part in the operation to demarcate the border with China, Deo Van Tri was put in charge of a section of the frontier stretching from the Red River basin to that of the

Creating The Political Borderlines Of The French Colonial Empire In Indochina 131

Mekong, in control of three hundred militiamen. His power over this region became even greater than it had been under the Vietnamese Nguyen dynasty. In order for France to create a colony in the Far East, it was important to have borders that were stable, guaranteed and recognized. Generally speaking, in mainland Southeast Asia, the political existence of borders only became a tangible reality when the occidental powers put into place material symbols of the border- Customs posts and frontier guards were the most common manifestation of this, and this will is only limited by the human and geographic constraints.

The French understanding of the particularity of what a frontier means in IndoChina came only gradually. At first, as in the case of Deo Van Tri, the imperative was to limit the areas of possible conflicts, so the military leaders chose to make temporary treaties, expecting normalisation (meaning complete control of the entire territory) to come later. Very quickly, it was realised that it was impossible to militarily control the thousands of kilometres of frontier. The highland areas did not lend themselves readily to military operations but were marvelously suited to all types of guerillas, an idea which was enough to make the generals shudder. Thus a semi-independent principality was constituted, co-existing with a colonial power noted elsewhere for its imposition of a very French centralist conception of the State. In so doing, they demonstrated an understanding of the difference between a frontier situated in Europe and its corollary in Asia. The former was conceived of as a demarcation between nation-states, separating people and cultures using frontier posts and customs points in order to give greater substance to the features recorded on maps. As for the latter, it expressed more the limits of a zone of influence than of real government, involving a substantial delegation of powers of sovereignty. Rather

than 3. formal alliance, it required that agreement in principle be reached with local chiefs, mid this could only be done by leaving them the greatest autonomy.

Several hundreds of kilometres away, in the Shan States, the British had reached a similar agreement with the Sawbwas, princes, and obtained their allegiance and the right to trade in return for recognition of the rights and prerogatives of these 33 traditional chiefs. In fact, the autonomous federation of Shan states, detached from Burma, had but an ephemeral life, lasting for the final 25 years of the colonial regime, yet it illustrates that a pragmatic choice was made to renounce direct administration in favour of these difficult zones.

The originality of Deo Van Tri's alliance with the French lay not in the principles which permitted his clan to conserve secular power, but the fact that these

principles were totally opposed to the wishes of the French themselves. The result was an ambiguity in policies towards this regions that has lasted until the present day. The study of which this article is but a brief report, shows the equivocal nature of this situation, French documents showing in luxurious detail the governmental

132

Phillipe Le Failler

system developed by Deo Van Tri. On the one hand, active involvement in a colonial system and drawing maximum advantage from his role as spokesman and representative in the region, on the other, the creation, or rather, the perpetuation of economic links with the entire Tai community. The network covered a very great region in which the Shans states and Yunnan constituted the heart of an empire safe from all attacks. These economic networks were nourished by the existence of the frontier as well as the taxes which burdened the highly populated delta regions. Although these networks probably predated Western colonisation, the latter

involuntarily favoured the growth of an underground economy whose extent remains difficult to measure. In the final years of his life, he continued to enrage French customs agents who intercepted several huge shipments of opium per year involving him or his family. This was without doubt merely the tip of the iceberg and his clan's fortunes probably reached their apogee during this period. Yet the colonial power's support for the biggest smuggler undermining their own monopoly was never withdrawn. in this difficult balance between political calm and the desire for legality, it was always the first which won out. Due to his political indispensability, Deo Van Tri was never once brought to trial even though his involvement in opium trafficking was well known to all. From time to time, the Quan Dao was approached and asked to be more prudent, to prevent the customs administration's loss of face, yet otherwise his antirnonopolistic trading activities were never curtailed: the price of political tranquility on the frontier. Deo Van Tri died of heart failure on the night of the 29 of February 1908. He was 60 years old. His funeral took place on the 27th of April. He was buried beside his brothers on the rocky spur which extended betoken the three valleys of the Black

River, the Man-Lai and the Nam~Na. In this study of the power relations between an ethnic minority group and a colonial power, I hope to present a less unilateral version of history than has normally been written for this region- The National Archives in Hanoi are full of doc um ents, mostly in French, about events on the frontier regions at the beginning of this century. The documents comprise a unique but seldom used collection of primary sources on the trans~frontier economy. Issue No. 28, Mares 1995

133

An Anthropologist's Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution Philip Taylor This year saw the publi cation of a remarkable new anthropological work on Vietnam: Revolution in the Village, Tradition and Transformation in North Vietnam, 19251988 by Vietnamese-American anthropologist, Hy Van Luong. Faced by severe restrictions of access to his fieldsite, Luong has produced a model of inventive scholarship, skilfully combining the life histories of colonial exiles, detailed archival research and his short periods of fieldwork into a rich account of a momentous period. It is one of the few works that provide a village-level perspective on the Vietnamese revolution and counteract the overwhelmingly top-heavy emphasis of the literature (see also Troll Inger, Hunt). Revolution in Fhe Village is also the first English-language, anthropological study

of lowland Vietnam to be published in thirty years, the last being Gerald Hickey's Village in Viernam.' During this period, anthropology has come a long way,

undergoing its own revolutions in theory. Luong's application of the latest theoretical developments in his study might be seen as his most remarkable achievement: in a single work, the last three decades of anthropological debate have been brought to bear on Vietnam.

However, despite the lack of (western) anthropological publications on Vietnam during this period, historians and political scientists have in fact been vigorously

debating issues of interest to anthropolof ists, such as the impact of the World System on Vietnam, Vietnamese perspectives on colonization, the persistence and

transformation of pre-colonial cultural forms and issues of power and discursive practices. The pre-eminent focus for these debates has been the Vietnamese

revel ution: how was the extraordinary success of the Vietnamese people in shrugging off the oppressive rule of three world powers to be explained? Luong was able to draw upon these debates to refine his anthropological approach to the Vietnamese revolution. :

1

Vietnamese anthropologists have been at work during this period, yet within a very different paradigm ii-om that of western-trained anthropologists (Evans 1985).

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Philip Taylor

Luong's references drew me into the sizeable literature on the Vietnamese revolution and I began to survey it, in a more systematic manner, for arguments which seemed of interest to anthropologists. After a certain amount of reading, it appeared (to my anthropologist's eye) that there were three major issues which dominated all others in the various explanations given for the success of the revolution:

1. The role of cultural/ideological vs material factors. 2. The role of continuity VS discontinuity

3. A more sociological issue .-.. the role of elites vs non-elites. Most authors were concerned to express their views on these matters. It seemed that it would be of use to anthropologists interested in Vietnam if an attempt were made to classify the various contributions to the debate, according to the position taken on these three sets of issues. In the twilight years of French colonization, Paul Mus described Vietnam as "a nation off balance." French reorganization of the society had torn the Confucian literati from their spiritual traditions and traditional bonds of collectivity. The French education system "had stripped them of everything and given back only rationalism and individualism, leaving them psychologically unbalanced, nervous and predisposed to violence" (McAlister & Mus: 94). Mus saw the revolution primarily as the struggle of the traditional elite to recover lost social cohesion, without which they would be driven to desolation and suicide (Ibid: 104).

Mus is the first writer to give a cultural determinist explanation for the revolution and makes it in the most uncompromising terms. In 1972, his views became popularized in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald. Forty years down the track, Hy Van Luong's work has returned to a position surprisingly close to that of Mus. Luong studied a village north-west of Hanoi. He explains revolutionary activity, in this region at least, as a manifestation of the egalitarian principle inherent in the villages of northern (and central) Vietnam. This is the principle which in pre-colonial times, had demanded the periodic redistribution of communal village land. Interestingly, he is the only one of these writers to attempt to account for the failure of the revolution to deliver substantial improvements in the position of Vietnamese women. He explains this enduring inequality in terms of the hierarchical principle, which alongside the egalitarian principle, shaped life in precolonial village

communities and has continued to exert its influence over Vietnamese society.

An Anthropologists Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution

135

To these two writers the revolution occurred under the sign of continuity. The. following two, whilst maintaining the emphasis on cultural/ideological factors, place greater stress on discontinuity. In Community and Revolution in Modern Vietnam, Alexander Woodside argues that the driving force behind the struggle against the French was a cognitive crisis afflicting the traditional Vietnamese elite: It does not slander the political contributions of one of the most hard-working that the Vietnamese and resourceful peasantries in all Asia to point out revel ution was led for the most part by the sons of the traditional intelligentsia, and this was the section of Vietnamese society which found itself earliest and roost often in demeaning circumstances of cultural and political conflict with the colonial power. (Woodside: 303)

Their dramatic loss of status sent them on a recuperative mission during which they tried to revitalize old forms as well as hunting for new organizational forms with which to combat the French. This led them eventually to Marxism-Leninism - an approach whose ethical concerns resonated with their Confucian past, but whose pretensions to being scientific represented a disjuncture they were willing to experiment with. Woodside's description of Ho Chi Minh and others of his generation as "Mandarin Proletarians" expresses this mixture of the old and the new influences on the Vietnamese revolution. Of those writers emphasizing the cultural/ideological factors behind the Vietnamese revolution, David Marr makes the strongest claim for an ideological rupture with the past. Writing of the small, yet influential class of urban intellectuals emerging under colonial rule, he argues that for them, the period 1920-1945 (that is, the 25 years preceding the August Revolution) brought profound changes in political and social consciousness- As his title, Vietnamese Tradition on Trial, 1920-/945, suggests, during this period previously unquestioned obedience to tradition and morality was superseded by intellectual curiosity, criticism, and a search for new ideas that could solve Vietnam's problems-

Opposed to the above authors are those inspired by Marxist thinking, for whom the origins of revolution lay in the material conditions of global capitalism.

Jean Chesneaux argues that the driving force behind the revolution was a new class, the proletariat, created by the expansion Of French capitalism into Southeast Asia a class driven by the laws of history to rebel. Its an approach which in its great

-

simplicity, Overlooks the fact that those in leadership positions in the Vietminh . - the movement which fought against and defeated the French in 1954 - were not working class, but as Woodside has indicated, mostly descendants of the pre-colonial scholargentry.

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Martin Murray, in The Development of Capitalism in Colonia! Indochina, 18701940, also sees the proletariat as the powerhouse of the revolution - driven by exploitation and fierce repression in the plantations and factories of Indochina, they frequently rebelled and achieved a high level of class consciousness. Unlike Chesneaux, he does consider the role of non-proletarian Communist Party organizers, however sees their role as merely giving voice to the class interests of the proletariat. These writers see the proletariat's small size as being disproportionate to their influence. Robequain and Murray argue that the considerable turnover in labour supply at French plantations and factories had the effect of extending the influence of the new mode of production to a large proportion of the population. Hence, as David Marr points out, Vietnam's subsistence farmers, poor peasants and agricultural labourers had a great deal of exposure to proletarian political formulations - a factor of no little significance in the unfolding of rural events from 1930 onward (Marr 19811301 Despite the important insights afforded by the above, authors, Fd have to call theirs an inadequate approach in its failure to explain the social make up of that key organization, the Communist Party or give an adequate account of the Party leadership's motivations. In terms of the three sets of issues found to dominate the literature on the

revolution, such writers see the material forces of history as all-important. In characterising the revolution as a reaction to French capitalism, they emphasise discontinuity. In their focus upon the proletariat, they locate the origins of the revolution in the non-elite domain. It is the latter term in each of the three pairs of factors which is stressed: Cultura]/Ideological

VS

Material

Continuity

VS

Discontinuity

Elite

VS

Non-elite

By taking a position with respect to each of the three pairs of factors, such authors have defined a distinct approach towards the Vietnamese revolution. In purely hypothetical terms, there would be eight such positions. This can be shown by placing this latter group of writers within a three-dimensional figure defined by the three pairs of factors (see Figure 1). The approach to revolution pursued by these writers sits fairly comfortably within such a figure- To what extent are the remaining seven hypothetical approaches

it defines matched by actual approaches in the literature '?

An Anthropologist's Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution

137

Elite

|

I

1 I l

I I

I

I I

x

l

Non-elite

I I I

Continuity

Discontinuity

X

Culturalfldcological

Material

Chesneaux Murray

Figure 1

Neo-classical economists are not usually grouped with Marxist authors, however the approach towards the Vietnamese revolution pursued by Samuel Popkin in The Rational Peasant: The Political Economy of RuraI Society in Vietnam, has a jot in common with the above authors. As the title suggests, his explanation also focuses on a non-elite group, in this case, the peasantry. And his emphasis on that group's materialistic motivations as distinct from culturally-shaped motivations, places his explanation alongside other materialist ones. However, he parts company with the Marxists in seeing peasants as "political entrepreneurs," whose actions are guided by rational cost~benefit analysis. As such, he is proposing that peasants operated within a framework of free-choice, which couldn't be further from the Marxists' emphasis upon the structuring effects of French capitalism upon individual

action in

colonial

Vietnam. Popkin argues that Vietnamese peasants supported the Communists' program for revolution because their self-interest lay most clearly in that direction. In particular, the Communists' land reform initiatives appeared a better alterative than the policies of the colonial regime. Peasant revolutionary action thus represented no critical disjuncture with past behaviour, which continued to be guided by a cool-headed investment logic, Therefore it can be seen that Popkin's approach is defined by the same non-elite, materialist focus as the Marxists' approach, yet constitutes a second,

distinct approach in its emphasis on the continuity of peasant motivation. (Figure 2) Apart from overlooking the structuring influence of class, Poplin's maddeningly simple explanation ignores the environmental and cultural parameters within which

Vietnamese peasants operated (Luong 1985). It would appear in the last resort that he

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Phflzp Taylor

is guilty of projecting a value from his own socio~cultural background midtwentieth-century American capitalism on to the Vietnamese. There are other writers who share Popkin's and the Marxists' emphasis on the --_

-

non-elite origins of the revolution . - in this case its the peasantry -- yet who downplay material factors and stress the role of enduring cultural/ideological formations. Nguyen Khan Vien in his influential essay "Conflu-cianism and Marxism in Vietnam," argues that there was strong continuity between the this-worldly, moral

concerns of Confucianism and those of Vietnamese Marxism. We've seen his influence on Woodside already. But Nguyen Khac Vien argues that in "traditional Vietnam" there had always been a split between the Confucianism of the mandarins and the Confucianism of the people. The latter was as activist and as antiauthoritarian as the former was oppressive and hierarchical. He argues that Confucian scholars living at the village level and deeply immersed in peoples' problems had played a key role in articulating the grievances of the people and leading their rebellions against the oppressive Confucianism of the court. It was the Communists -

ex-school teachers and offspring of village scholars such as Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap - those who understood grass-roots problems, who had become the new defenders of the Confucianism of the people. Thomas Hodgkin similarly argues that village scholars served as conduits for the aspirations of the people, yet according to him, those aspirations were for Nationalism rather than Confucianism. He cites a primordial peasant Nationalism as being the key factor behind the Vietnamese revolution. Peasants had acted concertedly against the French and Americans just as they had repeatedly defended their national integrity against foreign aggressors from the north for the past two millenia.

For Steven Young, it was a purely peasant revolution (no scholars involved) this time motivated by Buddhist and Taoist peasant traditions. However Communist elites had hijacked the revolution just as in the past, the Confucian court had insinuated themselves back into power after peasants had rid the country of foreign invaders. In terms of the model outlined above, these three writers clearly represent a third approach to the revolution: the struggle for power by a non-elite group (the

peasantry) acting according to enduring pre-colonial norms. (Figure 2) These authors only disagree as to the nature of those normative traditions. James Scot's analysis of the 1930 Nghe-Tinh soviets could arguably be slotted

in here. in the Moral Economy of the Peasant, he argues that the pre-colonial peasant village was marked by a strong subsistence ethic. According to Scott, the system might have been exploitative, but peasants were always guaranteed a minimum basic subsistence. During the Depression in 1930, the French breached this subsistence

An Anthropologist's Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution

139

ethic by continuing to tax peasants at a constant rate which was now beyond their

ability to pay and still survive. It was in deface of the old normative order that peasants rose up against local landlords and created the rural soviets. Hy Van Luong argues against Scott that on many other occasions, the subsistence ethic had been breached, however the peasants had not rebelled. What was notable about the Nghe-Tinh soviets was the involvement of members of the indigenous elite in their capacity as local members of the Communist Party. This group were able to mobilize the peasantry both through hierarchical kinship links and patron-client ties, as well as appeals to the "radical egalitarian principle" which, he argues, was also constitutive of the pre-colonial village. Luong argues that while

Scott is right in perceiving the influence of the pre-capitalist normative order, he misses the fact that it was made effective through the agency of the local elite. As does Woodside, he sees this group's involvement as a bid to reduce the cognitive dissonance resulting from their dramatic loss of status under French rule (Luong 1985). It could be argued that Luong's argument represents a fourth approach to the revolution, defined by the same concerns with enduring, normative structures as Nguyen Khan Vien et al, yet differing from them in his focus on the elite. However

the fact that he also regards the peasantry's role in the revolution as vital, makes it impossible to neatly fit him into one of the eight hypothetical approaches defined by the figure. One might perhaps characterise his explanation of the "traditional" elite's influence upon the peasantry by means of an arrow drawn from the elite to the nonelite positions in the figure, which are defined by cultural/ideological continuity. (Figure 2) According to Luong, the local elites were able to draw upon a common sociocultural tradition when communicating with the peasantry. According to Mus, however, the western-educated elite had penmanently lost hold of their Confucian traditions and sought to regain psychological balance in the collectivism and spiritual purpose provided by Communism. How were they to communicate this foreign doctrine to the peasantry, who, according to him, had remained firmly embedded in

their cultural traditions? The problem was solved by the Communists' skilled use of the "traditional language of politics," which disposed the peasantry to see Communism as "more a fulfillment than a break with the past." (Mus: l l 6 ) To convey the concept of "socialising landed property" crucial to Communism, the Communists used the

phrase Xa Hoi Hoa which, Mus argued, appealed to the peasants' sense of how regimes should change, expressed their belief in the spiritual nature of the village, suggested a return to unity, resonated with traditional communal values and implied

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the blessing of heaven. Some of these meanings he extracted from the Chinese roots of the phrase (Mus: 119). Ever the classicist he has clearly wrung meanings out of the phrase that most villagers would never suspect were there. This is an interpretive sin Alexander Woodside could also on occasion be accused of. However he does engage a problem

faced by those who see action guided by meaning: how was the new, esoteric knowledge of the westernized elite communicated to the great bulk of the population whom they sought to mobilize '? In raising this problem, he sketches out a more complex approach to revolution. Again, it is more complex than any one of the approaches defined by the figure: it involves an important elite-peasantry interaction and a translation of new ideological messages into old, familiar forms. It might be illustrated on Figure 2 by means of an arrow drawn from the position marking the elite's concern with a foreign or discontinuous ideology to the position marking the peasants' concerns with "traditional" or continuous conceptionsExpanding on this theme, Woodside saw the Vietnamese revolutionaries as cultural engineers who skilfully used existing aesthetic forms, traditional communications techniques and provincial symbolism to communicate their "imported inspirations." As he demonstrates, for instance, during the 1930 soviets, cadres made use of the popular rhythmic talking song genre in an attempt to rally the peasantry. Borrowing from a sub-title in a well-known 15th Century poem, "A Wife's Advice to her Husband," the cadres came up with "A Wife's Advice to her Husband to Make Revolution." The lyrics of this song spoke of the people's attempt to seize power during the Paris Commune (Woodside: 181). Woodside argues that the Vietnamese revolutionaries strength was their perception that their large-scale movement "could derive cohesion and even dynamism from multitudes of small-group attachments which fell short, in practice, of attachments to the movement's most complex central ideologies and philosophical doctrines" - provided those attachments harmonised with the movement's overall purposes (Woodside: 179). For example, David Marr argues that by the I930s, Vietnamese intellectuals had a sound grasp of the Historical Dialectic. However, when they turned their attention to mass mobilization, they realised they would need to exploit the more idealistic conceptions of history popular amongst the Vietnamese masses :

Thus while World War II was being interpreted publicly in the manner of a vast morality play, internal ICP documents relied on the theory of contradictions to analyse the primary Allied-Axis confrontation and other tensions within the allied camp and the Japanese-Vichy entente (Marr 1981: 417).

An Anthropologist? Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution

141

While exploiting the "traditional language of politics," the ICP also made strenuous efforts to educate the masses in revolutionary theory and practice. The mass literacy campaign was directed to this end. Newspapers

and

magazines became increasingly important as outlets for the propagation of new

ideas. Colonial prisons also functioned as schools for the dissemination of revolutionary knowledge as did plantations and other industrial sites. Workers'

and peasants' schooling in a new conception of the world and a new language

of politics - Marxism-Leninisrn

- thus gave a renewed impetus to the

Vietnamese revolution (Woodside: 199, Marr 1981: 183).

Those who stress the importance of the workers' and peasants' acceptance of new, revolutionary ideas seem to be advancing another approach to the revolution. It

is again, a more complex approach than any of the eight positions defined by the figure. It could be represented by means of an arrow drawn from the position marking elite, discontinuous, ideological factors to that marking non-elite, discontinuous, ideological factors. Yet here we see that the term "approach" which may have sufficed when classifying some of the earlier authors, no longer captures the totality of these latter authors' thoughts on the causes of the revolution. Woodside, for instance, detects both continuity and discontinuity in elite ideology and with respect to their attempt to mobilize non-elites, sees them communicating both directly and through the "traditional language of politics." His reflections on the revolution in fact encompass at least three of the "approaches" already delineated (Figure 2). The same could be said for Luong and Marr, whose idealogical/cultural emphases are balanced by an acceptance of the role of material factors. Increasingly, the authors in this debate

have moved away from reductionist stances choosing rather to emphasis

a particular

constellation of factors amongst the many they see as pertinent. It may be argued that with the increasing sophistication of the debate, the figure has outlived its usefulness. No longer do authors sit neatly within it but their

arguments burst its limits and lines tracing their thought processes messily intersect its formal lines. Nonetheless, I would argue, it retains its usefulness for plotting the different conceptual moves these authors have made in relation to a widely accepted set of pertinent factors. As one of the latest authors to publish, William Duiker in The Communist Road to Power fn Vietnam, also acknowledges the role of a variety of causal factors. Yet perhaps his most important contribution is to focus in a new way upon the relationship between the Vietnamese elite and the masses. Like many other authors, he draws attention to the fact that the ICP leadership came substantially from

descendants of the former generation of scholar-patriots. In addressing the motivation

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Philip Taylor

of these elites, he invokes Mus' explanation of elite behaviour, "In a world of rapid change, where the moorings of traditional beliefs had been severely shaken, Marxistthe radical Leninist doctrine represented a comforting and persuasive antidote intellectual might find Marxism congenial because it possessed certain comfortable similarities to the belief system inherited from the past." (Duiker 1981: 26).

On the other hand he argues that peasant uprisings against the French such as the 1908 peasant riots were provoked mainly by economic and social conditions (Duiker: i t ) . However, left to themselves, the peasants' inchoate anger and frustration at their progressive immigration would at best only manifest itself in regional rebellions that would not seriously threaten colonial rule. The exploitation of the proletariat might

manifest itself in working-class discontent, however, it was only with the return from Paris of the radical l a b o r organizer, Ton Duc Thank, in the early twenties, that the first unions were formed (Duiker: 10). He sees the relationship of the ICP elite and the proletariat and peasantry as that of the Leninist vanguard party and the masses in Leninist theory. Amongst its other strategems, the Party attempted to exacerbate the tensions in Vietnamese society, to provoke conflict, and thereby drive workers and peasants towards the inescapable

conclusion that the French had to be ejected if they were to survive. Its an approach which downplays the role of non-elite ideology in revolutionary action. Culture and ideology which is all-important for the elites, does not appear in his analysis of the working-class or peasantry.

Yet in a sense, Duiker's argument represents the most complex explanation of the revolution reviewed thus far. For it touches on the entire range of variables in one conceptual move. The new philosophy of the intelligentsia, Marxism-Leninism,

adopted for its similarity to their lost cultural heritage (In terms of the figure, elite, cultural continuity), led them to mobilize the peasantry by intensifying the effects of French repression upon them (non-elite, material discontinuity). This represents a far cry from those simple cultural-continuity and material - discontinuity approaches that seemed not to recognize any sociological complexity in Vietnam's revolutionary movements.

Nonetheless a word of criticism. Duiker attributes the Communists' victory to their superiority in political skills over those of the South Vietnamese regime. Whilst credit must be given to the stategists of the Party one must not undersell the peasants own perceptions of the regime nor their ability to evaluate National Liberation Front initiatives.

Two of the positions suggested by the figure are as yet unaccounted for. Without going into the complexities of more accounts of the Vietnamese revolution, I should nevertheless indicate that they have been taken into account in the literature.

An Anthropologist's Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution

143

Eric Wolf suggests that the involvement of French-educated petty officials of the colonial bureaucracy in anticolonial political movements was in part a compensation for this group's divorce from traditional sources of power (Wolf 1969: 289). As one element in a complex analysis, his description of the elites' recuperative quest for power introduces the role of elite, material continuity in the Vietnamese revolution. Serving as a corrective to Popkin's decontextualized explanation of peasant involvement in revoluti unary action, Wolf also describes the role of non-elite, material Conti nutty in a more context-specific way. He argues that the peasantry's hostility towards the Diem regime was in part due to the latter's "land-reform" campaign under which peasants actually lost land granted to them in earlier NLF land reform init atives (Wolf 1969). Thus part of the peasantry's support for the NLF after this event was motivated by a restorative impulse - to regain lost ground. Writing about the same period, Jeffrey Race speaks of the repressiveness shown by the South Vietnamese Government towards all sectors of society in Long An Province as a factor enhancing the appeal of the NLF (Race 1972). The provincial

elite would have been motivated by this factor, and hence we can see the role of elite, material discontinuity in the revolution.

A Final Word on the Figure Each of the eight hypothetical approaches it suggests has in fact figured in the debate. Some have been seen as determinant, however none have been thrown out of court as inconsequential. There has been a degree of merit in virtually all of the arguments

summarised so far. With respect to the contributors to the debate, there are some whose explanations

could be"pigeon-holed" in one of the eight positions defined by the figure: -The Marxists who describe it as a proletarian revolution.

-Those who describe it as a peasant revolution.

-Popkin, who explains it in terms of peasants' rational self-interest. Most however cannot be pigeon-holed as they have seen the revolution as a more complex interrelation of factors, for example, Mus, Woodside and Marr's notion of the new knowledge of the intelligentsia being conveyed to the peasantry in old, familiar forms. Many of these have not reduced the revolution to even these complex interrelations of factors but have seen several parallel processes at work. l` think it best to follow the lead of such writers, who see the Vietnamese

revolution as an extremely complex phenomenon - an insight which is probably true of all revolutions. To explain it satisfactorily, I would argue, you need to touch base

on each of the positions defined in the figure. It is also a matter of identifying the

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Philip Taylor

relationships between factors. And finally, it involves acknowledging the parallel operation of a number of such processes- My vision of an ideal explanation of the revolution is thus captured by the messy profusion of lines and crosses cross-cutting the diagram. Luong Woodside

Duiker

Ra

'cc

wow

Mus Woodside Marr

Elite

Marr Woodside

"ii \

I _

/ Pumpkin wolf

I

Non-clit:

x

I

XI

\. .. \

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1X

I

'7*

Conr.inuity

Discontinuity

Chcsncaux Murray

Maluial

Cultural/Ideological

Nguyen Khan Vice Hodgkin Young

Figure 2

Reference List Chesneaux, Jean 1955.

C

Mb

to

PHI'

I

i

E

d I o N U'

Vi m mi run Paris: Editi

S

Sociales. Duiker, William I. 1981 . The Communfsr Road to Power in Vietnam Boulder Col: Westview Press. Evans, Grant 1985.

"Vietnamese Communist Anthropology" Canberra Antkropafogy 8:

(1-2). Fitzgerald, Frances

1972.

Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vfemam

Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

Hickey, Gerald Cannon 1964. Village in Vietnam New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

An Anthropologists Guide to the Literature on the Vietnamese Revolution Hue-Tam Ho Tai 1983. MiZlenarian zl5m and Peasant Politics in Vietnam Cambridge MA:

Harvard University Press. Hodgkin, T. 1981. Vietnam: the Revolutionary Path New York: Saint Martin's Press. Hunt, D.

1982.

"Village Culture and The Vietnamese Revolution" Pas! & Present 943131-157.

He Van Luong 1985.

"Agrarian Unrest from An Anthropological Perspective; the case of Viet Nam" Comparative Politics 17(2):153-174.

Hy Van Luong 1992.

Revolution in the Village: Tradition and Transformation in North

Vietnam 1925-1988 Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Marr, David

1981.

Vietnamese Tradition on Trial Berkeley: University of California.

McA1ister, John and Paul Mus 1970. The Vietnamese and their Revolution New York: Hazier and Row. Murray, Martin W e Development of Ca_pitalism in Colonial Indoehbza (1870-/940) 1980. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Nguyen Khac Vien 1974.

Tradition and Revolution in Vietnam Berkeley: Indochina Resource Centre.

Popkin, Samuel L. 1979. Wie Rational Peasontf the Pofirical Economy ofRura! Society in Vietnam Berkeley: UCP.

Race, Jeffrey 1972.

War Comes to Lang An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese

Province Berkeley: University of California Press. Robequain, Charles

1941.

The Economic Development of French Indochina London: Oxford

University Press.

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Scott, James C. The Moral Economy of the Peasant New Haven: Yale University 1976.

Press. Trullinger, J.W.

1980.

Wolf, E. 1969.

Village at War: an account ofrevolurion in Vietnam New York: Longman. Peasant Wars of The 20th Century New York: Harper and Row.

Woodside, Alexander Community and Revolution 1976.

fn

Modern Vietnam Boston: Houghton

Mifflin Company. Young, SB. 1979.

"Vietnamese Marxismztransition in elite ideology" Asian Survey 19: 770.-79.

Issue No. 18, September /992

147

Trade and Transport in North-Western Laos Andrew Walker Andmropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. ANU

Introduction

I would like to begin this paper at the Golden Triangle - that famous point where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Burma meet midstream in the Mekhong. Personally, this place depresses me. The river views are spectacular but the rows of empty concrete apartments and shops, tourist stalls selling a mass of Triangle and poppy memorabilia, and the generic "hill tribe" girls posing for photographs hold little

attraction. In fact whenever I visited the Triangle it was almost devoid of visitors

except for those forcibly bussed in by tour companies. However on the southern outskirts of the town things are moving. The Haa Chiang (or Five City) Plaza is nearing completion. The plaza is a northern Thai triumph in concrete and timber veneer. By local standards it's big three stories high with two main wings around an open courtyard. On the river side there is a large

-

outdoor pavement which overlooks extensive port facilities. This will be the place

where the nouveau riche of southern China step ashore and inspect, under one rooli almost everything Thailand has to offer. It will also farewell their Thai counterparts

as they set out on their "dream journey" up the "mysterious jungle river" that is the Mekhong. The plaza is being built by MF World Travel, part of the MP conglomerate owned by Chart Thai Party deputy leader Wattana Asvahame. The MP Group has purchased five German built "747 Jetcrafts" that will provide cruise services between

Luang Phrabang in northern Laos and Jinghong in Sipsongpanna. Beside the Plaza, the rustic MP villas and travel agency will make way for a riverside resort hotel. Nearby, across the narrow Ruak river in Burma, a massive casino complex is under construction. Across the Mekhong River in Laos MP has built a large warehouse allegedly in preparation for the opening of a tax free trade zone at the Triangle*

Bokeo, Luang Namtha and Udom Xai Provinces and the Chiang Rom/Hong Sa "Special Region

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Andrew Walker

The activities of the MP Group are central to the new ideology of the "economic

-

quadrangle According to the key proponents of this ideology the Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce, the Governor of Chiang Raj and the Asian Development Bank - investments in transport infrastructure and the continued deregulation of socialist economies will enable dramatic increases in cross-border trade, investment

and tourism. The infrastructural linking of the dynamic economies of northern Thailand and southern China via the relatively untamed hinterlands of Burma and Laos is seen as an almost inevitable formula for success - a "Mekhong corridor" along which prosperity will flow. At the same time the corridor is seen as linking, and even strengthening, the common cultural traditions of the region. The businessmen of Sipsongpanna and northern Thailand can cruise in air-conditioned comfort hoping to catch a glimpse of the bare breasted Lu maidens featured in their tour booklets bathing by the river. In the new world of the quadrangle prosperity and tradition can exist side by side. However, some traditions are more marketable than others. Last year it was revealed that MP's owner Wattana Asvahame had been denied an American visa OII1 the basis of suspected involvement in the drug trade. Wattana protesteth so much that at one stage he even threatened to sue Bill Clinton. As the jewel in the quadrangle

crown, Wattana and MP are looking a little tarnished-

The Chiang Khong Boat Operators' Association About 60 kilometres downstream from the Haa Chiang Plaza lies the busy Thai river port of Chiang Khong. Near the top of the bank overlooking the port is a ramshackle cluster of sheds where I undertook much of my research. These sheds have a superb

view of the Mekhong and the Lao town of Huay Sai on the opposite bank and are a pleasant place to sit in the evening drinking whiskey and talking trade. This is the headquarters of the Chiang Khong cross-river boat operators association. In all there are about 40 cross-river boats operating out of Chiang Khong. All of the boats are individually owned and operated, all operators are men and almost all of them live in the village forming the commercial heart of Chiang Khong -- Wat Luann. Their wooden boats are all about 13 metros long and l metre wide. Most have a capacity of about 1.5 tonnes and they are powered by four cylinder car engines that are imported second-hand from Japan. The main function of the boat operators association is to coordinate a roster system known as the "queue". Under this system the 40 boats are divided into 4

queues of 10. On each working day (Monday to Friday) only one of the queues provides cross river services .. one quarter of the boats being quite sufficient to meet demand on all but the busiest days. Given that the boat operators only work one day

Trade and Transport in North-Westem Laos

149

in four most are engaged in a number of other occupations: many of them work as small scale cross-border traders and many also have fruit orchards and rice fields in villages surrounding Chiang Khong.

The boat operators derive their revenue from two main sources: Thai traders and Lao traders. I will discuss these in turn. The core of the Thai trading group is made up of approximately 20 female traders working between Chiang Khong and Huay Sai. Many of them are the wives or close relatives of boat operators. On any day the ranks of the traders are swelled by

boat operators who are rostered off and by a small number of male traders who are not boat operators. Most traders travel over to Huay Sai every day, take orders, return

to Chiang Khong, buy from the many shops in the main street and travel back to Huay Sai to sell. Almost all sales are made in response to orders and only a few traders take goods across to sell on a speculative basis. Whilst in Huey Sai the traders spend a lot of time standing around and wandering the main street waiting for customers to place orders. Some follow delivery circuts in the local took-tuks dropping off goods at small shops, collecting payments and taking orders as they go. Very little is bought in Huay Sai for sale in Chiang Khong apart from the occasional pieces of cloth and exotic vegetables and animals from the local market. The Lao traders using the cross-river boat operators fall into a number of categories. Some are shopkeepers from Huay Sai who buy in sufficient bulk to justify the freight costs and immigration fees. A second group are traders from Luann Naphtha who are travelling across to Huay Sai where they will load onto trucks for the arduous road trip north (only possible in the dry season). Finally, there are traders from Lao towns down river who cross to Huay Sai to load onto small Lao boats for the journey home.

The Thai traders are charged much lower rates than their Lao counterparts. For example a Thai trader pays 80 baht for a full boat-load whereas a Lao trader pays 170

baht. Thai traders who are also boat operators, and thus members of the association, are not charged anything at all. The fact that rates charged to Thai traders are substantially lower gives them an important competitive advantage and is a barrier to the entry of Lao traders into small scale cross-border trade. Whilst there is an ample supply of boats on the Lao side of the river the Thai boat operators association will not permit them to moor and load at Chiang Khong. At the end of the day the members of the relevant boat operators queue adjourn to one of the sheds for the calculations and distribution of the money. Whilst the

amount is basically equally distributed there are numerous deductions and loadings which make the process somewhat complex and often contentious. Very' generally,

-

individual daily takirigs of 400-500 baht are considered acceptable disappointing on a Friday (which is usually busy) but good enough on other days. Amounts above 600-

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Andrew Walker

700 are considered good, with the 1000 baht barrier only being breached on a few days per year.

Long Distance Trade In Laos Chiang Khong is the source of most Thai manufactured goods sold throughout northern Laos and Lao traders travel there in considerable numbers to purchase stock. The largest number of these traders come up river from Luang Phrabang, followed by Huay Sai, Udom Xai, Paak Berg and Luang Namtha. A small number of traders travel from as far afield as Xiang Khoang, Phongsalie and Sam Neua. Almost all

traders buy in Chiang Khong to sell in their town of origin, with the obvious exception of the long distance Huay Sai traders who tend to concentrate on selling in Paak Bent and Udom XaiI estimate that approximately 70 percent of the Lao traders are women, though this may be an overestimate given that their distinctive dress makes them much more visible than their male counterparts. Almost all traders conduct their trading activities in groups ranging in size from 2 to 10 people, with four or five people being the most common. From my observations the cooperation within the group is limited to sharing the cost of cargo boats and trucks. Group members purchase goods separately and are likely to have different customers. When I ask traders about the advantages and disadvantages of working in groups they almost always say that it is less convenient but more fun and safer than working alone. I am currently working closely with three groups of traders all of whom trade along the Huay Say, Paak Berg, Udom Xai trading route. The first group is made up mainly of traders based in Huey Sai who sell in Udom

Xai. This group is unusual in that it has a relatively large number of men. The core of the group is four husband and wife pairs who live in south Huay Sat Two of the women are sisters. One of the couples used to work for Lao customs in Huay Sai, greatly assisting the group in its negotiations with customs over import duty

payments. The other key member of the group is a male trader from Udom Xai. He and his wife own a retail stall in the market at Udom Xai (the largest market in north-

western Laos) and are an important link with the group's customers. The group goes on trading journeys roughly once a month, typically spending some 2-3 million baht in the wholesale shops at Chiang Khong. Given that they are well known to the shop keepers they have access to credit - paying a 2-3% surcharge as interest. Debts have to be repaid within four weeks. The group usually takes the one day trip to Paak Berg

in one or two 70 tonnes boats that are hired at the Huay Sai port. (All the long distance cargo boats are Lao owned by individual owner operators.) Loading onto the boats at Chiang Khong and off at Peek Berg is undertaken by teams of labourers who

Trade and Transport in North-Western Laos

151

work at the port and who are paid according to tonnage. Trucks are hired for the eight hour trip to Udom Xai at the Paak Bong port. There is usually a queue of trucks waiting at Paak Bong who have bought Chinese goods down from Mengla (to be sent by river to Luann Phrabang and Vientiane) or timber from the mills in northern Laos

(to be sent up river to Chiang Khong). Having delivered the goods to the customers in the large market at Udom Xai some of the traders travel to Mengla in China to purchase small loads of textiles, toys and electronic goods to sell back in Huay Sai. Those that don't travel to China usually wait in Udorn Xai to collect payments from their customers. The return trip to Huay Sai is made by pick-up truck to Peek Bent and speed-boat for the 3 hour trip up the river. The core of the second trading group I am working with is a couple from Huay Sai who operate a 25 tonne cargo boat alongside their trading activities. They work with a number of different traders, but while I was working with them last year they developed a close relationship with a female trader from Udorn Xai whose husband owns a truck that operates between Paak Bong, Udorn Xai and Mengla (in China). Having guaranteed access to both a truck and boat giveS this group a strong trading advantage - removing uncertainty and reducing freight costs. Whereas the couple based in Huay Sai sell mainly in Paak Beng where they have a large number of relatives, their trading partner take goods in her husband's truck to Udom Xai where they are sold to traders from Phongsalie and Sam Neua. Prior to joining up with the Huay Sai pair, the trader from Udom Xai had made at least one trading trip to Chiang Khong but found it unprofitable due to her inability to negotiate effectively with the Lao customs. The Huey Sai couple, on the other hand are highly skilled at these negotiations and now negotiate on behalf of their trading partner, consistently

achieving very low rates of duty through a careful combination of charm, assertiveness and persistence. Typically the trading trips of this group involve about 1 . million baht worth of stock.

The third group is the most diffuse with the core being a group of 3 small-scale female traders from Paak Beng who sell mainly in their home town but who are also involved in occasional ventures to Udom Xai- They travel to Chiang Khong regularly

and buy in relatively small quantities, often shopping at the large travelling market that is staged in Chiang Khong each Friday. Despite being regular traders they still

pay cash for their purchases. The composition of the trading group varies greatly and they otter come to Chiang Khong separately or with other traders from Paak Berg. They usually return home after one or two days on small cargo boats, selling to the

shops clustered along the main street in Paak Berg. One of this group is involved in a strategic relationship with a Lao customs officer in Huay Sai.

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Andrew Walker

The Timber Trade Currently the largest export from north-western Laos consists of sawn timber bought up the Mekhong river in large (50 to 80 tonne) boats, off loaded at Chiang Khong and then distributed by truck throughout Thailand. Whereas the sale and distribution of manufactured goods discussed above is controlled by Lao traders, the timber industry is dominated by Thai capital. I am currently aware of 6 sawmills operating in this region. Two mills are

located in Bokeo province - one at Sin Udom, 5 kilometres downstream from Huay Sai, the other at Bardeen a further 10 kilometres down the river. Following the river downstream the next mill is located about half way to Peak Bent on the south bank at Peak Op. Just to the south of Peek Berg, in Udorn Xai province, another mill is currently under construction. A second, newly constructed, mill in this province is located to the north of Paak Bent at Moung Hour about one third of the way along the road to Udorn Xai. Currently there is only one mill in Luang Narntha province, located just outside the provincial capital on the road to Muang Sing. There is also a large mill in Phongsalie province, outside north-western Laos, but the output of the mill is trucked, via Mengla in China, to Paak Beng and then up the river to Chiang

Khong. The spate of Thai investment in sawmills in this region represents something of a return to the period of the l960's when at least 7 mills dotted the Mekhong river bank in Bokeo province. Given the lack of transport infrastructure and security problems in other parts of the north-west the riverside strip of Bokeo province bordering Thailand was the most suitable location for timber ventures. Most of these mills were established with Thai capital, though Lao entrepreneurs and some members of the

Lao military were also involved. The industry collapsed after 1975 as a result of the withdrawal of Thai investment, the closing of the border for trade and lack of fuel and spare parts for machinery. By the late l980's only 2 of these mills remained - Sin Udom and Bardeen. Sin Udorn is currently leased to a Chiang Khong based business that has taken on the Sin Udom name. The owner lives in Chiang Khong where he has a large timber yard on the southern outskirts of town. He is also involved in major real estate developments around Chiang Khong and owns Chiang Khong's only trucking company and the cross~river vehic Ll jar ferry operating between Chiang Khong and Huay Sai. The second mill, Bardeen, is leased to a businesswoman now based in Chiang Khong who used to run a timber trading business in None Khai. The mill at Paak Op is located in the Chiang Rom/Hong So "Special Region" two districts carved out of Oudornxai province that have been placed under special (probably military) administration presumably by virtue of the regiorl's extensive

-

Trade and Transport in North-Western Laos

153

resources in timber and lignite. The mill is owned by an ex-police Chief and member of Parliament from a central Thai province. It is not yet fully operational. A road has been constructed from Paak Op through to Phayao province in Thailand and timber will be taken out through this quicker and less supervised route rather than shipped up the Mekhong to Chiang Khong. The mill at Paak Berg is currently under construction. This mill is being built by the Thai tobacco giant Thepawong owned by the famous Wong van family. The Wong van family has a number of other interests in Laos including a cigarette factory and hotel in Vientiane. The mill at Moung Horn was completed late last year. The Lao partner in this venture is a private trading company that, amongst other things, markets fuel in northern Laos. I have been unable to find out the identity of the Thai investor. Finally, the mill at Luang Narntha is currently operated by a Thai businessman who was previously involved with the sawmill at Sin Udom. Prior to this he was a timber trader working out of Nong Khai. I understand that the mill was originally constructed by the Luang Naphtha provincial government, but has been substantially expanded and upgraded by the current operator. As mentioned above, most timber from these mills is taken up the Mekhong to be unloaded at Chiang Khong. This is the business of large cargo boats, some of which specialise in the transport of timber, whilst others can'y timber on the return journey after carrying long distance traders and their cargos down to Paak Beng. The boat operators are paid what they consider to be a very good rate for the carriage of timber substantially more per tonne than they ask of the Lao traders. The timber is

-

unloaded at Chiang Khong about one kilometre upstream from the main freight port,

and stored in a series of yards belonging to the various importing companies. After customs assessment it is loaded onto trucks to be taken to buyers throughout Thailand-

Conclusion I would like to conclude with a brief overview of the trade and transportation networks in north-westem Laos. The main trading corridor is from Chiang Khong/Huay Sai down the Mekhong River to Luann Phrabang. An important branch of this corridor heads north by road from Peek Bong to Udom Xai. Udom Xai itself acts as a distribution point for goods to towns throughout northern Laos

- Luann

Naphtha, Xiang Khuang, Phongsalie and

Sam Neua. There is also a strong southward movement down the road passing through Udorn Xai to the Mekhong at Peek Bong. This southward stream consists of Chinese manufactured goods from Mengla destined for Luann Phrabang and

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Andrew Walker

Vientiane and sawn timber from mills at Luang Narntha and Phongsalie destined for Chiang Khong. There is also a significant flow of forest products destined for export at Chiang Khong. Informants at Paak Beng have told me that in the past there was some movement of cattle down this road on the way to buyers in Thailand but that this trade has dried up in the last 2 years. In future years there are likely to be two major changes in the road system of

north-westem Laos. Firstly, the road from Huay Sai to Luann Namtha and onward to the Chinese border will be greatly upgraded. The impetus for the southern half of this upgrade is the imminent large-scale export of lignite from Vieng Phukha to Thailand.

Aid funds are being provided for the northern half of the road opening up a direct land route between Thailand, northern Laos and southern China. The second major change will be the development of roads from Nao and Phayao provinces in Thailand through the special region in Laos to the Mekhong. Once again, in the case of the road from Nan province to Hong Sa, lignite is the rationale. Road developments from Hong Sa onward to Sayaboury and Luang Phrabang are also planned. Fuirther to the west there is already a road south from Paak Op to Phayao province and a number of other roads cutting through the Special Region from the Mekhong are in various stages of development.

Looking north from Chiang Khong/Huay Sai, there is some movement of goods upstream along the Mekhong. During the wet season in 1994 a number of Chinese

vessels came to Huay Sai to pick up cargos, including 2000 tonnes of dried lam yancy from Chiang Mai and 200 tonnes of rubber from south Thailand. Interestingly most of the Chinese boats arrived in Huay Sai empty, despite the much reported desire of Chinese enterprises to export via Thailand. I was told that some had unloaded

cargoes

1I'1

Buena.

Possibly the most interesting trade was that from Huay Sai upstream to Burma. Throughout the latter half of 1994 I noticed truck-loads of goods being taken from Chiang Khong across to Huey Sai on the vehicular ferry. Many of these loads were transit loads from Klong Toey Port in Bangkok having come from Singapore and Taiwan. These goods were then loaded into Lao cargo boats and sent upstream. After some time I found out that they were going up to Muang Mom, a small Lao village opposite Burma just north of the Golden Triangle. They were sent across the river to a Burmese village some 30 kilometres from Tachilek. The goods included cigarettes, textiles and electronic products. I was puzzled why the goods didn't go direct by truck to Tachilek from Thailand and repeated enquiries usually met with no response.

l suspect that the goods are travelling into Burma by this backdoor route so as to avoid customs duties at the much more supervised entry point at Tachilek. I also read with interest recent reports that Khufu Sai is shifting his operating base from easter

Trade and Transport in North-Westem Laos

155

Shan state to the west on the Mekhong border with Laos. Apparently stricter Thai border control has lead him to seek new supply lines through Laos. One final note. Muang Mom, the Lao village just mentioned, has an interesting trading history. When the border between Thailand and Laos was closed Thai merchants from Mae Sai and Chiang Saen used to travel through Burma to a large market that then operated at Muang Mom where they would sell to Lao traders from throughout norther Laos. Today the large market place is abandoned and becoming

overgrown, but Muang Mom still serves as a backdoor trading point. In addition to

the transit trade to Burma noted above, Lao boat operators have told me that boats based at Muang Mom travel to China to buy cattle that are brought back down the river and smuggled into Burma and northern Thailand. Muang Mom is also a popular place for residents of Huay Sai to go and buy motor bikes that have been stolen in Thailand. Golden triangle or economic quadrangle, some things never change.

Issue No, 28, March 1995

III LANGUAGES AND CLASSIFICATION

158

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms Anthony Diller, Faculty of Asian Studies The Australian National University, Canberra

The following list of terms is in no sense intended as a definitive taxonomic

treatment of Tai varieties but rather as an ongoing "work-in-progress of convenience Contributions will be gratelixlly received from those who can provide updated information, corrections, additions or speculations. Such assistance will be acknowledged in future reeensions. Ahom .

A southwestern-branch Tai language of Assam, India, former language of the Tai-Ahom Kingdom. The language has not been spoken in daily life for well over a century but survives as a liturgical language in chants and in literary materials- There is currently an attempt to revive a new form of the language. As many as a million Assamese speakers may currently claim to be of Ahem descent but cannot speak or read the language. (Estimates as high as 8 million have even been alleged). Described in publications of Grierson, Bara; Prasert Na niagara, B.J. Terwiel and Renoo Wichasin. [iJ'I1/TU]

Al-lao.

Aiton.

An ethnonym in Han-dynasty sources sometimes linked to 'Lao' but identifications of this sort are usually problematic. Also Aitonia. A southwestern-branch

(Shan-like) variety spoken

in Assam by several thousand speakers and semi-speakers.

[`lomu] Baisha.

See Li.

Bandy.

A variety of Lanna (q.v.).

Baocheng.

See Li.

Be.

(Bé. Also One-Be, Lingao.) A language (t`ormerly'?) spoken on the norther part of Hainan Island by perhaps 500,000 speakers. The

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

159

present status of this language is problematic, both with respect t o current number of speakers and in terms of classification within the Tai familyBendi.

See Li.

Black Tai.

See Dam.

Bli.

See Li.

Bouyei.

See Buyi.

Buyi.

Northern-branch Tai varieties spoken mainly in Guizhou, China, by about 2.4 million speakers. Also known as Bouyei, Bui, Bo-i, Puyi, Pu-i, Pu~jui, Pu-jai, Pu-yoi, and other variants, also as Dioi. The Buyi (of Guizhou) are recognised as an official Chinese (minority) nationality. Sometimes the term 'Buyi' (or a variant) may be used to include all (or nearly all) northern-branch Tai speakers (i.e. including Norther Zhuangs in Guangxi, in which case the number of speakers would be above 10 million). Note

that the Buyi/Zhuang division as defined by Chinese authorities depends on provincial borders, not on bundles of isoglosses or Other linguistic criteria. See also Zhuang, Giéy-

Caolan.

Or Cao Lan. Known as (or included in) San-Chay in Vietnamese official sources. Also Son-Chi, Man Cao Lan. A Central-banch (?) group of about 100,000 speakers mainly in the lower Red River area o f ' Vietnam, also in the Quant Ninld (Monger) area. Said t o

have migrated from China in the l 9th Century. Central Tai (Branch)

A branch of the Tai languages proposed by Li (1977), and

including Nung and Tho (spoken in Vietnam) and southern varieties of Zhuang (q.v.).

Central Thai.

Varieties of Southwestern Thai spoken in the central region of

Thailand. The national language of Thailand (which could be

called 'Standard Thai') is a codified form of Central Thai. Depending considerably on definition, some 20 to 25 million speak Central Thai varieties as a first dialect, and the great majority of Thai nationals in the rest of Thailand are at least

partially (passively) bidialectal in Central Thai. Che.

In Tai'-Che. See Dai.

[`lm1]

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Anthony D i f f e r

Chuang.

See Zhuang (the Pinyin equivalent).

Chung.

See Ya.

Chung-Cha.

Le. Ching-ché. See Giéy, (Northern) Zhuang.

Chungchia.

See Zhuang.

Cung.

In Tai-Cung. A Yunnanese Tai variety spoken in the Hani~Yi-Dai autonomous county.

Daeng.

In Tai-Daeng, (thus Tai-Rouge and hence Red Tai) a somewhat controversial term referring, it would seem, originally to the Tais of Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Vietnamese authorities may deny the validity of Tai-Daeng as a discrete group but there are reports of at least some speakers in Laos who so name themselves. Other Tai-Daeng speakers classify themselves (also?) as Tai-Dam (Black Tai), although their speech may show minor systematic differences with other Tai Dam varieties, such differences were established by Gedney (1964). Some 100,000 people tentatively identified as Tai-Daeng (but perhaps also as

Tai-Dam) are found mainly south of Sam Nuea /Mac-Chau on both sides of the Lao-Vietnam border, some are thus referred t o locally as Try-Moc-Chau. A small transplanted community is said to reside in Chiang Raj. [online] Dai.

The Chinese designation for southwestern-branch Tai speakers in Yunnan Province, numbering about 900,000, recognised as an

official Chinese (minority) nationality. About 75% of those with Dai nationality speak Tai-Lue and live in an autonomous zone in Sip Song Pan Na (Xishuangbanna)- Others speak northern Shan-

like varieties referred to collectively as Tai~Nuea (q.v.), living mainly in the Dehorn Prefecture (hence '(Tai-)Del1ong' q.v.), but also elsewhere in scattered communities in south-central Yunnan. A number of additional subgroups have been associated with the Dai nationality, but linguistic relationships remain to be clarified: Yunnan Shant'ou, Tai~Che, Thai-Khe, Taiyok, Kang, and (Han)Paiyi (see Nuea; the term may be used for non-Tai languages as well). 'Dai' is also a dialectal variant of Li, q.v.

Daic.

See Tai. One means of referring to Tai languages, rather widely

defined (i.e. probably including Dong-Shui and Kadai).

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

Dam-

161

In Tai-Dam (T8y-Dam) i.e. Tai-Noir, Black Tai. See also Thay. A southwestern-branch variety probably once centered near Muang Thaeng (Dienbienphu),

but now widely dispersed in

Viet ran, Laos and Thailand (especially in Nongkhai, Korat, Loei and Saraburi). Some speakers are in Yunnan, included in the Dai nationality. (Emigré communities are in Paris, Sydney, Cedar Rapids, lowa, and elsewhere.) Somewhat inclusive use of the term would number speakers at over 500,000 in Vietnam (1990), with smaller numbers in Laos and elsewhere. Tai-Dam (along with TaiKhao) has a distinctive orthography, ultimately Indie. This

variety may be referred to (et. by its speakers) simply as "Tay". Perhaps varieties called Tai-Daeng and Phu-Tai (q.v.) represent a

dialect continuum extending

southwards of the Tai-Dam

area

'proper'. A Tai Dam dictionary has been published by D. Fippinger and D., H. and F. Baccam (See also Song.) 1`lna°'1 ] Dambrij.

An uninformed way of referring to Southern Thai (q.v.) not used by native speakers and best avoided, apparently based on an odd transcription of how speakers of Southern Thai say "how does one do it?" (ham phru'.').

Debag.

A Southern Zhuang (q.v.) variety recorded in the dictionary of

Prance Kullavanijaya (1992). See also TI76. Dehong-

In Tai-Dehong. A southwestern-branch variety spoken on the Yunnan-Burmese/Mianmar

border (Dehorn being a toponym

appearing in 'Dehong-Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Region'). The etymology of this term has been the subject of some debate. The dialect seems close to-if not identical with-the Tai-Mao dialect (q_v_) of Northern Shan (i

that spoken on the Bumeseth/Iianmar

side of the border), and used to share the same writing system. The version presently used in China has been "modernised", et.

with vowel signs written in English order rather than Indie. Depending on viewpoint, the Central Thai cognates for 'Dehorn' may be

[loci FN ],

i.e. 'underffsouth of?) the Salween River'. See

also Dai.

Dianbao.

Or Tian-pao. A variety of Zhuang, q.v.

$62

Anthony Ddler

Dioi.

See Buyi, Zhuang. This spelling was used in the dictionary of Esquire and Willette (1908) to record what is clearly a Northern Zhuang variety.

Dli.

See Li.

Do.

In Tai Do. See Dam.

Dén.

In Tai-Dén. See Khao.

Dong-

The Chinese designation for a Tai-related language with approximately 1.5 million speakers, its speakers refer to their language as Gam (or Kam). See Dong-Shui, the language group of which Dong is the leading member. The Dong are recognised as an

official Chinese (minority) nationality. The language is remarkable for distinguishing nine tones, apparently the maximum for Tai-related languages. Dong~Shui.

(Also Kam-Sui.) A group of languages all in the easter GueizhouGuangxi-Hunan border region of China with approximately two million speakers (in close proximity to Zhuang and Buyi). These languages, including Dong (Kam), Shui (Sui), Mulao (Mulam),

Mao ran, Mo (Mak) and Yanghuang (Ten), are undoubtedly related to the Tai languages, but the nature of the relationship remains under investigation.

Fula.

See Lati.

Gam.

See Dong.

Gei.

See Li.

Gelao.

(Also Kelao.) Perhaps to be classified as a Kadai language (q.v.), Gelao, with approximately 60,000 speakers is spoken in southern Guizhou Province in close proximity with Tai speakers of Buyi, and in several other widely scattered locations. The Gelao are an oficially-recognised (minority) Chinese nationality. Relationships with the Tai languages and with other Kadai languages are problematic.

`

Giant.

l.e. Giz-2ing_ See Giay.

Giéy.

Also Yay, Yai, Nhiiang, Giant, Sa., Pu-ném, Chime-ché, Pau~Thin. (Compare Yoi, Dior, Yay.) Northern-branch Tai speakers now in the upper Red River area, in Vietnam, where they are an official

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

163

minority (numbering 28,000 in 1986), said to have immigrated from Guizhou less than 200 years ago, perhaps during the "Black and Yellow Flag" wars. The language has been described in detail and Nhang are by William J. Gedney. The spellings Yoi, sometimes used to refer to other Northern-»branch (Buyi) speakers in the eastern Yunnan-Guizhou border area (numbering perhaps 250,000). See also (Northern) Zhuang.

Ha.

See Li.

Hanpaiyi.

See Nuea.

Heitu.

See Li.

Heiyi.

A Southern Zhuang variety spoken in the Yunnan-Guangxi border area (near Fuming). See Zhuang.

Hkamti.

See Khamti.

Hkun.

See Khuen.

Hlai.

See Li.

san.

Lao-related varieties as spoken in northeastern Thailand (from Skt. for 'northeast'). Some use the term to refer to Lao written using Standard Thai script. Depending somewhat on criteria, there are about 23 million native speakers of these dialects, which taken together would thus constitute the majority first-language variety in Thailand. The quite distinctive dialect of the Korat area has

sometimes been considered a distinct variety. At least a million san speakers live in the Bangkok metropolitan area and many live elsewhere in Thailand. See also Lao. [dawn] Jiamao.

See Li.

Jo.

In Tay-Jo. A Tai variety of Vietnam.

Jui.

See Po-Ai, Zhuang.

Ka.

In Tai-Ka. See Pong.

Kabeo.

See Laqua.

Kadai.

A term coined by Paul K. Benedict to include languages in Vietnam and Southern China- such as Li, Laha, Laqua, Gelao

(Kelao), Lakkia (i.e. Lajia) etc., which many authorities would

Anthony D i f f e r

164

associate in some way with the Tai languages. (The basic grouping was proposed by A. Bonifacy in l904.) The nature of the relationship(s) remains controversial, as does the status of Kadai as a (sub)farnily. The term sometimes has been used to include the Dong-Shui languages, or even the greater family including the Tai languages "proper". This more inclusive unit has also been referred to as 'Tai-Kadai'. Kaloeng.

Also Kalerng. An identifiable southwestern-branch variety spoken at least 5,000 thousand speakers in Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon

Phantom. [nefélz] Key-mau.

See Li.

Kam

See Dong.

_

Kammyang.

See Lanna.

Kim-Sui.

See Dong-Shui.

Kang.

See Dai.

Kao.

In Lao-Kao. A transported Lao variety with speakers reported in Nan, Loei, Saraburi and elsewhere.

Ke.

See Ya.

Kelao.

See Gelao.

Khae.

In Tai~Khae. Certain

dialects spoken

in the Shan State,

Burma. Affiliation unclear. [HU] Khe.

See Khae. Also Dai.

Khamti.

Also Tai-Khamti, and variant spellings like Hkamti, Khampti,

Kam Ti. A southwestern-branch variety (with affair ties t o Northern Shan, i.e. Tai-Mao) spoken in Assam, India, by at least 5,000, and northern Burma by 3,000. The Assamese speakers and

semi-speakers may constitute a much higher total: an estimate of 70,000 speakers is heard, but awaits confirmation. Khamti is written with a distinctive Shan~like script called Lik~Tai. It is remarkable among Tai languages for frequent use of SOV word

order, as well as of a postpositional case-marking particle. Kharnyang.

[shi

A virtually extinct Tai language of Assam, similar to Phake, still spoken by perhaps 200, especially in one village (Powai Mukh).

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

165

Several thousand Assamese speakers may retain the term as their preferred ethnonym.

Khang.

In Tay-Khang. A Tai variety of Kharnmouan Province, Laos, (with speakers perhaps in Vietnam as well) raising classificatory problems, probably due to migration. (Cp. Khrang.)

Khao.

In Tai-Khao (Tay Khan), i.e. White Tai, Tai-Blanc (also referred to as Try DO, from the River DO [i.e. Black River] where many

Tai-Khao live). A group of southwestern-branch varieties with 200,000-400,000 speakers. The Tai-Khao have a distinctive writing system. Varieties (or alternate names) include Tai Lai, Tay Trans, Tai DOn. See also They. A dictionary has been published by J. Donaldson et al. [`lnlm] Khla.

In Tai-Khla. A variety of Yunnanese Tai spoken in the Hani-YiDai autonomous county.

Khrang.

In Lao-Khrang. A transported Lao variety spoken in the Nakhonsawan - Nakhonpathom area, possibly to be identified with Khang (q.v.). (The cluster in the name is suspicious.)

Khuen.

Also Khyn, Khiin, Hkun, Tai~Khuen, etc. An identifiable variety of Southwestern Tai originally associated with Kengtung, Burma, but now spoken elsewhere, by well over 100,000 speakers. Khuen

script is close to that of Lanna, and the spoken dialects are considered very similar to it by their speakers. [iTiu,%'u]

Klai.

See Li.

Kong.

In Tai-Kong. (Le. This of the Salween River.) See Nuea.

Karat.

In Tai-Korat. See san. The Korat dialect stands somewhat apart from others in Northeastern Thailand by a number of criteria.

Kuan.

A variety of' Khammouan

Province,

Laos, raising classificatory

problems, probably due to migration.

La.

See Pong.

Laha.

A Kadai language (q.v.) of fewer than northwester Vietnam.

Lai.

See (i) Li, (ii) Khao.

5,000

speakers

ill

166

Anthony D i f f e r

Lajia.

Also Lakkia. A poorly-known language of central Guangxi with some 9,000 speakers. Whether or not this language is to be considered Kadai (q.v.) or Dong~Shui (q.v.), or either, remains unclear.

Lakkia.

See Lajia.

Lam.

In Tai-Lam. A Yunnanese Tai variety spoken in the Hani-Yi-Dai autonomous county. (Cp. 'Dam'.)

Lanna.

Or Lan Na. (Also Kam Mu'ang, Kammyang, Mu'ang, Yuan, Phayap and other transcriptional variants.) Northern Thai varieties spoken in Chiangmai, Chiangrai and nearby areas. 'Lanna', in this sense, is a recent linguistic application of an older term and perhaps to be distinguisthed from 'Kam Mu'ang', which may be used to refer to the urban speech of Chiang Mai as opposed to rural Northern varieties. (Yuan is also used t o designate these varieties, but rarely by those who speak them.) A distinctive Lanna script, similar to Lue and Khuen scripts, is still in some use and is being locally revived--also referred to as Tua Mu'ang of Tua Thain. In earlier times this variety was referred t o by Central Thais and foreigners as (Western) Lao, a usage now obsolete. Approximately 6 million speakers in Thailand. [2`1'lU1J'1]

Lao.

Also L80 (the Vietnamese form), Laotian. Lowland southwesternbranch Tai varieties spoken in Laos and (on linguistic grounds, at least) by the majority of people living in the Thai Northeast; pee

also san, Depending considerably on definition, 20-23 million speak these varieties. The majority reside in Thailand and are at least partially bilingual in Central Thai. When these Northeastern

Thai nationals are speaking in their native dialect among themselves, they tend to report that they are "speaking Lao", but this use of the term 'Lao' is not accepted officially by Thai authorities. However, in former times, 'Lao' was used by Thai authorities to include these speakers and Lanna varieties in the Chiangxnai. In Laos proper, less than 2 million monolingual speakers have been reported in official sources, but most Lao nationals are partially bilingual. Subvarieties diverge considerably, while sharing characteristic lexical items. A form of "Standard Lao" was promoted under the French administration which

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms differed

somewhat

from

Thai

in

orthography

but

167 was

characterised by heavy lexical borrowing from formal Standard Thai- In spite of recent official efforts to reverse this trend and t o

redefine and promulgate a somewhat less Thai»like "Lao" as the national standard language, mixing from Thai is again on the increase. Lao-Lum (lowland Lao) or Lao-Noi may be used t o differentiate "Lao proper" from upland tribal languages. [?l'l"l] Lao-Song.

See Song.

Laqua.

Also Pupeo, Kabeo. A Kadai language (q.v.) of the Yunnan' Guangxi-Vietnam border area, possibly with 4,000 speakers.

Lati.

Also Fula, Foula. A (possibly extinct) Kadai language (q.v.) of northern Vietnam.

Le.

See (i) Li; (ii) Nuea.

Li.

Also Hlai. A Tai-related language spoken mainly on Hainan Island with nearly l million speakers. See Tai Languages; Kadai. The Li (under this designation) are recognised as an official Chinese (minority) nationality. Subvarieties include: Moi-fau (Meifu), Ha, Qi (Gei), Bondi, Ka~mau, Zhongsha, Baisha, Qiandui, Heitu,

Yuanmen, Baocheng Jiamao, Baoding, Xifang, Tongshi. Other designations for the Li include variants: Lai (and Dai), Loi, Le, DIi, Bli, Klai, Slai and Paoting F51 Lingao.

Or Limkow. See Be.

Loe.

In Tai-Loe. See Nuea.

Loi.

See Li.

Long.

In Tai-Long. See Mao.

Longman.

See Zhuang. A Southern Zhuang variety of the Yunnan-Guangxi border area (Fuming),

Lue.

Or Lii, Ly, Lu (the Vietnamese form). A Southwestern Tai variety (or linguistically close group of dialects) traditionally centered in Chiang Hung (Jinghong, Chiefs Rung), Sip Song Pan Na, (Xishuangbanna) Yunnan, but with sizeable speech communities in

Laos (Muang Sing, bordering Sip Song Pan Na), numbering about

100,000, and Thailand. The community in Chiang Kham, Nan,

168

Anthony Differ has been studied and there appear to be many small communities elsewhere in Thailand, Burma and Vietnam. (The dialects of Mu'ang Yong and those in the Lanna area may converge phonologically with Lanna.) A distinctive script, in traditional and reformed versions, is still in use. Lue script is close to (and it would seem historically derived from) Lanna script. Lue is the language oithe majority of the 'Dai' nationality (q.v.) as defined officially by the Chinese government, but 'Dai' is not to be automatically equated with Lue. As Lue varieties are spoken in a dispersed area, a total population estimate is especially precarious:

estimates vary between 500,000 and a million. See also Yong. Anthropologists (especially Moerman 1988 and Keyes 1993) have devoted special attention to the problem of Lue ethnicity. Chinese literary sources, Suipaiyi perhaps designates the Lue.

In

[as] Longzhou.

Or Lungchow. A Southern Zhuang variety (i.e., similar d o o r perhaps to be identified with-Nung) used by Li (1977) t o represent his Central-branch subdivision of the Tai family. See Zhuang.

Longming.

Maen.

Or Lungming. A Southern Zhuang, Centrabbranch described in detail by William J. Gedney. In Tai-Maen. A variety of Khammouan Province, Laos, raising classificatory problems, probably due to migration.

Mak.

See Mo.

Man .

See Caolan.

Mao_

Or Maw, Mau. In Tai-Mao. Also Tai-Long. A Northern Shan

variety with about 350,000 speakers on the Burma-Yunnan border, centering at Mu'ang Mao Long or Namkham, Burma. Sometimes referred to as 'Chinese Shan', along with Tai-Nuea. Note also the nearby dialect of Dehong, Yunnan. The Tai-Mao have a distinctive script. The language has been described in a publication of L. Young. See also Dehong, Nuea. [JT)]

Mao ran.

A Dong-Shui language (q.v.). The Mao ran number about 40,000 and are recognised as an official Chinese (minority) nationality.

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

169

Mo.

Also Mak. A Dong~Shui language (q.v.) of northern Guangxi. T h e Mo number about 10,000.

Moc-Chau.

i.e. Mac-Chaiu. See Daeng.

Moi-fau.

See Li.

Mu'ang.

See Lanna.

Mueai.

In Tai-Mueai. Or Meuay. A variety of Khammouan Province, Laos, raising classificatory problems, probably due to migration.

Mulam.

See Mulao.

Mulao.

Also Mulam. A Dong-Shui language (q.v,). The Mulao number about 90,000 and are recognised as an official Chinese (minority) nationality.

Mu'o'i.

In Tay-Mu'o'i. A Tai variety in Vietnam, probably to be identified with Muesli (q.v.),

Ngeo.

Also Ngiao, Ngiaw. See Shan. This teri is objectionable in that Shan speakers consider it derogatory. [l8U'1].

Nhang.

i.e. Nhfiang. See Zhuang, Giay. Also Nyang, Giant.

Noi.

Or No'y, in Tai~Noi, Thai-Noi, i.e. "Lesser Tai". A group term used in traditional Thai-language sources contrasting with "TaiYai", see Shan. "Tai-Noi" normally includes southwester branch varieties like Lao, Central Thai, etc.

Nong.

See Nung.

Nora.

A Shan-like Tai language of Assam still spoken earlier in this century, but now extinct.

(On one account, the Nora were

absorbed by the Khamyang.)

Northern Tai (Branch.)

A branch of the Tai languages proposed by Li (1977), and including Northern Zhuang - Buyi and probably Seek.

Northern Thai

See Lanna. Sometimes used to refer to varieties spoken in northern Thailand, e,g. the dialect of Chiang Mai. (This term is perhaps best avoided, being easily confused both with the preceding entry and with the following one; also, speakers of

these dialects do not regularly refer to themselves as 'Nuea' (wriiol speakers.

170

Anthony Differ

Nuea-

Also Nina, Neua. (i.e. 'northern'.)

A name given to (at least) two

quite different southwestern-branch groups. Most commonly, Nuea refers to varieties spoken in western and central Yunnan by some 320,000 speakers-~members of the Dai 'nationality' (q.v.). Varieties or alternate names include Tai-Le, Tai-Kong. The Hanpaiyi of Chinese historical sources are perhaps to be identified with ancestors of these Tai~Nuea. Varieties identified as Mao, Dehorn and Pong (itself with subdialects) are probably to be

considered subtypes of Nuea. in a number of varieties, diphthongs are simplified and initial n- has been lost, merging with l-, hence

the ethnonym for these people becomes

at~Loe {i.e. cognate

with rue 'north' LWUO-but not with Lue as, which in any case differs in tone.) A different (transplanted?) variety also called 'Nuea' is spoken in

several communities in central Laos by about 120,000 speakers, et. along the Ngurn River and near Sam Nuea (hence perhaps the

name). Nuns.

Also None, Bu~nong. A central-branch variety spoken by about 560,000 in Vietnam (1986). Mainly documented in its Vietnamese variety using a Vietnamese-like orthography. An early Nuns dictionary is that of Savina (1924). Nung is sometimes used inclusively to refer also to Southern Zhuang varieties, kg. Ningrning, Longzhou, etc. -- very closely related to Nuns on the Vietnamese side of the border. If these varieties are considered

'Nuns' as well, the number of speakers would be several millions, depending on definition. See also (Southern)

Zhuang. (This

inclusive practice is followed in the map of Sun Ekasan lae Wichai Watthanatharn Echia Akhane (19851) Approximately 200,000 Southern Zhuang speakers near Wens fan, Yunnan, refer t o themselves as 'Nungi A term undoubtedly cognate to 'Nuns'

occurs in Tang-era Chinese accounts. A dictionary has been published by Be, Saul and Wilson. [QQ ] Nyang-

See Nbang, Zhuang.

Nyaw.

See Yo.

Nyo.

See Yo.

One~Be.

See Be.

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms Paiyi.

171

Also Han-Paiyi. See Nuea. This term probably includes non-Tai languages.

Pak-Tai.

See Southern Thai.

Pao.

In Tai-Pao- A variety of Khamrnouan Province, Laos, raising classificatory problems, probably duo to migration.

Paoting.

See Li.

Pau-Thin.

i.e. Paan.u-Thin. See Giaiy.

Phake.

Also Phakial, Phakey, Faake. A southwester branch (Shan-like) variety spoken in Assam by several thousand speakers in villages along the Diking River. [NMI] ]

Phayap.

See Lanna.

Phuan .

Usually in Lao-Phuan (although in Laos speakers may be called Tai-Phuan). Originally, the distinctive variety of Mu'ang Phuan, in Xieng Khouang Province, Laos- In Thailand the term usually designates "transported" Lao varieties as spoken in many locales throughout more than 15 provinces Central, Northeastern and Northern Thailand. Estimates of speakers or semi-speakers vary greatly: from 80,000 to over a million, with most of those living in Thailand now bilingual. [LVJU]

Phu Thai.

A somewhat problematic term, literally meaning "Tai person(s)". In a restricted

sense,

it refers to

identifiable

subgroup

of

Southwestern Tai varieties spoken by 150,000-300,000 speakers in scattered locales in southern Laos, especially in Hua Phan Province, Vietnam and northeastern Thailand, e.g. Kham Chai,

Nakhon Phantom. These varieties show strong affinity to White and Black Tai, perhaps forming a dialect continuum with the latter (to the south of 'Tai-Daeng'). Wilaiwan Khanittanan

has

described one such variety. (A .dialect with the same name has been reported for the Wens fan prefecture of Yunnan.) In official Lao sources the term 'Pou Thai' is used to include Black, White and Red Tai groups, the total in Laos numbering about 440,000 Sec also Tak Bai, which may have a Phu Thai basis. [@'fAlrJ, i l r i ]

172

Anthony D i f f e r

Po-Ai

Or Boai. A Northern Zhuang variety used by Li (1977) t o represent his northern-branch subdivision of the Tai family. The variety is spoken in the Guangxi - Yunnan border area, including in Fuming district. Speakers may refer to themselves as Jui (which may have varients in Jai, Dioi, etc.).- See Zhuang.

Pong.

In Tai-Pong. A term referring to southwestern-branch varieties spoken in Yunnan by perhaps as many as 100,000 speakers, assigned to the Dai nationality. Sub-dialects or closely associated varieties are called La, You, Ya, Key and Sai. All of these dialects might also be referred to as varieties of Tai-Nuea.

Pou Thai

See Phu Thai.

Pu-i.

Buyi.

Pu~Nam.

i.e. Pu~néim. See Giéy.

Pupeo .

See Laqua.

Puyi.

Buyi.

Qi.

See Li.

Qiandui.

See Li.

Quinjiang.

A divergent dialect of Buyi, q.v.

Red Tai.

See Daeng.

Sa.

See Giéy.

Son-Chay.

See Caolan.

Son-Chi.

See Caolan.

Sack.

A northern-branch language, but located far to the south in Laos

and Thailand. Saek is unique among Tai languages in showing the

presence of final consonant -I in inherited

Tai vocabulary.

Speakers may number 25,000, with more than half of these in Laos. The language has been described in publications of William

J. Gedney and Wilaiwan Khanittanan. [ a d ]

Sai.

In Tai-Sai. Also Saaj. A Yunnanese Tai variety

Wens fan prefecture. See also Pong.

spoken in

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms Shan-

173

A loose and rather unsatisfactory subgroup term to designate most Tai varieties spoken in Burma and perhaps in adjacent areas. Some three million speakers use these varieties. Tai-Yai ("The great Tai") is also used (mainly by authorities writing in Thailand)

to designate approximately the same group, as is Ngeo (which is perhaps an objectionable term). Varieties include Tai-Mao or Tai~Long, (sometimes considered 'Northern Shan' or 'Chinese Shan', see Mao) and distinct dialects of 'Southern Shan'. The dictionary of Cushing (1914) is based on such a southern variety.

Southern Shan is traditionally written with a distinctive Burmeselike orthography which distinguishes neither tone nor certain vowel contrasts. [l1"lU», BTS]

Siamese.

A name for the (Standard, Central) Thai language which was in more widespread use formerly than at present. Thai authorities and sources formerly used the term 'Sayamphasa' (E'lU'18J man). Sometimes 'Siamese' has been used to specify Central or Bangkok Thai as opposed to other regional Thai dialects, ardor t o emphasise the hybrid character of the national language, with its many Mon-Khmer and indic loans. [awe]

Shui.

(Also Sui.) A subgroup within the Dong-Shui language (q.v.). The Shui number nearly 300,000 and are recognised as an official Chinese (minority) nationality. (Shui is remarkable for its rich system of initial nasal contrasts.) [ U ]

Slai.

See Li.

Song.

Usually Lao-Song or Lao-Song-Darn. Varieties of (what was once, at least) Tai-Dam or Black Tai, as spoken by people whose ancestors were transported from upland Laos and resettled in

Thailand. A core community of over 16,000 speakers is in Phetburi, with perhaps the same number of speakers scattered in smaller communites elsewhere in Thailand. {fmliflr\11 Southern

Thai.

Southwestern-branch varieties as spoken in southern as phaser pay Mf Thailand by some 5 million speakers, referred

go

("language of the southern region"). [n'n+"l1l'I/11+'ls»'I]

Standard Thai .

The normatively prescribed national language of Thailand, a form of Central Thai closely following traditional written forms.

I74

Anthony Differ

Sui.

Or SL1Y. See Shui.

Suipaiyi.

See Lue.

Tak Bai.

A variety of Narathiwat Province phonologically and lexically divergent from nearby Southern Thai. Puttachart Potibal and Thananan Trongdee have demonstrated a close relationship t o Phu Thai, confirming historical references to transportation.

[main] Tai.

spelling refers to the By generally accepted convent@, 2 greater language family of which (Standard) Thai (so spelled) is a

member. There are a number of issues or problems involved in the use of this term, which is far from ideal as a name for the greater family, for which 'Daic' and other suggestions have been put

forward. In some sources, Tai-Dam (Black Tai) is referred t o simply as 'Tai' and this is true for a number of other specific sOuthwestern-branch varieties as well. [`ln,l161]

Tai-Kadai.

A plausible maCrofamily grouping the Tai languages with the socalled Kadai ones (q.v.). The exact subgroup structure remains under investigation.

Teeny.

The official name of a central-branch variety spoken by about 900,000 speakers (1986) in northeastern Vietnam. Also referred to in earlier work as The, although Th6 may be used in a slightly more inclusive sense, e.g- including Cao Lan, or different dialects

may be indicated. Early Try dictionaries are the (The) one of Diguet (1910) and the (Tay) one of Savina (1910), which differ somewhat.

Try.

See Thai, sense (i). This spelling is used in Vietnamese sources t o refer to southwestern-branch Tais in Vietnam.

Try-Théi

Sometimes used in Vietnamese sources to indicate the totality of Tai speakers in Vietnam.

Tayok.

See Dai.

T'en.

See Yanghuang.

Thai.

This spelling normally refers to the Standardised (Central) variety which is the national language of Thailand.

175

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

Thai.

This spelling is found in Vietnamese sources with four distinct referents: (i) officially (as of 1979) this spelling refers to all of

the southwester-branch Tai peoples in Vietnam. This includes the major divisions Tai (or T8y) Dam and Tai (or Tay) Khao; also more local subdivisions: T. Mu'ong, T. Thanh, T. Mu'oi and Phu Thay, this macro-grouping (also referred to in some sources as Try) is said to number 760,000 (1986), (ii) an even larger macro~grouping of speakers of all Tai-family languages in Vietnam (also in this sense: T8i-Thai), (iii) Tai (in the inclusive sense .--- the entire family), (iii) the Thais of Thailand.

T176.

i.e. The. See Tiny. [`1'PI']. Speakers of southern Zhuang varieties, such as Debag, have been reported to call themselves Tho, but for Tai speakers in Vietnam the term appears to be considered pejorative.

Tianbao.

Or T'ien-pao. A Southern Zhuang variety of the Yunnan-Guangxi border area (Fuming). See Zhuang.

Tongshi.

See Li.

Trans.

In Try-Tréng, see Khao.

Trunk-Cha.

i.e. Chung-Cha. Ching-ché. See Giéy, (Northern) Zhuang.

Tulao.

A Southern Zhuang or Nuns-type variety of Yunnan (Wens fan, Malino, Kaiyuan counties). See Zhuang.

Turung.

An extinct or dying Tai language of Assam.

Wang.

In Tai-Wang.

A distinctive

Lao variety

spoken

in

the

Sakonnakhon region. White Tai.

See Khao.

Wiang.

In Lao-Wiang. The Wiangchan dialect of Lao and similar dialects, especially used when this variety has been transplanted into Central Thailand. People in at least twelve provinces in Central and Northeastern

Thailand call themselves with this ethnonym.

[nm] Wuming-

An important

cultural centre for Zhuang people in central

Guangxi. The Wuming dialect (a type of Northern Zhuang) was important in determining a standardised Romanisation for Zhuang

176

Anthony D i f f e r

used in dictionaries, etc., and has been documented by Li (1956), Moskalev (1971) and Wang Jun (1987). Xifang.

See Li.

Ya.

In Tai-Ya. An identifiable Southwestern Tai variety originally associated with Mu'ang Ya in Yunnan, perhaps to be considered a type of 'Northern Shan' or Nuea. As "transported" into Thailand and spoken in few villages in Chiang Raj, it may have undergone contact shifts. Described in a publication of Rueangdet Pankhuenkhat. Perhaps Tai-Sai and Tai-Ke are to be close associates of Tai-Ya. See Pong, Nuea. [1/TU'l,V¥U'l,HfY'] ]

Yai.

In Tai-Yai. See Shan, see also Noi. Cp. Yay.

Yanghuang.

Also T'en. A variety of Dong-Shui (q-v.) spoken in northern Guangxi by over 20,000 speakers.

Yay.

See Giéy. Cp. Yai.

Yo .

Also Nyo, Nyaw- An identifiable variety spoken by 30,00050,000 speakers in various locales in Laos and Northeastern Thailand (kg. in Sakon Nakhon, Ta Bo', None Khai, Tha Uthen, Nakhon Phantom). Whether all dialects referred to by this name are directly comparable is unclear. Yooy and Yuai are said by v some to be subvarieties. {ulya,5o]

Yoi.

Also Yoe, Yiiai (and Dioi, seemingly a different form of the same term.) See Zhuarlg. Another usage of this ethnonym refers to a

presumably southwester-branch variety spoken in a few villages in Sakhon Nakhon Province, also perhaps in Khammouan Province, Laos. [T 531] You.

See Pong.

Yong.

An identifiable southwestern-branch variety spoken in Mu'ang Yong (Yawng), Shan State, but "transported" into Northern Thailand and now spoken widely, e.g. near Chiang Mai, Larnphun,

etc. Said by some to be, or to have originally been, a dialect of Lue, but now characterised by contact features. A publication of Ruengdet Pankhuenkhat describes one variety. [un 4]

Yongchun,

A variety of Zhuang (q.v.) spoken in Yunnan Province.

Tai Languages: Varieties and Subgroup Terms

Yongren.

A southwestern-branch Tai-Nuea variety

in Northern

177 Yunnan

(Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Area), said variously to be spoken by

some 20,000 speakers and to be in temlinal state-

Yooy.

An identifiable southwe stem-branch variety spoken by perhaps 5,000 speakers in various parts of Sakon Nakhon. See also Yo.

[Wu]

Yuai.

See Yo.

Yuan.

See Lanna. This term, formerly applied by Central Thais t o (various'?) people in Northern Thailand is now seldom used in linguistic work and has not been popular as an ethnonym among those to whom it refers.

Yuanmen.

See Li.

Yunnan

See Dai.

Shant'ou.

Zhongjia.

See Zhuang.

Zhongsha.

See Li.

Zhuang.

Northern-branch and central-branch Tai varieties spoken in Guangxi, China (in particular, in the Zhuang Autonomous Region)

and in Wens fan County, Yunnan. The Zhuang constitute China's largest official minority (or 'nationality'). A standard romansied orthography is in limited use, based on the dialect of Wurning. This dialect has been officially promulgated as a type of standard variety. Among dialects of what are officially classified together as Zhuang, dialect differences may be great and varieties may be virtually unintelligible. The dialects of Wuming, Boai (Po-ai), Longzhou (Lungchow),Ningming and Debao have appeared often in comparative Tai work. Northern and Southern Zhuang varieties have been classified respectively in the northern

and central

Branches of the Tai family, but in some respects form a continuum. "Southern Zhuang" could be interpreted to be at least partially a grouping of Nuns (q.v.)/Tho varieties, as in Vietnam, with speakers in China reported to use these two terms informally for self-reference. The terms 'Zhongjia' (Chungchia) and 'Jui' refer to Northern Zhuang varieties. See also Buyi. Zhuang speakers in Guangxi may number above 15 million speakers

178

Anthony D i f f e r (although estimates vary). In addition, 935,000 Zhuang speakers reside in Yunnan. Some of these are said to identify with the Dai nationality, q.v., but other Yunnanese Zhuangs in Wens fan County, perhaps as many as 220,000, are referred to as Nhang (or

Nyang) or Yay--closely related to Nhang/Yay as spoken across the border in Vietnam, see Giéy. [51 Q] Chinese designations for Tai-related language groupings. Zhuang-Dai, Zhuang~Dong. Zhuang-Dai is equivalent to the Tai group ('proper') in the sense of Li (1977). Zhuang-Dong includes the latter along with the

Dong-Shui languages (q.v.), i.e. it is the Chinese designation for the language family at a very inclusive level. Notes and Acknowledgements

Note that many Southwestern Tai languages are referred to in compound expressions with 'Tai-' (or Dai-, variously spelled `lnllnu and `lm) followed by 'Black Tai', these are listed below under the Thaia specifier, e,g. 'Tai-Dam' language specifiers (kg. Dam). Varieties associated with a single locale or toponym, like 'Suphanburi Thai', are only occasionally indicated. Similarly, in northern- and central-branch varieties, analogous use is made of the prefixal form ) as though 'people of such-and-such a place'). Note that variant Bu- (or spellings in D/T, B/P, etc., for languages in China may be merely a matter of Pinyin vs previous Romanisation systems. In preparing this list, the compiler is indebted to many persons for their assistance. Special gratitude is due to Professors Wang Jun, Xie Yuanzhong, and

-

it

BJ. Terwiel, to Luo Yongxian and Li Xiangyang; to Drs. David Bradley (p.c. and forthcoming) and to the late Gehan Wijeyewardene and Cam Troff. Most population estimates have been taken from work of these authorities. (Estimates are for the late l980's, a degree of uncertainty approaching 10% should be assumed for many-perhaps most-»figures.) Other sources: R.B. Jones (1965), FK. Li (1977); Gainey and Thongkum (1977), Wilaiwan Khanittnanan (2526/1983); James R. Chamberlain (1984); Therephan L. Thongkum 1985); Pranee Kullavanijaya (1985), Sun Ekasan lae Wichai Watthanatham Echia Akhane (1985), Ruegdet Pankhuenkhat (2531/1988); Suriya Ratanakul (1990); Dang Nghiem Van et al., (1986); Program for Thai Studies in Vietnam,

University of Hanoi, p.c. (1990) Keyes (1993 and sources therein). Issue No. 25, June /994

179

Chinese Names for Tai* * from a document prepared by Xie Yuan Zhang Bui-yi (white shirt) Name for Yunnan Tai in Chinese documents from Tang to Song Dynasties (AD 618-1279).Some scholars, however, believe the name

refers to the Bai or Min Chia who were later to establish the Nan ChaoTaii kingdom. The evidence however is very weak. B6-yi (Bd barbarians) The terms B6 was used to refer to the ancestors of the Bai or Min Chia. Li Yuan Yang, who, during the Ming Dynasty, compiled 'Documents of the Yunnan region: Wan Li reign edition (AD 1573162,)' transcribed the name Bui-yi (hundred tribes of barbarians) as Boyi, which led people to believe that the Tai were called by the same name

-

as the Bai or Min Chia increasing the confusion , ii

The name used to refer to the Tai of Yunnan and the Shan States during the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644-1912) and the Kuomintang period (19121949). The first Chinese character means 'to sway', but here has th pronunciation of either 'Bui' or, 'Bui' which were only used in previous periods. There is no relation to the meaning of the character.

Béi- yi

(hundred tribes of barbarians) Name which developed out of the previous

B§i~

one, and referred to the Tai of Yunnan and Burma. Found in Chinese documents of the Yuan to the Ming dynasties (AD 1260-1644). Further divided into the greater (Do) and lesser (Xiao) Béi-ji- the former the Tai of the De Hong area and the Shan States, and the latter Xishuangbanna

1

In conjunction with this and the following article readers are referred to an appendix, 'Tai languages; varieties and subgroup terms' in a forthcoming book on 'Thai Grammar' by Preeoha Juntanamalaga and Anthony Diller- Among terms not Covered by Professor Xie is

Ai~lao which is glossed by themas 'An ethnonym in Hawdynasty sources sometimes linked by (folk-)etymology to 'Lao', and hence taken to refer to ancestors of the Tai

people, but convincing evidence for this interpretation has yet to be adduced' *

Translated from the Thai by Gehan Wijeyewardene.

180

Xie Yuan Zhang

(Sipsong- parma). This may have arisen from the fact that the De Hong and Shan states Tai called themselves Tai Luang (great Tai). Dian-yue

(yup Yunnan) from the Chinese document 'Shi-yi'. Name for 'State where the elephant was ridden' which lay about a thousand Ii west of

Talifu some two thousand years ago. It is hypothesized that they were Tai, but there is no firm evidence.

H8n Bai-yi (Han Béii-yi) The Chinese called the northern Tai who lived in the Salween valley in Yunnan and among whom Chinese influence was greater than among the Lil (for instance they built their houses at ground level, not on piles, and who used Chinese-style surnames) 'ChineseBaiyi'. This term was used in conjunction with 'water Bai-yi' distinguishing the former from the Lu and the people of Muang Mao.

H8n-dai = Chinese Tai. After the change of government in 1949, the use of the term BE i-yi was forbidden - the term is therefore equivalent to the former H8n BB i~yi. Han Bai-yi (land or dry Bar-yi ) Some Chinese interpreted the distinction between 'water Tai/Chinese Tai' as one between 'water Tai' and 'land or dry Tai'

(i.e. 'hen' were averse to water). This was incorrect. Han-dai = land Tai (replaces Han Bfii-yi).

Hui-chi

(black teeth), Hui-zui (black mouth) Name from documents of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-906). The theory is that they were Tai, but they could well have been Mon-Khmer speakers such as the Wa or Bulang, who

also chew betel and blacken the teeth as an aid to beauty. Hut-yao B2lii~yi (patterned waist Bar-yi) Chinese refer to the Tai Ja and the LU of Muang Hing (a town of Xishuangbanna) by this name because the

women wear blouses with bright designs and stripes. Hut-yao dai = patented waist Bai-yi (replaces Hut-yéo B5i~yi)

Jiil-180.

Name used for Tai in documents of the Wei to Jin Dynasties (AD 220420). But there are those who put forward the theory that it could refer to a Mon-Khmer-speaking group, the Gelao.

Jin-chi (gold teeth) Name for Yunnan Tai in Chinese documents from Tang to Ming

-

Dynasties (AD 618 1644). Refers to the De Hong region in the Salween valley. During Ming times the Jin-chi Xian Fit Si (Chao Saen Fu Faa Gold Teeth)was still appointed (by the emperor).

Chinese Names for Tai

181

Mazing-mén (Ming barbarians). Appears in documents of the Tang Dynasty and is widely thought to refer to Yunnan Tai. But others, including the writer, think it more likely that It refers to a Mon-Khmer group. Shan-guO (The State of Shan). The ancient pronunciation is Dan. Appears in documents of the Eastern Han. It says about four thousand years ago they lived outside the southern imperial boundaries of Yunnan. Most Chinese scholars are of the opinion that the term refers to Tai (of the modern day Thai-Burmese region), but Professor Jiang Ying-liang of Yunnan University and the author do not believe they were Tai.

Shut B2lii~yi (water Bai-yi) The daily life of the Tai is closely associated with water and their habitation was usually near water (rivers, streams). The Chinese thus gave this name to the Tai, and came to refer to the Tai Lily and the

Northern Tai of Muang Mao. Shut-dii. Replaces Shui Bill-yi (water Tai). Xiii-jiiio (tattooed legs), Xi£1-mién (tattooed face) From documents of the Tang Dynasty, believed to refer to Yunnan Tai. But other ethnic groups have similar tattoos and the Tai are not known ever to have tattooed the face. Yin-chi (silver teeth) Name for Yunnan Tai in Chinese documents from Tang to Song Dynasties (AD 618 - 1279). Issue No. 5, June 1989

182

Black Thai - White Thai and the Distribution of the Ancient Tay-Thai Populations in Vietnam Tran Quoc Vuong and Cam Trung [These extracts are from a paper written in June 1987. They are presented here, particularly to be taken in relation to the definitions of Tai names presented by Professor Xie elsewhere in this issue. We particularly draw attention to his

comments on 'Land- and Water-Tai'. In the original paper the authors 'wish to acknowledge the helpful advice and materials kindly given by CandidateDoctor Hoang Luong (White Thai ethnic group) lecturer in the discipline of Ethnology, Hanoi University.' Some very minor editorial changes have been made. apparent inconsistencies in spelling appear in the original. Ed-]

As is generally known, though sharing the same fundamental cultural and linguistic characteristics, the ethnikon Thai in Northwest Vietnam has always been traditionally differentiated into two lines: .I

White-Thai (Tray Khan) and

Black-Thai (That Dam) While presenting the same geo~cultura1 feature which consists in rice-planting in valley areas the White Thai always think they are rather in the vicinity of water

and the Black Thai always consider themselves rather as landsmen. This Water Thai/ Maryland Thai differentiation corresponds to the traditional one observed in the cultural~social zone beyond the Vietnam-China frontier (Yunnan-Kwangsi) after

which the ethnikon Paid branches out into:

- Maryland Pai-ji (corresponding to Maryland-Thai) and

- Water Pai-ji (corresponding to Water Thai)

The traditional Black/white differentiation does not confine itself to the Thai in Northwest Vietnam. The Tay in the basins of the tributaries of the Red River, from the Bach hoc~Viet Tri fork upstream (the Thai call this region Arm Tao Nam Dang meaning 'Red-Water

Than River Area) also differentiates into Black Tay (dam) and White Tay (khan).

Black Thai - White Thai and the Ancient Tab-Thai Populations in Vietnam

183

Though also clad in indigo, that traditional c o l o r of woodland, the Tay in Viet Bac style themselves Can S f u a Kha meaning 'white-clad people' and call their neighbours Nung Can Slua Dam, meaning 'black-clad people'. So as we view it, the Black/White differentiation goes beyond the distinction by two colours, especially two c o l o r s of clothing (the Black Thai are dressed in black and the White Thai in white. It should be remarked however that in some places where the White Thai practise the cult of ancestors, xen Cha, xen Muong, they also wear black clothes). Black and White thus become two symbols both opposite and

concordant as two elements of a untied Thai origin. Unified and at the same time dual like Heaven/Earth, Father/Mother. The Black Thai line takes the snake as its symbol -

(ngu Han in Thai). As early

as the Tilth century, Vietnamese annals mentioned the

(noun) Hong branch in the

Riga

neighborhood, which was similar to the Lao branch. Quam To Muong (Telling about my village), a sort of annals of the Black Thai in the Northwest, speak of Lo Let, surnamed Ngu Hau, a Black Thai patriarch in the XIVth century. The White Thai line takes the bird as its symbol 'swallow' or 'phoenix The

-

Thai Lu in northwest Vietnam, Upper Laos and Yunnan (China) consider themselves

-

as descending from 'the white cock' and in Thai Lu lu also means white (Lu khan). Issue MJ. 5, June 1989

184

Customs of the Huayao Tai of Mengyang* Edited by Zhao Jiaqing (1) General Conditions

Although they belong to the same ethnic group, the life and customs of the Huayao

Tai and the Water Tai (Shui Tai) are different. The thing that most people immediately notice about the Huayao Tai is the brightly-coloured clothing of the

women- The Huayao Tai do not follow Buddhism and have no Buddhist temples. There are not many who are literate in the Tai language, but they still team from the Water Tai people. Why is it that the Huayao Tai have no written script? According to their own legend, it is said that the language that Confucius gave to the Chinese and the Water

Tai was written down on a form of paper, while that given to the Huayao Tai was written on leather. Later, the leather was destroyed by fire so the script was lost. There is another legend which holds that when the forefathers were studying the culture in a Buddhist temple a Buddhist monk asked them to carry some sutras on their backs. But they were unable to carry them so the monk told them not to come to the temple again. From this time they never again read anything and were sometimes known as the Dai Ya. Before Liberation it is said that Lu Wencong notified the chieftain of Marina that

there was to be a meeting at Mansai to discuss the problem of literacy. But there were some people who did not want to learn the Chinese language who said: "As cucumbers do not climb to heaven's door, so the the Dai Ya do not study culture." Still there were others who said: "Old Jia was like the Chinese (the meaning is not

clear; this is based on the original--editor). Now that the Chinese have come to lead us we should change and go to study." The people were moved by this and so they sent Bai Jiabao and Dao Wenhua off to study, But they only lasted two days and others were selected in their place. Throughout history the Huayao Tai have been looked down upon. Even to this day there are still some people who refer to them as the "ornamental barbarians of

*

Translated by Terry Narramore.

Customs of the Huayao Tai of Mengyang

185

dusk," and some even say that they "did not evolve from humanity but from wood because their clothes are so gaudy they do not look like people." The Water Tai discriminate against the Huayao Tai, and this is even reflected in [attitudes to] ghosts and spirits. [The Water Tai] say: "The spirits of all the menu belong to us not to the Huayao Tai," and, "If you stay with us you must obey us, and if you do not want to worship our spirits then you cannot live here." Given these conditions [the Huayao Tai] worshipped together with the Water Tai.... In summer, during the season for picking bamboo shoots,...[the Huayao people] on the edge of the village of Jingyang are the first to go out picking. When the [Water Tai] of Jingyang see the Huayao passing by they curse them in very vulgar language. The [Huayao] reply, saying: "We would not even let you come here to pick vegetables for pigs." The vegetables and sweet potatoes of [the I-luayao] were often stolen... Before Liberation tenancy relationships between villages were quite common: Mauna village (Huayao Tai) worked long-term rented fields in Martha (Water Tai) village, Manna village also rented fields to (the Water Tai villages of) Manjinghan, Manzhang, etc. When autumn harvest season arrives, [the people of] Manha village come to collect their rent. If it has been a good season they collect more rent and expect to be entertained. But when the people of Manna village go to collect their rent the situation is different. [The Water Tai} stubbornly say they have had a bad year even though they obviously have had a good harvest, and they constantly put off the date of payment saying they are too busy. Only after many attempts do the [Water Tai] hand over rent, and even then they might say: "If it were not for us, you would not be

alive." (2) Religion The Huayao Tai do not follow Buddhism, but believe in spirits and have a "Zhao se" who is in charge of [matters to do with] spirits, a "zhao Miao" in charge of temples, and, a "mia mu" responsible for divination. The duties of these people are as follows: There is a kind of hereditary "Zhao se" whose position resembles that of the Lao Xian. When a "Zhao se" dies his position passes hereditarily to his son. There is also a person known to all the village...who may originally have been a commoner but who, after passing through a stupor that lasts several days, comes

around and begins ranting and is then considered by the people to have become a "mie mu" [a kind of sorceress].

IS6

Zhao JiaqMg (ed.)

The "Zhao se" and "zhao m i o " are to be found in every village, but not all villages necessarily have a " m e mu." It is said that the social status and authority of these people is the same as the common people, or that they even incur personal losses when, for example, they buy chikens and wine for others at the times for worshipping the spirits.

(3) Annual Festivals 1) New Year (lst-I6th ofPirst Lunar Month) On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month hunchongbaba begins. On the thirtieth day everything is cleaned up, both inside and outside the houses of the people,

clothes are washed, young men have their hair cut, women wash their hair, household utensils are cleaned, oxen are tethered, bells and all sorts of things are washed clean. At about nine o'clock on the evening of the thirtieth the whole village let off fireworks and those with guns shoot off a few rounds....Afterwards, one person from each family (a youth or middle-aged person) goes to the home of the "Zhao se" to discuss the following matters: l. The study alTai language.. 2. Recitation of incantations. A person was expected to understand a few incantations. Some said that "reciting an incantation can stop a bullet." If people went

to the mountain forests and met trouble with ghosts they would recite incantations. 3. The procedures for new years' day, whether to kill pigs or oxen. It is not until the first cock crow the next morning that everybody returns home. Fireworks are set off again to welcome the new year. Then the gathering of new years' water begins, and it does not matter if one is male or female, old or young, everybody can gather water. When they go to gather the water some incense is taken

along and these words are spoken into the well: "the new year has come, bless us with good health, let us eat our fill, and let the water be everlasting." On returning home chickens are slaughtered and sweet dumplings are made. Then the worship of the spirits begins. The most important spirit in a household is the "father spirit" to which offerings are made in the house. The grandfather and grandmother make offerings in the main rooms. Offerings are laid on a table with an ancestral tablet, and the father and mother place offerings on their pillows. The spirits of the daughter-in-law's family (of her parents) are worshipped in her husband's family, but not inside the house. Outside the house, toward the right-hand corner a small triangular pavilion is built where offerings are made to the spirits of

the daughter-in-law's family. When offerings are made a chicken is slaughtered; the greater the number of spirits in the daughter-in-law's family the greater the number of chickens slaughtered.

Customs of the Huayao Tai of Mengyang

187

The spirits of the parents of women who are about to have their first child are also worshipped in the kind of pavilion described above. In addition, there are also "shut long" spirits and "Zhao" spirits (as described in the original [Tai] language, but the meaning is unclear--editor). The greater the number of spirits, the greater the number of chickens that are slaughtered. On the dawn of the first day of the new year the men take up screens in which

they put a chicken, two new year cakes, a bowl of sweet dumpling soup, wine, tea, a little incense and, while carrying chopsticks in their hands, place these screens in every comer of their houses. In areas where household utensils are used, where large and small knives are used, at the front and back doors, in the ox~shed and the granary, and all sorts of appropriate sites, several bowls of sweet dumpling soup are placed as offerings. Offerings to female spirits involve spinning wheels, looms and chicken pens. 2) Offerings to Village Spirits On new years' day offerings are also made to village spirits. After everybody has gathered to slaughter an ox (or pig), the meat is taken to the home of the Zero x f a n to be eaten (though women do not go). All those involved take along some rice and wine, and if there is not enough to eat another animal will be slaughtered. When they have finished eating everyone apportions the expenses between them. Offerings to the spirits include "bar Wang" (pig's blood), raw meat, cooked meat, soup, tea and wine, and incense is also burnt. The village spirits are said to reside in the central pillar of the I o Xian's house. On this day the feasting goes on till nightfall.

3) Offerings to the Temple Offerings are made to the temple on the third day of the new year. The temple is located in the woods at the end of the village, although it is a small structure. On the morning of the third day everybody repairs the road to the temple and cleans the area surrounding the temple. At the time for the offering a pigs head, four legs of a pig, a pig's tail, and a chicken are used. In addition, each person takes along some wine and

rice and the cost is divided among everybody. The offerings finish around mid-day and the people then return home. 4) Travelling

It is a common belief among the people that if one has not been travelling then when one leaves the village some unfortunate event might occur, such as being bitten by a snake, being stabbed or being unsuccessful on a hunting trip. Thus, sometime

188

Zhao Jiaqfng (ed.)

within the fifth and seventh day of the new year an auspicious day to go travelling is chosen. At the time for travelling some incense is taken to a grassy field at the edge of the village and scattered about and, facing north, someone says: "On this auspicious day we will go travel ling. Bless us with good health and vitality."... 5) Entertaining Guests When the travelling is done and

evelyone has returned, the village slaughters another ox. Each family is given a few kilograms of meat and everybody volutarily pools money together so that families and friends can invite each other to feasts, Guests are not required to present gifts to their hosts.

6) The Lesser New Year Festival After the tenth day of the new year everybody goes out hunting. They hunt deer and muntjak and divide the spoils between all the people, with the successful hunters taking double the average share,... and some is also given to the hunting dogs. On the sixteenth day of the new year no further apportioning of the spoils occurs and all the village begins to feast together. In this period, from the first to the sixteenth day of the new year, nobody does any serious work and the women simply do a little needlework. Every evening there is some entertainment, the young men and women would play [finding] the lost purse ( in the past, whoever lost the game, male or female, would have to pay some money) and the men would play with spinning tops. 7) Offerings to the Long

On the eighth day of the second month (or 8th day of the 5th month by the Tai calendar) an ox's head is made as an offering to the "long" {The translator points out this is the same character that refers to the ministers of the traditional Sipsong Parma

ruling council. It clearly here refers to a tutelary deity. ed.] On this day outsiders are forbidden to enter the village, and if they do they must pay a fine of one chicken, a bowl of wine, two sticks of incense and 3.6 Yuan in local currency.

8) Offerings to the Temple in the Eleventh Month On an auspicious day in the eleventh month an offering is made to the temple according to the same procedures set out in the previous section [on temp1es]-

Customs of the Huayao Tai of Mengyan

189

(4) Burials and Taboos Many people believe that sickness is mainly caused by the activities of the spirits, if not the old father spirit, then the plant spirit. Because of this the people have not been

able to consider the advantages of taking medicines. When somebody falls ill the "mie mu" is called in. Using a quantity of grain, a few metros of cloth, half a kilogram of rice, a chicken and one yuan [local currency] [the m e mu] makes offerings to the spirits and chants some sacred texts. [The people]

believe that only by making offerings to the spirits and chanting some sacred texts can a spirit be chased away and sickness be cured. When a person dies if it is an inauspicious day he/she cannot be carried up into the mountains [for burial]. Before the burial takes place, it is not permitted to do manual work outside [the village]. When the deceased is carried out [of the village] the mie mu is invited to chant some auspicious words so that the deceased can rise to heaven and his/her descendents will not fall ill.

Within two or three days of the burial ceremonial paper money is placed at the grave, in a manner similar to the burial customs of the ChineseTaboos include; nobody, whether or not they are family members, is permitted to kill chickens inside one's family house, and, wooden tables must not be taken at random inside a house as it could bring misfortune.

(5) Marriage Marriage customs among the Huayao Tai are the same as for the Water Tai. Some young men and women who are casual about courtship find themselves with a child before they are married. In Man'gc:la there was a woman with an eight year old child

who only got married this year [1955?]. The people see this as inauspicious, and some have said that this sort of person has no respect for the chieftains and village leaders, so this particular woman was fined. Her fine consisted of one pig, one dog and one chicken which were slaughtered outside the village (it is not permitted to slaughter them inside the village) and then eaten by the villagers. On the same day the "mie mu" was also sent to this woman's house to give her a dressing down. If the father of a child born outside of marriage is discovered he must pay a fine in money. If the parents of such a child wish it, they may marry. Young men and women must go through a period of courtship before they are allowed to marry. During courtship they come to like each other and exchange [gifts] as proof of their love. The man gives the woman 8 Yuan and the woman gives the

man a silver handcloth. When they want to many a couple first tell their fathers, and the male asks his father to go to the woman's family to seek permission to marry. If both families agree

190

Zhao .lining (ed.)

then a marriage can take place. Both sides discuss whether or not the marriage is a suitable match.

At the time of marriage arrangements are made according to a judgment about the economic standing [of the respective families]. In general the male side would give the female's family about 35 kg of meat, 15kg of rice, 15 bowls of wine and an amount of salt. On the day of the marriage, after the new members of the family have been

accepted, the bride and bridegroom sit on a bed with a blanket covering their heads. They sit in silence for a few minutes and then go out to treat guests to a meal. In a divorce money must be paid to relatives concerned. The amount is determined according to the economic conditions of the family involved, but at most this would be 50 yuan and at least 10 yuan. On average about 20 yuan is paid. Is it possible to marry Water Tai? We asked about this in our visit and were told that it was possible but nobody knew of a precedent. If a male takes up with a Water Tai woman he must live with her family otherwise a match is not possible. This is because Water Tai women do not dress in the same way, do not want to live in single storey housing and are not used to [Huayao Tai ways]. Huayao Tai woman do not many into the Water Tai either. Water Tai men do not even drop in to see the Huayao women. It has been said that "Huayoa Tai women

do not dress the same as Water Tai, they do not know how to worship nor how to address other people." From: Daizu Shehui Lishi Diaocha: Xishuang Burma, vol. 8, pp. 172-176

Issue No. 3, December 1988

191

The Laughing Nanas of Northern Thailand

Alternate Names Julie D. Forbush These alternate names are being collected as Appendix B for a book in preparation, T71e Laughing Nag's of Northern Thailand. The book draws attention to two under-utilized historical resources, the palrnleaf and leporello books on microfilm at Chiang Mai University, and the timber architecture and arts in the monasteries. The latter show an aesthetic instinct formed much earlier than the Memories in the literature of the 1450-1550 era, and so require quite a large vista. Comments will be appreciated, sent to 919 109th Avenue Northeast, #601, Bellevue WA 98004-4493 USA

A

ADITTA, twelfth-century king of Hariphunchai: Atteutarach. Arthittayaraj. A1 FA, King Mar\g,rai's agent: Ayadeva. ANURUDDI-IA, Pall spelling for the eleventh-century king in Burma: Anawrahta (Burmese), Aniruddha (Sanskrit), Anoratha, Anorata, Anawra-hta, Punakaraja, Punakamaraja.

AVA, city near Pagan, source of mica: Angwa, Ratanapura 'City of Gems'

B

BENARES, sacred city on the Ganges, prime locale in Tai Khiln folklore: Varanasi (ancient and present name), Baranasi, Kashi, Kussanavatti. BHAMO, city on the Irrawaddy River, upper Burma: Bamo, Sin-kai, Tsing-gal

(Chinese).

192

Julie D. .Forbus/'1

BLACK RIVER: the De.

BLUE RIVER, I~loreigner's name for the Yangtze. BRAHMAKUMARA, who drove Khmer from the north: Brahm, Phrom, P'rom. BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER: Aciravati, Karatoya in the eighth-century. BURENGNONG, sixteenth-century king of Burma: Bayinnaung.

C

CHAI PRAKAN, Brahmakumara's ninth-century city Jayaprakara, Territory of the Left in Yonok (dating derived from chronology in Singharzavati), site overbuilt by Mangrai in 1273 as Fang (middle tone, 'straw') or Kusanagara, now 'Old Fang'. See entry for Fang. CHAMATEWI, Mon queen of Lamp fun late seventh-century: Chamatevi, Camadevi, Cammadevi, Kiam Maha Devi, Chamt'evi, Zammaday-we, Jarmdhwiwongsi.

CHAO, Shan hierarchy: Chao Haw Send (Lord of Jewelled Palace), Caho Haw Hkam (Lord of Golden Palace), Cahokia/Saohpa (Lord of the Sky), Chao/Sao (Prince), Hkunflihun (nobleman), Hkam/Kham (semi~royal). Now, anyone can claim to be a Chao, but rarely a higher rank. CHEDI (Thai): cesya ('chetiya' in Pali), stupa, sthupa, tope, dagoba, dagaba, pagoda, Jedi, zed (Burmese), Candi ('chard', Indonesian). When enshrining relics: Phra

T'at, Pra Dhatu. CHEDI LUANG: Wat Jotikarama, Rajakuta ('king's Its'), Mahacetiya Luang. CHET LIN, early Lava city at foot of Doi Suthep: Vieng Jethapuri. CHET YOT: Wat Bodhirama ('Bod hi Tree Monastry'), Seven Towers. CHEUNG: Legendarily powerful Tai king of the twelfth-century: Xun. CHIANG, major city: Vieng, Wiang, Xieng (French), Kiang (Chinese), Slang (Lao).

CHIANG DAO, mountain north of Chiang Mai: Ang SalongCHIANG KHONG: Kharapuri. CHIANG MAI, combinations with names of cities on the site before Mangrai overbuilt ruins in 1296: Chiefs Mai, Kong-Mai, Zimmé, Tzirmne (Burmese), Babaixifu (Chinese), Lanna Xieng Mai, Mafia niagara Rajadhani Lanna Xieng

The Laughing Nagas of Norther Thailand

193

Mai, Nopburi Sri Nanon Ping, Nophaburi Sri P'ing Xai Xieng Mai, Nabbapuri, Nabissipura, Nabisirajadhani, Menu, Yiwan, Yun, Y6n, Raming(ka), Muang Ping,

Bingaratha, Bengaratha, Laraine, La~m6ng-Tai 'in a country near Chiang Mai named La Bong, Lab un, Jiutra, Yiu-tara'.

CHIANG RAI: Chiang Hai, Chiang Lai, Jar raya, Jamrayapura. CI-IIANG RUNG, ancient city in Xishuangbanna, Chiang Hung, Xiang Hung, Durgharattha Nagata, Thamuya Nagata, Thamuyya, Ala vi, Ala vi, Aloubi

('Twelve'), Atiguhyapuri ('City of Mysteries'), Che-Li, Chan Li, Chang Li, Kaine Yung-gyi (Burmese), Yiinchinghung.

CHIANG SAEN, present village among ruins inside walls of city built in 1328 over the remnants of the Yonok city Iayasena: Xieng Sen, Kiang Tsen, Kiang Hsen. the original in early AD centuries: Jayanaraya, Jayasenapuri, Chaiburi Nakpan. Later,

the name combined with those of the other polity in the region, Mangrai's homeland: Muang Hiram Nakhon Ngeun Yang Chiang Saen (see Ngeun Yang and Yonok). CHIANG SAEN NOI, improvised capital after the destruction of the original Chiang Saen: Vieng Perk:sa, still at the Mekong.

CI-HANG TUNG: Kerlgtung, Kemarattha, Tungapuri, Tungkhaburi, Nieu, Menggen, Khan for the Tai Khan people of the area.

CHOM THONG, pilgrimage monastery south of Chiang Mai: Join Thong. CH'U, non-Chinese kingdom, central China, 700s to 223 BC: Tch'ou, T'su. (A few scholars wonder if it was Tai).

D

DAMILA: Tamila, Dravidian. DHAMMA (Pall), Dharma (Sanskrit).

DIEN BIEN PHU: Miiang Thong/Thinffhaeng. DOI SUTHEP, mountain named for Vasudea, pronounced Wa-Sutape: Ucchupabatto, Usupabatta, Uccigiri, Devapabbata, Succapabatta ('Sugar Cane Mountain').

DOI TUNG, triple-peaked mountain at the Mae Sai River: Doi Sam Sao, Sam Yot, Tayadisa, Mont Ketu, Ketupabatta. The three peaks individually named: Doi Din Deng to the south, Doi Ya Thao (centre) and Doi Tha ('Landing Place') to the north on the river. Another Doi Tung is a western bulwark for Chiang Raj.

Julie D. Forbusk

194

DVARAVATI, Mon polity across the central plains sixth to eleventh centuries AD: Thavaravadi.

E EMERALD BUDDHA, Palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand: Phra Phut Marakot/Marakata, Jewel Image.

ER-HAI, LAKE: Tali Lake, from the city of Tali (Dali) on its west bank.

F FANG, present city north of Chiang Mai: (rising tone) meaning 'sappanwoodi Confused with thirteenth-century, long abandoned city a few miles south whose name in Thai is different in meaning and pronunciation, but has to be transliterated the same. See Chai Prakan.

G (Sound usually transliterated as K).

GANDHARA, region in western Pakistan and adjoining Afghanistan, under the Kushan rule in India AD 50-320, pronounced by Iranians and Parsees as 'Kandahar', a name nostalgically bestowed upon Yunnan by Buddhist missionaries or Indian emigrés: Kandahar, Gandhalaraj, Gandalarit, Gandhala, Kandar, Karajang, Cara jar, Zardandan (west of the Mekong), Voc fan, Videharaj.

GAUI-IATI, ancient city on the Brahmaputra River, a stop on The Great Gold and Silver Road between China and India: Guwahat. In early AD centuries: Kamarupa, Kg-mo-lou, Kia-mo-po.

H1 HAMSA, the white, bar-headed goose, Ansar indicus of central Asia and India, vehicle of Brahma, emblem of Mon sovereignty, sculptured in Burma with flat, I

I

About the transliteration 'Hkun' for the familiar 'Khufu', Me-hkawang as a version of

Melons, and other reversals of Kh to Hk, a Shan explains: 'It is the British colonial transliteration of the second letter of the Shan alphabet (Key), which is spelled as 'I-Ik'. but weirdly, the same letter in Burmese is transliterated as 'Kh'. I have no idea why. The English are crazy, I guess'.

The Laughing Nanas of Northern Thailand

195

wide beak: h a n s , hong, hongs (Thai), hantha, hintha (Burmese), snow goose. Not swan, and not to be confused with the Burmese karaweik which has a sharp beak and is a white-breasted water hen, vehicle of Vishnu. HANOI: Amman-fu, Ke She, Thang Long. HARIPHUNCHAI: Haribunjaya, Haripuiijaya, Haripoonjai, Nil-wang (Chinese). HAW, Mohammedan Chinese: Ho, Panthay, Parsee (Burmese).

HIMAPHAN FOREST, magical retreat: Hemawunta. HIRANYA, part of name of early capital at the Mae Sai River: Hiraiiria, I-Ieranya Nakoma, Herafin'"anagara. See Ngeun Yang. HSENWI, Shan principality in upper Burma: Ming Hsen Wi (Shan), Theinni (Burmese), Kosambi, Kawsampi, Mu-pang (Chinese).

I

INDRA, fierce tutelary god of the Aryans, when mollified by loss of status, the only Aryan deity adopted by Buddhism; the King of the Gods and deus ex rnachfna throughout folklore and northern Thai legends: Indo, Phra in, P'raya In, Indadhiraja, Intathipatirat (Lao); Sakka, Sakra, Thagya, Thagyamin (Burmese). ING RIVER: Mae Nom Salta. IRRAWADDY RIVER; Iraouaddy, Li Shut, Li-chouei, Sri Lohit.

J JAYASENA, the Yonok city over whose ruins the present Chiang Saen was built in

1328: Jayasenapuri, Jayanaraya Miiang Mun Khuen Khua, Jayapuri, Chai Buri-

K KARENS: Karieng, Kharen, Yang.

KASHGAR, oasis at western end of the Taklamakan Desert and major centre for Silk Road caravans before crossing the Pamirs: Kashi, Kashhih.

`

KENGTUNG, see Chiang TungKET: Wat Pubbarama, east of Ping River, Chiang Mai, not to be confused with Wat Puppharana-Suan Dark, or with Wat Buppharam. May have been Wat Sri Saket.

196

Julie D. Forbush

KHMER: K'rom, K'lom, Khawm. KHUN, the Tai around Chiang Tung, Hkiin, Khoen, Trans-Salween Shan.

KHOTAN, city on the south branch of The Silk Road, Indian in early AD centuries when the pilgrim Fa Hien came through; I-Iotan, Hotien, Khoten, Yu-teen.

KIEOU-LUNG, legendary youngest of ten "sons of the dragon", founder of a Tai/Ailao state, upper Yunnan, a mountain range south of Yung Ch'ang Fu, and onetime name for the Mekong in Xishuangbanna: Kiss-Lung, Chiu-Lung.

KIRTAMUKHA, Indian term for the monster mask sculptured as a guardian over portals/windows of shrines, related to the Chinese T'ao-t'ieh (see). Kala (Dutch), Lion Head, Devouring Time, possibly Rahu.

KOK RIVER: Kukanadi, Kakkanadi. KU: Archaic northern word for mondop or preset from Indian g u f f , when moved

indoors, an elegant, preset-like tower to enclose and safe-guard a Buddha image. KUKUT, informal name for the square, tiered, pyramidal chedi in Lamp fun, often translated as 'Broken Top' because of the decayed pinnacle, but may instead recall the famed Kukkutarama (Cock Monastery) of the Buddha's time in India; Lampang originally named Kula. ,

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We visited two White Tai houses. For the ethnographer these houses, and those observed in passing, presented some remarkable features. They differ from Black Tai houses in that they are not crowned with 'horns' (Shaw our), that they have an even number of rooms, an even number of windows, and that the entrance ladder has an even number of steps. The roofline also differs, in that the roofline of the Black Tai

house is rounded 'like a turtle shell', while that of the White Tai has a straight front and back. The rice harvest, in sheaves, was stored on a large platform high above the central part of the Hoor (not in separate storage houses). Towards the back of the house was the large hearth, in which three hearth-stones provide a resting place for a

256

B.JL Terwiel

pot. These stones are important (for example, the most solemn oath is made on these hearth stones). En route to the Nung-speaking area we were again struck by the landscape. Compared to that around Maichau it was more open, there were no well-defined

valley beds, no strict contrast between valley and mountain slope. Here rice was grown in terraced fields. The preoccupation with the differences in height between

rice fields was clear from observing the spectacular water wheels, powered by the force of the stream and lifting the water to a system of bamboo tubes that conveyed water over long distances. Such irrigation machinery is also known in Lanna and among the Tai Khamti of Chowkham (India).

In L$angsom we were shown a video-film made in 1988 among the Nung. The subject of the film was a spectacular ceremony called Lao Thief, a ritual during which a group of persons goes on a shamanistic journey, and becomes possessed by the Thaen, or 'gods'. The ritual shown in the film appeared to be a re-enactment, but an authentic ethnographic recording. The ceremony was obviously a major event, attended by large crowds, and lasting three days and three nights. In this case the people in charge of the ritual were a group of elderly women who chanted, sang and acted out their whole journey to the world of the Thaen. Much of this journey was made on (imaginary) horseback, rocking to and fro, sometimes lashing with the bridle, accompanied by the sound of the horse-bells. During the journey the women

[called mae Flap, of. the Thai] face many obstacles. They have to cross an immense lake, enter unseen canoes, and all the while chanting and wielding imaginary paddles, slowly move across the expanse. They are attacked by vicious birds, venomous snakes and demons, they even have to cross a mountain that is ablaze. At one stage they enter the world of dead children, and become like children themselves, the audience taking part in the fun and games that ensued. The women undauntedly face terrible risks, move through water, ride their horses high in the sky, and show that they have become invulnerable by sitting on sharp spikes. Upon reaching the women the world of the Tkaen, these enter their bodies: the women have become the gods. The chief mae trap becomes the Lord of the Thaen. From this moment onward they behave like gods, walking around with authority, going on an inspection tour and making god-fike statements. The ceremony ends with the women's return to the human world. In later discussions it became clear that women do not have exclusive right over this important ritual. Our hosts also pointed out that there are close parallels between

Lao Tkaen and the Black and White Tai state rituals (see also Sylvestre, 1918:42-56; Sumitr, $980:33). For myself, the viewing of the Lao Thaen ritual was a reminder of the fact that the role of women in Tai religion may benefit from being studied in a non-Buddhist environment, such as that among the Tai of Vietnam.

Data from White Tai and Nuns

257

These notes represent only two examples out of voluminous notes made during this field trip. They should serve as a stimulus to the growing number of researchers who are becoming interested in Tai studies. For this Newsletter it remains to be told that on behalf of our Calendrical Project I signed an agreement with representatives of the university to foster ways of further cooperation. This agreement opens the way for future cooperation and the first to benefit from this is Peter Ross, one of Dr Diller's students whose departure for Hanoi is imminent.

References Le Capitoline [J] Sylvestre

Les Thai Blancs de Phong-Tho, Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Ex!réme-Orient, yous, 1918, pp.1-56.

Sumitr Pitiphat The religion and beliefs of the Black Tai, and a note on the study of cultural origins, Journal of the Siam Society, Vo1.68, Pt.1, 1980, pp.28-

38. Issue No. 10, September 1990

258

Kengtung: Past and Present* Thawi Swangpanyangkoon

R*

Kengtung or Khemarat is the land that lies between Thailand and China - to the north of Thailand. It is the land of the Tai Khiin, whom we [the Thai] call Tai Khoen. In the past Chiangtung' was a state within the Kingdom of Lanna and during the Second World War it came under Thai rule as part of the Federation of the Original Thai (sahara Thai doem)-

Chiangtung is a blind spot among those who are knowledgeable about such matters, as the outside world has access to very few sources on it, compared to other similar localities. The reason for this is that scholars are unable to travel to Chiangtung because of a prohibition by the Burmese government making travel impossible, though the capital lies only a little over one hundred kilometres from Mae Sai. It was therefore very good fortune that the author was able to travel there at the beginning of April this year [1991] after a long wait of about ten years. Burma invited religious practioners of three countries, Thailand Laos and China, to visit Chiangtung to celebrate the installation of a new Chan* on the cedi on Moei mountain near the city. We obtained permission to travel from the committee supervising the Thai-Burmese border and the blessing of the Reverend Seen La, the Abbott of Wat Phra That, The Khi Lek.2

On the journey we were allowed to take photographs quite freely, which was contrary to usual practice, photography being strictly forbidden and cameras are not allowed into Burmese territory. We saw many small towns such as Miiang Ko, Mtiang Len, The Diia and Miiang Phayak; also to visit many at, for example Wat Com Doi, Wat Phra Caw Lan Thong (Miiang Len) and Wat Ma'ang Kang. These *

**

This article appeared in Thai in Mziang Boron April-June 2534 (1991) and is translated with the author's permission. Acharn Thawi's address is 9»'2 Soi Soon Vichai, New Petchburi Rd., Bangkok 10310.

Translated by Gehan Wijeyewardene.

1

The author spells the name in Thai fashion and this transliteration will be used throughout.

2

The town on the Burmese side opposite Mae Sai.

Kengtung: Past and Present

259

were in addition to the at in Chiangtung which we saw many times. Chiangtung is a very small city but it has numerous at some of them closely packed next to each other. For example at the T-junction of Wat Hua Khuang there are also at on the other two sides - Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Phra Caw Luann. Next tO Wat Phra Kaew is the king's palace -- Hor Kham. Across the road are the palaces of many queens and Wat Chiang Jim, the Abbott of which is the Chief Monk of Chiangtung. The word miéang is used in Chiangtung with the meaning of 'state', thus MNang Chiangtung is 'Khemarat'. But the word may also be used of an .amp fur or of a village as in Muang Phayak and Miiarig, Len. Each r a n g has a centre which is known as a w i n g . On our journey we saw sign posts saying Wiang Mzkang Phcxyak. As for Wiang Chfangtung this is the capital of the state of Khemarat, known in Pall

as Tungkhaburi, named after Tongkha Rishi, who the chronicles say was the founder of the city. The name Chiangtung is pronounced Keigtuij by the Tai Jai, and the British administration spelled it 'Kengtung' after this pronunciation and this is the spelling used in maps internationally, in government documents and scholarly works. The Tai Khoen themselves pronounce it CentUry and Sao Sairnong Mangrai, who is also known as Chai Mtiang, spells it 'Jengtung', but this has not received much support. We Thai, were we to spell it as we pronounce it, would write 'Chiengtung' or 'Chiangtung', which is not the generally preferred spelling. The author would prefer the spelling 'Kengtung' which is internationally recognized.

-

On the journey to Chiangtung we saw a picture of the seal of the rulers of Chiangtung which helped answer many questions. On the seals the Tai Khoen says

cilium jim sanéam khan sémdel phrzi?pen cow mziiang chieyluy. In English, 'Seal of the Office of the Sawbwagyi Kengtungi C z f u m jin with the first tonal marker means the seal of a particular office, sanciam means 'office', cham means a 'pronouncement', sender p h i ? pen cow is the rank of ruler (caw Ada). It should be

-

noticed that the seal uses the spelling 'Kengtung', not 'Chiangtung' or 'Jengtungi

The history of Chiangtung, according to the Khoen chronicles, says that more than 800 years ago it was inhabited by the Lua or La. Later King Mangrai of Chiangrai sent an army to seize the country, but was not able to defeat the Lua army. King Mangrai had to use deceit to do so. He sent his sons and nephews to rule the miiang (see Tartan Chfangtung and Phongsawadarn Chiangtung [transl a t e ] by the author). Today many nobles of Chiangtung use the surname Mangrai or Mengrai,

260

Q/'Tzawf Swangpanyangkoon

such as the Tai Khoen philosopher, now deceased, Sao Saimong Mangrai, and Caw Knur Silk Mengrai, who now lives in Chiangmai. [Recently deceased.] Ancient legend says that the Lord Buddha announced that south of Miiang '? there was a large swamp which would be the site of a city and country which would be a support of his religion. Things happened as the Lord Buddha predicted. The last

prince of the Wang Dynasty [as in original Thai] of China came down from Miiang Wang and drained the water from the swamp. At first the canal was built to the south, but the water did not flow- It was then moved to die north and the water flowed away. The flow of the water was like the River Khan, that is the river in Which the water ascended to the north. The people who lived there were therefore called the Tai Khiin and the mzlang, Miiang Khiin. We Thai pronounce it as 'Khoen'.

Acharrn Tawi in front of the palace, April 1991. It was demolished by SLORC in December.

-

There are other various pronunciations and explanations, for example khan the river that flows upwards, others say khan reflemlng to the land which emerged when

the water was drained from the swamps

_

Kengtung: Past and Present

26]

The large swamp spoken of in the legend may still be seen - None Tung, in the city of Chiangtung. The Rishi who was responsible for draining the swamp was Tungkha Rishi, and the swamp was called None Tung and the city Tungkhaburi after

the Rishi. There is a matter worth investigating - do the many families whose names begin with Tungkha have any connection with Tungkhaburi? Chiatigtung is surrounded by mountain ranges and hills, None Tung lies within the city and outside the city are two rivers the Mae Nam Khtin and the Mae Nam Larp, both of which flow into the Mae Nam Khong, which the Tai of the region all call the Mae Nam Khorng (khiiij). Wiang Chiangtung is thus blessed with plentiful water.

When we compare Chiangtung with Chiangmai and Sukhothai we see that Chiangmai also has a large swamp, to the northeast, but today this has no water and local inhabitants have taken over the land and been duly issued with full land certificates according to law. The swamp therefore only remains in name, in the chronicles. As for Sukhothai, many factors were responsible for water being insufficient for the city's needs. Moreover, the inhabitants required a means of communication and they moved to live on the banks of the river, leaving the old city deserted.

The city of Chiangtung is situated far from other cities, bringing to mind the city of Dieu Bien Phu, the capital of the Tai in north Vietnam. The difference is that Chiangtung has Buddhist monasteries and a more developed political system and culture.

The author's visit to Chiangtung was at the beginning of April - the hottest time of the year. Nevertheless a blanket was necessary at night as the temperature was colder than usual. The water in the lake3 came right up the banks and no rubbish or detritus was visible on shore or in the water. We saw no one fishing or bathing in the water, bull do not know if there was any law preventing it. The view around None Tung is very beautiful. There is no motorable road around the lake - only a footpath, which, however, is used by motor-cyclists. It is reserved for the inhabitants of the city to calm their minds and exercise their bodies.

3

This refers to the remnants of the swamp left within the city, and the author uses the one word throughout. 'Swamp' seems inappropriate in English, in this context.

262

Thaws Swangpanyangkoon

The one thing that was displeasing was that the government had allowed two restaurants O1'1 the banks of the lake. These not only spoil the view, but also release

dirty water into the lake. One hopes their number will not increase and ultimately prevent any view of None Tung at all. Wiang Chiangtung has twelve gates -- which is a matter of some surprise, as the more gates a city has the more difficult it is to defend. The twelve gates are named as follows I. Chiarjlaan 2. P8dee1] 3. Pratt Mean 4. N309 phaa 5. BOo ?E>oi 6. Kai hai 7. Jeer p`i1_'j 8. NOon] lek 9. Jeer khan 10. Chen rial] II. Phaa jar] 12. Ijaam f8a. The twelve gates of Chiangtung recall our own Chiangrai which also has twelve gates and probably follows the pattern of ancient Sri Kshetra of Burma. The number twelve may derive from the twelve animals of the cycle of years. It is also met in Sipsongpanna and Singsong Caw Tai, though there are only ten panda left, two having been grabbed by France. A redivision of those remaining has restored the number to twelve. As for the twelve Caw Tai, it is difficult to find chiefs (cow) to make up the number. In truth the word e n ' comes from the word caw meaning 'district' as in Laicaw and Macaw. As for the Black Tai and White Tai in Vietnam, they believe there were sixteen ancient mtiang not twelve.

Of the twelve gates of the present city of Chiangtung the author saw, and was able to photograph, o n e two, Pa Daeng Gate (near Pa Daeng Village and Wat Pa Daeng) which is near a lime kiln and is painted white. There is a new building built right up against it, but there are still traces of the original gate. This is better than some other places where the old structures have been completely demolished and replaced with new buildings which makes one wonder if one is being deceived. The

other gate which still has traces of the old is Pratu Nong Pha. There are still traces of the wall on each side and an old pillar on each side. Apart from these two gates the only signs of the old city are traces of the old earth wall in a few places.

The old city is preserved in the pictures in Tartan Wat Pa Daeng of Sao Saimong. The gate used to be of brick and the author has seen a later photograph of it painted with lime. When I finally got to Chiangtung I was astonished to see a new building standing right next to the gate, replacing the city wall. Some hundred years ago, J.G. Scott wrote of the wall and the gate that the wall was about fifteen fee: high (4.5 m.) and because the bricks had not been properly fired it had collapsed in some places. Thus, though it was pleasing to look at, it could

not have inspired much fear [in the enemy]. Besides, southwest of the city were a number of hills which overlooked the city, and if cannon were mounted on any of'

Kengtung: Past and Present

263

them, every part of the city would have been in range. The city wal] had a total length of 4 3/4 miles and there were ten gates. At the time of Scott's visit, 14 March 1890, there were only two with enough wall around them to defend the city. The rest had all collapsed. Only half the city was occupied the northern part. The area was covered in growths of large trees and swamps. There were 6-800 houses and a population of

-

about 15-20 thousand (Sao Saimong l965:207)Scott looked at Chiangtung from the point of view of a soldier, and it was not difficult to be critical. It was a small town with a small population, the largest building being the Golden Palace, the palace of the king and the 'golden court'. It was a beautiful European style building across from the Tung lake. A little way from the palace there were many two~storeyed houses, the palaces of the queens of Caw Fa Korn Knew Inthalaeng who had six wives. The palace next to Wat Chiang Jiin was that of Mae Caw Nang Buathip Luang. This house is now abandoned. The palace itself has been taken over by the Burmese for government offices."

The palace we see today was built in the reign of Caw Ratana Korn Kao Inthalaeng who was the father of Caw Kong Tai (who was executed) and the grandfather of the Crown Prince (Caw Chai Luann), later the last king of Chiangtung,

who now lives in Rangoon. The title Caw Fa causes some confusion. The ruler of the miiang was called Caw Mia hut (lit. 'Lord above the head') or Somder phra pen caw. But we follow Burmese usage and use the term Caw Fa (Sawbwa) which is confused with the title given to all

the sons of the king, whether or not the mother was of noble birth. The daughters of the king were known as Caw rang fa. The chief queen was known as Cow rang milang or Mahathewi. The other wives of the king were known as Mae caw rang for instance King Phromlii had a wife who was known as Mae Caw Nang Thipawan.

-

In Chiangmai the term used was Caw mae.

Caw Chai Luang, the last king was deposed by General Ne Win and was incarcerated for six years after the 1962 coup. He is now forced to live in the capital and is not allowed to return to Chiangtung. The only other member of the line is Caw Bur wart Wongsa, who is allowed to live in Chiangtung. He used to be an ambassador abroad for the Burmese government.

4

Early this year it was reported that the palace was demolished on the orders of SLORC and is to be replaced by a condominium.

264

Tkawi Swangpanyangkoon

Caw Chai Luang is a modern man, having been educated in England and Australia, and he has visited Bangkok and Chiangrnai many times. He was bom on 10 September 2470 (Thai reckoning, 2471 Burmese reckoning) 04.15 hours. He was crowned king on the nth day of the waxing moon of the 6th month Khoen, or the 5th month Thai 2489 BE (2490 in Burmese reckoning). He ruled till 2505 (or 2506 Burmese), a period of sixteen years, when he was deposed with all the other rulers of the Shan states after the Ne Win coup. Chiangtung is a Buddhist country, its inhabitants are devout Buddhists who respect the holy sites and the Sangha. They accept that they must perform the following rituals

- the ordination

of novices, the senior ordination, the sugar cane

merit-making ritual and the Vessantara ritual. Their devotion may be seen in the many monasteries built in the city, many adjacent to each other, and all beautifully adored and cedi in various styles according to the period at which each was built.

According to the chronicles the oldest are Wat Phra Kao and Wat Hua Khuang these being situated on either side of the road next to the Golden Palace. These two, together with Wat Fa Kang and Wat Con Thong were built in the reign of Caw Chetubandhu or Sattaphanthuraja (1893-1920 BE). Later Caw Sam or Phys Kong Ratanapheri built Wat .Tang Kham and Wat Chiang Lae at about the same time and of the same dimensions (1962-86 BE).

-.-

The Thai like only one principal Buddha image in their viharn, but in Chiangtung there may be over ten large statues of about the same size arranged in three or four rows. There are few at which have colored paintings on the ceilings the pictures are painted in gold lines. A modem ceiling painted in Tai Khoen style in colour may be seen in Chiangmai, in Wat The Kradad in Amp fur Miiang-

-

One should not try to guess the age of a Wat in Chiangtung by what one sees, for old buildings are always being pulled down and new ones put in their place. Sao Saimong relates stories of demolitions of viharn and cedi (1981: 8). In the cedi of Wat Sinhalahokat there were many hundreds of Buddha images, each about three and a half inches high, made of bronze and with a dated gold leaf base. However, no one kept a record for future generations before the images were reburied under the new

cedi. Today, both Protestant and Catholic Christianity have taken hold in Chiangtung and are making progress because of their access to money and modern technology.

Kengtung: Past and Present

265

During the time of the Caw Fa the language of administration was Tai Khoen and the script used was run milang or Lanna written in Tai Khoen style. There are however, many differences and it is very easy for a Chiangmai reader to make mistakes. For example the vowel 'in' in Tai Khoen is written like the vowel 'ii' in Lanna. Also some letters are absent in Lanna. The Tai Khoen use this script in

everyday use, and they therefore have a beautiful flowing hand. For instance the letter 'ha?', which in Lanna has to be written in three strokes, needs only a single

stroke in Khoen. Tai Khoen who use the ra mziang alphabet, which originally came from north Thailand, now far out number those who can write it in its place of origin. In Chiangtung there is not a single monk who cannot read the script, while in north Thailand there are always complaints that in some monasteries there is not a single monk who can. Chiangtung is therefore one of the last bastions of the Lanna script,

which at one time was used in five different regions

- Laos,

northeast Thailand,

Lanna, Tai Khoen and Tai Le of Sipsongpanna.

Because Chiangtung is a closed region and foreigners cannot enter, ancient manuscripts, palm leaf and the folded so paper used for sacred texts and secular literature, may be found in great abundance, unlike in north Thailand where they have become very scarce as there is no means of protecting them and some foreign countries have used various means to exploit the situatiotl.5 The Caw Fa brought typewriters to Chiangtung, having contracted an English firm to make fifty machines. The news is that the Government of Burma has

confiscated these machines and will not allow them to be used. The few that remain have to be hidden. Devising a typewriter for Lanna script is a very difficult task as consonants occur

both above and below the line and have to be combined with tone markers. Some words must be written at three or four levels. No other Tai area has been able to

construct a typewriter for the script. In Chiangtung there are still printing presses which produce Tai Khoen script. There was formerly one press, Khemarat Press of Uthip Saengamat. This press could

5

The author donated over a thousand manuscripts, palm leaf and so, in Tai Khoen to the University of Chiangmai to be placed in a special room to be known as the Thawi Swangpanyangkoon Room, but now the officer in charge has changed and I have no idea as to what has happened to the manuscripts.

266

Nzawi Swangpanyangkoon

-

take jobs in four languages - using old fonts and old-style machines Tai Khoen, Tai Jai, Burmese and English. It published a weekly newspaper, The Khemarat printed in

both Tai Khoen and Tai Jai scripts. It published primers for learning Tai Khoen Books 1-4. It published religious texts and Jataka stories, and two primers for learning English. Khufu Uthip Saengamat must be congratulated on the magnificent

service he has rendered Tai Khoen language and literature. The old man is now over 80 years old. The newspaper has stopped publishing because newsprint is no longer available- The other reason is the change in the system of government to direct rule by the Burmese.

Burmese is now the compulsory language and Tai Khoen is slowly going the way of the Lanna language, where all that remains is the spoken language and there is the fear that it might go the way of Ahom. When the writer was in Chiangtung there was another press, the Singha Press in addition to the Khernarat. There was also a third press in Wat Khemintr. They all complained they could not get newsprint. The difficult road to Chiangtung and the Burmese policy of keeping the area closed has helped preserve the country as an area of Tai culture worth studying for its history, archaeology and literature. But when a sealed road is completed and the

country opened to the outside, the world of condominiums is something that cannot be escaped. Then the culture of the Tai Khoen, which many have desired to encounter, will come to an end.

Issue No. 16, March 1992

267

Kokang Jackie Yang Rettie' On the 22nd. of November 1990, at the small village of Narhsaing, near Lao Kai valley in Kokang, three events of significance took place. Firstly, when the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) secretary 1st Major General Khin Nyunt

stepped down from his helicopter and shook hands with the leaders of Kokarlg, it symbolised the truce between SLORC and Kokang, ending a thirty year conflict. After three decades of war, the people of Kokang could hope for the prospect of peace. Secondly, Kokang, a part of the region which Western analysts claimed to produce the world's biggest volume of opium, saw the destruction of three opium refineries worth an estimated US$ 500 million. This was the first step in a six year plan to eradicate the cultivation of opium in that area. However, whether this is a genuine effort on die part of SLORC to reduce the production of opium remains to be seen. And thirdly, for centuries remote and inaccessible, foreigners were allowed into Kokang territories. These were representatives from the United Nations Programme for Drug Abuse, the United Nations Development Programme, United States Drug

Enforcement Administration, and Public Security Bureau, Yunnan, of the People's Republic of China. Since the early sixties, Kokang has been fighting the Burmese military regime

for autonomy and self rule. In 1968, the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) supported by China, took Kokang under its control. However in early March 1989, Kokang leaders took the lead in staging a bloodless coup against the Burmese Communist leadership sending the latter into exile in China. The present military regime wasted no time in cultivating the goodwill of the Kokang leaders by offering USS 10 million in rehabilitation to the war ravaged region. As the role of Kokang in the kaleidoscope of Burmese politics has become of increased interest to both domestic and international observers, it may be time to take a closer look at the land and its people.

1

Jackie Yang Rettie was bom in Kokang and lived there until 1960.

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Jackie Yang Rettfe

Location Kokang is a small strip of land situated on the northeastern border of Bunny between latitude 24.1 and 23.2 and longitude 98.2 and 98.5. It is bounded on the east by Zhenkang, China and on the south by Kunlong. Except for Chan Tsing Shan in the south and Monk Ku in the north which are part of Kokang, the Salween river demarcates its western boundary. The total area of Kokang is about 2000 sq. miles.

Topography Kokang is made up of high mountains in the north which gradually change to lower plains in the south. The mountain ranges are an extension of the Tibetan Plateau, some of which can be very steep. The highest mountain, Da Lian Shan, soars to more than 8000 ft. The average height of the mountains ranges from 1500 ft. to 4000 ii. The largest plain is Lao Kai and its surroundings, which is also referred to as Malipa valley.

Population Out of a popul ation of approximately 120,000, 90% are Han Chinese and speak a Yunnan dialect quite similar to the dialect spoken in Fengyi (Shunting}, south China. There are other minorities such as Shan, Palaungs, Hmong, Kachin, We and Lisu.

The Past Wedged between southwest China and northeastern Burma, before the migration of Han and other minority groups, Kokarig was an area of deep jungle inhabited by wild animals which roamed its rugged mountains. In the 16th century, the first Han

migrants entered by the east and began to cultivate the land. The settlements were scattered here and there. Gradually, to overcome the harsh elements and for the sake of security, small tribes were formed. Although Kokang was part of China, its location in the far remote south made it difficult if not impossible for the central and provincial governments to exercise control. The people living on the periphery were left on their own to practise self rule. This practice, nurtured through the centuries, led to a strong sense of independence. There were also constant inter-tribal wars, however among the emerging tribes one in particular rose in influence. The settl ement of this tribe, Shin Da Hu, centred around present day Ta Shwe Htang and gradually grew to encompass the whole of what is today Kokang. The man responsible for consolidating Kokang into a single political entity was Yang Skien Tsai. He was the first of the ruling family of the House of Yang which ruled Kokang for nine generations, lasting for 300 years until 1959. In 1840, Yang Guo Hwa, a direct descendant, received the copper sea] from the Governor of

Kokang

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Yunnan giving his family and heirs the hereditary rights to rule Kokang. In 1897, under the Peking Convention, Kokang was ceded to British Burma. Prior to the convention, Kokang's relations were mainly with China. Under

British Burma, Kokang embarked on a new and different phase in its history. In 1909, the Chinese and British Governments agreed to establish working committees to resolve border issues, Under the agreement, representatives were to meet annually at Nonma east of Longchuan. The Burmese team consisted of representatives from Lashio, Kutkai, Bhamo, Nan khan and Kokang. In 1929, the British Government bestowed the title of Myopia on Yang Wen Pin, then the ruler of Kokang. Invar ably, Kokang found itself veering closer to Burma.

The Present Kokang's participation in the Second World War was well documented in British war chronicles. In 1942, when the Japanese occupied Burma, the Government of Burma retreated to Simla, India. In the same year the Japanese attempted to penetrate into Kokang, part of their plan to invade China from Yunnan, however they were repelled by Kokang forces. Being the only area free of Japanese, Kokang became a point of strategic importance to the allies. From Kokang they were able to monitor Japanese movements crucial to the Allies' plan to recapture Burma. The Myopia, Yang Wen Pin, was later decorated with an O.B.E by the British Government for his wartime efforts. However, in his acceptance speech, the Myopia said that the honour rightfully belonged to the men and women of Kokang who gallantly fought and died in deface of their homeland. Today, there still stands in Ta Shwe Htang, a column erected in memory of those who died during WW 2.

After the War, many tasks of serious and great proportion faced the people of Kokang. Of great urgency was the issue of citizenship. The Chaofa of Kokang had great difficulty persuading the newly independent Burmese Government to grant

Kokang Chinese citizenship. However in 1948, Kokang Chinese were classified as an indigenous race of Burma. In practice, however, many Kokang Chinese still had difficulty in obtaining citizenship. A case in point was the barrass e n t and arrest of Hoo Kya Chin, a Kokang national, by border officials. He was released only after 300 Kokang nationals protested. The task of post-war reconstruction was also immense. The state coffers were

almost empty and the assistance from the Shan Federation and Central Government was severely limited. Nevertheless, plans were drawn u p t o improve the general

welfare of the people of Kokang relying on domestic resources under the leadership of the Chaofa, Yang Kyein Sai. By 1959, however, under pressure from the Central Government, the 35 Shan Chaofas relinquished their hereditary powers in exchange for compensation. Yang Kyein Sai, the Kokang Chaofa, however, refused

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Jackie Yang Rettie

compensation, reasoning that power cannot be exchanged with monetary compensation but should be returned to the people and not to the central government. Indeed, to this day, the compensation allocated for the Kokang Chaofa 's family is still being held in abeyance by the Government of the Union of Burma. The departure of the Chaofa left a power vacuum and a period of uncertainty and instability followed. The plans for the development of Kokang virtually stopped. In 1962, when Ne Win seized power in a bloodless coup d'etat, several of Kokang's leaders including the Chaofa were detained. While still loyal to the deposed Government of U Nu, Yang Kyein Sein, the younger brother of Yang Kyein Sai, escaped to Kokang and initiated a rebellion, carried through by Pheung Kyat Shin, lasting 30 yearsCanberra, February 1991.

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