Journal of the Siam Society; 40

Citation preview

TASL.E

OF CONTENTS

VOLUME: XL. PART 1

JULY 1952

·Articles :

Carthew, M., M.D.: The History of the 'l'l1ai in Yunnan

1

Lambert, E.T.D.: A short accouut of the Ahom people

39

Anuman Rajadhon, Phya,: Phra Cedi

(i(i

Notes:

Seidenfaden, E.: A Note on the Reverend 1!,at.her Savina. Ethnic Gronps of Northern Southeast. Asia

73 7G

Reviervs:

Seidenfaden, E.: Economic Organization of the Li 'rriher; of Hainau Island (Kunio Okada) Bibliography of the Peoples and Onlt.ures oJ' Mainland Southeast Asia (Embree, .J.F. and Ot.a Dotson, L.)

84 9:3

Coughlin, M.M.: Outline of Oultmal Matet·ials (1\tim, (ll"'•ll!J'akul. l..)

100. Cakt·rltiir•ard. a IOai111al 1•1' 101.

l'hi-ri~tnHlw\'ail;i

a:Ht'••l"t~~- t1111l lJah:,JiU.;-yii.~ull':w:l

(Stlairalt••ti!.·:•.)

lO:t. M••w••llt"

uf tht• t~.-!"ln·a1iun .,f th•· hi:diHh :uruiv•·rr.:1ry •·f thn ;\titdHLt•y l•f ll!tl·!'inr

10a.

MiuiHtr·~·

11f Jl:tltwaticm,

Hit~lc·n·

Publications of Interest in other journals:

D.N.:'

,f

VOLUME XL, PT. I

JULY 1952

THE

JOURNAL OF

SIAM

THE

OCIETY (j ss)

•

BANGKOK 2495

. THE HISTORY OF THE THAI IN YUNNAN 2~!05

B.C.-1253 A.D.

By M. Cm·thew, M.n. (Ph~'n. A.vuraved Vichakshana) 'l'hcJ•e are no 'l'hai reccmls of tho history of t.lle 'l'hai race dnring the many eentnries it livefl in South China in what is now known as the province of Yunnan, and sueh reeonls us exist only commence in the 13th eontnry A.D. after the nHtahlislnncnt of the 'l'hai Kingdom of Snkltodayu. 'l'o obta:in information on this sul>jPct one has to refer to Chinese records, local legends and. customs in Yunnan ancl from those a rather sl,otchy history hns been built. up since the beginning of this eentnry by Europeans (usually French) who hlwe pat.iently translated some of these records. Much credit must nlso he given to the juyestigations by Gerini nf these transhttions. He has collated this information and was I believe the first. person to connect, the Kingdom of Nan Chao with tho 'l'hai of 'L'hailanil. 'l'he \)CJSt known translation, T mHierstand, is that. of Monsiem· Camille Sanson ol' Yang She:n's "Homance of the Kingdom of Nan Chao". He was a customs oHicer in the OhinoSl\ Pel'vice stationed at Yunnan J'or numy year:-;, Unfort.uunt ely his knowledge of Ohinnse was not • pJ·ofonncl and his trnmlntion has heeu fmmd to he J'nll of errors. 'l'O\\'ardi:l the end of the last century an English missionary named G.W. Clark waB stat,ionod in 'l'ali-fu and Ynnnan-l'n for many ,n;m·s. He was smrwthing of n Binologne, was interested in local history, t.he local tribes, their customs, languages and legends and with the nsRistance of

tt

local Chinese seholar he translated a

Chinese HHlllUSCl'ipt hr found at 'l'ali-fu called n "History of t.J1e Southern ·Princes". It. was written in 1537 A.D. by Yang-t.sai of Chen-t'n :f'u in Sznchnan nnd re-edited by Hu-yn of Wnchang-l'u in Hupeh in 177G. Both of these men were classical scholars of the first grade with the high r1egree of Cha.nr; W ien RO it is presuma1)1E' that their acemmt. iH aR authentic as any ot.hcor ancient history,

M. Carthew, M.D.

G.W. Clark publisbecl several papers nn t:Jw t.J'i\w:-; of Ynnnan together with his

t.1·anslat.ion

of Yang-tsai's "Hist01·~·

8onthel'll :Prinee8'' in a small hook printed at tlu• Shanghai

cd'

tlw

M!'l'enr~·

Press in 1894 il1 n very limitrcl erlit.inn fn1· clif'tl•ilmt.inn t11 hiH friends. Vc•ry few copies appear t.o have· hPen solrl HK ll Em'JW:tllS At. an~· t•at Chu-ko-liang is the epic oJ' 'I'hai history in Yunnan and eannot he beaten for sheer drama in tlw history of any race. In thiH respect it is eqnal to the story of King Robert Bruce of Scotland or Hcrewmd the Wake of Englnnd, both national heroes who fought pe1•sistently and in spite of defeat (.o rn·eservP t.heir national and inclivi great :oervices. 'l'his lantl still remains in the hands of his tlct>cenclants. Ohno Klingpha was sncceoded on his dontlJ by his brothel' Oltau Din Phn who was in his teens at the t.irne.

'l'his bny was

fond of keeping low company, Satram, t,he !'on of a poult1oy-kneper, heing the principal olJjeet; of his attal'hment.

]Jigh

l'Hllk

He mised him to the

oC charin,rpia J)hulcctn and thereby g1·catly incensNI the

nobles. 'l'ho :f'nyrnuito l'ealisiug how mueh he depended ou tlw King soon set al>ont, st,irring up tronhle among the ministeT'S of st;ate. 'l'llet·e wat> a serious qnanel between the two great officers, tho {)(tr

}Jim/::an anll the lmrha gohm:n.

'l'he King, ft•ctting ngaiust

the intl11ence oJ' the lmrha gohain, scm1 his snpporter the lmr }Jhttkrtn to call on the Bl'itish l'or aid. This was ro:f'used, the 13ritish not wishing t.o get involved in Lhe iutenml politics oJ' tho state, and an appeal was the11. made to the Burmese who entered the country • with a lmge .l'ot·ce. This J'm·c:~~ing pensioue T rti mlod Chinese dlttl'act;ers,

60

Eric T.D. Lambert

"As (,u the religion of: the aueit'JIL 'l'ai, WL' JilJ•intnndtml. ol'

f:lovcl'llll!Plll

Pt·int.ing·, Oalenttn,

190li. (fi)

Jo1t1'nal o.f lhtl Royal As-litl·it Sotietu of Ben(!al, Part

I, 187:~; H. Hloehmann, 1\LA., "Knnh Bihar, Kneh Hajo

Hlll.l

AsHillll

TIBET

KAMARUPA

I

ASSAM CIRCA

1280

T

BET

BHUTAN

A f< A TRIBES

1./)

N

.·

K

0

1671

1

l

BURMA /MOHAMMEDAN E M PI R E ·'

2

l\SSAM Clf?CA

LUSHAI

and

CHIN

TRIBES

170 8

TH[." () f~ 0 W T 1 1 0 F T H L A 1·1 0 tv1 1~ r f\J G DO M

T ---

B

- ·-

E

T

I I

I

GA F~ 0

I

HILLS

•- ..... _....

....

_... -- .... __

--

I I

}-

\ I

--

~-

1

-~-

' 2

E3U F< ivlA

.......

__, '< )

.... ,

BRITISH IN 01 A

MAN I PUR \

3

I

LUSHAI

BURMA CIHCA 1822 AFTE!:'.! THC BUHMESE CONQUEST

.

i\

S!!OI~T

ACCOUNT OF TilE AIIO?vl PEOPLE

iu llt•· 1(,! h :111d l"i'l h

··••tiiHl'it·~'

avt·tll'•ling !1•

li5

Al.l•rt·l'llllllllth,

t hv

f',tdi•:h•Iilnllt'·:!l!, ;tlld llw Ft~IIIY.t/llh 1 'Jlll'iyuh'',

\'ll

"A":'allt \111d•·r Ill·· Alte word hem, from the S~l{}'it hmna meaniug gold, is of course derived ft·om tho Sanskt•it hima ( :-Juow ). Now the Himalaya has a peak, the Kailas, wheru Siva is

snppo::~ec\

to mabanphot (hum

hemrxzJarbatct, the golden mountain, so eallnd from Lhe gold-like glitter of its snow).

Onr flat; pieces, which go hy the names of

hem, derive their names from this simile. Siamese royalty in the later period of Ayndhya adopted the outward forms of tho Khmer theory of divine kingship, in which the monarch is more or less identified with godhead in the person of Siva, the Hindu paramount

Phya Anuman Rajaclhori

goll, and was therdor·e expectecl to dwell on what is maclt' to enJ'l'uspond to the llikltarn of Kailii,,; when• Siva supposedly dwells. Unable perlwps to builcl a !./ilchrM'a in wood superimposed on the roof of [1 7J1'rt8ad, a structure in the shape of a cedi had t.o be put np instead. In order to have somethillg I'CSPmbling a sikharrt, H

conventional symbol of the golden mountain, or lt(nn, is added to the slcncler t.aper·ing spire.

The case of the '[Wang being superimpo>:ed

on top of :t roof to rc•present a .silrhara likt• the one at the Royal Pantheon in the precincts of

M1P

Chapel Royal of the Einerald

Bnclclha should he t:tken to he exceptional for it is t.he only one in

t•xi,;t.enee in the whole country. a luunan dwelling at all.

It was probably not mennt to he

'rhere is yet another type of edifice in some of the mm1asteri('s which has a spired roof like a rwhshd or ~·edi. ThiH iH cn.lll•cl a mondo p, from the Sanskrit rnanda ]Ja, refening to temporary shed or building attached to the .~ilchm·a. Here in Siam, however. the mondop, snch us the one on the raised platform to t.he north of t.lw Chapel Royal, salace, CJ3angkok. ~

i

.'

'Ghe spire of the q.>rasad. \from top to bottom the parts of the spire are as follows: the de'w drop; the pli or plantain bud; the razmd ball; the bua waeng or fillets; the bua klum or lotus cluster; the hem; the balang or platform; the neck; the bell.

.•

.l

'

.. ·I retdiw

of the

original ~~edi of (Phra (Pnthmn n t r;"lnhnrn (/nth om.

.

J

C(.J'he biR

r.J~11rlrlhist af

tedi (stupa) of q>hra q>athorn 9Vnko rn q>at.hom

79he phra prang at w-:>at. Amn, r.J~anglenk

79he mondop and the Cf1oyal r]Jantheon, in the (!Jhapel CJ1oyal of the &merald CBuddha at the Fjrand r]Jalace, CJ3anghok.

NOTES [. A Note on 'tlw

RiJI!tYI'tJJul

Pntlwr· Savina

Elsewhere in this number Major Erik Seiclenfaden contributea a review of Professor Olmda's book on the U tribes of I-lainan Island. Major Seidenfaden has also written the following note regarding the l{everend Father Savina who once lived on I-Iainan Island and wrote among other things a J11oJWf/l'aplde de .lluinu.n:

'rhc latc1 Hevorend Fathet· F.M. Savina lived in Hainan for more tha11 fom years (1924-1928) and, like Stenlwl, travellcu widely, visiting several of the Li tribes. We have not lJeen ahle tn obtain or retLi.

Erik Seidenfaden The name of the capital of the nnw Kingdom of Laos should be spelt Wiengchan (dr) and not as U~ tn be regardod as a !H. memorial to King Chu1alongkorn's piouecl' work in modern education, some eulogies of King Hama VI from val'ions aspects since th.e King was Lhe general's contemporary as well as his colloagne in the army and latel' an object of nnstintell admiration, devotion and loyalty, 'l'he book h:; brought np with tlll'ce monogrrtplli:l on modern :mu rope[m military history in t.lw XVII and XVIII centnrieH.

96.

Damrong,

Pl'inct~:

Bio(J1'rttJhies of

In~JJOrtant

l)crsonaoes

"I J:::.. o "' u'l~'Jilll,/rlrl!Hl'HH)j

278 pages, sexa, 1950. 'l'his is a compendium of biographies wl'itten by the lato Prince Darn1·ong from time to time and usually published as adjuncts to cren1ation books.

116

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS

'l'he first of t,his series is a biography of King Olmlalnngkol'll, up to the Lime oJ: his accession, containing among otlwr matters a11 interesting aceount~ of events leading Ul1 to his succession tn th1~ Throne. 'l'he then Prime Minister, contrary to custom by whil:h tho monarch ~tppointed his deputy, known as tho Prince of Llw Palaeo to tho Front, or Wangna, took upon himself the royal prerogative of maldng the appointment, 'l'his biography occupies about one thinl of the whole collection, Tho other personages dealt; with are ( 1) the Primo Minh; Lor referred t,o above, who is known later as tho 8omdec CJaophya Borouut-maha-Sri-Suriyawongs, who was regent of Lho Kingdom during the minority of King Ohulnlongkorn; ( 2) Caophya BhU.skarawongs, younger brother of the Somdec Caophya, who, d o::;piLl' his brother's g1·eat and overwhelming inHuence, was a Ktauneh an([ fearless supporter of the young King and later becamo hi::; cahinulministol' holding various portfolii in succession; ( 3) the Prince Abhalwra of ,Jnmborn, son of King Ohulalongkorn, who became :ou popular with his naval subordinate officers that when ho t three l'ol'!lwd thu !:lnlJjeeL of lectures delivered iu English Leforo meu.tllet·H of the Siam Sociot.y, the flrst, twn of which arc~ here [,t•anl:llatl~ll into Siamef:\u. Speaking generally they testify to the

Octolchltn'H vursatility and power l)f observaL.ion. 'l'hey of com'l:lO have st,r·tmg !tppeal to the auLhropologist and student of soeial seicncoK. The one ou ti lle1l ''Slw l'L On ti:l", re:Eerl'iug to i l'l'igat,ion canals will aprmal not only to irrigation-1:ugineers but also 'tn the historian who would Llwl'ully be~ able to iutorprut tho shifting oJ' centres of lJUpHia!.ioll ill the past. 9:-1.

Yn l'ho, D. : History of !he Boyal J(/u)n f'>5 pagl'S, scxa, 195~2.

vlml'l-!t'IIU'11trh1

'J:lw little volnnw wa:> pulllislwd. al!ll given away aL tho erematiun 1,[ 1'. Pakyacban1lavacana, the reciter at the !chon performances oi' the 'l'hmttre of the Fine Arts Department of late years. It should supply a long felt want in presenting, in a very little volume, the nature and development of' the art of the masked play, which of ull arts can claim to he a national development more than any ot.l10r. It is explained that in times of feudalism the feudal lords kept and fed retainers in their manors, the boys of which familie!:l received as part of their schooling some training in this art. Performers of the masked play were therefore male.

In the conrse of

time girls were also trained to take their parts in the 7chon, restric-

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS

118

ted !tS a rule to impersonations of the human parts, tlw more strenuous ones of the simian and dmnoni!tcal characters bciug still to a great extent reserved Jor males. 'l'he !trt reached Hs most. flourishing period during the sixth reign of the Bangkok dynasty, when young gentlemen of 1'oyal or noble birth were taught aud performed the masked dance as members of the King's Lrottpl~. list of masters of the dance in the Hoyal Court is appen1lu1l.

99.

Hoontraknl, L.: JhstO'I'J/ of 8ino-8·£arnese

Belal·ions,

A

frum

ancient times to the epoch when Sukhothai lwcarnu capital uf I .;:. d ' ..,..,! " "'lign of' Rama IV hnt hotter known as an heroic poet who wrote mnong other W01•ks the heroin Talain{ttphai. 'l'hough I shall not pretend to :iuclge the work from its teclmicnl stanclpoin t., the present review is merely conside!'in g it as the literary work of a :f:nmous writer. In the metrical introdtwt.ion, the author points ont that he was then Kromamun Nujit-jinOl'os and Wl'Ote it for t.he guidance of his nephew Prince Kapitha, son of Rama II; that it. had been based on an original treatise, presumably in Pl.Lli, of the same name written by the Revel'end Uttaral'ama, who is only known here by this reference. 'l'he method of writing is to begin each section wit.h quotations :Erom the original Oal::1·adlrmnl and then dilate on each in a rhythmic prose sn common in

120

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS

Siamese literat.m·e under the name of 1'Ct•i. 'l'he giHt of t.hc> whole is prl•dict.ion of fol.'tune according to the day antl hnnl' o:f hirt.h aJttl so on.

The: second work is called Dak8aavya1awmw. H iR writt.Pn in v v HighneH~ Cnofa Cni, Kl·nmaln:Lllg'

the style of a l-ilit by HiR Royal

BiclakHamont.l'i (1770-1823), a son of one of the elder HiH!el'S of Rama I, who becmnca,tion, Histm·y of

.h "~ " u':ii:'ll'lfl':H:Yl'i'Hff'illrJTitm

-I

21() Page::;, octavo, 1952. TlriH fol'mecl a memonto of a celebration by the Millistry of Education, simi.lal' to the one descl'ihcd in the pl'ccoding review.

Tt eonsi::;ts of five chapters and an appendix.

'l'he fhsL chapter, dealing with the time prior to the formal establishment of a

Ministry, contains the Royal Proclamation whereby a Department of Education was created in 1888. This Do:txntment was raised five yearH later to the status of a Ministry.

The

P1~oclamation

is

interesting to the historian for the information it givel:l that up to

126

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS

that ~.late Litem~ was no olticial ot-g:tnisaLion which coutl'olled st.alr• edn cation. Having given this clue, the history goc~s hack in itH survey o:f educational facilities to the time of Sukhot,hai. Coming later to the clays of Ayudhya, we have the statement of de la LonlHJl'e Lhat the Buddhist monastic hl'ot.herhood taught chilcll'un and interpreted the Holy Scriptnses to the grown-ups. Pallegoix in tltP eal'ly clays of Bangkok is also eitecl. So was Sit· John Bowl'ing for his detailed and accurate infonrwt,ion ahont eclncation iu tho reign of King Mongknt. Si1· ;John, being a pet·sonal friend of !hal King, was bet;ter enabled to clesoeihe the offieial attitude with regarcl tn the dispemlatiou of education tu the people. Nor ~ere tlw art.s and handicrafts neglected. This survey brings us up to 1893. Fo1· t,he l'e~tcle1· looking for general informat,ion regat·lling Pclncatiou and eoncernecl witl1 its technique, Lhis part is obviously Uw most. in to resting. Ch~tpter II bring~ us from 189:\ clowJJ to the cn!l ol' the ruign of King Chnlalongkom in 1911. In this period Phyn Visnddha

Suriyasakcli, then Minister in Lonrlon, was commanded hy t.lw King to make an extensivt~ study of edueational syste.rns, t•usulting iu a . Sculpture in the later pel'iod of Aynthia had declined so much that it could not inspire any more the artists of Bangkok. Accordingly from the specimens in Bangkok we see the oKsenLial characterist.ics of Thai painting which may be summarised as follows: A . . . The large areas of the walls of the Wats enriched with painting are filled with a seemingly continuous composition but in reality they are various compositions of groups of small figures illustrating different subjects. These groups have as backgrouncl either the dnrk tone of the luxuriant tropical forest or have architectural feattlres; in general, architectural st.rnctures and human figures have light tints standing out from the dark background, B ...

'£he gestures and actions of the painted figures correspond exactly to the gestmes and actions of the miming Thai classic theatre. Thus as in Thai music· wbet·e different feelings such as joy, rage, love, sorrow, etc. are expressed by specific tunes, so in Thai painting different feelings are expressed by conventionalized expressive lines and gestures.

TRADITIONAL THAI PAINTING

153

0 . . .

Figmes such as that of Prince Gautama, of the Bodhisattavas, and royalt.y are rendered by very delicate distinct lines, the facial features always being expressionless. The figures of the royal attendants are rendered realistically, conveying the distinctiveness of their rank, but the face is always expressionless. 'rhe expressions and the designs of the common people are very realistic and are artistically rendered in a coarse way. The different artistic treatment of the figures representing different social classes is a characteristic originating, perhaps, from the Indian painting as we may notice in the beautiful Ajanta-frescoes where the representation of common people contrasts sharp .. · ly with the fine figures of the upper class.

D. . .

No Yiolent posture, nor realistic vulgar expression is to he found in old 'l'hai painting when treating stories of the J a taka, or other religions subjects. Also the scenes representing tense pathos are enveloped with snch a suave idealism that death too appears beautiful. Such a remark may be appHecl also to those compositions illustrating subjects from tho Rarnayana. Here the violence of t.hu combat,, of the clashing armies of Barna and Ravana, or the single combats between the leading characters of Valmiki's epic are rendered with such fine relationship of lines, spaces and masses that each group is a perfect harmonious unity.

Lines are the most important factor in 'l'hai painting, It is line that expresses; the fineness of the composition depends almost exclusively on its lines; line gives a sense of serenity and a melodious flowing character to the old painting. OOLOU RS 'l'he linear space is filled with fiat t,int.s aud 80 old 'l'hai painting is essentially two dimensional. The chromatic effect is enriched by gilding crowns, jewellery nnd some architectural elements as in real life and real structures. About the representation of l'eal life, we ,have to remember that once the Thai had

154

Professor C. Feroci

eliminated Chinese conventional influence they got direct insph·aLion from uature, natllral surroundings costumes, ceremonies, et.c. Accordingly these paintings represent a most valuable record of 'l'hai history. With regard to colonrs, if we consider the word decoration in the modern sense, that is to say as eombinat.ions of tints which give a flue and pleasant clll'omatic effect, then Thai painting is essential1y clecorative. It is well lrnown that Eastern peoples have a special taste and facility for arranging colours beant.ifu1ly, but it is also true that. some of these peoples abused vivid, jarring colotns, especcially when used ove1• large spaces. In 'l'hai painting we never not.ice large areas coloured with vivid striking tints. Further when there is some rather large space of red, this is counterbalanced and harmonized by gilded parts or by black or by other dark-toned tints. It was through the influence of Western art and the use of imported chemical colonrs that 'l'hai painting lost it.s purity and harmony, n is for this reason that, in referring to the paintings around the galleries of Wat Phra Keo, I have termed them a degenerate production.

Many times we have lamented the fact that mmal paintings are lwund to disappear on account of the atmospheric conditions of our country and to corroborate what I have been saying I wish to point out a remarkable instAnce. Six years ago the painters of the Fine Arts Department prepared some faithful reproductions in colour of some characterist.ic paintings to be exhibited in Londou. Among there copies there was one of a group of musicians from the Phratinang Buddhaisawan in Bangkok. On account. of damp~ ness the plaster preparation of this ra1•e painting rotted and the painJ:.ings vanished almost completely, For a long time I had admired this wonderful expression, and· in fantasy I thought I could hear the fine melody issuing from the musical instruments cleverly touched by those divine girls. Such losses are not regrettable for people in Thailand only, bnt for everyone who is tonch~d by beauty.

TRAD!TIONAL THAI PAINTING In lwhltlding tlu·

fiw~ K\Wdllll'llK

105

o( 'l'lmi painUngrt, we seem to

1h·•· amnu~~ t h• · 11 l.t 'fhai folks, :-;q Wllt Pil under t ltl' Hhadnw of the lowi.•t•iug n\ •.·1·gr•·•·n n:gt•latit•ll and t I'! ling each othet' the eherishod storii':-1 111' lit~• .latalw, ., !IJ' with awt• an(l in Hnlldm~ll voiees, l'epeuting illlllllllt'l'ahh• t illl•·~< t lw WlltHlrnus fadH of the Lord Budrlha's life. If tht· !ll\inting rdllti'H ttl tlw H:uuayana, tnu· imagination may see again !lw vxdti11g gt:Hlm:r~s of thP ~·uung peniJ1H listening to the W(J!lderfnl r•xph1its uf Hama.

IndePd lwr~> th•~ ln·ush ltaH maHterfnlly rovlaccd tlw 11en, leuving thP imagination of th•• lwholtlt•J• to eronte nn individual, lt•J.:Pntlnry :UHl mythh·a1 wnl'ld. painting~:~ havo so mnch to learn, tn rliSl'IIV