The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

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COUNCIL 01~
THE SIAM SOCIE'l'Y FOR 197i>-1976
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M.R. Pimsai Amranand
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Dr. Tern Smitinand
Mr. Kim Atkinson
Mrs. Katherine Buri
Mrs. Chamnongsri Rutnin
Dr. Chetana Nagavajara
H.E. Mr. F.B. Howitz
Mr. Graham Lucas
M.L. Manich Jumsai
Mr. F.W.C. Martin
Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul
Dr. Piriya Krairiksh
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JOURNAL
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JANUARY 197G
volume 64 part 1
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THE SIAM SOCIETY
JANUARY 1976

THE jOURNAL OF THE SIAM SOCIETY
contents of volume 64 part I january 1-976
Articles
Anthony R. Walker
C. Nelson Spinks
M-Au ng-Thwi n
Thamsook Numnonda
Labu Nyi (Red Lahu) New Year Texts-III
A Reassessment of the Annamese Wares
The Problem of Ceylonese-Burmese Relations
in the 12th century and the Question of an
Interregnum in Pagan: 1165-1174A.D.
The American Foreign Affairs Advisers in
Thailand, 1917-1940
Page
Mary Jane Gandour and
Jackson T. Gandour
John P. Ferguson and
A Glance at Shamanism in Southern Thailand 97
Shalardchal Ramitanondh Monks and Hierarchy in Northern Thailand 104
Donald K. Swearer
James B. Pruess
Amara Pongsapich
Laurence D. Stifel
Review Articles
M.C. Chand Chirayu
Rajani
Michael Vickery
Note
David K. Wyatt and
Dian Murray
Reviews
Phra Rajavaramuni
(Prayudh)
1
41
The Role of the Layman Extraordinaire in
Northern Thai Buddhism 151
Merit-Seeking in Public: Buddhist Pilgrimage
in Northeastern Thailand
Social Processes and Social Structure in Chonburi,
Thailand
_,
Patterns of Land Ownership in Central Thailand
During the Twentieth Century
Background to the Sri Vijaya Story-Part IV
The Lion Prince and Related Remarks on
Northern History 326
Manit Vallibhotama, taJtlnan sinhanavatikumara,
chabap sop gan
King Mangrai and Chiang Rung
53
75
169
207
237
275
378
The Buddha's Words. Extracts from the Pali
Canon translated by various scholars, collected
by Bhikkhu Khantipalo for the Buddhist Association
of Thailand 382

Herbert P. Phillips·
William J. Klausner
Michael Smithies
J.LS. Girling
Angus Hone
Je~emy H. Kemp
Jeremy H. Kemp
Michael Smithies
William J. Klausner
Henry Ginsburg
Carl A. Trocki
Carl A. Trocki
H. Leedom Lefferts, Jr.
Chalong Soontravanich
Ohit11ary
Volkmar Zuehlsdorff
Corrige11dtlm
Hans Penth
Page
Puey Ungphakorn, Best Wishes for Asia 385
Barbara and Leon Hawell, Editors: Southeast
Asians Speak Out, Hope and Despair in Many
Lands 386
P.B. Lafont et D. Lombard, Litteratures Contemporaines
de l'Asie du .. Sud-Est 388
G. William Skinner 'and A. Thomas Kirsch,
editors, Change and ~ersistence in Thai Society:
Essays in Honor of L~uriston Sharp 397
Prateep Sondysuvan; editor, Finance, Trade and
Economic Development in Thailand: Essays in
Honour of Khunying Suparb Yossundara 403
Chakrit Noranitipaduhgkarn, Elites, Power Structure
and Politics in Thai Communities 411
.,
Likhit Dhiravegin, Political Attitudes of the Bu-
.reaucratic Elite and Modernization in Thailand 413
Wibha Senanan, The Genesis of the Novel in
Thailand 417
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(Collected Articles of Francis H. Giles (Phraya
Indramontri) published by the Revenue Department
on its 60th Anniversary)
Suthiwong Phongphaibun,
(Nang
Talung)
William R. Roff, ed. Kelantan: Religion, Society
422
and Politics in a Malay State 425
Francisco De Sa De Meneses, The Conquest of
Malacca, translated by Edgar C. Knowlton Jr. 431
Milton Osborne, River Road to China : The
Mekong River Expedition, 1866-73 434
D.G.E. Hall, Henry Burney: A Political Biography 437
Mom Chao Ajavadis Diskul 442
Again: The Fortifications of Chiang San 445

LAHU NYI (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS--III
INTRODUCTION
by
Anthony R. Walker
The present article concludes a series in this Journal on the Lahu
Nyi (Red Lahu) new year celebrations. I began with an ethnographic
description of these celebrations, which includes English translations of
the ritual chants (Walker 1970a). In two subsequent articles (Walker
1974, 1975) I presented and analyzed the original Lahu texts of four of
these chants. Here I shall do likewise with the remaining five of the
texts that I recorded during a Lahu new year cycle in 1967. Each text
is pres en ted in three stages: Lahu transcription, "working translation"
and formal translation. The word-by-word working translation, although
leng~hy to reproduce, enables me to indicate areas of uncertainty or of
failure to understand the Lahu meaning which may be glossed over in a
formal translation.
The romanization used in the Lahu transcription of these texts is
described briefly in my 1974 JSS article (pp. 1-2) and in some detail by
Professor James A. Matisoff, a linguist, in his "Note on the Orthography
of Lahuu (Walker 1970b: xxxiii-v).L In 'the wmking translations here,
tone marks are omitted and hyphens added to join syllables into words,
as the standard orthography lamentably fails to indicate word boundaries.
For the ethnographic context of these chants the reader is referred
to my original article on the Lahu Nyi new year (Walker 1970a). A note
prefacing each Lahu text indicates the appropriate pages therein. In
reworking these texts l have corrected a number of errors in the English
translations which accompanied my ethnographic paper.
1. As in the previous two installments of these texts, I wish to acknowledge with
thanks the assistance I have r·eceiv·ed from my frierrd and coll'eague in Labu
studies, Professor James A. Matisoff of the Department of Linguistics, University
ol' Califl)rnia, Berkeley; and frorri my wife, Pauline, who has edited and
typed tbesl;l c,ijfficuh manuscripts.

2 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT FIVE
[Prayer by the senior village priest (to bo pa_) when making offerings at
the New Year Tree (hk'aw" ceh..,) in the centre of the village (cf. Walker
1970a: 24-6).]
1. Chi" beu,.. k'o" k'o, b.k'a" rna aw" ce" chi hta,.. haw, hk'a" bo aw" k'o_,
na....,.pu_paw sha hk'aw,.. meu" hta,.. haw, daw" sha bk'a" rna aw" ce..,,
bk'a.., g'a" chi g'~" hta,. haw, k'aw,.. hpaw leh ta_ pi".
2. Mvuh" naw ka ti,. ka" sbehn- ka sheh_ hpa", daw" bpu te" ca" mui..,
leh va" leb hk'aw chi law.., chi hk'a.., ve la.., leh veu,.. bpu veu,.. shi veu,..
la" leb hk'a.., g'a" chi g'a" hta,.. haw, na.:_ pu_ paw sha po hpaw leh
hk'a.., g'a" chi g'a" daw" sha ga" sha ti-' k'aw,.. hpaw leh ta_ pi".
3. No" g•a na_ pu_ hk'aw,.. nga" aw" to, nga.., u~.nga.., bpaw" k'aw,.. ce_
leh ka ti,.. ka" shehn- ka sheh_ bpa", hk'a.., g'a" chi g'a" hta,.. haw,
chaw ca_ chaw law" a" g'a ve, ne" ca_ ne" law" a" g'a ve.
4. Meu" law ka ti,.. ka" shehn- ka sheh __ hpa", no" g'a na_ pu_ hk'aw,..
nga" aw" to ve, no" g'a na_ pu_ daw" rna te" ha-:- k'aw" sub" .k'aw,..
hpaw leh na_ pu_ ga"' rna te" ha- k'aw"' sub" k'aw,.. bpaw leb ta_
pi"'.
5. Ya" k'a_ du.., k'a_ hk'aw,.. na..., ta" hki:-, chaw ca'- chaw law" a" g'a
ve, k'o_ haw- ce" va_ ce" sheh- g'a ka ve, k'o_ hta,.. chaw va_
chaw sheh- k'aw,.. g'a ka pi".
6. Na_ pu_ bk'aw ... nga" aw" to ve, no" g'a na_ pu_ ha· riga" aw"' to ve,
meu" law ka ti,.. ka" sbehn- ka sheh_ hpa", sho meu" kui" meu" hk'o"'
bta"' g'a pa" leh fui:_ pi"'.
7. Naw.., te" G'ui.., sha no" g'a na_ pu_sha yeb.., .sha to ka_, te" hak'aw"
suh" k'aw" g'a leh ta _pi", Na boNa sbC sha sub- te" bak•aw"
g'a leb ta_ pi", k'o_ haw- ce" va_ ce" sheh- k'aW,.. g'a bt
leh ta_ pi", k'o...:_ hta ... chaw' va_ chaw sheh~ k'aw" g'a ka leh ta~ pi~.
8. Nga ... te" peu.., sha_leh no" g'a na_ pu_ hk'aw" to hk'aw~ nga~ aw"
to ve, g'a ce_ g'a taw.., leb hk'at ma.aw" ce.., .chi haw_:. sha bon aw"
to ve,hk'a" o- k'o_ ya". kui" ya" k'a_ g'a ce_ g'a taw" leh te" nyi
sheh" yan" kay haw s'a ce~ s'a taw': h:b sho meu" lc\liv. llle\1" hk'o"

LAHU NYl (RED LAHU) NEW YEAH TEXTS-lll 3
hta ... kaov rna ha- sba- bti- bon kao" lav kao" k'aw" hpaw leh ta_
pi", la ... sha-. bpu ca, hpu g'a, la ... meh shi ca, shi g•a, ui" ka" i ka, chi
ma ve.
9~ Co" meh sho_ lo" te" a daw" ka_, bk'av g'a" chi g'a" kav haw, daw"
hpu te" ca" k'aw.., mui" leh ya ... nyi cho_ na_ pu_ hk'aw.., sub_ nyi
hta.., g'a nyi g'a ve, daw" sha bk'aw,. meu" hta haw, daw" sha ga" sha
ti- k'aw,., hpaw leh ta_ pi", rna" sub te" bon ka" haw, hk'av g'a" chi
g'a"' uiv kav i kav.
Verse 1
TEXT FIVE- WORKING TRANSLATION
I. chi·beu: now
2. k'o k'o, a phrase without meaning, added merely "to sound good"
3. hk'a·ma: village
4. aw: four
5. ce: corners
6. chi: this
7. hta·haw: inside. 3. 7 means "in this village" ("within the four
corners of this villa&e")
8. hk'a: village
9. ·bo from aw-bon : 'merit ·
10. aw: four
1 L k'o is apparently a classifier, either for houses or perhaps for corners
or recesses (personal communication, J.A. Matisoff); thus 8-11
probably means "within the confines of this meritorious village" . ·
12. na·pu : eternal (?). Some informants say. tbat na-pu is the name of
the sacred moon tree. According to some, Labu see the lunar
sh,adows. to form the shape. o( a tree~ , Tber~ is a myth to the effect
, that if hu111ans coul

Anthony R. Walker
16, hta-haw: at
17. daw-sha: happiness, literally "thinking (daw-ve) easy (sha)"
18. hk'a-ma aw ce: four corners of village (see 3-5 above)
19. hk'a-g'a chi-g'a (couplet): everybody (g'a is the classifier for people)
20. Jzta-haw : on
21. k'aw: again
22. hpaw: open [upon us]
23. leh: and
24. ta: put
25. pi: give. 12-25 "At this point where the old and the new year
meet, bestow upon all of us in the village eternal (?) wealth and
happiness".
Verse 2
26. mvuh-naw: heaven
27. ka-ti: all-true (from Burmese for "promise", thus "one who keeps
his promise")
28. ka-shehn: all-precious (from Shan shelm: jewel)
29. kq : to bold in the band
30. sheh-hpa: master, expert. 26-30 "You of the heavenly regions
who are (literally, hold in your hands) all truth and all that is
precious". A reference to the guardian supernatural of the new
year.
31. daw: thoughts
32. hpu: white, pure
33. te: one
34. ca: rope
35. mui: to work in the fields
36. leh: and
37. va leh (second part of couplet mui leh va leh): to work in the fields.
31-7 means "working in the field together, all joined together by the
same pure thought/intention", but as it refers not to people working
but to visitors coming from another village to attend the new- year
celebrations, it probably means simply that they- come ·11 united oy
the same pure intention"
38. hk'aw: hills

LAHU NY! (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-lll 5
39. chi: these
40. law : streams
41. chi: these
42. hk•a"ve : cross over
43. Ia: come
44. leh: and
45. veu: clothes
46. hpu : white
47. veu shi: clothes yellow
48. veu Ia : dress up
49. leh: and
50. hk'a-g'a chi-g'a: every person
51. hta-haw : upon
52. na-pu : eternal (?) (see 12)
53. paw-sha : wealth
54. po-hpaw: ? (probably no meaning except as second part of couplet
paw"sha po-hpaw)
55. leh hk'a-g'a chi-g'a: and everybody
56. daw-sha ga-sha (couplet): easy/goodfpleasantfuntroubled thoughts
(daw-ve: to think)
57. ti: only
58. k'aw hpaw: again open
59. leh ta pi: and put [and] give (see 23-5)
Verse 3
60. 11o-g'a : up there
61. na-pu : eternal (?) (see 12)
62. hk' aw : year
63. nga : bird
64. aw: four
65. to: bodies. 61-5 refers to four celestial birds which the guardian
of the year is said to possess (see note din formal translation)
66. nga-u : my
67. nga hpaw: my side
68. k'aw: again
69 .. ce : take care of

6 Anthony R. Walker
70. leh: and
71. ka-ti ka-shehn ka sheh-hpa: all-true, all-precious person (see 27-30)
72. hk'a-g'a chi-g'a hta-haw: upon everybody (see 19-20)
73. chaw ca chaw law a g'a-ve, literal meaning obscure but general sense
is "if people (chaw) try to kill any of the villagers, may they not
succeed (a g'a-ve) in doing so"
74. ne cane law a g'a-ve, literal meaning obscure, general· sense is "if
spirits (ne) attack tbe villagers, may these spirits not succeed in
harming them"
Verse 4
75. meu-law ka-ti ka-shehn ka sheh-hpa: all-true, all-precious master in
the heavens (see 26-30) (meu-/aw is a corruption of·the Thai muang:
country)
76. no-g'a na-pu hk'aw nga aw to ve: the four birds of the year up thete
(see 60~65). ·
77. no g'a: up there
78. 11a-pu: eternal(?) (see 12)
79; ...'daw-ma :· thoughts (frolri daw-ve l to think).
80. te ha : one night
81. k'aw suh: nine times
82. k'aw: again
83. hpaw: open [upon us] . ;
84. /eh: and
85. na-pu: eternal(?) (see 12)
86. ga-m a: thoughts (second part of couplet daw.-ve, ga~ve; • to. think)
87. te ha k'aw suh k'aw hpaw: one night nine times again open [upon us]
(see 80-83)
88. leh ta pi: and pul [and] give
Verse 5
89. ya-k'a du-k'a (couplet) : everybody, old and young ·
90. hk'aw na ta hki (couplet): all the sicknesses (na) of tbe,year (hk'aw)
91. chaw ca chaw law a g' a-ve: if people try to kill any of tb~ villagers,
may those people not succeed (see 73). 89-91 "May all the villagers,

LAI!ll NY! (HED LAHU) NR\V YEAR TEX'I'S--111 7
young and old;.suffer neither from any sickness during the year nor
from the assaults of. men bent on doing harm to them"
92. k'o-haw: underneath [the bouse]
93. ce~va ce~sheh (couplet): many animals {ce, poetic word for animals;
sheh from Shan "one hundred thousand")
94. g'a : can, be able to
95. ka-ve: hold in the band (here means "possess")
96. k'o-hta: inside [the bouse]
97. chaw-va chaw-sheh (couplet): many people (chaw: people; see 93)
98. k'aw: again
99. g'a: can, be able to
100. ka: hold in the hand (here means "possess")
101. pi: give. 92-101 ''May the villagers enjoy the blessing of many
animals underneath their houses (Labu houses are raised on piles
and animals shelter under them) and many people inside their
houses"
Verse 6
102. na-pu hk'aw nga aw to ve: eternal (?) four birds of the year (see
61-5)
103. no-g'a : up there
104. na-pu ha nga aw to ve: second part of couplet, rhyming with 102.
Ha nga: month birds (from couplet hk'aw nga ha nga: year birds,
month birds)
105. meu-law ka-ti ka-shehn ka sheh-hpa: all-true, all-precious master
in the heavens
106. sho meu : iron points
107. kui meu: copper points
108. hk'o~hta, accusative particle. 106-8 (couplet) "the. cuts of the
sharp points and edges of the knives and axes used in the fields"
109. g'a : can
110. pa : order
111. leh : and
112. fui: separate
\,

8 Anthony R. Walker
113. pi: give. 106-13 "Order that all the people be protected (literally
"separated from") the cuts of knives und axes"
Verse 7
114. naw: you
115. te: one
116. G'ui-sha: Divinity (G'ui-sha is the supreme and creating supernatural
of the Lahu people)
117. no-g'a: up there
118. na-pu: eternal (?) (see 12)
119. sha yeh, probably from G'ui-sha yeh: G'ui-sha's home (yeh: bouse)
120. sha to ka, probably from G'ui-sha aw-to : G'ui-sba's body
121. te ha k' aw suh : one night nine times (see 80-81)
122. k'aw g'a: again reach
123. Ieh ta pi: and put [and] give
124. Na-bo Na-shi (couplet) : Na-bo-ma, a female divinity, giver of
fertility
125. sha : prayers
126. suh, probably from aw-suh: new. 124-6 probably means "the new
prayers of Na-bo-ma"
127. te ha k'aw g'a leh ta pi : one night again reach and put [and] give.
Most likely the reciter of this prayer bas omitted some words here;
probably the correct version should be "te ha k'aw suh ~nine times]
k'aw g'a leh ta pi'' (cf. 87-8)
128. k'o-haw ce-va ce-sheh : underneath [the house) many animals (see
92-3)
129. k'aw g'a ka : again able to hold in the hand (see· 98-100)
130. leh ta pi: and put [and] give
131. k'o-hta chaw-va chaw·sheh k'aw g'a ka·leh ta pi: inside [the house]
many people again able to have, and put [and) give (see 96-10l)
Verse 8
132. nga: I
133. te peu: one time
l34. sha : pray

!t
l'
I
~'"' it~il·ff'$~ : up lht~H:' clcmai {'!) (!i.Cc l ::!)
I ~
hi%',,,~ I•• : yt:~r (ilW·I•l : twdy ), referring tc> birds in 138
IHI
,il~. ·,,.,. ifllll d'* f•l u•: rlll)r buds of the year (see 6~-5)
I
.r11 : C.H! il! !cw
l·#lL ww : ":an ~!m:!,!
l-3 ! , /t>h ; l:H~d
hl'~ wlm:h U1t: IC'!.:Itlllg pm:~l wishes to call
but I ~.::!:'c IU6
4mJ ; '!
,,, hwt: sumt tf'rnm Um·mci:ic· .l'ali San11krit)
1fm.J;ti: w rkh, rid1 nliHI (fn~rn UurnH::-.c· .. .Pali

10 Anthony R. Walker
164. shi : gold
165. ca : search for
166. shi g' a : gold get
167. ui-ka i-ka (couplet) : the big and the small
168. chi ma ve: all of these
Verse 9
169. co: over there
170. meh-slw-lo : Mae Saluam, a Lahu village on the Saluam stream
I 71. te a-daw ka : one headman
172. hk'a-g'a chi-g'a: everybody
173. ka-haw : here
174. daw hpu te ca: white/pure thoughts one rope (see 31-4)
175. k'aw mui: again work in the fields (see 35, 37)
176. leh : and
177. ya-nyi : today
178. cho : here
179. na-pu : eternal (?)
180. hk'aw : year
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
suh: new
nyi: day
hta: on
g'a: can
nyi: look
186. g'a-ve : can
187. daw-sha: easy thoughts, happiness (see 17)
188. hk'aw meu: year point, i.e. point at which the old year meets the
new
189. hta-haw : at, on
190. daw-sha ga-sha : easy jhappy thoughts (see 56)
191. ti: only
192. k'aw hpaw leh ta pi: again open [upon us] and put [and) give
193. ma suh : no death
194. te bon : one blessing
195. ka-haw : here
196. hk'a-g'a chi-g'a: everybody
197. ui-ka i-ka: the big and the small

1.
2.
LAHU NYI (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-III
TEXT FIVE-FORMAL TRANSLATION
Now, at this point where the new year meets the old, once again open
up and bestow upon everybody within the four corners of the village,
within the confines of this meritorious village, wealth and happiness.
You in the heavens who are all-true, all-precious, [these people]
united by the same pure intention have crossed over these hills and
streams,
they have come dressed up in white clothes and yellow
clothes, so once again bestow upon every person only wealth and
happy thoughts.
3. May the four eternal birds of the year up there once again take
care of my side, and you up there, the all-true, all-precious, if
people try to harm us let them not succeed and if spirits try to attack
us let them not succeed.
4. You in the heavens, the all-true, all-precious, may the eternal four
(a)
birds of the year up there nine times in one night again open up and
bestow upon all of us eternal thoughts,
open up and bestow upon us these eternal thoughts.
nine times in one night
Reference to H!~'aw,., Sheh_ hpa" (lit, "year master"), the guardian supernatural
of the year, the "keeper of the new year".
(b) The priest of my study village recited this prayer while making offerings at
the New Year Tree on behalf of visitors who had just arrived from the neighbouring
Lahu Nyi village of Mae Saluam.
(c) A poetic manner of saying "new and beautiful clothes".
(d) The guardian of the year is said to possess four celestial birds: two pairs. The
male birds are siblings. The elder male, na_ pu_ co ngeh": "eternal life bird"
(co: life), and his mate sing or cry out in prayer for the long life of the villagers.
The younger brother is called na_ heh ha nga": "eternal soul bird"
(awv ha: soul). He and his mate sing for the wa~dering souls of the villagers
which, on hearing this song, return to their owners. Lahu believe that sickness,
and eventually death, results when a soul leaves the body of its rightful owner
and fails to return.
(e) That is, "the people of my village".
(f) Probably this should have been "eternal happy/easy thoughts", i.e. na_jm_
daw" sha rather than na- pu_ daw" ma as the priest recited it.
11

12 Anthony R. Walker
5. May all of us suffer from no sickness during the year; if people try to
harm us Jet them not succeed; grant that we may have many animals
underneath our houses and many people inside our houses.
6. You in the heavens, all-true, all-precious, may your four eternal birds
of the year up there once again order that we be separated from the
points of iron and copper.

LAIIU NYJ (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-Ill 13
TEXT SIX
[Prayer by a household bead when ritually feeding the farming implements
with glutinous rice cakes (cf. Walker 1970a: 26-7).]
1. A-, chi hk'aw .... na_ pu_ hk'aw .... rneu" te" nyi zuh" g'a hta ... haw, aw
hpfuh ... k'aw .... htaw" leh a- htaw a- hte ... bta ... haw ca_ ve yo ... law
le k'o" k'o.
2. A-- htaw a- hte ... chive yuv leb mui ... ca" va" ca" ve yo ... k'o, a-, cbeh"
sha caw ... sha ti- caw.., g'a, chaw hkui meu" Ia ... meu" hta ... haw ta"
g'aw, shaw" meu" rna meu" yo ... law k'o, chaw hkui meu" Ia ... meu"
hta ... haw ta" g'aw.
3. A- htaw a- bte ... chi yu" leb mi.,.. ca" va" ca" ve yo" law le" k'o" k'o,
ca" leh daw" leba" peu.., ve ti- ca leh k'aw ... ta_ Ia" meb_.
4. Sho hpu kui" hpu hpaw sheh_ hpa", g'ui" rna ca li-, kui" hpu hpaw
sheh_ bpa" hpaw haw- k'aw ... ga ... ve, mui" ca" va" ca", ca" leh a"
peu" ve ti- caleb k'aw .... ta_ la ..., mui.., ca" va" ca", sho rneu" kui".
meuv chive yo.., law le" k'o" k'o, chaw hkui meu" Ia ... meu" rna" g'aw
ve.
TEXT SIX-WORKING TRANSLATION
[Roman numeral V refers reader back to Text Five, Working Translation.]
Verse I
l. a : oh I
2. chi: this
3. hk'aw : year
4. na-pu: eternal(?) (see V/12)
5. hk'aw meu : year point, i.e. point at which the old year meets the
new
6. te nyi: one day
7. zuh g'a : reached (?)
8. hta-haw : on. 1-8 "0b, on this day on which the old year bas
reached the new year", i.e. "this New Year's Day"
9. aw-hpfuh : glutinous rice cakes
10. k'aw: again
11. htaw: take up
12. /eh: and
13. a-htaw: large knives
Property of toe
Sbl!m. Society's Librar)
BANGKOK

14 Anthony R. Walker
14. a-hte: small knives. 13-14 constitutes a couplet which refers to
all the farming implements (axes, hoes etc.) as we!l as knives
15. hta-haw, accusative particle
16. ca-ve: give to eat
17. yo law le k'o k'o, a phrase without meaning, used because it is na
sha-ve : good to bear (see V /2).
By itself, yo means "yes"
Verse 2
18. a-htaw a-hte (couplet): farming implements (see 13-14)
19. chi-ve: these
20. yu: take
21. leh: and
22. mui-ca va-ca ve (couplet) : working in the fields
23. yok'o (see 17)
.24. a: oh!
25. cheh-sha : living easy
26. caw-sha : having easy. 25-6 (couplet) : health and prosperity
27. ri: only
28. caw : have
29. g'a : can. 25-9 "May we enjoy only health and prosperity"
30. chaw : people
3 I. hkui: feet
32. meu : points
33. Ia : hands
34. meu : points
35. hta-haw, accusative particle
36. ta g'aw : not cut
37. shaw meu ma meu (couplet): wood points, i.e. sharp points of wood
38. yo law k'o (see 17)
39. chaw hkui meu Ia meu hta-haw ta g'aw : do not cut the people's bands
and feet (see 30-36)
Verse 3
40. a-htaw a-hte chi: these farming implements (see 13-14)
41. yu leh : take and
42. mi-ca va-ca ve (couplet) : working in the fields (similar to 22)

LAHU NY! (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-III
IS
43. yo law /e k'o k'o (see 17)
44. ca leh : eat and
45. daw leh : drink and
46. a peu ve : not finish
47. ti: only
48. ca : search for
49. leh k'aw : and again
50. ta Ia : place, put
51. meh indicates humble request, "please"
Verse 4
52. sho : iron
53. hpu: white
54. kui hpu : copper white
55. hpaw sheh-hpa : opening masterfexpert
56. g'ui-ma : divine (of G'ui-sha, the supreme Lahu supernatural)
57. ca-li: blacksmith. 52-7 "You Divine Blacksmith who opens up
(makes manifest?) white iron and white copper"
58. kui hpu hpaw sheh-hpa : master opener of white copper (see 54-5)
59. hpaw : side
60. haw : under. 59-60 "under [your] side".
61. k'aw ga-ve: again reach. 52-61 "We once again reach [with our
prayers] to the side of the Divine Blacksmith''
62. mui-ca va-ca : working in the fields
63. ca leh : eat and
64. a peu-ve : not finish
65. ti: only
66. ca leh : search for and
67. k'aw : again
68. ta Ia : put
69. mui-ca va-ca : working in the fields
70. sho meu kui meu chive : iron points, copper points, these
71. yo law le k'o k'o (see 17)
72. chaw hkui meu Ia meu rna g'aw ve : do not cut the people's feet and
hands (see 30-36)

16 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT SIX-FORMAL TRANSLATION
1. Ob, on the completion of another year, I once again take glutinous
rice cakes and feed all the farming implements.
2. When we take up these farming implements and prepare our fields,
may we have only health and prosperity; may (the implements] not
cut the people's feet and hands; may sharp points of wood not cut
the people's feet or hands.
3. When we take these farming implements and prepare our fields, grant
only that the food and drink may not be exhausted; once again search
for and grant to us (this blessing].
4. I once again reach [with my prayer] to the side of the Divine Blacksmith,
Cn> you who reveal the white iron and the white copper; so
when we prepare our fields may the food not be exhausted; [this
blessing] alone seek for us and grant to us; when we work in the
fields may these sharp points of iron and copper, these sharp points
of wood, not cut the people's feet or hands.
TEXT SEVEN
[Prayer by a village elder when ritually offering food and drink to the
ancestors of the ho~sehold (cf. Walker 1970a: 27-30).]
I. ov, lawv pu_ Ca ... Shi- naw ... meu" ti,.. mvuh" mi ... peu_ g'a ve, dawv
ti,.. gav ti.., pfuh" sbeh_ hpa" cho ... hpaw" k'o" k'o, Ca.,. Da,.. naw.,., a-,
naw ... ya" cbo.,. bpaw" ve, ca" u- daw.,. u- tan_leh ca" u- daw.,. u­
tan_ leh ca" la" cev meh .
2. Ya ... nyi hk'aw,.. sub- ha sub- nyi naw.,. te" mo __ tev cu" jeh ... da,..
hto da,. veu la" leh ca" la-o.
3. A-, nawv meu" ti,.. mvub" mi.,. peu_ g'ave, dawv ti,. ga" ti" peu_
g'a ve, yeh ... rna aw" ce ... hpaw" meu" chi hta,. k'o" k'o leh rna" daw"
hki- rna" ga" daw" ha_ ve, chi bon k'aw,.. ta_leb ka pi", chi shik'aw,..
jtv leb ta_ pi".
(a) That is, the divine prototype blacksmith who dwells with ·o•ui-sha in the
heavenly regions (see Walker 1970b: 176-7).

LAIIU NYT (RIW LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-III 17
4. A- yu" co meu" hk'o" hta"' a-:-:, mi.., rna miv bk'a" a" hpui", neb
hk'a" ya" hk'a" rna" bpuiV, rni" co k'aw" hk'a" leh neb co hk'o" hta"
k'aw" ta_ pi", mvuh" coW leb ya" co bk'o" bta, k'aw,.. ta_ pi",
k'aw" co leh k'aw" va sba-, mi" rna chi hta, haw.
5. A-, pu" pu" sha" sha", bpa" k'a_ rna k'a_ ya" k'a_ duv k'a_, ce"
k'a_ Cav k•a_ chi rna bk'o" hta" haw, hpe" la sha hpa" hta" naWv
taw_ nawv sub- leb pov pi".
6. Te" nyi sheh" yan", te ha- sheh" yan", naw" ho- ti, ka ti,., pfuh"
sheb_ hpa", a-, mui" ca" va" ca" te" bpaw" ka", te" nyi rnui" ve chi
nyi ca" leh rna" peu", te" hk'aw,., mui" ve chi hk'aw,.. ca" leh rna"
peu" ve, chi bon ka" k'aw,., hpaw leh ta_ pi", chi shi- W leh ta~
pi".
7. A- yu.., co meu" hk'o" hta,.. k'o" k'o, no" law ba- pui k'aw rno", chi
co k'aw,.. ji" leh, a-, 1,1eh co ya" co hk'o" hta,., k'aw,., ta_ pi" meh_.
8. o-, o-. ca" la-o, dawv la-o!
9. Te" nyi muiv ve chi nyi ca" leh a" peu", te" hk'aw" mui" ve chi
hk'aw,.. ca" leh a" peu".
10. Naw" ho- ti,.. caw" sheh_ hpa", ka ti,.. caw" sbeh_ hpa", a-, sho
meu" kui" meu", shaw" meu" rna meu" hta,., hk'a deb,., taw_ leh
hk'a deb,.. sub- leh pov pi".
11. Te" nyi sheh" yan", te" ha- sheh" yan", chi hk'aw,.. tan_ 1eh o"
hpaw" k'ai ve, rna" g'a daw" hki- tu" ve, rna" g'a daw" ba_ tu" ve,
nawv ya" nawv duv chi rna ve, nawv haweh_ nawv ha" chi rna ve
kav, nawv ta" k'a_ ta" vi" pi" meh_, hk'a deb,.. taw_leh hk'a deb,..
suh- leh po" pi".
12. Te" nyi sheh" yan", meb na., g'ui., hk'e, g'ui" keh" ha- kebv hk'e
da,.. o.
13. Ya fi_ ka" peb., pehv daw., hti dawv, ya fi_ ka" meu"ti,mvuh" mi.,.
paw- g'a ve, daw" ti,.. ga" ti, pfuh" sheh_ hpa", pehv ca" hti ca"
nawv te" mo_ te" cu" ve.
14. Ca" she_ leh hk'a deb,., k'aw,.. pa" leh ta __ pi", mi.,. rna chi hta,.. haw
awv bon awv shi-, te" nyi mui.,. ve chi nyi ca" rna" peuy, te"' hk'aw,
'mui" ve chi hk'aw, ba bk'aw;. ca" leh rna" peu.; ve, aw" bon awv
shi- chive k'aw, hpaw leh ta_ pi".
15. Naw" baweh_ naw" ha" ta" k'a_ ta" vi" pi", naw" ho' ti,.. caw"
sheh,.. hpa" ka ti" cawv sbeh~ bpa", hk'a deb,.. nyi pi".

18 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT SEVEN-WORKING TRANSLATION
[Roman numerals refer to working translations of previous texts. Numbers
alone refer to this working translation.]
Verse 1
1. o: ohl
2. law-pu : Old Man, a title of respect
3. Ca-Shi: Mr. Gold, name of a man
4. naw: you
5. meu-ti: heaven
6. mvuh-mi ~ country
7. peu g'a-ve : ruling
8. daw-ti ga-ti (couplet) : all-wise (daw-ve ga-ve : to think)
9. pfuh: carry on the back
10. sheh·hpa : master, expert, owner. 8-10 "you who are all-wise",
"you who know everything"
1 I. cho : here
12. hpaw : side
13. k'o k'o has no meaning (see Vljl7)
14. Ca-Da: Mr. Good, name of a man
15. naw: you
16. a: oh!
17. naw: your
18. ya : children
19. cho hpaw ve : here on this side
20. ca u: firs.t (u) food
21. daw u : first drink. 20-21, foodand drink they have prepared for
you first, before eating themselves
22. tan : offer
23. leh : anq
24. ca. u daw u tan leh :. we offer you the first food and first drink (see
20-23)
25. ca : eat

LAHU NYI (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEX'l'S-111 19
2 7. ce : indicates that the reciter is offering the prayer on behalf of
others (in this case, the householders who have prepared the food)
28. rneh indicates humble request, "please"
Verse 2
29. ya-nyi: today
30. hk'aw suh ha suh (couplet): year new, month new
31. nyi: day
32. naw: your
33. te-mo te-cu (couplet) : group, community
34. jeh-da hto-da (couplet) : request
35. veu : dress up
36. Ia : come. 35-6 "dress and come"
37. /eh ca la-o : and eat come; "come and eat" (cf. 25-6)
Verse 3
38. a: oh!
39. naw: you
40. meu-ti rnvuh-rni (couplet) : heaven
41. peu g'a-ve : ruling
42. daw-ti ga-ti : all-knowing (see 8)
43. peu g'a-ve : ruling
44. yeh-ma ! house
45. aw ce : four corners. 43-4 "within the four corners of the bouse"
46. hpaw-rneu : side
47. chi-hta : in/on this
48, k'o k'o, no meaning (see Vl/17)
49. leh : and
50, ma daw hki rna ga daw have (couplet): ·no difficult/troubled/distressing
thoughts (rna : not, daw-ve ga•ve : to think, ha : difficult; hki
in first part of couplet has no meaning unless associated with ha in
second part) .
51, chi bon :· this blessing, boon
52. k'aw ta : again put
53, /eh: and

20 Anthony R. Walker
54. ka pi: give (pi ve: to give; I am uncertain of the meaning of ka
here)
55. chi shi : this blessing, boon (from couplet aw-bon aw-shi; cf, 51)
56. k'aw: again
57, ji: cover [us with]
58. leh ta pi: and put [and] give
Verse 4
59. a-yu co : life (co from co-ha : the life force, immortal soul)
60. meu: earth (Labu corruption of Shan and Thai muang: country)
61. hk'o-hta : on
62. a: ob!
63. mi-ma : earth
64. mi hk'a : .earth path, i.e, the life of the earth
65. a hpui : not decay
66. neh hk'a : women's path, i.e. lives of the womenfolk
67. ya hk'a : men's path, i.e. lives of the menfolk
68. ma hpui : not decay
69. mi co : earth life
70. k'aw : again
71. hk' a leh : beg and
72, neh co : women's lives
73. hk'o-hta, accusative particle
74. k'aw ta pi : again put [and] give
75. mvuh co : heaven's life (mvuh-naw-ma : heaven)
76. ji leh : cover and
77. ya co: men's lives
78. hk'o-hta, accusative particle
79. k'aw ta pi: again put [aD.d] give
80, k;aw co:· nine lives
81.
82.
leh k' aw va-sha : and nine festivals.
mi-ma : earth
83. . chi hta-haw : on this
80-81 "e.termtlly"
. . .. :,• . :

LAHU NY! (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-Ill 21
Verse 5
84. a: oh!
85. pu-pu sha-sha : (couplet) : everything
86. hpa-k'a : husbands
87. ma-k'a: wives (86-7 constitutes a couplet)
88. ya-k'a du-k'a (couplet) : children
89. ce-k'a ca-k'a (couplet): animals
90. chi-ma : all these
91. hk'o-hta-haw : on
92. hpe Ia sha hpa (couplet) : all kinds of diseases
93. hta : from
94. naw: you
95. taw : shield
96. naw: you
97. suh : side-step
98. leh po : and protect
99. pi : give
Verse 6
100. te nyi sheh yan : one day three times
101. te ha sheh yan: one night three times
102. naw: you
103. ho-ti: aU-knowing
104. ka-ti : all-true
105. pfuh sheh-hpa : carrying-on-the-back person (see 9-10)
106. a: oh!
107. mui-ca va-ca (couplet) : working in the fields
108. te hpaw : one side
109. ka : also
110. te nyi: one day
111. mui-ve : work in the fields
112. chi nyi : ten days
113. ca : eat
114. leh : and

22 Anthony R. Walker
115. rna peu : not finish
116. te hk'aw mui-ve chi hk'aw ca leh ma peu-ve: one year work in the
fields, ten years eat not finish (see 11 0-15)
117. chi bon : this blessing, boon
118. ka : also
119. k'aw hpaw leh : again open and
120. ta pi: put [and] give
121. chi shi: this blessing, boon (see 55)
122. }i leh : cover and
123. ta pi: put [and] give
Verse 7
124. a-yu co : life
125. meu : earth
126. hk'o-hta, accusative particle
127. k'o k'o, no meaning (see YI/17)
128. no-law : up there
129. ha-pui : stone
130. kaw-mo: kaw-mo-taweh, a sacred post (see note c of formal translation)
131. chi co : ten lives
132. k'aw Ji leh: once again cover and
133; a: oh!
134. neh co: women's lives
135. ya co : men's lives
136. hk'o·hta, accusative particle
137. k'aw : again
138. ta pi: put [and] give
139. meh indicates humble request, "please"
Verse 8
140. o, 0: Oh!.Oh!
141; ca la•o : come and eat l
142. daw la-o : come and drink!
r,,',

LAHU NY! (RED LAIIU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-III 23
Verse 9
143. te nyi rnui-ve chi nyi ca leh a peu : one day work in the fields, ten
. days eat not finish (see 110-15)
144. te hk'aw mui-ve chi hk'aw ca leh a peu : one year work in the fields,
ten years eat not finish
Verse 10
145. naw : you
146. ho-ti : all-knowing
147. caw : having, possessing (caw-ve: to have)
148. sheh·hpa : person, masterfexpert
149. ka-ti : all-true
150. caw sheh-hpa : possessing person
151. a:·oh!
152. sho rneu kui rneu (couplet) : iron points, copper points
153. shaw meu rna rneu (couplet) : wooden points
154. hta : from
155. hk'a-deh : carefully
156. taw leh : shield and
157. hk'a-deh suh leh: carefully side-step and
158. po : protect
159. pi: give
Verse 11
160. te nyi sheh yan, te ha sheh yan : one day three times, one night
three times
16 L. chi hk'aw : this year
162. tan /eh o hpaw k'ai-ve: and hereafter
163. rna g'a daw hki tu-ve, ma g'a daw ha tu-ve (couplet) : no troubled
thoughts (compare 50) ( g'a daw : can think)
164. naw ya naw du (couplet) : your children (cf. 88)
165. chi rna ve : all of these
166. naw haweh naw ha (couplet) : your grand((bildren (haweh) and your
~reat-~randchil~ren (ha)

,-·,
24 Anthony R, Walker
167. chi nza ve : all of these
168. ka : also
169. naw: you
170. ta k'a : not foolish
171. ta vi : not senseless. 170-71 forms a couplet
172. pi : give
173. melt indicates request, "please". 169-73 "do not make us foolish
and senseless"
174. hk'a-deh taw leh : carefully shield and
175. hk'a-deh suh leh : carefully side-step and
176. po pi: protect [and] give
Verse 12
177. te nyi sheh yan : one day three times
178. meh-na : streams (from Thai mae nam : river)
179. g'ui : water
180. hk'e: like
181. g'ui : water
182. keh : pure
183. ha : rock
184. keh : pure. 181-4 constitutes a couplet
185. hk'e: like
186. da-o: good
· Verse 13
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
. 192.
193.
ya-fi : opium
ka-peh : coffee
peh-daw hti-daw (couplet) : "divide up and smoke and drink"
(peh-da-ve ·: to divide, daw-ve : to smoke or to drink)
ya-fi : opium
ka: also
meu .. ti mvuh-mi (couplet) : heaven
paw: usv

LAHU NYI (1\ED LAilU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-Ill 25
194. g'a-ve : can
195. daw-ti ga-ti: all-wise (see 8)
196. pfuh sheh-hpa: carrying-on-the-back person
197. peh-ca hti-ca (couplet) : divide and eat (ca-ve : to eat; see 189)
198. naw : you
199. te mote cu ve (couplet) : one group
Verse 14
200. ca she : eat finished
201. leh hk'a-deh: and carefully
202. k' aw pa : again order
203. leh ta pi : and put [and] give
204. mi-ma : earth
205. chi hta-haw : on this
206. aw-bon aw-shi (couplet) : blessing, boon
207. te nyi mui-ve, chi nyi ca ma peu : one day work in the fields, ten
days eat not finish
208. te hk'aw mui-ve : one year work in the fields
209. chi hk'aw : ten years
210. ha hk'aw : one hundred years
211. ca leh ma peu-ve: eat and not finish
212. aw-bon aw-shi chi-ve : this blessing, boon
213. k'aw hpaw: again open up
214. leh ta pi : and put [and] give
Verse 15
215. naw haweh naw ha : your grandchildren and great-,grandchildren
216. ta k'a ta vi (coup.let) : not foolish or senseless
217. pi: give
218. naw: you
219. ho-ti caw sheh-hpa: all~knowing having person (see 146-8)
220. ka-ti caw sheh-hpa : al1-true having person (see 149-50)
'
221. hk' a-deh : carefully
222. nyi: look [after us]
Z23. pi : ~ive

26 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT SEVEN-FORMAL TRANSLATION
1. Oh old man Ca Shi, you who rule over the heavens, you who know
all things, and you also Ca Da, your children here on this side
have prepared for you this food and drink, so come and eat this
food and drink which they offer to you.
2. On this day of the new year, day of the new month, tell all your
group to dress and come here and eat.
3. Oh you who rule in the heavens, you who know all things, once
again bestow and cover [the people] within this house on earth with
the boon that they may suffer no troubled thoughts.
4. As the earth does not decay, so may the lives of the womenfolk and
the lives of the menfolk suffer no decay; since we once again beg for
life as enduring as the earth, once again grant it for the women's
lives; cover the men with life as enduring as the heavens, once
again grant [them] life as eternal as this earth.
5. Shield and protect from all kinds of disease the husbands and wives,
their children, their animals and all their possessions.
6. Three times in one day, three times in one night, you who know all
things, you who are all-true, once again open upon us and bestow
the boon that when we are working in our fields, if we work for one
day in the fields there will be enough to eat for ten days, and if we
work for one year in the fields there will be enough to eat for ten
years.
7. Once again -grant and cover the lives of the womenfolk and the
lives of the menfolk that they may be as enduring as the life of the
earth, as enduring as the life of the stone kaw-mo-taweh up there.
(a) Ca Shi and Ca Da are ancestors of the people offering the feast. "The heavens"
here refers to the land of the dead, and the reciter of the prayer calls these,
ancestors "rulers" in order to flatter them.
(b) Thatis, "all the other ancestors up there in the land of the dead".
(c) The white stone post which is the divine prototype of the sacred wooden posts
jn the courtyard of!! Lahu Nyi temple (cf. WalkQr 19701;>; 205-6).

LUlU NYI (HED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-III 27
8. Oh come to eat and drink I
9. If we work for one day in the fields, may there be enough to eat for
ten days; if we work for one year in the fields, may there be enough
to eat for ten years.
10. You who know all things, you who are all-true, carefully shield and
protect us from the points of iron and copper, from the sharp
points of wood.
11. Three times in one day, three times in one night, from this year and
henceforth carefully protect and shield all your children, your
grandchildren and your great-grandchildren, that they may not
suffer from troubled thoughts; let them not be foolish or senseless.
12. Three times in one day, let them be as pure as the waters of the
streams, as pure as the river stones.
13. Divide up and smoke this opium, divide up and drink this coffee;
you can use this opium in heaven also; you who know all things,
you and your group divide and consume [all these offerings].
14. When you have finished eating, carefully once again order and
bestow upon these people here on earth this boon, that when they
work for one day in the fields there may be enough to eat for ten
days, and when they work for one year in the fields there may be
enough to eat for ten years, for one hundred years; this boon again
open up and grant to them,
15. Do not allow your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren to be
foolish or senseless, you who know all things, you who are all-true,
carefully watch over them.
(d) That is, "all the farming implements which may cut our hands or feet",

28 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT EIGHT
[The. village headman's prayer before removing the Year Tree at the
conclusion of the New Year celebrations (cf. Walker 1970a: 31-2).]
1. o·-, o-, chi hk'awA hk'aw" sheh_ ha sheb_ hpav yo.,. law le" k'oA
k'o, a daw"' hk'aA rna aw" ce.,., to bo hk'aA ma awv ce ... ve, a-, ui ... ka.,.
i ka.,. ve, hk'aw ... g'oA chi g'o" ve, bk'aw ... g•av chi g'av ve yo ... law le"
k'o" k'o, hk'aw ... g'oA chi g'o .... ku.,. k'aw ... ku.,. hki" leh, a-, neb- hk'aw A
ti g'a ve yo" law le" k'oA k'o, sho tcuh- kui" tcuh- hk'o" htaA k'aw A
po" leb hk'aw ... na.,. ta" hki-, sho ba" kui" ba" hk'o" htaA k'aw ... po.,.
leh na ... beuv sub_ chi suh_ yan_ hk'o" htaA k'aw A pov la.
2. A-, neh- hk'aw ... ti g'a ve yo.,. law le" k'o" k'o, g'ui.,. rna ha- shahti-
k'ao.,. li" ve, k'awA hpa_leh keu piv meh_, bk'awv g'o ... chi g'oA
k•o_ haw- k'o_ hta"' k•o_ haw- k'o" k'o ce" va_ ce" sbeh' g'a ka
leh k'o_ htaA k'oA k'o chaw va_ chaw sheh- g'a ka ve.
3. A-, neb- hk'awA ti g'a ve yo.,. law le" k'oA k'o, hpev la sha hpaA la.,.
hta" ve, hk'a.,. g'oA chi g•o .. yov law le" k•oA k'o,a pa Sba- CaA hk'aw ...
sbeh_ ha sheb_ hpa", hk'a deb,.. nyi, hk'a deb,.. taw_ pi" rneh_.
4. Hk'aw., g'o ... chi g'o..., bk'a., g'a" chi g•av hk'o ... ·hta"' sho ba" kui" ba"
hk'o" hta" rna" g'a g'aw leh hk.'aA rna aw" ce.,. daw" hpu te" she" rnui"
leh ga" hpu te" she" ti rnui.,. leh hk'aw A nav ta" hki- rna" caw.,. g'a ve,
chi rna ve yo.,. law le·" k'oA k'o, hk'aw Ana" ta" hki- rna" g'a g'aw la".
5. A-, she_le_ sha ta" ho" ho" caw" caw" hk'o" btaA k'aw" pa_ k'aw ...
g'o" leh ho_ pi", hk'aw.,. g'o, chi g'o,., hk'aw" g•av chi g•av chi rna ve,
a daw" hk'a" rna aw" ce" chi rna ve, a-, hk'aw,.. sheb_ ba sbeh_
hpa", neb- bk'aw ... YOv law le" k'o" k'o, mav g'a daw" ha_ ga" hkive.
6. Hk'av g'o,.. chi g'o ... she_ le __ sha ta" ho" ho" c~w" caw" ve, a- hk'o"
bta,.. yo.,. lawle"' k'o" k'o, hpu rnui_ hpu sheh-, hk'aw ... g'o ... chi g'o,..
hk'o" hta,.. bi"' g'a ve yo.,. law le" k'o" k'o, rna" g'a daw ha __ . ga" hki:­
ve, chi. bon ti- k'aw ... pa" leh keu.la" ce".
7. Ya ... nyi tan_ o" k'aive, na __ pu_ hk'

LAHU NY! (RED Lt\Hll) NEW YEAR TEXTS-III 29
8. Chi" beu" YOv law lev k'o" k'o leb.,. mav k'a 0 peuv ve yo", chi hk'aw A
hk'aw" sheb_ ha sheh_ hpa", a-, ya,. nyi che" ve yo ..., peu ... ve yo",
ya,. nyi yo ... law le" k'o" k'o, k'aw" shu leb mo" hk'a" ja" ba ... she_ ve
yo.,..
9. Hk'aw li" chili" a pa Sha- Ca" ka ti" ka sbeb- bpa'

30 Anthony R. Walker
22. sho tcuh kui tcuh (couplet): iron and copper "joints" (as in va"' tcul("":
joint of a bamboo), i.e. the knives and axes
23. hk'o-hta : from
24. k'aw po leh : again protect (literally, po: let pass) and
25. hk'aw nata hki (couplet) : all sickness of the year
26. sho ba kui ba (couplet) : iron and copper, i.e. the knives and ax:es
(lam uncertain of the meaning of ba, possibly "pieces")
27. hk'o-hta : from
28. k'aw po leh : again protect and
29. na-beu : sicknesses
30. suh-chi-suh yan : seventy-seven kinds
31. hk'o-hta : from
32. k'aw po-/a: again protect
Verse 2
33. a:oh!
34. neh hk'aw ti g'a-ve : until next year (see 18-20)
35. yo law le k'o k'o (see VI/17)
36. g'ui: of G'ui-sha, the supreme Lahu supernatural
37. ma-ha : great
38. sha-hti: to be very rich; rich man
39. k'ao : ?
40. li-ve from aw-li : custom. I think 36-40 means "may we partake of
G•ui-sha's great wealth"
41. k'aw : again
42. hpa : create
43. leh: and
44. keu pi: put on [and] give [to us]
45. meh indicates humble request, "please"
46. hk'aw-g'o chi-g'o : every household
47. k'o-haw : underneath
48. k'o-hta : inside
49. k'o-haw : underneath
50. k'o k'o (see VI/17)

S6.
··100,()0()")
A!ii·'~'t'
: c11n
58. 111: oh!
60.
61.
i'id ifl'aw fi 1'¥N'I' : tmtit fH::ld )'t"U
1'0 lflw If A.'~ k'o 'lUt1)
l!ii (IC4)Uph:U : t?} ((;f. b~ ~ ~~~~ . u• : to
wt : ? (problbly
(lftl)'l
tU'!4tC fKH lbt *>Uf.l·f~me, tl!lbY
H~re it .to blvd yet rtf~.:tret:U, tbc (.:huudum
OllUr1l c~f the
61. ~~~·tliil' s:hllt hD .;h#h.hpD : of lb

32 Anthony R. Walker
77. sho ba kui ba (couplet) : pieces (?) of iron and copper, i.e. the farming
implements
78. hk'o-hta, accusative particle
79. ma g'a g'aw: not can cut (cannot cut)
80. leh : and
81. hk'a-ma aw ce: village four corners
82. daw : thoughts
83. hpu : white/pure
84. te she, classifier, also used with cehv: tree, so for 81-4 we might
translate "all within the four corners of the village uqited as one
tree-trunk by the same pure intention"
85. mui leh : work in the fields and
86. ga hpu te she, same meaning as 82-4; daw hpu ga hpu constitutes a
couplet
87. ti : only
88. mui leh : work in the fields and
89. hk'aw na ta hki (couplet) : sicknesses of the year
90. ma caw : not have
91. g'a-ve : can
92. chi ma ve : all these
93. yo law le k'o k'o : (see VI/17)
94. hk'aw na ta hki : sicknesses of the year
95. ma g'a: cannot
96. g'aw Ia : count. 94-6 (cf 89-92) "May we be troubled by no sickness
throughout the year''
Verse 5
97. a: ohl
98. she-le : dignity, style, respect (opposite of shame)
99. sha-ta : money (corruption of Thai satang)
I 00. ho-ho caw caw : oh ho, have have I 98-100

LAIIU NY! (RED LAIIU) C'

34 Anthony R. Walker
132. leh keu Ia : and bestow
133. ce indicates the request is being made on behalf of somebody else;
in tbis case, all the villagers
Verse 7
134. ya-nyi tan o k'ai-ve: from today and hereafter
135. na-pu hk'aw ceh chi : eternal(?) year-tree this (see I/12)
136. yo law le k'o k'o (see VI/17)
137. hk'aw ceh chi: year-tree this
138. chi-beu : now
139. ya-nyi tan o k'ai-ve : from today and hereafter
140. k'o k'o (see VI/17)
141. g'aw leh: pull out and
142. mo-hk'a-ja : bottom of the village
143. ba she-ve : throw away
144. yo law le k'o k'o (see VI/17)
145. leh : and
146. ta yu tu, ta yu hk'a Ia (couplet) : do not punish
147. ce indicates request on behalf of somebody else (see 133)
Verse 8
148. chi-beu: now
149. yo law le k'o k'o (see VI/17)
1 SO. leh ma k'a o (I fail,to understand the individual words; informant
told me tbat this means "a prohibition ordained from above")
151. peu-ve : finished
152. yo : yes. 148-52 means something like "Now the restrictions
placed upon us during the new year period (cf. Walker 1970b: 34-5)
are finished"
153. chi hk'aw: this year
154. hk'aw sheh h~ sheh-hpa: masterfkeeper of the year and of the
month ·
155. a: oh!

LAHU N' I (HEll LAHU} NE\\ YEAH TI•:XTS-111 35
156. ya-nyi : today
157. che-ve : broken
158. yo: yes
159. peu-ve yo: finished yes. 156-9 means the same as 148-52
160. ya-nyi: today
161. yo law /e k'o k'o (see VI/17)
162. k'aw shu: again pull out
163. leh mo-hk'a-ja ba she-ve yo: and throw away down there at the
bottom of the village (see 142-3)
Verse 9
164. hk'aw li: year customs ( awv li" : custom)
165. chi li : these customs
166. a-pa Sha-ca: Father Sha-ca (see 65-6)
167. ka-ti: all-true
168. ka sheh-hpa: holding-in-the-band person
169. teh ta Ia : put (?)
170. leh.: and
171. naw hta : you (naw: you hta; accusative particle)
172. ta : oppose, contradict (?)
173. ma he : do not
174. naw: you
175. neh hk'aw : next year
176. k'aw peu : again rule
177. g'a: can, be able
178. yo law le k'o k'o (see VI/1 7)
179. leh : and
180. · ta yaw Jaw, ta yaw hai Ia (couplet) : do not curse, do not speak
evil
181. ce indicates request made on behalf of somebody else
182. hk'aw-g'a chi-g'a : everybody
183. hta, accusative particle
184. 0, o : oh! oh! (marks end of prayer)

36 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT EIGHT -FORMAL TRANSLATION
1. Oh, this year, keeper of the year, keeper of the month, throughout
the year once again protect from the cuts of the knives and axes the
big and the small, every household, every person within the four
corners of the headman's village, within the four corners of the
to-bo-pa's village; yes, until next year once again protect every
household and every person from the cuts of knives and axes, from
all sicknesses of the year, from the seventy-seven kinds of
sickness. c.
2. Ob, throughout the year please create for us and bestow upon us
divine wealth; grant to every household many animals underneath
the house, many people inside the house.
3. Oh, throughout the year, Father keeper of the year, keeper of the
month, carefully watch over us and carefully shield every household
from all sickness.
4. Grant to every household, every person, that they not be cut by
knives nor axes, that united by the same pure intentions everybody
within the four corners of the village may together prepare the
fields; grant that througltout the year nobody may suffer from
sickness.
5. Oh, keeper of the year, keeper of the month, once again order, once
again reach out for [this blessing] and cover every household, every
person within the four corners of the headman's village with great
wealth such that people will talk of our fine style; until next year
let us suffer no troubled thoughts.
(a) The to-bo-pa is the senior priest in a Lahu Nyi village (cf. Walker 1970b: 190).
(b) That is, "all sickness which we might suffer during the coming year''.
(c) The number seventy-seven is used here to indicate "all kinds".
my informants its use has no deeper symbolic connotation,
According to
(d) The Shan numeral shehn "one hundred thousand" is used here to suggest "a
multitude". Lahu Nyi houses being raised on piles, the space underneath
them is used for sheltering livestock.

LAIIU NY! (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-Ill 37
6. Once again order and bestow upon every household this boon alone
that all of them may enjoy great wealth such that people will talk of
their fine style.
7. Today the villagers pull out this eternal tree of the yearc•> and throw
it away down there at the bottom of the village; they request that
you please do not punish them.
8. Now the rites and restrictions are over; today ob keeper of the year,
keeper of the month, the new year festivities are finished so we once
again pull out the tree of the year and throw it away down there at
the bottom of the village.
9. All-true Father who ordains the customs of the year, we do not mean
to offend you; next year you may rule again; do not curse us, do not
speak evil of any of the people.
TEXT NINE
[A household head's prayer before removing the rice cake altar ( aw _
hpfuh,. hti_) from his house (cf. Walker 1970b: 33).]
1. A-, ya,. shaw- ~w- bpfub,. hti_ yu., leb no" lo na_ pu_ bk'aw,.
sheh_ hpa", na_ beh ba sheh_ hpa" no" ve.
2. A-, chi bk•aw,. te" hk'aw,. mui., leb chi hk'aw,.. ca" ma" peu" ve, te"
nyi mui., ve chi nyi ca" ma" peu., ve, chi bon ji" leh ta_la", chi shiji"
leh ta_ la".
3. K'o_ hta, k'o chaw baweh., na" baweb.,, k'o_ haw- k'o ce" haweb.,.
ca., haweb.,, ma" daw" hki- kui., ma" daw" ha_ kuiv ve, chi bon
k'aw,., hpaw leh ta_ la", chi shi- k'aw,. ji" leh ta_la".
4. Neb- hk'aw ... te" hk'aw" k'aw ... zuh ve k'aw ... lo_ k'aw,.. tan" leh k'aw ...
sha" da ... a le".
(e) The "tree of the year" is a bamboo altar erected during the new year period
in the middle of the village.

38 Anthony R. Walker
TEXT NINE-WORKING TRANSLATION
[Roman numerals refer to previous working translations.
alone refer to this working translation.]
Numbers
Verse 1
1. a: oh!
2. ya-shaw : this morning
3. aw-hpfuh : glutinous rice cake
4. hti : altar
5, yu: take
6. leh: and
7. no-lo : up there
8. na-pu: eternal (?) (see V /12)
9. hk'aw sheh-hpa : year keeper
10. na-heh : ? (probably only second part of couplet 11a-pu na-heh)
11. ha sheh-hpa : month keeper
12. no-ve : up there
Verse 2
13. a: oh!
14. chi hk'aw : this year
15. te hk'aw mui leh chi hk'aw ca ma peu-ve: one year work in the fields,
ten years eat not finish (see Vll/116}
16. te nyi mui-ve chi nyi ca ma peu-ve : one day work in the fields, ten
days eat not finish
17. chi bo11 : this blessing/boon
18. ji : cover
19. leh ta7a: and put [upon us]
20. chi shi ji leh ta Ia : repeats 17-19 using second part of couplet awbon
aw-shi : blessing, boon
Verse 3
21. k'o·hta : inside [the house]
22. k'o (see VI/17)
23. chaw-haweh na-haweh (couplet) : many people

LAHU NY! (RED LAHU) NEW YEAR TEXTS-l!l 39
24. k'o-haw : underneath [the bouse]
25. k'o(seeVI/17)
26. ce-haweh ca-haweh (couplet) : many animals
27. ma daw hki kui, ma daw ha kui ve (couplet) : no troubled thoughts
(compare VII/50, 163, VIII/116)
28. chi bon : this blessing/boon
29. k'aw hpaw : once again open
30. leh ta la : and put [upon us)
31. chi shi k'aw ji leh ta la: this blessing/boon once again cover [us
with] and put [upon us] (see 28-30)
Verse 4
32. neh hk'aw : next year
33. te hk'aw : one year
34. k'aw: once again
35. zuh-ve : completed
36. k'aw lo : ?
37. k'aw tan : once again make offerings
38. leh k'aw sha : and once again pray
39. da a le : well (?)
TEXT NINE-FORMAL TRANSLATION
1. Oh eternal keeper of the year, keeper of the month up tbere;this
morning I remove the rice cake altar.
2. Oh this year, when we work in the fields for one year may there be
enough to eat for teQ years; when we work in the fields for one day
may there be enough to eat for ten days; with this blessing enwrap
us.
3. This boon once again open up and bestow upon us, with this boon
once again enwrap us, that there be many people inside the house
and many animals underneath the house; that we suffer from no
troubled thoughts.
4. Next year we will once again make offerings and once again pray
well to you.

40 Anthony R. Walker
MATISOFF, James A.
REFERENCES CITED
1970 "Note on the Orthography ofLahu" in WALKEH (t970b: xxxiii-v).
WALKER, Anthony R.
1970a "The Lav Hu_ Nyi- (Red Lav Hu_) New Year Celebrations", .Tournai
of the Siam Society LVIII Part 1, 1-44.
1970b Lah11 Nyi (Red Lahtt) Village Society and Economy in North Thailand.
Chiang Mai: Tribal Research Centre. 2 vols. mimeographed.
1974 "Labu Nyi (Red Lahu) New Year Texts-1", .lo11rnal of the Siam Soci~ty
LXII Part 1, 1-26.
1975 "Lahu Nyi (Red Labu) New Year Texts-ll", .Jounzal of the Siam Society
LXIII Part 2, 161-98.

A REASSESSMENT OF THE ANNAMESE WARES
by
C. Nelson Spinks
Very little bas been researched and published on that large body of
Southeast Asian ceramics commonly known as Annamese wares. There
are relatively few pieces of these wares in the more well known museums
and private collections. Sufficient information on them bas now been
developed, however, from recent finds in Indonesia and the Philippines
to warrant some comment on them and to speculate on their overall place
in the Southeast Asian ceramic spectrum.
For the most part, the Annamese wares reflect strong and unmistakable
Chinese influences, representing part of that general sinofied
overlay found in Vietnamese culture. This point is particularly true of
Annam and Tonkin, the more northern parts of Vietnam, because of
their close proximity to southern China and their long and close cultural,
economic and political relations with the Chinese. In their ceramic
work, the Annamese potters expressed in their own native way some of
the styles and techniques of the potters of Kiangsi in Ch,ina.l
I) Succinct and accurate accounts of the Annamese wares are found in John
Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains in the Ardebil Shrine (Washington, D.C. :
Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, 1956, pp. I 0 3-05; William
Bower Honey, The Ceramic Art of China and Other Countries of the Far East (New
York: American Edition, The Beachhurst Press, 1954), pp, 164-66; and the
helpful comments of Soame Jenyns in his Ming Pottery and Porcelain (American
Edition, New York: Pitman Publishing Company, n. d., passim: Annamese
wares found in the Philippines have been discussed at length by Cecilia and
Leandro Locsin, on the basis of their extensive excavations of pre-Spanish
burial sites in the Philippines, in their 01·iental Ceramics Discovered in the
Philippines, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
1967, passzm,· another excellent account of Anname'se wares, based largely on
finds in Indonesia, is E. W. Van Orsoy de Flines, Guide to the Ceramic Collection
(Foreign Ceramics) Djakarta: Museum Pusat Djakarta, the English translation
of the original work written in Dutch, that was published in 1969, pp.
59-68. The most detailed account of Annamese wares, but with some errors
and misconceptions, is the work of a noted Japanese ceramic specialists, Okuda

A REASSESSMENT OF THE ANNAMESE WARES
by
C. Nelson Spinks
Very little bas been researched and published on that large body of
Southeast Asian ceramics commonly known as Annamese wares. There
are relatively few pieces of these wares in the more well known museums
and private collections. Sufficient information on them bas now been
developed, however, from recent finds in Indonesia and the Philippines
to warrant some comment on them and to speculate on their overall place
in the Southeast Asian ceramic spectrum.
For the most part, the Annamese wares reflect strong and unmistakable
Chinese influences, representing part of that general sinofied
overlay found in Vietnamese culture. This point is particularly true of
Annam and Tonkin, the more northern parts of Vietnam, because of
their close proximity to southern China and their long and close cultural,
economic and political relations with the Chinese. In their ceramic
work, the Annamese potters expressed in their own native way some of
the styles and techniques of the potters of Kiangsi in Ch,ina.l
I) Succinct and accurate accounts of the Annamese wares are found in John
Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains in the Ardebil Shrine (Washington, D.C. :
Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, 1956, pp. I 0 3-05; William
Bower Honey, The Ceramic Art of China and Other Countries of the Far East (New
York: American Edition, The Beachhurst Press, 1954), pp, 164-66; and the
helpful comments of Soame Jenyns in his Ming Pottery and Porcelain (American
Edition, New York: Pitman Publishing Company, n. d., passim: Annamese
wares found in the Philippines have been discussed at length by Cecilia and
Leandro Locsin, on the basis of their extensive excavations of pre-Spanish
burial sites in the Philippines, in their 01·iental Ceramics Discovered in the
Philippines, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
1967, passzm,· another excellent account of Anname'se wares, based largely on
finds in Indonesia, is E. W. Van Orsoy de Flines, Guide to the Ceramic Collection
(Foreign Ceramics) Djakarta: Museum Pusat Djakarta, the English translation
of the original work written in Dutch, that was published in 1969, pp.
59-68. The most detailed account of Annamese wares, but with some errors
and misconceptions, is the work of a noted Japanese ceramic specialists, Okuda

42 C. Nelson Spinks
Even less research has been undertaken or published, however,
concerning the kilns that produced the Annamese wares, or on their
potting, glazing and firing techniques. We do know, however, that these
kilns were located in the general area around Hanoi in Tonkin. For
example, at Thanh Hoa, about 175 kilometres south of Hanoi, there
were, and presumably still are, excellent deposits of kaolin and feldspar,
while other deposits of these essential ceramic materials were also
available in and around Trieu, some 52 kilometres west of Hanoi on the
main road to the seaport of Haiphong. 2
Many Annamese wares of a great variety of types were produced
for local use, and presumably are still made today, at the village of
Huong-canh, about 47t kilometres northeast of Hanoi on the main road to
Viet-tri. There was also a large pottery village at Tho-ha, four kilometres
from the provincial capital of Bac-ninh, itself some 30 kilometres
northeast of Hanoi.
Bac-ninb was also of significance for its ceramic
production. In fact, its principal factory was first built in I 465 A.D.,
reportedly by Chinese potters who came to Bac-ninb from Lau-khe.
According to Vietnamese legend, Lau-khe was also where the first mainland
Chinese pqtter, one Hoang Quang Hung, allegedly settled in the 3rd
century B.C., thereby instituting the potters' craft in Annam.
The first
ethnic Vietnamese potters is said to have been one Truong Trung Ai
who also settled at Lau-kbe.
Another important pottery center in Annam is Bat-trang, the name
of which literally means "Pottery Factory."
This site is at a town only
about 10 kilometres due south of Hanoi on the Red River and on the road
to Ninh-binh and Than-boa. This center is said to have been established
Sei-ichi, Annam Toji Zenshu, ( "Annamese Pottery,"), Tokyo: z~~ho·I;ress·,
1954, More recently, a scholarly and critical account of the Annamesc wares
was prepared by William Willetts and published in his Ceramic Arts of Southeast
Asia (Singapore: The Southeast Asia Ceramic Society, 1971) pp. 9-1
and "Descriptive Notes," pp. 30-48, with Plates Nos. 21-48, which offer
some photographs of excellent examples of Annamese wares.
2) Willetts, op. cit., pp. 9·1 0.

A HEASSESSMENT OF TilE ANNAMESE WAl\ES 43
by potters who migrated to this site from Bo-bat, a village in Ninh- binh
province, some time between 1527 and 1533 A.D.
This large ceramic
complex at Bo-bat appears to have been in continuous operation from
the time of its establishment until recent years. Its supplies of feldspar
came from Than-boa.
It was an enormous complex, and it was said that
great stacks of firewood for its many kilns stood out conspicuously on
the skyline long before travellers could make out the actual town of
Bat-trang. As Mr. Willetts has noted, this town might well be called the
Ching-te-chen of Annam, while the famous French Guide Madrolle also
noted that most of Bat-trang's manufacturing processes and techniques
were adopted from those employed at the great Chinese ceramic center
at Ching-te-chen.
If Bat-trang were indeed founded in the mid-16th century, it could
not possibly have been a production center during the 15th and 14th
centuries. Bat-trang did produce, however, much of the ultra-fine underglaze
blue porcelains that have been ranked by some critics with the best
Chinese work of the Ming Period.
Consequently, such work must be
dated from the 16th century a suggestion that is further supported by
the forms of some of the Bat-trang wares.
In his well known monograph
on the so called "chocolate base" Annamese wares, a Bat-trang piece is
cited to the year 1625, but with no further reference or comment,3
During the period 1400-1428, Annam was occupied by the Chinese,
the consequences of which had far-reaching effects on Annamese ceramic
wares. The traditional blue and white wares and the closely related
so-called "blue-and-whites" with their on-glaze painted enamel decoration
came into vogue and bad a remarkable flowering. According to
Mr. Willetts, these wares "are about all that the ceramic world knows
or understands by the term 'Annamese'." Instead, Mr. Willetts has
sensibly divided the Annamese wares into the following seven principal
categories, based on differences in their decoration and the types of
colored glazes that· were used on the monochromes :
3) Lefebre d' Argeilce, "Les c~ramiques a base chocolatee au Musee Louis Finot
de l'Ecole FranQaise d'Ex:tr~me Orient a Hanoi," Paris: 1958.

44
C. Nelson Spinks
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Wares decorated in underglaze blue;
Wares enameled in dark, tomato red applied on the biscuit;
Wares decorated in underglaze blue but also having on-glaze
decoration of tomato red and leaf green enamels;
Wares decorated in underglaze iron-black pigment;
Cream colored monochrome wares;
Green glazed monochrome wares; and
Brown glazed monochrome wares.
Among the blue-and-white wares are many large phan type offering
trays, along with similar medium sized pieces; large yu-hu-ch' un bottlevase
types; baluster-shaped vessels for altar use; open bowls with everted
rims, covered boxes (po-kang) miniature jars and amphorae, miniature
vessels with moulded sides, small, circular covered bowls and other covered
pieces some of which are in such zoomorphic forms as fish and crabs,
together with ewers, kendi-type water droppers, smaller globular jars,
some with and others without ring handles, and a great variety of ceramic
figurines. "In general," as Mr. Willetts bas noted, "the blue and whites
are all enclosed within the classical Chinese repertory of vessel sbapes."4
Among the underglaze iron-black wares and the three monochrome
types listed above, the shapes are more original, perhaps reflecting more
local Annamese tastes and style preferences.
Among the more frequently encountered cream-colored monochromes,
however, bowls, jarlets and beakers, some with S-sbaped profiles,
predominate. The apple-green copper glazed wares include cup-like
bowls with verticle impressed ribs on their outer sides, miniature jars
with moulded sides, as also found among the "blue-and-whites", together
with flat, circular covered boxes, saucer-like dishes usually having a
biscuit ring around their medallion-like central decoration, and beaker
types which are also found among the iron-black glazed decorative
group. in this category, however, are also found superbly sculptured
covered boxes in interesting zoomorphic forms, such as the crab type.
The brown glazed wares include beakers, saucer-like small dishes,
bowls, Chinese-type yu-hu-ch' un vases, and water droppers, although the
4) Willetts, op. cit., p. 12.

A REASSESSMENT OF THE ANNA~1ESE WARES 45
true provenances of some examples of the last two groups are perhaps
less certain.
The materials used in making all these categories of wares was a
fine, smooth, homogenous paste of a putty color that is usually visible
on the bases and footrirns of the pieces, the bases of which are recessed
no more than a millimetre or two below the surface of the footrims.
At this point, it should be further noted that the footrims of
most of the Annamese wares are very neatly and carefully made, the outer
side of the footrim being skilfully chamferred at its junction with the
outerside of the vessel, while the innerside of the footrirn is similarly
charnferred with the underside of the piece. Footrirns were frequently left
in biscuit, but on the bowls and large and medium size phan-type offering
trays, the inner side of the footrim and sometimes the entire base of the
piece have been covered with a slip that appears to have been applied
while the vessel was still on the wheel, so that the slip shows signs of a
spiral motion. Moreover, it is evident that the slip was sometimes
applied by a brush after the vessel bad been removed from the wheel
and placed face down on top of it. The slip is almost invariably of a
chocolate brown color, while the glazes are usually of an oatmeal or
gum color.
Beakers of the underglaze iron-black type, or the cream colored
types, clearly show that they were fired one inside the other, each piece
separated by a circular disc-shaped pontil or stand, usually having six
projecting legs.
inside bottoms of each piece.
Hence, six spur marks almost invariably appear on the
There is perhaps evidence here of some
sort of connection between these Annamese wares and those of the
Sukhothai kilns of the Thai, where precisely the same sort of disc-type
stand was employed in the same manner, but each pontil having only
five instead of six legs.
Mr. Willetts and others, including the present author, have referred
to a possible connection between the Annamese wares and those of the
Sukhothai potters who worked in the painted-ware form, perhaps most

46 C. Nelson Spinks
manifest in their common used of the disc-shaped stands with projectmg
legs. The relationship becomes even more evident, however, in comparing
certain decorative elements on the two wares, especially the manner
of their execution, placement, and orientation.
In his splendid catalogue of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society's
exhibition in Singapore in 1971, Mr. Willetts cites pieces of Annarnese
and Sukhothai ware that clearly show these obvious, albeit, at times, subtle,
resemblances. For examples, Mr. Willetts' Plates Nos. 102 to 110 are
Annamese pieces that could easily be mistaken for fine examples of
Sukhothai ware, the large plates having very similar border decoration
around their rims, and floral, medallion-type designs on their centers that
closely resemble the styles, techniques and manner of execution, as well
as decoration placement, found on the large Sukhothai plates and bowls.
Again, the Annamese beakers shown by Mr. Willetts in the Plates Nos.
101, 103, 105, and 106 all have a truly Sukhuthai-esque quality about
them and their painted decorations, the Annamese plates closely resembling
the Sukhothai piece illustrated in Plate No. 148 of this Catalogue.
Mr. Willetts calls special attention to the manner in which some of the
leaves in the floral decorations shown on these Annamese ware pieces,
particularly with respect to the curled leaves and leaf-tips, citing a
Thai bowl sherd that appeared in Plate No. 31-A of Ram's article on
the Kalong kilns of Chiangrai Province in northern Thailand.s
Thus, as Mr. Willetts has concluded :
If we admitted the existence of the relationship, then we
must ask the question: which tradition influenced which? Bearing
in mind the fact that Sukhotbai was already established by the year
1300 and bad but a short lease on life, and that the main Annamese
blue~and-white series began no earlier than the end of the 14th
5) See Phraya Nakhon Pra Ram, "Tai Pottery, "Journal of the Siam Society, Vol.
XXIX, Part 1, 19 3 5, pp. 13-3 6, with one map, one plan and 55 Plates, based on
a paper Pray a Riim dellvered before a meeting of the Siam Society in Bangkok
·on December !0, 1935

A HEASSESSMENT OF THE ANNAMESE \V AHES 47
century or the beginning of the 15th century, then if other Annamese
groups are contemporary with the blue-and-whites, Sukhothai must
clearly have influenced Annam. But taking into account the
rudimentary state of Sukhothai ceramic technology, which we
shall, the opposite would have seemed more likely to have been
the "case ..... Accordingly, the Annamese iron-black wares, together
with the copper green, cream and brown monochromes, and
a few pieces decorated in under glaze blue .... belong to the older
phase of Annamese output .... Granted a date in the later 13th
or earlier 14th century for the Chinese blue-and-whites, then the
Annamese iron-black wares must on this basis be their near
contemporaries6.
As noted, however, there has been a strong Chinese influence in
the Annamese wares, as in other aspects of Aouam's culture. The ceramic
wares, of course, had exceedingly close ties with South China, but
as Baron Van Orsoy de Flines has noted, "unfortunately, we know very
little about the many groups of Chinese merchants and artisans who
went back and forth between the two countries, but that they, too, made
a strong impression on the handicrafts and arts, not the least the pottery,
is undeniable."7
The Annamese wares made prior to 1400 often have flat and sometimes
concave bases, undoubtedly the results of warping while being
fired. In the 15th and 16th centuries, however, most pieces of Annamese
wares have footrims of varying heights and widths, being comparatively
high on the smaller vessels and jars, while the footrirns on the larger
pieces are usually rather low and quite broad. The bases of such pieces,
however, are carefully finished with the footrirns neatly and accurately
cut. Dishes generally have rather thick footrims, rounded on their
tops.s
·-···--···-·-·-·--·~----.
6) Willetts, op. cit., p.l4. Mr. Willetts' rather confused and convoluted statement
seems to miss the point that the real resemblance between the Annamese wares
and those of the Thai Sukhothai kilns is to be found almost entirely in their
respective painted wares that followed closely the Chi-tz'u and Ts'u-chou
~~~tr~U~L .
7) E.w: Van Orsoy de Flines, op. cit., p. 64.
8) Ibid., p. 66.
I

48 C. Nelson Spinks
The late Baron Van Orsoy de Flines believed that the greater part
of the Annamese blue-and-white ,wares dates from the 14th, 15th and
early 16th centuries. During this long period many significant changes
can be detected in the manner and styles of Chinese porcelains made
immediately after 1400. Almost without exception, the decorations on
the backs of dishes and the sides of jars consist of the lotus-petal panels,
the so-called "gadroons" but with great variety in the manner and shapes
of their execution "with the earlier pieces, the work is done with considerable
grace and artistry, but by the middle of the above period the brush
strokes become increasingly fine and almost linear, with a rigidity and
stiffness that is unattractive, while by the end of this long period, the
pieces are again decorated more freely but at times with a carelessness
that borders on untidiness."9
Many of the later 16th century Annamese dishes and plates have
an unattractive, watery, light-green glaze, sometimes with a minute
crackle, a glaze that is often mistakenly called ce1adon.
Some of these
monochrome pieces also have a rather stiff incised underglazedecoration,
usually of a floral or lotus-petal panel motif. On the bases of such pieces
inside the footrims there is usually a neat, unglazed ring band about two
ems. in width, which is covered with a brown pigment slip, as is also
found on some of the Annamese blue-and-whites.Io Some of the Annamese
decorated wares also have an unglazed ring band with a brown
pigment slip around the center of the piece, which frames the medallionli~e
central decorati~n.
Plate No. 1 of the present article shows an unusually large Annamese
jar, approximately 70 ems. in height, its decoration depicting a
Southeast Asian hunting scene. Both the shoulder and the foot of this
jar are encircled with typical Annamese-style lotus-petal panels painted
in considerable detail.ll
9) Ibid., p, 67.
tO) Ibid., p. 68.
11) This picture originally appeared in the present writer's article, "Siam and the
Pottery Trade of Asia, "Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. XLIV, Part 2, August,
1956, pp. 61-111, where it was mistakenly identified as a Chinese jar. With

pi(Hm: tJf Pbue J !~how the
w1th 1imihu lotuli·petal pant!~ em.:irclingtbe
flbOlOJI'Iph m Phuc No. 2 i1 the under11lde of tbe
musuat~d in lhe upper pbt)lOiUlph t)f f~hue No. :t Plale No. 4
;!.ho"''l:i n eumph: of l!ln Am:utme~~e uoderih•~e blue fx)\\~1. ahe tlural
ill executed with ce
H~e Chinese ltll'u·t:'tl, ttric!l t'lf Plates depicware
db.t~~ Cf>fnlelii Nmt 9 lo I J), fill of which are
tHikinsly similar tu Sukhi5,1ua.i ware large decmutt'!d phHc.s with their
Mllmple rim dectlnUitlf!l'l and their mcdatlion.like central nornl de~igm1,
fnunttl'.d within~t~imph: circulnr bauchl. lt ilil !lf'>CCially !iignificnnt, l bt:lh::ve,
lh~~~~ ~u uf unique Amumltfl,C ware hnge phlll::!!t were found in
lndum:.si~• by Mr. f~dward Maiflten, 11 United Statell Fureian Service
()tfii:cr. wall tr.uuimuni there (l;}r !levernl ycmr1. l would har1;1rd the
&hcrefure, th1t uu::h piece~» may l:uavt been purr:.o1dy made by the
Anrumw:Je poncu in itniuuion of SukhiS!hai wnn::, which at tbc \ime
nprnuenlly enjoyed con!liderabh: popularity itl Indcmesiu, judging by the
hu1c mm,ber11 t:Jf Sukholhai picce11 that have been found there.
The Atu:uun~H piece11 illustrated in tbe top photograph of PhHn 5
and in Platu 6. '7, and 8 are all fine eumph:1 of the ever-popular mini a.
nue covered boxe11 and miniature bowls and jnrs that were made in such
tbi~ Uhntrlllt!On, f 111.110 included I liOmcwhlll similar buntlnJ!!Ctetle r hlld photO·
J,rapb:td in Ampb~>e Kok: Satnrona, Lopburi Province, in eentnl Thailand.
illhow!n~: fit ~:roup or 'fbal butltl'lf!i toturtlilll from lbe jungle with pleees or ll
btrldo; doer'!~ o~m:11n tu~tpeDded from poles over tbelr sboulderl!.

50 . C. Nelson Spinks
large quantities by the Annamese potters, so much so that they seemingly
must have flooded the ceramic markets of Indonesia, the Philippines,
and even Siam. The lower picture in Plate 5 is an Annamese ware dish,
26 ems. in diameter and 6t ems. in height that was found on Limbok
Island, Indonesia, and is now in the Djakarta Museum. It looks exactly
like a piece of Sukhothai ware with its central stylized floral medallion
encircled by plain bands, and its simple but very arresting rim decoration.
Attention is finally called to the "celadon" plate pictured in Plate
No. 14, which shows six spur marks left from the six legs of a disc-type
stand, further evidence of the possible relationship between the work of
the Annamese potters and those of the Thai at the Sukbothai kilns in
north-central Siam.
I would now like to digress by way of an epilogue to this article
and describe briefly some of the consequences of the Mongol conquest of
China in the 13th century, and the possible bearing of these developments
on the history of Annamese ceramics.
With the final fall of Lin-an (Hang-chou) to the Mongol forces in
February, 1276, what remained of the Sung army fled to the south, first to
Fukien Province, and eventually to K wangtung Province. In March, 1277,
however, Foochow, the Sung stronghold near Canton, was taken by the
Mongols, and the Imperial family, then headed by the boy Chao Cheng,
as the Emperor Tuan-tsung, moved the Court to Mei-weinear the presentday
Kowloon Peninsula in what is now a part of modern Hong Kong.
In November, 1277, however, under mounting Mongol pressure, the Sung
forces with the Sung Court were compelled to retreat still further
southwest alongthe coast of Kwangtung, presumably with the intention
of ultimately taking refuge in the neutral states of Annam and Champa,
since both those countries had traditionally maintained friendly relations
with the Sung Court.
There then began a sizeable exodus of Sung officials, their families
and their fQllQwers t9 the~e t\V9 r~mot~ so1,1tl:!er11 countrie~. A n!Jmber

A HEASSESSMENT OF THE ANNAMESE WARES 51
of prominent Sung officials under the leadership of a former Sung State
Minister, Ch'en 1-chung, accompanied no doubt by their families,
followers and proteges, migrated to and settled in Annam and Champa.
Once in the latter country, Ch'en 1-bhung decided to remain permanently
there, if possible, although some accounts contend that be
later fled to Cambodia, Java, Siam or even to Japan. According to
the Sung-shih (the official history of the Sung Dynasty), however,
when the Mongol forces finally subdued Champa in 1282, Ch'en had
already fled to the Thai Kingdom of Sukhuthai, where be reportedly died
sometime later,
Another prominent Sung official, Chang Sbih-chih, also decided to
take refuge in Annam and was accompanied to that country by many
of his Chinese folLowers and proteges, including some artists and other
craftsman who had enjoyed Chang's patronage.
Following a disastrous
defeat by the Mongol forces, the infant Sung Emperor died, and Chang
Shih-chih then sought refuge in Annam.
In 1281 a Mongol embassy visiting Annam brought back to China
a book Ch'en 1-cbung had written while in exile on the twilight of the
Sung, a work known as the Erh-wang pen-mo.
According to the Yiian
shih (history of the YUan Dynasty), when the Mongol forces finally
subdued Annam, they captured over 300 prominent Sung exiles then
living there.
It was also noted that in 1273 a large company of these
Sung exiles had arrived at Lacat-nguyen Bay in a fleet of thirty
ships, bringing with them various Chinese trade goods, chiefly textiles
and popular Chinese medicines.
Some of these Sung officials iu Annam
and Champa alsci most likely followed the time-honored custom of
serving as the patrons and sponsors of various Chinese artisans, artists,
and skilled craftsmen who undoubtedly elected, for very practical
reasons, to follow their sponsors and patrons into exile.
It is very likely, therefore, that some of the Chinese ceramic
influences so evident in the Annamese wares may well have come from
' ' .
such a source. I would further hazard the view that some of those
Chinese ceramic influences so evident in the work of the Thai potters

S2
C. Nelson Spinks
of Sukhothai and Sawankhalok may also have reached Sukhothai by way
of Annam and Champa, rather than through the Sukhothai Kingdom's
rather infrequent and tenuous "diplomatic" relations with China, first
initiated by Sukhothai's celebrate& King Rama Gamhaeng, around the
end of the 13th century.I2
St. Petersburg Beach, Florida
January, 1976.
12) The foregoing account of Sung exiles in' Indo-China has been drawn
largely from that scholarly survey and analysis of them and their activities
by Hok-la.m Chan in his pioneer work, based on Chinese and Vietnamese
sources on this subject, "Chinese Refugees in Annam and Champa at the End
of the Sung Dynasty," Journal of Southeast Asian History, Vol. VH, No, 2,
September, 1956, pp. 1-IOi

Plate No. 1.
An unusual Annamese painted ware jar depicting a hunting scene with two South·East
Asian appearing figures carrying pieces of venison suspended from their shoulders on
a pole. Around the base is an elongated representation of lotus petal panels. (From
the Collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand of Bangkok. Photographed by the author in
1956. This picture also appears in the author's "Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia,"
JSS, Vol. XLIV, Part 2 of August, 1956, where it was, however, identified mistakenly as
a jar of Chinese provenance.

Plate No. 2.
Base of Annamese Painted Ware Plate showing the chocolate coloured slip covering
the base, and the border decoration of lotus panels. Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche.

Plate No. 3.
Annamese Plate with floral decoration and chocolate coloured base. Diameter: Approximately
34 em. (From the Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche). Photographed by the Author in 1954.

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.....
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0
-~
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.,
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Annamese Painted Ware Bowl.
Plate No. 5.
Underglaze blue-black pigment. (Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche).

Miniature Sawankhal5k Covered Bowls showing influence of the small Annamese pieces.
(Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche).
Plate No. 5.
Annamese Plate made in lmmitation of Sukhothai Ware. Diameter 26 em. Height 6 & em.
From Limbok Island, Eastern Indonesia Djakarta Museum (no. 3375).

Plate No. 6.
Examples of small Annamese covered bowls with decoration in underglaze in blue-black
pigment. (Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche).

Plate No. 7.
Examples of miniature Annamese jars and bowls with underglaze decoration painted
with a blue.black pigment. (Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche).

Plate No. 8.
Additional examples of small Annamese Jars/Bowls with Underglaze blue painted
decoration. Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche.

a.>
.....
0:
"'

0
z

Plate No. 14.
Miniature Annamese underglaze blue painted ware jar with ears. Collection of Mr. Dean Frasche.
Plate No. 15.
Annamese Celadon Bowl with applique lotus petal design on sides. Djakarta Museum

THE ~ROBLEM OF CEYLONESE-BURMESE
RELATIONS IN THE 12TH CENTURY AND THE
QUESTION OF AN INTERREGNUM IN PAGAN:
1165-1174 A.D.
by
M-Aung-Thwin*
The history of ancient Burma and particularly the civilization of
Pagan has been reconstructed mainly by the labors of Professor G.H.
Luce and his colleagues, including the late Prof. Pe Maung Tin, the late
Colonel Ba Shin, and Dr. Than Tun among others. These pioneers had
provided us with a (largely) chronological and artistic, and (partly)
socio-economic framework with which to tackle the task of reconstructing
the early history of Burma. Still, there are problems within the
pioneering work that must be settled before we push on further. This
paper is a discussion concerning one of those problems, which Prof.
Luce has called "the second greatest crisis in the history of Pagan" .1
When I had the privilege of visiting Prof. Luce in Jersey in 1974. I
brought up the problem and we had a very short discussion about it,
Prof. Luce then suggested I write a paper on the subject and this is the
result.
His article, "Aspects of Pagan History-Later Period" in, In Memoriam
Phya Anuman Rajadhon (The Siam Society, 1970), summarizeq the
problem in the following manner.2
* At present, the author is writing a dissertation at the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, on "The Nature of State and Society in Pagan : 1100-13 00 A.D."
He spent 19 74 doing research in England, India, and somewhat in Thailand.
Originally from Burma, he grew up in India, and went to the U.S. in 1965. He
received his M.A. from the University of Illinois.
I) G.H. Luce, Old Burma-Early Pagan, I (New York. 1970), p. 124.
2) ·G. H. Luce, "Aspects of Pagan History-Later Period", Tej Bunnag and Michael
Smithies, eds., ln Memoriam Phya Anuman Rajadhon, The Siam Society, Bangkok,
1970, 135-137.

54 M-Aung-Thwin
im-taw-syan, (the 'Narathu Kulakya' of the Chronicles), a fanatical
Burma nationalist, bad quarelled violently with Parakrama Balm,
the great king of Ceylon (fl. 1153-1186). It started with a trade
dispute over the price and export of elephants; Ceylon bad plenty
of them, but the proportion of tuskers among them (useful in war)
was much smaller than it was in Burma.
Many provocations are listed in the 13th century Cu{avatiua. But
I suspect that one great reason was that the Ceylon king, in alliance
with Carnboja, wanted to break the BurmesejCo!a hold over the
narrows· of the Isthmus of Kra. irn-taw-syati abruptly severed
relations, and even intercepted a Singhalese princess on ber way to
Angkor. Parakrama Babu was furious: 'The King of Arimaddana
(Pagan) must either be captured or killed'. In 1165 a huge armada
was sent, under two commanders, with apparently two destinations.
Adicca, the senior, attacked Papphalama, the port near the Isthmus.
Perhaps he died on campaign, for we hear no more of him. Nagaragiri
Kitti (or Kit Nuvaragal), the junior carnrnander, captured
Kusumi (Bassein), took Ukkama (i.e. Pagan) by storm, and slew the
king. He apparently held the city for some considerable time. He
received a reward of land on his return to Ceylon; and his rockinscription
at Devanagala, not far from Candy, confirms much of
the siory in the Cu~avamsa.
Nine years of interregnum passed before the quarrel was settled by
the intercession of the monks on both sides. And what were the
results? Kyanziltba's Hne of Burmese-Mon kings was dethroned.
Aniruddba's line was restored in tbe person of Jeyyasura. Caiisu II
(Narapatisithu), who reigned from 1174 to 1211 A D. He was
given a princess, Vatamsika (U-chok 7 pan), in marriage-probably.
Singhalese, apparently on terms precluding her children from the
succession. All this led to a gradual withdrawal of Mon influence
and culture from Central to Lower aurma, and the apparent death
. of Mon literature for three centuries. It also led to the steady
growth, triumph and efflorescence of Old Burmese art, literature
and culture, during the last hundred years of the dynasty.

Tim QUESTION OF AN INTERREGNUM IN PAGAN: 1165-1174 A.D. 55
Frotn the single assumption that Ukkama was Pagan, a ·number of
important conclusions were made regarding the political and cultural
history of Pagan. These may be itemized as follows: 1) the existence
of an interregnum in Pagan history from 1165-1174 A.D., 2) the length
of Alnungsithu's reign, 3) the regnal dates of im-taw-syan, 4) the identities
of Kulakya and Man Yail Narasinkha, 5) the genealogy of Cansii II
(Narapatisithu), and 6) the nature of Singhalese influence in the Pagan
court as well as in art and architecture in the late 12th century. All of
these factors are dependent upon the one assumption mentioned above.
If we begin from fact, then proceed towards interpretation, rather
than vice-versa, there emerges a completely different picture, namely
that 1) Pagan was not attacked by the Singhalese at all, only Lower
B.urma, hence there was no interregnum between 1165-1174 A.D., 2)
Alaungsithu's reign therefore continued past 1165 A.D., 3) Im-taw-syai1
ruled for a longer period of time, 4) his successor, Man Yail Narasinkba
was a historical figure, 5) the genealogy of Cansi:i II (Narapatisithu)
remains obscure, and 6) Singhalese influence in court and in art and
architecture was the result of normal religious contacts, not military
conquest.
W bat are the facts? There exist several sources that dealt with the
problem, but the main one used to document the story bas been the
Devanagala Rock Inscription in Sinhalese; along with this there are
several Old Burmese inscriptions, and three versions of the 13th century
Cu{avainsa. I quote from the Devanagala Inscription which commemorated
the event, as translated by the late S. Paranavitana. 3
On the tenth day of the waxing moon in Poson [MayjJune] in the
twelfth year when His Majesty was enjoying the royal splendour.
Whereas, a person named Bhuvanaditta, Lord of Arami:la, when
reigning, said 'We shall not contract a treaty with the island of Lanka,
and whereas, when His Majesty had commanded 'Put men board
thousands of vessels, send and attack Arami:la, and Kit Nuvaragal,
had taken by storm a town called Kusumiya and when ... for five
3) s. Paranavitana, tr., "The Devanagala. Ro~k I11scription", Epigraphia Zel,111ica 1
lllr no. 34, p. 312-3~?,

56 M-Aung-Thwin
months, the Arama1}as sent envoys saying 'We shall contract a
treaty .. .'
Proceeding from fact to interpretation, one should notice that the
contemporary inscription made no mention at all of any place called
Ukkama, however interpreted, neither was there any mention made of
Pagan in any form, nor a King of Pagan, The atlack, moreover, was
made on Aramna, in the 12th year of Parakrama Babu's reign* during
the Southwest Monsoons (Posen). Finally, Kit Nuvaragal stormed u
town called Kusumiya, and that particular fact need not necessarily be
directly connected to the person called Bhuvanaditta, Lord of Aramna.
That is, there is no evidence that when Kit Nuvaragal stormed Kusumiya,
Bhuvanaditta lived in that port city, or that he was killed, if any king
was killed at all.
About orie and a half centuries later, the Cu(avarilsa had not only
added drama to the event, but additional material as well. The relevant
section as translated by Wijesinha is as follows: (the Ramafina king) ...
"violently seized a princess that the Lord of Lanka had sent to the
country of Kamb6ja." Parakrama Bahu then said: "It seemeth necessary
that we should now compass the king Arimaddana [underscore mine]
to take him .captive or to kill him." After many preparations, ships
were sent, but "because of the stormy weather certain of these ships were
wrecked, and certain others were driven on strange lands ... , one of the
ships landed at Kakadipa [Crow Island] ... But five of the ships ... landed
at the port Kusumi, in the country of Ramanna ... [The] soldiers [then]
advanced from the port where they had landed [underscore mine] and fought
many fierce battles, and slew many thousands of the forces of the
Ramanna country. Like furious elephants they destroyed a great number
of cocOnut and other trees ... and destroyed balf of the Kingdom."
41
There is argument even here. W. Geiger is of the opinion that the date of the
inscription refers to the date of the raid, whileS. Paranavitana felt that it was
the date of the actual landgrant to Kit Nuvaragal, after his services, as was
typical of these inscriptions. (See Cii?.avmi1sa, II, p. 69, note 3 and Ej;ig. Zeylanica,
III, no. 34, p. 318. For our purposes, we must assume that the date referred
to the raid, or else there would not be a problem left to di~cuss since the date of
the attack would be unknown,

THE t)UESTION OF AN INTERHEGNUM IN PAGAN: 1165-1 l 7 4 A.D. 57
"And the ships which the Tamil general Adicca commanded cast
anchor at the port Papphala in that country. All these men also led by
the Tamil commander, began straightway a fierce and bloody war, and
took many of the inhabitants captive, and shook the kingdom of Ramafifia
greatly. And after this, the mighty and terrible Sinhalese entered the
city [not Ukkama], and spared not their weapons, and slew the king of
Ramanna who had disregarded the laws of nations."4 (So far, only one
fact from the inscription remains confirmed, i.e. that Kusumi was
attacked)
The Geiger version, however, is as follows.
Bahu said:
King Parakrama
Either the capture or the slaying of the king of Arimaddana must be
effected, [then] the ships on which the Damiladhikarin Adicca
commanded landed in the Ramafina territory at the port of Pappbalama,
and while at once the people with the Damiladhikarin at
tbe bead, fought a gruesome, fearful, foe destroying battle ... [all
underscore mine] [The Sinhalese then) plunged the Ramanna
kingdom into sore confusion. Thereupon [they] with terrible
courage, fearful with their swords, burst into the town of Ukkama
and slew the Monarch of the Ramaqas. 5
Lastly, the Rhys Davids translation differs from both these, not
only in terms of meaning, but in that he felt the raid occurred in South
India, not Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, his translation of the Narendracaritava/okana
Pradipikriwa, apparently a shorter account but relating
basically the same story, is as follows: Parakrama Bahu said, "... that
king who will be our enemy [should be reprimanded]. [Then] two
ships arrived at the harbour Kusurna in Aramuna, and took in battle
and laid waste the country from the port Sapattota over which
Kurttipurapam was Governor, Damiladhikari himself arrived at
the port Pappbata, and there having fought a great battle and taken
4) Mah'Uvcui1sa, pt. II, LXXVI, tr. by L.W. Wijesinha (Mudaliyar, Ceylon, 1909),
p. 192.
5) Culavatizsa: Being the recent part of, the Mahava~hsa, pt. II, tr. by Wilhelm
Ge.iger (1953), chapter 76, verse 10-75, p. 69.

58 M-Aung-Thwin
the inhabitants alive and seized the whole land of Ramanya, went
to the city of Ukkaka, and took prisoner the lord of Ramanya, and
overcame the land.6
All three versions corroborate relatively well those events concerning
the causus belli, the Lanka-Ramanna relations, and (two of them) the
locality of Ramani'ia. Both Geiger's and Wijesinha's versions, for
example, suggest Ramai'ii'ia to be Lower Burma (as expected) then they
recounted the story of the Singhalese princess being seized on her way
to Kamboja, which would place this kingdom around the Isthmus of Kra.
Furthermore, the King of Ramai'iii.a had allegedly robbed the messengers
sent by Lanka and had "imprisoned them ... in a fortress in Malaya." 7
Both Geiger and Wijesinha agreed that a large part of the armada
was destroyed by storm with only five ships reaching Ramai'ifia. All
three versions agreed that it was Adicca, not Kit Nuvaragal that reacbed
Pappbala and either killed or capture a king or monarch of Ramai'ifia.
All three versions followed a story that dealt with the 16th year of
Parakrama Bahu's reign, which preceded a story of a raid on South
India, which normally would lead us to conclude that the Ramai'ina
raid occurred either in or after the 16th year of Parakrama Bahu's
reign.
As one may recall, the Devanagala Inscription stated that the events
transpired on the 12th year of the King's reign. There is then, a
discrepancy of four years to be accounted for. Apparently, the chronicles
had confused an event in South India with one in Ramafiiia or
bad simply made an error in chronology. We shall not pursue this for
it detracts from our main problem; suffice to say that there remain questions
still unanswered with regard to the locality and date of these
events.
Assuming that the raid was on Ramaiiiia, there are still very
important discrepancies among the three translations. Wijesinha, for
6) Rhys Davids, "The Conquest of South India in the Twelfth Century by
Pariikrama Biihu", .lAS of Bengal, XLI (1872), p. 197-201.
7) Ibid. Geiger also has Malaya, but Wijesinha has "the hi!l country", apparently
since malay or malai means hill or mountain in TamiL

'I'IIE UESTJON OF :IN INTEHREGNUM IN PA(;AN: 1165-1174 A.D. 59
example, translates King Arimaddana as a proper name, Geiger as the
King of A rimaddana and Rhys Davids as the king who will be our enemy,
using the wprd Arimaddana as a verb, not a proper noun.
The Pali
version itself has Arimaddanarajino which can be translated as either the
King of Arimaddana or King Arimaddana. a Since throughout the narrative,
this king was referred to as the King of Ramaiina, it seems out of context
to conclude that the writers suddenly changed to King of Arimaddana,
then later (line 67) resumed to call him the King of Ramanila once more.9
It seems more consistent and logical to accept Wijesinha's translation
here of Arimaddanarajino as King Arimaddana, who was the King of
Ramai'ina.
The inscription, of course, neither mentioned the word Arimaddana
as a proper name nor used it as the chronicles did. In this context, Rbys
Davids' version is the best, for it described the king who will be our enemy,
i.e. the inscriptional Bhuvanaditta, lord of Aramna. The chroniclers
may have used the local account Narendra-caritavalokana Pradipikawa
and changed the meaning of the word or the discrepancy may lie in the
two translations.
Not withstanding the inevitable exaggeration of victory by the
chroniclers, Ramaf:ina could be stretched to refer to the whole of Burma;
but one wonders whether calling a kingdom by the name of its tributary
is not somewhat begging the point. Moreover, the argument proceeds
from interpretation to fact (i.e. Ukkama was first assumed to be Pagan,
then Rarnai'ina would mean the whole of Burma), rather than from fact
to interpretation (i.e. Ramaf:ifia as already accepted by most scholars of
Southeast Asia to be the Mon area of Lower Burma, therefore Ukkama
must be in Lower Burma).* It is only on this particular occasion when
the raid took place, did Prof. Luce write" 'Aramna' (= Ramafl.na, here=
Pagan)." (p. 121)
8) CiilavainsCJ, II, Pali text by Mahanama, ed. by. W. Geiger (PTS, London, 1927),
p. 38 3, line 38.
9) Geiger, op. cit., lines 11 b, 14, and 67.
* Prof. Luce's map, of Ramaiiiiadesa in Old Burma-Early Pagan represents Lower
Burma.

60 M-Aung-Thwin
A.P. Buddbadatta, in a highly detailed account, has corrected many
of the verses in the translation of W. Geiger's Cu?avati1sa. Concerned not
only with accurate translation, he cross-referenced and corrpborated his
changes with other available mss whenever possible and necessary.
Among many, one of the changes be made concerned the word Ramanlza
which Geiger had stated referred to Burma. Buddhadatta wrote that
"the whole of Burma was never included in that name. Only ... Lower
Burma, which was formerly a separate kingdom, was known by that
name. Upper Burma or Burma proper was known as Mararnmarattha,
~bose capital was Pagan ... "1° And this argument was written outside
the context of the raid.
Using Geiger's version, Prof. Luce wrote, with no historical,
linguistic, or even legendary explanation, "Ukkama (i.e. Pagan)." On
this single assumption, everything else mentioned on page 54 rests.
The identification of Ukkama, Ukkaka or the city (depending upon
the translations) crucial to the above theory, may have a variety of possibilities,
all of them in Lower Burma. If the Cu{avamsa authors had not
confused the raid on South India (which followed the account on
Ramaiina) and had not added a name by mistake from South India,
Ukkama or Ukkaka may be the Ukkala or Ukkaladesa, once the name for
the Delta area around Dala and Pegu. If so, overwhelming opinion
places Ukkala in the area east of Kusumiya the traditional port of entry
to Burma from the west, and in the natural path of sea-borne attack
from west to east, around the Delta. The name Ukkala is not unknown,
according to Emil Forcbbammer, to Pali works such as the Mahawagga
and its commentaries. nor to the Shwedagon Inscription of the 15th
century .11
10) A.P. Buddhadatta, "Some Corrections of Geiger's Culavamsa Translation",
University of Ceylon Review, VIII, 19 50, p. 1 09.
11) Epig. Zelanica, "Pillar-Inscription of Mabinda V", IV, no. 8 p. 65, showed
that the Mahiivagga, the Nid!mal?athu and the Lalitavistal'a mention two merchants
came from a country called Ukkala ( Skt. Utkala) in North India.
Lower Burma took up this name, as well as other names, such as Hamsavati
(Pegul, Iravati (Irrawaddy). Forchhammer's statement is found in U E.
Maung's "Some place names in Burma", .JBRS, XXXIX,· pt. II (1956), 182-
192. Ukkala as Lower Burma bas been identified by the following scholars:

TilE ()UES'IION OF AN lNTERHECNUM !N PAGAN; 1165-1174 A.D. 61
According to D.B. Jayatilaka, a thera by the name of Vinayalamkara
had stated that the modern name of Ukkama was Okkam 50 miles
'
from the sea in Lower Burma.l2 Or, it could be a garbled version of
Cbas. Duroiselle, RejJort of the Supt. Arch. Survey Burma, "Place Names in
Burma", 1923, p. 22; also same author, ASB, 1915, p. 32; Halliday's tr. of
"Slapat Rajawan Datow Smin Ron", .JBRS, XII (1923), p. 40; G.H. Hough,
:\siatic Researches, XVI (1878), 273-283; Arthur Phayre,l-Jistory of Burma, p.
50-51; J.A. Stewart, Bunna Arch. Report, 1915, p. 31-2; Hardy, Manual of
Buddhism, p. 182; Emil Forchhammer, .la•·dine Prize Essay, p. 22; and Notes on
the Harty GeograjJhy of Burma, no. I, p. 6; Prof. Luce himself thinks the Talaing
kingdom of "Ussala" or "Ussii-Peku" is found in three inscriptions: l.
Sakhalampa Pagoda Inscription of 1056 A.D., 2. the Htihlaing Shin Pagoda
Inscription of 1107 A.D. and 3. the Monk Matima Inscription of 1086 A.D. in
Luce, "A Cambodian Invasion? of Burma", JBRS, XII (1922), p. 42 and "Mons
of Pagan Dynasty", JBRS, XXXVI, pt. 1 (Aug. 19 53), p. 7. According to the
Director of the Arch. Survey Burma, 1915, p. 32, Ussala was the old name for
Orissa, taken from its variants Utkala and Ussa. The forms Ukkala and Ukkalapa
results from the assimilation of the t in the first syllable ttt. The word
Ussa, he says, is merely the Burmese way, according to the genus of the
language. He continued to write that "it is noteworthy that the same country
(Utkala) was known to ... Hiuen-tsiang ... by a name very similar to the
Burmese form, that is, Utcha ... pronounced according to Chinese phoenetics.
See also Than Tun in The Guardian (Rangoon, Oct. 1964), XI, no. I 0, p. 18,
where he wrote that Ukkala was Ukkalapa in Lower Burma, old Rangoon.
Codrington's History of Ceylon stated that the raid was on Pegu. Lastly, the
Sllwedagon Inscription and the Shwesandaw thamaing ties in that Rangoon
area with the history of Ukkalapa Min. The assumption, of course, is that
Uk!wma may have been a mistake for Uldlala.
The word OMaka (Rhys Davids'version) is a very commonly used family
name from which Sri Lanka kings traced their genealogy, a name with Kalingan
origins. See, for example, all the volumes of Epig. Zelanka.I·V, in the index
for the word Okkaka (Skt. Ishvaku). According to two Sinhalese texts on
poetics, ed. by Jayatilaka, called Siyabaslakara and Butsarcma by Namananda
Thera, Aramana was a place in South India where there were many elephants,
where they spoke Tamil, Yona and Barbara, etc ... thus, the Cu[ava~itsa
authors may have confused the raid on South India with the one on Lower
Burma. They may have been in fact one battle, made into two separate ones,
and this may expl~ .. in why the Devanagala Inscription failed to mention
Ukkama.
12) Godakumbara, C.E. ''Relations Between Burma and Ceylon", .JBRS, XLIX
(Dec., 1966), pt. II, p·. 145-162. However, this Okkam may have been in Sri

62 M-Aung-Thwin
Muttuma (Martaban), a port very likely to have controlled trade around
the Kra Isthmus.13 Perhaps Ukkama was Uttara, south of Muttama, a
favorable place from which to intercept a princess on her way from Sri
Lanka to Kamboja, and to "imprison its envoys in a fortress in Malaya."
One can go on indefinitely in this manner, unless one first accepts the
facts as stated in the Devanagala Rock Inscription (in which no Ukkama
is mentioned), then proceed to interpret.
Internal evidence from the Cii/avamsa suggests U/ckama or Ukka/ca
to be a town close to Pappbalama, the port near the Isthmus, because the
description of the battle is continuous, starting from Kakadipa, Kusumi
(Bassein), Papphalama, then Ukkama or Ukkaka.I4
In Geiger's version, the troops arrived at the port called Kusumi,
then "slew from their landing place the troops belonging to the Ramaftfia
country ... But the ships which the Damiladhikarin Adicca commanded,
landed in the territory (of Ramafina) at the port of Pappbalama" and
fought a "gruesome" battle. They then "burst into the town of Ukkama
and slew the Monarch of the Ramaqas." (p. 69) Wijesinba's version is
likewise similar. "They advanced from the port where they landed
(Kusumi) and fought many fierce battles ... And the ship which the
Tamil general Adicca commanded cast anchor at the port Papphala in
Lanka itself, the village called Okkampitiya in Buttala Korate of the Uva
Province, and the "raid" being part of Pariikrama Biihu's unification. For
the possibility of place names in Sri Lanka being confused with those in South­
~ast Asia, see S. Paranavitana's Ceylon and Mal(lya. For Okkam, see the
"Pillar-Inscription of Mahinda V", IV, no. 8, p. 65.
13) U E. Maung, Zoe. cit., p. 191.
14) Cu!avanisa (above), all three versions. For the port of Papphalama, see the
near contemporary inscription of Rajendra Cola I,. who raided Sri Vijaya in
1025A.D. See also N.K. Sastri's A History of South India with regard to this
raid and George Spencer's thesis, "Royal Leadership and Imperial Conquest
inMedieval South India: the Naval Expedition of Raje!Jdra Cola 1, 1025 A.D.",
Berkeley, Ph.D. thesis, I 967. Paul Wheatley's Golden Khersonese has many of
these place names in Southeast Asia and so does O.W. WolterS' Eal'ly Indone·
sian Commerce. G. Coedes' lndianized States of Southeast Asia, p. 143 mentions
Papphalama, but he footnotes the Cii[~va1nsa passage that we are dealing
with.

TilE QUESTION OF Al'i !JiiTERl\EC;NliM IN PACAN: 1165-1174 A,D, 63
that country ... "
They then entered the city and "slew the King of
Ramafina." (p. 192) Rhys Davids' version also shows that Ukkaka was
stormed after having landed at Papphata [sic] (p. 198) Thus the narrative
of all three versions strongly suggest an attack along the coasts, west to
east, Kit Nuvaragal stopping at Kusumi and Adicca going on and casting
anchor at Papphalama, from '>vhere they burst into Ukkama or Ukkaka
and slew the monarch.
The story does not say or even suggest that after they landed at
Papphalama, they walked (or rode) 300 miles up the Irrawaddy river,
against a vigorous monsoon current (Poson is May /June), undetected, to
launch a "lightning capture of the capital", as suggested by Prof. Luce.Is
The narrative as presented by the C'ii!avamsa and for geographical reasons,
such an attack to have occurred anywhere in Upper Burma goes against
the cvidence.l6 In other words, Ukkama, the word on which the whole
15) Luce, Old Bzmna-Early Pagan, p. 124.
16) Symes, Michael, An Account of an Embassy to the Kingdom of Ava, sent by the
Governor-General of India in the year 1795, (London, reprint, 1969), chapter
VIU. For the trip up-river Michael Symes' account is the best available because
of the season in which be travelled (Posen) and the detail that he gave
concerning the time of travel, etc.. . Admittedly, it was centuries later, but
it did confirm those trips to Upper Burma made in preceding centuries whose
journeys lack the information we need; journeys of Cbapada in the 12-13th
century, as well as other travellers of the 15-16th centuries. Symes' trip, in
other words, epitomizes the typical journey before the steam boat.
It took Symes' four bard months against a vigorous current to reach
"Kiapatalaun", 19 miles south of Ava, near enough to Pagan. He did this
under the most favorable political conditions, being escorted by a Burmese
governor, and in the absence of war. He started approximately on the 15th
of May (Posen) and reached the latter place on the 25th of September, hardly
the time that could favor a "lightning capture of the capital." For this idea,
Prof. Luce footnotes as partial support, the old familiar Arab tale, found in
many versions ranging from Southeast Asia to South India, of the Maharaja of
Java capturing and beheading the ruler of Camboja in the 8th century, itself a
subject of controversy.
Closer to the event in 1165 A.D. was the mission of Cbapada in the 13th
century. The Sasanavarizsa (p. 46), supported by the Kalyani Inscriptio~.
recalled Chapada's return from Ceylon during the monsoons in the 13th century.
Because of the rains, all the Tberas stayed at Kusumi (Bassein), their

64 M-Aung-Thwin
theory rests, must certainly have better documentation than a simple
"i.e. Pagan" after it.
All three translations agreed that a king or monarch of Ramanna
or of the Ramanas was killed or captured. The Pali text for the word
king, however, w;s Ramw,zadhipa'f!Z, which can be lord, master or ruler of
Ramaii.fia, according to Buddhadatta's translation of the word adhipati,
a term as ambiguous as the Burmese word mah. Moreover, the Pali text
in the Cu{avarilsa, when using the word ruler varied, according to wllether
or not it fit the meter of the verse. For example, earlier in the narrative
(line 14) Riimaiiiia-bhumipo was used instead of Ramw.ladhipmrt to fit the
particular meter in that verse. In short, there is nothing specific about
the word king or ruler in the Cu{avainsa and may in fact have been
referring to any Governor of a provincial town. It certainly is not a
word on which to base the chronology of a king in Pagan.
In the Cu?avathsa, C.W. Nicholas warns us, "rnuch of the ... account
of Parakkamabahu is pure panegyric: there is a great deal of adulat1on
and exaggeration, and successful skirmishes are made to appear as major
victories." Then in the context of the Ramaniia raid wrote: "it is not
improbable that the Cii{ava1i1sa story of the subjugation of a foreign
kingdom by six of Parakkamabahu's ships is just another laudatory
exaggeration of the marvellous power of its heroe~' anus." 17 Similarly,
Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri wrote that the Cii[avamsa "is an incredible
record of uniform successes for the Sinhalese forces ..."18
And that is
precisely what the authors of the Cu{ava'!'sa had done with the few facts
found in the Devanagala inscription: it had added drama to the event
and had gone well beyond the original story.
port of entry to Burma. "When they had reached the town of Kusimn, the
time for spending the rainy reason was drawing near, and being unable to come
to their teacher in the town of Arimaddana, they spent the rainy season in the
town of Kusima itself." If this most welcomed group of monks could not
reach Pagan during the Monsoons, one seriously wonders if an armed band of
warriors being offered resistance all the way could have accomplished it.
17) C.W. Nicholas, "Sinhalese Naval Power'', Unive1·sity of Ceylon Review, XVI,
1958, p. 84, 86.
18) K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, "Parakrambahu and South India", The Polonnaruva
Period, ed. by S.D. Saparamadu (Tissara Prakasakayo, Sri Lanka, 1973), p. 41.

TilE (,lLIE5TlON OF AN IN'I'EHHE(;l'\UM IN PAC:AN: 1!65-1174 A.ll. 65
Admittedly, the task of carving on stone might demand conciseness,
but such an important event as the slaying of a king and subjugating of
a foreign power certainly would deserve a place in an inscription which
was erected solely to recognize that deed.
More important than exaggeration, however, were the mistakes
made by the later accounts. The land grant acknowledged Kit Nuvara~
gal's services, yet the Cuf.avamsa gave Adicca the credit for killing the
monarch of Ramafifia:. The chronicles stated, moreover, that Ukkama
or. Ukkaka was taken by storm, whereas the inscription clearly declared
that Kusumiya was taken by storm. In the inscription, no mention was
made of the King of Arimaddana or Monarch of Ramai'ina being killed or
captured, only one Bhuvanaditta, "lord of Arami'ia'', whose existence
and the storming of Kusumiya had no necessary connection.
The story has gone from Kit Nuvaragal taking by storm the town
of Kusumiya (inscriptional version), to Adicca landing at Papphalama
and killing or capturing the ruler of Ukkama or Ukkaka (chronicle ver~
sion), to Kit Nuvaragal capturing Kusumi and taking by storm "Ukkama
(i.e. Pagan)" resulting in nine years of interregnum, the elimination of a
king, the regnal dates of several kings and the impact of outside influence
upon internal culture (Luce version). In short, there is no evidence that
Pagan was raided and its king killed: hence, the existence of an inter~
regnum (and all the other related implications mentioned above) beween
1165 and 1174 A.D. in the history of Pagan remains highly conjectural.
A king by the name of Kulakya, not found in the inscriptions but
added in the Burmese chronicles, was apparently killed by Kulas or
foreigners, usually referring to people of South Asia. The chronicles
tell us a story of how soldiers from the Kingdom of Patteikara, with
whose royal house Pagan kings had marriage ties, came over and assassi~
nated Naratbii for killing one of his queens, a descendant of the Patteikara
royal family who had been given as part of the alliance. Thus he was
dubbed Kulakya, "felled by the Kulas."
Prof. Luce has used this term "felled by the Kulas" as part of the
evidence for the Sinhalese raid. He argued that unless we accept the
hypothesis that Kulakya was killed by the Sinhalese, we are left with

66 M-Aung-Thwin
the improbable alternative of two kings of Burma being killed at approximately
the same time by two foreign invaders. "We must choose
between them", he wrote.l9 The choices are not that limited, nor is the
alternative logical. The choice is whether Kulakya was killed by the
soldiers from Patteikara or by the Sinhalese; there is no question of
two kings being killed at approximately the same time by two foreign
invaders, for the word king as we have shown, is too ambiguous to
assume that it referred to the king of Pagan.
Put another way, Prof. Luce's argument is highly circular; that is,
Ukkama was assumed to be Pagan, the "monarch of the Ramaqas" was
then made into the king of Pagan, Kulakya's regnal dates were changed
to 1!65 A.D. which made him the then ruling king, hence he must be
the "monarch of the Ramaqas" because Ukkama was Pagan. If we argue
that th~ Sinhalese did not kill Kulakya, we are told there are then the
deaths of two kings to explain, namely Kulakya and the "monarch of the
Ramaqas"; whereas the "monarch of the Ramaqas" would be a different
person from Kulakya only if Ukkama were not Pagan.
Thus one half of his argument assumes that Ukkama was Pagan
while the other half assumes that it was not. In effect, we are obliged
to continue assuming that Ukkama is Pagan while we argue to the contrary.
The root of the problem, as I see it, was the reluctance to part
with the belief that Ukkama was Pagan.
That Ukkama was Pagan was explained to me in the following
manner: Ukkama was probably a mistake for Pukkama or Pukarh. Even
if true, there remains several important questions. Since when have the
Sinhalese sources ever used the word Pukam or Pagan to refer to this
Kingdom? It has always been the Pali Arimaddanapura or as Buddbadatta
has suggested above, Marammarattha. Indeed the first time the
word Pukam was found in original inscriptions in Burma itself was in
1196 A.D. in Narapatisithu's Dhammarajika Inscription, as argued by
Prof. Luce himself.2D
19) Luce, op. cit., 121.
20) G. H. Luce, "Geography of Burm!l Under tbe Pa~an Dynasty", .JBRS 1
XLU 1
i
(June, 19 59), p. 37,

'!'HE QUESTION OF AN INTEHHEl;NUThl IN PAGAN: 1165-1174 A.D. 67
This brings us to the second part of our discussion, namely, tbe
political and cultural implications of the alleged raid on Pagan's history.
Since all these are dependent on the assumption that Ukkarna was Pagan,
we must reconsider all of them.
First, was there an interregnum at all between 1165 A.D. and 1174
A.D.? Several sources confirm the fact that a king or kings with his or
their preceptor or preceptors were ruling Pagan during the so-called
period of interregnum. One is an original inscription, carefully reproduced
by the Archaeological Department of Burma in their most recent
publication of inscriptions. It is called the "CansCi Man Kri Inscription",
which showed a Cafisu (a title taken by both Alaungsithu and Narapatisithu)
still reigning and making royal donations in 1168 A.D. 2 ' Tbe
reverse of the inscription bas an epithet associated with Cafi::,ii I, that is
Alaungsithu, namely sak rhe (long lived) while the obverse has another,
morn tu (canal digger). Another inscription dated 1169 A.D. records a
donation by the preceptor of the ruling king (lines lb and 2) to the smigha
and 'again by the same person in 1171 A.D.22
Moreover, Jeyyasura, a name claimed by both Alaungsithu and
Narapatisithu, was performing the water ceremony on a religious gift
made by a headman in 1171 A.D.23 In the next year, there was a Cansii
Man Kri (Great King Cansu) who, with his wife, offered a pagoda. 24
Then there exists another inscription, though inscribed later ( 1324 A.D.),
which showed Alaungsithu in 1165 A.D.2s In 1169 A.D., an inscription
showed one Mittara Simcan, a minister of Alaungsithu, building a mo-
21) Burma, Archaeological Department, She Haung Myanma Kyaul1sa Mya (Ancient
Burmese Inscriptions), Vol. I, 1972, p. 33, hereafter known as SMK.
22) Ibid., 35-37.
23) Ibid., 342. The "kha" or "b" section of this volume contains inscriptions
that are original, that not copied by Bodawpaya in the 18th century, but also
not necessarily contemporary to the event, but considered for orthographic
and other reasons, to be reliable.
24) Ibid., 342-4.
25) Burma, Home Department. Original Inscriptions collected by King Bodawpaya
in Upper Burma and now placed near the P"todawgyi Pagoda, Amarapura,
Rangoon, Office of the Supt., 1913, p. 3 7.

68 M-Aung.Thwin
nastery.26 The famous Ajawlat inscription, recorded in 1165 A.D.,
showed generous endowments being made to the sahgha as if everything
were normal. 27
Thus daily affairs of state and society, such as religious dedications,
water consecration ceremonies by the King and his ministers, the building
of monumental architecture (whose economic function of bringing
land under cultivation, employing people, providing social welfare, and
in general bringing about and carrying on tbe economic depelopmeni of
the kingdom) continued rather vigorously during the so-called interregnum
when presumably no king reigned. Moreover, Narapatisithu's
achievements in empire building and expansion, ·consolidation of the
military, and all those elements that implies secure foundations, could
not have come about with an interregnum that would have been the basis
for that growth. Rather, Narapatisitbu's long and secure reign of 37
years were based ,upon the progressive developments of those years that
preceded him, years in which effective administration governe~ tbe
country, not the chaos of an interregnum.
If there were no interregnum, who ruled during the period, and is
there evidence for it? If we depend entirely on the inscriptions, and for
a moment, reject the theory that Kulakya alias i m-ta w-syai1 was killed
in 1166, the problem could be solved. An origihal inscription has a
short list of kings in which Im-taw-syan was placed after Sak tau rhe or
Alaungsithu,2s while the chronicles placed Kulakya after Alaungsithu;
therefore historians had agreed that Kulakla was most likely im-tawsyan.
The questions arise only after Kulakya;. who followed him? The
Jatabon Chronicle, ~· 1 (List), pt.T; Rangcion, Strpt.
Govt. Print, 192!, no. 263, p. 31, which. noted that the inscription was
original.

TilE IJUESTIOI\ l)[o' AN INTEHHEGNUM IN l'ACAi\ : 116 5-117 4 A.ll. 69
Min Yin Naratheinkha after Kulakya, who ruled till Narapatisithu
ascended the throne in 1174 A.D., for which an inscription exists and
for which there is general agreement. Thus the problem is one of chro-·
nology between Alaungsithu and Narapatisithu. When did Alaungsithu
die, when did Kulakya come on the throne, and when did Min Yin
Naratheinkha succeed him?
The Thetsotaung inscription, which lists these kings, were read
differently by different persons. Prof. Luce has considered Min Yin
Naratheinkha a fictitious person, the result of the chroniclers combining
a later Min Yin and a later Narasii1ha-Ujjana, as argued by him. The
idea was originally published in an article by Ma My a Than in the JBRS,
who though admitting doubtful reading of the above inscription,
suggested that Narapati, not Narasiti.kha, followed im-taw-syai1.. 29
An inscription of 1267 A.D. mentioned one Mail Yail (Min Yin). 3 0
This Mat'l Yari had died, followed by one Cafisii, who was king while the
donor who erected the inscription was still a child. The donation was
made in the year 1267 A.D. Thus the Cansu mentioned here preceded
the donor and followed Mail Yai1. The oniy Cafisi:i available at this time,
i.e. when the don,orwas a child, had to be Narapatisithu, who ruled till
1211 A D. Thus there did exist a Mail Yan before Narapatisitbu.
The name Narasihkha (Naratheinkha) is associated with Mari Yail.
This Mari Yail Narasir1kha has become the recent controversy in the
history of Pagan. According to U Lu Pe Win's reading of the Thetsotaung
inscription, Narasinkha, not Narapati, followed im-taw-syail (unlike
Professor Luce's reading).31 Thus Prof. Luce has read the list as follows:
Man Lula6, Thiluin Man, Sak Tau Rhafi (Alaungsithu), im-taw-syail,
and Narapati. U Lu Pe Win has read the same inscription in this
manner: Man Lulan, Thiluin Mari, Sak Tau Rhafi, im~taw-Narasu,·
29) Ma Mya Than, "So~~ of the Earlier Kings of the Pagan Dynasty", JBRS, XXir,
pt. II (1932), 98-102 .. ' . . .
30) Selections From the Inscriptions of Pagan, ed. by G.H. Luce and Pe Maung Tin,
Rangoon university, f9Ts,·no .. 34, p. 83~.85: ' ·
31) U Lu Pe Win, (review,of) "Old Burma-Early Pagan','; JBRS, LIV, i and ii (Dec.
1971), 20-21.

70 M-Aung-Thwin
Naras(i)nkha. The crucial distinctions are these: is the word syan in
im-taw-syan as read by Luce actually narasii in im-taw-narasti as read
by Lu Pe Win? And is Narapati as read by Luce actually Naras(i)hkha
as read by Lu Pe Win?
With Professor Okell, the author has carefully scrutinized the
photographs of the inscription. There are twenty-two marks to account
for between the word taw (of im-taw-syan) and the next word; thus imtaw-narasii
as suggested by Lu Pe Win has one too many letters. However,
Naras(i)nkha as read by Lu Pe Win fits better than the Narapati of
Prof. Luce's reading. There is not much possibility for the last word to
have been ti (in Narapati). (See Inscriptions of Burma, plate LX a) it
seems then, that Prof. Luce is correct in reading im-taw-syan and wrong
in reading Narapati, while U Lu Pe Win is correct in reading Naras( i )­
nkha and wrong in reading lm-taw-Narasii. To this, add the fact above
concerning Mari Yan that precedes Narapatisithu, and we have a list
which has im-taw-syan followed by a Naras(i)ilkha, not Narapati. The
root of the problem was in assuming that im-taw-syai1 was killed by the
Sinhalese and therefore an interregnum followed, in which there could be
no kings. Since according to this assumption the raid occurred in 1165
A.D., the date for Alaungsithu's death was cut short and Kulakya's
accession and fall placed in 1165 A.D. And because Min Yin Naratheinkha
was considered fictitious, and Narapatisithu was known to have
ascended in 1174 A.D. the period 1165-1174 A.D. was made into an
interregnum.
The epithet Kulakya for im-taw-syan still remains a mystery. Profess~r
Luce documents two inscriptions as evidence, List 96 and 398.
The first one, copied in 1788 A.D. states that there was a "Kulakya Min
tha Min Sithu" 32 , which can be translated as either l) "Prince Kulakya
(who was Sithu Min"or 2) "Sithu Min (who was) the son ofKingKulakya."
The other inscription merely mentions boundaries of a dedication, which
was bounded on the east by a "Kulakya stream", without any reference
to a king.33
32) Burma, Home Department, Inscriptions Collected in UjJper Burma, Vol. I (Rangoon,
1900), 165-166. (hereafter cited as UBI or II).
33) VB, II, 810-811; UB, I, 302.

TilE l,lUESTlOI'O 01' AN INTEHHEGNUM IN PACAN; 1165-1174 A.D. 71
By the time these inscriptions were copied, the epithet "Kulakya"
was already known in the histories, the Jatatawbon and U Kala's Mahayazawillgyi.34
ln the absence of original inscriptions ever using the
epithet Kulakya, we may find that the name could well be a late one.
There really is no contemporary or near contemporary evidence that imtaw-syail
was KuHikya. ·
The case for Kyanzittha may serve as example. The Old Burmese
form of kya in Kulakya, should have been kla, with the constricted tone
("creaky tone" at SOAS) and the subscript I. The chronicles ran across
similar problems with Kyanzittba's name and consequently with the
stories that em_erged later, trying to explain the legendary origins for
the name. Because the modern Burmese spelling for the Old Burmese kla
was kya, Kyanzittha's Old BurmesejMon name Kalancacsa, became
Kyanzittha; and since kyan meant "left over'' a story evolved about his
being a "left over soldier" i.e. Aniruddba's attempts to find the future king
while still a babe were unsuccessful, providing Kyanzittha with kammic
legitimacy which otherwise birth did not. The same consonants are here
represented, in the word kya, and until we find in original Old Burmese
inscriptions the epithet Kulakya spelt in Old Burmese the bona fides of
the association between im-taw-syan and Kulakya remains a mystery.
Provisionally, there are several possibilities for a revised chronology
for this period 1165-1174 A.D. based entirely on the inscriptions mentioned
above, since the death of im-taw-syail, the regnal years of
Alaungsithu, and the interregnum, were all based on the assumption
that Ukkama was Pagan.
The Thetsotaung Inscription states that Alaunsithu succeeded
Kyanzittha and was in turn followed by im-taw syan, through the date is
obscure. The latter was succeeded by Naras(i)l1kha who was later
followed by Narapatisithu in 1174 (Min Saw Hla and Thetsotaung
Inscription). Alaungsithu was alive and well in 1165, 1168, and 1169
A.D. as shown by his original epithets, sak rhe and mron tu (note 21)
im-taw-syai:l then must have succeeded Alaungsithu in 1169/1170 A.D.
However, there is a Caiisii-Jeyyasu ra reigning in 1171 and 1172 A.D.
34) Mahashin Tilawuntha, .Jatatawbon Yazawin (I 5th century), ed. by U HlaTin,
Ran?oon? ~ 1961, P· 40-41 i and !.) K~la 1 Maha~azawin 1 Ran~oon? p,g.

74 M-Auog-Thwin
the assumption of one word (Ukkama to mean Pagan) bad created all
these wide ramifications so important to the history of Pagan. The
absence of linguistic, historical, or. even legendary evidence to support
the interpretation that Ukkama was Pagan; the physical-geographical
improbability of a lightning raid on Pagan during the height of the monsoons
as well as during the reign of a powerful king; the highly dramatized
narrative of events in the later Cli[avamsa, even if true, arguing against
such a raid up river; the confusion of the chronicles over the names,
places, and actions with regard to the raid; the absence of any facts in
the contemporary Sinhalese inscription that might point to Pagan, the
king of Pagan, and the destruction of either of these; and lastly, numerous
Old Burmese inscriptions that testified to the presence of a king or kings
during the period 1165-1174 A.D, all demand re-evaluation of the chronology
and consequent implications to the political and cultural history
of Pagan.
..,.

THE AMERICAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS ADVISERS
IN THAILAND, 1917-1940
by
Thamsook Numnonda 11
In 1917, tbe office of 'General-Adviser', which had been the most important
functionary in Thailand since the beginning of the 20th Century,
was changed to that of 'the Adviser in Foreign Affairs'. Assurances were
made by the Thai Minister for Foreign Affairs that no change in the
duties or responsibilities of the office was contemplated by the Thai
Government, and that the power, influence and prestige of the new office
would remain the same.!
reduced considerably in importance.
However, in practice, the advisership was
This was a blow to the prestige
of the American General-Advisers since only Americans had held this
chief position for nearly twenty years.z
As the matter stood, the idea of limiting the activities of the incumbent
of this office to advise only on foreign affairs instead of all state
functions was the result of the growing nationalist movement in
Thailand which aimed at the ultimate exclusion of foreigners from
government service. Since the beginning of the reign of King Rama VI
(1910-1925) it was an idea among the Thais that executive direction
had to be wholly Thai, and an open feeling existed in official circles of
* Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University.
This work was completed with the generous financial assistance of SEATO
which was granted in the form of a scholarship under the Cultural Programme
for 1972-1973.
1) Report of the Department of State Relating to the Internal Affairs of Siam
1910-1929, Microfilm no. 729, Roll 6 (Hereafter cited as US Archives 729/6)
United States Archives, no. 829. oia/23 Hornibrook-Secretary of State, March
3, 1916.
2) See Thamsook Numnonda, "The First American Advisers in Thai History" .
.Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 62, Part 2, July 1974, pp. 1 21-14 8.

76 Thamsook Numnonda
"Siam for the Siamese",3
The King himself led the tight for Siamization.
In his writing, which he took as a hobby, His Maje~ty insisted tbat better
use should be made of Thais who bad received their education in Europe,
and enquired what was tile value of education in Thailand itself if the
people of the country "are not to be anything but underlings." 4 In fact
from 1915 onwards, there was a gradual transfer of foreigners from
executive posts to positions as advisers where it too often appeared that
their advice was either unsought or neglected. The Thai Government
also displaced advisers and other persons of foreign nationality in the
employment of the government as soon as qualified Thais, trained abroad,
were available to fill their places. Sir Edward Grey, the British Parliamentary
Secretary, summed up the general attitude Of the Thais
as follows:
Young and old are imbued with a sense of nationalism and
a· great pride in everything Siamese. They all desire to see Siam
admired, respected and if possible feared. They all look forward
at any rate in theory, to the day when every vesting of foreign
control will have disappeared from the land ..... s
The role of the American as General-Advisei: was bit hard. It
suffered not only Thai criticism but also interference from other Legations
in Bangkok, especially the British, to abolish the posl.6 At the
same time the State Department at home acted indifferently towards the
wave of anti-foreignism. It made it clear to the. American Legation in
Bangkok on the subject of the employment of American advisers by the
Thai Government that the State Department was reluctant to take any
steps in the direction which might in' the.~emot~st way 'be inter:preted
. I . ' . ' ' : . ' • . . ~ . i I • I ! ' ' I :
-- ~ ····-·--·--.--.. -·~- ---
:3): US Archives Microfilm no. '729 Roll 3, 8912.00'/50' Edward E. Brodie-TheSecretary
of State, August 24, 1922.
· 4) Foreign Office Pap'er, Public Record Office, London·; File 3 7·1 (Hereafter cited
as F.O. 871) no.· .. 2464, Crosby-Sir Etlward Grey; Maw •ll; 191'5., Mr. Crosby
referred to the Article 'Clogs on .Our. Wheels' wrLtten' by; Kling Vajitavudh.
See also the Siam Observc1', April 22, 1915.
, . \':
·s> F.o:&7I/n50:,Qrex-CI.in:on;.f\:ugust,8,.,l~B,:.·.··: ,·:.-· >c. n '!, ··,·:
6) us Archrves 729/6, Edward E. Brodie~Secteiary or State; May 2Si 1922.

'l'l!E AMERICAN FOREH;N AFFAIRS ADVISERS IN THAILAND, 1917·1940 77
as bringing pressure to bear to obtain such appointments.? In 1916, J.I.
Westengard, then Arherican General-Adviser, himself recommended the
proposed change of status in the office of the General-Adviser. Consequently,
the importance of American General-Advisership was reduced
to Adviser in Foreign Affairs according to the recommendations made
by Mr. Hornibrook, the American Consul in Bangkok, but the office was
still occupied by an American.s
The American Foreign Advisers serving the Thai Government,
from 1917 until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1940, were
Eldon R. James, Francis B. Sayre, Courtenay Crocker, Raymond Bartlett
Stevens and Frederick R. Dolbeare.· ,· The tenures of office varied. Professor
James bad five years from 1918 to !923. Dr. Sayre spent less than
one year in Bang~ok and took. almost two ;years to perform . several
important. ,dip~ornati~. missi~n~. in Eunwe for the Thai Goverm:nent.
Crocker's tenvre ~ast~d only .two ye/;lrs ( 1924-1925). In fact during the
last year of. D,r. Sayre~~ service, there were two Advisers in Foreign
Affairs, one in Europe on special duty and the other in Bangkok. Stevens
stayed nine years (1926-!935) and Dolbeare about five (1935-1940).
Wh.at was' striking was .th.e fact that all these Foreign Advisers
possessed:not,aple qualifications. Dr. James wasa gr~duate o~ Harvard
Law Scbo~l,. anq had been. Professor of. the :Universities of Wisconsin
and Minnesota. and Dean of the. Law S,

78 Thamsook Numnonda
of the Trust National Bank of Boston. He was also President of the
Foreign Policy Association of Massachusetts and actively associated
with the World Peace Foundation.u Stevens, another Harvard Law
School graduate was a member of the Legislature of the State of New
Hampshire for four sessions 1909, 1911, 1913, 1923, a member of the U.S.
Congress, 1913-1914, a Counsel to the Federal Trade Commission, a Commissioner
of the United States Shipping Board and a United States delegate
on the Allied Maritime Transport CounciJ.l3 Dolbeare was a graduate of
Yale and Columbia Law School, the first break in Harvard's role. He
bad served with the State Department from 1915 to 1928 in various
capacities at Vienna, Bern, Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, London, Ottawa and
Istanbul before joining the J. Henry Schroder banking firm.
Thai Government officials appointed each adviser solely on the basis
of merit. The American Government did not directly participate.
Contact appeared to have been between certain Thai Princes and such
American individuals as Dean Pound of the Harvard Law School and
former American advisers.
In 1917, prior to his resignation as Adviser in Foreign Affairs,
Pitkin recommended 45-years old Eldon James. James was also recommended
by J.I. Westengard, the former General-Adviser. The Thai
Minister in Washington interviewed James and recommended him for his
'unusually pleasant manner. .. likely to take with our people ..."14 though
he was not quite satisfied in his own mind that James was really properly
qualified for the position. The Minister thought that the candidate
should not only be well versed in International Law but also should have
experience in governmental affairs, and James apparently lacked this. 1 s
In connection with the appoigtment in 1923 of Dr. Sayre, James
was asked to nominate his own successor. He, however, had no one in
mind for the position, and suggested to Prince Devawongse, the Thai
12) Bangkok' Times, Adviser in Foreign Affairs communique, June 23, 1924.
13) F.O. 371/12535, Waterlow-Sir Austen Chamberlain, January 28, 1927.
14) US Archives 729/6, 892. oia/34, lngersoll~the Secretary of State, January
11, 1918.
15) Ibid.

TilE A~!Jo:HICAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS AUVISEHS lN TffAlLAND, 1917-19,10 79
Foreign Minister, that he apply to Pitkin, his immediate predecessor. 16
But the Prince was not sympathetic to the suggestion. The Thai Government
then instructed Phya Prabha Karawongse, the Thai Minister in
Washington, to communicate with Dean Pound of Harvard Law School
with respect to a likely candidate. Pound recommended Francis B. Sayre
as 'none could be better fitted for the place•.l7 Mr. Sayre's appointment
was originally for one year, which seemed to be the maximum time be
could be spared from the work of the Law School. As for Crocker, who
succeeded Sayre, be was appointed as Adviser after consultation between
the Thai Minister in Washington and Dr. James.IB
In 1925 when Crocker's term came to an end, Prince Tridos, the
Thai Foreign Minister, asked Sayre and James, together with Phya Buri
Navarasth, the Thai Minister in Washington, to find 'a good impression
man'.' 9 Sayre reported that after innumerable interviews be had discovered
a 'large calibre man', Raymond B. Stevens, who was known for 'his
broad experience, great ability in transacting public affairs, wide and
very human sympathy, his altogether likeable personality ... ' According
to Sayre, James heartily concurred.2o
In 1935, Stevens was commissioned to find his own successor. After
consultations with Sayre, then Assistant Secretary of State, and Luang
Dithakar Bhakti, the Thai Minister in Washington, he recommended
Frederick Dolbeare, 'a man desirable for adviser, .... of varied and valuable
experience representative abroad, .... a good personality, and seems
acceptable in every way•.21 Sayre agreed.
---------------------------------
16) US Archives 729/6, 892. oia/67, Brodie-Secretary of State, March 7,1923.
17) Foreign Ministry Archives, Bangkok, Thailand, File Miscellaneous, The employment
of foreigners. (Hereafter cited as FM) no. 7/6290, Telegram, Phya
Buri-Prince Traidos, July 18, 1923.
18) US Archives 729/6, 892. oia/79, Dickson-Secretary of State, May 26, 1924.
19) FM. Copy no. 44/68, ·Cablegram, Prince Traidos-Siamese Minister in Washington,
November 19, 1925.
20) US Archives 729/6, 892. oia/93, Dickson -Secretary of State, December 5,
1925.
21) fM.IJ.C?· 3015, Tele~ram, Luan~ DithalcMllllal

80 Thamsook Numnonda
II
After 1917 the American Advisers in Foreign Affairs .still played a
useful and important role in Thailand's international politics, though
the powers were more limited. The duties were strictly advisory,
technical and were not supposed to inyolve keeping in personal touch
w~tb the Foreign Legations.22 . The officejtself was reduced to a brunch
in the. Foreign Ministry with a staff of ten or twelve young Thai diplornats.23
.· However, as just mentioned,. the. Advisers .. were still influential.
The best general desc~;iption· of the function of Adviser is contained in
the letter which James sent to King Vajiravudh and Prince Deva wongse
in 1918. ··
.. , ... When .I saw Mr. Westengard at his horne during February,
1918, he told me that my great duty would be to work for
... the maintenance of the independence. of Siam .. T.his appeafed to
·.me as a task of the most inspiring charact~r and worthy of my best
endeavours arid, accordingly, I came out filied with enthu'siasm at
. the prospect of becoming one of the very distinguished line of
American advisers in the serviC:e of.HisMajesiy•s Government ... 24
22) · F.o. 371/10346, F4/4/40, GreY:-curzon, November 27; 192·3.
2.·3) The Chart of Division of Responsibility of Mini~try- for Foreign Affairs :
... Ministry fcir F'oreign.A.ffail$
. 'I . .. .. . . . .'
Under S~cretary of State.
of Foreign Affairs
I
. . · ..... r ..
Aqviser in Foreign, Affairs
·· AssistaD:t Undersecret!U'ies ·.. Cabine.t of.the Ministers
I . I · ··
'•' ···' .'•''\.:···.······· .. · ,,1 ....:.,_,~:'
Pohttcal Secuon ·· · Cdn·sular · ·· · · Archives· ··' . ·· Acc·ounts ·
, See US Archives 729/6, Division or'R:e~~6n~i&ifity of Ministry for' Foreign
Affairs undated. · ' ,. ,., : !,., ~

TJIE MIEI\lCAN FOHEIGN AFFAIRS ADVISERS IN THAILAND, 1917·19

82 Thamsook Numnonda
by Dr. James who insisted .on carrying out the 'inspiring task' of working
for 'the maintenance of Thailand's independence'.27
The main point of discussion was the wish of the Thai Government
to obtain a treaty which would define a certain period after which the
enjoyment of American extraterritorial rights in Thailand should cease
entirely. James pressed hard. He demanded a fixed definite date for
the termination of all extraterritorial jurisdiction, preferably on the date
of the promulgation of all the Thai Codes: namely the penal code, the
codes of procedure, the civil and commercial codes, and the law for the
organization of the courts. Prior to such termination, the Thai Government
was willing to agree that legal proceedings against Americans be
tried in Thai Courts with the understanding that any case pending before
the court of the first instance or the court of appeal might be evoked,
That is to say, the case could be taken out of the hands of the Thai courts
and disposed of by the Consular Court or the American Minister. This
would. supersede, for the transition period, the practice of trying such
cases solely before American Consuls and the American Minister. The
important point '.James was making was that the absolute termination
of such jurisdictional rights would be on .a definite d~te.2s
The question next in importance was that of fiscal autonomy.
Thailand was bound by treaty to fixed ad valorem import and export
tariffs;-the import duty being established at the preposterously low rate
of three percent.
After months of discussion the treaty was signed on December 15,
1920 defining the following important points:
First, extrality in Thailand was abolished, but the right of evocation
in all legal proceedings for a period of five years was preserved.
. ..
Second, full fiscal autonomy was granted to Thailand. Thailand had
the right, to impose any tariff she pleased against American goods,
27) See Peter B. Oblas, "A Very Small Part of World Affairs"., Siam's Policy on
Treaty Revision and the Paris Peace Conference," Jowmal of the Siam Society,
July 1971, V.ol, 59, Part 2, pp. 51-74.
28) US Archives .730, Memorandum Regarding the Proposed Surrender of Juris­

'!'liE AMEH!CAN FOI\EIGN AFFAII\S ADVISERS IN THAILAND, 1917·1940 83
provided that all the other Treaty Powers agreed to similar provisions
without compensations or price.
Third, the treaty of 1856 was abrogated, and the new treaty was
made terminable after ten years by either party upon giving one years'
notice. A clause provided that its termination should not have the
effect of reviving any of the former treaties abrogated by the new one.
The treaty was of epoch-making importance for Thailand. She
was at last freed from the old extraterritorial restrictions. America
demanded and received no compensation whatsoever. The success and
assistance of Dr. James in pushing through the treaty were invaluable.
King Vajiravudh remarked:
..... The new treaty is in effect an assurance of justice
given to us by the United States of America and, on that accorurit,
it marks the initial success of our efforts towards the revision of
the old Treaties which constitute an obstacle to the advancement
of our policy and it leads us to hope that all the Great Powers will
ultimately help to rid us from such obstacle in the same generous
spirit .. . 29 .
And in a personal letter to James:
I know-none better-with what loyalty and zeal yo·u have
carried out your onerous duties, and that you have done so with
that wholeheartedness and honesty of purpose which I have learnt
to respect-and have ever found-in the best type of your compatriots.
I therefore feel sure that you will continue t~J give us of your
best ... 30
After the American treaty of 1920, James then advised the Thai
Government on negotiations with the other w·es.tern powers, but, tip to
almost the end of 1923, when he turned the office over to DL Sayre, the
discussions bogged dowti. England' w~s. the most troublesollle and
29) Bangkok Times, January 3, 19,22.
30) Quoted· in Kenneth .'~.Young; ... The Special Role of· American Advisers in
Thailand 1902-1949'' Asia, (New York. no. 14, Spring, 1969), p. 28 ..

84 Thamsook Numnonda
the most difficult to deal with. She would not go beyond the treaty that
she had made with Thailand in 1909. And Thailand bad no more territory
to give away. Thailand realized that until she could succeed in
separately persuading England, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Spain and Portugal each to give up its fiscal rights
voluntarily without any compensation, the country had to be sadly bound
by the rights of extrality in addition to the old three percent tariff
restriction. The problem of bow to induce ten European nations, some
of whom had very substantial commercial interests in Thailand, to give
away their rights for nothing seemed insoluble. In spite of the American
treaty, Thailand seemed from a practical viewpoint no nearer her goal
than before. 31
Experience bad shown, however, that Thailand failed repeatedly in
her efforts to persuade European Powers to surrender their existing rights
through representatives in Bangkok. The force of local prejudice and
the unavoidable lack of understanding on the part of the ordinary and
routine methods of negotiations could end only in failure. If success were
possible it could come only through direct, personal work in Europe.
Accordingly, King Vajiravudh decided to send a representative on a
roving commission to Europe to visit, one after another, the European
Foreign Offices with special instructions with reference to the elimination
of extraterritorial rights and to complete fiscal autonomy for Thailand.
The King's choic;e was Dr. Sayre who in 1924 had to leave Thailand
after his one year's service as Foreign Adviser in order to join his family
which had left earlier for health reasons,
After two years of extensive travels, ceaseless energy and superb
diplomatic tact, Dr. Sayre was able to sign treaties with France, England,
Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium
and Italy. 3 2 All these treaties invoJved tbe surrender of extrality and in
31) See Francis B. Sayre, "Siam's Fight for Sovereignty", Atlantic Monthly, November,
1927 and "The Passing of Extraterritoriality in Siam", Ameticm 1 ,Journal
of International Law,Jao.uary,_1928.
32) The dates of the signature of the Treaties are as follows:
United States Treaty December 1.6, 1920
Japanese Treaty March I 0, 1924

Till~ AMEHlCAN FOHEIGN Al1FAIHS ADVISEHS TN THAILAND, 1917-19

86 Thamsook Numnonda
trained cunning of Europe ... I should think you would find the
life of even a Harvard Law Professor a bit tame after such an
experience,34
Other admirers wrote:
And
To have helped a small country free itself from the octopus
tentacles of self-seeking Powers is not only great merit in you, but
also through you, great credit to America .. ,35
... As lovers of Siam we ask that you will accept our most
hearty thanks for your labors on Siam's behalf ...... Your work is
a remarkable account of a wonderful series of successes in accomplishing
most difficult tasks ... This great service to Siam places
you forever in the list of her greatest benefactors and her people
and all her friends will not forget you,36
After Sayre, the Tl:iai Government continued to employ Americans,
Stevens and Dolbeare, as Advisers in Foreign Affairs until the approach
of the Second World War in the Pacific in 1940. However,
their normal duties in assisting in the revision of the foreign treaties
became less significant. Also it appeared that American prestige in
Thailand underwent a gradual decline from 1931 to 1940. On the other
hand, Thai-Japanese relations we1;e growing more and more cordial, and
Japanese prestige was rising, this, too, until 1941 when· the Japanese
army occupied Thaihuid. ·
The American f9reignAdviser took up his important assignment
once again in 1933 corresponding to Thailand's putting into effect the
full battery of modern legal codes required by the Powers. Through
this Thailand wished to ba:se her c'ommercial relations on modern treaties,
to safeguard her national econ9my from foreign domination as well as to
. ' . . ' .
''
34) The Papers of Fran. cis. Bowe~ .Sayre, Library of Congress,: Manus9ript Division
(Here,after cited a~· Sayre Pape_rs), Subject ,File ~ox.l; ,George Thpmpson-Sayre,
April22, 1927. , , .,
35) Sayr~ Paper~. Box 1, A,fl. L(\ono~ens~Sayre, DecC\m~er6, 1927.. · !.
3 6) Sayre Papers, ·Box, 1,· Mckean ,(Chiarig Mai Hospiti!l, ·and. Dispensary),.... Sayre,
March 10, 1928. ' : . · .. , . , · · • ·, :

TilE AMERICAN FOl\EJl;N AFFA!l\S ADVJSEI\S IN THAILAND, !917-l%0 87
obtain formal recognition of the final extinction of extrality. In 1933,
Pridi Phanomyong, the Thai Foreign Minister, together with Stevens and
later on with Dolbeare, began to negotiate the new treaties which were
completed in 1937. America took the lead as always. She signed the
treaty with Thailand in 1937 and other powers took similar action in the
months that followed.
The American-Thai treaty of 1937 covered matters of entry,
residence, and movement of nationals of each country in the territory
of the other country; it stipulated with a few exceptions, most-favourednation
treatment in commercial matters, and provided for national treatment
of shipping. It also contained provisions respecting th~ rights,
functions and jurisdiction of consular officers.37
The treaty of 1937 completely replaced the treaty of 1920. Thailand
was enormously pleased to have regained full and explicit sovereignty
through this, and she was grateful to America and to the helping
role of the American Foreign Advisers for the unselfish part they played.
This was exemplified in the remark of M.R. Seni Pramoj, the Thai Ambassador,
upon presenting his credentials to President Roosevelt in 1940:
For my own part, I beg to mention the sympathy and support
which the United .States have manifested toward my country, in
both her past and her recent successful efforts to obtain full and
complete autonomy through treaty negotiations, have ingrained in
me a pious sense of gratitude .. ,3s
<
Besides the active part in treaty revisions, all American Foreign
Advisers also had roles in other internal affairs. In fact, they were active
in every step taken by the Thai Government in carrying out the King's
programme of advance. For example, Sayre saw the King constantly
and worked with His Majesty in furthering the royal plans for Thai
progress. In 1926, soon after King Rama VII came to the throne, Dr.
Sayre submitted a memorandum in reply to the King's questions concern-
3 7) US Archives, File 711. 922/172, Department of State, For the Press, October
7, 1938.
38) The Department of State, Bulletin VII, p. 716.

88 Tbamsook Numnondu
ing the Thai political situation. He gave some wise suggestions on principles
of succession to the throne, the work of government, the appointM
ment of Prime Minister~ the authority of the Supreme Council, the creation
of a Legislative Council, and the general situation of financial affairs.
He even proposed a preliminary draft of a short Constitution which was
supposed to be the framework of the Government as discussed by him.
This was the first and most precise Constitution ever mentioned in Thailand's
history of administration. It consisted of 12 articles, investing
supreme powers in the King with the assistance of a Premier and a
Cabinet,39
Stevens was also consulted in all matters including retrenchment
and taxation.
In 1929 he was believed to be on the Constitution Drafting
Committee but the work was called off by the Supreme Council
since it was agreed that the time was not yet ripe for Thailand to introduce
a Constitutional Monarchy. Dolbeare, the last adviser before the World
War, was active in the Thai Farmer assistance programme since he was
an expert on American legislation on the subject.
III
It is interesting to note that friendship existed fondly between the
American advisers and the Thais. Most advisers regarded Thailand as
their 'home'. Their length of tenure was, of course, the key to this
success. As has been earlier mentioned, James' term was some five years,
Sayre about three, Crocker's two years was short and less successful,
Stevens spent nine years and Dolbeare five years. In considering the
fact that Americans nowadays have only two years in Thailand and
many advis.ers only a year, we should recall Prince Devawongse's
statement in 1923 that:
39) National Archives, Fine Arts Department, Bangkok, 7th Reign, File B. (ltu~ n)
1.3/32 no. 47, Prince Damrong's Private Papers, Supreme Council Section,
Memorandum on Administration, July 23-August I. 1926. King Rama VII's
Memo o.n Administration to Francis B. Sayre, July 23, 1926.
Memo of Sayre on Administration to King Rama VII, July 27, 1926.
For furth~r details, plea~e sell t)le supplementary notes,

TJIE A~IEHICAN FOHEIUN AFFAIHS ADVJSEHS IN TJJAJLAND, !917-L%0 89
We Siamese will like the man who knows us well and whom
we have full confidence and worked together for a length of time
than a new man, who will be new to everything in Siam.4o
It is most difficult to compare the accomplishment of these advisers.
Each was notable in his own way. James was a highly capable adviser,
straight-forward, trusted, honourable and liked by the Thais from the
King down.4t Prince Devawongse once wrote to him:
Your assistance to me is most precious ... without your most
valuable assistance I could hardly accomplish the duties which
devolved upon me ... I sincerely believe that the Royal Siamese
Government really want a man like you who can be trusted to advise
them on the spot whenever any question of foreign affairs might
crop up at any time, and you can well imagine for yourself that
when they desire a very sound and impartial advice in foreign
affairs, to whom can they call upon to do in Siam? ... I am perfectly
satisfied with you in every way and I know of nobody who is dissatisfied
with your service in Siam ... I really want you to be in
Siam as long as we could persuade you to do so ... 42
When James resigned and went back to America in 1923 to take
his post at Harvard University, his departure was deeply felt among the
Thai officials.
Friendship between Sayre and Thailand was most striking. The
Thais are very appreciative of his work and have been most commendatory
of his dilligence and faithfulness in the performance of his duties.
In fact, Sayre certainly made himself popular from the time of his arrival
and was the recipient of unusual marks of confidence and favour on the
part of the King. 43 In appreciation of his efforts for Thailand Sayre
was given a Thai noble title-Phya and granted the official name of 'Phya
Kalyan Maitri' meaning 'Phya the Beloved Friend'. He was also awarded
40) P.M. Prince Devawongse-James, March 2, 1923.
41) US Archives 729/6,892. oia/36, Ingersoll-Secretary of State, May 27, 1918.
42) Eldon James Papers, Prince Devawongse-Eldon James, March 29, 1919.
43) F.O, 371/10351, Grey-Ramsay MacdQnald, June 27, 192,4,

90 Thamsook Numnonda
the Grand Cross of the Crown of Thailand, including permanent appointment

THE AMI.m!CAN FOHEIGN AI

92 Thamsook Numnonda
All the chief officials of the Kingdom as well as many of
Frank's old friends were gathered there. (the Government Residence)
Speeches were exchanged and I can never forget some of
the things they said about "Kalyan". In the middle of the dinner
a Siamese chorus, aqcompanied by native stringed instruments,
sang the song of welcome composed in our honor. A very rough
translation from the Siamese runs something like this:
'Elated is the Prime Minister
To welcome as a good omen
The visit of Pbya Kalyan Maitri
And charming Khun Yin:g to Thailand.
Chao Khun with distinction served
Our Government in the past ;
The results greatly pleased His Majesty
And his memory will live forever.
'Let us welcome today Chao Khun and Khun Ying,
Great friends of ours for many years past;
May the Triple Gem protect them both,
And may they be blest with happiness and wealth
May no iUness come in their way
And may their wishes be fulfilled always,
May our two nations be closely drawn together
In 'Kalyan Maitri•.so
As regards Crocker, be was also personally very charming, following
so closely on the heels of Sayre, his predecessor. Unfortunately, his
high calibre was overshadowed by both James and Sayre who were held
in very high esteem among the Thais.
Stevens and Dolbeare were both unfortunate in the. sense that tbeit
tenure was untimely. It was the time when American-Thai relations
ware at a very'low.,,point partly due to the lack of enthusiasm with which
50) Sayre, Glad Ad:venture, p. 127,

TilE AMEH!CAN FOJ\Eir;N AFFAIJ\S ADVISERS IN THAILAND, 1917-I9·10 93
America greeted the revolutionary threat to the Cbakkri Dynasty in the
early 1930's and partly to the disappearance of official Thai support for
American missionary enterprise following the Revolution of 1932 and
the even more serious differences of opinion with respect to Thai pressure
on Indo-China after France's fall. Worse still, since the coup d'etat,
new Thai officials in the Thai Government had greater self-confidence
and believed that they possessed more freedom of action.S! Also the
state of economy in Thailand offered less prospect for foreign advisers.
In 1933 the Thai Foreign Minister even said, "We do not need any
adviser".s2 Still Stevens fared well. He was given the complete confidence
of the Thais. One reason for his success was that he was known
to be whole-heartedly loyal to the Thai Government.S3
The same case could apply to Dolbeare. In spite of being polished
and amicable he was allotted very little responsibility in the Foreign
Office and then voluntarily resigned five years later when he felt that it
was time that his engagement should come to an end.
With the departure of Dolbeare in 1940 the chapter of the active,
influential and important role of American Advisers in Foreign Affairs
in Thailand carne to a close.
5 t) US Archives, File no. 89 2.011/12, J. Holbrook Chapman-Secretary of State,
January 6, 1933.
52) F.O. 371, F 1991/1991/40, Annual Report on Siam for 1933.
53) US Archives, File no. 892.oia/103, David E. Kaufman-Secretary of State,
April 7, 1932.

94 Thamsook Numnonda
Supplementary Notes
Outline of Preliminary Draft of the Constitution
proposed by Dr. Sayre
ARTICLE
The Supreme Power throughout the Kingdom shall be vested in His
Majesty the King.
ARTICLE II
The King shall appoint a Premier who shall be responsible to the
King for the entire executive work of the Government. He may be diemissed
by the King at any time.
ARTICLE III
The Premier shall appoint and may remove on his own responsibi
lity the Ministers of State at the heads of the various Government
Ministries. He shall be responsible to the King for the entire work of
each Ministry. He shall also be charged with the duty of carrying out the
general policies of the Government as directed by the King and of coordinating
for this purpose the work of the separate Ministries.
ARTICLE IV
Each Government Minister shall be responsible directly to the
Premier for the work of h1s own Ministry. He shall assist in carrying
out the general policies directed by the Premier.
ARTICLE V
The Cabinet shall b~ .called tog~ther ~nd presided over by the
Premier, and shall be composed of all the Ministers of State. It may

Till·~ A~IEHJCAN FOHEIGN AFl•'AlRS AD\'JSEHS IN 'l'IIAJLAND, 1917·19•J.O 95
discuss matters of common interest, but the responsibility for all decisions
shall rest with the Premier.
ARTICLE VI
The Premier will refer to the King for decision all questions of
large general policy. In all matters he shall be subject to the direct
control of the King.
ARTICLE VII
The King shall appoint a Supreme Council of five members. The
Premier shall be a member ex officio, but no other Cabinet officer shall
be a member. The Supreme Council shall exercise no executive power
whatsoever. Its function shall consist solely in giving to the King when
called upon to do so advise on questions of general policy or on questions
other than the detailed executive work of the Government. It shall
have no power to advise as to appointments nor as to details of administration.
It shall however have the power to interpelate the Premier or
any Cabinet officer.
ARTICLE VIII
The King shall appoint and may remove at any time the members
of the Privy Council.
ARTICLE IX
Within three days of ascending the throne the heir apparent shall
be provisionally chosen by the King with the advice and consent of the
Privy Council. The choice shall be limited to sons of a King and a
Queen or to those of Royal Blood, but shall not be otherwise limited
either by rank or seniority. The choice of tbeheir apparent shall not be
irrevocable, but shall be freshly made by the King with the advice and
YQnsent of the Priv~ CotJncil ~t th~ eng of f!ach ;five-year .period thereafter,

96 Thamsook Numnonda
(Note: Or perhaps a period longer than five years may be desired.)
Should the King die before any choice has been made, the heir apparent
shall be chosen immediately after the King's death by the Privy Council.
In all cases three quarters of the members of the Privy Council then
within the Kingdom shall be necessary to elect.
ARTICLE X
The judicial power, subject to the supreme power of the King, shall
be vested in the Supreme or Dika Court and in such inferior Courts as
the King may from time to time create.
ARTICLE XI
The supreme legislative power shall rest in the King.
ARTICLE XII
Changes in this fundamental law may be made only by the King
with the advice and consent of three quarters of the members of the
Privy Council.

A GLANCE AT SHAMANISM IN SOUTHERN
THAILAND*
by
Mary Jane Gandour and Jackson T. Gandour**
This paper gives a brief description of Thai shamanism as practised
in our neighborhood on the island of Phuket, Thailand. It is based upon
two months (May-June 1975) of observation and follow-up interviews.
Included is a description of the guardian spirits, the spirit mediums, and
sessions with the spirH mediums.
1. The Guardian Spirits of Nakorn Sitammarat
Every provincial capital in Thailand has its guardian spirits who
protect the city from danger and evil. Nakorn Sitammarat bas nine
such spirits, who are believed to act through our neighborhood spirit
mediums. The chart below lists the names and specialized functions of
the guardian spirits of Nakorn Sitammarat.
* We wish to gratefully acknowledge the generous cooperation and assistance
from our two Thai informants, whose names have been changed in the paper at
their request. This study was completed under a fellowship granted by the
Social Science Research Council and the American Council of learned Societies
and a National Science Foundation Grant For Improving Doctoral Dissertation
Research in tbe Social Sciences. The statements in this paper are those of the
authors alone.
** Mary Jane Gandour is a Special Education teacher from the Torrance Unified
School District-Torrance, California. She has a BA in English from Wheeling
College and an MAT from the University of Pittsburgh. She has done courscwork
in psychology at UCLA.
Jackson T. Gandour served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Phang-nga, Thailand
from 1964-1966. He conducted research for his doctoral dissertation in linguistics
in Thailand for 7 months in 197 5 under grants from the Social Science
Research Council and the American Council of ·Learned Spcieties and .the
National Science Foundation. While in Thailand he was officially affiliated
'with the Central Institute of Engfish Language at Mahidol University. · He is a ·
l!octorql c!!ndi9M~ in lio~uistics at the lJniversity of California at Los An~elesi

98 Mary Jane Gandour and Jackson T. Gandour
-~----------,------------··· ··-·-········ .
__
SP_E_C_IA_L_I_Z_E_D_F_U_N_C2'_I0 NS_
1
I. Khruu W a at ~ntwhl'l p1ff Commands the other spirits
---. ------·---- 1-------------------
------·-~---·-·----------------··--·
2. Phothawchaajmyang Wfltwi1'1J1tll,jtl~ Gives advice
G_:U_:A:_R__:_D_I_A_N_S_PI_R_IT_S __ -TI __
3. Phothawsongmyang W!ll~l'l'mllJ!N Helps the sick and in~~red ____ _
4. Phothawsyamyang wntwJll~!lu1n~ Helps the sick a_~d injured __ _
!II ' ILl -- •
5. Cawmaelakmyang t'll1!UJ1Hlf111J!l~ Prevents bad pregnancies
_6_._Ph_o_t_h_a_w.::.p_h_ra_a_n_bu_n_w_'
o_IWJ_' ,_w_,_,u_:~!._tlJ:__+_C_a_s_ts_o_ut_ev_i_l_s_p_i r_i t_s____ __ _ ___
I f '"\ cf
7. Photbawphraancit Wfltwnws1U'Illl111 Foretells the future
I 1 "'\ ,f • 0 0
8. Phothawsit vwtWJ1ffl111 Casts out evtl spmts
1---------:-:-----1----------- ---·-----
!( •
9. Phrayaalindam vm:v11'1U~1 Casts out evil spirits
The guardian spirits can be further distinguished from each other.
Khruu Waat, the ancestor and teacher of all the others, has the most
strength and power. He usually comes once a year at the annual
celebration in honor of Manora, a character from the Jataka tales, who
is much revered in southern Thailand. Otherwise, he delegates his
authority to the other eight subordinate spirits.
Of these, Phothawchaajmyang, his grandson, is the most powerful,
and Phothawphraancit is the most humorous. Unquestionably, the most
violent is Phrayaalindam. With his predisposition for fire, he extinguishes
candles in his mouth· and crushes lit joss sticks in his hand.
Cawmaelakmyang,, the only female spirit, represents the pure blood of
the first-pregnant women sacrificed in a fertility rite at the founding of
Nakorn Sitammarat. Phothawsyamyang, Photbawphraanbun, and Phothawphraancit
are all fond of Manora and frequently perform gestures
from the manora folk dance. The remaining two Phothawsongmyang
and Phothawsit come least frequently.
Although each has a specialized function, the guardian spirits all
have the abmty to give advice and explain Hf~·~ ·((vents, for~tell th((

A !;LANCE AT SHA~JANISM IN SOUTHEHN THAILAND 99
future, control future events, cure illnesses, chase away ghosts, and
exorcise evil spirits. In Section 3.3 these functions are illustrated with
actua I cases.
2. The Spirit Mediums
Of the two spirit mediums we observed, one is female, the other
male. The female Ying was born in Phuket in 1912. Her family, which
included several manora performers, had moved from Nakorn Sitammarat
several years earlier.
In 1951 Ying's brother who had been suffering from a neck injury
for over a year consulted a shaman in Phuket. He was instructed to
build a spirit house for the guardian spirits of Nakorn Sitarnmarat.
Although they did reside in this spirit house, these spirits never considered
Ying's brother to be a suitable candidate for a medium.
A year later Ying saw herself offering rice to these same guardian
spirits in a dream. The next evening Pbothawchaajmyang came to her
at dusk. By 1957 she had served as a medium for all of the guardian
spirits except Phrayaalindam who does not like women.
During the annual ceremony that year, some plastic flowers fell on
a pillow in front of the spirit house signifying that the last guardian
spirit Phrayaalindam wanted to come. Ying then began her search for
a male medium. She finally chose her nephew Chai in 1965, and Phrayaalindam
came to him at the annual ceremony. To date, Chai has
served as a medium for four other spirits. As Ying grows older, Cbai
will gradually serve as a medium for all nine. Ying is now 63 and Chai
is 43.
The mediums claim to have no control over which spirits enter
their bodies. We have seen as few as one and as many as five in one
evening. They also claim not to remember what they did while acting
for the spirits. Ying and Chai believe that they would die immediately
if they refused entry to any of the guardian spirits.
3. Sessions with the .Spirit ~ediums
3.1 Setting and Objects

100 Mary Jane Gandour and Jackson T. Gandour
The sessions take place three evenings a week in the dimly-lit front
room of a typical Thai house. The window shutters and door are closed
for privacy.
A red and gold spirit house is enshrined on a five-foot wide wooden
altar. Around the spirit house are the following objects which frequently
appear during the sessions: (1) a four-foot long wooden scepter with gold
gilding used horizon tally for calling the angels from all four points of tbe
compass and vertically to stir potions, (2) a mask used for performing
the manora dance, (3) liquor, herbs, roots, and coconut water used for
driving out infection, and (4) flowers, incense, powder, and cherry soda
used for creating a sweet, fragrant atmosphere inviting to the guardian
spirits.
Beneath the altar is a chalice containing: ( 1) a large red candle
Called thiankbruu (lriV'IH11)
.
to draw forth the guardian spirits, (2) a
knife to symbolically cut out evil, (3) betal aut to cure minor maladies,
(4) phuu (w) leaves to relieve aches and pains, and (5) chiangphraa

A GLANCE AT SHAMANISM IN SOUTIIEllN THAILAND 101
up the sides of the candle, past the flame and up to her face three times.
She sits quietly with her palms together in front of her face and then
cups her hands in her lap. She continues staring into the flame of the
thiankhruu, her mouth protrudes, and her head gradually lowers closer
and closer to the flame. Her head begins to move from left to right, at
first almost imperceptibly, and finally in a gentle rhythmic movement.
Her eyes close, and she begins breathing deeply, clearing her throat and
making requests of the attendant. He pours her some cherry soda and
places a lit thianyaam in her right hand. She stares into its flame with
glazed and bulging eyes, her left hand on her left hip. Through her, one
of the guardian spirits is now ready to deal with one of the evening's
cases. This entire procedure usually takes about five minutes.
Chai goes through. essentially the same procedure with a few
variations. He first remove's his Buddhist amulets. Although shamanism
is not incompatible with Buddhism, the power of the Buddha
images is considered to be greater than that of the guardian spirits and
could prevent a spirit from entering the medium's body. Phrayaalindam,
who is generally the first to enter Chai's body, arrives more violently
than the others. After staring at the flame of the thiankhruu for about
a minute, Chai begins to inhale and exhale rapidly. Suddenly his head
shakes furiously from left to right and his teeth rattle. The rapid head
movement which las~s for about 30 seconds slows down into a gentle
rhythmic sway. He continues to breathe deeply making gutteral noises,
growling, and occasionally breaking into a stylized laugh. His eyes are
" I
bal~-closed and slightly rolled back. After he has sipped some soda and
stared into the thia,nyaarn, he too is ready to turn to one of the cases at
hand ..
3.3 Clients and Treatment
Although there is no fixed fee, people who come to see tbe guardian
spirits generally make an offering of JO to 20 baht, a bottle of cherry
·soda 'or a package of joss sticks. If the spirit's help: was of major
importance in a person's life, he or she may donate a large sum of money,
·place sotne -thi.m sheets of gold gilding on :the s.hrine, or bring an offering
such as a pig's head to the annual ceremony.

102 Mary Jane Gandour and Jackson T. Gandour
Many people come seeking advice on day to day issues involving
child rearing or disputes with spouses or neighbors. Others want
explanations for life's events. An interesting example involved a
successful local businessman. His coffee shop was located near a natural
tourist attraction, the 4-Branched Coconut Tree, which bad been
destroyed by high winds the night before. Confused and distraught,
he wanted to know whether be bad done anything to offend the tree spirit.
Pbothawchaajmyang assured him that he had done nothing wrong.
Instead the time bad simply come for the spirit to leave the tree. His
original good fortune would return provided be make an offering of red
paper, flowers, joss sticks, and candles at the tree site.
The future was the concern of a couple eager to have a child, a
student anxious to pass a test and a young man desperate to find a job.
However, a winning lottery number is the prediction most frequently
requested. Here, the guardian spirits joke, tease, equivocate and often
speak in riddles such as "l bird, 2 eyes, and 3 heads".
Occasionally a guardian spirit is asked to control future events. A
man unjustly accused of drunk driving and manslaughter was about to
be tried. Phothawchaajmyang assured him during rj!peated visits that
events in court would be controlled to reveal his innocence. The man
was later acquitted.
The majority of cases involve minor maladies such as headaches,
backaches, aching joints, sore throats and unhealed wounds. Most
patients require only one session, and generally they have consulted a
physician unsuccessfully beforehand. The usual treatment involves
massaging the ailing body area and applying phuu leaves which have
been warmed in the flame of the thiankhruu. The area might be further
treated by running a heated knife over it, dripping melted candlewax on
.it, blowing on it or rubbing it with powder or holy water. In accordance
with Buddhist tradition, each action is performed three times to pay
homll.ge tQ Buddha, his teachings, and the community of Buddhist
J?ries ts.
If a malady is particularly painful and persistent, several guardian
spirits will come to administer more intensive treatment over several

A !:LANCE A'J' SIIA~IA~I~,\1 IN l:iOL·'l'III•:HN 'I'IIAIL:\1\Il 103
sessions. We witnessed two such cases. A middle-aged woman hadn't
been able to eat for three weeks since her business partner tried to poison
her food with wood shavings. A 20 year-old woman's legs were still
numb from the knees down after two months of injections at the
hospital.
The treatment involves two basic actions both of which are aimed
at drawing out the evil spirits causing the pain or infection. The first is
repeated stroking with a knife, chiangphraa leaves, the sceptor, flowers,
joss sticks, andfor a scarf. The stroking is downward from where the
pain or infection is localized to the big toe or thumb. The second action
is repeated sucking of the localized area and the toe or thumb using holy
water or liquor as an astringent. Before sucking, the medium touches a
knife or his thumb to the roof of his mouth to prevent the evil spirits
from entering his body. The spittal from the sucking is collected in a
small metal pail and cut through with a knife to kill the evil spirits.
The door is kept ajar to allow the Heeing spirits easy escape. In addition,
the guardian spirit may spray liquor over the entire area which has
been stroked.
The guardian spirits also deal with people haunted by ghosts. For
example, a young girl in the neighborhood was continually screaming and
crying in the middle of the night because she saw ghosts attacking her.
The parents who bad taken her to three other shamans to no avail were
ready to move out of the neighborhood. In desperation, they consulted
the guardian spirits of Nakorn Sitammarat. Phrayaalindam told them
that their house was built over a former Muslim cemetery, and the
spirits of the dead were offended. He advised them to make a conciliatory
gesture by placing betel nut and tobacco on the wall alongside
house. Their daughter's nightmares stopped immediately thereafter.
Finally, a number of exorcisms have been performed by the guardian
spirits, but we have yet to witness one,

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 1
by
John P. Ferguson
and
Shalardchai Ramltanondh*
One of the most perplexing problems in Buddhist studies involves
the fact that historically the Theravada monkhood has been found to
have an organizational structure in many societies, but the Vinaya, 2 or
ancient code for monastic behavior, gives no basis for such ecclesiastical
* John P. Ferguson is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Cornell University
and is a member of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program there. He holds degrees
from William College and Columbia University. He has worked closely with
Dr. E. Michael Mendelson on publishing the latter's field work on the Burmese
monkhood, and he is currently doing research on the symbolic dimensions of the
Burmese Sangha.
Shalardchai R~mitanondh is a teacher of anthropology in the Department
of Social Sciences at Chiengmai University. Originally from Northeast Thailand,
he holds a degree from Chulalongkorn University. He did his graduate work in
anthropology at Corn.ell University, from which he earned his M.A., and he was
a member of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program,
1) J.P. Ferguson would like to thank the NDFL Title VI Program, the Co~n'ell
Southeast Asia Program, and the London-Cor~ell project for contributionS
toward field work expenses and to express gratit'ude to the National Research'
Council of Thailand for permission to study the Thai S~ngha in Chiengmai. The
division of labor represented in this paper is as follows: both au thou research ell
the written materials; JPF ,!ltructured the interviews, with S,R actually carrying
on the conversations; JPF wrote the English version with SR's critical revision;
. and SR translated the English version into Thai. JPF als~ ~ishes to thank
Kasem llovajettham fo~'acting as translator in hal(the i'nterviews and for extensive
translation· of written materials.
We also appreciate the helpful comments of Professors Charles F. Keyes
and A. Thomas Kirsch on an earlier version' ofthis p~per and the help gi~en to
us at many times by Mr. Arnold Peters. Responsibility for the final version' is,
of course, our own.
21 Vinaya: one of the three basic holy books of Theravada Buddhism, containing
the 227 rules governing monk's behavior. It also includes detailed commentary
on each rulQ. This teJ~:~ i$ the fQqndMion of ~Qpa~tic life,

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 1
by
John P. Ferguson
and
Shalardchai Ramltanondh*
One of the most perplexing problems in Buddhist studies involves
the fact that historically the Theravada monkhood has been found to
have an organizational structure in many societies, but the Vinaya, 2 or
ancient code for monastic behavior, gives no basis for such ecclesiastical
* John P. Ferguson is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Cornell University
and is a member of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program there. He holds degrees
from William College and Columbia University. He has worked closely with
Dr. E. Michael Mendelson on publishing the latter's field work on the Burmese
monkhood, and he is currently doing research on the symbolic dimensions of the
Burmese Sangha.
Shalardchai R~mitanondh is a teacher of anthropology in the Department
of Social Sciences at Chiengmai University. Originally from Northeast Thailand,
he holds a degree from Chulalongkorn University. He did his graduate work in
anthropology at Corn.ell University, from which he earned his M.A., and he was
a member of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program,
1) J.P. Ferguson would like to thank the NDFL Title VI Program, the Co~n'ell
Southeast Asia Program, and the London-Cor~ell project for contributionS
toward field work expenses and to express gratit'ude to the National Research'
Council of Thailand for permission to study the Thai S~ngha in Chiengmai. The
division of labor represented in this paper is as follows: both au thou research ell
the written materials; JPF ,!ltructured the interviews, with S,R actually carrying
on the conversations; JPF wrote the English version with SR's critical revision;
. and SR translated the English version into Thai. JPF als~ ~ishes to thank
Kasem llovajettham fo~'acting as translator in hal(the i'nterviews and for extensive
translation· of written materials.
We also appreciate the helpful comments of Professors Charles F. Keyes
and A. Thomas Kirsch on an earlier version' ofthis p~per and the help gi~en to
us at many times by Mr. Arnold Peters. Responsibility for the final version' is,
of course, our own.
21 Vinaya: one of the three basic holy books of Theravada Buddhism, containing
the 227 rules governing monk's behavior. It also includes detailed commentary
on each rulQ. This teJ~:~ i$ the fQqndMion of ~Qpa~tic life,

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 105
structure beyond the simple device of seniority.
The question thus
arises as to how the organization of the Sangha3 or monkhood comes
into being and how it articulates with the larger society, in particular
royal institutions. 4 Study of tbe Sangha in Thailand offers unique
opportunities for the investigation of that problem due to the existence
there of a clearly defined Sangha organization in conjunction with a
viable and active kingship which bas remained free of direct colonial
control. Thus the Thai Sangha structure can be studied ideally and
actually as it exists within the only country in Southeast Asia that has
retained both its monarchy and its ecclesiastical organization.
Thai monks today live under a clearly defined m'onastic structure
that is basically hierarchical in nature, and they are clearly supported
and surveyed by a Buddhist king in Bangkok with the aid of his lay and
monastic representatives. Even in the countryside this structural
patterning can be clearly found, and our study concentrates upon the
monkhood at the provincial level. Some anthropologists (Moerman,
1966) and other observers of Thai culture have commented, in passing,
upon the impact of the Bangkok-based hierarchy at the village level,
concluding that the hierarchy is fairly distantly related to community
concerns, and at least one anthropologist (Bunnag, 1973) has touched 1
upon the urban dimensions of the situation outside of the capital. What
we feel is missing and needed, however, is, first of all, a detailed
explanation of what the "hierarchy" ideally is deflned as being, and then,
how the ecclesiastical system actually works between bureaucratic
Bangkok and the urban and rural areas of the province, and flnally, how
the monks themselves in the province understand matters affecting ideal
and real.
3) Sangha: the monkhood as a whole, iucluding different sects as well as novices,
but not including laymen or nuns. The latter have no discoverable formal
organization or liierarchy. White-robed men and women who may spend time
in wats, particularly on holy days, are also not in included in our use of the
term.
4) For a full discussion of the relationship between the Sangha and the kingship
see Reynolds(l971 and 1972) and Bechert (1970). For the articulation with
society, see Evers (1968).

106 John P. Ferguson and Sbalardchai Ramitanondh
fn this paper we propose to concentrate upon the ecclesiastical
hierarchy in the northern province of Chiengmai with particular
emphasis upon the city district (Amphur Muang) itself. Because the
North has had a vivid history of resistance to religious centralization
(Keyes, 1971), this type of study may, we feel, also shed some light upon
the success of the Bangkok leadership and their local representatives in
transmitting their particular point of view to this northern section of
the kingdom. Our methodology was to study available written materials
on the rnonkhood in Thai and English and to interview 16 out of the 18
commune heads (Chao Khana Tambon) in Cbiengmai city district, 16 out
of the 19 district heads (Chao Khan a Amphur ), all the provincial officers
(Chao Khana Changwat), and the regional head (Chao Khana Phak) for the
region. For the sake of comparison, interviews were held with a district
head monk and a provincial bead monk in Mae Sariang and Lampang,
respectively. To discover the lay point of view, we interviewed the lay
provincial head of the Education Department of Religion in Chiengmai.
We also talked frequently with lay Buddhists in the province, particularly
those active in wat affairs, members of lay committees, former monks,
and young people at the high school and college level.
The major
emphasis of the study, however, was upon interviewing monks directly
at all levels of the provincial hierarchy.
Roots of the Hierarchy in History
Some historical background is necessary to understand today's
patterns of Sangha organization. Details regarding monastic hierarchy
are not plentiful for the periods before the present dynasty (Reynolds,
1971: 186), but royal patronage is evident from the Sukhotai period,
starting with Rama Khamhaeng's 13th and 14th century support of
reformist forest monk groups (who traced their orthodoxy to Ceylon)
and continuing with the royal promotion ofrelics enshrined at important
chedis (Damrong, 1926:6-21 and Dbani Nivat, 1965:5-8). In Chiengmai
Province at least. five monasteries have traditions that trace their
relics back to that period. Thus royalinterest in the Buddhist religion
is nothing new to Chiengmai.

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 107
Later, in the Ayuthaya era, the forest monks and village or town
monks became divided into two separate groups, the former stressing
solitary meditation and austere practices, the town monks giving more
attention to monastic education and community relationships. Regional
differences complicated Sangha affairs during this period, for by 1592 we
find that there was a separate "Supreme Patriarch" with the title of
"Somdet" for the North (he bad Burmese Mon connections) and one for
the South of Thailand (Dhani Nivat, 1965: 16-17). Whether there had
ever been a single leader of the Thai Sangha before that time is not clear.
Since the competing political centers of power shifted so constantly, it is
unlikely that the Sangha leadership could transcend such political divisiveness
to produce a single head of the order for "Thailand." Put simply,
there was yet no "Thailand," and thus there was no unified Thai Sangha
either. To our knowledge, no Sangha organization in Southeast Asia
has ever anticipated or preceded modern territorial statehood on a
political basis. One suspects that even as late as the Taksin period in
the 18th century, the "Supreme Patriarch" that we find demoted for
failure to adore his ruler's claims of Buddhahood-even such a monkonly
controlled the Sangha within the range of Taksin's secular powers.
In summation, up until the present dynasty the monkbood was divided
because of forest-town rivalries, ancient regional loyalties, outside
reformers from Ceylon and Burma (Mons), and territorial fluctuations of
secular centers of power. For these reasons, we believe that unity in
the Sangha did not precede the unification of the Thai state.
If such a reading of Thai history is correct, it suggests a very
important consideration in terms of tbe basic nature of the Tberavadin
monkhood: if there is to be any hierarchical ordering of monasteries and
monks that is responsible to the secular state and is willing to implement
secular policies, such a hierarchy must be created by the state itself, not
by the monks, who, by nature seem in the Turner ( 1969) sense more
naturally devoted to anti-structure or freedom from lay control than to
anything else.s
Left to itself, the Sangha, following its ancient guide
5) See also E. M. Mendelson's Sangha and State in Burma (in press at Cornell Press)
for Burmese parallels.

108 John P. Ferguson and Sha!ardchai Ramitanondh
lines and laws in the Vinaya, builds its minimal sociological structures
on the basis of seniority, honor due to teachers and ordinators, and
charismatic qualities of particular monks who attract followers.
rational, bureaucratic monastic administration-in the Weberian senseif
ever such is to be found, is likely therefore to be more the product of
secular administrative compulsion than monastic propensity. Kings and
political rulers alike create such ecclesiastical organizations both to keep
control of such potentially powerful elements of society as well as to
purge the Sangha of corruption and undesirables that are often tolerated
by the laissez-fa ire monastic system.
to preserve the Sangha's reputation in society.
dynasty have clearly understood this point.
Vinaya ideals alone are not enough
A
The rulers of the present
The Sangha Under the First Rulers of the Present Dyna.sty
It is with considerable understanding of royal responsibility for the
welfare of the monk hood that Ram a I faced the disorganized, disheartened
monkhood ufter the depredations of the Burmese at Ayuthaya und the
senseless purges of monks by the deluded Taksin.
Rama I laid the
foundations for the present ecclesiastical hierarchy with the following
procedures: the requirement of identification papers for monks; the
keeping of registers by abbots of all monastery residents; the classification
of abbots into four grades; the appointment of officials with the title of
Somdet for the South, Center, and North of Thailand, each with his own
staff; the creation of an independent organization for the Mon monks;
establishment of a Supreme Patriarch with "Right" and "Left'' officials
under him; and even the creation of a governmental Ecclesiastical
I
Department (Dhani Nivat, 1964 and 1965: 21-28; Damrong, 1926: 30-31).
These are the essentials for state control over the Sangha.
He furthermore
expelled 128 monks for offenses including drinking and unseemly
behavior with women, illustrating the principle that the state in Thailand
insists upon the right to consider certain types of behavior as sufficient
cause for disrobing (more on this later). The hierarchy can thus be seen
as a means by which the king and thus the State can discipline its monks
when necessary.

MONKS AND HlEllARCHY IN NORTHEBN THAILAND 109
Rama I also furthered the process of unification and centralization
by gathering monks together to revise the Buddhist scriptures, and he
distributed authorized texts to attempt a return to orthodoxy after the
period of laxity following the fall of Ayuthaya. This interest in Pali
scholarship and monastic learning was a distinguishing mark of royal
support in the 19th century, with Rama III using state funds to support
monk scholars who passed Pali exams, while the King himself made
significant contributions to Buddhist literature (Rong Syamananda, 1973:
1 04-6).
It was under Rarna III that a major development took place, when
in !833, he allowed his scholarly brother, Prince Mongkut, who was then
a reformist monk under Burmese Mon influence, to found a new sect,
first at Wat Smorai and then at Wat Boworaniwes (where Mongkut was
abbot) (C. Reynolds, 1972).
This new sect became known as the
Thammayut Order, and by the time Mongkut had become Rama IV,
another prince-monk had been appointed abbot of Wat Boworaniwes,
making this wat one of the most powerful monastic centers in Thailand
-a position it still holds due to continued royal support. From the start,
the Thammayut Order had considerable organizational independence
under the King's protection (Wales, 1934: 241-44), almost as if it took
over the Man's independent role under Rama I, but with much more
prestige added to the independence.6
The Tbammayut Order, as we
shall see later, combined several traditions-the forest austerities. meditation,
Mon concepts of orthodoxy, and Ceylonese concern with Pali
texts. and relics.
It also developed a concept of destiny as a reformist
body within the larger framework of the Thai monkhood, which became
known as the Mahanikaia Sect.
When the reformist monk himself became King Mongkut (Rama
1 V), Further development of the hierarchy took place (Wales, 1934: 241-4).
6) It should be noted, however, that Rama Ill, while supporting Mongkut, also was
not in favor of divisive Thammayut practices (C. Reynolds, I 972 :III: 2) such
as wearing the robe in the Mon style, and Rama IV (Mongkut) himself, when
transformed from monk to king, tempered his actions so as to insure the cooperation
of the Mahanikaia Sect.

110 John P. Ferguson and Shalardcbai Ramitanondh
A Supreme Patriarch had beneath him four Area Supervisors (see Table
1): (1) a Northern Area head-Mahanikaia Sect, (2) a Southern Area
bead-Mahanikaia Sect, (3) a national Tbammayut Sect leader, and (4) a
national head of the forest or meditation monks. Thus the Mahanikaia
leaders were evenly balanced with the leaders of the Thamma.)mt and
forest groups, although each Area Supervisor had to be selected from
royal monasteries, thereby giving the king, who appointed such monks,
effective control of the hierarchy. The abbots of royal monasteries had
helpers known as a Phra Khru Thananukrom and a Palat (see Table 2,
#29 and tJ:l4). The abbots of ordinary monasteries had helpers known
as Palat and Samuha (See Table 2, :jf 14 and :j:/60), with sucb abbots not
appointed by the king but by the people or by wealthy nobles who
supported the monastery. An interesting feature of royal concern for
monks during King Mongkut's reign was the system of Pali examinations
with honors and monthly stipend given by the king and with the highest
appointments in the hierarchy having a tendency to fall to those monks
with the highest grades. Significantly, forest or meditation monks did
not sit for such exams.
The new sect, created and popularized by royal support and later
beaded by prince-monks, soon began to effect monastic reforms not by
hierarchical decree alone but by the power of example. One can thus
quite profitably evaluate the Thammayut Sect in terms of this paper as
an alternative channel through which royal power and influence may flow
out to the monkhood at large or as a means whereby the State's ideals
for the Sangha are often imitated as exemplary by other monks.
On the eve of the major definition of the hierarchy made by Ram a
V in 1902, we can note two important points. Pirst, the Thammayut
Sect had achieved formal status in tbe hierarchy. Second, the criteria of
using abbots of royal monasteries and successful Pali scholars would
work eventually to the detriment of the forest or meditation monk's
participation in monastic government, leaving the field to the Mahanikaia
and Thammayut.

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 111
The Sangha Administration Acts of 1902 and 1941
The 1902 Act on the Administration of the Sangha (Mahamakut
Educational Council, 1963) confirmed the existence of a Supreme
Patriarch as head of both the Thammayut and Mabanikaia Sects. Under
the Patriarch were three monks with the title of Somdet who controlled
the North, South, and Central Mahanikaia regions, as well as a fourth
Somdet who was responsible for all of the Tharomayut monks in the
country. Each Somdet bad a deputy, the total thus being eight monks,
who, with the patriarch, comprised the Maba Thera Council or "Supreme
Council" as we shall call it in this paper. Below this Council were
Provincial, Town, and District officials, and still below them were ranked
the abbots, sub-abbots, monks, and novices. Each of the officials in the
hierarchy had a royal title, and each could appoint a staff or retinue of
assistants, the number of such being two for district heads and increasing
to six for a provincial leader.
After the constitutional reforms of 1932, democratic concepts
affected much of Thai social life, and the Sangha was influenced by these
ideas when in 1941 a new Act was passed, establishing another council
below the Supreme Council, this new one composed of the Department
Heads responsible for Administration, Education, Propagation, and
Public Works-four areas of ecclesiastical responsibility still very much
the topic of conversation with monastic officials today. The 1941 Act
also created a Sangha Parliament of not more than 45 monks, in an
attempt to introduce some democratic voting procedures into an otherwise
strictly fixed chain of command from above. Interestingly, under
the 1941 Act there were joint administrative units combining Mahanikaia
and Tbammayut monks even at the provincial level, but the hierarchies
for the two sects became completely separate below the Supreme Council
after the 1963 Act. Both the new second Council and the monastic
"parliament" fell victims to Sarit's decrees embodied in the 19~3 Act,
restoring Sangha structure to a purely hierarchical system below the level
of the Supreme Council. This 1963 Act, with modifications, represents
the basic law under which Thailand's monks now exist. A review of the
official positions will illuminate the basic features of the modern hierarchy.

112 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
The Highest Levels of the Present Hierarchy
The upper echelons of the Sangha hierarchy (See Table I) are now
composed of the Supreme Patriarch, the Supreme Council, and the Area
Supervisors (Chao Khana Yai), one each for the Mahanikaia Central,
North, East, and South areas, and one for the Thamrnayut Sect as a
whole. It is interesting that all of the Area Supervisors (Chao Khana
Yai) have a Somdet title and are members of the Supreme Council, except
for the one for the North, who has neither that title nor Council membership.
Also noteworthy is the fact that all the Area Supervisor officials
reside in Bangkok monasteries-a pattern in which regional officials live
not in the areas they supervise but in the city where their superior in the
hierarchy resides. We will find such a tendency towards urban centralization
even at the provincial level.
Below the Area Supervisors are the Regional Heads (Chao Khana
Phak) for the 18 regions of the kingdom. Regions are groupings of from
three to six. provinces under one monk's leadership. The Head for
Region Seven (the provinces of Chiengrnai, Lamphun, and Mae Hong
Sorn) is located at Wat Hariphunchai in Lamphun. Over the entire
country only three of the eighteen Regional Heads reside within the areas
they control-the centralization pattern we observed above for Area
Supervisors. Regional Heads are quite remote administratively to the
mank's world as we found it. While we were interviewing officials
in the province, the Regional Head was referred to rarely, mainly in
reference to a pending decision on having a Cbiengmai school established
to train monks for the hierarchy.
Below the Regional Head for Region Seven, ofcourse, are the three
Provincial Heads (Chao Khana Changwat). In Chiengmai Province, this
is the highest hierarchy office, and the Provincial Head's name and
.powers carne up frequently in our interviews with monks.. His 1 rule may
be benign but it is omnipresent. It is interesting that his monastery'

Property or U.1o
Siam Society's Library
BANGKOK
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MONKS AND HIEHARCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 113
Phra That Doi Suthep, perched high upon the mountain of the same
name that overlooks the city of Chiengmai below, often seems symbolically
to dominate both the Sangha and the skyline as well, its lights
visible at night. Before, however, we discuss his specific powers and
concerns, we should digress a bit to explain that in our portrait of the
hierarchy so far, we have left out any discussion of a system of royal
honorary titles that complements but does not always exactly parallel
the administrative hierarchy. The Chao Khana Changwat, for example,
while holding the highest office in the province, also holds the highest
honorary title (Thep), sharing this mark of royal favor only with his
Thammayut counterpart at Chiengmai's Wat Cbedi Luang. A brief
explanation of the Thai monastic honorary system at this point will
serve to reveal some of the further complexities of Sangha organization
and the symbolic representations of basic monastic values which are
reified in the levels and types of honors given.
Tbe Royal Honorary System of Fans
Every year on the King's birthday, announcements are made
award1ng ecclesiastical honors to monks, such honor being in the form
of special titles, certificates, and ceremonial fans which by shape, color,
and design reveal to any informed observer the status of the monk holding
such a fan. Actually very few laymen would be able to tell which
one of the 62 different fans ranked over another, but most monks could
do so,with less difficulty. TI;Jese honorary fans must not be confused
with ordinary fans presented to monks by common laymen on many
types of occasions (to honor an ordination, a deceased monk, a layman's
birthday, a bank opening, etc.). These latter fans can be purchased in
monk's supply stores and can be lettered as the donor wishes, but their
shape is neve~ allowed to imitate that of the honorary fans. Monks
then use these common fans for ritual purposes, such as when sermons
are given or when special chanting is done. At such times the monk
holds the fan before his face to block it from his audience's view.
Honorary fans, however, are only given by the King or his representative,
and they are always accompanied by the. award of a title that
involves a change of name for the monk- the new name usually chosen

114 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
to mirror the qualities for which the honor is given.?
These special fans
are only used by monks at ceremonies involving the King's presence
himself or the designated substitute for him. At Chiengmai, for example,
monks invited to rituals at the King's Phu Pbing Palace must use their
honorary fans, and they sit in order depending upon the rank their fan
represents in the honorary hierarchy, not according to rank in the
administrative system and not by seniority. 8 Thus we can see that the
King may bestow honor upon monks that can add a new dimension to
the monastic status system, transcending at times the ancient principle
of seniority, tempering if not necessarily superseding the ranking in the
regular hierarchy, and mixing the monks of both sects according to royal
ranks at royal functions.9
Basically one can conceive of three major divisions of honorary
titles: Somdet, Raja Khana and Phra Khru (See Table 2). As noted above,
Somdet is a prestigious term traceable at least to the 16th century. Today,
the Supreme Patriarch himself incorporates tbe title into his name,
and the other full Somdet monks are called Somdet Phra Raja Khana,
with all six of these monks being members of the Supreme Council by
definition. Ranking next in line are twelve deputies (Rang Somdet),
some of whom are likewise on the Supreme Council. There seems to be
a custom of appointing Mahanikaia and Thammayut monks to these
titles in somewhat equal proportions, but places on the Supreme Council
over time will tend to favor somewhat the numerically superior Mahanikaia
Sect. At the Chiengmui provincial level, there are no monks with
7) Thus a monk high in tbe hierarchy has used anum ber of names by which he is
officially known over his career; this process makes biographical research on
Thai monks most complex. The one boon granted to the researcher is that,
with a few exceptions, tbe new title is incorporated into the name itself, and
the number of syllables in the monk's name is a further clue to his honorary
rank.
8) Monks told us that honorary fans are also used, for example, when official
functions are held by the Provincial Governor.
9) If one accepts the hypothesis that sects are royally engendered, then it may be
interesting to speculate that what the king has separated he can also bring
together when he wishes.

MONKS AND HlEHAHCHY IN NORTHERN THAILANlJ II 5
this high a title. All nineteen of the full and deputy Somdets in the
country reside in Bangkok.
The next four titles in the honorary system are introduced by the
terms Phra Raja Khana Chan and end in Tham (20), Thep (45), Rat (108),
and Saman (287), the numbers in parentheses representing the total of
such title holders in the entire Thai Sangha of some !75,000 monks.1o
In Cbiengmai Province the highest title held, Thep, bas been given to the
Provincial heads {Chao Khana Changwat) of the two sects. Rat titles are
held only by two monks; one is at War Cbedi Luang (Thammayut), the
other at Wat Pbra Singh (Mahanikaia). lt is worth noting that both are
royal monasteries; that is, they are singled out for royal support and tbe
resulting prestige because they meet some or all of the following criteria:
they are historical monasteries of considerable importance, often with
relics; they have a large number of monks and novices involved in a
monastic education program; and they play an important role ritually
for many laymen and often are pilgrimage sites. The four royal monasteries
in the province are, in order of rank, Phra Singh, Pbra That Doi
Sutbep, Cbedi Luang, and Sri Chom (all in Chiengmai city, except the
last, which is in Cbom Thong District). It is noteworthy that of the
eight holders of honorary titles from the Saman class up to Thep in the
province, five reside at royal monasteries.
When we study the four holders of the Saman title in the province,
we find one is at Wat Phra Singh, one is at Wat Fai Hin (located adjacent
to Chiengmai University), and the remaining two are the two deputy
Province Heads ( Rong-Chao Khana Changwat}. Explaining why these
awards were given will help to elucidate the hierarchical system further.
The abbot of Wat Fai Hin is, to our knowledge, the only monastic bolder
in the entire province of a Parian 9, the highest possible award for Pali
scholarship, and his advanced skills as a teacher of Pali are not readily
available in the north. The honorary title of Saman may be (and often
is) a warded to all who reach the Pari an 7 level of Pali excellence, and it
1 0) Figures on honorary ranks from Department of Religion Winter Fair Exhibit
at Chiengmai, 1973. Figure on total monks in Sangha is the 1965 figure
(Thailand: Official Yearbook 1968: 532).

116 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
is one way that the King promotes and honors monastic learning per se.
Thus, at royal functions, it happens that bright young Pali scholars who
have surpassed their elders educationally sit above their teachers, holding
their fans that symbolize their higher status. One well educated monk
said it felt odd indeed to sit ahead of his revered and ancient teacher at
a royal function, yet such is the emphasis placed upon success in the
Pali exams by the honorary system, Interestingly, once a monk accepts
a title at the Saman level or higher, he is expected to sit no longer for
Pali exams, almost as though further promotion must come from other
accomplishments. Pali can take one only so far.
Another principle which seems to play a significant part in the
theory of arranging an ecclesiastical hierarchy is that a deputy to an
official ranks higher in the honorary system than tbe full-grade officer
below. Thus a Deputy Province bead (Rang-Chao Khana Changwat)
ranks higher than a District Head (Chao Khana Amphur), and not only
the honorary system follows this pattern: monks interviewed in the
province feel that there is a line of succession ideally that descends from
the Province Head to his tfl Deputy, then to #2 Deputy, and then to
the most important District Head (Chao Khana Amphur) in the province­
Chiengmai Muang or the city itself. Secretaries to such officials and
personal staff do not apparently count in such succession lines. Historically,
after the first Provincial Head was appointed (at Wat Fai I-lin)
around the turn of this century, he was succeeded by his Deputy. This
pattern, however, is more of an idealized scheme than any rule that has
to be followed in every case. Thus, we find at the Saman level two
principles at work- promotion of Pali scholarship and the recognition of
a chain of power through Deputies-both patterqs evident throughout all
the levels of the hierarchy.
A close inspection of the honorary system detailed in Table 2 also
shows that royal rec;:ognition is given at the Saman and Phra Khru level
for meditational achievement as well as for more general accomplishments
(See ranks :j:j:8 and :j:j: 10 in Table 2). Of the four kinds of Sa man

MONKS AND HIERAHCHY IN NORTHERN THAILAND 117
fans, two involve meditation, suggesting a royal concern with such
monastic emphasis that dates clearly to King Mongkut's personal interest
in meditation as a monk and involves Thammayut interest in meditation
today, as we will note later in this paper.
Such concern with meditation
can be traced even further back to royal fascination with forest monks
centuries before King Mongkut. This type of patterning suggests the
idea that complex hierarchical honorary systems tend to act as a type of
cultural memory bank, preserving in the grandeur of symbols the luminosity
of ancient traditions.
We can see traces of such a process in the
titles (See Table 2) such as Palats, Baidika, Samu, and Phra Khru itselfall
of these titles having once been the names of actual offices in the 1902
Sangha Act, with specific administrative functions, but now remembered
through the language of honor.
In other words, and honorary system can
have a backwards dimension to its meaning in a conservative sense of
retaining memories of the past, but it can also have a forward dimension
as well.
It is the Ia tter aspect of the system that we notice particularly as
we turn to the Phra Khru category of the lower 51 levels of honor­
"forward" in the sense that the King encourages the Sangha to develop
in these three basic areas: ( 1) Pali scholarship (Parian 3-9); (2) positions
of leadership at royal monasteries (Levels I-III); and (3) actual positions
held in the administrative system.
Some interesting subtleties in the
ranking of Phra Khru titles involve the promotion of abbots of royal
monasteries W 13 in Table 2) to ranks of only one grade below the top
ranking administrative monk in the province, the Chao Khana Changwat
(it 12). Actually, the royal monastery's deputy abbots and even the
"helpers" (:j.f32, for example) rank very high in comparison with the
regular administrative officials such as Commune Heads (Chao Khana
Tambon) (#37). There is also a tendency for a halo effect to occur with
respect to the highest positions in the system so that the personal staff
of such prestigious monks often out-rank administrative officials at quite
a high level.
For example, the Palat of a Somdet (# 14) outranks all the

118 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
officials in the provincial Sangha except the Chao Khana Changwat himself
(:j:j: 12). Also noteworthy is the fact that the rewards for Pali scholarship
help a monk advance to really significant heights in the system only after
be bas passed the 7th level; thus achievement of only the last three Pari an
levels really enables one to outrank an abbot with a Phra Khru title. It
should be noted, however, that only a few abbots in any distant province
receive the Phra Khru titles, and thus the award of any of the royal titles
singles out a monk for honor, no matter at what level the title and fan
are given.
Interviews with monks and laymen produced a general consensus
regarding the criteria for awarding honorary fans and titles. It was felt
that success or achievement in the following areas would contribute
significantly toward royal recognition: the education of self through
success in taking Pali or Thai exams in religious subjects; contributions
towards the education of others (perhaps through teaching); a record of
social service projects; the ability to inspire lay men in the "development"
areas (usually construction of monastery buildings or even secular
structures); a reputation for administering one's monastery as an abbot
and for carrying out responsibility well and eagerly; talent in preaching,
writing, or even medicine-if such talents create faith among the people;
and, naturally, public respect for living a correct and proper life as a
Buddhist monk. These are the "correct" answers, so to speak. But
some informants added, with a smile, that coming from a royal monastery
surely did not hurt one's chances, nor did having influential friends
in high places. Not unexpectedly, provincial informants were sometimes
ready to tell mildly scandalous accounts of friendship and ecclesiastical
politics priming over rejection for administrative incompetence.
In general, however, monks who had received royal honor were
very proud of their certificates and fans and showed them to us with
considerable relish and excitement at times. One exception was a highly
honored monk who saw the entire honoray system as "bait used to
disguise a hook which monks should be strong enough to swallow bare."

MONKS AND IllEHARCHY IN NOHTHEHN THAILAND 119
Perhaps one could look at the extremely modest monthly stipend given
to holders of Sanyabat honors and above as more bait for the "hook "
'
but realistically, the amount [30 Baht ($1.50) a month] is too insignificant
to attract many fish in today's world.
One really does conclude that,
after all, the honorary titles and fans are truly symbolic in the sense that
they stand for or recognize values and status in Thai culture but are
themselves intrinsically not valuable in a material sense or "functionally"
vital to the administration of the Sangha, particularly at the provincial
level.
Honor itself, however, is a strong motivator of men and monks,
and it is an important ingredient in Sangha affairs.
Before leaving the subject of monastic honor, we should note that
supplementary means of showing respect also exist.
After one has
passed level 3 in tbe Pali exams, one can add Maha to one's name, or
after I 0 years in the Sangha, one may be called Athikan, or a monk who
is a commune (tambon) head may use Chaoathikan in his formal name.
These terms are part of the language of respect that is so characteristic
of Thai concepts of hierarchy.
To sum up the honorary dimension of the Sangha's ways of ordering
itself, we can say that by offering fans and titles, the King, through the
Department of Religion, can elevate to special honor those monks who
promote and stand for certain principles and projects important to the
kingdom and to the monkhood. Theravadin kings have always been the
most generous of the rich Jay supporters who, as solar luminaries, enable
the religion to shine brightly like the moon in the sky, yet kings have
also been the stern disciplinarians whose royal solar eye can peer into the
recesses of every monastery in the land to discover bad monks and evil
practices.
The honorary system can be usefully seen as a positive aspect
of the King's attempts to perform both of his roles.
His fans are granted
to those who cause the moon to shine brightly; those monks who do not
join the administrative hierarchy, or do not serve as assistants to royally
titled monks, or do not enlist at royal monasteries, or do not become
Pali scholars-such monks the King and his honorary system formally
ignore, their virtues not withstanding.

120 John P. Ferguson and Shalardcbai Ramitanondh
At the provincial level, it is difficult to determine just how important
the honorary system is. There are not many advanced Pali scholars
for the King to reward. In 1970, of the 516 abbots for whom information
is available in the province, only one had achieved a Pari an 7-9 level
in Pali studies (the three highest grades), fourteen had Parian 4-6, and
only two had Parian 3 (Dept. of Religious Affairs, I970:Table 18).
There were thus only a total of 17 of the 516 reporting abbots who
qualified for royal attention in the educational area. There are also only
four royal monasteries in the entire province with its total of just over
1,000 wats, although the influence of these four is considerable, as noted
above. The abbots of three of these royal monasteries in Chiengmai
certainly have great prestige that involves a high honorary rank and a
fairly high leadership position in the administrative hierarchy. The
main opportunity, thus, at the provincial level, for the state to distribute
honor is through recognition of the regular Sangha administrative
positions. The following Table gives a rough estimation of the relationship
between the two systems and the number of monks involved (aU
Mahanikaia):
Number of Monks
Holding Hierarchy
Position in Chiengmai
Administrative Position Honorary Title Range Province
Province Head
(Chao Khana Changwat) R. Thep (#6)
1
Deputy Province Head
( Rong Chao Khan a
Changwat)
District Head
(Chao Khana Amphur)
R. Saman (:j.j-8-1 1)
P.K. Sanyabat (#19-27)
2
19
Commune Head
(Chao Khana Tambon) P.K. Sanyabat (#37-41) 139
Abbot (Chao Al!'at) (no particular title) .932

MONKS AND HIERAHGHY IN NORTHEHN THAILAND 121
The Provincial Administrative System
One of the most interesting aspects of the Mahanikaia hierarchy is
that all administrative officials, without exception, are first abbots and
then officials. In other words; their most demanding responsibility is to
their own monastery and its constituents, and this priority is based more
on local needs than national ones. As abbot, a monk is responsive first
to the leading laymen and women of the monastery; it is they who bad
to approve his being abbot first, and without their support, hierarchy
otnce would be a rather empty matter. Local support fills the alms
bowls, provides the necessities, and gives life to the monastery. Being
an administrative o!ficer does not produce more than a nominal "salary"
-- a gesture really; the monasteries of Thailand are basically self-supporting,
and the leadership of the abbots is the key to the Sangha's
survival.
The nature of the abbot's role has undoubtedly changed over the
last three-quarters of a century in this area of Thailand. A number of
monks, particularly those with over 40 years of experience {phansa), referred
to the days when the abbot's word was the law from which there
was no appeal and with which there was no interference. We were told
that, justly or unjustly, the abbot handed out his decisions, but now his
traditional power has been slowly but surely modified. Many key monks
have been drawn into the Bangkok-based hierarchy as part of a network
of officials taking direction from above. It was said that in the not-sodistant
past, the Vinaya laws ruled alone, but today the State supplements
these ancient monastic rules. II If, for example, monks from a given
monastery are reported to a District Head (Chao Khan a Amphur) for
drinking, gambling, or taking heroin, the present Sangha rules require
the disrobing and expulsion of such monks, whereas Vinaya procedures
would involve confession for such matters and penalties of a much milder
sort. There is thus a disciplinary justification for the administrative
system in terms of its enforcing the modern rules for monks. The
11) This monastic vision of the autonomous monastery of the old days ruled by
Vinaya alone is certainly a challengeable view historically. One suspects that
political leaders since the 13th century have periodically asserted their supremacy
over manastic attempts at overmuch independence.

122 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
hierarchy also serves as an appeals system of sorts, since a monk dissatisfied
with a decision from his superior can refuse to accept it, and in
such a case, the matter will be sent to the next highest level for review.
Attempts to go over the head of one's superior are not uncommon but
seldom work. Cases where hierarchy officials impose national rules on
abbots are rare in the province, but their very existence now and then
relates to an important change in the abbot's power, an attrition that
adds to the severe damage to his position that modern secular schools
have slowly but surely caused. Despite these changes, for a majority of
those concerned, being abbot is still more important than being a
hierarchy official, at least at the lower levels of the system.
I,
For some monks, being abbot is enough; they act';lally refuse
attempts by the hierarchy to incorporate them into the system. The
reason given for rejecting office or resigning seems to involve always the
administration of their own monastery, often including an extensive
teaching role or a busy life of meeting the needs of a devoted group of
lay supporters. One monk who was temporarily serving as a Commune
Head (Chao Khana Tambon), clearly did not want the job, and the reason
was obvious. He was the most popular monk in the area in terms of a
type of astrology that was combined with good common-sense counseling,
if necessary. His life was filled with more requests from the laity than
he could handle now. He hoped the monkhood would find a replacement
for him soon. Another monk who had resigned from a secretarial post
gave his reasons as focusing around his unwillingness to spend so much
time on recording data and keeping records. He would rather be active
in community affairs. Most monks, apparently, are willing to serve,
however, if they are qualified, and most Commune Heads said they bad
little trouble finding abbots. What trouble they did have relates more to
the chronic shortage of older monks in the northern Sangha (an average
of 2 monks and 8 novices per wat).12
12) Dept,ofRel. Affairs(l9i0):Table 12). Therewere(in 1970) 1,069watsin
the province, with 2,142 monks and 8,06 7 novices. More significantly, only
851 monks have 10 years standing in the monkhood, and there are 991 wats
to be staffed with abbots I

MONKS AND HIERAHCHY IN NOHTHERN THAILAND 123
More indicative of the general attitude is the comment made by
one young Chiengmai abbot that he would gladly accept a position in
the hierarchy if they thought he were qualified. The reasons he gave
indicated a conviction that one could be a better abbot if part of the
hierarchy. He said that schools were often connected with tambon and
amphur monasteries and it would be easier to find pupils and funds, for
he was, like many monks, interested in education as the life blood of a
continuing monkbood. He also said that monastery discipline was better
because as a hierarchy official one's words carried more authority, and
young monks, novices, and temple boys (dek wat) paid more attention.
It also seemed to us quite obvious that the honor and excitement of the
position itself appealed to this young, bright monk; it opened up a world
beyond the confines of the monastery walls-- an outside world that
increasingly contrasts sharply with the timeless nothingness of a tiny
monastery, ignored in a forgotten neighborhood in a modern city.
Of course, there are other monasteries in Chiengmai that are so
important that being abbot of one of their kind really overshadows a
position held in the hierarchy. For example, the abbot of Wat Prah Singh
in Chiengmai holds an administrative position at only the district
( amphur) level (the district of Cham Thong), but as abbot of this prestigious
royal monastery he is honored by the King's presence at formal
occasions (such as the funeral of the former abbot), and he controls over
a hundred monks and novices at the monastery itself, the largest monastic
population in any monastery in the province. As another example, the
abbot of Wat Suan Dok, is only a Commune Head (Chao Kha11a Tambon),
but his monastery with its rich historical connections with Cbiengmai
royalty, its associations with the charismatic northern monk, Kru Ba Sri
Wichai, and its strong and prestigious lay supporters remains a very
important monastery in Chiengmai. There is no doubt that duties as
an abbot of such monasteries take more time than do the administrative
responsibi'rities as a member of the hierarchy.
Our point is clear, therefore-that before one attempts to understand
the provicial hierarchy, one bas to realize that each official is first and
foremost an abbot. There are a number of prestigious monasteries in

124 John P, Ferguson and Sbalardchai Ramitanoodh
the area which so far have tended to control the administration of the
Sangha. When a monk becomes abbot of one of these, he is in a
favorable position to bid silently for power. Often we found that when
monks were appointed as abbots of such monasteries, they were given
administrative posts at the same time or shortly after.
Some of these
monasteries can be very impressive establishments, with huge worship
halls (wiharn), pagodas (chedi), libraries (ho trai), ordination balls (bot),
bell towers (ho rakhang), and many modern monks dwellings (kuti),
equipped with all the modern conveniences lavished upon the Sangha by
the faithful. Some have Land Rovers or manicured automotive museum
pieces such as a 1952 Chevrolet Sedan. Other monasteries are historical
landmarks and are visited by a steady stream of tourists or, on holidays,
by bus loads of merit-making Thai from Bangkok or by throngs of
pilgrims, as at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. These abbots thus have
their monasteries at the center of their sacred realm, but it is the hierarchy
position that defines the boundaries of their mandalas.
The Provincial Head (Chao Khana Cbangwat)
Before the 1963 Sangha Act, the Provincial Head (Chao Khana
Changwat) was responsible for four areas which he was required to
delegate to subordinates. The Departments were as follows : (1) Government
(administration), (2) Education, (3) Propagation of the religion
(including missions to hill tribes, etc.), and (4) Public Welfare (development,
building construction). Today the Provincial Head by law is
required to watch all of these areas by himself, delegating specific jobs
as necessary, but in practice, some degree of specialization still occurs,
the Provincial Head retaining areas J:1:
1 and # 3, delegating to his first
deputy area # 2 and to his second deputy# 4. It is interestiag that the
second deputy once held the same duties under the old law, and under
the new law be was given the same job but a new title. Also aiding the
Provincial Head is a provincial secretary who keeps the records and is
himself the abbot of the monastery formerly run by the Provincial

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHEHN THAILAND 125
Head.l 3 Since the latter lives up the mountain at Wat Phra That Doi
Suthep, be commutes almost daily to his former monastery in town,
where the secretary now lives. With such delegations of duties, the
Provincial Head manages to perform his responsibilities.
In addition to carrying out the orders he received from those above
him in the hierarchy, the Provincial Head also must communicate his
orders to the 18 District Heads (Chao Khana Amphur) below him. In an
area where only a few Chiengmai monasteries have telephones, such communication
can consume time. One solution to that problem is to
arrange that the residences of seven of the District Heads be in Chiengmai.
The five most distant districts to the south of the city are administered
by monk officials who live in Chiengmai.14 All the nine central
districts have district heads that live there.rs There are two districts
fairly far north of the city administered by monks living in Chiengmai
city, but the two districts the farthest north are staffed by resident District
Heads.I6 Opinion among the district officials varies as to the balance
of the good and bad in this system. Clearly, it is easier for the seven
centralized District Heads to communicate to the Province Head, but it
is also quite clear that it is difficult for the monks and laymen in the
districts to deal personally with their head monk.17 One District Head
said he was ready to leave his quite prosperous monastery in Chiengmai
that he bus put a whole career into promoting and to go out permanently
13) It is interesting that the teacher of the present Provincial Head (Chao Khana
Changwat) was not only abbot of this same monastery (Wat Thungyu) but also
a Chao Khana Changwat as well. We can see in this instance how monastic
power is clearly related to abbotship of key Chiengmai monasteries.
14) The districts are Mae Chaem, Omkoi Hot, Chom Thong, and San Patong.
15) These districts are Hang Dong, Chiengmai, Saraphi, San Kampbaeng, Doi
Saket, San Sai, Mae Rim, Samoeng, and Mae Taeng.
16) The two Chiengmai based amphur's are representing Chieng Dao and Phrao,
and the most distant districts with home rule are Fang and Mae Ai.
1 7) The Regional Head (Chao Khana Phak) told us that he occasionally receives
complaints from Chiengmai Province that the Amphu7' Heads (Chao Khana
Amphu7') are not available enough to the people and monk in the districts.
But he seems to accept the situation as unavoidable for the present.

126 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Rarnitanondh
to stay in the district he represents any time the Province Head asks him
to go. One gets the impression that despite Bangkok policies stating the
advisability of having district heads live in their districts, the Province
Head uses liberally the exception to the rule which allows the Province
Head to appoint an outside monk if a qualified monk cannot be found
from the district. In any case, the Provincial Head has beneath him seven
Chiengmai abbots as District Heads.
The Province Head calls his District Heads together with his Provincial
Deputies officially at least three times a year. A gathering of all
these Sangha officials takes on a semi-official tone, although full
authority under present law rests completely with the Provincial Head.
In practice, however, be consults with the District Heads on many
issues. A smaller group he meets with monthly is composed of his two
deputies and the provincial secretary, the latter being his personal
secretary as well as the abbot of Wat Thungyu, the city base of operations
for the Provincial Head. The secretary acts as the one who reads
and studies communications from Bangkok to the province, and he types
out the messages that flow out from' the Provincial Head to the District
Heads. He also receives all reports from the Districts, and he sends the
Province reports to Bangkok. Everything has to be typed, for no duplicating
machines exist. Such are the basic mechanics of governance. In
essence, it is a hierarchical chain of command according to laws, but the
system is greatly modified by the quest for consensus and peace. One
high ranking monk described the philosophy of Sangha governance as
follows:
Sangha law, unlike secular law, is not strictly enforced if it is not
suitable for the specific occasion.
The ability to know the "suitable" would seem to be the most important
and valuable administrative talent an official can possess. A brief review
of the Provincial Head's career will suggest how much necessary talent
may be developed through a succession of positions held in the monkhood.
Like most of the officials in the Province, he began his career as a
monastery boy (dek wat), and like all the officials, he has been in the

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHEHN THAILAND 127
monkhood continuously since ordination as a novice. Like all the
hierarchy members but one he is a native of the Province-in his case,
San Sai (born in 1903). He became a monastery boy at 9 years of age
and a novice at 12, being fully ordained at 20. He studied the Thai
Tbamma but could not pass the exams. Therefore be decided to move
to better educational opportunities at Wat Thungyu in Cbiengmai, where
he became a student under the abbot, who was District Head for his District
of San Sai. He succeeded in his studies there, passed, and returned
to his district to teach for a while. The District Head invited him to
return to help with administration and to teach. He passed more Thai
Thamma exams (Tho level) and then was appointed to his first administrative
post in 1927 as a member of the personal staff of the District
Head of San Sai.
He continued to study but failed to pass the Pali exams at the
Parian 3 level. Such difficulty with Pali studies is common in the biographies
of hierarchy officials: out of the 18 District Heads, only four
monks have passed Parian 3 (their grades are 5, 5, 4 and 3), and not one
of the Deputy Provincial Heads or the Provincial Secretary was successful
either.
Undoubtedly the explanation for the pattern is simply the
lack of adequate educational opportunities in Pali at the provincial level.
In any case, when his teacher became province bead, be remained a
member of his personal staff, and by 1939 his talents won him the
prestigious position of acting District Head for the city of Chiengmai
(Muang), followed two years later by achievement of the full office. It
will be remembered that this post is seen today as a key stepping stone
in the path to the position of Provincial Head.
After he had been made an ordinator (upatchaya) in 1944 and had
been given a special fan as District Head

128 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
be both a provincial officer and a District Head, and he held both posts
simultaneously until 1956. His work as propagation officer for the
province was followed in 1962 by appointment as acting Province Head
and by the full title in 1964. As is usual, the royal fan and certificate
follow rather than precede administrative achievement, and be was
awarded his Raja Khana Rat title (#7, Table 2) in 1966. His active
monastic life spans almost two-thirds of a century, and we found it
significant that the dominant personality characteristics one notes from
talking with him are not the sophisticated habits of bureaucratic power
but a natural kindness mellowed by age and experience. When we came
for our first interview with him, he was busy sharpening expertly the
monastery's knives on an ancient whet stone. Chewing betel and conversing
easily and naturally about most complex monastic matters, he
seems to epitomize the traditional provincial leadership. Honor paid to
him much transcends the natural respect paid by all to his 51 years in
the monkhood (phansa).
The Provincial Head remembers the days when he was on the
personal staff of the former Provincial Head and when his leader's desk
was piled high with papers dealing with the controversial Kru Ba Sri
Wichai, the Northern monk who resisted strongly in the twenties and
thirties the very controls from Bangkok that are accepted so easily today.
His memory of the Kru Ba Sd Wichai affair is interesting as both an
historical matter and as counterpoint to today's prevailing attitudes in
the North.1s We transcribe directly from our field notes:
Kru Ba Sri Wichai had his own point in standing up against
Bangkok. He followed the traditions and patterns the people
follow in the North-particularly in ordination. To him, ordination
was a tradition to be followed, not a rule from Bangkok. Ordination
brings merit to the ordained and his family. Sri Wichai
did not care what the rules were. He emphasized the ordination
itself, not rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. In the North parents would bring
18) For sympathetic portraits of Kru Ba Sri Wichai, see Sanga (n.d.) and Luang
and Nang (1964). For some anthropological considerations of his position in
terms of national integration see Keyes (1971).

MONKS ANil lllEHAI\Cil\ IN NO!\'l'l!IWN 'l'llAILANil 129
a boy to be ordained as a novice because they wanted somebody
to discipline him. Sri Wichai said he would take thf!.t boy and he
need not know the Pali wording of the request to join the monkhood,
parts of the life of the Buddha in Pali, and the 10 precepts in Pali,
but Bangkok insisted upon these three things and required that the
whole ordination procedure be memorized in Pali. Sri Wichai
disagreed: if the ordinate could not do it, Sri Wichai would let
him repeat it after the ordinator. Bangkok said the ordinate had
to memorize all 227 Vinaya rules. Sri Wi:chai said you did not
have to.
·Sri. Wichai was a "doer" more than a "thinker." There is
the road to Doi Sutbep, the monasteries be built! Sri Wichai did
not like the Central Thai language in spoken or written form. He
used Lanna Thai (Northern Thai). The support for him in Chiengmai
was really strong-a large group of laym(in and monks. Some
even declared they were not under the Bangkok Sangha any more.
Bangkok sent someone up here to take Sri Wichai to Lamphun and
then be agreed with what Bangkok wanted him to do, but some of
his followers would not stop resisting. It took months and months
to settle. the disputes. The tile of reports was three feet high at
the office of the Provincial Abbot.
As we have noted already, today's northern Sangha in this province
resists Bangkok, if at all, in a manner too subtle to be directly discoverable.
No longer does the Provincial Head have to contend with the
national integration problems of the twenties. No monk we could find
was willing, at least, to admit to any anti-Bangkok sentiments.t9 The
19) At the funeral of the late abbot of Wat Phra Singh i!l early 1974, we did talk
to one layman who was quite bitter that the royal cremation of the north's
highest ranking monk was done in Bangkok style. ·Thus there was no custo.
mary procession with the coffin around the city and the use of the crouching,
upright position in a royal type of coffin W!ls c;leemed "unnatural." He further
complained that the entire funeral pyre shoul4 have been ignited an~ that
fireworks were sorely missed. Both were deemed dangerous for the King, who
attended the ritual. , This layman, from a very powerful Chieogwai family,
was quite upset at the imposition of Bangkok culture upon what be considered
jlis n!ltive traditioiJS,

130 John P. Ferguson and Sbalardcbai Ramitanondh
few conflicts we found were local and personal ones. In the decades
since Kru Ba Sri Wichai the national Sangha hierarchy has become an
accepted part of the Chiengmai world, as much as civil service officials
and governors.
The District Head (Chao Khaoa Amphur)
The province of Chieng~ai is divided into 18 secular districts
(amphur), and ecclesiastical districts must follow in due time the boundaries
of their lay counterparts, even though the Supreme Council must
"approve" each new district.2o As we have noted above, 7 of the 18
DistriCt Heads do not reside in their district but in Chiengmai. All
District Heads are full'officials except for Mae Ai District, but the promotion
for that monk in the newest district was in process. Ten out of
the group are natives of the districts they administer, and all but one are
from the province. They represent basically, then, locally based monks
who have aligned themselves with the central Sangha leadership.
We found that District (Chao Khana Amphur) have been in the
monkhood for an average of 37, years (phansa). They thus have considerable
seniority over other monks. All have at least a Phra Khru title
(See Table 2), and all are qualified to ordain; therefore they have been to
the Sa\)gha,'s trainipg ~chool in Bangkok where certificates are issued,
If they have ov.er 50 monasteries in their district and have a minimum
number of monks and novices to supervise, then they may appoint two
(but no more than two) deputies. In the majority of cases the deputy or
deputies live in the district, an important factor for the seven District.
H~ads who live in Chiengmai city. Most also have a secretary who
keeps the records and sends out announcements. All seemed to be
abbots of rather prosperous and impressive monasteries. In these ways
one can see a certain regufarity to the position of the District Head.
In terms of actual administrative methods and approaches, we
found considerable variety. In reference to their hierarchy duties, most
20) We interviewed 14 out of the 18 District Heads. Of the 4 missing officials,
one was too sick to talk with us, and the other tqree wer~ toQ far away, coQsiderin~
the time wa ha~ avi!rilllr9le,
•

MONKS AN]) H!EHARCIIY IN NOHTHERN THAILAND 131
felt that governing took the most time, but some would meet monthly
with all the Commune Heads (Chao Khana Tambon) and all the abbots,
while others brought only the Commune Heads together two or three
times a year. Some seemed to stress their role as monastic policeman
and defrocker of bad monks, while others said discipline problems were
rare. While the average number of monastenes per district is 60, the
range is great between 10 (for Omkoi) and 117 (for Chiengmai Muang);
thus the degree of responsibility represented by their office varies considerably
also. Some administer prosperous districts and say that laymen
are eager to give whatever the monks need, and others note that in the
rural areas inflation has made it difficult for many to feed monks and
therefore some mon~teries were constructing kitchens. to be used for
preparing the food no longer available on morning rounds. Some took
great pride in teaching Northern (Lanna) Thai to their novices and in
continuing Lanna rituals, where others taught no Lanna Thai at all and
performed no Lanna language rituals.21 Some were in favor of mote
secular education for the Sangha, while others bemoaned the resulting
loss of Pali learning and the lack of respect for tradition that modern
ideas bring. Some District Heads find it extremely difficult to find qualified
abbots (particularly in rural areas) and others have no trouble. Our
own figures obtained from the monks show that 413 abbots out of 1089
in the province are "acting abbots," usually because they have not the
five-year minimum service in the monkhood to qualify, but some districts
have no acting abbots and others have 50% in that category. In a few
districts there are half a dozen monasteries with no abbot at all. One
thus has to be prepared for great differences in the District Head's realms
and concerns.
Some officials stand out in on~'s memory as individualists. One
had a fine little museum and was deeply interested in the arts of Buddhism.
Another was a sophisticated follower of tfe nationally famous
21) A ritual which suffers particularly from the failure to teach Lanna Thai in the
monasteries is the Tet Mahachat, the recital of .the Vessantara Jataka. This
intricately beautiful rit~al which reached the peak of its popularity before the
last World War depends upon the training of special chanters (monks) to tell
the story.

13:2 John P. Ferguson and Shalardcbai f{amitanondh
Btiddhadasa, the unorthodox monastic reformer with visions of religious
unity among world religions. 2 2 Another was deeply committed to meditation.
One felt the decoration of modern worship halls with murals
was "dirty''; another felt they were so beautiful he was going to put
them on both floors of Chiengmai's first two story worship hall-ordination
hall combination. One llved in the jungle in a restored monastery at
the end of a long mountain road; an~ther lived in a plush urban apartment
complete with stuffed chairs. Some are urbane and sophisticated,
while others are unpretentious and natural. But despite all these important
differences, there is one characteristic they possess in common, and
that is an ability to relate quickly and meaningfully to people. One is
impressed with them as natural leaders. They have confidence and
social presence, often combined with a good sense of humor. We also
noted that, by and large, they were open and frank and were impressively
lbyal to their ecclesiastical hierarchy. We noted general satisfaction
with the dispensations that the monkhood offers, and they appeared
quite willing and sometimes eager to explain their duties and attitudes.
They would seem to fort'n. the core and the strength of Sangha leadership
at the provincial level.
The Commune Heads (Chao Kbana Tambon)
The Commune Heads (Chao Khan a Tam bon) are officials of ecclesiastical
not secular areas: A Sangha commune must have at least five
monasteries in it but can have' no more than ten. If the number falls
below five, the commune is merged with another, and if it has more than
ten monasteries, it is merged and then divided so as to bave the proper
number. A Commune Head, therefore, is limited to controlling a
maximum of ten ~nasteries, whereas theoretically there is no limit to
the number a District Head may supervise. The difference between the
two offices is further underl'ined by Sangha law that requires a Commune
Head to live in the district beadministe~s. , To unqerstand their.position
22) For,detaiis do 'Buddhadasa; see Swellt'e'r 0970: lOSq14)and (1968), Sulak
Sivaraksa ( 1967) and Buddhadasa (1970).

MONKS AND HIEllAHCHY IN NORTHERN THAILANJl 133
better, we interviewed 15 out of the 17 Commune Heads for Chiengmai
Muang in order to study an urban administrative system at work.23
We found that the average number of years of experience in t~e
monkhood (phansa) was 35 for the Commune Heads, and most of them
had seniority in their commune, although in a very few cases older monks
bad refused the position, and a younger monk was given the post. All
were abbots in their communes except one who lived outside his commune
and another who lived at the commune's most prestigious monastery but
under the abbot who was the most senior monk in the commune. This
monk without seniority was clearly nervous about his role, even though
everyone grants that in the hierarchy, ability can take precedence over
seniority. But in this case, the Commune Head restricted his role to
receiving and sending reports, and he did not presume to tour his area
as one who sets the discipline and leads the others. The usual situation,
however, was that the Commune Head had seniority and was the abbot
of a prestigious monastery as well.
Two of those we interviewed were acting Commune Heads, and
neither wanted to stay in office, one more interested in teaching and the
other too busy as an abbot famous for astrology and counseling. All the
monks interviewed were na·tives of Chiengmai Province, and all but three
were natives of Cbiengmai Muang. It is important, however, .to realize
that some of the religious communes of Chiengmai Muang reach out into
the countryside several miles like spokes from a bub, and thus one
Commune Head may live among rice fields and deal with farmers in a
rural, conservative area, while another Commune Head may be in the
heart of the modern city and have the royal and progressive Wat Pbra
Singh in his domain.
The majority of the Commune Heads felt that the most time-consuming
of their official duties was that of governing. They, of course,
have to meet with the District Head at least three times a year, and some
said they did so monthly. There was considerable variety in how often
the Commune Heads )]let with the monasteries in their commune. The
23) One of the two monks we were not able to interview was in Malaysia, and the
other was in the hospital.
Propeny ot' tnt:>
Siam Society's .Librll\ry
J.Q /;c .. f',r~R 01!?

134 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
most intensive contact seemed to involve meetings with commune abbots
twice a month, and the most loosely structured relationship involved no
formal meetings at all but only casual conversations at religious functions.
A few of the more authoritative types of monks spoke of actually touring
their monasteries to speak firmly about matters of good discipline, and
they seemed to rule with tight reins, while others seemed to relax and
let matters take care of themselv~s. In some of the more rural communes
there were definitely pr.oblems concerned with staffing the monasteries
with full abbots, but in the more prosperous urban communes no
such problem exists. It clearly takes much work to keep young monks
in the rural communes, as they tend to migrate to the better educational
opportunities in the center of Chiengmai. Some of the rural Commune
Heads were very impressive leaders, however, and some have the conviction
that the rural laity deserve good monks and that the rural
monasteries may be "out of it" but stand for important traditions in
Northern Buddhism that must be preserved.
In general, the Commune Heads are typically the most senior
monks who have a long career and a strong following in the area that
they administer.
They are only one step removed from regular abbots
in the hierarchy and thus look more .toward their commune than to
Bangkok. ·Not ail even want to be qualified to ordain, and two have
refused requests that they go to Bangkok for schooling to get the required
official certificate. Only four have honorary titles at the Phra Khru level.
Commune Heads are thus perhaps best understood as officials who
communicate both ways between the District Heads and the regular
abbots. They are as varied as the communes they represent.
Below the Commune Heads (See Table 1), of course, are the abbots
(Chao Awat), deputy abbots (Rong Chao Awat), monks (Phra), and novices
(Nen). The hierarchy stops there, but below that point are the monastery
boys (dek wat) who, in gratitude for free room and board, serve the

MONKS AND HIEHAHCHY JN NOH'J'HEHN 'J'JIAJL,\Nll 135
monastery as the abbot requires. Monastery boys perform many tasks
that make life a bit easier for monks and novices, and many a Thai male
would never have been able to afford a secular education were he not
able to be a dek wat for some undeFstanding monk.
One could continue
to account for other laymen and women who have important roles to
play at monasteries, but such are beyond the scope of this paper.
The Thammayut Hierarchy
As noted earlier, we have been discussing the hierarchy for the
majority of the Thai Sangha, who are in the Mahanikaia Sect.
A similar
system exists for the Thammayut Sect but since it has only slightly
more than a thousand monasteries to more than 24,000 for the other sect,
there is no need for so many officials in the Thammayut organization.24
At times when the Supreme Patriarch is Thammayut, be may act himself
as the Area Supervisor (Chao Khana Yai) for the entire country (See
Table 1).
Whereas the Mahanikaia Sect has 18 Regional Heads (Chao
Khana Phak), the Tbammayut have 7, telescoping regions so that Cbiengmai
Province, for example, is grouped in with three others. A similar
telescoping occurs at the level of the Provincial Head (Chao Khana Changwat),
who, for this area, is the abbot of Wat Cbedi Luang.
We have already mentioned this monk above as co-holder of the
highest honorary title held in the province-Raja Khana Thep (tf6, Table
2), and his monastery is the third most prestigious royal monastery in
the province. , His jurisdiction as Thammayut Chao Khana Changwat
covers the secular provinces of Chiengmai, Lamphun, Lampang, Chiengrai,
and Mae Hong Sorn.
Mahanikaia ones.
Thus a Thammayut "province" includes five
The District Head (Chao Khana Amphur} for the
Thammayut also resides as deputy abbot at Wat Chedi Luang, from
which be controls JO wats in the (secular) provinces ofChiengmai (9 wats)
24) These figures are base4 on 4!\tll frQlll l.97Q, ~ee Dept. of Rel. 1\ffllirs (1.970;
J 6S),

136 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
and Lamphun ( 1 wat\.
So far there are no Commune Heads (Chao Khana
Tambon) for the Chiengmai, Lamphun, and Mae Hong Sorn Provinces.
The Thammayut hierarchy for this area is therefore located at Wat Cbedi
Luang in the heart of the city of Chiengmai. How this monastery
became a Thammayllt wat is symbolic of the history of the sect as a
whole in the Province.
In 1928 Wat Chedi Luang, with its huge pagoda damaged by an
ancient earthquake, was a deserted Mahanikaia site. The lust king of
Chiengmai invited from Bangkok a monk by the name of Upali to come
and restore it.2s With that monk came another named Achan Man
(who bailed from the Northeast and was famous for his meditation
prowess as a forest monk). At the same time the present abbot of the
monastery came there as a novice. Achan Man spent most of his time
doing austerities and meditation in the forest, returning just before the
rainy season to honor Upali. But when Upali, after successfully starting
the Thammayut monastery, returned to Bangkok, Achan Man became
abbot for about a year before going out ~o the. forest again, retur.
ning eventually to the Northeast permanently around 1937. From
the time of Upali and Achan Man, tbe.monastery has prospered. The
latter monk trained an important Thamm~yut monk for Chiengmai,
Achan Sim, who also came from the Northeast, and this monk, after
staying at Wat Chedi Luang a while, also went out to stay in the forest
to practice; but be eventually returned to start the new Wat Santitliam
after attempts failed to take over after World War II the deserted
Mahanikaia monastery, Wat Suan Dok. By 1948, with help from the
mayor ofChiengmai~ Wat Chedi Luang had inspired this second Tham.
mayut monastery in the city. The present abbot of Wat Santitham is
also from the Northeast. The whole process t00k exactly twenty yearsfrom
founding monastery to the production of its first offshoot.
25) Phra Khru Upali was actually originally from the Northeast and was a good
friend of Achan Man from their early day,s.in the Nort.heast (personal 00 ,mmu~
nication from Dr. Charles F. Keyes).

MONKS AND HIERARCH\' IN NOH'l'HERN THAILAND 137
A number of factors are worth noting. First, all the monk involved
are from the Northeast, whereas it will be remembered that all but one
in the Mahanikaia hierarchy come from Chiengmai Province. The
Thammayut also moved into deserted Mahanikaia monasteries (the site
of Wat S~ntitham had been a monastery long before). In both cases,
top political leaders (the last Chiengmai king and then a mayor) act to
promote the establishment of the Thammayut Sect.
Finally, it is important
that at the very beginning in Chiengmai Province the Thammayut
movement is definitely associated with forest Buddhism, that is, a stress
upon disciplined meditation in quiet surroundings far from the urban
noise and attractions. In this province the sect is still missionizing in
the sence that it moves into districts and seeks a following within what
is always exclusively a Mahanikaia area at first.
There appears to be a definite sequential process in Tbammayut
pioneering in the province. The first stage is the settling in of a few
monks who live according to the strict forest monk traditions of Achan
Man.
These traditions involve emphasis upon meditation rather than
formal education, the austerity of eating only one meal a day (as opposes
to the normal two), the collecting of morning food alms in a line of
monks arranged in order of seniority (as opposed to individual quests),
and, usually, the wearing of the darker orange, almost brown, robe of
the meditating monk. In the first stage, the monks have no religious
building to stay in but improvise shelter as best they can, either in the
thudong tradition of living under an umbrella and robe (Khantipalo, 1965)
or in temporary quarters as a deserted monastery or other structure.
These monks report to the Thammayut Chao Khana Changwat directly
and need not report themselves yet as a monastery to Bangkok. - It is
highly significant that all the unregistered Thammayl.lt monasteries in
Chiengmai Province follow the Achan Man tradition. They may follow
Achan Man even when they move into the villages or towns, as long as
they observe the traditions described above.
Thus, whether the unregistered
tnonasteries are located in the "foreSt" (i.e., outside villages and
towns) or not, they may follow the Acban Man principles.

138 John P. Ferguson and Sbalardchui Rarnitnnondh
In the ·second stage, a monastery has the hierarchy's permission to
build religious structures, and it becomes registered with central
authority in Bangkok, to receive a full name wben all construction is
completed, The third and final stage involves a fully developed and
registered monastery, complete with name and official standing. Whether
it remains a monastery in the Achan Man tradition is then up to the
abbot, actually. Wat Santitham, in Chiengmai Muang, is a good example.
The abbot is a pupil of Achan Sim, who in turn was a pupil of Achan
Man. Thus there is a monastic ''lineage" involved. When the monastery
was first built after Wodd War II, one could technically call its property
"forest" in the sense it was on the undeveloped outskirts of the city, but
it is hardly so today, as Chiengmai has grown outwards to incorporate
it into the Thai version of suburbia, and it now borders significantly on
the mayor's magnificent .borne. While the abbot began with a strictly
meditative .regimen, pe now. .. ~ends his ~tudents to study at Wat Chedi
Luang and they meditate wb~n not studying. Thus Wat Santitbam is
neither ~'forest" nor exclusively .meditati9n-oriented any longer. But it
is still an Achan Man in6~astery,. ac~ording tO the abbot.
.r• . . .
At Wat .Sarititbam they have a large photograph of Acban Man
just to the right of the altar in the worship hall. Novices speak with
awe and great respect' of Acban Man. On~ even said his bones were
found to be glass· after his death (a sign' of ara~atship). The monks
collect alms in a line every morning; ac6ording to seniority. · The)' stress
meditation 'and self-discipline at the mbnastery, and monks and novices
are encouraged to eat only once a day. ·· It is a spirit and a traditionalm6st
a memory-that they follow, but they have also changed slowly
into a town monastery and frorri wtpatsanathura (meditation) to khanthathura
(study). Thus it is ou'r conq.lusion that the forest monks of A chan ·
Man are the .pioneer ·ground breakers who evolve in to. more ,traditional
·1'
Thammayut mooasteries. in a. t:ew .dec~q~s.. ·
Perhaps rtow it 'is .clearer why we asserted that• the. Tbammayut
Sect, like the honorary fans and .the hierarchy itself, can ·be thought of
as.an extensi9n of royaL and thU:sgovern:merHallay.interest in the monk•
hood's ·affairs .. The Tham.01ay~t St!S:l:.w~s ,.Jqundeo in: ,Chiengml:l:i by
provincial outsider~ and then. helped by. ;the: local government
1
-ofticials to

MONKS AND HIEHAHCHY JN NllHTIIEHN TIIAJLANil 139
get started. To some Mabanikaia monks, theThammayut are"parasites"
living on the huge Mahanikaia tree. Its enemies accuse it of catering
to the politically powerful, the wealthy, and thefarangs.26 Its friends
see it as symbolizing a purer Buddhism that is an exemplar for its more
popularly supported competitor. In any case, the Sect is dynamic in
its search for new footholds in Mahanikaia territory, and in the province
it has won powerful supporters just as it has always done since its royal
inception over a century ago.
Conclusion
We have reviewed the history of the hierarchy in Thailand to
stress the royal role and then the governmental role in supporting and •
controlling what would otherwise be an independent monkhood,living
on local support and guided mainly by the Vinaya. We have suggested
that the monkhood naturally, according to its traditions, accords leadership
to seniority and depends upon the silence of unanimity to govern.
The abbots were already established, supported, and maintained by a
loyal laity long before there was a national hierarchy, which we view as
something superimposed. The presence of an administrative system in
its present form we attribute to secular interest in control, not to a
monastic propensity toward hierarchy.
We have reviewed the. organization of the hierarchy in detail in
order to explain how it works out at the provincial level. . Our conclusion
is that it is a rationally neat system that is applied gently, not
harshly in terms of strict imposition of all its rules, with ample room for
exceptions when necessary. By the time it reaches down to the commune
level, its presence .on a daily basis is not too demanding, for the wording
of national Sangha Ia ws leaves ample room for local freedom of movement
within their spirit. That is not, to say that people are not excited or
deeply involved when honors from the hierarchy are given or administrative
rituals take plac~. The hierarchy bas a certain beauty as a
system, mid since the monks are Thai, they, like the rest of their
countrymen seem to enjoy the hierarchy for its own sake as a symbol of
an ordered society functioning under a highly respected monarch.
26) F 11 rang : a term usually used to describe \lOY ~on-Asian foreigner, usually
focusin~ on Cauca~ians d1,1e to their omn\fresence,

140 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
The honorary system, we also concluded, modifies and supplements
the hierarchy, enabling the King and his representatives to temper
seniority traditions by rewarding monks for administrative ability, as
well as to encourage certain desired ends, such as Pali scholarship,
meditation, or leadership. The honors, we feel, are symbolic rather
than material in the sepse that they stand for values and traditions
important to royalty and to the Sangha.
The Thammayut Sect was presented in this paper as a pioneering,
missionizing movement that seeks footholds in Mahanikaia territory.
The sequential movement from the Acban Man regimen to emphasis
on regular Thammayut learning is seen as one way in which the Sect
establishes itself and yet is incorporated eventually into the national
hierarchy. In Chiengmai Province, the Sect has benefitted from the
aid of certain figures in the government. The question of whether there
is a fascination of political power in all of Thailand with the Thammayut
Sect is a matter needing of more research. All we suggest is that the
Thammayut Sect at the provincial level is possibly an alternate avenue
of royal and governmental influence over the monkhood, in addition to
the channels available through the hierarchy and hdnorary system.
There seems little doubt that the days of the monastic rebellion of
the now legendary Kru Ba Sri Wichai are gone in Chiengmai Province.
The province seems to have accepted gracefully Bangkok's right to rule
its monkhood. Yet the Province has retained much of its basic nature.
Certainly each abbot no longer reigns like an absolute ruler in the old
style, but he retains the powerful support of his laity. The life blood
of the monastery in terms of the manpower to join lt and the physical
necessities to support it come from the neighborhood, not Bangkok.
Thu& the ability of. the Sangha to be self-supporting iffords it a certain
healthy independence and preserves the freshness of difference under the
system.
We do not find as Dumont (1966: 243-58) bas. proposed, that
hierarchy as a system or principle co-exists with egalitarian behavior in
a somewhat contradictory fashion. Instead we find that the concept of
hierarchy, which the Thai apparently enjoy very much btcause it implies
order an

MONKS ANO HlEHARCI!Y IN NORTHERN THAILAND 1.41
a tolerance and sophistication that prevents bureaucratic, impersonal
reason from triumphing over the needs of individuals and small groups.
Thus the notion of "suitableness" tempers any tendency towards administrative
zealousness that might actualize too severely the hierarchy's
system and rules to the detriment of monks and laymen. The Sangha
administrative structure as an ideal system is certainly not "loose",27
Its "tight" system co-exists, however, with a much more prestigious one
codified in the Vinaya and sanctified by thousands of years of sacred
traditions which preserve the humane quality of the Sangha as ultimately
as a local institution responsive more to the neighborhood of believers
that to national secular power. The hierarchy, the honorary system, and
even the polite rivalry of the two sects all represent a cultural system
that is honored as a respected edifice by all. The monkhood, however,
does not let it become a Weberian iron cage of bureaucracy (Weber,
1958: 181). Such an outcome would just not be "suitable."
With reference to the larger problem we introduced as to how the
ecclesiastical structure of the Sangha bas come into being, we suggest
that the hierarchical control of the monk hood is the product of royal and
governmental control, with Sangha 0rganization following closely upon
political consolidation of the country. It would seem that the monk hood,
if left to its local lay supporters, will organize itself in relatively small
local groups based upon seniority and charisma. One is forced, however,
to conclude that monks and laymen recognize a need for more order and
control than the ideal rules of the Vinaya provide. Thus, in actuality,
the Tberavada Sangha accepts a degree of "suitable" lay control from
legitimate authority. The actual degree of control is mild enough so
that the ideals and values represented by the monkhood for the society
are strongly supported while, at the same time, threats to th.ose symbolic
ideals are removed or prevented by the national Sangha organization
under government control. This articulation seems to work best when
the necessary lay control comes from another highly idealized symbol
of government-the King himself. Thus the ideal monkbood allows
the ideal king to exert a degree of symbolic control that in actuality
benefits both the Sangha and the nation.
27) See Evers (1968) and (1969) for development of the concept of the ''loosely
5tf\JCture~" system. See ~~s9 Kir~ch (1969):f.or a rejoinder,

142 John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Rnmitanondh
Table 1
Sangha Hierarchy (Sangbathikan)
Supreme Patriarch
( Sangharaj)
I
Sangha Supreme Council
(Maha Thera Samakhom)
I
Area Supervisors
(Chao Khana Yai)
(For Central, South, North, Northeast) and Tbammayut
I (Note:
Regional Heads
(Chao Khana Phak)
I
Provincial Heads
(Chao Khana Changwat)
I
District Heads
(Chao Kha'na Amphur)
I
Commune Heads
, (Chao Khana Tambon)
I
Abbots
(Chao Awat)
I
N,lonkf}
(Pbra)
. . I
Novices
(Nen)
All positions below this level
refer only to Mahanikaia Sect)

MONKS AND HIERAHCI!\ !N NOBTJIEHN THAILANll 143
'fable 2
Simplified Honorary Titles Hierarchy*
Rank
No.
Honorary
Titles
Simplified
Position in
Administrative
Hierarchy
Pali Education:
Other Qualifi·
Position in Parian cations or
Royal Monastery Level ExpJanations
2
Somdet
Sangha raj
Somdet
3 Raja Kbana
Deputy Sorndet
4 Raja Kbana
Deputy Sorndet
·---
5 Raja Kbana
Tbarn
6 Raja Khana
Tbep
7 Raja Kbana
Rat
8 Raja Khana
Sam an
9 Raja Kbana
Sam an
10 Raja Kbana
Sam an
"""-- ····-----· ·---·-- ·--~ --
11 Raja Kbana
Sam an
Supreme
Patriarch
Supreme
Council
Some on
Supreme Council
Some on
Supreme Council?
:jl9
Silver Plate
Level
Certificate
Level
Meditation
General Achiev~ment+Meditation
------------------
General
Achiev~p1ent
*Based upon data in Sawangboon (c. 1972), an illustrated book on ceremonial fans in the Tbni·
Sangha.

144
John P. Ferguson and Shalardohai Ramitanondh
Table 2 (cont.)
Rank
No.
Honorary
Titles
Simplified
Position in
Administrative
Hierarchy
Pali Education:
Position in Parian
Royal Monastery Level
Other Quallfi·
cations or
Explanations
12
Phra Khru
Sanyabat
Province Head
Changwat
13
Pbra Khru
Sanyabat
Level I Abbot
14
Phra Kbru
Palat of #2
15 Phra
Parian
16
17
18
19
20
21
Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
Pbra Kbru
Sanyabat
Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
Pbra Kbru
·San·yabat
Pbra Kbru
Sanyabat
22 PhtaKhru
-Palat of #3
X
Deputy Province
Head ('fj: 12)
District Head
Amphur (Special)
District Head
Amphur (Level I)
X
Level II Abbot
Deputy to
Level I Abbot
Helper of Abbot
of Special Level
(PersonalS
23 Phra'Khru
· Sanyabat
Level III Abbot
-------------- -------------------- ----------------- ------~--·-
24 Phra Khru
Deputy t~
Sanyabat
Level II Abbot
-~----------------· ------------------··------------~

Rank
No.
25
26
27
28
29
Pali Ed-
Honorary
Titles •. ,. 1
Position in
Administrative: Pos1tion• iin ' • / Parian cations 01;: ,,. .
Simplified . Hie.rarchy ,, :.: Royal.Nionastery Level· · Explanations
Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
Phra Kbru
Samyabat
Phra Khru District Head
Sanyabat Amphur (level IT)r'i ' . , :·, ·:r' /
Phra Kbru
Palat of t/4
Phsa Kbru
Thananukrom of ill x
X
.... :.~t ... ·: ucationt OtherQualifi-
Helper of
Level r .A\:ibot
Helper of
\Level I Atibot
~. ·, .''1 ~ ·, ~ : I / j
I
·Meditation
II : ,\
.. '
: (Personal Staff)
l l.'.' ;;'; i
: (Personal Assist.)
30
Phra
Pari an
31 Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
32 Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
33 Phra Kbru
· Palat of :J/5
34 Phra Khru
Thananukrom oqj:l
35 Phra
Parian
36 Phra Khru
Sanyabat
X
x(2nd Level)
Deputy District Head
(Rong Ampbur)
37 Phra Kbru Commune Head
Level II (Tambon)
'.·
J;.l i ·•
: ··:Deputy to·
Leve( miAbbot
Helper to
Level II Abbot
:If 7
f. I·
;•.?:
(Personal Assist.)
(Personal Assist.)
·~ .

146
John P. Ferguson and Shalardchai Ramitanondh
Rank
No.
-Honorary
Titles
··Sim•plified
38 Phra Khru
San~ a bat
39 Phra Khru
Sanyabat
40 Phra Khru
Sanyabat
41 Phra Khru
Sanyabat
42 Phra Khru
.Sanyabat
43 Pbra Khru
Sanyabat
--~--------
44 Phra Khru
Sanyabat
----·-
45 Phra Khru
Palat of {{6
46 Phra Khru
Palat of #7
---
Table 2 .(cont.)
·--- ----------------·-·-·
....---·--···- ................ -·· .... ---~
I
Pali Education
: Other Qualifi,:
Position in
AdministJ.Iative Position in Parian cations or :..
Hierarchy
Royal-Monastery Level Explanations ~
;6ibbot Level I
----.. -----·------------ . ·--·---··-···-· . -----------·
'·
Abbot :Level II
Abbot Level II
Commune Head
Level III (Tambon)
Abbot Level III
______._
·Meditation
..___
---------"------·-··-···-------~-·-----·
Deputy to Abbot
. Level III
Helper to.Abbot
Level III
·x (Personal Staff~
---.. ·-------·--------··-··----·--·r:
(Personal Staff}
------·-··-----------+
47 Phra
· .Padan
' #6
----------------------------·---------"
48 Phra Kbru
Winai Thorn
49 Phra Kbru
Thammathorn
-------
50 Phra
Pari an
(l?ersofial Staff),
-----·---~~
· (Personal Staff)'
:J:tS
---- ------------\
I

MONKS AND HIERARCHY IN NORTHEI\N Tl!AIL:ANf> 147
Rank
No.
Honorary
Titles
Simplified
51 Phra Khru
Khu Suat
52 Phra
53
54
Parian
Phra Khru
Palat of ~18-# ll
Phra
Pari an
Table 2 (cont.)
Position in
Pali Ed·
ucation : Other Qualifi-
Administrative Position in Parian cations or
Hierarchy Royal Monastery Level Explanations
# 3 Sai Sam an ·.
Bueksa
(Cha·nting Partner)
(Personal Staff)
55 Phra
Parian
56
Phra Khru
Deputy Khu Suat
57 Phra Khru
Sangharak
58 Phra Khru
Samuha
#3
(See it 51)
(Personal Staff) ·
(Personal Staff)
59 Phra Khru
Baidika
(Peuooal Staff)
60 Phra
Samuba
(Pe[1sonal Staff),
----·------------------------------------ ----------.-----~---·
61 Phra
Baidika
(Personal Staff)
62 Phra
Phithitham
(Personal Staff)

146
John P •. Fcrguson and Shalardcbai Ramitanondh
, , Hon·orary
Rank :Y:itles
No. ·Simplified
38
39
40
41
Phra Khru
Sanyabat
Phra Kbru
Sanyabat
Pbra Kbru
Sanyabat
Phra Kbru
. ·Sanyabat
Position in
Administ~ative
Hierarchy
.A:bbot Level I
Table 2 ~cont.)
Pall Education:
Position in Parion
Royal Monastery Level
Abbot ;Level II
-------·---------·--·----
Abbot Level II
Commune Head
Level Ill (Tambon)
42 Pbra Khru
.Sanyabat Abbot Level III
----------------- ··------·-----
43 Phra Khru Deputy to Abbot
44
Sanyabat . Level III
·-------- -----..
Pbra Khru Helper to Abbot
Sanyabat Level III
45 Phra Kbru
------~~ --------
Palat of #6 ·x
46 Phra Khru
.Palat of #7
47 Phra
· P.adan
48 Phra Kbru
Winai Thorn
49 Phra Khru
Thammatborn
---------
50 Pbra
Pari an
·----·--·---------............ .
Other Qualifications
or
Explanations
Meditation
(Personal Staff)
(Personal Staff)
(Personal Staff)
(Personal Staff)
tf5 ----------- ---- --- -·- ~ ------

Rank
No.
Honorary
Titles
Simplified
51 Phra Khru
Khu Suat
52 Phra
Pari an
53 Phra Khru
Palat of # 8-:j:jll
MONKS AND· HIERARCHY IN NORTHERN· THAIL-AN/l 147
Position in
Administrative
Hierarchy
Table 2 (.cont.)
--~-~----·--------------~----·-·-···---
54 Phra
Parian
Pali Education:
Other Qualifi-
Position in Parian cations or
Royal Monastery Level Explanations
1t4
~t 3 Sai Sam an' · ·
Bueksa
(Cha"nting Partner)
(Personal Staff)
---·--------------·-·---------·-·· ··-·-·-··-·--··-··-----------···--·------·
55 Phra
Parian
56
Phra Khru
Deputy Kbu Suat
57 Phra Khru
Sangharak
58 Phra Khru
Samuha
59 Phra Khru
Baidika
60 Phra
Samuba
61 Pbra
Baidika
-----------
62 Phra
Phithitham
---··--------
il3
(See it 51)
(Personal Staff)
---------
(Personal Staff)
(Personal Staff)
(Per-sonal Staff};
---·--·---
(Personal Staff)
(Personal Staff)

148~men t. · ·.J o~{n'~t.qr·,;:;Asian Stugies
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MOt\KS AND HIEHAHCHY IN NOH'l'HERN THAlLANJJ 149
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THE ROLE OF THE LAYMAN EXTRAORDINAIRE
IN NORTHERN THAI BUDDHISM
by
Donald K. Swearer*
In his provocative study of religion in northeast Thailand, S.J.
Tambiah describes the role of several religious actors, including a priestly
type, "a lay ritual officient, a householder and a village elder, who
performs auspicious rites in some ways reminiscent of the classical brah~
man priest."' This priestly functionary, identified by Tambiah as a mq~
khwan ("spirit doctor") or phram2 is set over against the Buddhist monk
or bhikkhu (phra in Thai). Tambiah argues that in Thailand the his tori~
cally antagonistic roles of these religious actors become complementary:
that on the village level the phram/mf!·khwan has invariably been a monk
in his youth and is a leader of the Buddhist congregation, as well as being
a practitioner of khwan or spirit rites.3 Tambiah, being more interested
in ritual reciprocity and its relationship with village social structure,
does not detail the role of the priestly functionary, however. This study
proposes just such an undertaking but from a different perspective.
While we are in agreement with Tambiah's position that the phram/m(Jkhwan
performs a ritual role roughly consonent with that of the brahman
priest, we propose to approach that role from within the normative
system of Buddhism. That is, we shall examine the role of the phramf
mp-khwan from his status as Buddhist layman or, more aptly, lay leader
extraordinaire. We take this approach because the principal subject of
this paper, Mr. Singkha Wannasai, a Buddhist lay leader of provincial if
not regional significance in the area of Lamphun, north Thailand,
perceives his role in that manner and also to show how a single religious
actor can synthesize both Buddhist and non-Buddhist dements. Our
discussion will begin with a few general comments about the Buddhist
* Department of Religion,.Swarthmore College, Swaitbmore, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
1) S.J. Tambiah, Buddhism andThe.Spidt Cults in North-east Thailand, Cambridge:
The University Press, 1970, p. 254.
2) I have changed Tambiah's transliteration from, paahm, to phram,
3) S,J. Taml;liah, op. cit., p. 256,

152 Donald K. Swearer
layperson before proceeding to an .·.analysis of the priestly f1,1~ctions of
the phram/mq-khwan who in our study will. b.e identified by the terms
ph?-khru ("father-teacher'') and acha~n (Sanskrit i 'iicurya) wat ('·teacher
of the temple").4 Once again our choice of terms rests with designations
assigned by the subject of the study and corroborated by his lay peers.
Theravada Buddhism. a.s a ~ocial institution bas b,een depicted by
. Western historians of religi.on primarily as a monastic religion ...·While
in comparison with Judaism and Christianity the way of Theravada is
.. singularly monastic in its orientation 1 . the role of the layperson should
not be neglected or overlooked. Onehas only to examine some of. the
following terms. used to designate the ,Buddhist layperson in Thailand to
acknowledge· the major role he or she performs: 1) upasaka/upasika.
The term, .upasaka, is dedved from the Pali, upasali, 111ea~;~ing to sit. near,
attend, serve. The up(lSaka serves the monk (bhikkhu) by providing for
his material needs. 2) gar'iivasafgaha!{ha/gihi. The gaha!{ha (Sanskrit,
grhasta) is the Pali term for· householder. It denotes· the fact that the
layman, unlike the bhikkhu or homeless mendicant, lives in a home' or
permanent dwelling. 3j Sraddha. Sraddha (Sanskrit) or faith suggests
that the Buddhist layn'l.an is defined by faith in tb~ Three Gems-the
Buddha; Dhamma and Sangha. 4) Di/.yaka. The P~ili term, dayaka,
means giving, bestowing, providing.· ·'rbe function designated by the
diiyaka is, therefore, closely related to upas'aka, Le., one ;vho attends to
,the rieeds of the bhikkhu-$angha. The composite picture derived from
these terms shows. that the B\),ddhist layman is. a householder. who
demonstrates hisfait.h in the Buddha f;tnd the,monkhood by providing
material needs for the monastic community.
4) Both Piili and Thai terms are transliterated in the article. In those cases where
,, ' .. ' .' . . .
the Thai term is used as .a title, I have used the Thai transliteration, e.g. acham
rather than ac:urya, wat rather than .vata, rather than the Piili or Sanskrit. In
most other cases.of choice between Thai and .Piili (or Sanskrit) "transliteration
I. have. chosen the latter cOO 'the grounds of familiarity. Pali transliteration
follows the Pali Text Society Pali-English Dictio~ary. arid Thai transliteration
follows Phya Anuman Rajadhon; The Natttre and Developm~nt .of the Thai
Lanuuage, Ban$kok : Fin~ Arts DepartmetH, ·197 J,

'!liE HOLE OJ! THE LAHIAN E:\'JHAOHDINAIHE IN Mlll'I'IIEHN 'IliA! BUJWIJIS~I ]53
Several written sources offer insight into the Buddhist view of the
responsibilities of the layperson. In the Pali Suttas the Sig 1 ilovada·suttanta
of the D'igha Nikaya details what amounts to a blueprint for the
householder life. It exhorts children to support their parents and be
worthy of their heritage; instructs parents to restra,in their children from
vice and train them in a profession; admonishes teachers to love and
train their pupils and pupils to serve their teachers; and further describes
the duties of husband and wife, clansman and friends, master and servant.
Some of these instructions are contained in the panca slla or the five
precepts of tqe virtuous layman, the most widely known ethical code of
Buddhism, and in the Ten Principles of Good Conduct (kusala-kamma):
1) refrain from taking life, 2) refrain from stealing, 3) refrain from
sexual misconduct, 4) refrain from falsehood, 5) refrain from sarcastic
provocation, 6) refrain from vulgar speech, 7) refrain from meaningless
and nonsense talk, 8) des troy covetousness, 9) restrain feelings of
resentment or revenge, 10) follow the path of Dhamma. 5
Many Thai, as well as classical Buddhist . sources, describe th~
conduct becoming to a pious Buddhist layman in more detail than such
formulae as the Five Virtues and the Ten Principles of Good Conduct.
On the level of popular instruction canonical and non-canonical Jataka
legends are the most widespread. Encased in the narratives associated
with previous lives of the Buddha, are numerous moral and ethical
teachings. Of a more discursive nature are doctrinal synopses such as
that written before the turn of the century by Bhikkbu PaQq.awongsa
(1871-1956 A.D.), the founder of Wat Si Pun Ylin, Lamphun, north
Thailand, which contains a brief section on "Being a Buddhist Dayaka"
or lay supporner. The following is a free translation from that manuscript.
"The Buddhist diiyaka is possessed of faith ( saddha,), moral virtue
{sila), sacrificial concern (caga), and wisdom (panna). Faith is respecting
the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha, revering teachers and elders,
and parents. Moral virtue is always keeping the Five Precepts. Sacrificial
concern is shown by always giving oneself and possessions as a gift
5) Vajiraii1inavarorasa, Navakovada Bangkok: Mahi.i Mak\lta Buddhist University,
!971, pp. 67-6~,

154 Donald K. Swearer
to others. Wisdom means a continuing study of the scriptures about the
mind (cit) and mental factors (cetasika), good and evil, wholesome and
unwholesome acts, and what is meritorious (pu'ii'iia) and virtuous (gurJa),
that is about the subjects of mind and body ( nama-riipa), the constituents
of becoming (khandha, ayatana, dhatu) the controlling principles (saccaindriya),
the supernormal powers (bala), the limbs of wisdom (bojjhanga),
and the Eightfold Path (magga). Such are the duties of the Buddhist
dayaka. The person who is filled with the four qualities of faith, moral
virtue, sacrificial concern, and wisdom in mind and body is a dayaka who
serves Buddhism and commits no wrong against the Buddha's teaching." 6
The Navakovada, a textbook of fundamental Buddhist teachings for
monks, novices, and lay people written in 1925 by Prince Vajirafial!avarorasa
the former Supreme Patriarch (sangha-ra.ja) of the Thai Sangha
famous for establishing the modern system of monastic education,
provides a more recent example of the Buddhist conception of the ideal
layperson. For purposes of memorization the description of acceptable
and unacceptable behavior occurs in three sets of fours, fives and, sixes.
While merely listing types of behavior in prescribed numerical categories
strikes the western reader as exceptionally dull and uninteresting, it
should be borne in mind that when used by an able teacher they form
the basis for more discursive investigation. Some of the topics outlined
are: four defiling acts, four forms of vice, four actions beneficial in the
present, four actions beneficial in the future, four types of false friends,
four types of true friends; five unacceptable forms of commerce, five
qualities of the upasaka; six fundamental relationships (e.g., child-parent,
teacher~pupil, husband-wife), and six causes of ruin (see Appendix A).
The opening remarks to a handbook of chants used by laymen at
wat (temple) services offers a brief and less scholastic introduction to
the conduct of the ideal Buddhist layman.? He is admonished to "do
merit" (tham puniia) not only in terms of the customary acts of supporting
6) Bhikkhu Papl}awongsa, Bhavana. A handwritten manuscript (samut khoi) in the
personal library of Acharn Singkha Wannasai.
7) Thawi Khu'a Kaew, Khu Mu' Khan Non Wat (Handbook for People Who Spend
th~ Sabba~h at t)le Wat), Lampan~, 1971, pp. 1-9,

THE HOLE OF THE LAYMAN EXTHAORUINAIHE IN NOR'I'IIERN THAI BUDDHISM 155
the Sangha but also by being pure in body, word and heart. Purity of
heart is described as freedom from sensory attachment (ki/esa), greed
(lobha), anger (krodha) and degradation. Through his faith and knowledge
the layman comes to realize the significance of the Three Gems­
The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha-demonstrating his loyalty to the
Sangha by providing the monks with the necessities of life, by keeping
the precepts, and by living up to the Ten Principles of Good Conduct.
The layman is urged to visit the wat for the study and practice of the
precepts (sifa}, for meditation (samadhi), and for the attainment of true
wisdom (panna).
Descriptions of the normative lay Buddhist conduct such as those
cited above do not inform us about the specific roles lay men and women
play in the wat in relationship to monks and to other laymen. Relatively
little information is available on this subject.B The casual observer of
Thai Buddhism sees lay people presenting food to the monks in the
morning, lay processions taking gifts to the wat, and laymen chanting in
the vihcua or temple building on sabbath days. On the basis of such
superficial impressions, it would seem that the laity perform roles
ancillary to and in support of the monks or bhikkhus. One rightly
assumes that the ideal layperson is to be properly devout, to lead an
ethically and religiously good life as the texts admonish, and to provide
material support for the monks; however, beyond these, his role as
religious leader appears to be limited. As we shall see, such assessment
of the place of the Buddhist layperson proves incomplete.
Even limited investigation uncovers the fact that nearly every wat
in Thailand has a kammakan wat, a layperson or committee responsible
for the daily management of wat affairs as well as for organizing and
supervising ceremonies and festivals. Many wats sponsor lay organizations
of men, women, and young people which are roughly comparable
with such lay groups in the West. On the national level Thailand has
8) Anthropologists of Theravada societies have been much more interested in
this subject than more traditional historians. See, S,J. Tambiah, op. cit.
Mel ford E. Spiro, Buddhism and Socirty, .New York; .Harper & Row, 1970; Jane
Bunnag, Buddhist Monk, Buddhist Layman, Cambridge: The University Press,
1973.

!56 Donald K. Swearer
Buddhist Associations for both young people and adults. The Buddhist
Association of Thailand, founded in 1934 now has over sixty constituent
chapters. The Young Buddhist Association was formed fifteen years
later and has been involved in various kinds of social welfare activities. 9
Our purpose here, however, is not to study Buddhist lay activities
as such but rather to investigate the role of the layperson as a religious,
particularly ritual, actor. We will not focus on the average or typical
layperson (a relatively indifferent species in any religious tradition!) but
on the exceptional lay leader who plays an essential role in a variety of
religious events. To exemplify this type of layperson our discussion will
focus on the activities of Acharn Singkha Wannasai of Lamphun, north
Thailand. While Acbarn Singkha's role as a ritual actor is unique, it
is generically akin to that of the acharn wat ("temple teacher"). The
acharn wat is a traditional feature of northern Thai Buddhism in particular,
although this role exists throughout the country. In terms of religious
ritual he is the most important layperson with the particular responsibility
of leading the laity in chanting at sabbath services and all special
ceremonies. 10
At most wat celebrations, ceremonies, and services of
worship, the acharn wat leads the congregation in wen dana or thawai dana.
That is, he acts. as the master of ceremonies representing the congregation
as they transfer (wen) or give {thawai) their gifts (dana) to the
Sangha. Acharn Singkha functions in the capacity of an acharn wat but
unlike the typical congregational lay leader, his role extends beyond tbe
confines of a particular temple. The laity's respect of his wisdom and
his finesse as a ritual celebrant leads to dozens of invitations to perform
at various wat ceremonies through Lamphun and neighboring districts.
9) Kenneth E. Wells, Thai Buddhism Its Rites and ilctivities, Bangkok : The
Christian Bookstore, 1960, pp. 258-263. See also Richard A. Gard, The Role
of Thailand in World Buddhism, Bangkok: World Fellowship of Buddhists,
1971, pp. 24ff, for a description of lay Buddhist activities on the international
leveL.
10) Nearly all temple services begin with a chant of praise to the three gems­
Buddha, Dhamma, Sangba-and taking the five or eight precepts. Leading
these chants is one of the responsibilities of the achm·n wat.

TilE HOLE OF TilE L,\YMAN EXTRAOHDINA!RE iN NORTHEI\N THAI llUIJDHJSM !57
The place accorded him aptly earns for him the title of phq khru- "father
-teacher".
wend cina?
What are some of the qualifications of the pho khru who leads in
A partial list would include: a broad knowledge of Buddhism
and religious matters, a long familiarity with the customs and mores of
the area, background as a bhikkhu which provides both a knowledge of
Buddhism and styles of chanting, an ability to write poetry, a good voice,
an aptitude for leading public meetings, dedication, and moral earnestness.
It cannot be denied that extensive experience as a monk is crucial, if not
theoretically necessary, elements in the qualifications of the phq khru.
Not only does it acquaint him with the knowledge necessary to perform
the wen dl!,na role, but lends his role a sanctity derived from the institutional
charisma of the monkhood.
My argument is that the pho khru in northern Thai Buddhism has
•
a religious position which accords him a unique place, vis a vis both monk
and layperson, and that his various roles include priestly-like functions
not ordinarily performed by the monk (bhikkhu). These roles may be
delineated as follows: ( 1) a ritual role on occasions of "doing merit"
(tham pu'iiila) complementing the role of the bhikkhu where the phq khru
acts as the intermediary between tbe bhikkhu-sangha and the laity; (2) a
ritual role on spirit-calling (riag khwan) occasions with priestly-sbamanic
characteristics, a role the monk customarily does not fill; (3) a role of
sage or wise man as a consequence of personal attributes and knowledge.
This last role is also played by a bhikkhu but by virtue of his personal
rather than institutional qualifications. Thus, only some monks in
Thailand are revered for their spiritual insight and holiness. Such
special reverence is not rendered to all bhikkhus. 11
11) The bhikkhu-sangha is revered for its special status as a source of merit;
however, within the bhikkhu-sangha some monks are more respected than
others for reasons of moral and spiritual qualifications. In Lamphun the abbot
of Wat Phra Bat Tiik Pha was the most respected monk in the province for his
qualities of holiness. His reputation hinged on such factors as the long period
of time he spent in eremetic practice (dhutanga), his ascetic life-style, his
daily meditation practice, strict adherence t6 -vinaya rules, and his calm
demeanor. See Jane Bunnag, op. cit. for a discussion of differing lay attitudes
towards individual monks in Ayuthia Province.
.

158 Donald K. Swearer
In combining these functions the phq khru is able to meet a wjder
range of religious needs than the bhikkhu who is more bound by institutional
and symbolic structures. That is, the lay religious leader extraordinare
is not bound by either the bhikkhu's monastic regulations (vinaya),
nor the symbolic limits inherent in the monk's role. A ph

TilE HOLE 011 TilE LA \MAN EX'l HAOHDINAIHE IN NOHTHEHN 'IliA I BUDDI!ISM 159
investigating the three roles delineated above filled by the layperson
extraordinaire, a few biographic.1l remarks are called for in order to
understand the kinds of qualifications a religious actor like Acharn
Singkha brings to his special role.
Acharn Singkha was born in B.E. 2463 (1920 A.D) into a farming
family residing in Amphur Lamphun, the eldest son of three surviving
children. With the exception of his first three years of public school the
remainder of his primary and secondary education was in wat schools,
principally at Wat Phra Dhatu Haripunjaya in Lamphun. He was
ordained a novice (samal}era) at the age of twelve, a bhikkbu at twentyone,
and left the monkhood at age twenty-five for a total of thirteen
years in the Sangha. While ordained he passed all three levels of
doctrine examinations (naga dhamma) and level five of the Pa!i language
and Buddhist literature examinations. As a monk he taught a number
of subjects including Thai and third level Pali studies at Wat Phra Dhatu
Haripunjaya, and the highest level of Dhamma studies at other wats in
Lamphun. On his own initiative he studied Lanna Thai, homiletics and
preaching styles, the method of wen diina referred to above, and northern
and central Thai poetry with monks learned in these subjects in the
Lamphun area. In short, by Thai monastic standards Singkha was an
exceptional bhikkhu. These studies were continued even after Acharn
Singkha left the monkhood. He bas, consequently, gained a wide
regional reputation for his knowledge of languages and literature,
northern Thai Buddhist history and doctrine,. and as a preacher and
poet.
With primary and secondary teaching certificates in band, Acharn
Singkha became a teacher upon leaving the monkhood. During his
secular teaching career he was an examiner in Lamphun, and an assistant
to the education minister in Ban Hong, Amphur Lamphun. His last
position was that of Head 'Peacher at the Dumbon Rimping, Amphur
Lamphun, school. He bas authored and edited teaching manuals, a
history of Lamphun, a history of Wat Phra Dhatu Haripunjaya, numerous
poems, and four Jataka tales from the Thai Yai and Pannasajataka
tradition of northern Thailand, Since his recent retirement at age fifty,
Acharn Sin~kha has d~voted ~11 his eneq~ies to his 9WP W9rl

160 Donald K. Swearer
Thai Buddhism and northern Thai literature. This has included private
tutoring, compiling a Lanna Thai dictionary, working on a history of
northern Thai Buddhism, editing a new edition of the Lanna Thai
Tipitaka, translating Lanna Thai texts into central Thai, acting as a
master of ceremonies at festivals and celebrations (phithi kamma), leading
wen d,ina of about one hundred times per year, doing about thirty riak
khwan ceremonies annually at weddings, ordinations, and other appropriate
occasions, lecturing on Buddhist subjects about thirty times per
year, acting as a consultant to men's, women's, and youth groups at wats,
and providing the services or counselor to those with problems who seek
his help and advice.
As the above brief biographical sketch indicates, Acharn Singkha's
status as a religious actor depends in part on his years in the Sangha, his
training in Pali and Buddhist studies, and his own studies in the traditions,
customs and teachings of northern Thai. Other qualities necessary to
his role will be emphasized as we turn now to an examination of the
three major ritual roles be performs which were summarized earlier.
The first ritual role of the pho khru, that of wen dana or thawai dana,
•
is acted out on merit-making occasions. Merit-making (tham puiiiia) is
the most important arena of reiigious behavior for most Buddhist laypersons.
Basically it is the performance of an act aimed primarily at
benefiting. the Buddhist Sangha. As such it is a meritorious act. That
is, tham pun'iia is a holy act charged with power. Such deeds bear
significant consequences in any religious tradition. In Buddhism doing
meritorious action is thought to affect the status or station one holds in
life, the present as well as the future. Since the performance of
m.eritorious acts is the most important arena of lay religious activity,
their correct supervision is a weighty responsibility. Such responsibility
falls on the shoulders of the acharn wat or the phq khru. It is he who
directs the proper procedures and who says the prop~r words at the
proper times. He is, in short, the master of ceremonies when meritorious
occasions of giving to the Sangha (wen diina or thawai dana) occur either
insi

TilE HOLE OF TilE LA Hv!AN E\'1' HAORLJINAIH!•: IN NUHTIII-:1\N Til AI llllllllliiSM 161
These occasions may be analyzed in a variety of ways. Generally
dana is directed either toward the Sangha or toward the laity. The
former is the most meritorious because, ideally, it represents giving
without the expectation of an immediate material return. True dana,
according to Buddhist norms, does not aim at any reward; it is done
simply because the character of the Buddhist life should be one of
sacrificial giving.
A more precise classification of meritorious gift-giving is: 1) dedicating
buildings to the wat, 2) dedicating useful articles to the monks,
e.g. soap, wash basins, money for wat operating expenses, 3) ceremonies
outside the wat in which some gift-giving to monks is involved, e.g.,
opening a new home (phith'i khu'n ban mai). I prefer a similar classification
as follows: 1) wat ceremonies in which the primary event is the
presentation of gifts to the Sangha, e.g., the presentation of new robes
(kathin) at the end of the Rain's Retreat (pansa), or auspicious occasions
(ngan cha/ong) such as the dedication of a new vihara; 2) wat ceremonies
in which the primary event is not the presentation of gifts to the Sangha,
e.g., a funeral; 3) ceremonies outside the wat such as the dedication of a
new bouse where giving gifts to the Sangha is a secondary part of the
occasion. In all kinds of meritorious gift-giving affairs, the acharn wat
or ph£? khru is the chief officiant acting as mediator between monk and
laity. Furthermore, as the master of ceremonies, the quality of the
occasion depends largely on his ability as a leader and public speaker.
I have observed the role of the ph

162 Donald K. Swearer
of the war (kammakan wat), and the speech of the phq khru dedicating and
presenting the gifts to the Sangha. This last event was the longest
sustained part of the entire affair and the focal point of the celebration,
In the kathin the ph~ khru's principal function is to represent the
laity in the presentation of gifts to the monks and to instruct the laity
about the meaning of the ceremony. Acharn Singkha spoke to the
assembled congregation in general terms about the meaning of sacrificial
giving and more particularly about the significance of the temple for
which funds were being raised. While the speeches given by the phf!
khru vary in content according to the occasion, Acharn Singkba contends
that every wen dana address should aim at producing a peaceful state of
mind by the elimination of distracting thoughts and by concentrating on
the gifts being presented. Consequently; the words of wen dana become
the means by which the givers (the laity) participate in the gifts. The
words of the pho khru literally become the medium (sai klang) through
'
which intention and act become consubstantiated in one meritorious
event. The·ph~ khru, as the fulcrum of the event, acts as the medium
through which the mutual transfer of gift and merit is allowed to take
place. He mediates the spiritual power of the Sangha to the laity and
the material gifts of the laity to the Sangha.
, In both the funeral and house dedication, gift-giving is secondary
part of the event. Consequently, the wen dana was much more sermonic,
hortatory and, in the case of. the funeral, consoling than in the kathin
! • '
ceremony I observed. In both cases the speech by the pho khru was once
. ' ' . ,
again the focal event. · In the house dedication, the wen da,na was
preceded by a brief sermop given by the ecclesiastical. head of the district
at the perform~nce of the (su'pchata) ceremony.l3 At its conclusion
13) The szt'pchat'ii ceremony is typically northern Thai or Thai Yuan although it
evidences Brahmanical roots (cf. Sanguan Chotisukharat, Prapheni Thai phak
Nu'a (The C11stoms of Northern Thailand), Bangkok: Odian Books~ore, 1969,
pp. 53-61.) The details of the ceremony are beyond the scope of this paper;
however, its intent is to guarantee good luck, well-being, and long-life on
auspicious occasions such as occupying a new home, being elevated to a new
status, or celebrating a significant birthday (viz. the. begin~ing of ~ach new
. cycle of twelve years); . .

THE ROLE OF THE LAYMAN EXTRAORDINAIRE IN NORTHERN THAI BUDDHISM 163
Acbarn Singkha tied the wrists of the family members with a sacred
white thread (siii sin)l 4 and then presented the wen dtina address.
Afterwards food was given to the monks followed by gifts of useful
articles. Acharn Singkha then faced the family and offered them words
of advice. The occasion was completed when the ecclesiastical head of
the district put protective marks (yan) over the door of the room in
which the ceremony had been held and then over the entrance to the
lower floor. Acharn Singkba's wen dana dealt with the history of the
owner of the house, its construction, and the responsibilities of a Buddhist
householder.
The funeral was held in a wat and lasted for approximately one and
a half hours. Like the new bouse dedication, it began with a short
sermon by an important bhikkhu, in this case the ecclesiastical head of
the northern region. The wen d'iina followed the sermon and lasted for
approximately forty minutes. During the bhikkhu's sermon the attention
of the layperson seemed to be elsewhere, perhaps because it was
delivered in a rather dry style. By way of contrast, the wen dana was
delivered in a forceful, dynamic manner (siang yai) and the background
noise of conversation stopped entirely. After the monks received their
gifts and chanted (suat bangsukun), Acbarn Singkha turned to the family,
as he bad done in the dedication of the new house, offering words of
consolation and strength from the perspective of the Buddhist Dhamma.
The wen dtina itself dealt with the personal history of the deceased, tbe
14) The sacred white thread (sili sin), an integral element of many Buddhist ce~ernonies,
also has Brahmanical roots. Symbolically it serves to set off the
given area it surrounds as holy and to charge it with sacred power. The source
of this magical power is usually the Buddha in the form of a Buddha image and
the vehicle for engendering or effecting the power is the chanting by the monks.
My point in regard to Acharn Singkha's role in the su'pchata ceremony is that
symbolically he mediates the power of the Buddha and the Sangha by
performing the role of tieing the wrists of the recipient of the ceremony with
the sacred thread. He plays a similar role in a marriage ceremony even though
on that occasion other respected lay persons would also tic the wrists of the
newly weds with the si1i sin. Nevertheless, I would argue that Acharn Singkha's
precedence in this act is not without significance;

164 Donald K. Swearer
circumstances of the accident, and the good the deceased had done in
his life.
In terms of tbe structure of the contituent parts of the three
ceremonies mentioned, the wen dana is the primary and single most time
consuming event. It forms the most essential part of each ceremony and
not only allows for the transfer of both gift and merit as mentioned
earlier, but gives cognitive meaning to the occasion. The wen dana
combines narrative, hortatory and didactic elements,and lifts the event
from the perfunctory to the extraordinary. The phq khru functions not
only as the master of ceremony in the sense of ritual specialist but also as
the mediator between the monk and layperson. As symbolized in the
bouse dedication, for example, the sacred thread ( s7ii sin) acts as a
conduit of power that eows from the Buddha, to the monks, so the Ph'-!
khru who then ties it to the. wrists of the family members at the conclusion
of the su'pchiita ceremony. In Acharn Singkha's own words, he
functions as half monk, half layperson. Or, we might observe that the
ph£? khru bas a quasi-priestly function relative to but distinct from the
bhikkhu and in terms of the ritual structure, intermediary between the
laity and the symbols of Buddhism, i.e., the Buddha and the Sangha.
The second ritual role played by Acbarn Singkha is the performing
of riag khwan or spirit calling ceremonies at weddings, ordinations,
ecclesiastical installations, and occasionally at times of serious illness. 15
Although the riag khwan may be performed prior to ordination and
monks may be present at the wedding cetemony in which the central
event is the calling ,of the spirits of the pride and the groom, there is no
necessary connection between it and B1,1ddhism. Weddings roay be
performed without .the presence of bhik"hus, and ordinations may be held
Without a prior riag khwan ceremony. The riag khwan is obviously of
animistic origin and consists .df "calling'' the khwan or spirits of the
,I ' '
I 5) S.J. Tambiah, op. cit. has an elltended discussion of the khiuan and khwan rites.
A useful descriptive treatment is, Satien Koset (Phya Anuman Rajadhon),
Khwan Lae Praj>heni Kan Thiml Khwan (Spirits and Customs'of Spirit Rites)
· ·Bangkok::, Kiiw Nii;,, '19.6 3. It· is interesting ·to observe . that riag khwan
:·,, ' ·cer.emonies are not• held in· conjunction with birth; puberty., or de 11th rites even
though these, too, are major point~ .of• passage or crisis in; the life cycle.

Till!: HOLE OF THE LAYMAN EXTRAORDINAIHE IN NORTHER!\ THAI BUDDHIS~I 165
parties involved in crisis or semi-crisis situations. The event has been
Buddhicized in that it is said each individual is composed of thirty-two
khwan, one for each of the thirty-two constituent parts of the body as
classified in the Indian Buddhist tradition.
The acharn who performs the riag khwan is literally a practioneer
in spirits and, consequently, plays a role not unlike that of a shaman.
However, unlike the shaman who becomes a medium of the spirit by
becoming possessed by it, a ph

166 Donald K. Swearer
groom for the spirit to enter (left wrist) and to stay (right wrist),
parents of the bride and groom then did the same and were followed
suit by the most honored guests. Finally, Acharn Singkha Jed the couple
into the bedroom where he cut the strings that had bound their wrists,
after some further instruction.
Ther; can be no doubt that the riag khwan is of non-Buddhist origin
and basically retains its non-Buddhist character. However, in the hands
of a phq khru like Acharn Singkba it is given a Buddhist legitimation.
In his instruction to the bride and groom, the appeal to the virtues to be
practiced in the wedded state was basically a' lesson in Buddhist ethics.
Jt can be argu~d. therefore, that in assimilating the riag khwan into the
Tberavada Buddhist tradition in northern Thailand its meaning has been
raised. That is, the didactic part of the ceremony is based fund a mentally
on Buddhist teachings. Its cognitive value is partly if not largely Buddhist.
As a consequence, in a ceremony like a wedding, the phq kh~u
combines the role of shainanic priest vis a vis the structure of the event
. /•
and the role of bhikkhu vis a vis the ceremony's instructional or diductic
level. Meanwhile, the monk, if he is even present, seems to be a mere
backdrop to 'the ritual drama being performed.
Finally, a few words must qe said about the third religious role of
the ph~ khru as sage and wise ~an. There are basically two aspects to
this role, one quantitative, the other qualitative. A ph

TilE HOLE OF TilE LA' ;,tAN E\THAU!W!NA!lt~; IN NOH'!'IIEHN 'I'll AI BUIJDH ISM !6 7
The Buddhist layperson who acts as aphq khru as we have described
it performs a unique religious role in three areas: monk-layperson
interaction focusing on the mutual exchange of gift and merit; aspects of
the religious life syncretistically related to the formal teachings and
organization of Theravada Buddhism, and, as advisor and counselor on
a wide range of both religious and secular issues. The phq khru's role is
made sacred in part by his prior training in and Close as~ociation with
the Sangha, yet as a layperson be has a greater flexibility than the monk
and is able to perform priestly-type roles officially forbidden to the
bhikkhu. Above all, it is his personal charisma rather than his relationship
to the Sangha as a· holy institution which charges his role with
power. While he does not symbolize a source of merit in the same way
as the bhikku-sangha, he is highly respected for the role he plays as
intermediary between the Sangha and the laity, and between the world
of the spirits and the world of. men. He illustrates, perhaps better than
any single religious actor, the dynamics of-.the interaction among varying
religious elements distinctively united in the, system of Buddhism
p,racticed in. northern Thailand. Certainly, the. predominant role of the
phf! khrufacharn wat in northern Thailand contrasts with other sections
of that country and may, at some future point, help provide an insight
into questions of the historical development .of religion in peninsular
Southeast Asia.
J.

168 Donald K. Swearer
APPENDIX A
Listed below are some selections adapted from the gihi pa!ipatti
(lay person's practice) section of the Navakovada;
Kammakilesa (four defiling actions)
Pii'1atipata-bringing about the termination of the life of beings
adinnadana-taking things which the owner has not given
kiimesu micchaciira-wrong behavior in regard to sex
musavada-false speech
Di(!hadhammikatthapayojana (four actions beneficial in the present)
ut!hanasampadii-to be endowed with energy and industry in
whatever may be one's duty and business
arakkhasampada-to be endowed with carefulness in one's
work so as not to let it deteriorate and go to
ruin
kaly'iiQamittata-to have friends who are good people
samajivita-to live in a way appropriate to one's income, being
neither miserly, nor a spendthrift
The Five Qualities of the upasaka
Imbued with faith (saddha)
The purity of moral virtue (sila)
Belief in kamma and not omens and prognostications
Sees only the Buddha-dhamma as worthy of offe.rings
Makes merit (puniia) in accordance with the Teaching of the
Buddha
The Six apayamukha (causes of ruin)
Drinking intoxicating liquors
wandering abroad at night
Going around watching shows
Gambling
Having bad people as friends and intimates
Being lazy in doing work

MERIT~SEEKING IN PUBLIC: BUDDHIST
PILGRIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 1
by
James B. Pruess*
A pilgrimage is a journey which is undertaken for the ostensible
purpose of seeking a direct experience of ultunate reality at a sacred
place. Tbis experience and its associated ritual are understood by the
participant to result in specific or generalised benefits. Pilgrimage,
as a socio-cultural phenomenon found in many cultural traditions through
the centuries, has recently received attention by anthropologists and
other scholars. 2 This article will focus upon pilgrimage to a particular
sacred place in contemporary Theravada Buddhist Thailand. During
the description of the sacred place and the groups who administer, support,
and use it as a center for their devotions, attention will necessarily
be directed to the origins of Theravada Buddhist pilgrimage, its nature
as a form of religious action in the Thai Buddhist tradition, the
rituals performed by and benefits for pilgrims as they make contact
with the sacred, and the character of pilgrimage as a patterned movement
of devotees from home to sacred place. In addition, it will be
argued that pilgrimage in Theravada Buddhist Thailand, while centered
upon an individual experience of the sacred, reinforces meaningful religious
concepts and social norms that are shared by the community of
believers.
* B.A. University of Iowa; M.A., Ph.D. University of Washington. Field research
in Thailand (!971-1972) concerned with Buddhist pilgrimage centers. Presently
lecturer in the Department of Anthropology, University of Washington,
Seattle.
1) This article is one product of field research in Thailand which was undertaken
from September 1971 to August 1972. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness
to the Division of Foreign Studies, Office of Education, Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, for providing financial support for the research. In
addition, I would like to thank Dr. Charles F. Keyes for comments on the first
draft of this article.
2) Bharati (1963, 1970), Bhardwaj (1973), Gombrich (1971: 108-112), Gross
(1971), Karve (1962), Obeyesekere (1966), Turner (1973), Vidyarthi (196!),
Vredenbregt (1962).

170 James B. Pruess
The sacred place chosen for attention in this article is the Shrine
of the That Pbanom Relic (Wat Phra That Phanom), situated on the west
bank of the Mekhong River in northeastern Thailand. This shrine is the
most well-known and well-attended pilgrimage center not only for this
region3 but for parts of neighboring Laos as well.
It should be emphasized
that the statements and conclusions about pilgrimage at Wat Pbra
That Pbanom are applicable to other Buddhist sacred places in Thailand,
except when otherwise noted. Local or regional differences in the content
of ritual at sacred places, or the nature of the ritual cycle itself,
will not be examined here.
I. Pilgrimage and the Sacred
Sanctity may be identified with a wholly convincing truthfulness
attributed by believers to an empirically unverifiable set of conceptions
about the nature of existence which, to them comprises ultimate reality
or (in Geertz's term) the "really real" (1966: 28). This ultimate reality
is the model and the setting for believers to interpret their experience
and formulate appropriate patterns of conduct. According to Geertz
(ibid.: 3-4, 28-35), both a coherent world view and an approved way of
life are rendered reasonable and convincing by religious symbols which
refer to the design of ultimate reality and whose meanings become
activated for believers in the context of ritual action. The faithful
impart unquestioned truthfulness not only to the conceptions of ultimate
reality and its symbols, but also to those dimensions of physical space
which are associated with meaningful symbols and which are proper
settings for valued religious actions.
The Theravada Buddhist conception of ultimate reality is a view
of the universe as impermanent, insubstantial, and conditioned by the
intrinsic cause-and-effect principle referred to in Pali (the sacred language
of the tradition) as kamma (Thai: kam). This principle states that
3) The "northeastern region" (phak isiin: the term refers to an administrative
grouping of provinces, rather than a strictly ethnic or geographic entity) is the
area between the Phetchabun Range and the Mekhong River which, until the
late 19th century, comprised a number of semi-autonomous Lao principalities,
and whose inhabitants are still mainly ethnic Lao.

BUDDHIST PILGRI~1AGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 171
actions in the present are conditions which bring about future consequences.
Actions defined as morally appropriate will produce favorable
consequences for the actor, whereas morally inappropriate ones yield
unfavorable results. An endless round of existences may be required
for these actions to bear fruit, during which time additional volitional
acts are committed that engender still further chains of consequences.
The actor is thus enmeshed in an unending cycle of birth, growth, decay,
dissolution, and rebirth which is activated by human craving and the
illusion of an individual self.
, i
..
;T:his state of existence underscores the phenomenal, empirical world
m which the individual Buddhist is immersed (Kirsch 1967: 127-128).
The Buddbist devotee attempts to reach the plane of ultimate reality
through the performance of religious actions. According to Buddhist
doctrine, the painful cycle of successive existences, activated through
individual "thirst," can be transcended in the state of salvation referred
to in Pali as nibbcma (Thai: niphan). Salvation is to be achieved not
merely in the observance of moral precepts and the performance of good
works, but through the practice of meditation, the cultivation of mental
discipline wherein insight is obtained into one's mental states and the
nature of existence. The meditation practices of the monkhood form
one class of religious actions directed toward the penetration of ultimate
reality and the realization of individual salvation. However, for many
contemporary Thai laity and clergy, nibbiina, while an important religious
value, remains a remote objective to be achieved in a future existence.
The religious actions of these believers are oriented toward the reduction
of suffering rather than its elimination (cf. Spiro 1970: Chapters
2-5). They hope for a blissful future existence, as well as emottonal
and material well-being in the present life. These orientations are
expressed in the performance of religious actions which (like the meditation
practices) bring the devotee into contact with the principle of causeand-effect
that animates the plane of ultimate reality.
The lever which
facilitates this contact is the acquisition of merit ( dai bun), or the "ma­
'king of merit" (tham bun).
Merit is that quality which results from the performance of appropriate
actions and the cultivation of appropriate states of mind.
The

172 James B. Pruess
results assume the nature of intangible assets which influence the outcome
of an individual's future state or condition. Demerit (hap) results
from inappropriate actions and states of mind. The balance of merit
and demerit accruing to any individual eventually works itself out in
the future circumstances of the individual according to the immutable
principle of kamma.
Since merit is conceptualized by devotees as diffuse, intangible,
and indeterminate, the results from meritorious deeds are less sp_ecific
than the kinds of deeds themselves. Merit may thus be equated with
well-being and satisfaction. Merit is quantifiable only in termslof the
nature and frequency of meritorious actions, which may be reckoned in
order to calculate the probable merit to be received. The consequences
of merit are indeterminate, in that the timing and appearance of beneficial
results cannot be determined in advance by the performer of
meritorious actions. Finally, merit can be shared with or transferred to
others.
One form of merit-making is the act of veneration (namatsakan),
the expression of devout recognition and commemoration of meaningful
symbols in the religious tradition. Many rituals and ceremonies in
Theravada Buddhist Thailand begin with the recitation of a Pali chant
expressing veneration of the Three Gems: the Buddha (the teacher), the
Dhamma (the religious truths which the Buddha taught), and the Sangha
(the community of monks which transmits and best realizes the Buddha's
teachings). As will be seen below, veneration may also be directed
toward sacred objects such as Buddha-images or Buddha-relics. In all
cases, the performance of veneration promotes the devotee's access to
the merit-power stored in those objects to be venerated, a force which is
believed to effect favorable benefits for the devotee.
In Theravada Buddhist Thailand, there are two expressions used to
denote the concept of pilgrimage: kanpainamatsakan ("going forth to
bow the bead in veneration") and kanpaisawaengbun ("going forth in
search of merit). From the latter expression (which is more commonly
used in every-day speech) is derived the term which denotes the pilgrim
as "a person who seeks merit'' (phusawaengbun). Pilgrimage, as merit-

BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 173
seeking, is a religious action which provides access to merit and is viewed
by believers as meritorious in itself. This merit pervades sacred sites at
which are found certain symbolic representations of the Buddha, the
teacher and model for the transcendance of ultimate reality. The local
village or urban temple-monastery (the customary center for religious
action oriented toward images of the Buddha and representatives of the
Sangha) is one sacred domain for the faithful. However, those sacred
places in Thailand which attract merit-seeking journeys are those at
which objects directly associated with the Buddha have been established
and{or at which the Buddha himself is believed to have made an actual
visit during his lifetime. The following section will focus upon the
character of one such sacred site in northeastern Thailand.
11. The Qualities of a Sacred Place
The sacred object at Wat Phra That Phanom is an alleged "breastbone
relic" of the Buddha which bas been installed within the base of
a towering brick-and-stucco structure and thus not visible to the eyes
of the faithful. Before considering the circumstances of this object's
appearance at this spot near the Mekhong, attention must be given to
the origins of Buddhist sacred places in general, and the sanctions for
pilgrimage in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which are attributed to
the Buddha himself.
The Maha Parinibbana Suttanta (one of the texts of the Sutta-Pitaka)
is concerned with the final days of the Buddha's life. Shortly before his
demise, the Buddha enumerated to his disciple Ananda the four places
which could be visited by devout believers: ( 1 l the birthplace of the
Buddha; (2) the place where the Buddha achieved Enlightenment (nibbona);
(3) the place where the Buddha preached his first sermon; (4) the
place where the Buddha passed away (pari-nibbana) (Maha-Pari.Sut.: V,
16-20). Devotees who die whtle journeying to any of these places are
assured rebirth in the heavenly realms (ibid.; V, 21-22).
In addition to four specific geographic locations, each identified
with a significant event, the Buddha mentioned certain structures which
could serve as objects of pilgrimage. In response to a question from
Ananda concerning the disposal of the Budda's remains after cremation,

174 James B. Pruess
the Buddha replied that they should be treated in the same manner as
those of a "wheel-turning universal monarch," that is, wrapping the body
in a certain fashion and burning it on a pyre, then erecting a mound or
tumulus (d'agaba) to enclose the remains.
Showing devotion to this
repository, or honoring it with "garlands and perfumes" would bring
joy and calmness of heart to devout believers, as well as facilitate
rebirth in the heavens (ibid.: V, 24-26, 28).
While these words are attributed to the Buddha himself, the canonical
scriptures, including the Maha-Parinibbana Suttanta, were the products
of an oral tradition and did not appear in written form until several
centuries after the Buddha's demise. It is possible that, after his demise,
the followers of the Buddha sought those places associated with major
events in his life, viewing them as sacred memorials or "reminders" of
his earthly existence. This establishment of a hagiographic domain
was a feature of the Hindu tradition in India prior to the Buddha. Places
that attracted Hindu pilgrims were associated either with mythological
figures and events, or with the lives of charismatic individuals. These
places may have been regarded by the faithful not only as "reminders" of
such events and persons, but as sites replete with meritorious value and
supernatural power, promising favorable benefits for devout visitors
(Bharati 1963: 145-147). The sites associated with tbe Buddha were
probably similarly viewed by his followers and the devotees of his
teachings. A canonical text authorized, explained, and gave sanction
to the practice of journeying to these places for devotional purposes.
According to the Maha-Pa'rinibbana Suttanta (VI, 51-62), the Buddha's
remains were divided into eight parts and distributed to various
rulers for enshrinement after the cremation. However, during the reign
of the Buddhist convert Ashoka (274-236 B.C.; Buddhist Era 286-324),
the construction and veneration of these repositories became popular, as
part of a proliferation of Buddist sacred objects in general. These developments
accompanied changes in emphasis within the Buddhist tradition
and its spread throughout the Indian subcontinent and into other parts
of Asia. The monastic order accommodated itself more readily during
this period to the religious needs of the laity; rather than the quest for

BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 175
salvation by the world-renouncing monk, monastic teachings began to
stress the doctrines of kamma and rebirth, and-the means by which the
objectives of the laity (emotional well-being, favorable rebirth) could
be realized (Conze 1951: 85-88). The establishment of sacred shrines
and the phenomenon which Max Weber has called "the cult of relics"
were seemingly designed to satisfy the devotional needs of the laity.
Under the enthusiastic auspices of King Asboka, Buddhist missions were
sent throughout Asia, the seeds of devout Buddhist belief took root, and
the resulting Buddhist communities required symbolic objects partaking
of the truthfulness of their newly-acquired conception of reality for
devotional purposes. A number of symbolic Buddhist objects were the
means by which plots of ground in the mission territories became sanctified.
These objects included the alleged relics of the Buddha (the term
"relic" here will refer only to the parts of the physical Buddha-person
remaining on the pyre after the cremation) and their repositories (stupa),
the Buddha's personal belongings, the alleged "descendants" (saplings or
seeds) of the Bo tree (Ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha achieved
Enlightenment, "Buddha's footprints" (impressions in rock surfaces),
"Buddha's shadows" (outlines of the Buddha-person on rock walls inside
caves or on hill-sides), Pali inscriptions proclaiming the Four Noble
Truths, seats upon which the Buddha supposedly preached sermons, and
(by the lst century A.D.) sculpted images of the Buddha. With the
exception of the personal belongings, examples of the above items have
been discovered and can still be seen in Thailand.
The sacred places created by the enshrinement of these objects
were perhaps symbolic substitutes for the four holy places of pilgrima!!e
mentioned in the Maha-Parinibbana SuttJ.nta, in that they met the needs
of devotees who resided at too great a distance from the originals. The
Thai scholar, Prince Damrong Rajanupbap, suggested that the Pali inscriptions
of the Buddha's words and the establishment of four additional
sites associated with "miraculous events" in the Buddha's life appear to
fulfill the same function (1926: 11, 35-36). The objects were symbolic
because they could be viewed by devotees as "standing for" the Buddha,
either directly (the relic as a remnant of the Buddha-person, the footprint
as an impress of it) or indirectly (objects used by or in connection with

176 James B. Pruess
the Buddha). In addition, the sacred objects are symbolically linked to
those places at which important events in the Buddha's life occurred.
The birthplace of the Buddha becomes symbolized by the footprint, as a
sign that the Buddha has "set foot" in this world; according to canonical
hagiography, he is said to have taken seven steps in the direction of the
north after his birth (cf. Majjhimanikaya: Acchariyabhutadhama-Sutta).
The place where the Buddha achieved nibbana becomes symbolized by
the Bo tree under which he sat. The place where the Buddha preached
the first sermon ("taming the W_heel of the Law") finds symbolic expression
in the inscriptions or images of the wheel. The place where the
Buddha passed away is represented by the stupa which was intended to
enclose his remains.
To summarize, the four sacred places were originally established
as "reminders" or memorials marking events in the Buddha's life. The
diffusion of the faith into other areas and its contact with new devotees
necessitated the foundation of additional sites which became sanctified
by relics and other symbols of the Buddha. These sites may have taken
on particular importance for devotees within journeying distance; as
Rahula bas stated for Sri Lanka, "Toe relics of the Buddha were regarded
as representing the Buddha himself, and their enshrinement was as good
as Buddha's residence in Lanka" ( 1956: 58). In Thailand, myths
appeared which attributed the spread of the Buddha's teaching and the
presence of sacred objects at various sites to the actual visits of the
Buddha himself during his lifetime.4 One such myth, presented in the
Extraordinary History of the That Phanom Breast-bone Relic ( Urangkhanith"cm:
Tamnan Phra Thcu Phanom Phitsadan),s "explains" the presence
of the relic at Wat Phra That Phanom in northeastern Thailand, to which
we now turn our attention.
4) Not all sacred objects .have their presence explained in this fashion. For
example, only ten out of eighteen relic-shrines established over 200 years ago
in north Thailand have myths which explain the existence of relics in connection
with visits by the Buddha. The other relics appeared throughKingAshoka's
emtssaries, or rulers or monks from other localities (cf. Sanguan 1965).
5) This work is a Lao text, reco'rded on palm-leaf manuscript (bai-lun). The version
of this text (with commentary) in modern Thai is the source for the
material in this section, and will be cited as UT.

BUDDHlST PJLGlllMACE IN NORTHEASTEHN THAILAND 177
In the myth, the Buddha and his disciple Ananda are said to have
made an ex: tended visit to a number of places in what is now northeastern
Thailand and Laos. The goal of this airborne journey was a hill or knoll
located in the kingdom of Sri Khotabun. In former times, this knoll had
been the repository for relics of the three Buddhas (Kakusandha, Konagamana,
Kassapa) who preceded the Buddha (Gautama) of the present
era.
lndra, the chief of the deities, informed the Buddha Gautama that
the enshrinement of Buddha-relics at this site was a "custom" to be
observed with regard to all"EnlightenedOnes"(UT: 12). Uponarrival
at the spot, the Buddha received alms from the ruler of Sri Khotabun and
prophesied that the Buddhist religion would prosper throughout the region
in the future.
He promised that, after his demise, a "breast-bone relic"
(that hua ok} would be brought from Jndia to be established at the knoll
as an object of veneration for both gods and human devotees (ibid.:ll-14).
Upon returning to India, the Buddha entrusted one of his disciples,
Kassapa, with the task of taking the relic to Sri Kbotabun.
At the cremation,
the flames did not begin to consume the Buddha's corpse until
the "breast-bone relic" had emerged from the coffin to hover above Kassa
pa's right palm. Kassapa and five hundred arahants ("enlightened ones")
ascended into the air and transported the Buddha-relic to Sri Khotabun
(ibid.: 21-22).
The expedition was met by the ruler of the kingdom (the younger
brother of the king, now deceased, who bad presented alms to the Buddha)
and the lords of four other principalities whose territories extended
from northern Cambodia to northwest Viet-Nam. Both rulers and monks
proceeded with the construction of a repository in the shape of a kiln
(taw) to enclose the Buddha-relic. The repository was built on top of the
knoll.
At its completion, the relic was installed witbm, along with
gifts of wealth donated by the five rulers, who vowed to become devout
Buddhists and to encourage the prosperity of the religion in their respec~
tive realms.
Kassapa and the arahants returned to India, and the five
rulers and their retinues departed also. Afterward, Jndra and a host of
subordinate deities descended from the heavens to venerate the relic and
to decorate the repository with carved images of the five rulers and

178 James B. Pruess
their attendants (ibid.: 27-47), which can still be viewed at the present
day.
Scholarly conjectures concerning the date of the original That Phanom
repository range from the period of the early Khmer empire of Funan
(ca. 1st-7th centuries A.D.) (ibid.: 3) to sometime during the 1Oth century
A.D. (Boisselier, quoted in Damrong 1926: 168 fn. 1 ). Several local
monk-informants claimed that the structure was built eight years after
the Buddha's demise (ca. 488 B.C.). In the centuries after its construction,
the original structure in the shape of a kiln was subject to renovation
and alteration.
"knoll" (a plot of ground only 2~
At the present day, the sacred stupa on the
meters higher than the surrounding
area) is in the form typical for Buddhist relic-monuments in northeastern
Thailand and Laos: a rectilinear tower whose various levels decrease
in girth from the base, tapering upward to culminate in a jutting spire.
The structure is made of brick, with a gleaming white stucco surface
embellished with gold leaf designs that feature stylized representations
of a Bo tree.
The tower, soaring to a height of 57 meters, dominates the
small Mekhong River town in which it is situated, as well as the flat
countryside to the west of the river. According to the myth, this structure
marks the site actually visited by the Buddha. As the repository
for a Buddhist "reminder," it attracts numerous pilgrims from various
parts of Thailand and Laos. Before considering the ritual performances
of these pilgrims, brief attention must be given to the social setting of
the sacred place.
The site is not only a pilgrimage center, but (as with most such
centers in Thailand) is also a temple-monastery (wat). Hence its name,
"Wat Phra That Phanom," "the Temple-Monastery of the Sacred Relic
(or Reliquary) on the Hill" (Khmer phnom="hill"). The shrine "history"
does not state when a monastic community was first established at the
sacred place.
After the first restoration of the stupa (at an unspecified
date), three thousand individuals were designated as shrine attendants
(kha phra) by the ruler of the local principality; they received clothing,
implements, oxen, and land upon which to settle and establish seven
villages (UT: 68-69). Their primary duties seem to have been the care

BUDDHIST PILGJUMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAJL

180
James B. Pruess
novices. Two structures can be described as ritual intersections for the
two domains: the temple meeting-hall (wihan), where monks and laity
join together in religious devotions, and the ordination ball (bot), where
monks perform ordinations and engage in the monthly recitation of the
Patimokkha (rules of monastic disctpline). Images of the Buddha are
located in both of these buildings. The "Buddha's domain" occupies
the central area of the compound, with the "Sangha's domain" gathered
around the periphery.
The distinction between the two domains is pertinent with regard
to matters of administration and finance. The abbot of the shrine is
in charge of affairs in both domains.
However, decisions concerning the
activities of monks and novices are made on the basis of regulations
and directives emanating from higher monastic authorities (ultimately
the ecclesiastic Executive Board of Elders in Bangkok), whereas decisions
concerning the "Buddha's domain" will also involve consultation with
government officials of the Department of Religious Affairs in the
Ministry of Education, and sometimes officials of the Fine Arts Department
(concerning the restoration of structures in the shrine compound).
In general, funds for the repair and construction of monks' dormitories
and classroom buildings, as well as for religious education and provision
of food, will be obtained from the local congregation and other meritmakers
in the locality; in additon to these local sources, funds for the
upkeep of structures in the "Buddha's domain" are derived from pilgrims
and the national government. Since 1950, Wat Phra Thn t Phanom has
been officially designated a "royal temple" (wat luang), which entitles it
to financial assistance from the government treasury, and gives it a high
status rank in the national hierarchy of temple-monasteries.
In 1972, there were 35 monks and 41 novices officially residing at
Wat Phra That Phanom. In addition, ten temple boys (youngsters who
receive instruction from the monks and attend them as servants) and 22
"nuns" (chi: "white-robed female lay followers") formed part of the
temple community. The activities of monks and novices here differ little
from those of their fellows elsewhere in Thailand: study, meditation,
leisure, ritual interaction with local laity.
One elderly monk, however,

BUDDHIST PILGHIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 181
is stationed daily near the courtyard of the stupa, in order to assist
pilgrims in their devotions (see below). During the annual shrine festival,
when hundreds of merit-seekers inundate the precincts, all monks and
novices provide services to the pilgrims or assist in the administration
of the various activities.
The town of That Phanom takes its name from the shrine located
m its midst. This riverside community of around 7,000 inhabitants is
an administrative and marketing center for an agricultural district.
A small lurn ber mill and a jute-processing plant are the town's sole industries.
During the research period ( 1971-1972), there was some small-scale
trade in foodstuffs with Lao villages on the other side of the Mekhong.
The relationship between the inhabitants of the community and the
shrine is somewhat stronger in the sacred realm than in the secular, as
Wat Phra That Phanom is the only temple-monastery for the municipality.
Many residents comprise the local congregation: persons who provide
food for the monks and novices, who request participation of resident
monks in life-cycle rituals, who send their sons to receive instruction
and be ordained, and who form the body of devotees on all ceremonial
occasions. The religiosity of the largely Theravada Buddhist townspeople
finds its chief expression with regard to the shrine, its sacred object,
and the resident monks. In contrast to the situation described by Gross
(1971: 132) for the Brazilian shrine town of Born Jesus de Lapa, a large
proportion of the inhabitants of That Phanom town derive most of their
income from activities not connected with pilgrimage, although some of
these people may take advantage of the annual festival and the influx of
pilgrims to augment their incomes. For example, local residents may
rent portions of their property as parking-lots or pilgrim lodgings; women
from villages in the area become temporary vendors of garden produce,
while their husbands prepare concoctions of herb tea sold by the glass
to pilgrims. Nevertheless, That Phanom is not a "pilgrimage-specialized"
community to the extent of Born Jesus de Lapa or Lourdes. Likewise,
pilgrimage has not significantly contributed to the population
growth and economic development of this community.

184 James B. Pruess
for zenith and nadir is often omitted by pilgrims.)
The recitation ends
with words directed to the top of the repository (kham wai yaut):
"Sechatam suvanarachatany ratana1Jl ponital[l buddha-urangacetiya1JI
ahaf?l vanatami sapata."
("I worship the beautiful, finely-wrought top of the memorial of
the breast-bone relic of the Buddha, jewel of delicate precision.")
These Pali phrases (in Thai script) are emblazoned on signs attached
to each of the four sides of the stone wall which separates the stupa from
devotees.
The signs are intended to serve as reminders and visual aids,
since the phrases do not form part of the stock of ritual knowledge held
by the majority of Thai-Lao Tberavada Buddhists.
These words of
veneration are more frequently recited by pilgrims from the immediate
locality, and their use is not regarded as essential. 6
Bodily suffering or disfigurement is conspicuously absent from
ritual at the That Phanom shrine. A nineteenth-century French visitor
to the shrine was amazed to observe the amputation of the tips of the
forefingers, which he claimed were "offered to the Buddha" by devotees
(de Carne 1872: 133). However, present-day informants express their
amazement at the very possibility of such actions, which were rejected
by the Buddha himself. Penance for the expiation of sin (which may
underlie "rites of mortification" at Christian shrines) is absent from
the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Furthermore, the morbid nature of
these actions runs counter to the pleasurable connotation of pilgrimage
journeys.
I
The act of veneration brings the devotee into direct contact with
the merit-power emanating from the sacred object. Merit is acquired
through the presentation of cash offerings and gifts. Several collection
boxes are located in the courtyard and inside the temple meeting-hall.
Small amounts of cash are deposited into one or more of these boxes
by pilgrims before leaving the shrine precincts. According to a sample
of individual contributions recorded in the shrine registration book
6) Standardized Pali words of veneration (from the four cardinal directions) are
found in use only at sacred places in northeastern Thailand and Laos.

IlUl>IJHIST PILGRIMAGE IN NOHTHEASTERN THAILAND 185
during December 1971, the amounts of cash donated ranged from 1 baht
(lJ.S. 5 cents) to 100 baht (lJ S. $5), with the majority of devotees donating
beetween 1 and 10 baht. These donations are used to cover the
expenses for the upkeep of the shrine; the collection boxes are opened
and the contents removed by the lay custodians at the end of each month.
Cash may be presented to the shrine by a group of pilgrims. The sum,
collected prior to the pilgrimage, comprises the total contributions of
the individual members of the group.
These donations sometimes accompany
the presentation of monks' requisites and other items, in which
case the donation is made in the form of an artificial "tree" of bamboo
and twisted cot ton thread which is decked with banknotes of various
denominations. According to a sample of 50 group contributions
recorded during the shrine festival of !972, the amounts ranged from 10
baht (59 cents) up to 327 baht (around $16.35), with the most frequent
donations between 100 and 150 baht ($5-$7).
used for maintenance of the shrine.
These donations are also
Monks' requisites (including both robes and other articles used by
monks) are presented by members of a family or large groups of devotees
at the shrine. These presentations are not limited to pilgrimage. However,
the ceremony at Wat Phra That Pbanom includes an adaptation of the
meritorious act of giving which differentiates it from similar acts at local
village temple-monasteries. The ceremony usual.ly involves the active
participation of a monk or layman who represents his group of pilgrims
and a monk who represents the shrine. It takes place in the courtyard
directly in front of the stupa. Most of the ceremonial presentations
observed at Wat Phra That Phanom included the following recitations,
divided into phrases uttered by the monk or lay leader and repeated in
unison by the members of the group:
(a)
(b)
(c)
Veneration of the Three Gems (in Pali).
Veneration of tbe Buddha, which consists of the Pali formula,
"Namo tass a bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhasa" ("Veneration
to the Blessed Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One"),
uttered three times.
Veneration of the That Phanom Buddha-relic (in Pali).

186 James B. Pruess
(d)
Three Refuges (in Pali : "I se.ek refuge in the Buddha'-in the
Dhamma,-in the Sangha").
(e) Five Precepts (in Pali).
These are formally requested (in a
stock Pali formula) by the leader of the group, and are "presented"
by the shrine monk to the group, who repeat them in
unison: "1 undertake to abstain from taking life,-from taking
what is not given,- from going wrong in sensual matters,­
from falsehood,-from intoxicants which cloud the mind."
(f) Recitation acknowledging the presentation of gifts.
The last (in Thai, not Pali) is uttered by the shrine monk who accepts
the gifts, and repeated in unison by the pilgrims. The words are translated
as follows: "We respectfully present these monks' robes with all
our services to the relic of the Buddha; may the relic of the Buddha receive
these monks' robes which we have presented, so that advantage and bliss
may accrue to all of us forever." The recitation is similar to that used
when presenting requisites to monks and novices at a monastery, except
that the expression "phraboromathat" (''exalted-relic") is substituted for
"phra phiksu song" ("monks") as the recipient of the donated items.
While the resident monks and novices at the shrine are indeed the
recipients who will make use of these items, during the ritual presentation
it is the Buddha-relic (as a symbol ofthe Buddha) which is understood
to "receive" these items so that advantageous well-being (as merit) will
be conferred upon the donors. It is as if the ceremony were a re-enactment
of the Buddha's original visit in the myth, a return to the site to
receive the devotions and gifts of present-day merit-seekers.7
In many instances, the act of giving offers the donor an opportunity
to display certain elements of the merit-making performance. The monks'
7) At several shrines in north Thailand, offerings of fruit aud rice-cakes are
presented to the Buddha-relic on certain specified occasions. These ritual
offerings are prepared and presented by members of the local congre!l'ations,
not by pilgrims. For a description of one such ceremony, see Pruess (197 4 :
98-l 00). Occasionally, fruit, glutinous rice, condensed milk, etc., may be
included among offerings presented at Wat Phra That Phanom, but these items
are never expressly intended during the ritual as gifts to the "breast-bone
relic."

BUDDHIST PILGRIMACE IN NOHTHEASTERN THAILAND 187
requisites heaped on trays in the courtynrd, the "money-trees" garnished
with banknotes, seem designed for maximum visibility by others at the
shrine. Some pilgrim groups from villages in the immediate locality
transport their gifts to the shrine in a large, noisy procession of villagers,
some of whom carry drums and cymbals. During the annual festival,
pilgrims who did not bring monks' requisites with them were provided
with tllese items by the shrine. The pilgrims, after a cash donation, received
as many of these items (robes, fans, ''money-trees") as they could carry.
Musicians hired by the shrine then accompanied the pilgrims in a single
clockwise circuit of the shrine compound. The procession stopped in
the courtyard, where the items were "presented" to the relic in the
ceremony described above. After the ceremony was completed, schoolchildren
picked up the requisites and returned them to the stall for
"recycling" among successive groups of pilgrims. During one day of the
1972 festival (29 January), betw~·en 5.30 a.m. and 6 p.m., 638 pilgrim
groups took advantage of this service offered to them by the shrine, an
opportunity to display publicly their merit-making and to demonstrate
to others their status as good Buddhists.
Of lesser importance in the repertory of performances at the shrine
are those acts wbich draw upon the merit-power of the sacred place to
bring about specific benefits in this existence, rather than to guarantee
rebirth into a blissful future state. Pilgrims may make a request and
promise an offering or an act of veneration if the request is successfully
granted (the vow is referred to in Thai as "bon ban"). The results are
contingent upon both the fulfillment of the vow and the correct meritorious
behavior of the devotee (such as observance of the Five Precepts).
During the research period, only about 15% of the sample groups were
concerned with tbis type of activity; tbeir requests for aid centered upon
recovery from illness, guarantee of safety during an up-coming journey
or change of residence, and successful childbirth. Monks at the sbrine
felt that these requests should be directed to the guardian deity of the
sacred place, a seven-headed serpent (naga) deity who, in 1957, made its
presence known by entering the body of a novice and communicating its
intentions to the abbot ( UT. : 116-11 7). Nevertheless, a guidebook prepared
by That Phanom monks advises pilgrims who desire offspring to
request assistance from the relic ("khaii kap phraboromathat"), and this

188 James B. Pruess
conception was emphasized in the ritual of pilgrims who made various
requests. The making of vows and requests seems to be guided by the
affective belief in the Buddha's immanence in the sacred object, attributing
it with a power which can be tapped through the mechanism of the
vow in order to bring about favorable solutions to specific problems.s
This power may also be condensed in the form of items which can
be obtained and taken home by the pilgrim, as momentos of the
pilgrimage and as guarantees of present and future well-being. These
items include consecrated water (nam mon) and protective amulets. At
the shrine, devotees may purchase bottles of consecrated water which
bas already been prepared by the monks. Tiny amounts of detritus
from the stupa (bits of stone which are scraped off the surface) are
mixed with ordinary tapwater which is further consecrated by means of
auspicious Pali chants (mantra; Thai mon) uttered by monks who drip wax
from burning candles into the liquid. It is used for medicinal purposes
or during veneration of Buddha-images at home.
Small votive tablets bearing images of the Buddha are also produced
by monk-artisans at the shrine; bits of detritus from the stupa are among
the ingredients of these objects. They are available at the shrine sales
desk for pilgrims to purchase and wear as protective amulets hung around
the neck. Photographs, medallions, tie-clasps, and pins bearing the
image of the stupa are merely souvenirs which possess no magical
powers.
To summarize, pilgrims express the objectives of their journey and
its culminating ritual in terms of "making merit," through which they
acquire "advantage," "bliss," "prosperity," ("pray75t,'' "khwamsuk,"
"khwamcaroen") or ''protection from all dangers and disease" (as quoted
from the "opinions" section of the shrine registration book). At the
sacred place once visited by the Buddha, the pilgrim comes into proximity
with the Buddha's meritorious power; performing the meritorious
acts of veneration and giving brings about for the pilgrim a convergence
8) Shrines associated with magically-powerful Buddha-images, territorial protective
spirits (lakmyang), or Hindu deities may be visited for purposes of making
such vows.

llliiHJlllST P!LGHIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 189
of the "really real" (the world as conditioned by kamma) and the world
of everyday reality.
V. The Merit-seekers
The movements of pilgrims to the That Phanom shrine reveal a
range of variation between two dominant patterns: (a) tbe devotional
journey bet ween home residence and one specific shrine; (b) the general
excursion to a number of places which includes both devotions and sightseeing.
In general, the former is practiced by a large group of pilgrims
from a single village, located close to tbe shrine, which organizes itself
annually for the purpose of making a joint donation to the shrine. The
latter, for the most part, is performed by groups of urbanites or villagers
whose visits to the shrine, infrequently or seldom undertaken, rarely
involve specific group donations. For the former, ritual veneration of
the sacred object at the shrine is usually performed by the entire group
as a single ceremonial act; for the latter,
•
the devotions are pursued
singly (with no representative leading the entire group in worship), even
thougb the members of the group may enter the shrine precincts together.
Geographic and temporal factors influence these patterns of pilgrim
movement. For the most part, there are more journeys undertaken to
the Tbat Phanom shrine from villages in the district than from adjacent
districts, provinces, and regions.
The following figures (from the record
of signatures in the shrine registration book between February 1971 and
February 1972) on the regional distribution of pilgrims indicate that the
majority of devotees at the shrine are inhabitants of the region in which
it is located:
Table I. Regional distribution of pilgrims at Wat Pbra That Phanom
Northeast : 5155
Central: 958
North: 19
South: 16
TOTAL: 6148
The following cautionary remarks should be borne in mind with
regard to there figures.
First, because of the isolated location of the

190 James B. Pruess
registration book relative to the "flow of pilgrim traffic," these figures
represent a small sample of the total number of visitors at the shrine
for this period. (Over 80% of the groups contacted during the research
period at That Phanom hailed from the provinces of the northeastern
region or from Laos.) Second, the figures refer to place of residence
rather than place of birth, so it is impossible to determine what proportion
of pilgrims from other regions are native Northeasterners combining
a pilgrimage with a return visit home. (No examples of this were
encountered during interviews at the shrine during the research period.)
The large number of citations from the central region (with 537 of these
from the Bangkok-Thonburi municipality) perhaps reflects recent improvements
in the road network and the promotion of tourism, which
have contributed to the increase in combined merit-making and sightseeing
excursions, especially by middle- and upper-class townspeople in
Thailand's largest urban center .
•
Most pilgrimages occur during the "pilgrimage season" (December
through March), the dry season in the northeastern region, when
little or no agricultural activity takes place.
The least number of pilgrimages
are undertaken during the period of the annual Buddhist "rainsretreat"
(phansii) (July-September), which coincides wiih the height of
the rainy season, the time of year when monks are generally restricted
to their monasteries, agricultural activity is in full swing, and both
weather and road conditions hamper convenient travel in rural areas
away from the main highways.
Most pilgrimages of a localized nature (from villages,districts,
or provinces adjacent to the shrine) occur during the period of the
annual shrine festival (ngan pracam pi), which is scheduled between
the tenth day of the waxing moon and the first day of the waning moon
in the third lunar month. The penultimate day of the festival (the fullmoon
day of the third lunar monrh) corresponds, in the Lao Theravada
Buddhist calendar, to the major Buddhist holiday of Wan Makha-bucha,
which commemorates the Buddha's miraculous meetmg with 1,250 of
his disciples. The festival can be described as a merit-making, merrymaking,
and money-making extravaganza, combining opportunities for

DUJJIJHIST I'!LCHIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 191
religious devotion with a substantial market complex and those amusements
typical of fairs almost anywhere. The largest number of pilgrims
assemble at the sacred place during this brief period. Unfortunately,
there is no firm statistical evidence to support this statement: shrine
authorities are interested in counting proceeds, not people. However,
the estimated number of pilgrims attending the 1972 festival (23-31
January) was nearly 178,000, based on the number of sets of flowers,
joss-sticks, candles, and gold leaf sold (one set per person) at stalls located
at the entrances to the shrine compound during the seven-day period.
This figure should be viewed as a general approximation rather than as
an exact tally of the number of pilgrims.
For the most part, the majority of the pilgrimages from adjacent
villages and districts at this time are undertaken on an annual basis. The
closer a particular village is located to the shrine, the more likely will
it be that its inhabitants undertake a pilgrimage each year during the
period of the annual shrine festival. This journey will be in the form of
a merit-making project in which cash donations and offerings of monks'
requisites will be ritually presented to the shrine as a community gift.
Pilgrimages are also undertaken at the time of other major Buddhist
holidays, and at the end of the Buddist "rains-retreat," when meritmakers
present robes to monks at Wat Phra That Phanom or other
monasteries in the area.
The second dom in ant pattern referred to above is the pilgrimageexcursion,
a journey to a particular region, with stops (scheduled and
otherwise) at both sacred places and secular points of interest (water-falls,
parks, etc.). These journeys usually take place during the dry season.
In comparison with other parts of the country, there are few natural
attractions or sacred places in northeastern Thailand in general (and the
That Phanom vicinity in particular, unless one takes into account an
unimpressive view of Laos across the wide flat expanse of the Mekhong).
Nevertheless, groups of travelers from Bangkok and central Thailand do
tour the northeastern region and include the That Phanom shrine on their
itineraries. It should be noted here that Thai Buddhists do not make a
distinction between "journey of piety" and "journey for pleasure." A

192 James B. Pruess
noted Thai scholar referred to pilgrimage as a "vacation~ of a semi-religious
nature" (Anum an Ra jadhon 1961: 96). There are no deliberate
austerities or penances associated with such journeys; over-crowded
buses or trucks seemingly without springs are common modes of transport
in northeastern Thailand. One informant stated that if people took
a journey solely to make merit somewhere, then the trip would be no fun.
However, if people went traveling purely for their own pleasure, with
no planned stops at holy shrines, then merit would not be obtained (bun
. bau hiiiit; Central Thai: bun mai thyng). This viewpoint applies not only
to the mtddie-class urban "tourist" but also to the villager who enters
the shrine compound bearing a "money-tree" instead of a camera.
Pilgrimage is usually a group enterprise, with group size ranging
from three or four up to four hundred and over. In general, with regard
to pilgrimages undertaken annually by residents of the locality or region,
the size of the group is proportional to the distance bet ween residence
and shrine. The closer the residence is located to the shrine, the larger
the group of pilgrims, for the most part. The prevailing economic sittmtion
in villages located some distance from the shrine determines the degree
of participation in the pilgrimage, as well as its occurrence on an
annual basis. The expense involves a small cash donation and a contribution
to the cost of hiring a truck or bus, in addition to money spent at
the shrine itself. During the annual festival, this additional expense will
be directed toward the purchase of amulets or consecrated water, donations
in collection boxes, alms to beggars, or shopping and amusements.
Villagers generally bring a supply of food with them (or at least packets
of rice wrapped in banana leaf), although some meals may be taken at
food-stalls set up in or near the shrine precincts. If an overnight stay
at the shrine is required (such stays usually do not exceed two nights).
villagers either occupy large pavilions provided by the shrine, or else sleep
anywhere space is available in the compound. Even if it is not feasible
for all villagers to undertake the journey (participation in pilgrimage being
voluntary), the opportunity is available for tbem to contribute to the
joint community donation which is presented to the monks or custodians
at the shrine. In such cases, names and donations of all contributors may
be recorded on sheets of paper which accompany the presentation of the

BUDDHI&T PILCRIMAGE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND 193
cash contribution. Villagers who do undertake the pilgrimage may purchase
amulets or other souvenirs at the shrine to be distributed among
those who remained at home, thus enabling the latter to possess tokens
of their shared participation in the community merit-making enterprise.
Tl1is practice is found mainly among villagers of the region, wbo go on
pilgrimage annually or semi-regularly during or near the period of the
annual shrine festival.
The composition of pilgrimage groups is determined by a number
of criteria. Both urban and rural groups may be formed on the basis of
kinship, friendship, common residence, or any combination of these.
Most groups of rural devotees are made up of the inhabitants of a single
village community, members of a village temple congregation. There
are also larger groups comprising residents of a number of villages located
in the same administrative commune (tambon). The majority of the
groups for whom That Phanom is the sole objective of the journey are
of this composition. Many groups of urban pilgrims are formed on the
basis of mutual employment, shared occupation, or common membership
in some sort of formal organization, such as a vege'table growers' cooperative
or orchid fanciers' association. There are other groups for
which these principles delineate only the core of the total makeup of the
group. For example, a group comprising members of an urban temple
congregation may be unable to fill all the available seats of their chartered
vehicle, and thus will invite friends, relatives, or the general public
to join the pilgrimage.
Larger groups of pilgrims, both rural and urban, have organizers
and leaders, or "guides" (phu nam). The organizer p~ blicizes the journey,
contacts potential pilgrims, and handles the transportation arrangements.
The leader is often an individual who has visited the sacred
place at least once, and is sometimes a monk. The roles of leader and
organizer may be filled by one or more persons.

194 James B. Pruess
Except for certain monks (see below) and residents of villages
within several kilometers of the shrine, pilgrims travel to the sacred
place by motor vehicle or (in the case of some Laotian pilgrims) by boat,
Motor vehicles may be privately owned or (more commonly) chartered
for the occasion, in which case buses and drivers from commercial transport
firms will be used.
Groups of excursionists bent on merit-seeking
sometimes deck their hired bmes with banners proclaiming the name and
home town of the group, purpose and destination of journey, and, less
frequently, the itinerary.
Concerning the Roman Catholic pilgrimage center of Born Jesus de
Lapa (Brazil), Gross states that "the overwhelming majority of pilgrims
are lower-class, low income agricultural workers and subsistence farmers,"
who outnumber the lower-class town-dwellers, and the few
middle and upper-class "visitors" (1971: 138 ). This conclusion could
also be made regarding That Phanom during or near the period of the
annual festival. At other times, the numbers of villagers and middleto-upper-class
urbanites in the shrine compound appear to be more
nearly equal. For the most part, as in Brazil, pilgrim groups are homogeneous
in terms of social level. Exceptions arc those rare large groups
which are organized by abbots of urban and rural temple-monasteries
in a particular area, with the members of the respective congregations
composing the group. Groups comprising individuals from different
regions of the country are rare and (as in Brazil) contact with members
of groups from other regions is slight.
With regard to lay pilgrims at the That Phanom shrine, women
usually outnumber men, both in the composition of specific groups and
in terms of the total number of pilgrims to Visit the shrine in a single
day. The figures in the following table represent the numbers of men,
women, children (under 15), monks and novices, and "nuns" who engaged
in ritual devotions on one specific Sunday (usually the one day of the
week when shrines are most frequented by visitors) unconnected with
the annual festival or any religious holiday. Also included are figures
recorded under similar circumstances at three other Thai pilgrimage centers
located in other regions of the kingdom:

llUDD!IIST PILGHJMA

196 James B. Pruess
Finally, visiting clergy also engage in devotions at the sacred place.
There are three general types of pilgrim monks.
Fewest in number are
the "wandering ascetics" (phra thudong, from Pali dhwanga: "ascetic
practice") who stop at the shrine to venerate the sacred object while en
route to and from forest meditation centers in various parts of the
northeastern region durmg the dry season. Monks also serve as organizers
andfor leaders of pilgrim groups; they may, in some cases, be
invited by lay pilgrims to accompany the group and to lead the devotions
at the shrine. Most monastic pilgrims travel with groups of their
fellows, and eschew the austerities of the "wanderers" without, however,
departing from the rules governing monastic behavior as set forth
in the Pattimokkha.
To summarize, pilgrimages to the That Pbanom shrine are undertaken
by Buddhists from all stations and walks of life, both men and
women, townspeople and villagers, clergy and laity, (The present King
and Queen of Thailand have visited the shrine twice, in 1955 and 1963.)
Frequency of pilgrimage, length and duration of journey, and size of
group are affected by geographic proximity of the shrine to home residence,
and the economic capability of the devotee.
The journey from
home to shrine and back again is generally dominant among village
groups, while the excursion type of pilgrimage is mostly performed by
urban~d wellers.
Pilgrimage as a particular kind of patterned movement in Thailand
is relatively independent to other kinds of patterned movement.
There
is no evidence that the circulation of pilgrims has promoted significant
movements leading to cultural exchange, political integration, or the
spread of epidemic diseases. The connection between pilgrimage and the
flow of commerce merits further study. Small-scale entrepreneurs vvho
provide goods and services for pilgnms at the That Phanom shrine
festival engage in similar activities at other secular and religious fairs
in the region during the dry season, as well as operate on a regular basis
at various town markets.
Most of the movements of these individuals
are confined to this regional system of markets where they make their
living.
This conclusion may also apply' to professional fortune-tellers,

lll'OI>l!JST i'ILCHJMAGE IN NOHTHEASTERN THAILAND 197
blind musicians, and certain beggars who also "follow the pilgrims."
A flow of pilgrims who seek out sacred places for purposes of merit
promotes a flow of entrepreneurs who seek out pilgrims for purposes of
profit. However, the linkages between pilgrimage to Mecca and the
commercial life of Islamic Africa, Central, and Southeast Asia have no
parallel with regard to Theravada Buddhist pilgrimage and large-scale
inter-regional commerce in Thailand. Similarly, no apparent connection
exists between pilgrimage and patterns of labor migration. As in Brazil
(Gross 1971 : 145), there is no evidence that pilgrimage in Thailand
provides an occasion for the exchange of information on jobs and business
opportunities.
VI.
Discussion and Conclusions
While its chief objective is the individual contact with the sacred,
pilgrimage is an activity undertaken by groups of diverse back-grounds
from different localities. In this final discussion, attention will be
directed to the social aspects of pilgrimage as a type of group action.
These aspects may be viewed in terms of the social structure of pilgrim
groups in their home communities, or the concepts and norms which
govern their conventional behavior.
Scholars have noted the quality of change involved in the movement
of pilgrims from local community to sacred center. Obeyesekere
( 1966) views Buddhist pilgrimage in Sri Lanka as an activity which
transfers pilgrims from the localized model of the village and region to
the national model of the pilgrimage center. The "localized model"
refers to the local deities, their attributes, myths, and the rituals associated
with tbem, which vary from one village or region to another. This
complex, for each village or region, defines the limits of the community
of devotees (over which the respective deities have jurisdiction and
authority) and validates its social structure (1966: 16). The "national
model" refers to the sacred Buddhist shrines which attract devotees
from villages all over the country who share understandings, meanings,
prayers, and rituals associated with tbe Buddha and his teachings, who
assemble together at sacred places ''in a commonality of worship" wbere
status distinctions are irrelevant (ibid.: 23). The transfer of pilgrims

198 James B. Pruess
from the localized village model to the national model of the pilgrimage
shrine reinforces a sens~ of national identity, which is made possible by
the sharing of a common Buddhist "salvation idiom" that over-rides the
adherence to local parochial traditions (ibid. : 22-23 ).
In Thailand, as in Sri Lanka, Tberavada Buddhism forms one basis
for mutual identification by devotees from a diversity of social settings
associated with particularized local village spirits and territorial deities.
These devotees share common understandings concerning the religious
goals of Buddhist belief and practice, and possess a common fund of
ritual behavior. Certain pilgrimage shrines (among them Wat Phra
That Pbanom) have been patronized by political elites, in terms of
financial support, status designation as "royal temples," and royal
pilgrimage. These shrines, through such mechanisms, have become
symbolically associated with a Buddhist Thai national order. However,
the shrines have not become "national cult centers" (cf. Kirsch 1967: 136)
where devotees somehow celebrate their membership in this national
order. There is no sign that pilgrims at the That Phanom shrine are
consciously concerned with increasing their national awareness at a
sacred place patronized by Thai kings, or that this concern has influenced
the choice of the shrine for religious devotions. Furthermore, not all
shrines associated with Buddhist sacred objects have been favored by royal
patronage or donations by national leaders. The actions of pilgrims at
sacred places are guided primarily by Buddhist religious concerns and,
for many, the recreational aspects of the undertaking as a whole are also
important.
Pilgrimage to Wat Phra That Phanom does indeed temporarily
remove individuals from then· parochial village settings and bring them
into physical proximity at the sacred place with scores of pilgrims from
other villages, mutually recognizable as Buddhist merit-seekers exhibiting
mutually comprehensible ritual behavior. However, this physical proximity
does not imply any marked alterations of a social nature among
pilgrims, as suggested by Obeyesekere and noted with regard to the
partial minimizing of caste distinctions at Indian sacred places (Bhardwaj
1973: !51-152). This particular social aspect can be examined in
the light of Victor Turner's ideas concerning pilgrimage and the temporary
dissolution of social structure.

BUDDHIST l'JL(;RJMAGE IN NORTIIEASTI':HN 'l'llAILAND 199
Drawing upon observations of van Gennep, Turner (1973) argues
that pilgrimage, as a pan-human social phenomenon, exhibits the characteristics
and qualities of the "liminal" or "threshold" period which
occurs during rites of passage. These characteristics of liminality
(sanctity, homogeneity, equality) are manifestations of society as "communitas,"
an unstructured and undifferentiated communion of equal
persons, which is juxtaposed with and emerges from society as "structure,"
a system of hierarchical statuses and orderly relations governed
by rules. Devotional journeys remove pilgrims from the "structure" of
sedentary village and urban life and place them in the realm of "communitas,"
a condition which permeates not only the journey itself but
the ritual setting of the sacred place. This condition, however, is not
the absolute or spontaneous "communitas" which verges on anarchy
(although this spontaneity of human feeling underscores the entire
pbenomenon of pilgrimage), but is rather the "normative communitas"
which is characterized by a necessary re-organization of relations among
pilgrims, and between pilgrims and those who assist them on their journey
or at the shrine (Turner 1973: 191-195). Pilgrimage is therefore
viewed by the autbor as a social phenomenon "founded in a system of
religious beliefs, polarized between fixity and travel, secular and sacred,
social structure and normative communitas" (ibid.: 195).
Pilgrimage to the Tbat Phanom shrine, while viewed by the participants
as an opportunity to gain merit, enjoy oneself, and shed temporarily
the routine of every-day life, can be viewed by the observer as an
undertaking which releases participants from the obligatory constraints
of this routine, and as an occasion for contact with the sacred in the
company of devotees from other localized social settings. At Wat Phra
Tbat Phanom, the ideal of a united commonality of devotees at a sacred
place found expression in references to pilgrims as "elder and younger
siblings" (phiniiungkan) during the abbot's evening sermons at the annual
festival, and in the usage of this kinship idiom as a friendly from of
address or reference in other contexts, such as the announcements of
donations over the public-address system. However, in spite of the
spirit of "brotherhood" recognized and encouraged by shrine monks, the
residues of social structure still remain. These aspects of structure are

200 James B. Pruess
those status differences in the secular realm which are symbolically
validated in the religious context of venera! ion and merit-making. For
example, the designations of status with regard to merit are apparent
during the mass circumambulations of the stupa which occur during the
festival: although the lay participants are persons of both sexes, all ages,
most occupations, many localities, in such processions the laity are
always preceded by monks, novices, and ''nuns," in that order. Likewise,
photographs of a circumambulation procession during a royal
visit to the shrine indicate that the King is leading the group, with the
Queen following at a distance of twenty paces or so, while government
officials are well behind the royal personages (no monks or novices are
visible). Individuals whose merit-status is socially recognized or whose
behavior (through the observance of precepts) as world-renouncers
approximates the Buddhist ideal are the acknowledged first in line for
all organized group devotional processions of this nature.
In addition, many pilgrim groups are formed on the basis of previously
existing social aggregates such as village or urban temple communities.
Once these groups arrive at the shrine, their devotions are the result of
a joint effort, performed as an extension of community merit-making in
the local setting, with the shrine replacing the local temple as the field
for the action. While these groups may be temporarily united spatially
during the mass veneration of the sacred object, in general there is no
social mixing between them or between pilgrims of different regional and
economic backgrounds.
Furthermore, Theravada Buddhist pilgrimage produces no formal
change in social status with regard to returned pilgrims back in their
home communities. This is in contrast to the experiences of Thai Muslims
who journey to Mecca. After returning from this long and expensive
trip, the Thai Muslim pilgrim receives the title of "haji" (one who
has successfully completed the hadj) and enjoys prestige and social
esteem. The Muslim pilgrimage, in this regard, more closely approximates
the processual nature of a rite of passage. Theravada Buddhist
pilgrimage, on the other hand, is a recurrent undertaking which brings
about an internal alteration in the merit store of the pilgrim rather than
effecting any permanent change in external social relations.

lll.I>IJIIIST I'IL

202 James B. Pruess
observe the frequency and amounts of each other's contributions. In
making merit together, the participants establish their social reputations
as "good Buddhists."
These concerns are also manifest at the sacred place. The shrine
is the setting for religious actions performed by groups from a number
of village and urban locales, whose presentation of offerings, in return
for an increase in merit, contribute to the maintenance of the shrine as
a valued institution and the support of the shrine clergy as religious
specialists for pilgrims. These actions (and, in some cases, the actual
journey to the shrine) are openly displayed and "advertised," although,
in contrast to the village setting, the interest of one group of merit-seekers
in the efforts and achievements of another group is perhaps not very
profound. The processions of merit-seekers and their gifts through the
shrine compound, the publicizing of donations and home villages in the
registration book and (during festivals) over the public-address system,
the banners on pilgrim buses proclaiming to passers-by the identity and
destination of the merit-seeking group, and the purpose of its journey,
all are examples of a socially-esteemed practice on display. These actions
call forth a sense of identification as a group of meritorious devotees
vis-a-vis other groups of merit-seekers. 9
This demonstration of social action directed toward meaningful
religious goals generally occurs during certain times of year when there
are many pilgrims frequenting a sacred place: the annual shrine festival,
major Buddhist holidays (associated with important events in the
Buddha's life), or the beginning of a new year. The location for the
public display of merit-making is that sacred place (such as Wat Phra
That Phanom) which is distinguished by pilgrims from their normal
centers of religious action, the temple-monasteries in their home communities.
As noted previously, the sacred place is the site at which an
object symbolizing the Buddha has been enshrined and at which the
Buddha himself is believed to have made an actual visit during his lifetime.
Because of this association with the "actual" Buddha and the
accessibility of the sacred object, pilgrims consider ritual actions
9) C.K. Yang, in a description of a shrine festival in Canton, makes a similar
observation (1961: 89).

BUDDHIST PILCR!~JAl!ll\TIIEASTEHN TIIAILAND 203
performed at the sacred place to be more meritorious than similar actions
exhibited at the local temple-monastery, even though the degree of
religious value along the continuum of merit-making from devotions at
borne to shrine-going is not as sharp as that between (for .example)
recurrent Friday prayers at the local mosque and a pilgrimage to Mecca
for Muslims.
The Buddhist sacred place is also believed to be a reservoir
of magical power which can be used by the pilgrim for beneficial
ends.
In addition (at least from the point of view of an observer),
journeys to a sacred shrine bring the pilgrims into contact with a potentially
wider "audience" for the conspicuous display of meritorious
behavior than would be available in the village setting.
The present author would agree with both Turner (1973: 229) and
Gross (1971 : 145) that pilgrimage is essentially a conservative phenomenon
in the religious sense, presenting nothing heterodox or potentially
revolutionary in terms of beliefs and styles of symbolic action. The
That Phanom shrine (and qther sacred places), through royal patronage
and government support, is a center of religious devotion which defines a
legitimate social and moral world at a level beyond that of the localized
village or urban community. This definition has been accomplished
through conformity to traditional religious beliefs and the exercise of
legitimate authority. Thus, no radical message is being communicated
to devotees. Instead, the value of the traditional concept of merit-making
is re-conveyed, in the context of ritual oriented toward culturallyrecognized
religious goals.
, Turner has noted that pilgrimage flourishes in "patrimonial-feudal"
societies based on agriculture, ·with a pronounced rural-urban division
and 'a limited development of modern industry (1973: 195-199). Furthermore,
the practice is re-emerging as a present-day social phenomenon
during a period of rapid social change, when cultural forms bearing
the characteristics of ''communitas" renew themselves (ibid.: 196). With
regard to Thailand, a traditional Theravada Buddhist society which
has been undergoing modernization and change, is appears that pilgrimage
is an example of a still-enduring traditional pattern which bas
incorporated some aspects of modernity, i.e., modes of transportation.

204 James B. Pruess
At another level, the influence of secularization and the responses
of concerned Buddhist elites in contemporary Thailand have not yet
eroded popular interest in the benefits resulting from ritual action
performed at sacred places. On the one hand, a member of a lay
Buddhist association can state that the "pilgrims" of today are those
who journey to meditation centers around the country in search of a
"guru" (the word actually used by this English-speaking informant).
On the other hand, in December 1971, construction work was begun on
"the largest Buddha-image in the world" (45 meters high when completed)
at a site just 25 kilometers north of Wat Phra That Phanom. In
spite of contemporary re-interpretations of "pristine" Theravada Buddhism
(cf. Swearer 1973), the continuing importance of merit-making and
its socially-relevant display indicate that the establishment of new sacred
places and journeys to older ones will probably remain a part of religious
life in Thailand.
).uuman Rajadhon, Phya
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Conze, Edward
19 51 Buddhism : Its Essence (l7ld Development.
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BGlllllllST P!Lt;RJ~IAGE
IN NOHTIIEASTEHi\ TIIAJLAND
205
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1971 "Ritual and Conformity : A Religious Pilgrimage to Northeastern
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1967 Phu Thai Religious Syncretism : A Case Study of Thai Religion and
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unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University.
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206 James B. Pr1.1ess
Pruess, James Brewer
197 4 Veneration and Merit-See/ling at Sac!'

SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
IN CHONBURI, THAILAND
by
Amara Pongsapich*
Abstract
In this study I will attempt to trace. the change in the pattern of
Thai social structure from its traditional state to its present day
industrializing and urbanizing state by identifying the social processes
involved and the paths of mobility which have been available. Pattern
of occupational shift from generation +2 to generation +I to generation 0
indicates how indu~trialization has led to the availability of new
occupations not in existence previously. The availability of new
occupations, in turn, results in a more complex occupational and social
stratification.
In addition to indicating that industrialization and urbanization
are important factors leading to changes in the social structure of Thai
society, I ba ve further suggested that political and legal changes occurring
within Thai society, i.e. the impact of the Revolution of 1932, have also
affected the social structure of Thai society simultaneously.
Introduction
Chonburi Town which is defined as the functional area of Muang
Chonburi Municipality, Chonburi Province, Thailand is a medium size
urban center with a population in 1970 of about 45,000 composed of
Thai and Chinese ethnic groups. It is 80 kilometers southeast of Bangkok,
the capital of Thailand, and bas developed from the small town it was
in the 19th Century into an industrializing town of Thailand's eastern
region, where many occupational opportunities are available. During
the early 19th Century, it has been recorded that some of the inhabitants
were engaged in small scale fishing, and in work at small sugar cane
presses or on plantations in addition to others engaged in irrigated rice
farming. After World War II, motor powered trawl boats were intro-
* Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.

208 Amara Pongsapich
duced along with new large scale fishing techniques, cassava roots
became important as a new cash crop, and sugar industries expanded
both physically and financially. Simultaneously, service industriesrecreational,
personal, and repair services-gradually developed in the
town of Chonburi. In the 1970's Cbonburi Province is being industrialized
and Chonburi Town is being urbanized. Paddy fields are seen in
the lowland areas of the province while sugar cane fields and cassava
fields are seen on hillsides, and commercial fishing is practiced along the
sea shore.
The young unmarried labor force ages 11-25 in the townofCbonburi
is the focus for this study of industrialization and social change because
it is assumed that this is the group which is the most mobile and most
susceptible to change. It contains the people who are in the process of
seeking new jobs and new modes of living. In the course of this
study, about 1400 young employees were interviewed from locations
within the town, including the provincial hospital, government offices,
banks, private offices, schools, stores, markets, restaurants, hotels,
theatres, repair factories, boats, fish docks, home factories, and commercial
factories.
The research team, consisting of myself and two research assistants,
visited all work sites in the town. Permission was requested from the
factory managers and employers, school teachers, bank and private
enterprise managers, government officers, boat owners, etc. to interview
the unmarried employees aged 11-25. Most employers complied with
the request except in the case of a few small old-fashioned enterprises
whose managers claimed that they did not have any employees who met
these specifications.
Monks and military men are not considered part of the labor force
be~ause they are not free to be employed and therefore are not included
in this study. The unemployed and the unschooled are not included
because it was not possible to interview them. These young people were
ver':f suspicious of government employees and research teams and are
b~sides very mobile and difficult to locate. The research team did
however become acquainted with one small group of the unemployed

SOCIAL I'HOCESSES ANIJ SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN C:HONBURI, THAILAND 209
and interviewed these individuals for general information about their
ways of life. We did not try to conduct formal interviews since we felt
that to do this would destroy our easy relationship with them. Furthermore,
the unemployed youth move individually and interprovincially
at frequent intervals. They do not belong or regard themselves as
belonging exclusively to the town of Chonburi.
Young people in jail were interviewed and separated out since
these people were arrested at different places in the province and were
transported to the provincial jail located in the town. They similarly
were not members of the Chonburi Town community although physically
located there.
The relationship between the industrialization and urbanization
processes and social mobility has been analyzed by Lipset and Bendix.
They claim that social mobility is an integral and continuing aspect of
the processes of urbanization and industrialization {Lipset and Bendix,
1959: 280). This study supports their thesis.
Social processes which take place as an outgrowth of industrialization
and which appear to influence the basic pattern of social structure
of rural and urban Thailand are: 1) occupational availability, 2) education,
3) migration, 4) assimilation, 5) social mobility through occupation,
education, migration, and assimilation. These social processes have
influenced the development of social structure of Thailand from a
traditional two-class system* to a multi-class system, by creating the
intervening classes between the lower and the upper classes, and by
allowing increased movement between rural and urban communities,
between the classes, and between ethnic groups.
Social Structure of Thai Society
Early Thai society bas been viewed as a two-class society (Akin,
1969). A society with social classes is divided into hierarchically
* Many Thai specialists prefer to view traditional Thai social structure as a 3 class
system by separating tbe king and the princes and princesses from the nobles. In
this paper I have followed Akin's analysis of the traditional Thai social structure
and view the king, the princes and the princesses (chao) as belonging to the same
clas~ as ~he nobles, i.e. the upper class,

210 Amara Pongsapich
ranked socio-economic strata within which there is relatively easy and
frequent mobility, but between which mobility is relatively difficult and
infrequent. In the early Bangkok Period (1782-187 3),
There were clearly two main classes in Thai society. The
upper class, nai consisted of the nobles and the princes whose roles
were mainly governing roles. The lower class consisted of the
phrai and the that who tilled the land, giving gifts to and supporting
the upper class by offering services (Akin, 1969: 179).
There were four social groups in these two social classes.
The
relatively small upper class consisted of nobles and princes. There were
hierarchies within both groups. When the ranking within the two upper
class groups are compared under the sakdina system, a Thai ranking
system based on land ownership and labor control, a noble may have the
same sakdina or rank as a prince. Most of the people belonged to the.
lower class. In the lower class, there were commoners (or freemen) and
slaves.
Akin states that social mobility from the lower class to the
upper class was not as easy as bas been commonly believed.
In order to
be recognized as a member of the upper class, a person had to go through
a ritual of presenting himself to the king (thawai tua).
The offspring of
the nobles and the offspring of the princes were legally allowed to go
through the ritual, but there were laws against commoners and slaves
going through the ritual.
Only in exceptional cases would the king give
permission and allow a non-upper class offspring to go through the thawai
tua ritual. The high rank positions apparently circulated among a small~
closed group, into which people born in the lower class could not enter
(Akin, 1969: 155). Therefore it appears that the social structure of Thai
society prior to 1873 contained little opportunity for upward social
mobility.
Chinese people were not included in this Thai system and were
subjected to bead taxes if they preferred to keep their Chinese identity,
as signified by their wearing Chinese clothing and hair-style. Chinese
who chose to the adopt Thai way of life and dress were easily assimilatec
into tbe Tbqi ~ocial system,

SOCIAL PROCESSES ANil SOCIAL STHUCTURE IN CHONDURJ, THAILAND 211
The majority of Chinese immigrants became wage laborers or
entrepreneurs and formed an entrepreneurial class of Chinese traders.
The Chinese wage earners bad great potential to become members of the
entrepreneurial class since they were frugal and bard workers. This
class of Chinese people when placed next to the Thai social structure,
belonged in the middle, between upper and lower classes (Diagram I).
Akin explains that wealthy Chinese merchants could enter the noble
class of Thai soc~al system by bidding to become tax-farmers. As taxfarmers
they bad ranks and titles similar to noblemen who were
ethnically Thai. Skinner states that' Chinese immigrants bad been
ennobled and given official positions as early as 1480 (Skinner, 1957a :
241 ). The reason for creating this opportunity was that Thai kings
wented to bind the Chinese to the Thai nobility and so ensure their
loyalty to the Crown. Those who were successful in bidding to become
tax-farmers were automatically ennobled.
In other words, offspring of Thai princes and nobles had the chance
of belonging to the upper class through birth and the thawai tua ritual
but the Chinese could join the upper class through acquiring the status
of tax-farmer, thereafter being automatically ennobled, or could acquire
other official positions granted by the kings.
Downward mobility from the upper class to a lower class group
occurred when the offspring of the nobles or the princes did not go
through the thawai tua ritual. Without going through this ritual a person
could not officially belong to the upper class.
The social structure of Thailand at the turn of the 20th Century
may be presented diagrammatically as follows:
UPPER r- +nobles,
1
princes
wealthy merchants---+-- downward
ennoblement process mobility
tax farmers---------------~----~----~
middlemen
LOWER wage earners- intermarriage and comrnoners, slaves
--~--... ~-~~-~---~-:-~--as-s-im-iJ.f"_t_io-n-~--~-T-h_ai_S_e_c_to_r ___
iagram I: The Social Structure of Thailand during the 19th Century (including the Thai and
Chinese sectors).

212 Amara Pongsapich
A further discussion of Chinese people within the social structure
of Thailand is necessary since the presence of the Chinese in Chonburi
has had major effect on the pattern of economic development and
urbanization in Chonburi. Literature on Chinese society in Thailand
bas been produced by many writers (Landon, 1941; Skinner, 1957b;
Coughlin, 1960; Purcell, 1965; Boonsanong, 1971). The existence of
Sino-Thai diplomatic relations bas been recorded since the 13th Century.
Chinese merchants came to Thailand and many established residence in
southern and central Thailand. The Chinese who immigrated to
Chonburi were the Ch'ao-chou (Teochius) who came after the Manchu
conquest of south China in 1645.
In the earlier phases of migration, Chinese men immigrated to
Thailand from China, found jobs in Thailand, and married Thai women.
The degree of assimilation was quite high. Within three generations many
of the Chinese descendants of the early Chinese migrants were completely
absorbed into Thai society at the lower class level. Those who did not
become assimilated to the Thai lower class, remained Chinese and were
either wage laborers or traders. A few exceptional wealthy Chinese
traders applied to become tax-farmers. Others were ennobled and
acquired official positions. These Chinese were given titles and ranks
and were treated as upper class Thai.
However, in 1909, the Chinese nationality law adopting jus sangui·
. nis was introduced, making all people of Chinese descent into citizens of
China. The Department of Overseas Chinese located in Mainland China.
attempted to strengthen Chinese nationalism among Overseas Chinese ..
In the early 1920's, Chinese women also immigrated to Thailand, and
many Chinese men preferred to marry Chinese women instead of Thai
women. This may have retarded assimilation for the immigrants and·
for their children reared in fully Chinese households. Thereafter, the
degree of assimilation of Chinese into Thai society bas been influenced
by many factors. Skinner (1957a) suggests intermarriage, education,
and nationalism as the most important factors. Intermarriage and Thai
education are pro-assimilation factors while Chinese nationalism as an.
anti-assimilation factor. The Thai nationalistic movement in the 1930's
resulted in the promulgation of anti-Chinese laws on occupation and

SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN CHONBUIU, THAILAND 213
property ownership. Some Chinese responded by joining ethnicallybased
associations for mutual protection and economic benefit and the
opportunity for Thai assimilation was thus decreased. The large number
of Chinese in the early part of the 20th Century also made assimilation
of the entire group more difficult and maintenance of Chinese identity
easier.
Skinner describes the mid-1950 Chinese and Thai urban social
structure using occupations as the main criteria for class division (1957b:
322). The social structures of Chinese and Thai ethnic groups in urban
Thailand based on Skinner's model is summarized in diagram II. This
diagram only shows the social position of the people, there is no attempt
in this diagram to show how people move into a certain position.
HIGH
New
descendants of Chinese
middlemen
business entrepreneurs
elite
Traditional elite
royal aristocrats
old-time bureaucrats
descendants of modern
bureaucrats
government officials
MID-HIGH
(nonmanual)
Chinese businessmen
small entrepreneurs
newspapermen
r----------------- -r
1 government employees 1
1
teachers, clerks, :
: office and bank employees :
MID-LOWr---- ----- ----------'
(manual) :artisans, mechanics,
chauffeurs, drivers,
l craftsmen
technicians, hair-dressers·
I
dress"ma kers, tailors
I
I
LOW I
I
I
'unskilled workers
unskilled workers
.__----- .... -- - ----------- ----- ....... ---- J
Chinese Sector
Thai Sector
Diagram H: Static Model of Thai Social Structure Showing Positional Relationship Between
Chinese and Thai Sectors in Urban Thailand in the Mid-1950's

214 Amara Pongsapich
In contrast with Akin's and Skinner's pictures of the social structure
of Thailand, many anthropologists have followed Embree (1950) in
discussing Thailand as a loosely structured society.
In 1966, deYoung
described the lack of rigidly defined social status systems within rural
Thai villages.
The Thai cultural pattern, especially in the Thai village, is
noteworthy for its absence of status anxiety. In the old days the
peasant accepted the dominant position of the noble or prince of
his area without question, today, he accepts the central government
representative (the district officer), who has taken over this role.
Within his own village the Thai peasant is self-reliant and rarely in
sharp competition for status with his fellow villagers. (deYoung,
1966:28).
In constructing the social structure of the rural sector of Thailand,
deYoung agrees with the description of structure presented by Akin of
"the old days" where nobles and princes dominated the upper class.
Though government representatives now are regarded as the upper
class, the rural setting is still predominantly populated with freeman who
are more or less equal. The government representatives in rural areas
follow the rules and regulations set up by the central government.
They belong socially to the hierarchy and social stratification systems of
the upper class while liviD;g physically among the lower class members.
In viewing the structure at the lower class level, one may mistake
the lack of rigidity in rural villages for the appearance of "loose
structure" of the whole society. The appli:cation of "rigid" or "loose"
structure depends on the section of the social structure under investigation
and on the definitions of "rigid" or "loose". In a rural context, in
contrast to an urban context, rules and regulations regarding social
stratification are few, but nevertheless definitely exist.
In the past the
people in the rural lower class had almost no chance to become members
of the upper class.
Now paths of mobility for rural people are available
if rural people move to urban areas to be educated and trained. Discus-

SOCIAL 1'1\0CI\SSES A Nil SOClAL STRtlCTUHE IN CHONBUIU, THAILAND 215
sions on path of mobility are presented in later pages. In general, in
rural areas, people are regarded as living a simple life both physically
and socially.
Socio-economic background of the informants
The informants interviewed came from different parts of the
country. This is evident when place of residence of grandfathers and
parents are tabula ted (see table 1 ). Not only that there are informants
whose grandfathers are from China but there are informants whose
grandfathers are living in the Northeast and the Central Regions of the
country. These are the areas where rice farming bas traditionally been
the only mode of livelihood. In Chachoengsao, a neighboring province
of Chonburi, rice cultivation is also very important. In addition to the
grandfathers living in Chonburi, the data show that many informants
have grandfathers living in rice farming areas. The informants or their
parents probably moved to Cbonburi where job opportunities are
available. It is less likely that the grandfathers are the ones who moved
from Cbonburi to other areas.
Table 1 : Residence of Informants' Parents and Grandfathers
father mother FaFa MoFa
·-----
In.Chonburi 948 988 604 635
Chachoengsao 93 84 119 123
Eastern Region 48 43 50 48
Northeastern Region 113 109 105 105
Northern Region 16 19 19 22
Central Region 102 95 115 139
Southern Region 24 21 24 18
Bangkok 48 45 47 44
China 130 81
Don't know 30 18 209 207
Total 1422 1422 1422 1422

216 Amara Pongsapich
The above assumption is further supported by the data in table 2
which shows that a high percentage of informants have grandfathers and
parents who are agriculturalists.
Though it is possible that people living
in Chonburi may be agriculturalists, however, it is more likely that it is
the people living in Central and Northeast Regions who are agriculturalists
since these are the rice farming areas.
Table 2: Occupation of Informants' Parents and Grandfathers
father mother Fa Fa MoFa
Fishing 88 68 54 67
Agricultural 405 411 555 614
Livestock 20 17 17 10
Trading 253 402 125 137
Unskilled laborers 228 79 30 19
Skilled laborers 114 39 18 17
White collar workers 143 24 34 31
Do not work 31 325 5 9
Other 22 4 6 15
Don't know 118 53 578 503
Total 1422 1422 1422 1422
Therefore, the informants in this study consist of young people
whose families originate (2 generations ago) in Chonburi or in other parts
of the country where rice farming has always been important. In the
next section, discussion on changes in occupational pattern will be
presente

SOCIAL J>HOCESSES ANJl SOCIAL STHUCTUHE IN C!IONDUHI, 'l'HAILAN!J 217
Occupation, education, and ethni.city of the young labor force in Chonburi
Town
Among the jobs available in Chonburi Town, only white-collar
(prestigious) jobs* require secondary education. Other vocations require
only vocational training. Unskilled jobs require neither formal education
nor training. In this study occupations have been classified according to
the formal education and training required. Consequently though the
degree of occupational availability is high, not everyone bas equal
opportunity to join an occupational group. The amount of education
one acquires naturally limits the range of occupational opportunities
available. Acquisition offormal education is a means to move to a higher
level in the occupational and the social strata.
The following table shows the amount of education acquired by
informants in each occupational category. Formal education is not
important among informants in the unskilled and semi-skilled and skilled
categories.
Table 3: Occupation and Education of the Young Labor Force
prathom 4 prathom 7 m.s. 3 m.s. 3+ Total
(grade 4) (grade 7) (grade 1 0) (grade 10+)
unskilled 481 79 33 3 596
80.7% 13.3% 5.5% 0.5%
semi-skilled 103 251 113 11 478
and skilled 21.5% 52.5% 23.6% 2.3%
white-collar 6 5 105 127 243
(prestigious) 2.5% 2.1% 43.2% 52.3%
student 1 43 61 105
1.0% 41.0% 58.1%
Total 590 336 294 202 1422
41.5% 23.6% 20.7% 14.2%
* In this study white-collar jobs include jobs which people viewed as prestigious
jobs which also include nurses. Since nurses may also be classified as blue-collar
jobs, this distinction shout(! be ~>l~trifie~ h~ft,l,

218 Amara Pongsapich
Ethnicity is also an important characteristic of the young labor
force in this study. Certain occupations in the skilledjsemi-skilled
category are still predominantly either Thai or Chinese within the FaFa's
generation, the Fa's generation, and the informants' generation. This is
indicated in table 4 where informants in skilled/semi-skilled occupational
category identified themselves and their ancestors as Chinese at a higher
percentage than informants in other occupational categories.
Table 4: Intergenerational changes in ethnicity* of informants in different
occupational groups
Occupation of Fa Fa Fa Ego
informants Thai Chi. Thai Chi. Thai Chi.
Total
unskilled 399 144 478 100 544 46 596
66.9% 24.2% 80.2% 16.8% 91.3% 7.7%
skilled/semi-skilled 208 260 239 237 328 147 478
43.5% 54.4% 50.0% 49.6% 68.6% 30.8%
white-collar 140 98 180 62 228 13 243
(prestigious) 57.6% 40.3% 74.1% 25.5% 93.8% 5.3%
student 47 51 74 31 95 10 105
44.8% 48.6% 70.5% 29.5% 90.8% 9.5%
Total 794 553 971 430 1195 216 1422
55.8% 38.9% 68.3% 30.2% 84.0% 15.2%
In the social structure of Chonburi, the young labor force may be
identified in the dotted area of diagram II. Non-manual workers are
regarded by the general public as having more prestige than manual
workers. The Thai government during the Phibun regime (1950's)
* See pa~e 219 for explanation of ~his usa~e.

SOCIAL I'HOCESSES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN CHONBUR!, THAILAND 219
reserved many manual jobs for Thai people only. Chauffeurs, drivers,
barbers, dress-makers, and hair-dressers are some of the occupations
which were reserved for Thai people. Thus people in these occupations
are classified as Thai and not Chinese. Individuals of Chinese descent
who are in these occupational groups usually have Thai names and
identify themselves as Thai when asked by the authorities.
Legally, these Chinese descendants are Thai because they were
born in Thailand. In this study all of the young labor force should
legally have Thai citizenship. They report themselves as having Thai
nationality. Genetically they are descendants of Chinese ancestors.
Culturally they speak Chinese, have Chinese names and follow Chinese
customs. Socially, they associate themselves almost entirely with
Chinese people. Therefore, in this study "nationality" is used for legal
citizenship, and "ethnicity" is used for genetic, cultural, and social
iden tiflcation.
Industrialization and change in occupational pattern
The change in occupational pattern of individuals from their
ancestors has depended on the change in occupational opportunities
available in Chon buri. Previously, agricultural work, fishing, and trade
were the primary occupations. Industrialization and urbanization in
Chonburi did not become apparent until World War II, though fishing
and sugar cane industries had already been developed to some extent.
Cassava became important as a cash crop after World Warll. Craft industries
were supported by the Private Industry Service Act in 1954 which
actually became effective during the 1960's when the Small Industries
Service Institute was organized by the government. Similarly, service
industries did not develop until other aspects of industrialization were
well under way. Education became a necessity for the urban population
and the Compulsory Education Act was also enforced. As a result more

220 Amara Pongsapich
white collar experience is being acquired. Teaching, government work;
employment in banks, and so on are now desirable occupations for many
people.
During the last few generations, the town of Chonburi has had
ample job opportunities of the kind listed above when compared to other
towns in the provinces where rice farming predominates. Table 5 shows
occupa tiooal shifts over three generations.
The first is the shift from
agricultural to non-agricultural occupations. In the urban setting of
Chonburi Town, agricultural work is naturally not available, but some
residents are engaged in fishing.
and became cash laborers.
Many farm workers moved to the town
Industrial laborers and service laborers
comprise new categories which did not exist two generations ago.
Farm
workers have moved into these new occupations for economic reasons.
Education, training, and experience are not important for these unskilled
occupations. They are willing to work hard and for long hours.
most cases work conditions in the town are better than those in the
agricultural sector from which they have come.
In
On the rice farms the
yields are low and the incomes are not high enough to feed the whole
family for the whole year.
In addition, young people in general have
little or no control over the family income. Thus, they prefer to leave
the rice fields for any work which is available for the sake of their
economic independence. This group of workers who have changed from
being farm laborers to become factory laborers and service laborers
r~present a common shift in occupational choice.
Unless these workers
acquire more education and for training experience, their work conditions
will remain at this very low level. If they change jobs they can move
only into another unskilled labor job and therefore have not moved
themselves into another occupational category, or improved their
occupational status.

SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN CHONBUHl, THAILAND 221
UNSKILLED
non-service
Table 5: Intergenerational changes in occupational patterns
generation + 2 generation + l generation 0
agriculturalists FaFa 574 (40.4%) Fa 405 (28.5%)
MoFa 625 (44.0%) Mo 434 (30.5%)
FaMo 594 (41.8%)
MoMo 635 (44.7%)
fishing FaFa 55 ( 3.9%) Fa 88 ( 6.2%) male 31 ( 4.3%)
MoFa 69 ( 4.9%) Mo 68 ( 4.8%) female 11 ( 1.6%)
FaMo 32 ( 2.3%)
MoMo 51 ( 3.6%)
labor Fa 205 (14.4%) male 87 (12.2%)
Mo 77 ( 5.4%) female 79 ( 11.2%)
service
vendors,
traders FaFa 117 ( 8.2%) Fa 253 ( 17.8%) male 31 ( 4.3%)
MoFa 141 ( 9.9%) Mo 401 (28.2%) female 79 (11.2%)
FaMo 141 ( 9.9%)
MoMo 176 (12.4%)
SEMI-SKILLED /SKILLED
Fa 100 ( 7.0%) male 238 (33.3%)
craftsmen Mo 28 ( 2.0%) female 240 (34.0%)
WHITE-COLLAR Fa 143 (10.1%) male 73 (10.2%)
(PRESTIGIOUS) Mo 24 ( 1.7%) female 169 (24.0%)
STUDENTS male 45 ( 6.3%)
female 60 ( 8.5%)
TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
Fa Fa 1422 Fa 1422 male 712
MoFa 1422 Mo 1422 female 705
FaMo 1422
MoMo 1422
Percentages are computed by using the total indicated in the bottom rows. "Don't
know's" are not included and therefore the total percentages are less than l 00% in
this table.

222 Amara Pongsapich
Another possible occupational move is between semi-skilled and
skilled industries.
Many of these workers who transfer in this way are
of Chinese descent whose grandparents were farmers of one kind or
another. The shift to semi-skilled and skilled industries started in
generation + 1. A small percentage of the informants report that their
fathers were craftsmen and their mothers were dress-makers (crafts}.
None of the informants reported any of their grandparents working in
either of these industries. An occupational change from unskilled farm
labor to semi-skilled or skilled labor shows a shift in occupational scale.
These people have been trained in their present occupation and are quite
satisfied with their jobs.
and/or training.
Most of them do not wish for more education
The third type of occupational shift evident from our study is the
shift of female workers into the prestigious category. Twenty-four
percent of the female informants occupy this occupational stratum.
However, only 10.1% of all the informants reported that their fathers
were prestigious workers and only 1.7% of the informants reported that
their mothers were prestigious workers.
Industrialization and Social Mobility
Social mobility and migration
People who would have belonged to the rural lower class if
occupational choice were not available may migrate to town where
occupational opportunities are diverse and not limited to agricultural
labor. Textor ( 1961) and Meinkoth (1962) have studied migrants who
moved to Bangkok from the Northeast. From this study it can be seen
that young migrants from Northeast Thailand tend to be less educated
and belong to the unskilled group. Young people from Central Thailand
tend to be better educated and many of them belong to the white collar
group, though some migrants belong to the unskilled group. Many of
the semi-skilledjskilled workers have migrated from other districts in
Chonburi Province. Many of tbem are. young people of Chinese descent,
who moved into town to be trained in skilled occupations. Most of
them preferred to be apprentices instead of working as unskilled .labor

SOCIAL l'HOCESSES AND SOCIAL S'l'HUCTURE IN CHONBURI, TIIAILAND 22 3
for the same amount of pay.
This supports the general observation that
Chinese people tend to be more future-oriented with higher aspirations
for upward occupational mobility than Thai people.
Migration data show that migrants from different areas of the
country tend to have different characteristics and belong to separate
occupational categories. Furthermore the data support a hypothesis
proposed by Upset and Bendix that first generation migrants usually
belong to the lower social strata of the community and second or third
generation migrants have a better opportunity to move up the social
scale.
In this case the migrants to Cbonburi Town are from within
Chonburi Province, other provinces in the eastern region, and from the
Northeast and Central Regions of the country show that Chonburi Town
attracts people from the nearby regions to a much greater extent than
from the farther away regions. Conversely, if the distance which the
town attracts migrants may be correlated with the size or importance of
the town, then Chonburi is a medium size town which attracts people
from the near-by regions as compared to Bangkok-Thonburi, a large city
which attracts people from all different regions of the country.
The relationship of migration to occupational shift and social
mobility occurring from generation + 1 to generation 0 is detected by
tabulating father's occupation with informant's occupation and birthplace.
Table 6 shows the pattern of occupational change from father to
children of three groups of informants: those born within the town,
those born in Chonburi Province outside of the town, and those born
outside of Chonburi Province. Table 6 shows that chances for the
informants to belong to the occupational categories which are higher in
occupational level than the occupational categories of the fathers are
better if the informants were born in town. In contrast, among informants
who are in the same occupational category or in the occupational
level lower than their fathers, about the same percentage were born in
town as were born in other provinces. In other words, cross-generation
social mobility is seen among people who were born in the town more
thap amon~ people who wer~ borp. in the province or in other provinces,

224
Amara Pongsapich
children's
occupation
Table 6: Social Mobility and Place of Birth
Chonburi
Town
children's place of birth
Chonburi
Province
Other
Province
Total
I
Fathers in unskilled, semi-skilleds skilled occupational categories
a. children in
same occupa- 245 (44.3%) 65 (11.8%) 243 (43.9%) 553 (100.0%)
tionallevel as
fathers
[50.4%] [28.6%) [60.2%)
b. children in
higheroccupa- 241 (42.7%) 162 (28.7%) 161 (28.6%) 564 (100.0%)
tiona1 level
than fathers
[49.6%) [71.4%) (39.9%)
SUB TOTAL 486 (43.5%) 227 (20.3%) 404 (36.2%) 1117
[100.0%] [100.0%) [100.0%)
Fathers in white collar occupational categories
a. children in
same occupa- 23 (38.3%) 15 (25.0%)n 22 (36.7%)
tionallevel as
fathers
[44.2%) [45.4%) (36.7%)
b. children in
higher occupa- 29 (34.9%)
tional level (55.8%)
than fathers
16 (19.3%)
(51.6%]
38 (45.8%)
[63.3%)
60 (100.0%)
83 (100.0%)
SUB TOTAL 52 (37.1%)
[100.0%)
31 (21.7%)
. [100.0%)
60 (42.0%)
(100.0%)
143
In general, it is undeniable that chances for people born in Chonhuri
to find a better job, i.e. semi-skilled or skilled, are higher than chances
for people born in other provinces. The data presented here seems to
support the theory that first generation migrants generally occupy the
lower strata of the community while second generation migrants find the
opportunity to move up the social scale (Lipset and Bendix, 1959). The
prestigious group have already moved out of the lower unskilled strata
and their further mobility depends on further education or experience,
as well as on the increasing opportunities for upward occupational
mobility associated with further economic development of the community.

SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN CHONBURI, THAILM\D 225
Social mobility and assimilation
The process of social assimilation forms part of the overall pattern
of social mob iii ty. In societies where ethnic differences are no longer
easily visible because of physical and social similarities between the
ethnic groups, the assimilation process may be said to have been
completed. In effect, many individuals have moved from being members
of a minority group to become members of the prestigious ethnic group.
In this study the fact of assimilation of many Chinese in to the Thai ethnic
group is recorded by comparing the informant's identification of ethnicity
of their FaFa, Fa, and the self. There is no agreement in the literature
on Thailand of the best measure of degree of assimilation and rate of
assimilation, but it has been observed that education provides a very
effective means whereby people of Chinese descent can become assimilated
into Tt1ai society. Boonsanong (1971) in his study on assimilationdifferentiation
of Chinese in Bangkok-Thonburi areas, shows that the
more educated Chinese have a higher tendency to become assimilated
and to accept Thai ways of life. In this study, it is also seen that
education and assimilation processes complement each other. Table 7
shows that rate of assimilation from generation +2 to generation 0 is
the change in percentages of Chinese in the respective generations. In
generation +2, 38.9% of the FaFa are Chinese; in generation -1-l, 30.2%
of Fa are Chinese and in generation 0, 15.2% of the informants are
Chinese.
Table 7: Intergenerationa/ changes in ethnicity
-----
Generation Thai Chinese Other
Fa Fa +2 794 (55.8%) 553 (38.9%) 75 (5.3%)
FaMo +2 938 (66.0%) 421 (29.6%) 63 (4.5%)
MoFa +2 910 (64.0%) 442 (31.1%) 70 (4.9%)
MoMo +2 1014 (71.3%) 349 (24.5%) 59 (4.1%)
Fa +1 971 (68.3i¥) 430 (30.2%) 21 (1.5%)
Mo +1 1062 (74.7%) 341 (24.0%) 19 ( 1.4%}
Informants 0 1195 (84.0%) 216 (15.2%) 11 (0.8%)

226 Amara Pongsapich
The following discussion concentrates on shift of occupational
status and not mere change of occupation. Since Chonburi is a town
with a high percentage of Chinese residents, it is worthwhile to compare
the change in occupational status with ethnicity. Skinner states that
upward mobility in the Chinese society in Thailand was especially high
during the period 1880-1910 (Skinner, l957b: 136). The following data
show that social mobility among Chinese descendants has also been high
for 1910-1970.
Ethnicity of FaFa has been used to determine whether the individual
is a Thai descendant or a Chinese descendant. In an attempt to
determine social mobility, occupations of fathers and occupations of the
informants are compared. Since many females of generation +2 and
generation + 1 do no work outside of the household and their occupational
and social stratification positions cannot be identified independently
from that of their husbands, the occupations of mothers and grandmothers
have not been used as a criterion or comparison. It must be noted (see
table 5), however, that the females entered the out-of-household labor
force formally in generation+ l, and in generation 0 almost all of the
females have a wage paying job. The following tables represent
comparison of occupations of the informants and their fathers. Chinese
descendants and Thai descendants are separated.
Table 8 shows that among Thai descendams, at generation +1,
12.3% are white-collar (prestigious) workers and 7.2% are semi-skilled or
skilled workers. On the other band, in table 9 among Chinese descendants
at generation +I, 5.2% are white-collar (prestigious) and 9.4% are
semi-skilled and skilled workers. At this generation there are also
higher percentages of unskilled workers who are of Chinese descent than
unskilled workers who are of Thai descent (5.0 percentage points more).
But at generation 0 the percentages of unskilled workers for people of
Chinese and Thai descent are in reverse order. Here 53.6% of ethnic
Thai workers and 28.7% of ethnic Chinese workers are at the unskilled
level. From generation +I to generation 0 many people whose fathers
are unskilled workers have become semi-skilled and/or skilled and white
collar workers. Higher percentages of people of Chinese descent have
moved up the social scale than people of Thai descent.

SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL STHUC'I'URE IN CHONBLIHI, Tl!A!UNIJ 227
Table 8 :
Social Mobility of Informants of Thai Descent
Generation +1 Generation 0 Generation +1
~-u-n-s~k~i~l~l-e~d---s-e-m~i-~s~k~~.l~l?e~d~~w~h~i~t-e-~-o~l~l~a- 1 /Total
skilled
(prestigious)
unskilled 340
semi-.skilled
skilled 16
ownward
mobility
wnite-t:ollar J -3 18 51
(prestigious) L..:7 7 ( 1 0. 3% )--.....
Generation 0 399(53,6%) 207(27,8%) 140(18,8%)
Total
600
[so. 5%]
5l~
[7 .2'fJ
92
[12.3%]
746
Table 9 :
Social Mobility of informants of Chinese Desce/11
Generation +1 Generation 0 Generation
unsklJ..Led sem~ sk~lled White-collar Total
skilled (prestigious)
+1
unskilled 128 221308(61.4%),
429
Upward [85. 5761
mobility
semi-skilled
skilled I" 11.--...... 29
71 47
Downward [9.4%]
white-collar
(prestigiou~)
L:bilit~
26(5.2%) 10 ' 11 26
[5. 2'fo}
Generation
Total
0 144(28.7%) 260(51,8%) 98( 19. 5%) 502

228 Amara Pongsapich
In tables 8 and 9 the upper triangles represent the people who have
moved up the social scale and the lower triangles represent the people
who have moved down the social scale.
compared as follows:
The percentages may be
Moved up
Moved down
Remained the same
Ethnic Thai
35.1%
10.3%
54.6%
100.0%
Ethnic Chinese
61.4%
5.2%
33.5%
100.0%
It is evident that more people of Chinese descent moved up the
social scale than people of Thai descent. One explanation is that there
are more people of Thai descent at the white-collar (prestigious) level in
generation + 1 than people of Chinese d·escent. Therefore the chances
for offspring of white-collar (prestigious) workers to remain at the same
social level is higher among people of Thai descent than among people
of Chinese descent. At the same time people of Chinese descent moved
into white-collar (prestigious) occupational level from lower occupational
levels resulting in a higher percentages of people who moved up the
social scale. It has already been mentioned that in this study there are
many white-collar (prestigious) workers who are of Chinese descent but
identify themselves as Thai. One reason for this is that many people of
Chinese descent become white-collar (prestigious) workers in order to be
assimilated into Thai society. Another possibility is that people of
Chinese descent become assimilated in order to be upwardly mobile and
join the white-collar (prestigious) occupational group. This is not to
say that people in other vocations have no chance for upward mobility
or assimilation. Different paths of upward mobility are seen to be
effected by education. and assimilation processes.

SOCIAL PHOCESSES AND SOCIAL ST!lllCTUHE IN CIIONBUHI, THA!LAr\ll 229
Paths of Mobility and Changes in the Social Structure
The following discussion attempts to enumerate the different paths
of mobility detected in this study.
Since the data are gathered from the
study of the young labor force who belong to the lower and middle social
class only, the processes occurring among people older than 25 have not
been emphasized.
Horizontal movements
1. rural ~urban
migration
2. urban ~urban
occupational choice
3. urban---- ~urban
assimilation
Vertical movements
1. unskilled ---~semi-skilled/skilled (vocationalfmanual)
training
2. unskilled------')owhite-collar (professionalfnon-manual)
education
3. unskilled--· --- ---~white-collar
education +assimilation
4. skilled------------t-whi te-collar
education+assimilation
5. white-collar ~skilled
training, no education
6. white-collar ~unskilled
no training, no education
Many different combinations of these paths may be followed, The
diagram for rural Thai people may be presented as follows. For Thai
people, assimilation i~ not involved. Not all of the steps need to have
occurred.

230 Amara Pongsapich
r...,------------ , , -------------,
semi-skilled/ l l whi ts":'c:ollar l
l skilled r r (prestJgtous) 1
----~-------'
training
, ---;::;-r-------.1
eaucatior
I---------I I----------I ~I ------L-- .
I I 1 .I
,rural 'mi ration, urban l.S!.SE!:!E~=,...l urban 1
{unskilled ;--9------~lunskilled ltional l unskilled l
1 1
'----------' '----------'choice -----------
Diagram I!I.
Paths of Mobility for Rural Thai People.
For people of Chinese descent, the path is more complex.
Without
assimilation these young people remain on the Chinese side of the
diagram (see diagram IV).
or after education.
Assimilation may take place before, during,
In Thai society, for a Chinese to be treated and
accepted as a Thai is considered an accomplishment by him since
theoretically and traditionally, a Chinese bas no opportunity, as a
Chinese, to belong to the upper class. It has been shown earlier that a
Chinese may become a Thai and then belong to the upper class.
Therefore,
assimilation is a social process which is important for social
mobility in the social structure of Thailand.
Diagram IV shows how individuals from the unskilled lower class
may acquire education and training and move out of that level. It also
shows how Chinese people may be assimilated and move across the
ethnic line to the comparable level in the Thai society.
This intermediate
level which was not in existence during the early Bangkok Period
(pre 20th Century) has become more and more distinct. Many jobs have
been created as a result of industrialization and urbanization.
Opportunities
for training and education have also increased.. The compulsory
education system gives everyone equal opl'ortunity to be educated.
Those who acquire education (forinal and informal) beyond the
. .1 ·''
compulsory (4th grade) level are the ones who will be upwardly
mobile.

SOCIAL l'HOCESSES A:\11 SOCIAL STRlX:TUHE IN Cl!ONBUR!. THAILAND 231
VOCATIONAL PROFESSIONAL VOCATIONAL PROFESSIONAL
___,......;(:.;.;M;;;;.A_N_U_A.
L...;;.:..) __ ~(N~t:!!J._A_L_.)_,;-_(.;..M..;.A,...;N.;..U;.;A;;;.;;L~)--...;(:.;..N~O.:.;N...;-M;;;;'A.:.;N;.,;.;U~A.;.:L~)--
UPPER
MIDOL
LOWER
high-ranked ' 'business high-ranked
officers : axecuti.ves officers
busine=-uss 1 ;t>- business
\ executives 1 exscuti vas
mimila~\on-· ,· : J 1 ~
L~ ,._._,._ I _j ____ ~-
p,ivato-fir]1pr.i.vate-firm 1
private-firm private-firm
worke:o:·s workers 1 workers uorkers
low-ranked 1 low-rani(ed
skilled 'officers 1 skilled officers
workers \ 'f 1 workers
-· \I
1' assimilation :
training educaUon !training education
UNSKI!L~£Dj ~odl;),9' ~ unskilled
warkf.;:c·s \Jorkers\ assin1i-t worl

232 Amara Pongsapich
In this study of Chonburi, the rate of mobility is compared betw.een
the present and the pre-20th Century mobility pattern documented by
Akin (1969). Akin states that for a member of the Thai lower class
movement into the upper class was relatively difficult, and that although
Chinese merchants might be ennobled the number of Chinese who moved
into the upperclass was not very high. When compared to the pre-20th
Century situation, the rate of mobility out of the lower class is relatively.
high at the present time. People may move out of the unskilled lower
class through vocational training and education. Most of these choices
did not exist before the 20th Century. At the present time relatively
easy acquisition of education and training makes paths of mobility
increasingly accessible to many people, and the rate of mobility has
increased considerably when compared to the rate during the early­
Bangkok Period. Thus this study tends to support the findings of Lipset
and Bendix that within a society, the rate of social mobility becomes
relatively high once industrialization reaches a certain level.
Evers, on the other hand, in his study of the high-ranking civil
servants who belonged to higher socio-economic strata of Bangkok finds
that the rate of mobility has decreased since the Revolution of 1932.
He admits that his sample is small and it is concerned with one subgroup
only. He gives the following explanation as to why the rate of mobility
seems to have decreased:
Data collected on Thai elite in 1963 suggest that urbanization
under western influences may lead to the formation of a new social
class. Since social mobility was probably fairly high in the initial
stages of urbanization and bureaucratization, the rate of mobility
bas apparently declined in some sections 'of Thai society since the
1930's. This is partly due to the formation, consolidation, and
grad.tal closing of the bureaucratic elite, which bas grown in size
and developed class characteristics. . ....
The conclusion is that urbanization in loosely structured
societies may lead to the formation of a more rigid class system
and to a temporary decline in social mobility (Evers, 1966: 488).

SOCIAL PROCESSES ANIJ SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN CHONBURJ, THAILAND 233
Evers claims that many of the present high-ranked civil servants
(those he interviewed in 1963) are descendants of white-collar workers
and therefore, they cannot be considered to have moved up socially;
they remained approximately at the same social level.
By contrast, our
data collected from Chon buri shows that there is an increasing influx
into the lower ranks of the civil service of people whose parents were
not civil servants. There is substantial mobility and assimilation of
Chinese descendants into the Thai civil service, and substantial mobility
of rural people who have migrated to urban areas to acquire education
and enter into the white-collar class. The mobility of these different
groups of people is possible because of the increase in the number of the
civil service positions and other prestigious jobs available within the
total bureaucratic system of Thailand as a result of growing industrialization
and urbanization.
Evers' statement concerning "loosely-structured societies" was
written in 1966. In 1969, however, he proposed that anthropologists
should make the distinction between folk models and statistical models.
The "loosely-structured" concept may have been formulated by writers
who accepted folk models without attempting to verify them statistically.
People (the informants) may claim to have no rules in the society but
statistically their behavior may show a consistent pattern. In this study,
I have investigated tbe behavioral pattern of the informants by inquiring
about their past action and their family background. The pattern of the
different social processes becomes apparent after the data are analyzed
statistically. This is one of the first attempts to construct a statistical
model of certain aspects of Thai social behavior along the lines suggested
by Evers.
Evers stated that the theory that high rate of social .mobility is an
indicator of the "loose structure" of Thai society has been formulated
from the folk model presented by the informants without the support of
statistical behavioral models (Evers, 1969: 121). He believes a decrease
in social mobility rate bas been due to the formation of a more rigid
class system within what was a loosely structured society (Evers, 1966:
· 488). However, as indicate

234 Amara Pongsapich
(Embree, 1950; Phillips, 1966; etc.) who claim that Thai society as a
whole is "loosely-structured".
Data presented in this study as well as
historical studies (Akin, 1969) clearly show that social classes in Thai
society have existed for a long time, and have been associated with
definite patterq.s of stability and mobility. The statistical behavioral
model presented here, supports the idea that the label "loosely-structured"
should not be applied to Thai society as a whole.
This is not to abandon Evers' suggestion that changes in the Thai
class system are taking place. I would like to rephrase Evers' conclusion
in 1966 quoted above and propose that industrialization and urbanization
lead to formation of a new social class. Data from Chonburi support
the proposition that the middle class is formed by people who moved out
of the Chinese entrepreneurial class via assimilation process. In some
cases, members of the upper class (noblemen) have moved downward
socially and are now considered to belong to the middle class.
The changes in political structure of Thailand from an absolute
monarchy to a democracy have also made the distinction between the
upper and the lower class less clear. Under the monarchy, the king was
the absolute authority and had control over everyone in the country.
Members of the upper class were noblemen and descendants of the king
and the previous kings. Other people belonged to the lower class. The
Revolution of 1932 resulted in reduction in the power of the king from
that of an absolute to a constitutional monarch, subject to the ·
democratic ruling cabinet. Noble titles, phan, muen, khun, luang, phra,
phraya, chao phraya, and somdet chao phraya, which designated the
degree of nobility of the individuals, were abolished, but royal titles
which designated the genealogical relationship of the individuals and the
king (or the previous kings) were retained. The distinction by titles
between the noble class and the commoners is not seen anymore even
though government officers still belong to a hierarchical system depending
on their work positions. The abolition of the noble titles (though not
the royal titles) has had the effect of making the upper class less distinct
from the rest of Thai society.

SOCIAL PHOC:ESSES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN CHONBURI, THAILAND 235
While the change in political structure resulted in the change in
the social structure from a distinct two class system to a system with
less clearly separated classes, industrialization and urbanization have
been associated with job opportunities and other social processes which
moved people into the intermediate level of Thai society between the
upper and the lower classes.
The unskilled workers acquire training and
education as a means to move out of the unskilled lower class.
Rural
people have to migrate to urban areas to acquire skills and education,
and descendants of unskilled Chinese move out of that class level by
acquiring education and training similar to the Thai ethnic group.
descendants of Chinese people who were born into the Chinese
entrepreneurial class must become assimilated to Thai society.
But
Assimilation
is accomplished by education and by close association with Thai
people. In this way, descendants of the Chinese entrepreneurial class
become Thai.
They belong to the class higher than the unskilled lower
class and lower than the upper class.
The formation of the middle class
was made easier when social lines between upper and lower classes were
blurred with the discontinuation of the noble titles after the Revolution
of 1932.
Conclusion
Traditionally in Thailand, with very few exceptions, people of
lower class had no opportunity to become members of the upper class.
This study shows bow industrialization and urbanization have created
job opportunities and avenues for mobility, so that people who would
have belonged to a lower class now may use one of several possible
channels of mobility paths to become members of middle or upper
classes. Descendants of the Chinese entrepreneurial class acquired Thai
citizenship by being born in Thailand and became assimilated by being
associated with Thai people at the middle class level. The middle
strata which had not been recognized as part of the traditional social
structure of Thai society are now recognized as forming a "middle class"
where people in many occupational groups belong.

236 Amara Pongsapicb
REFERENCES
Akin Rabibbadana, M.R.
1969 The Organization of Thai Society in Early Bangkok Period 1782-1873.
Ithaca: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program.
Amara Bhumiratana . .
1974 Industrialization and Social Change in Thailand. University of Washington
Ph.D. dissertation. Ann Arbor: University Microfilm.
B'oonsanong Punyodyana
1971 Chinese-Thai Differential Assimilation in Bangkok: an Exploratory Study.
Ithaca: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program, Data Paper No. 79 ·
Coughlin, Richard 0.
1955 Double Identity: The Chinese in Modern Thailand. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press.
de Young, John E.
1966 Village Life in Modern Thailand. Berkeley : University of California Press.
Embree, John A.
1950 Thailand: A Loosely Structured Social System. American Anthropologist
52:181-193.
Evers, Hans-Dieter
1966 The Formation of a Social Class Structure: Urbanization, Bureaucratization,
and Social Mobility in Thailand. American Sociological Review 31 (4) 480·
488.
1969 Models of Social Systems: Loosely and Tightly Structured. in Loosely
Structured Social Systems: Thailand in Comparative Perspective. Hans·
Dieter Evers (ed.) Southeast Asian Studies, Yale University,•New Haven.
Landon, Kenneth Perry
1941 The Chinese in Thailand. London: Oxford University Press.
Upset, Seymore Martin and Reinhardt Bendix
1959 Social Mobility in Industrial Society. Berkeley: University of Cal iCornia
Press.
Meinkotb, Marian Richards
i962 Migration in Thailand with Particular Reference to the Northeast. Bureau
of Economic and Business Research. Economics and Business Research
Bulletin 14 (4): 2-45.
Phillips, Herbert P.
1965 Thai Peasant Personality. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Purcell, Victor
1965 The Chinese in Southeast Asia. London: Oxford University Press.
Skinner, G. William
1957a ~~b~ese Assimilation and Thai Politics. Journal of Asian Studies 16 : 237-
1957b Chinese Society in Thailand: An Analytical History. Ithaca : Cornell
· University Press.
Textor, Robert B.
·1.961 · A Social ~tudy of North~astern :hai Farmers Who Periodically Migrated to
Bangkok and Became Pedtcab Dnvers. Peasant to Pedicab Driver. Cultural
Report Series, No. 9 Yale University, Southeast Asia Studies.

PATTERNS OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN CENTRAL
THAILAND DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
by
Lau renee D. Stifel·*
One of the major untold stories of Southeast Asia is the opening of
the region to world markets in the nineteenth century and the rapid
transformation of the rice-growing deltas of Burma, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Thai case is perhaps most obscure. Analyses of the aggregate
economic data, especially the trade statistics, have left the peasants
responsible for the transformation in the shadow of history. In contrast
to Burma, there has been no Furnivall to plead their case nor British
colonial officers' reports to serve as the basis for historical studies.
The purpose of this study is to elucidate the Thai experience by
examining changing patterns of land ownership in two provinces, Ayuthia
and Nakhon Pathom, in the Chao Phya Delta since 1910. The rice
economy of the Central Plain had been firmly established by that time.
After the booming decades of the 1880's and 90's, an extended recession
from 1905 to 1912 was a watershed marking the start of a period of
slower growth.! To the extent of their availability, the basic economic
data defining agricultural expansion in the two provinces from 1910 to
1970 are presented in Appendix A.
A brief outline of economic conditions in the Central Plain during
this period serves as a preface to the statistical detail in the body of the
paper. The agricultural recovery in the first decade, the 1910's, from
the earlier recession was only p·artial, because of low prices during World
War I, severe floods in 1917 and drought in 1919. The 1920's were
generally prosperous in the Central Plain with high prices, growing
* The author wishes to thank the following individuals for helpful comments on
an earlier draft of this paper: David Feeney, David B. Johnston, H. Leedom
Lefferts, James N. Ril~y, Ammar.Siamwalla, Leslie E. Small, and David K . .Wyatt.
I) David B. Johnston. Rural Society and the Rice Economy in Thailand, 1880-193u.
(typewritten, draft Ph.D. Thesis, submitted to Yale University, 1975), Chapter
VII.

238 Laurence D. Stifel
exports and the opening of new irrigation facilities. The low prices
generated by the worldwide depression had a severe impact upon tbe
welfare of rice farmers in the Siamese countryside during the 1930's.
Production was high during most of the 1940's, althougb the traditional
export market collapsed during the war and an "ant army" smuggled
most of the surplus into Malaya to evade the international controls established
after the war. More than a ten-fold rise in prices during the
decade bridged the pre and post World War 11 price systems. Fluctuations
in production were moderated in the last two decades by better
water control from new irrigation facilities, such as the Cbainat dam
which was finally completed in 1956. Nevertheless, there were poor
crops in 1954 and 1957, and in Ayutbia in 1964. Rising population
caused the export surplus to decline and the tax on rice exports, the "rice
premium", increased the margin between the rice export prices

1',\'J'TEHNS OF LAND OWNEllSHIP IN CEN'l'HAL THAILAND 239
ment. While the root causes are inherent in the dynamics of the model,
the trends may be accelerated and the crisis precipitated by external
events such as the depression of the I 930's. The declining land-labor
ratio and marginal productivity of labor have inevitable and irreversible
consequences. First, indebtedness increases as incomes fall and land
prices rise. Second, land transfers increase as the village landholders
are forced to sell their land or lose it in mortgage foreclosures facilitated
by the introduction of an alien system of land registration. Third, social
and economic inequality grows as the control of land shifts to wealthy
traders or moneylenders in the towns and cities. The process pulls the
former freeholder down in stages to the status of a tenant and then a
landless laborer, a member of the rural proletariat whose condition in
Burma was one of the seeds of its postwar socialism.
A conventional wisdom bas developed in recent years, based on a
Burmo-Malthusian type of model, that interprets the process and consequences
of post-World War II agricultural growth in the Central Plain
of Thailand. Foreign and Thai scholars, civil servants in some ministries,
and student groups have shared in the formulation and propagation of a
belief that the old ideal of village life is rapidly disappearing from central
Thailand. They emphasize the existence of wide and growing disparities
in wealth, landholdings, influence and status.
Two illustrative quotations from Western sources suggest how this
conventional wisdom draws upon components of the Burrno-Malthusian
model:
For practical purposes, the twentieth century bas marked the end
of readily available, easily cultivable land for the majority of the
inhabitants of the Central Plains ... In response to new opportunities
for profit, land speculation on the part of the urban strata
developed and ownership of rice lands passed increasingly and
irreversibly out of the local, rural community 3 •
The seriousness of the [rural] problem is reflected officially in a
recent Thai government proposal for land reform in the Central
Plain region, in an effort to reverse the tendency towards large
3) Steven Piker. "Sources of Stability and Instability in Rural Thai Society."
1lortrnal of Asian Studies! XXVII (Au~ust 1968), pp. 788-9,

240 Laurence D. Stifel
farms and a growing tenant class which have followed from the
capitalization of agriculture. . . Furthermore there bas been a
dramatic deterioration in the income distribution in the 1960's, both
between Bangkok and the rural sector and especially within the
rural sector. 4
The objective of this study is to test the validity of the conventional
wisdom about conditions in the Central Plain by examining new
primary data on the rate of land transfers, trends in the equality of land
ownership, the degree ofland mortgaging, and the nature of landlord-tenant
relationships. While many of the basic conditions in Burma and Thailand
have been similar, the bulk of the evidence examined here is
inconsistent with the conventional wisdom that rural conditions are
gravely deteriorating. In the final section there is a brief exploration
of why the Burmo-Malthusian model has not been applicable to Thailand
and the policy implications of such a conclusion.
Sources and Reliability of the Data
The source of primary data in this study is a sample of land title
deeds (chanot thi din) from three villages in Nakhon Fathom and three
in Ayuthia, two provinces of the Central Plain. The Royal Survey
Department started preparing maps from cadestral surveys in 1897 and
a Torrens system of land registration was established by Royal Edict
in 1901.5 The first titles under the new system were issued in Ayuthia,
the heartland of the Central Plain. Although disputes over land on the
expanding frontier created an awareness in Bangkok of the need for a
system of land titling, it was more feasible to introduce the system in
areas of relatively dense and permanent settlements where property
rights comparable to the Western concept were evolving from the
4) Peter F. Bell. "The Historical Determinants of Underdevelopment in Thailand."
Undated revision of Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper, No
84, Yale University (February 1970), p. 27,30.
5) General Report of the Operations of the Royal Survey Department, Season
1904-05. (Bangkok: American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1906), I?• 18 A!sc;>
~ee Johnston, Chapter Ill·

PATTERNS OF LAND 0\VNERSHIP IN CENTRAL THAILAND 241
continuing cultivation of the land. The first titles were issued in Nakbon
Pathom the following year, and by 1910 title deeds had been issued for
90 percent of the land currently titled in the Ayuthia sample and 68
percent in the Nakhon Pathom sample. The time series used in this
paper usually starts with 1910 in order to cover a full six decades of
historical change, although the issuance of titles for additional land in
later decades, especially in Nakhon Pathom, prevents complete comparability
over time and between the two provinces.
These two provinces were selected because of their prominence as
rice producing areas and because the early issuance of title deeds there
provided a basis for this historical analysis. The villages were selected
by a two-stage random process described in Appendix B, Methodology,
which also identifies the villages which are represented by symbols in
the text. The statistical data recorded on the title deeds consist of the
dates, names and locations of the parties for all land transactions-sale,
gift, will, mortgage, khai faak (sale with the right of redemption), and
various other minor types.
The objective was to use the primary data from the title deeds in
these six villages to generalize concerning changing patterns of ownership
over time in the lowland rice areas of the Central Plain. Since the data
conflict with the conventional wisdom, a discussion of their weaknesses
is imperative. Do the villagers actually record changes in the de facto
possession of the land so that titles accurately reflect true ownership?
A systematic sample of the title deeds in one village, described in Appendix
B, indicated that the data on the title deeds were accurate in 93
percent of the cases. At least in this one village, parties to commercial
land transactions, such as sales or mortgages, appear to register them
promptly, while there may be lags in registering transfers by gift or will.
The growing incidence of multiple ownership, cases with the names of
two or more individuals on the title deed, increases the number of
parties to each transaction and the value of legal recording of individual
ri~hts,

242 Laurence D. Stifel
Do the villages in the sample accurately represent the population
of rice growing villages in Central Thailand? These six villages were in
areas of long

PATTERNS OF LAND 0\VNEl\SHIP IN CENTRAL THAILAND 243
at auction and the proceeds used to liquidate the debt.
In the case of
khai faak, ownership passes immediately to the buyer subject to the agreement
that the seller can redeem the property at a stipulated price; if the
land is redeemed within the specified period, ownership is deemed never to
have been vested in the buyer. This process greatly favors the transferee
who can escape the regulations limiting interest rates and bas the
possibility of acquiring the entire plot of land even if its value is greatly
in excess of the ostensible purchase price.
The relative importance of each type of land transfer bas been
calculated by taking the average annual rate of transfer for the period,
1910-1972, measured as the percent of the total titled area in the sample
villages of the two provinces.
Mortgage and khai faak refer to land
transferred from the original owners because of default on their loans
and not the rate at which the land was originally encumbered by the debt.
The average yearly rates of transfers over the period were as follows:
Ayuthia
Nakhon Pathom
Sale 2.0% 1.9%
Will 1.7 1.1
Gift 1.1 1.1
Mortgage & khai faak .4 .2
5.2% 4.3%
Table I shows the three-year moving average rate by year for the
two provinces classified by 1) sale, gift and will and 2) mortgage and
kltai faak.
The total rate of land turnover may be defined as the sum of (1)
the natural or warranted rate and (2) the involuntary rate. The natural
or warranted rate reflects the normal inter-generational turnover of land.
Given the mean length of a generation in Thailand, there should be a
complete turnover of all the land in the village every twenty-seven years.
The warranted rate of land turnover would be about 3.7 percent per

24.4 Laurence D. Stifel
year.? A village could average a 3,7 percent annual turnover indefinitely
without having any one family involuntarily losing its land to others.
A family might become poorer as a consequence of an increasing labor:
land ratio from generation to generation, but there would be no distress
caused by a family's losing its land.
TABLE 1
Average Annual Transfer of Land in the Central PJaio, 1910-1972
Percent of Total Titled Area in a Sample of
Villages in Ayutbia and Nakhon Pathom
(Three Year Moving Average)
-·---------·"'
Ayuthia
Nakhon Pathom
Sale, Gift Mortgage,
Sale, Gift Mortgage,
Year and Will Khai Faak Total and Will Khai Faak Total
-------~---····~---~-----·-·--·- --
1910 .9% 0% .9% 1.0% 0% 1.0%
1911 .9 .2 1.1 .7 0 .7
1912 1.6 .2 1.8 1.4 0 1.4
1913 2.4 .2 2.6 2.2 0 2.2
1914 3.1 0 3.1 2.6 0 2.6
1915 3.8 .1 3.9 4.7 0 4.7
1916 3.7 .1 3.8 4.0 0 4.0
1917 4.8 .2 5.0 4.6 .1 4.7
1918 3:6 .1 3.7 2.0 '1 2.1
1919 4.4 .1 4.5 2.2 .2 2.4
1920 3.1 0 3.1 2.6 .2 2.8
192,1 4.4 .1 4.5 3.5 .3 3.8
1922 5.3 .3 5.6 3.7 .1 3.8
1923 5.5 .3 5.8 3.8 0 3.8
1924 5.4 .5 5.9 3.2 0 3.2
', 1925 5.9 .4 6.3 3.8 .2 4.0
7) "Utilizing the 1970 Census and other demographic data on Thailand compiled
l;>y the International Statistical Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census
.(Thailand Country Demographic Profile, 19 7 5), the mean length of generation,
defined as 'the mean age of mothers at the birth of their daughters' (U.S.
Shryock, J.S. Siegel, and Associates. The Methods and Materials of Demogl·aphy.
U.S. ·Bureau of the Census, 1973, p. 527), approximates 26.7 years,

PATTERNS OF LAND OWNEHSHIP IN CENTRAL TIIAlLA ND 245
TABLE 1 -Continued
Ayuthia
Nakhon Pathom
Sale, Gift Mortgage,
Sale, Gift Mortgage,
Year and Will Khai Faak Total and Will Khai Faak Total
-----~--------------------------------
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
6.796
7.8
6.5
6.4
5.2
5.4
5.5
5.8
5.2
3.8
2.8
2.4
4.2
5.5
6.4
6.3
5.3
5.4
4.2
5.0
4.5
6.1
6.6
.4%
.6
.6
.5
.8
1.5
2.3
2.4
1.9
.9
.6
.5
.7
.6
.5
.6
.8
.7
.3
.1
.1
.1
.1
7.1
8.4
7.1
6.9
6.0
6.9
7.8
8.2
7.1
4.7
3.4
2.9
4.9
6.1
6.9
6.9
6.1
6.1
4.5%
5.1
4.6
6.2
6.7
4.696
5.6
6.2
6.7
8.6
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.8
6.8
5.3
5.2
4.7
3.2
2.8
3.3
3.1
2.9
3.6
4.3
6.5
7.7
8.7
.2%
.1
0
.3
.3
.7
.9
1.0
.8
.5
.3
.4
.4
.4
.4
.5
.4
.3
.1
.1
.3
.3
.2
4.8
5.7
6.2
7.0
8.9
9.1
9.4
9.6
9.6
7.3
5.6
5.6
5.1
3.6
3.2
3.8
3.5
3.2
3.7
4.4
6.8
8.0
8.9
This is achieved with an intrinsic rate of natural increase of 3.0152 percent
per annum and a net reproduction rate of 2.405 S. While the mean length of
_ generation may appear high in this case, 26.7 years agrees with other
approximations of this statistic for other countries •.. Several factors converge
to produce changes in the mean length of generation, thus it is difficult to
assert with certainty bow it might have moved over the period 1910-1972."
Personal communication, Dr. H. Leedom Lefferts, Jr., October 30, 1975.

246 Laurence D. Stifel
Ayuthia
TABLE 1 - Continued
---··-·--"---"--·-·-·--
Nakbon Patbom
---·----·-----~---
Sale, Gift Mortgage,
Sale, Gift Mortgage,
Year and Will Khai Faak Total and Will Kbai Faak Total
1949 8.2 .2 8.4 8.6 .1 8.7
1950 6.8 .1 6.9 6.9 .1 7.0
1951 6.5 .2 6.7 6.1 .2 6.3
1952 5.4 .2 5.6 5.4 .1 5.5
1953 5.6 .3 5.9 5.2 .I 5.3
1954 1.0 .2 1.2 5.6 .I 5.7
1955 5.2 .1 5.3 4.8 .1 4.9
1956 4.8 0 4.8 4.3 .1 4.4
1957 4.4 0 4.4 3.6 .1 3.7
1958 3.0 .I 3.1 2.7 0 2.7
1959 3.2 .I 3.3 4.0 0 4.0
1960 3.1 .4 3.5 3.9 0 3.9
1961 3.9 .6 4.5 4.7 .1 4.8
1962 4.0 .7 4.7 4.9 .1 5.0
1963 4.3 .4 4.7 5.3 .1 5.4
1964 3.5 .3 3.8 4.8 .1 4.9
1965 3.4 .3 3.7 3.7 .1 3.8
1966 3.6 .3 3.9 3.6 .2 3.8
1967 4.0 .2 4.2 3.3 .2 3.5
1968 3.9 0 3.9 3.4 .1 3.5
1969 3.8 .2 4.0 3.5 0 3.5
1970 4.0 .,2 4.2 3.8 .1 3.9
1971 3.7 .2 3.9 3.8 .2 4.0
1972 3.7 .1 3.8 3.6 .2 3.8
Assuming that a· farm family would normally want to retain
possession of its land, any rate of turnover in excess of about 3. 7 percent
can be termed involuntary. A rise in the involuntary turnover rate
would imply that conditions had created an incentive for villagers to
sell family land. A family might sell its land because of the existence of

PATTEHNS OF LAND 0\VNERSII\P IN CENTHAL THAILAND 24 7
new employment opportunities either within or outside the village, or
simply because it had no heirs. In the absence of such special conditions,
a high involuntary turnover rate would suggest the existence of economic
distress in the villages.
The average annual rates of warranted and involuntary turnover
for the total sample were as follows:
Sale, Gift Mortgage, Total Warranted Involuntary
Period and Will Khai Faak Turnover Turnover Turnover
1910-14 2.1% 0.0% 2.1% 3.7% 0.0%
1915-19 3.7 0.1 3.8 3.7 0.1
1920-24 4.3 0.2 4.5 3.7 0.8
1925-29 6.6 0.4 7.0 3.7 3.3
1930-34 6.8 1.3 8.1 3.7 4.4
1935-39 4.1 0.4 4.5 3.7 0.8
1940-44 4.3 0.4 4.7 3.7 1.0
1945-49 7.4 0.1 7.5 3.7 3.8
1950-54 4.9 0.1 5.0 3.7 1.3
1955-59 4.0 0.0 4.0 3.7 0.3
1960-64 4.0 0.3 4.3 3.7 0.6
1965-69 3.7 0.1 3.8 3.7 0.1
1970-72 3.8 0.1 3.9 3.7 0.2
These data suggest two conclusions. First, the rate of involuntary
turnover has been decreasing since the late 1940's, indicating more stable
rural conditions during recent decades. Second, the rate of involuntary
turnover has not been alarmingly high with the exception of several
short periods, the depression years and the last half of the 1940 decade.
The 4.4 percent involuntary rate of turnover during the former period
suggests that about 22 percent of the total area was lost by the original
village families during the five-year period, and they would have lost all
their family land within 23 years at that rate. While these high rates
of turnover reflect the adverse economic conditions of earlier periods,
later sections of this paper show that they did not cause the growth of
absentee landlords or large resident landowning families in the villages.
Moreover, the recent rates suggest a much more gradual process-the
complete involuntary turnover of the land would take hupdreds of years
M th~ r~te 9f the last c;lec~de,

248 Laurence D. Stifel
The division of the total turnover rate into a warranted rate and
involuntary rate is a very crude device. The rationale for this conceptual
distinction is to emphasize that the total turnover rate does not
necessarily imply the severe rural distress which it may suggest on first
inspection. One reasonable explanation for the major component of the
turnover is the normal, inter-generational transfer of land; the residual,
the rate of involuntary turnover, has not been high for sustained periods
nor the trend worsening. The economy had the strength and resilience
to recover from the severe, external shocks of the depression and the
Second World War.
Trends in Equality
According to the conventional wisdom, powerful forces operative in
the Central Plain are increasingly concentrating economic power and
widening the inequality between social classes. This study focuses upon
one significant dimension of economic power, the control of rice land.
The evidence discussed in the following paragraphs indicates that
ownership shares reflect a persistent stability which is quite inconsistent
with the conclusions of the Burmo-Malthusian model.
Equality will be considered first in terms of each individual's total
landholdings, which consist of title deeds held exclusively in his
name or his share (assumed proportional to the number of owners) in
title deeds registered in more than one name. Since there was no means of
knowing family relationships from the data, the analysis necessarily
concerns individual rather than family holdings, although family landawnings
would have been a better measure of social welfare in the village.
There is no a priori means of knowing whether, if it were feasible, the
shifting from an individual to a family basis for calculating land distribution
would improve or worsen equality.
Before discussing alternative measurements of inequality, it is
necessary to discuss the "family name problem" in the classification of
title deeds by individual. As part of a national effort to modernize the
society, King Vajiravudh decreed in 1916 that every Siamese family
must adopt a family name or surname. Prior to 1916 a person was
i

PATTEHNS OF LAND OWNEHSHIP IN CENTRAL 'l'I!AILANil 249
documents such as land title deeds were accordingly written in the first
name of the person prior to 1916, by which time the title deeds for most
of the area in the villages studied here had been issued. Since it was
not uncommon for one or more people to have an identical first name,
some titles issued prior to 1916 could not be identified unambiguously
with a single individual until one subsequent land transaction occurred,
thus causing the surname to be added to the title certificate. In cases
where there were two or more titles in a village registered in the smne
name, with no surnames indicated, there was no means of distinguishing
between different individual landowners with the same first name and
one individual landowner with several title deeds. Because of this
"family name problem", no attempt has been made to analyze the
distribution of landholdings prior to 1930.
By 1930, however, there had been some type of transaction on
most of the land in the six villages and adequate basis for classification
existed. s The two alternative means of classifying the remaining cases of
a common first name and no surname were to assume they were either the
same person, assumption A, or different persons, assumption B. Cases of
ambiguous identification tend to be small holdings and the application
of assumption B caused them to be splintered into even smaller segments.
Analysis of the data indicated that assumption B produced a slightly
higher degree of inequality than assumption A, although the differences
did not appear significant. For purposes of the follo'Wing analysis,
assumption B has been used, so that any error will slightly overstate
rather than understate the degree of inequality.
Ownership shares were calculated for each of the six villages for
three selected years: 1930, 1950, and 1970. The top 20 percent of the
landholders held the following shares of total land in each village at these
three dates:
8) Of the names on the title deeds, 20.1 percent in Nakhon Pathom and 39.4
percent in Ayuthia did not have surnames in 1930; by 1950 these percentages
hag decljneel to 4.3 percent in Nakhon Pat4om lind 16.3 percent in Ayuthia,

250 Laurence D. Stifel
VIllage 1930 1950 1970
Nl Assumption A 60.6% 66.0% 61.0%
Assumption B 60.3 66.4 61.0
N2 Assumption A 66.4 70.3 70.3
Assumption B 68.4 72.0 70.3
N3 Assumption A 51.2 47.8 50.7
Assumption B 52.2 48.0 50.7
Al Assumption A 55.5 57.9 54.3
Assumption B 54.6 59.0 54.3
A2 Assumption A 53.8 54.1 56.4
Assumption B 5bi 54.0 56.4
A3 Assumption A 54.6 57.8 60.9
Assumption B 58.5 59.9 60.9
Inspection of the above trends indicates that the top 20 percent of
the landholders in the six villages experienced mixed fortunes over these
four decades.
Only two groups (A2 and A3) experienced consistently
strengthened positions, while three (N 1, N3, and A 1) held approximately
the same share of land in 1970 as they did in 1930. Shares of land
ownership remained rea.sonably stable and no common patterns are
apparent in spite of the marked economic disruptions caused by the world
depression, the World War, the Korean war boom and the present conventional
wisdom about dramatic increases in inequality.9
The degree of concentration can alternatively be measured by the
Gini coefficient, a summary index which has the advantage over the
9) The median share of total land in the six villages held by the top 20 percent
of the landowners was 59.5 percent in 1950 and 58.6 percent in 1970. This
can be compared to the results of the 196 3 Census of Agriculture that
tabulated the size of cultivated holdings, excluding those held exclusively by
tenants owning no land of their own. For the entire Central Plain, the top 20
percent of such cultivated holdings accounted for approximately 50 percent
of total cultivated land. This percentage could be expected to be somewhat
lower than the share held by the top 20 percent of the landowners in this study
since their holdings include surplus land rented out for others to cultivate.
National Statistical Office, Census of Agriculture :/.963 1
Centr{Zl Region
(Ban¥kok), Tab!~ 1, pp. q.t ~~

PATTERNS OF LAND OWNERSIIJP lN CENTRAL THAILANO 251
inspection of ownership shares of reflecting the entire distribution.to
The Gini coefficient is sensitive to transfers of land and convenient for
cross-sectional or time series comparisons. It measures concentration
on an index ranging from zero, indicating perfect equality of landholding
shares, to a coefficient of 1.0, total inequality.
Gini coefficients for the three time periods are as follows:
Village 1930 1950 1970
N'l .53 .59 .56
N2 .63 .68 .66
N3 .48 .44 .47
AI .53 .56 .53
A2 .48 .51 .53
A3 .56 .58 ,59
Concentration increased from 1930 to 1950 in five villages but three
of them experienced a reversal, a lessening of concentration, since 1950.
Four villages have somewhat greater inequality in 1970 compared to
1930, but there is no evidence of the seriously worsening ownership
pattern which is commonly asserted to have occurred in the Central
Plain. II
Since the primary data are identified by the name of the individual
owner or owners, they provide no basis for classifying land by households
or farm families. As a second-best approach, significant family names
10) The Gini coefficient measures the ratio of the area between a Lorenz Curve
and the diagonal purve showing perfect equality of shares to the entire area
below the diagonal curve.
11) The statistical validity of these results are discussed in siriwan Janekarn.
"Measures of Inequality as Applied to Land Distributions in Changwats Nakorn
Pathom and Ayuthia." (M.A. Thesis, National Institute of Developlllent
Administration, Bangkok, 1974). Four additional methods of measuring
concentration were applied to these same data. on landholdings to evaluate the
significance of the Gini Index on Inequality. The tests were: range, relative
mean variation, variance, and coefficient of variation. In 45 of 48 cases the
alternative concentration measures moved in the same direction as the Gini
.coefficients (although the slopes were different) ; the three exceptions were
·for Village A3 from 1950 to 1970. While the alternative measures have
certain technical disadvantages compared to the Gini coefficient, their
movements in common with the Gini Index increase confidence in its validity.

252. Laurence D. Stifel
have been identified and all the land registered under a single surname
aggregated to reach the total land held by the group. The cohesiveness
of these family-name groupings varies greatly. Frequently, the members
will live in a common compound and engage in mutually supportive
economic activities, but in other cases the common surname is only a
formal relic of a past relationship. Nevertheless, the family groupings
tend to represent power blocs in the village and their rise or fall affects
the power structure. As shown below in Table 2, the top five familyname
groups currently control about one fifth of the land in these villages,
and the share held by these same families has expanded remarkably
slowly over the last several decades-from an average of 18 percent of the
total area in 1952 to 20 percent in 1962 and 21 percent in 1972.
TABLE 2
Total Land Held by Five Largest Family-Name Groupings By Village
Percent of Total Titled Land in the Sample Villages
1952 1962 1972
Nl 28.9% 31.0% 31.3%
N2 19.4 15.5 16.6
N3 11.4 14.6 15.9
N akhon Path om Average 19.9% 20.4% 2!.3%
Al 21.4 22.2 24.1
A2 14.8 18.9 19.0
A3 11.9 17.1 17.9
Ayuthia Average 16.0% 19.4% 20.3%
If it were possible to account for population growth and the addition of
land not p.r:eviously identified with a surname, it is probable that these
families experienced a decline in landholding per person.I2 The largest
families have not inexorably swallowed the smaller landowners. A random
rise and fall of individual groups better characterizes the experience,
especially during the last decade when under half of these individual
family groups realized increases in their land-share. The analysis in
this section does not purport to define standards of equality or illuminate
12) The time series has not bee.n extended prior to 1952 because the family-name
problem makes earlier classification increasingly incomplet~ and unreliable.

I'ATTERNS OJI LAND OWNEHSHIP IN CENTRAL THAILA!';I> 253
the degree of rural poverty, basic questions beyond the competence of
the study. But it does provide evidence with important policy implications
that the rich and powerful have not been rapidly expanding their
relative share of the ownership of rural land in recent decades.
Landlords, Tenants and Encumbrances on Rural Land
According to traditional law land was the property of the King and
the peasants occupied and cultivated it by royal permission. The establishment
of a modern land titling system made it possible for the peasants
legally to alienate their land rights as security for loans.
The primary data in this study provide evidence relevant to the
conventional propositions that the rate of encumbrancing land bas been
accelerating and the consequences have been increasing loss of land and
a shifting of ownership to absentee landlords. Mortgages and khai fa ale,
the two types of encumbrances recognized by law, are considered together
because they are similar mechanisms for borrowing money on the
collateral of the land title.
The encumbrance of rural land, outstanding mortgages and khai
faak, as a percentage of total titled land area is presented in Table 3.
The practice of kiwi faak is substantially less significant than mortgaging
and has been declining since World War II. The extent of encumbrances
is slightly higher in Nakhon Patbom than Ayuthia, and there is no common
pattern of variation except for some evidence of a decline during
the last several decades. The depression increased the extent of encumbrances
on land in Ayutbia but the effect was delayed until 1940 in
Nakbon Pathom. The clear conclusion, contrary to the Burmo-Malthusian
model, is that encumbrances on land are both reversible and
decreasing
In additipn to encumbrances which are legally recorded.on the title
certificate, there is widespread use of the title certificate as security for
loans which are not registered or recognized at law. These "unregistered
mortgages" are prevalent in cases where the loan is small and of short
duration. The creditors, in these cases, have no legal rights to the land,
but their physical possession of the title deeds prevents the true owners

254 Laurence D. Stifel
from transferring their legal interests.• 3 In the sample· survey of village
N3 described in Appendix B, unregistered mortgages were three times
greater than registered mortgages. This is roughly consistent with farmers'
answers to questions concerning the extent of unregistered mortgages.
No data exist, of course, on unregistered mortgages and persistent
questioning about their importance provided no satisfactory conclusions
but, at least, no evidence that this is a recent phenomenon.
While the encumbrance of 9-10 percent of the land, as shown in
Table 3, does not appear onerous, this may represent merely the tip ofa
TABLE 3
The Encumbrance of Rural Land :
Outstanding Mortgages and Kbai Faak as a Percentage of Total Titled Land
1910-1972
Ayutbia
Nakbon Pathom
Mort- Khai Mort- Khai
Year gage Faak Total gage Faak Total
~-·-·------
1910 5.3% 5.1% 10.4% 5.4% 2.9% 8.3%
1915 5.8 6.0 11.8 8.5 4.5 13.0
1920 5.2 3.3 8.5 9.0 3.6 12.6
1925 3.9 3.2 7.1 8.6 2.2 10.8
1930 8.6 3.1 11.7 6.5 2.0 8.5
1935 5.9 6.0 11.9 6.3 3.9 10.2
1940 5.4 4.9 10.3 11.9 3.2 15.1
1945 3.6 1.9 5.5 9.6 2.0 11.6
1950 3.0 1.3 4.3 10.5 1.1 11.6
1955 3.8 0.7 4.5 10.2 0.8 11.0
1960 9.7 1.4 11.1 8.4 1.5 9.9
1965 8.0 1.5 9.5 7.2 1.3 8.5
1970 8.4 0.8 9.2 6.6 0.7 7.3
1972 7.4 1.0 8.4 5.9 L1 7.0
Averages
of above
Percentages 6.0% 2.9% 8.9% 8.2% 2.2% 10.4%
13) During the 4th and 5th reigns, cultivators were warned not to give their title
papers to creditors for security because the courts would hold that land
belonged to the one possessing the title papers. Under the modern system of
land registration introduced in 190 1, the stated ownership on the title deed
maintained in the office of the ,Land Department controlled and the
landowner's title was a copy of the original. David B. Johnsto~ personal
communication, November IS, 1975.
'

PATTERNS OF LAND OWNEHSIJJP IN CENTHAL THAILAND 255
larger iceberg of mortgages, with the larger portion unrecorded
and invisible. The conventional wisdom is that such indebtedness is
undesirable. In fact, the welfare implications of a high share of
encumbered land depend upon the terms and productivity of the borrowings.
The loss of land because of such encumbrances rather than the
extent of the outstanding credit is a more accurate measure of the effect
on rural welfare.
Table 4 presents data on the loss of land because of mortgage
foreclosures and the failure to redeemkhai /aak contracts as a percentage
of total titled area. While a large area was mortgaged without registration,
the rate of loss in this section need not be adjusted upward because
·legal foreclosures are not possible under this form of indebtedness.
Although Ayutbia had a lower degree of land encumbrance than Nakhon
Pathom, it experienced a significantly higher rate of land losses. After the
expected peak in the early 1930's, the rate of losses declined with the
exception of an increase in Ay1,1thia in the 1960's.
TABLE 4
The Loss of Land Because of Mortgage and Khai Faak as Percentage of
Total Titled Area, 1910-1972
Time
Land Lost During the Period
Period Ayuthia Nakhon Pathom
1910-14 0.6% 0.1%
1915-19 0.5 0.8
1920-24 1.6 0.4
1925-29 3.2 1.2
1930-34 9.4 3.6
1935-39 2.6 2.1
1940-44 2.5 1.3
1945-49 0.7 1.0
1950-54 0.8 0.5
1955-59 . 0.3 0.2
1960-64 2.6 0.5
1965-69 1.0 0.6
1970-72 (3 yrs.) 0.2 0.6

256 Laurence D. Stifel
TABLE 5
Losses of Land Caused by Land Encumbrances and Growth in Absentee
Landlordism: The Inter-war Period in Thailand and Burma
(Area of Land as a Percent of Total Titled Area)
Lower Burma Ayuthia
-----·-·-·~~
Nakhon Pathom
Loss of Land: Increase in Loss of Land: Increase in
Mortgage Non- Mortgage Non-
Increase in Fore- Resident Fore- Resident
Year Absentee Landlords Ownership< 3 > closures< 2 > Ownership< 3 >
1915 1.0% 0.3% 0.5% -3.2%
1916 1.3 0.4 0.1% -0.2
1917 1.5 0.2 1.0 0.2 -0.1
1918 0.5
1919 1.1 0.4 0.5
1920 0.7 0.7 0.2 0.8
1921 o.4 0.2 3.6 0.1
1922 0.9 0.8 0.2
1923 0.8 -0.2 -0.8
1924 0.6 0.6 -1.0 0.1 0.1
1925 0.1 0.5 -0.3 0.4 0.4
1926 0.3 1.2 0.5 0.3
1927 0.7 0.2 0.2 -0.2
1928 0.3 0.5 1.3 0.3
1929 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.8
1930 1.4 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
1931 2.5 2.4 2.9 1.0 1.5
1932 5.0 3.3 4.2 1.4 1.3
1933 3.8 1.4 2.1 0.8 1.8
1934 2.9 1.1 1.2 0.2 0.5
1935 2.0 0.3 0.3 0.4
1936 1.0 0.4 0.1 0.4 -0.6
1937 0.3 0.8 0.2 0.5 0.4
1938 0.5 1.0 0.1 0.4 0.4
1939 o.3 0.1 0.8 0.4
Cumulative 30.7% 17.3% 19.8% 8.196 3.6%
1) Cheng Siok-hwa. The Rice Industry of Burma 1852-1940 (Singapore: University
of Malaya Press, 1968), p. 268
2) Mortgage and khaifaak
3) Annual increase of area held by residents of a different district or province than
the village where the land is situated.
Note: The correlation coefficients between the increase in Burmese absentee
landlords and the loss of land caused by mortgage foreclosures arv .n
for Ayuthia and .68 fo~ N~khon Pa~hom. ·

PATTEHNS OF LAND OWNEHS!lll' IN CENTHAL THAILAND 257
While the recent decline in the rate of land loss provides a direct
refutation of the conventional wisdom, the degree of losses during the
depression reflects earlier conditions of rural distress which are
generally ignored or misunderstood in contemporary economic analysis
of Thailand. The Burmo-Malthusian model of inevitable and progressive
deterioration does not easily accommodate the Thai case of severe land
dislocations during the depression and subsequent decades of recovery.
To permit more detailed examination, the annual data and the most
comparable Burmese data are presented in TableS for the period between
the two World Wars.
Although data on the loss of land because of mortgage forclosure
are not directly available for Burma, data on the increase of absentee
landlords (non-resident, non-agricultural ownership) may serve as a
substitute. English officials generally agreed that the foreclosure of
mortgages caused most of the land alienation in Lower Burma during this
period.l4 The increase in absentee-landlord holdings in Lower Burma,
shown in Table 5, includes some land acquisition outside of the mortgage
process but excludes a small amount ofland lost by mortgage foreclosures
to resident landlords. On balance, the growth of absentee landlordism
may be a reasonable proxy for land losses due to mortgages. The losses
in Burma started immediately after World War I when prices declined,
but Thailand did not experience persistent losses until the 1919-20
drought and the onset of the depression. During the next two decades
land losses as a percentage of total area under title, particularly in
Ayuthia, approached Burma in severity:
Lower
Nakhon
Burma Ayuthia Pat hom
1920-29 5.6% 4.8% 1.6%
1930-39 19.7 12.0 5.7
25.3 16.8 7.3
The worldwide depression transmitted its effects directly into the
rice exporting deltas of Southeast Asia. Paddy prices in Siam dropped
50 percent from 1929 to 1931 and the market for paddy land collapsed.
14) Adas, p. 392,

258 Laurence D. Stifel
For example, land in Angthong fell from Baht 200 to Baht 10 per rai.t 5
Potential creditors were unwilling to lend money secured by land and
mortgagees were reluctant to foreclose on the growing number of
mortgages in default because the market value of land had shrunk far
below the value of outstanding mortgages. The farmers successfully
petitioned for a reduction in the land tax but Pridi Phanomyong, then
a member of the Phya Mano Government, failed in gaining approval for
his plan to nationalize agricultural land. The British Embassy reported
in 1934 that agricultural indebtedness was Siam's major domestic
problem.t6
Nevertheless, the adverse repercussions from mortgage losses were
less critical in Thailand than in Burma for various reasous. First the,
settlers who opened up the frontier of Lower Burma migrated over long
distances and, therefore, required more capital than Thai farmers in the
Central Plain. Second, the losses were geographically more widespread
in Burma; the above estimates are for all of Lower Burma and the rates
of loss were substantially higher in some districts. Losses in Thailand
were probably most severe in Rangsit and somewhat less so in Ayuthia,
while Nakhon Pathom may be more representative of conditions in the
Central Plain. Third, the mortgagees in Burma tended to be alien
money-lenders or absentee owners cultivating large estates with
"industrial agriculturists". While a large fraction of the mortgagees in
Thailand were Chinese, they were more likely to reside in or near the
village and their culture did not clash as brutally with the indigenous
culture. That the landlords in Thailand generally employed tenants
rather than industrial laborers as in Burma permitted retention of the
traditional village social organization for agricultural production.
Whereas large rice estates in the North and West Delta regions of Burma
15) Johnston, chapter IX. Also see Benjamin A. Batson. Review article, "History
of the Thai Revolution: A Study in Political Behavior". Journal of the Siam
Societ:y 61 (July 197 3), pp. 19 3-4.
16) Great Britain. Siam Annual Report 1984. (Ban$kok: January 30, !935) 1
FO
371 19~79, p. 27,

PATTERNS OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN CENTRAL THAILAND 259
averaged 1-200 acres, and even more nearer Rangoon, the Thai landlord's
holdings were much smaller and his economic power less dominant,t7
While the growth of absentee landholdings was believed to
approximate the losses of land from mortgage foreclosures in Burma,
the relationship appears much weaker in Thailand. The data on the
location of the owners of the land titles compared to the location of the
land provide evidence that absentee landlordism in Thailand has been
more limited in extent and variation.
Total absentee landlordism, as defined in Table 6, can be summa~
rized for successive decades as follows (percent of total land area):
1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970
Ayutbia 4% 7% 12% 23% 17% 17% 20%
Nakhon Pathom 1% 5% 5% 11% 7% 9% 11%
Burmats 13% 18% 23% 39% -presumably zero-
Changes in absentee landholdings and land losses from mortgages and
khai faak are positively correlated; both follow similar logarithmic curves
which, contrary to the conventional wisdom, tend to flatten out in recent
decades. The causal linkage between them, however, is weak because
mortgage loans in Thailand are frequently placed with local credit
sources. · The locations of mortgagors and mortgagees are shown in
Table 7. The creditors lived outside of the district in only 36 percent
of the cases in Ayutbia and 26 percent of the cases in Nakhon Patbom.
Analysis of the time series (not shown here) indicates that reliance on
mortgagees from outside of the district reached, a peak in Ayutbia in
the 1920's and then declined, while no time trend is apparent in Nakbon
Pathom. Borrowing money by registered mortgages is the most formal
type of rural indebtedness and it tends to be associated with aboveaverage
sums and nonresident creditors who understand the legal
17) Adas, p. 396.
18) Cheng Siok-hwa. The Rice Industry of Burma 1852-1940 (Singapore:
University of Malaya Press, 1968), p. 268-9. Area owned by non-resident
non-agriculturists as percentage of total occupied land in Lower Burma. See
Table 5 for the annual increases of land held by "absentee landlords" as a
percentage of total land.

260 Laurence D. Stifel
advantages of registration. For other types of rural credit, the farmers
rely even more heavily on local sources such as relatives, neighbors or
village traders.
Quite apart from the effect of mortgage losses, an increase in
absentee landlords would be expected as a consequence of the intergenerational
division of land and the outward migration of surplus family
members. To the extent that these absentee landlords are recent
emigrants from the villages, they should have more personal concern for
the welfare of the tenants, who in many cases are relatives and friends.
While the primary argument here is that the spread of absentee
landlords is not accelerating, even if it were there is no evidence that
absentee landlords impose more onerous terms on their tenants than
resident landlords. In contrast to other countries of Southeast Asia,
Thailand does not have an urban rentier class. Most absentee landlords
have other occupations and the villagers frequently say that they are
more lenient, collect lower rents and demand fewer extra services than
the resident landlords.! 9 The conventional wisdom's emphasis on the
ills of absentee landlordism appears misplaced on several counts.
Although the primary data from the title deeds do not provide any
direct evidence on trends in landlordism or tenancy, a small sample
survey of landowners in the six villages was conducted to provide an
insight into the functional relationship which exists at present; see
Table 8.2o According to the conventional wisdom, the landlords are
represented as a tight social class, with oligopolistic power to exploit
the farmers by charging rents above competitive norms. The agriculturists'
demand curve for land is considered to be relatively inelastic
because of the limited supply of land and the absence of alternative
employment opportunities. Investments to raise the productivity of
therented land are discouraged by the thinness of the farmers' surplus
and their limited tenure rights.
19) In one important village study, the author concluded that "from the viewpoint
of the villagers' best interests, the good side of absentee landlordism seems to
outweigh the bad side." Kamol Janlekha. A Study of the Economy of a Rice
Growing Village in Central Thailand (Bangkok: Ministry of Agriculture,
1955), p. 68.
20) Government surveys provide some ~vidence for the conventional wisdolll
that tenancy in the Central Plain has been increasing in recent years, although
"pure tenancy" declined from 25.6 percent in 1937 to 14.0 percent in 1950
to 10.7 percent in 1963, the three years of agricultural censuses. James C.
Ingram. Economic. Change in Thailand 1850-1970 (Stanford: Stanford Univer·
sityPress, 197l),p. 267.

Year
1972
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
1906
1972
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910
PATTERNS OF LAND OWNERSHIP TN CENTHAL '1'1-IAJLAND 261
TABLE 6
Location of the Owners of Land in the Sample Villages
(Percent of Total Titled Area)
"-------------·---·--·---- --~---··-
In the Same District
Assumed Absentee Landlords
·····-. ----·--~· ---··-
Same Different Different Different
Village Village District Province
AYUTHIA
52% 27% 8% 13%
52 28 8 12
57 26 8 9
61 22 9 8
59 18 13 10
74 14 3 9
80 13 1 6
84 12 2 2
85 12 1 2
NAKHON PATHOM
66% 23% 4% 8%
67 22 4 7
66 25 4 5
64 29 3 4
60 29 3 8
69 25 1 4
70 25 2 3
74 25 1 0
Note: If the owner of the land 1i ves in a different district or a different province
than where the land is situated, he is assumed to be an absentee landlord;
if he lives in the village itself or in an adjacent village, he is close enough
to cultivate the land himself or personally to oversee the cultivation by
tenants if he rents the land. The data provide no evidence on whether
owners rent their land or cultivate it themselves, so no overall rental ratio
can be calculated. Nevertheless the simple fact of geographic separation
from the land assures that the owner is a landlord and an absentee owner.
This assumption is imprecise at the margin. The villages in some cases
border villages in other districts or provinces and some absentee owners
may be close enough to be resident landlords. In the case of Village N l
the adjacent village is a market town and some landowners there are
·merchants who display the traditional characteristics of absentee landlords.
The extent of local ownership of village land shown in this study is similar
to that in Bangchan, the most intensively studied village in the Central
Plain. Village residents owned 64 percent of the village land there in 1953.
Kamol Janlekha: A Study of the Economy of a Rice G1·owing Village in
Central Thailancl (Bangkok: Ministry of Agriculture, 1955), p. 55.

262 Laurence D. Stifel
TABLE 7
Location of Mortgagees (Lenders) and Mortgagors (Borrowers), 1910-1970
Ayuthia
Nakhon Pathom
No. of Average No. of Average
Cases % Size (Rai) Cases % Size (Rai)
l. Lender and Borrower
in the Village 260 34.2% 14.7 200 28.4% 21.9
2. Lender in the Village:
Borrower in Different
Village of Same District 21 2.8 16.7 10 1.4 16.4
Borrower in Different
District of Same Province 6 0.8 18.2 0.1 25·0
Borrower in Different
Province 5 0.7 5.4
3. Borrower in the Village:
Lender in Different
Village of Same District 199 26.3 18.3 309 43.8 28.8
Lender in Different
District of Same Province 96 12.7 . 24.2 40 5.7 21.1
Lender in Different
Province 48 6.3 25.8 38 5.4 29.6
4. Lender and Borrower
outside the Village 128 16.9 22.7 102 14.5 41.7
- - -
Total 758 100.0% 18.9 705 100.0% 28.0
Note: The data above include cases of khaifaak, The village in each case refers to
where the land is situated. e.g. in .category 4, the mortgagor and mortgagee
both reside outside of the village where the mortgaged !and is situated.
While the conventional model may accurately depict the extreme
conditions of pure tenants, agricultural families which own no land, the
landlords in the Central Plain appear to have a more limited and economically
beneficial role for farmers who need to rent some hind. The

PATTEHNS OF LAND OWNERSIIIP IN CENTHAL THAILAND 263
owner-operator of a rice farm in the Central Plain commonly enters and
leaves the rental market as his requirements change over his family cycle.
In this sample survey about half of the rice cultivators were operating
. their own and rented land in 1974, and other surveys provide ample
evidence that multiple tenure of this type is of comparable significance
throughout the Central Plain.21 The regression equations, shown in
Table 88, indicate that the total area cultivated depends significantly
upon the size of the family. The family's demand for land expands as
children grow old enough to assist in the farm work and other dependents
attach themselves to the household, only to contract in the latter
phase of the family cycle as both obligations and stamina decline. At
the mean for the entire sample, an additional family member is associated
with about seven additional rai of land. Imperfections in the capital
market and limited collateral deter the farmer from purchasing land for
peak needs. The landlord serves the economic function of holding land
and supplying it on the market for these temporary requirements.22
2l) L. Sternstein. "Aspects of Agricultural Land Tenure in Thailand." .Journal
o/Tropi~al Geogt•aphy XXIV (June 1967), p. 22.
22) The developmental cycle of family groups in a Thai-Lao village in the
Northeast is described in H. Leedom Lefferts, "Some People Stay and Some
People Go: Social Structure and Economic Organization in a Northeastern
Thai Village," paper delivered at American Anthropological Association
Meeting (New Orleans, November 28, 1973). "As soon as some children are
old enough, the parents begin to rent additional fields from other village
families (who are themselves in some other phase of the cycle). This will
permit the production of additional rice which need not be utilized at home
as food and can therefore be sold. As the children become able to cultivate
on their own, the family can begin to invest its concomitantly growing capital
in the buying of additional land ... Thus, as the parents get older, there is a
tendency to acquire more land, a short time later balanced by an equal
tendency to divest themselves of it •.. Once [the village's] arable land is
filled, one then finds a state of 'jiggling' between the various families of the
village as they move through the phases of the developmental cycle and
alternatively gain and lose acc.ess to pieces of land." pp. 13-16. ln the
developmental cycle of the village, once the arable land was fully cultivated,
a stable equilibrium ;between population and land required emigration,
although new and nontraditional economic activities have permitted some
expan~jQn of villase sizf;l without disturbins the al!ricultural equilibrium.

264 Laurence D. Stifel
TABLE 8
A. Selected Data on Rice Cultivators by Village from a Sample Survey Median Median
No. Renting Holding No. of Cases Landlord is: Duration
Village Total Land Per Person< 3 > A Relative A Villager of Rental
Nl 20 9 6.5 4 2 4 yrs
N2 7 2 15.1 1 2 5
N3 19 9 10.3 8 7 6
A1 13 5 5.9 3 2 3
A2 10 6 7.9 4 0 7.5
A3 14 10 10.2 6 6 3.5
-
83 41 27 19
B. Regressions to Explain the Size of Landholdings by Village in TbailandO>
Y = a + bX 1 + cX 2 + dX 3
where:
Y = Family•s total land owned and rented
X 1 = Size of family (2)
X 2 = Dummy variable if the family head is engaged in a
secondary occupation
X 3 = Dummy variable if the family head states that the
family has adequate land
(t-values in parentheses)
Xi
Durbin-Watson
R2
~ x3 Statistic
Nakbon Pathom 8.6 -1.3 15.0 23 1.34
(2.9) (-0.1) (2.7)
Ayutbia 5.4 -35.9 10.0 38 1.09
(3.3) (-2.6) (2.2)
--------- ___ ,____
1) A small survey of landowners in the six villages was conducted in the spring
of 1974 to obtain types of data not contained on the title deeds. The sample
consisted of 20 landowners in each village, selected systematically from the
largest to the smallest. Of the sample of 120 individuals, 117 were interviewed;
83 were rice cultivators, 9 gardeners of fruits and vegetables, 7 merchants 7
retired rice farmers, 3 school teachers and others.
2) Family members under 18 years old are arbitrarily counted as half a person
in this table.
~) N1,p:~l;Jer of rai owped an9 rente9.

l'ATTEHNS OF LAND 0\VNEHSilll' IN CENTI\AL THAILAND 265
The structure and conduct in the operations of the agricultural land
market suggest tentatively that the landlords are not exploiting the
farmers by charging rentals over the competitive norm. Landlords
are too heterogeneous to be able to set prices in concert. In most cases,
they are relatives of the tenants and/or neighbors living together in the
same village, with relationships which are necessarily personalized and
unique. Variations in the quality of the land, even within a single
village, also discourage collusive rent-fixing by the landlords. Stated
rental rates are diverse, reflecting the land's relative location, soil quality
and access to irrigation or flood waters. Although the elasticity of demand
for rentable land cannot be measured, the cultivators are vividly aware
of alternatives to renting village land, such as urban migration or seeking
new land, activities which they often recommend to their children. The
relatively short duration of rental arrangements reflects the short term,
cyclical nature of family land requirements; it may evidence that the
land rental market is functioning effectively not, as some have argued,
an insecurity in the tenure rights of the farmers.
Conclusions
The evidence of this study does not support the conventional wisdom
that equality is worsening and that land sales, absentee ownership
and mortgage losses are increasing in the Central Plain. The conventional
wisdom bas been widely accepted, however, because the conditions
of the Burmo-Malthusian model seem to hold in contemporary Thailand
and because such adverse consequences are the logical outcome of the
dynamics of the model. The major conditions of the model will be
briefly discussed.
Passing of the land frontier: The land suitable for paddy cultivation
bas been largely exhausted in the Central Plain.
Population growth: During the six decades covered in this study,
the agricultural population has quadrupled. The power of compound
growth on a fixed land base has a prima facie logic supporting the
conventional wisdom.
Fixed technology:
The state of the arts of rice cultivation bas been
~~atic, with the exception of the local selection of \.Jetter rice vari~ties,

266 Laurence D. Stifel
until mechanization and fertilizer application became more common
in the 1950's. Where irrigation facilities altered the duration and
depth of the flooding, there has been some shift from the land-intensive
broadcasting mode of planting to the labor-intensive transplanting
mode, but this apparently has not been an autonomous adjustment to
relieve the pressure of surplus labor on the land. 23
Custom of equal inheritance: Although there are some regional
variations and preferences for the child who cares for the elderly parents,
the general custom is for a landowner to distribute his land roughly
equally between his children. This custom is apparently responsible
for the declining average size of land transaction in this study which is
shown in Table 9.
In addition to the existence of the elements of the Burmo-Maltbusian
model, the simplicity of the diagnosis strengthens the appeal and
acceptance of the conventional wisdom. The large landlord is a convenient
scapegoat for the failure of agricultural productivity to rise more
rapidly; the conventional wisdom mounts a parallel attack on the
middleman and supplies a comparable solution-to control or eliminate
him. This simple approach is an attractive alternative because it avoids
the stubborn problem of developing an improved agricultural technology
suitable for local conditions and extending it to the village level.
In conclusion, two possible explanations for the divergence between
the data in this study and the conventional wisdom are suggested. While
the land frontier in the Central Plain may be largely exhausted, alternative
23) Hanks argues that "populations increased and land became scarcer, so that
transplanting became a more suitable mode of cultivation." Lucien M. Hanks.
Rice and Man: Agricultural Ecology in Southeast Asia (Chicago and New York:
Aldine-Atherton, Inc. 1972) p. 65. But Leslie Small's research in the Central
Plain found no significant relation between population density and the
percentage of area transplanted. Leslie E. Small. Returns to Public Investment
in Water Control in Southeast Asia : A Case Study of the Greater Chao Phya
P1·oject a/Thailand (New Brunswick: Rutgers University, 1975), New Jersey
Agricultural Experiment Station/Cook College Bulletin 842, p. 32. The
varieties grown and the planting method depend primarily on th~

PAT'J'EHNS OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN CENTHAL 'l'IlAILAND 267
TABLE 9
Average Size of Transaction
By Decade for Major Types of Land Transaction:
Ayuthia and Nakhon Pathom
(Number of Rai Per Transaction)
---·---~~---- --- ·-·- ---~--·
Sale Gift & Will Mortgage Khai Faak
Ayu- Nakhon Ayu- Nakhon Ayu- Nakhon Ayu- Nakhon
Peri on thia Pathom tbia Pathom thia Pathom thia Pat hom
----------- ------~----
1910-19 22.3 24.8 17.4 25.2 21.5 39.4 19.5 39.8
1920-29 17.6 24.2 16.6 27.1 23.5 47.7 22.8 29.0
1930-39 17.1 22.4 13.8 21.8 17.8 31.7 20.6 32.9
1940-49 16.5 23.8 11.5 18.8 21.2 27.7 26.2 27.5
1950-59 10.7 15.8 12.4 17.6 16.3 21.8 16.1 18.3
1960-69 9.6 11.2 11.7 11.8 15.3 19.2 11.0 17.4
1970-72 7.6 8.3 8.1 13.1 14•6 20.9 18.2 13.7
Note:
In cases where there is more than one owner registered on the title deed, the
transfer of each individual's interest is counted as a separate transaction.
employment possibilities in the provincial towns and Bangkok and on
lands opened up in other regions have greatly relieved the Malthusian
pressure on the paddy fields of the Central Plain. A recent United
Nations' study of land capability concluded that less than one quarter
of the land suitable for paddy is being cultivated.24 The migration of
many of tbe rural youth to seek employment beyond their villages and
the capacity of the economy to produce opportunities for them have
granted at least a temporary reprieve from the consequences of the
Burmo-Malthusian model.
Alternatively, the heterogeneity of village life makes it possible to
fit together different pieces of experience to substantiate conflicting
models of development. It was hoped that the random selection of this
village sample would permit broad generalization of the results, but
qualifications of the validity and representativeness of the data have been
recognized. The objective, therefore, is not to postulate an alternative
version of the conventional wisdom but simply to caution against the
naive acceptance of unsubstantiated generalizations about land ownership
and the value of simple solutions to the complex problem of raising the
productivity and welfare of the Thai farmer.
24) Bimbandha Vasuvat. Land Development in Thailand. (Bangkok: Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives, January, 1974), Technical Paper No. I 03, P· 12.

APPENDIX A
Basic Statistics on the Rice Economy of Ayuthia and Nakbon Pathom
IV
0\
00
Circle AyuthiaU> Ayuthia Nakhon Pathom Circlen> Nakhon Pathom Total Rice Bangkok
Area Yield Po pula- Area Yield Popula- Exports< 3 > Export Paddy
Planted (kilos tion< 2 > Planted (kilos tion< 2 > (1,000 Price< 4 > Price
Year (l ,000 rai) per rai) (l,OOO'sl (l,OOO rai) per rail (l,OOO's) tons) (Baht per ton)
1910 1055 86 54
1911 632 104 75
1912 2353 306 1021 239 593 110
1913 2547 286 1090 223 1183 84 79
1914 2251 292 916 228 1103 77 75
r<
~
1915 2795 307 1127 240 1127 78 80 .... c
1916
0
2982 291
1096 227 1187 84 82
1917 3066 220 1125 172 1125 87 73
1918 3189 115 ll08 90 852 155 114 !='
en
1919 3335 75 228 1202 88 147 445 277 184 ..,
1920 3515 296 1328 190 283 103 157
~
192~ 3644 286 1355 215 1295 109 100
1922 3450 284 1480 283 1285 100 100
1923 3767 253 1434 156 1335 108 108
1924 3690 289 1564 261 1163 120 123
1925 3696 199 1561 206 1376 122 108
1926 3771 300 1534 294 1308 126 102
1927 3677 226 1494 246 1720 117 83
1928 3626 152 1705 171 1480 118 94
1929 3978 221 272 1758 146 187 1132 123 95
1930 3994 201 1798 192 1027 100 77
193l 3837 188 1834 233 1332 58 42
1932 4966 280 1672 56 41
:::>
0
CD

1933 3952 259 1911 247 1663 50
1934 3813 268 1954 171 2022 49
1935 3822 219 1855 177 1501 61
1936 3614 178 1773 232 1559 62
1937 3717 259 327 1835 213 226 1102 68
1938 3942 164 1979 263 1555 63
1939 4050 237 2015 239 1892 60
1940 4159 239 2043 186 1210 77 60 ...., >
....,
1941 4069 243 2514 203 1164 128 89 i:'j
~
1942 4304 89 2045 70 752 137 83 z
en
1943 4132 269 2053 234 540 160 100 0
""'
1944 4067 210 1992 193 310 209 96 t""
>
1945 3703 166 1852 137 195 411 231
z
c::
1946 3944 177 2204 131 455 581 375
0
::;5
1947. 4138 207 374 2085 194 274 392 982 778 z
t:::
l='
1948 4289 219 2279 218 812 1545 754
s
1949 4421 224 2304 239 1216 1538 742 ""
1950 4381 220 2371 219 1483 1520 797 z
'""'
1951 4497 207 2403 216 1576 1573 854 E:i
3
1952 4410 222 2348 210 1415 1910 760 :::
>
1953 4458 241 2445 212 1336 2000 673 r
_,
1954 4272 145 2470 191 1001 1819 860
-'
>
1955 4001 208 2278 236 1242 2120 899 F
>
1956 4085 230 2363 269 1255 2285 895 z
t::
1957 4103 141 2272 180 1576 2308 1065
1958 4209 184 2251 223 1135 2622 866
1959 4125 131 2192 159 1095 2367 887
1960 4052 226 479 2276 225 370 1203 2067 949
1961 4062 219 2322 234 1576 2331 1143
1962 4161 241 2254 247 1271 2626 995
N
1963 4216 292 2336 306 1418 2400 802 "' \0

Ayuthia Circle{l) Ayuthia Nakhon Pathom Circle (1) Nakhon Pathom Total Rice Bangkok
Area Yield Popula- Area Yield Po pula- ExportsP> Export Paddy
Planted (kilos tin

I'ATI'EHNS OF LAND 0\\'NEHSI-IJP IN CENTRAL THAILAND 2 71
APPENDIX B
Methodology
A two stage process was used to select the villages (tambols) for
this study. The district (ampbur) was selected in the first stage and
the village in the second stage. In Ayuthia, three of thirteen districts
were selected at random in the first stage. One village in each of the
three districts was selected at random during the second stage, but field
visits revealed that several of the selected villages had been in different
districts at an earlier period. When districts became heavily populated,
the government sometimes divided them, thus creating a new district
and administrative apparatus.
When this process transferred a village
to a new district, the land records for transactions prior to the division
were maintained separately and were very difficult to locate. Therefore,
the random process was used again to select alternative villages in these
cases.
In Nakhon Patbom, one village had been selected by a non-random
process in Muang District and studied prior to the initiation of this
study.
Subsequently two districts were selected in the eastern part of
the changwat to avoid the sugar areas in the western part. One village
was selected by random process in each of these two districts.
The final sample consisted of the following:
Number of Titles Total Titled Est. 1972
District Village Total Sampled Area (rai) Population
Nakhon Fathom
Nakhon Chaisri Lambua (Nl) 453 453 8,941 3,787
Banglane Lampaya (N2) 578 578 9,013 4,418
Muang Donyaihom (N3) 1,502 500 28,404 6,797
Ayuthia
Bang Pahan Talnane (Al) 378 378 "3,027 1,567
Pachi Nongnamsai (A2) 370 370 6,733 1,700
Bang Pain Wat Yom (A3) 381 381 6,122 2,040

272 Laurence D. Stifel
The villages are identified in this study by the symbols in parentheses.
Cost consideration required limiting the title survey in N3 to
one third of the village's title population and systematic sampling was
used to select 500 cases from the total of 1502 title deeds for the village,
In other cases the survey covers all the land for which title deeds had been
issued in the village.
The data in ,this study starts at the time the land titles were first
issued for the sample of titles selected. The dates of the first titles
were as follows for each village:
Date
First
Titles Were
Issued
Area Titled
That Year
as Percent of
1972 Titled Area
N1
~------···----~-
1907 82.7%
N2 1907 21.9
N3 1906 76.1
Al 1903 15.4
A2 1905 87.7
A3 1901 81.0
By 1910, 90 percent of the land in the Ayuthia villages bad been
titled, but this level of coverage was not reached, on average, in the
Nakhon Pathom villages until1940; the following table shows the extent
of titled area by decade compared to the present time:
Area Under Title as Percent of
Total Titled Area in 1972
Nakhon Pathom
Ayuthia
1905 0.0% 88.5%
1910 68.0 90.0
1920 77.8 90.3
1930 86.1 97.8
1940 89.4 98.3
1950 91.6 99.0
l96Q 9$.~ 99.0

PATTERNS OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN CENTRAL THAILAND 273
A systematic sample of 50 title deeds or 10 percent of the titles in
N3 was selected in order to test the data's reliability for accuracy and
completeness by interviewing the nominal title holders. Ninety-two
percent of the nominal owners were located and interviewed. In three
cases there were discrepancies between the information on the title deed
in the Land Department office (the source of data in this study) and the
nominal title holders' statements of what should be on the title deed.
In two cases the nominal owners said they had sold their land and bad
recorded the transaction at the Land Department; there is no explanation
why the official title deed did not show the transaction. In the third
case there was an apparent recording error, for the number of rai transferred
in a partial sale was not the same on the copy of the title deed
held by the owner and the original in the Land Department.
In addition there were eight cases where the nominal owners
reported the existence of transactions which they knew had not been
recorded. One was the simple case of a gift from father to daughter
which would be recorded in due course. There were seven cases of
"unregistered mortgages"; the registered owners of the land were not
able to show the deeds to the interviewer because they were in the
physical possession of the moneylenders.
The title deeds contain information on all legal transactions affecting
titled parcels of land and the names and addresses of the
individuals involved in each transaction. These data were tabulated by
computer and the printouts available for each village and each province
are organized as follows: (I) annual data on the total titled area, number
of transactions, and average size of transaction, (2) annual pattern of
ownership by the location of the owner: village resident, different village
but same district, different district but same province, different province,
(3) annual data for each type of transaction showing number of transactions,
transaction size as a percent of total area and in rai, and locations
of the transferer and receiver of the land using the same definitions as in
(2) , (4) annual outstanding mortgages and khai faak, with changes during
the year caused by redemption or loss of the encumbered land, (5) annual
data on total landholdings and land transactions of each of the largest
landowning groups organized by surname.

274 Laurence D. Stifel
It was original1y planned to supplement the statistical analysis of
the data on the title deeds with extended fieldwork in all six villages.
This unfortunately was not possible; residence was limited to village N3
and considerable reliance placed on short visits and the sample survey
described in Table 8. The ease of locating the villagers named on the
title deeds suggests the desirability of supplementing traditional village
studies in the Central Plain with histories of individual land ownership.
The working papers and computer printouts of this study can be made
available to any scholar caring to penetrate more deeply into the dynamics
of land ownership in the six villages of this sample.

REVIEW ARTICLES
BACKGROUND TO THE SRI VIJAYA STORY-PART IV,
Senarat Paranavitana, Ceylon and Malaysia, (Lake House, 1966), and
other sources of interlinear writing (see list in section 21)
16. VIJAYABAHU I, PARAKRAMABAHU I
AND NISSAMKAMALLA
This part, in fifty pages, deals with the history of Ceylon from the
Accession of Vijayabahu the Great in 1073 to the coming of the Portuguese
in 1505, a period of over four centuries. Nobody can accuse me of not
bringing down the cost of 1i ving. But the aim is not to tell the history
of Ceylon as such, but to give that history within the pattern of a history
of Sri Vijaya. The story is based on the accepted sources with the
addition of two Ceylonese inscriptions recently published; while Paranavitana's
sources of interlinear writing will only be used sparingly as
connecting links in the overall story. The two 'new inscriptions' are
the Panusvasnuvara Pillar Inscription of the 9th century where the toponym
Yavaju-Kalingubimhi appears; and the Madirigiri Slab Inscription
of the 11th century with the name Samara Vijayottunga. These
inscriptions comprise two of four irrefutable pieces of evidence, three of
which have already been mentioned in the third part of this paper,
while the fourth will be submitted in Section 17 below. With all this
new evidence. the story of this four hundred years' period produced by
historians of Sri Lanka must be looked at again from an entirely new
angle. Irrespective of whether the Kalinga in the story was in Orissa­
India, as the Simhalese historians have thought, or it was in Southeast
Asia, as the evidence now shows, it seems curious that these historians
have never asked themselves the reasons why the Kalinga princes who
became kings of Ceylon, such as Nissamkamalla and Magba, ever invaded
the island in the first place. It is difficult to see Ceylon as a worthwhile
prize considering the enormous risks involved in the whole enterprise
of an oversea invasion across such vast distances. I hope it is still
not too late to ask this question though my study can only be superficial
for lack of space and knowledge of the subject. But the main object is
to extract a little history of Sri Vijaya from the confusion.

276 REVIEW AllTICLE
The orthodox history of Ceylon, based mainly on the Culawamsa,
does not mention King Mahendra VI, the cousin, son-in-law and ally of
Maharaja Samara Vijayottunga. Vijayabahu I is given sole credit for
liberating the island from the Chola yoke after long years of struggle.
In this way the international character of the story is changed to an
insular one. The reason of course is that the authors of the Culawamsa
were of the faction that supported Vijayabahu, who in this way became
the national hero of Ceylon in the same way that Airlangga was the
national Javanese hero. The story of Vijayabahu in its economic aspects
also differs somewhat from its political aspects.
When Rajaraja invaded Ceylon in 993, he was satisfied to sack
Anuradhapura and move the capital to Polonnaruva because it commanded
all the crossings of the defended river line in North Ceylon.
Mahinda V escaped to the south where he was left to rule in Ruhuna.
We are not told whether the king became a guerrilla, but certainly his
people would have been. Ceylon's wealth, or rather its lack, did not
justify Rajaraja's sending men into such guerilla territory. Even today
Ceylon cannot grow enough food to feed herself, and there was no reason
for Rajaraja to occupy such barren land. It is true that Ceylon produced
pearls and precious stones, but it is to be doubted that Rajaraja would
be prepared to turn his soldiers into miners and deep-sea divers. Today
Ceylon is famous for her tea, but I wonder if the ancient Indians drank
tea to any great extent. And of course Ceylon was, and still is, a
stronghold of Buddhism. This no doubt attracted pilgrims and tourists
to the island, but Rajaraja's religion was Hinduism and be would hardly
have been interested in Buddhist shrines. So be bad no reason to conquer
the whole of Ceylon.
However Ceylon was on the route between the Middle and Far
East, and her real wealth lay in her ports. Ships plying between the
Middle East and India would go to ports on the west coast of India, such
as Karachi· and Bombay; while those plying between China and India
would go to ports on the east coast of India, such as Cal

REVIEW Al\TICLE 277
the monsoons, for ships to sail from the Middle East to Ceylon, from
Ceylon straight across the Ten Degree Channel to a port on the west
coast of the Malay Peninsula, slip down tbe Malacca Straits to a port on
the east coast, and from there on to China. When the monsoon changed
the ships could return and be horne within a year. The same applied to
ships sailing the other way. But to go off the route to any extent, such
as to a port on either coast of India or below the equator, could mean
losing a whole season. In this way, the ports of Ceylon became important
entrepots where Indian goods and merchandise were collected for this
long distance trade.
All this Rajaraja did not know until he sent an embassy to China
in about 1014. The embassy returned just before or just after the king's
death, and the report brought back in 1016 impressed the new king,
Rajendra. It opened his eyes as to the possibilities of this traffic, and he
decided to wrestle the trade from Sri Vijaya-why, who knows be might
even be able to conquer China itself! But to subdue Sri Vijaya he first
had to have complete control of the ports of Ceylon. So he invaded the
southern part of the island in 1017, captured King Mahinda V and took
him to India. Then in 1025 he successfully invaded Sri Vijaya, sent an
embassy to China in 1033, and visited the Malay Peninsula in 1044,
possibly to see what prospects there were of invading China itself.
Unfortunately he got into trouble with a young girl and was assassinated.
In this way the Chinese Empire was saved from Chola invasion. This
is a good story even if I only bring it in as a joke. However the Sejarah
Melayu has something like it (from page 10 of C.C. Brown's translation,
Oxford 1970), although the story is too long to give in detail.
When Raja Shulan (Rajendra I of Chola India) died, he was
succeeded by his grandson, Raja Chulan (Kulottuoga I). The new king
decided to invade China and arrived at Temasek (Singapore) with his
forces. When the Raja of China heard the news there was consternation,
but the Chinese produced a thoroughly Chinese ruse to put him off, and
Raja Chulan returned home to India. The episodes of Rajendra's conquest
of the Peninsula and Kulottunga's visit to China seemed to .have
been well entrenched in the minds of the local people, but as the stories

280 REVJEW ARTICLE
the fighting in Anuradhapura; and Vijayabahu had himself crowned
king in that city.
According to Parnavitana, Vijayabahu usurped the
throne, but as he was already Mabadipada, it could be that he was only
acting in his own rights in taking the kingdom. Vijayabahu moved his
capital to Polonnaruva, and this begins the period of that name in
Ceylonese history, which lasted a century and a half.
Meanwhile, many years before, when Prince Kitti, future King
Vijayababu, was still a young boy and the land was under Cbola occupation,
many guerilla chiefs carne into their own. One of these was a
general named P. Buddha (Lord Budai of Sitnarubim.)
He protected
Prince Kitti and groomed him for kingship of the whole island. The
general served the king until his retirement and the king expressed his
heartfelt gratitude to the general in an assembly of nobles, and his words
were indited on a copperplate which the general took with him into his
retirement in the country. The inscription has .come to light and I quote
a passage from page 183 of Glimpses of Ceylon's Past:
"At the time we were remaining concealed in the mountainous
wilderness, having been deprived of our own kingdom in consequence
of the calamity caused by the Soli Tamils, Lord Budai
of Sitnarubirn, Constable of Ruhuna, protected, with the aid of
his retinue, the entire royal family, including our father, His
Majesty King Mugalan, the Great Lord; be brought us up in our
tender age; he nurtured us with the sustenance of edible roots
and green herbs from the jungle, be concealed us from our enemies
who were prowling about seeking us wherever we went; engaging
himself in this place and that place, he made the Province of
Rubuna once again loyal to us, took us out of the mountainous
wilderness and established us in our own kingdom."
This expression of heartfelt gratitude from a monarch of Sri Lanka
to his benefactor in a copperplate found at Panakaduva, reminds one of
another inscription from Madirigiri set up by King Mahendra VI some
two decades earlier, when be expressed the same sentiments of heartfelt
gratefulness to the Maharaja Samara Vijayottunga (see section 14
above):

HEVIEW AH'l'ICLE 281
"enacted in order to commemorate Samara Maharaja who
drove away the Colas that remained spread over the entire Island
of Lanka.... The village of Mehendibapiti, which is belonging
to King Samara, shall be given to the tenants; it shall be made to
remember that at the present time, we have been liberated by this
king; it shall also be made to remember that at the present time,
our villages and land have been liberated by this king; it shall also
be made to remember that however much of the village one
possessed, how many houses and gardens one possessed, the houses
and gardens will remain without officers of the palace breaking
into them and confiscating them."
I will make only one short comment on these two inscriptions.
Vijayabahu stated that the Colas (Soli Tamils) chased him all over the
island; while Mahendra stated that Maharaja Samara chased the Colas
from the same island. Such is the epigraphic evidence. It would be as
well if Simbalese scholars would go through these two records again
without interference from the chronicular Culawamsa or Paranavitana's
interlinear sources, and decide who it really was who drove the Colas
out of Ceylon. In this way perhaps the discrepancy of Kassapa VII
being the predecessor of Vijayabahu could be ironed out.
To return to the Sri Vijaya story as told by Paranavitana. This
concerned Suryanarayana, the third of that name to appear in the records
(Chapter IV of his book, Ceylon and Malaysia, The Relations Between
Sri Vijaya and Ceylon from Vijayabahu I to Magha, pp. 59-73.) When
King Mahinda IV died in 972 his queen Sundari, the damsel in distress
of Appendix I, returned to the Malay Peninsula and lived with a prince
of Java named Purandara. This prince was the younger brother of
Suryanarayana to whom the princess had been betrothed before she became
Mabinda's queen. The union produced a son who was called Suryanarayana,
and the son in turn produced a son who was also called
Suryanarayana.
Suryanarayana 3 was in Ceylon when King Mahendra VI was on
the throne, and he held the office of Admiral of the Fleet (Danda-nayaka),
an office that his grandfather Purandart~ bad held under Mahinda IV,

282 Rb:VJEW ARTICLE
The events after Vijayabab's accession are not very clear, but
Suryanarayana then fought with Vijayababu and was defeated. He
retired to Sri Vijaya, where be was given the same high office of Admiral
of the Fleet. After that, probably when Samara Vijaya died and his son
Manabharana became Maharaja, Suryanarayana again went to Ceylon.
Vijayabahu made him Admiral of the Fleet. Then Suryanarayana again
returned to Sri Vijaya, perhaps when Manabharana died. Soon after
he became Maharaja (Suryanarayana I.) Vijayabahu sent a messenger
to congratulate him on his attainment of the 'overlordship of all the
Kataba kingdoms', and Suryanarayana sent his own daughter, Tilokasundari,
to become Vijayabahu's queen. She was the 'charming young
princess of the Kalinga family' of the history of Ceylon; and she became
the mother of Vikramabahu I (1111-32) and Ratnavali, who in turn was
the mother of Parakramabahu the Great {1153-86). The story is told
on pages 63-5 of Paranavitana's book under review.
Suryanaraya na 3 (f)
Genealogical Table VI
TilokaLndari Vijayabahu I ( 1073-111 0)
I
Vikramabahu I (1111-32)
I
Gajabahu II (1132-53)
Ratnavali (m. Manabbarana)
I
Parakramabahu T (1153-86)
So there was goodwill between Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka.
trade route between the Middle and Far East was kept open, and
Vijayabahu was able to rehabilitate the land and brought peace in a long
reign of 37 years.
The
He was followed by two reigns each of twenty years
(Vikamabahu I and Gajabahu II), but there was trouble and the island
was not unified. Then came, in the words of the History of Ceylon, "The
emergence of Parakramabahu the Greatt wbvP the islan9 came under
one n,1ler once more,

1\EVm\V AHTICLE
283
Parakramabahu reigned for over thirty years, and again there was
good-will between Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka. The trade route was kept
open, and Parakramabahu was able to carry out a tremendous building
programme, and tremendous also were the tanks he dug. At the same
time be invaded India and Burma. All these activities would indicate
that he bad what would today be called 'foreign aid' (it bears repeating
that Ceylon is only a small island.) That aid came from Sri Vijaya,
especially naval aid. In that period the Pagan dynasty bad come to
power in Burma. Its policy was expansionist. They had already taken
Thaton in Lower Burma, the religious capital of the Moo, and this
brought them to the doorstep of Suvarnnakudya, one of the City States
of Sri Vijaya. So it was in tbe Maharaja's interest to support
Parakramababu in his enterprise to stop further expansion of Pagan.
Parakramabahu's expedition would appear to have been successful on
this count, though this is not the story given in Simbalese sources. In
any case the 'invasion' could only have consisted of raids on the ports
and sea coasts.
Parakramabahu was followed by Vijayababu II, a son of one of
his sisters, who came from Suvarnnakudya in Kalinga (Sri Vijaya-in
this period the two names were synonymous), but he was soon put away,
and Nissamkamalla, a prince from Simbalapura (Singora) in Kalinga
followed him. Nissamkamalla was a nephew, or son-in-law, or both,
of Parakramabahu, and he followed the same policy of pacifying the land
to keep the trade route open. He carried out the same programme of
public works; he toured the island and set up edicts and hospitals; he
remitted taxes; and he invaded India. Historians tend to take
Nissamkamalla's inscriptions as boastful. The reason is because they
thought he came from Kalinga-India. From new evidence, he came from
Kalinga-Peninsula, wbere he had the support of the Maharaja, so his
statements may not have been as exaggerated as would appear at first
sight

284 tmvmw AllTJC.LE
Genealogical Table VI
Suryanarayana I (Sri Vijaya)
Jayagopta (Sri Vijaya)
I
I
Parakramabahu I (Ceylon)
I
I I I
Pralambasta (Sri Vijaya) Nissamkamalla (Ceylon) = Subhadra
I I d .
Suryaoarayana II (Sri Vijaya) =
I
I
Sarvanga Sun an
Jayagopa (Sri Vijaya) Magba (Ceylon) Pancandi (Pundra)
I
Gandagopala or Chandrabanu III (?)
The story of Chandrabanu, the third of that name to appear in the
records, will be told in Section 18, while that of Gandagopala in Section
19. It should be understood that the Kalinga princes who invaded Ceylon,
Nissamkamalla, Sahasamalla, Lokissa, Magha, Chandrabanu and others,
did so on the order of the Mabaruja of Sri Vijaya. The only reason for
undertaking these dangerous expeditions over sucb vast distances was
obviously not to colonise Ceylon, if I may put it like that, but to hold
the ports so that the trade route between the Middle and Far East could
be kept open. In short, the reason was not political but economic.
17. FROM NISSAMKAMALLA TO MAGHA
Nissamkamalla, the last king of a unified Ceylon until the advent
of Parakramabahu VI over two centuries later, died after a reign of
nine years ( 1187-96), and trouble started at once. In the period of
nearly twenty years before the advent of Magha in 1215, the island had
as many as eleven rulers, of whom the sixth or middle name was
Dbarmasoka. The Pandya and Sri Vijaya factions fou,ght for control
of the island, and the Colas also took a band in the proceedings. It
might make the confused history of Ceylon in this period a little easier
to understand if it is remembered that Cola and Sri Vijaya bad been on
good terms since the Maharaja put Kulottunga I on the Cola throne in
1070, that is, the Indian policy did not envisage any more overseas
expansion, so there was no cause for conflict. In fact, Cola mercenaries
were readily available to the Sri Vijaya faction. Meanwhile in Ceylon,
I

HEVIEW AHTICLE 285
king-and queen-makers rose to the fore. Of these, one was a General
Kitti, who put Queen Lilavati, the Pandyan widow of Parakrarnabahu
I on the throne for the first of the three times that she was ruler. The
general had to defend the island against three Cola invasions during the
queen's short reign of three years. Another king-maker was Abo (also
called Elata Abo, Ati and Ayasmanta) who supported Sahasamalla,
Queen Kalyanavati and Dharmasoka, all of the Kalinga clan.
Sabasamalla, a step-brother of Nissamkamalla, was invited to
come to Ceylon from Kalinga by Abo. On the way be stopped off in
Cola India for two years while the land was made safe for him; and he
was consecrated on August 23, 1200. After that Abo deposed him and
put Queen Kalyanavati, widow of Nissamkamalla, on the throne. Then
in 1208 he placed Dbarmasoka, a five months old prince, on the throne.
After that, one Anikanga, called a Mahadipada (heir apparent), invaded
the island with a force of Cola troops, killed Abo and the infant king,
and ascended the throne. One of the chronicles stated that Anikanga
was the father of Dharmasoka. This is sheer nonsense. Nobody is going
to put a five months old baby on any throne unless be is the Dalai Lama,
and in any case, if Anikanga was Dharmasoka's father, be would hardly
have bad his own son killed. Here is where the history of Ceylon can
benefit a great deal from a little guessing on my part. Dharmasoka was
not a five months old prince, but what the story means is that be ruled
for five months. I will return to this subject later.
Anikanga lasted only seventeen days when the Pandya faction
placed Queen Lilavati on the throne for the second time, then a third
time after a short reign of Lokissa, a Kailnga king. After that, in 1214,
a Kalinga prince named Magba landed at the bead of a Malala army of
24,000 men. He was consecrated at Polonnaruva in 1215, and ruled for
twenty-one years (to 1236, or for forty years according to ·another
Ceylonese source, that is, to 1255.)
Magha's policy was to use the iron fist, and the Culawamsa
(Geiger's translation, page 132), moaned:
"But since in consequence of the enormously accumulated
various evil deeds of the dwellers in Lanka, the devatas who were

286 IIEV!E\V AIITICLE
everywhere entrusted with the protection of Lanka failed to carry
out this protection, there landed a man who held to a false creed,
whose heart rejoiced in bad statesmanship, who was a forest-fire
burJlng down the bushes in the forest of the good-that is generosity
and the like-who was a sun whose actions closed the rows of night
lotus flowers- that is the good doctrine- and a moon destroying
the grace of the groups of the day lotuses-that is of peace­
( a man) by name Magha, an unjust king sprung from the Kalinga
line, in whom reflection was fooled by his great delusion, landed
as leader of four and twenty thousand warriors from the Kalinga
Country and conquered the Island of Lanka. The great scorching
fire-King Magha-commanded his countless flames of fire-his
warriors to harass the great forest--the kingdom of Lanka."
The Culawamsa was written by the Mahavihara Sect, which
supported the Pandyan faction, so the account is distorted. Other
records, such as the Nikaya-sangraha and the Saddharmaratanakara, give
an entirely different picture and it is said that the calamities that befell
the land happened before the arrival of Magha. The History of Ceylon,
page 245, adds:
"The Minipe inscription, referring to the Tamil invasion
four years before Magha, says that the invaders destroyed the
entire social structure and the religious organisation, a succinct
description of the very thing which the Culawamsa, in many words,
attributes to Magha."
Magha's main concern would seem to have been defence against
invasion from India. He set up forts on the northwest and northeast
coasts of the island, which would not only prevent invasion but at the
same keep time open the trade route to the Malay Peninsula, though in
the unsettled conditions prevailing at the time, it is to be doubted whether
very much local produce could be picked up at the ports. The Simhalese
under Parakramabahu II were left to their own device at Dambadeniya
(Jambuddoni) on the southwest coast of the island. This was a fatal
mistake. In. 1236 the Simhalese, probably in conjunction with the
Pandyas, took him by surprise and Magba \vas driven from Polonnaruva.
Apparently his soldiers fell into an ambush laid by the Simhalese. The
Culawamsa gloated"(page 150):

HEVIE\X- AHTICLE 287
"They took all their elephants and horses, as well as their
pearls and costly stones, the royal diadems and all the beauties of
the harem, all ornaments, cloths, mantles, baskets and every kind
of valuables with them in their fear and began to leave the town.
But owing to the action of the King's merit they mistook the regions
of the heavens. They thought it was the eastern gate and marched
out through the western gate and came to Kalavapi where the
army of the Sihalas had set up an entrenched camp. With all
their goods they had alas! also to sacrifice their life by each giving
his to the Sihala warriors, thus carrying out themselves what the
King had only thought. And all the Sihalas taking from them their
accumulated treasures, became from this time onward rich people,
as in ancient times all the dwellers in Mithila who gained the
wealth which the kings, a hundred in number, bad through fear
flung away."
With Magha's defeat the Dambadeniya period in Ceylonese history
started, I will leave the story at this date ( 1236) and come back to it
later. It might be mentioned that another Ceylonese source, the
Pujavaliya, gives Magha a reign of forty years instead of the twenty one
years given by the Culawamsa, that is, from 1215-55. This discrepancy
in the two records will by considered later. Meanwhile two points need
to be mentioned to tighten up the whole story.
In 1225, after Magha had been on the throne for a decade, Chauju-kua,
the Chinese writer, stated that there were fifteen dependencies
ofSan-fo-tsi (Sri Vijaya.) The fifteenth was Si-lan (Ceylon.) Elsewhere
Chau-ju-kua stated that Ceylon was under the Nanpi (Malabar.) These
two records, though seemingly contradictory, when taken together
comprise the fourth of the four irrefutable pieces of evidence in the
story. During the period of twenty years from the death of Nissamkamalla
in 1196 to the advent of Magha in 1215, the island was under the
Kalinga clan for slightly over twelve years, and under the Pandyas for
over seven years. So when the Pandyas were rulers, Chau-ju-kua stated
that the island was under the Nan pi, and when it was under the Kalingas,
as it surely was in 1225, he stated that Si-lan was a dependency of Sanfo-tsi,

288 REVIEW ARTICLE
But 'dependencies of San-fo-tsi' does not seem correct to me, and
I think it should be 'the fifteen City States of Sri Vijaya.' Of
these States, Ceylon was a very important unit because it was on the
trade route between the Middle and Far East, and Sri Vijaya wanted to
keep this route open at all costs. This concept of the United City States
of Sri Vijaya can be supported by other evidence. In Tang times, the
New Tang History, 2228, 5a, stated that Shih-li-/o-shih had fourteen
cities and was divided into two parts. The western part is called Langpo-ku-sau.
The two parts were the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. The
names of the cities are not given, but they would not include Ceylon.
Then in 1025 Rajendra I invaded the Peninsula. First he took Kadaram
(Kedah), then Sri Vijaya (Chaiya), followed by eleven other states, whose
names appear in the South Indian Tanjore inscription. These perhaps
did not include Suvarnnakudya, which according to Paranavitana had
already gone over to the Cbolas before the invasion (see Section 14above),
and Ceylon. The names in the two lists are:
Tanjore Inscription
Kadar am
Sri Vijaya
Pannai
Malaiyur
Mayirudingam
Ilangasoka
Mappapalam
Mevilimbangam
Valaippanduru
Talaittakkolam
Tambralinga
Ilamuridesam
Nakkavaram
(Suvarnnakudya ?)
(Ceylon)
Chao-ju-kua
Pong-fong
Tong-ya-nong
Ling-ya-si-kia
Kilantan
Fo-lo-an
Ji-lo-ting
Tsien-mai
Pa-t a
Tan-rna-ling
Kia-lo-hi
Pa-lin-fong
Sin-to
Kien-pi
Lan-wu-Ii
Si-lan
The evidence for these United City States may not be very
strong because the names in the two lists cannot be equated without
playin,g a combined Sino-lndian word-~ame, nor can they be equated

HEVJEW AHTICLE
with modern locations without a great deal of guessing. But the fact of
the cities in the three lists numbering the same seems very significant.
I will leave this problem to future students.
The second point to tie up concerns Dharmasoka, the five months
old baby who was put on the throne of Lanka in 1208. This is an
impossible story. I will anticipate the evidence of the next section by
stating that Dharmasokaraja, or Phya Sri Thammasokaraja as he was
called in the Thai chronicles, was the title of the first king of Nakorn Sri
Thammaraj (Tambralinga.) Sometimes be was also the Maharaja of Sri
Vijaya. The name first appeared in an inscription dated 1167, or some
four decades before this first mention in the Simhalese chronicles. The
story of the five months old baby, then, should be interpreted that the
Maharaja Sri Tbammasoka went on an inspection trip to Ceylon to see
the chaotic conditions for himself. He stayed five months to wait for
a change of winds and then returned. With this interpretation, the
pattern of the history of Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka in the Polonnaruva
Period becomes clear.
During the reigns of Vijayabahu I and Parakramabahu I, there
was co-operation between Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka. The trade route
was kept open, and there was prosperity on both sides. After Parakramababu,
Nissamkamalla was sent with orders to follow Parakramabahu's
policy of pacifying the land and to keep the trade route open. After
Nissamkamalla's death, Sahasamalla was sent, but after two years he
was deposed by Abo, who raised Queen Kalyanavati, the Kalinga widow
of Nissamkamalla, to the throne. She had a comparattvely long reign
of six years considering the troubled times. Then, probably when she
died, the Maharaja crossed the seas on an inspection trip, and on his
return he sent Anikanga, called a Mabadipada, who killed Abo and
ascended the throne. But he was soon deposed by the Pandya faction,
and the Maharaja then sent Lokissa (or Lokesvara), who was in turn
deposed after nine months. The Maharaja theri sent Magha with orders
to use force, bring the land under control and keep the trade route open.
Magha carried out his instructions so well that the Culawamsa (pp.
1~3-4) ~roaneo;
289

290 REVIEW ARTICLE
"The monarch forced the people to adopt false views and
brought confusion into the four unmixed castes. Villages and
fields, houses and gardens, slaves, cattle, buffaloes and whatever
else belonged to the Sibalas he had delivered to the Keralas. The
viharas, the parivenas and many sanctuaries be made over
to one or the other of his warriors as dwelling. The treasures
which belonged to the Buddha and were the property of the holy
Order he seized and thus committed a number of sins in order to
go to hell. In this fashion, committing deeds of violence, the Ruler
Magha held sway in Lanka for twenty-one years."
The story of Magha to 1236 when he was driven from Polonnaruva
bas already been told and there is no need to repeat it. We will now
go to the Malay Peninsula and look at the evidence from that side.
18. PHYA SRI THAMMASOKARAJA AND CHANDRABANU
Some time in the century be ween about 1070 A.D. when Kulottunga
I and Vijayabahu I came to the thrones of Chola India and Ceylon
respectively, and 1167, there was a change of dynasties in the Sri Vijaya
country. As the Thai understand it, the new dynasty was the
Padmawamsa (the Lotus Line). Alternatively it might have been the
Pancandawamsa (Line of Pancandi or Pancali ). The two names appear
only once, in the inscription set up by Chandrabanu at Nakorn Sri
Thammaraj in 1230. According to Paranavitana, Pancandi was Chandrabanu's
mother, and in that case the Pancandawamsa started and
ended with Cbandrabanu (his sons and grandsons not being relevant to
the Sri Vijaya story in the Malay Peninsula), whereas the Padmawamsa
(as opposed to the Sailendrawamsa) might have started when Suryanarayana
became Maharaja, but the evidence is rather meagre. The Lotus
Line of course might merely mean that the dynasty was Buddhist
because the Lotus is one of the symbols of the Lord. In this case the
Buddhist Sailendras would have been of the Lotus Line too. I will use
both names and start with the safe and neutral date of 1156 for this
clilange of dynasties when Se-li-ma-ha-la-cha of San-fo-tsi (Sri Maharaja
of Sri Vijaya) sent an embassy to China. This is only a decade before
tb~ fi.rst evi9enc~ on tpe P~dma d~nast~. Here ts tb~ evidep.ce in

chronological order.
llEVJtW AliTICLt
291
I should add that in the first part of this paper I
accepted the opinion of the experts, Sastri included, that Chandrabanu
was killed in Ceylon in 1270 or 71.
But it now seems that Chandrabanu's
second invasion (as given in the Culawamsa) was made in about
1260.
1167 A.D. Inscription from Dong Mae Nang Mueng, Nakorn
• Sawan province:
The text, written in the Khom script and language,
states that the Maharajadhiraja (king of kings), also named Asokamaharaja
and Sri Thamrnasoka, issued an edict to King Sunata of
Dhanayapura to detach certain paddy land for the upkeep of the (stupa
containing the) ashes of Kamarateng Chakata Sri Thammasoka.
One
Maha Senapati (high official) nemed Sri Bhuvanatitya Indradvipa bore
the decree to King Sunata in the year corresponding to 1167 A.D.
This epigraph is interesting for the appearance of two Sri
Thammasokarajas, one of whom, Kamarateng Chakata, was dead and
the other was known as Maharajadhiraja. The name Thammasokaraja
appears in many parts and many periods-to mention but a few, Sukhothai,
Sri Sajnalai and Kampaeng Bejr in the north; in some legends of Patalung,
in some doggerel at Chaiya and, of course, at Nakorn in the south.
The two Thammasokarajas in this inscription are generally accepted to
have been father and son and they were kings of Nakorn Sri Tbammaraj.
It will be seen later that this was the title of the first king of Nakorn.
There have been marty conjectures about this inscription. The best
suggestion is probably that the dead Thammasoka had taken a lady of
Nakorn Sawan to wife, perhaps even as his queen. When the old king
died and was cremated, she returned home, taking back with her some
of her husband's ashes (sariradhatu), which she had interred in a stupa.
The new king, Maharajadhiraja, who was her son, lent his good offices
by sending orders to King Sunata of Dhanayapura to see that everything
was carried out according to the old lady's wishes. In this way King
Sunata would be a relative of the old lady and of the Maharaja of
Nakorn himself. This conjecture, put forward by a southern scholar, is
based on the present name of the locality where the inscription was

292 HEV!EW Aln'ICLE
found-Dong Mae Nang Mueng. Mae Nang Mueng is a southern
expression, and it means the Great Queen, or what we would call the
Queen Mother today, or even the Old Matriarch (cf. Sala Mae Nang
Sundari in section 13.)
1178 A.D. Chinese chronicles and Ma Tuan Lin: San-fo-tsi sent
an embassy in this year. Ma Tuan Lin stated that the embassy told the
emperor that their king had succeeded his father in 1069. As there is
a difference of only two years between this record and the inscription
above, the new king was probably the Maharajadhiraja.
118 3 A.D. Inscription on the base of a bronze image (Buddha under
Naga, cast in three pieces) from Chaiya: A king named Kamarateng
an Maharaja Srimat Trailokyaraja Maulibhusana Varrnadeva issued a
decree to the governor of Grahi, Maha Senapati Glanai, to invite (the
artist) Marateog Sri Yano to make this (Buddha) image for the people
to adore. Trailokyaraja was king of Chaiya where the image was found
(one of tbe city states of Sri Vijaya); while Grahi was probably Kraburi
or Krabi (more likely Kraburi, in present-day Chumporn Province). I
would not be surprised if the image contained a high percentage of tin,
because both Kraburi and Krabi were centres for the production of this
metal. I should add also that this king should not be confused with the
kings of Malayu named Maharaja Srimat Tribhuvanaraja Mauli
Varmadeva (1286 and 1347.) Not only are the names different but the
dates differ also.
Circa 1200 A.D. Chronicles of Nakorn Sri Thammaraj: Two Sri
Tbammasokarajas and two Chandrabanus appear in this source.
Pbra Chao Sri Thammasokaraja, the king of Nakorn Sri Thammaraj,
was an old man and a very pious person. Tao U-Thong of Ayodhia
(not to be confused with the Phra Chao U-Thong who founded Ayudia
and took on the title of Ramatipati) moved down south with his army,
and Sri Thammasoka, who preferred peace to war, met him in Bang
Sapan in presentday Prachuab Kirikband province. Tao U-Thong
pointed to a sila (stone, boulder, hill or mountain) and said that south
of this sila should be the territory of Phra Chao Sri Thammasokaraja,
and north of this stone should. be the territory of T~o U- fhong. Tbe
forests then separated of their own accord.

REVIEW ARTICLE 293
Tao U-Thong and Phya Sri Thammasokaraja then poured (lustral)
water into the ground and swore eternal friendship as blood brothers.
Phya Sri Thammasokaraj asked Tao U-Thong, in the case of his death,
to look after his wife and two younger brothers, Chandrabanu and
Pongse Suraha. After suitable conversation the two kings departed for
their respective cities.
On his return home, Phya Sri Thammasoka hurried the building
(or repair) of the Phra Boroma Dhatu stupa; and when the work of
gilding was complete, he conscripted the Twelve Naksat Cities to make
images for the Verandah. After that he had a big vihara built, which
was called Pihara Luang; and he sent word to Tao U-Thong, presenting
him with the merit he had gained. Tao U-thong in return sent gold
(for the gilding of the stupa) and some salt.
In due course Phya Sri Thammasokaraja died and was succeeded
by his younger brother, Chandrabanu, who sent the news of his brother's
death to Tao 0-Thong, who, in return, sent presents to help in the
cremation ceremomies. Chandrabanu took on the name of Sri
Thammasoka and his younger brother, Pongse Suraha, became Chandrabanu
(second king) in his stead; and in due course when tbe elder
Chandrabanu died, he was succeeded by the younger.
In this way Bang Sapan became the dividing line between Central
and Peninsula Siam. Even today some people who travel to the south
say that the trees on one side of the sila that Tao U-Thong pointed to
as demarcation line lean one way, while the trees on the other side of
the sf/a lean the other way.
The two important points in this source are: first, the Central
Plain of Siam (Ayodhia) bad entered into the affairs of the Peninsula.
Ayodhia was followed by Sukotbai before the end of the century, and
Ayudbia in turn followed Sukothai after its foundation in 1350 A.D.
The second point is that Sri Thamroasokaraja was the title of the first
king of Nakorn Sri Thammaraja, while Chandrabanu was the title of
the second king or uparaja. Both names appear in several other sources.
Two Sri Thammasokarajas also appear in the legends of Patalung
(written down in 1629 towards the end of the Ayudbia period) and in a
Ceylonese reference dated 1751 ( 16 years before the fall of Ayudbia in

294 REVIEW AllTlCLE
1767). The first story cannot be dated and need not concern us, while
the second was written by one Vilbagedara Naide, one of the leaders of
a religious mission sent to Ayudhia by Kirti Sri Rajasimha of Kandy in
1750. On the return journey 'the party was nearly shipwrecked but
managed to wade ashore at Nakorn Sri Thammaraj (Muan Lakon and
Pataliputra in the text.) The following translation by Dr. P.E.E.
Fernando is quoted from page 137 of Paranavitana's book, Ceylon and
Malaysia:
"On Tuesday, the thirteenth day of the bright half of the
same month (December 17, 1751), when they were about to reach
Muan Lakon, a territory that belonged to Siam, the ship sank in
the mud. But no one was injured, and all on board landed in the
district called Muan Lakon. In this district is a large city called
Pataliputra with ramparts around it. In the centre of the city is a
stupa as large as the Ruvanali Stupa at Polonnaruva in Cey Ion.
This bad been constructed by King Dharmasoka who had enshrined
relics of the Buddha there. From the spire down. to the triple
berm, this stupa still glitters like a newly made sheet of gold without
a blemish. Around this stupa are three hundred images, seated,
recumbent and standing, and two hundred stupas, some nine
carpenter's cubits and others eleven carpenter's cubits in height.
There is also a bodhi tree here which had been taken from
Anuradhapura at the request of King Dbarmasoka the Younger,
who became king of that city in later times."
The younger Dharmasoka in this text was the same as the first
Cbandrabanu of the Nakorn chronicles, who succeeded his elder brother,
while his younger brother, Pongse Suraha, became Chandrabanu in his
stead. The name Pataliputra (Nakorn) also appears in one or two local
chronicles and in a poem written in the Dhonburi period, between 20 and
30 years after the mention of this name in the Ceylonese source.
1230 A.D. Tambralinga Inscription of Chandrabanu: Chandrabanu,
the third of that name to appear in the records, set up an inscription at
Nakorn Sri Thammarj in 1230. This is No. 24 in Professor Coedes'
Receuil Il, and he said that it came from Wat Hua Wieng, Cbaiya. Such

REVIEW ARTICLE 295
is not the case. According to the official records, it came from Nakorn.
The place of provenance is n;t given ,but it was probably from the newly
repaired Wat Phra Dhatu. The inscription starts with four lines of
verse followed by prose. The following translation by Professor Sastri
was made from a translation into French by Professor Coedes:
"Fortune ! There was a king Chandrabhanu-resembling
Cupid in his beautiful form, and called Sri Dharmaraja, Lord of
Tambralinga, who gave great felicity to the religion of the Buddha ...
having for origin this lamp which is the family of those who
engender the Family of the Lotus, as expert in policy as Dharmasoka
and Lord of the Pancandawamsa. (verse)
"Fortune! Happiness! There was a king, support of the
Family of the Lotus, Lord of Tambralinga, of powerful arms ...
by strength of his good works relating to all men, (possessing?) in
some sort the power of the sun and the moon ... Chandrabhanu,
the bearer of world wide fame, the king of Sri Dbarmaraja. In
Kaliyuga 4332 ... " (prose, the date corresponds to 1230 A'D.)
Coedes' mistake in mislocating this stele has led to a great deal of
conjectures. The most charming I have read is by Dato Sir Roland
Braddell (Journal of the Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.
XXIH, pt. 3). He equated Tambralinga with Tembelling in Malaya,
and thought that Chandrabanu was an upstart chieftain who somehow
managed to gain control of the Malay Peninsula. Chandrabanu then
overreached himself when he invaded Ceylon (twice) and was heavily
defeated, losing his life in the second attempt. Sir Roland's thesis is not
generally accepted, but later writers quote it all the time-in a rather
negative way. I presume Professor Coedes' charming classic on his Sri
Vijaya Empire will be quoted and discarded by future writers in the
same negative way.
Thai scholars on the other band, who knew all along that the
Tambralinga inscription was set up at Nakorn and not at Cbaiya, and
that Chandrabanu was not a name, but the title of the second king of
Nakorn Sri Thammaraj, have never accepted any of the conjectures. I~
9io P.Ot s~em lo~ical t9 tpepl tpfl.t

296 REVIEW AHTlCLE
Vijaya with 15 dependencies under him, including Ceylon (Chau-ju-kua,
1225 A.D.), would be a wealthy potentate,~hould risk all the power he
had in the Peninsula to invade Ceylon. Also, if he had really invaded
Ceylon, why should be have taken his court ladies and treasures with
him (see below under 1260)? It is more logical to think that he had
rights in Ceylon through family connections with the royal house, which
rights he defended. Unfortunately there was no evidence to support this
theory. But now, Paranavitana has found new evidence on the subject,
which confirms this belief.
On the whole the Tambralinga inscription is most unsatisfactory.
As Paranavitana has pointed out, it does not 'say anything.' The stone
is a large one, but we are not told whether the record was set up to
commemorate the founding of a wat or a stupa, or to record some grant
to a temple. All that emerges is the name Chandrabanu, who was
called Sri Dharmaraja and was Lord of Tambralinga, also he was of the
Padmawamsa (Lotus family) and Pancandawamsa (family of Pancandi).
All this in bad Sanskrit. A date also appears at the end, corresponding
to the year 1230 A.D. I will give Paranavitana's story in detail, though
his major conclusion cannot be accepted with confidence. On page 78
of his Ceylon and Malaysia, Paranavitana writes:
"The Cbandrabhanu of the Jaiya (Chaiya) inscription is
described as the 'Lord of Tambralinga.' This agrees with the
Hatthavanagalla-vihara-wamsa which states that Candrabhanu came
from the Tambalinga country. Candrabhanu is described in this
work as 'a lion in prowess unto the rutting elephants who are the
kings of many other countries, whose impetuosity could not be
resisted by any one, who had deluded the whole world by a show
of service to the world and the religion, who possessed an abundant
military train, who was determined on taking possession of the
sovereignty of Lanka, who came from the Tambalinga country and
was accompanied by feudatory kings'.
"This description, particularly the reference to feudatory
rulers, would call to one's mind a potentate like the Maharaja of
~aba~, whose mi~ht anQ. wealth !lave l;l~ell
extolled by the Arab

HEVIE\V AH'I'IC:LE 297
geographers, rather than a local ruler of obscure origin who had
but recently shaken off his allegiance to his suzerain of Sri Vijaya,
as Candrabhanu is generally held to have been by historians."
Chapter V of Paranavitan's book, called Candrabhanu and Magha,
deals with the evidence on Chandrabanu as it was known when be wrote.
The second half of the chapter puts forward philological proofs that
Magha, the Kalinga king of Ceylon (also known as S. Kalinga
Vijayababu), was a king from the Malay Peninsula. After he had
written his book, he was able to decipher more evidence, and this
evidence is expounded shortly in the Preface to his book. In short,
Magha was the father of Chandrabanu. The following is from pages vi
and vii of his book:
"It is due to the reason that the Culawamsa does not enlighten
us with regard to the origin of Candrabhanu, that the close
relations which Ceylon bad with Sri Vijaya have remained
unrecognized for so long. In a document called the Magharajavrttanta,
which Parakramababu VI caused to be indited in between
the lines of the original inscriptions on several stones, it is stated
that Magha came from Suvarnnapura to the Pundra country
(Malabar) and married the daughter, named Pancandi (Pancali),
of the king of that country. Candrabhanu was the son of this
Malayalee princess; following the matrilineal system of descent,
he is referred to as of the Pancandawamsa. Magha, it is said in
this document, captured Polonnaru with the help of forces supplied
by his father-in-law, the Pundra king. In the course of his reign,
be led an expedition to Tambralinga, and established his son
Candrabhanu in independent authority over that territory. Later,
he went to Suvarnnapura and had Candrabhanu installed as the
Maharaja."
Paranavitana also has some new evidence on Cbandrabanu's
inscription of Tambralinga. He thought, following Coedes, that it came
from Jaiya (Cbaiya), whereas of course Nakorn was its place ofprovenence.
The inscription contains four lines of verse followed by some prose
(translated into English by Sastri from the French of Coedes.) On pages
vii and viii of his Preface, Paranavitana gives two versions of tbe quatrain

298 HEVIEW Al\TICLE
in Sanslcnt, which I will call Versions A and B, while Coedes' reading I
will call Version C. The first and fourth lines in all three versions are
almost the same, the second and third lines of Versions A and Care
similar, while those of Version B differ from the other two versions. Dr.
Indu Sbekar has been kind enough to render a literal, line-for-line translation
of the texts. In the following quotation from the Preface of
Paranavitana's book, I will substitute these translations for the Sanskrit
texts, and at the same time give Sastri's translation of the whole quatrain
of Version C for comparison:
"Parakramabahu VI bas also recorded some startling facts
about the Jaiya inscription of Chandrabanu. He gives the text of
the Sanskrit stanza as it was on the stone in his time. This reading,
which tallies closely with that given by Coedes, except for a few
minor details, is given (in translation) below:
Line by line translation by Dr. Shekar of Version A
1. Illustrious, foremost in the auspicious Buddhist order, who is
the Lord of Tambralinga
2. As if living in the beautiful abode (heaven), creater of the
Padmawamsa, a source of light for his family
3. In physical form, indeed, Chandrabhanu resembles Cupid, called
Shri Dharmaraja
4. Proficient in statecraft like Dharma-Asoka, lord of the Pancauda
family.
Stanza translation by Professor Sastri of Version C.
"There was a king Candrabhanu-resembling Cupid in his beautiful
form, and called Sri Dharmaraja, Lord of Tambralinga, who gave great
felicity to the religion of the Buddha .•. having for origin this lamp
which is the family of those who engender the Family of the Lotus, as
expert in policy as Dharmasoka and Lord of the Pancandawamsa."
(from page 134 of the History of Sri Vijaya.)
"As the scholar who had dealt with this inscription in the
fifteenth century bas pointed out, the Sanskrit of the second and
third padas of t4is stanza is ver~ inaccurate 1 in coptr~st to thilt of

REVIEW AHTICLE 299
lines one and four, which is on the whole satisfactory.
The
stanza, as now found on the stone, does not give a coherent
meaning. The Sanskrit of the prose passage is even more barbarous
than that of the second and third padas of the verse. Neither
the verse nor prose passage states the purpose for which the record
was set up. This unsatisfactory state of the inscription, we are
told, is due to the reason that we do not now have, on the stone,
the record as it was originally set up. A wilful attempt was, made
to erase the inscription, it is said, by none other than Candrabhanu
himself. After the failure of his second expedition to Ceylon, he
returned to Sri Vijaya through Tambralinga. He was bitter
against the Sinhalese for having invited Sundara Pandya to take
the field against him. He therefore ordered to destroy all documents
which referred to his connection with tbe Ceylon royal house,
and this record was one of them. After the record bad been
almost totally erased, the abbot of the monastery intervened
and begged him to stop the vandalism. But the damage bad
already been done. Subsequently, the inscription has been engraved
on the stone again, but the text was prepared by a person
who had a very meagre knowledge of Sanskrit, and no clear idea
of the contents of the original record.
"A copy of the original inscription had fortunately been
preserved among the archives of Sri Vijaya, and a copy of this
came to the hands of Parakramabahu. He had this copy indited
on a number of stones, together with the inscription as it was
found in his time and the information briefly summarised above.
The original text of the stanza, as recorded on a slab at Apuradhapura,
(Ep. Zey. Vol. I, Plate 10), is (translated) as follows:
Line by line translation by Dr. Sbekar of Version B.
(Tbe first and fourth lines of this version are the same as in Versions
A and C.)
2. Son of King Magha, vanquisher of the brave, who was titled
Candrabhanu

300 REVIEW ARTICLE
3. He reached his own regions and (was) in Patalipura; be also
(arrived) on the bridge of the route.
Paranavitana's story of Chandrabanu being the son of Magba is
plausible in view of the unsatisfactory inscription, but it cannot be
accepted unless the date is moved from 1230 to I 250 or even 1260. The
only evidence of Magha being the father of Chandrabanu is based on the
Tambralinga inscription which Chandrabanu himself is supposed to
have tried to erase. The stele is now kept in Bangkok, and there is no
sign whatever of any vandalism. Of course it might have been repolished
and new writing in very bad Sanskrit put on. Then again, if Chandrabanu
was the Second King of Nakorn, why should he also be called Lord of
Tambralinga? This would seem to support Paranavitana's story, namely
the inscription was first put up when the author was Chandrabanu, then
it was erased and rewritten when Cbandrabanu III had become Sri
Dbarrnasoka. But the date will not fit. The first part of the inscription
is very clear, the second part is weather worn, while the third part is
illegible. The date appears in the clear part. I wondered if the
epigraphists could have made a miscalculation in arriving at 1230 as the
date of the inscription, and asked Dr. Prasert na Nakorn, a mathematician,
to check. Dr. Prasert confirms that 1230 is correst. So we can
come to a few conclusions.
1. Irrespective of whether the inscription is as it was originally
set up, or it was rewritten with the old date retained, Magha could not
have been the father of the author (Cbandrabanu III.)
2. Magha might have been the father of Cbandrabanu IV who
invaded Ceylon in 1247 and 1260, but as in the hierarchy of Sri Vijaya,
Chandrabanu was a higher ranking prince than Magha, the chances are
that he was not.
3. The Maharajas in the story were probably Suryanarayana II
and his son Jayagopa, the last recorded Maharaja of Sri Vijaya.
In the story that follows the dates given in the Sinhalese chronicles
are conflicting, but the story fits into a clear pattern. As it is necessary
to have one or two dates as anchors to hold the evidence together, the
dates in the inscriptions are to be preferred to those in the Ceylonese

HEVIEW ARTJC:LE 301
chronicles. These are 1230, the date of Chandrabanu's Tambralinga
inscription of Nakorn Sri Thammaraj, and 1264, the date of Vira
Pandya's Kudumiyamalai inscription of South India. The dates in the
chronicles should be adjusted to these two inscriptions, but this is
something I will leave to future students. Meanwhile we return to 1236,
when the Dambadeniya period in Ceylonese history started,
19. PARAKRAMABAHU II OF DAMBADENIYA
When Magba was driven from the throne of Polonaruva in 1236,
Parakramubahu II, son of Vijayabaha III, the first king of Dambadeniya
on the west coast, became king. In 1258 he was afflicted by an incurable
disease and control of state affairs was entrusted to a minister. In
1262, the king's eldest son, the future Vijayabahu IV, was made virtual
ruler. Another prince, Virabahu, who was a son of the king's sister,
Svarnnamanikya, also had an important part to play in the story.
1247 A.D. Chandrabanu's first invasion of Ceylon: According to
the Culawamsa, as translated by Geiger and quoted on page 74 of Paranavitana's
book:
"When the eleventh year of the reign of this king bad
arrived, a king of the Javaka known by the name of Candabhanu
landed with a terrible Javaka army under the treacherous pretext
that they were also followers of the Buddha. All these wicked
Javaka soldiers who invaded every landing place and who with
their poison arrows, like to terrible snakes, without ceasing
harassed the people whomever they caught sight of, laid waste,
raging in their fury, all Lanka. Just as flashes of lightning with
floods of water (visit) a place destroyed by lightning with flames
of fire, so Lanka, which had been harassed by Magha and others,
was ravaged anew by the Javakas. Then the king sent forth his
sister's son, the heroic prince Virabahu, with soldiers to fight the
Javakas. The fearful Rahu, namely Virabahu, with his terrible
appearance completely destroyed (the moonlight, namely) Candrabhanu
in tbe fields of heaven, namely in the battle. He placed
his heroic Sihala soldiers here and there and began to open fight
with the Javaka warriors. The good Sihala warriors, sure in aim,

302 IIEVIEW AHTICLE
the archers, shattered in pieces with their sharply pointed arrows,
in the battle the countless number of arrows whizzing against
them with their poison tips which were shot swiftly one after
the other by the Javaka soldiers from a machine. Going forth to
the combat like Rama, Prince Virabahu slew numbers of the
Javakas, as Rama (slew) the Rakkhasas. The Verama wind,
namely Virabahu, possessed of great vehemence, shattered again
and again the forest wilderness, namely the Javaka foes. After
thus putting to flight the Javakas in combat, he freed the whole
region of Lanka from the foe. . . Thereupon be returned and came
to the town Jamboddoni, he sought out Parakramababu, and be
was overjoyed."
1257 A.D. Thai Chronicles: Sri Intaratit became king of Sukhothai
(about 1800 B. E.)
He was the first of the Phra Ruang Dynasty, and
the local chronicles call him, in Pali, Rangaraja and Rocaraja.
following trans Ia tion from the Jinakanmalipakorn is from pages 77-8 of
Paranavitana's book. lt differs slightly from the other sources, but is
adequate for this study. Siridhammanagara in the text meant Nakorn
Sri Thammaraj, and Siridhammaraja was its king.
"Thereafter, when eighteen hundred years had elapsed from
the passing a way of the Buddha, in the year 618 of tbe Sakaraja
era, a certain Rocaraja reigned at Sukhodaya in Syamadesa in the
south-eastern part of Jambudipa ... One day Rocaraja, desirous of
seeing the great ocean, went, accompanied by an innumerable
multitude of warriors, down the course of the river Nan and reached
the city of Siridbammangara where King Siridhamma was reigning.
Having heard of the arrival of Rocaraja, King Siridhamma came
forward to meet him, and after treating him with due honour, told
Rocaraja of the wonderful account of the Sihala image as he had
heard it. Having listened to this account, Rocaraja asked, •will
it be possible for us to go there?' Siridhammaraja answered, 'Not
possible, because four powerful divinities, namely, Sumanadevaraja,
Ram a, Lakkhana, and Khattagama, protected the island of Lanka.'
Thereafter, the two kings sent a. joint envoy (to the Sihala
The

1\IWIE\\ AH'I'!CLE 303
monarch), and Rocaraja returned to the city of Sukhodaya. The
royal envoy went to the island of the Sihalas, and delivered his
message to the Sihala king who gave the image to the messenger
after having paid homage to it for seven nights and days.
"The royal messenger bringing the Sibala image returned in
a ship which, being caught in a storm, struck against a reef and
was wrecked. The Sihala image rested on a board which, after
three days, arrived at Siridbammanagara, through the power of the
Naga kings. The king of Siridhamma, having come to know of the
arrival of the Sibala image by means of a dream which the devas
sent him during the night, despatched boats in various directions.
Having boarded a vessel himself, he searched for the Sihala image
and by the indication of the king of the Devas, he came across the
plank on which the image rested, brought it into the city and paid
homage to it. Thereafter, Siridhammaraja sent a message to
Rocaraja announcing the arrival of the Sibala image. Having
beard it, Rocaraja came to Siridhammanagara and conveyed the
image to the city of Sukhodaya where be paid homage to it."
1255 A.D. According to the Ceylonese chronicle, the Pu}avaliya,
Magha was king for forty years (1215-55.) The Culawamsa gives him a
reign of twenty one years (to 1236).
1258 A.D. South Indian sources: King Jatavarman Sundara
Pandya subjugated Ceylon. "But," remarked Professor Sastri on page
94 of his History of Sri Vijaya, "of all this Culawamsa says nothing." In
this same year King Parakramabahu II became afflicted with an incurable
disease and his son Vijayabahu became virtual ruler.
Ab.out 1260 A.D. (between 1258 and 1262) Cbandrabanu's second
invasion of Ceylon: According to the Culawamsa (pp. 187 of Geiger's
translation):
"At that time the Lord of men Chandrabhanu, formerly
beaten after hard fighting, having collected from the countries of
the Pandyas and Colas and elsewhere many Damita soldiers,
representing a great force, landed with his Javaka army in Mabatitthfl.
After the Kin~ bad brou~ht ove).' to his sic,ie the Sihalas

304 HEVJEW AHTJCLE
dwelling in Pali, Kurunda and other districts, he marched to
Subbagiri. He set up there an armed camp and sent forth
messengers with the message: 'I shall take Tisihala; I shall not
leave it to thee. Yield up to me therefore together with the Tooth
Relic of the Sage, the Bowl Relic and the royal dominion. If thou
wilt not, then fight.' Thereupon Vijayabbu summoned the Ruler
Virabahu, took council with him, had a strong force equipped for
him and spoke: 'Hurrah, today both of us shall see the strength of
our arms.' Then the two set forth, surrounded the great army of
Chandrabhanu on all sides and fought a great battle, terrible as a
combat of Rama. Then were the hostile warriors subdued in battle
and weaponless the soldiers of the foe wandered around, prayed
and implored, tortured by fear, were benumbed, trembled, begged
for mercy in the fight, whined and grieved in the fight. In their
distress, certain of the foe fled to the forest, others to the sea,
others again to the mountains. After Vijayabahu had thus fought
and slain many soldiers, he sent the Lord of men Candrabhanu
flying defenceless. But the loveliest women of his court and all the
elephants and horses, the swords and many other weapons, the
entire treasure, the trumpets of victory, the umbrella of victory,
the drum of victory, the banner of victory- all these he sent to his
father."
1262 A.D. Consecration of Parakramabahu II: The king had been
on the throne of Dambadeni since 1236, but he had not been consecrated.
This he wanted done in Polonnaruva. So Vijayabahu and Virababu
rehabilitated the land, and the king was brought in state where a
coronation festival was held amidst great rejcioing. After thtlt Vijayabahu
escorted his father back to Dambadeniya, and on his return to
Polonnaruva brought back with him the Tooth Relic which was installed
in its ancient temple.
1264 A.D. South Indian sources: King Jatavarman Vira Pandya
invaded Ceylon in 1263, and in 1264 set up an inscription recording his
victory. The invasion was made on the appeal of a Ceylonese minister,
and after its success, a Javakaraja was set up on the throne of Ceylon
t4at had previously been held by his father.

HEVIEW AHTICLE 305
The following quotation is from page 135 of Professor Sastri's
History of Sri Vijaya. (Pandya Tamil on Candrabbanu.)
Summary: "Account of Ceylon expedition expedition opens
with an appeal from the Ceylonese minister to the Pandya, and the
defeat and death of one Ceylonese king and capture of his paraphernalia,
the setting up of the flag of victory on the Konamalai and
the Trikutagiri, and the subjugation of another king, and finally
comes reference to Savakanmaindan, his initial contumacy, later
submission, the rewards he received, the procession on an elephant
and his restoration to the kingdom of Ceylon once ruled by his
father."
The events recorded between 1255 and 1264 would appear to be
episodes in the same continuous story. Paranavitana accepted 1255 as
the year that Magha was driven from the throne, that is, he accepted
the evidence of the Pujavaliya rather than that of the Culawamsa. It
would appear that the Simhalese and Pandya combined to drive Magba
from Polannaruva, and when Chandrabanu invaded Ceylon for the
second time, he was defeated by the same combination. Both factions
claimed sole credit for the victories. According to the contemporary
Ceylonese chronicle, the Hatthavanagallaviharavamsa, Chandrabanu
apparently lost his life in this second invasion. Then Vira Pandya turned
on the Sinhalese and put Magha's son on the throne. According to
Paranavitana, Gandagopala was the Javaka prince (Magha's son) put on
the throne by Vira Pandya, who justified his action by stating in his
Kudumiyamalai inscription that "it is just that Ilam, ruled by the father,
should be obtained by the son."
But again, according to Paranavitana, this time from an interlinear
source, Magha, after his defeat, returned to Suvarnnapura (Chaiya) and
made· a full report to the Maharaja, who then realised that he was fighting
the Pandya at cross purposes. Pandya wanted political control of the
island, while Sri Vijaya wanted control of the ports to keep the trade
route between the Middle and Far East open. So peace was made,
whereby the kingdom of Anuradhapura was conceded to Sundara Pandya,
while Sri Vijaya retained the northern ports, which presumably included

306 HEVIEW AHTICLE
Trincomalee, one of the finest natural harbours in the world. The story
is told in Paranavitana's interlinear source (Princess Ulakudaya's
Wedding, University of Ceylon Review pp. 103-137, Peradeniya, October
1963). I will quote a short passage from page 120.
"It is said that Magha, who came from Suvarnnapura (Sri
Vijaya), enjoyed a long period of success, in which he was engaged
in works of religious merit. He was at last defeated by the
combined efforts of Parakramababu (the second, of Dambadeni)
and Sundara Pandya. Magba went to Suvarnnapura and gave the
tidings of these events to the Maharaja, who made peace with
Sundara Pandya by conceding to him the kingdom of Anuradbapura.
Magha, thereupon, returned to Ceylon, installed his son Gandagopala-dena
on the throne of Subbapattana (Jaffna), went back to
Suvarnnapura and entered the monastic order. Gandagopala was
thus the first king of Jaffna. It is be who is referred to in the
Kudumiyamalai inscription of Vira Pandya as the Javaka's son"
This brought the Sri Vijaya story in Southeast Asia to an end.
Though Paranavitana still bas more evidence, this concerned only Ceylon.
Other sources show that the Peninsula and Sumatra had become
separated, and while the city states continued to send embassies to
China, which the Chinese recorded as coming from San-fo-tsi, control of
the Malacca Straits was no more.
To continue with the story in Ceylon, from the same interlinear
source (Princess Ulakudaya's Wedding), Paranavitana gives a list of the
Ja vaka kings of Jaffna: Gandagopala, son of Magha; Chandrabanu, son
of Gandagopala; Suryanarayana, Vijayabahu V and Parakramababu,
three sons of Chandrabanu, the fifth of the name to appear in the
records. Paranavitana equates this Chandrabanu with Marco Polo's
Sendeman: the dates fit, and certainly the sound of Sendeman ·is closer
to Chandrabanu than it is to Vijayababu, Parakramababu and Bhuvanaikabahu,
the other names in the story at that period.
About 1270 A.D. Death of King Parakramabahu II: Vijayababu
succeeded his father, but was soon assassinated by a general named
Mitta. His broth~r Bhuvanaikababu mana~ed to escape and Cfl!ll~ to

HEVIEW ART!CLI~ "307
the throne after Mitta had been killed. Bhuvanaika I reigned for twelve
years and after him there was an interregnum.
By this time the trade route bet ween the Middle East and Far East
had been cut, both at Ceylon and in the Peninsula. Bhuvanaikabahu I
made an attempt to open the Middle East-Ceylon section again, and the
History of Ceylo11, pp. 288-9, stated:
"He was interested in establishing trade relations with the
Arab power which controlled the sea lanes at that time; an embassy
despatched by him to the Sultan of Egypt was received at Cairo in
April, 1283. In his letters to the Egyptian court, Bhuvanaikababu
stated that the pearl-fishery was in his dominions and he possessed
numerous vessels . . . But nothing resulted from this mission, and
Bhuvanaikabahu died in or about 1284 in the twelfth year of his
reign ...
"The tradition among the Tamils of Jaffna speaks of a king
of tbe northern realm waging war with a Bbuvanaikabahu over the
pearl fishery, and gaining a decisive victory as a result of which
the northern potentate's authority extended over the whole Island.
The Pandya king intervened and the territories conquered were
restored to Parakramabahu, the successor of Bhuvanaikababu, the
Pandya guaranteeing the paying of tribute by the Sinhalese ruler to
the Jaffna king.'•
The pearl-fishery of Ceylon, compared to the enormous feast that
accrued from control of the trade route in the previous centuries, must
indeed have been small bone. Yet we have two kings (Bhuvanaikabahu
I and Chandrabanu V), or perhaps I might even say two dogs, fighting
over the bone, so to speak, until Kulasekhara, the Pandya king, who had
tlle controlling power over the Island at that time, stepped in and stopped
tbe quarrel.
Meanwhile the dreary and wearying history of Ceylon drags on
and on, with one king coming to the throne and being deposed almost
imt:ijediately. I will skip a century or so and come to the long reign of
Parakramabahu VI (1412-67). He was the first king of a unified island
since Nissamkamalla over two centuries earlier.

308 REVIEW ARTICLE
20. PARAKRAMABAHU VI OF KOTTE
The descent of Parakramabahu, based on Paranavitana's Princess
Ulakudya 's Wedding (University of Ceylon Review, 1963) is as follows.
I
Genealogical Table VIII
Chandrabanu V (son of Gandgopala)
Savulu Vijayabahu V
I
Parakramabahu V
Svarnnamanikya = Jayamala
···~-----·-1
. I
SagaraJasekbara
Parakramabahu
I
I
Pararaja sekhara
l
I I I
Dharmasoka Pararajasekhara Sagarajasekbara
I
I
I
Sundara Pandya
Sunetra Mahadevi Jayamala
I
Parakramabahu VI (Chandrababu VI)
All were of the Javaka race (Savulu, Kalinga), and a literary source
written early in Parakramabahu's reign, the Saddharmaratanakara, called
him by the title Chandrabanu. This means that at one time he was
second king of Nakorn Sri Tbammaraj, but at the time of the story be
was at Suvarnnapura (Chaiya.) This would indicate that he was not the
Maharaja, but who the Maharaja was is not indicated. At that late
period the Thai had become firmly entrenched in the Peninsula and
perhaps Parakramababu was their Governor-General. This would
explain the story that follows, namely why he left the Peninsula to
become Maharaja of Ceylon. He preferred to be the first king of a
small island rather than second king of a dead-end, as Chaiya must
surely have become in that late period.
Cheng-Tsu, also known as Yung-lo, the third Ming Emperor of
China, came to the throne in 1402. At that time the trade route between
the Middle and Far East had dried up. Thirty years before, according
to Professor Mjumdar in his Suvarnnadvipa, Vol. l, page 201, Sri Vijaya
had broken up into three parts.
I

HEVIEW ARTICLE 309
"By the year 1373, San-fo-tsi was divided into three states
and their rulers, named Tam-ma-sa-na-ho, Ma-na-ha-pau-lin-pang
and Seng-ka-liet-yu-lan sent envoys in 1373, 1374 and 1375 respectively."
In this period Nissamka Alakesvara, or Alakesvara Ill, or Alagakkonara
(A-lie-ku-nai-eul in Chinese) was the most powerful personage
in Ceylon. He was called Sri Lankadhisvara, the Lord of Sri Lanka,
and he died sometime between 1382 and 1392. I do not know how to
play the Chinese wordgame, in fact I do not even know what the rules
of the game are, whether one uses the Tang pronounciation, or the Ming,
or modern pronounciations of the Chinese names that crop up so blithely
in the English texts. For all that I venture to submit the following
identifications of the three names above:
Tam-ma-sa-na-ho = Dbarmasoka (Chaiya or Nakorn)
Ma-na-ha-pau-lin-pang =Something of Palembang
Seng-ka-liet-yu-lan = Nissamka Alakesvara (Rayigama)
If these suggestions are in any way plausible, than the three parts
that San-fo-tsi broke into were the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Ceylon.
This was not conducive to any very strong control of the trade route
through the Malacca straits.
So the Emperor Yung-lo decided to do something about it. First
an embassy under Yin Ching was sent to the Malay Peninsula in 1403.
Yin Ching arrived at Malacca, which at the time was trying to set itself
up as an independent state. The local chieftain, Paramesvara, took the
opportunity to ask for Chinese protection, which was given, and in a
very short period the Chinese built up Malacca into the most important
entrepot in Southeast Asia, taking the place of Kedah and Muara Takus,
the two control points of the Malacca Straits in the heyday of Sri Vijaya.
In short, the Straits was now controlled from one place, a place located
in the middle of the Straits instead of from the top and bottom as in
former times.
Then the Emperor had a fleet of sixty two vessels built which he
put under the command of Cheng Ho, a Muslim eunuch. Over a period
of thirty years, Cheng Ho, or rather the fleet, made seven expeditions

310 REVIEW ARTICLE
(some of which were without Cheng Ho) and got as far as Arabia.
Cheng Ho's perigrinations in Southeast Asia and Arabia need not be
recounted, and only his exploits in Ceylon mentioned.
On Cheng Ho's first trip between 1405 and 1407, he landed in
Ceylon. The local king, Vira Alakesvara, was hostile, so Cheng Ho
withdrew. On his second trip be again landed in 1411. The king was
even more hostile, so Cheng Ho broke into his palace, captured the king
and took him back to China. The Emperor ordered the Ceylonese
present at his court to choose the most worthy member of their tribe to
become king. The choice fell on Yeh-pa-nai-na, which Pranavitana
takes to be Apana meaning Prince. Cheng Ho again set sail and put the
prince on the throne as Pu-la-ko-ma-pa-su-la-cha (Parakramabahuraja or
Parakrarnabahu VI.). The year was 1414, which differs from the History
of Ceylon by a few years.
The whole story has been well recorded in both the Chinese and
Simhalese sources, but somehow the two do not fit as well as they might.
For instance, ·parakramabahu, to judge by his name, was of the line that
ruled at Gampala, while Vira Alakesvara was of the line that ruled at
Rayigama. The two factions were deadly enemies. Parakramabahu
would rather have been seen dead than show his face in Rayigama, or
rather, if be had shown his face in Rayigama, he would have been dead.
So be could not have been captured at the same time as Vira Alakesvara
and taken to China, as some have conjectured.
But once again Parana vitana, from his wondrous source of interlinear
writing (Princess Ulakudaya's Wedding, page 134), has supplied a
connecting story that cements the two sources so well that the whole
story becomes more logical than the two component parts on their own
viz. Cheng Ho picked up Parakramabahu from the Malay Peninsula,
took him to Ceylon and put him on the throne.
"Hail! The great king Parakramabahu, having been at
Suvarnnapura, was established in the sovereignty of Lanka by the
Emperor of China, and arrived in Ceylon together with the Imperial
Chinese convoy. He waged war with Parakramababu Adipada

REVIEW ARTICLE 311
(apa) and obtained the kingdom. Having remained for sometime
at Rayagramapura (Rayigama), he came to reside at Jayavardbanapura
(Kotte.)"
So the trade route, which had been the responsibility of Sri Vijaya
to keep open in past centuries, was again opened by the Chinese. Two
major ports were used instead of three or four as previously, and this
shortened the overall sailing time considerably. From the Middle East
the ships sailed to Kotte on the west coast ef Ceylon (instead of
rounding the island to a port on the northeast coast); from Kotte across
tbe Ten Degree Channel to Malacca inside the Straits (by-passing Kedah
on the west coast of the Peninsula); and from Malacca, rounding
Singapore, straight to China (by-passing Muara Takus and a port on
the east coast.) In one of Cheng Ho's trips, he left a port in China and
arrived in Ceylon in 97 days; while the return trip was even faster,
being accomplished in 92 days.
Historians have asked what were the practical results of Cheng
Ho's seven voyages? And the reply they give to their own question is
'absolutely none'. This is looking at eastern history with western
imperialist eyes even before the Europeans arrived in Asia. The
Chinese Emperor was not interested in overseas expansion. Nor was
be interested in showing the flag to some half naked rulers of Southeast
Asia. The Emperor was interested in trade, as many Chinese gentlemen
of today who become shop-keepers, who open noodle eateries, who take
in laundry, still are. The trade route was probably kept open till the
end of Parakramabahu VI's long reign; and perhaps for another half
century till the Portugese arrived in Ceylon in 1505, and at Malacca
in 1511.
Historians also take the view that the Arabs were the successors
of Sri Vijaya after its fall. There does not seem to be very much
evidence to support this. The carrying trade and controlling the ports
where dues are collected are two entirely different enterprises. There
is no evidence that the Arabs controlled any ports in Southeast Asia in
the way the Europeans did later. Ming pottery has been found scattered
Qv~r wige arQas 9f Southeast Asia, S\,lrely the Chinese could have

312 HEVIEW AHTICLE
carried this trade as well as the Arabs. And there is no reason to think
that the natives of Southeast Asia were not concerned in this trade
either, because we know from I-ching's evidence that the king of Sri
Vijaya had ships of his own in the 7th century.
There is also archaeological evidence to support Paranavitana's
story. At Chaiya and its environs, there are about a dozen large Buddha
images made of red sandstone (three at Wat Phra Dhatu, four beads at
Wat Champa and six images at Wat Pradu, at Kanjanadit, including the
main image which is said to have been taken from a wat by the Cbaiya
railway station.) Students are agreed that there was a local school of
art at Cbaiya in the early Ayudhia period, that is, after Ayudbia had
been founded (in 1350), but no explanation could be fouud for this school
because Chaiya was supposed to have dropped out of history since the
9th century. But now from Paranavitana•s story, we can say that
Parakramababu Vl or his immediate predecessors made these images.
This would give Chaiya, or Suvarnnapura, a history of 1700 years.
According to Paranavitana, Suvarnnapura was founded by a Mauriyan
prince named Sumitra, who went to Lanka in the suite of the Emperor
Asoka's daughter, the Theri Sanghamitta, when she took the sapling of
the bodhi tree under which the Buddha found Enlightenment to
Anuradhapura. The whole story bas to be tightened up a great deal, and
historians of Southeast Asia should start using a screw driver on it.
Epilogue
The story of Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka from Paranavitana's sources
that I have submitted started with the romance of King Mahinda IV
and Princess Sundari in the middle of the lOth century. It would be as
well to end with another romance five hundred years later. This story
is told in Princess Ulakudaya's Wedding.
Ceylon
Parakramabahu VI
I
Princess Candravati
(Ulakudaya)
Pandya
Sundara Pandya X
I
Sundara Pandya XI
Suvarnnapura
Sundara Pandya
I
Princess Sundari

REVIEW ARTICLE 313
To make the story easier to tell, I will call Sundara Pandya of
Suvarnnapura 'Sundara Sri Vijaya'.
In this period, about eighty years before the accession of Parakramabahu,
the Indian Vijayanagara Empire in the Deccan bad come into
being. In the words of Professor Sastri, in his History of South India,
page 253, that great empire, "by resisting the onslaughts of Islam,
championed the cause of Hindu civilization and culture in the South for
close upon three centuries and thus preserved the ancient tradition of
the country in its polity, its learning and its arts. The history of
Vijayanagara is the last glorious chapter in the history of independent
Hindu South India."
Within a few decades, Vijayanagara expanded southwards to
include the ancient Cola, Pandya and Cere kingdoms. Madbura, the
capital of Pandya, was conquered from a Muslim Sultan in 1371. This
brought Vijayanagara to the sea bordering Ceylon.
During the reigns of Parakramabahu VI of Ceylon (1415-67) and
Devaraya II of Vijayanagara ( 1.422-46), there are miscellaneous records
of Ceylon paying tribute to Vijayanagara. Meanwhile Parakramabahu
had wed Princess Svarnnamanikya, and in 1432 the union produced a
daughter, Princess Candravati or Ulakudaya.
When the princess was grown up, Sundara Pandya X is said to
have given support to the Emperor of Vijayanagara, and Parakramabahu's
counter-stroke was to arrange for the wedding between his
daughter and Sundara Pandya XI. But at that time the prince was on
a visit to Suvarnnapura, where be bad become engaged to Princess
Sundari, the daughter of Sundara Sri Vijaya. Parakramabahu sent a
message to Sundara Sri Vijaya to demand that Sundara Pandya XI be
sent back to his own country; and Sundara Pandya X also sent a message
to his son to break off the engagement. Both refused, so Parakramabahu,
accompanied by his daughter, set sail across ·the ocean. His suite
probably included a prince of Java named Purandara.
On arrival in the Peninsula a message was again sent to Sundara
Sfi. Vijaya 1
who a~ain refu&ec;l. Thereupon Parakn:unabahu waged war
Property of tne
Siam Society's Library
BANGKOK

314 REVIEW ARTICLE
with Sundara Sri Vijaya, who was defeated. In the peace terms dictated
to Sundara Sri Vijaya, the latter was to enter the monastic order at the
Abhayagiri Vihara at Anuradhapura.
Meantime, Sundara Pandya XI had seen Princess Candravati. He
fell in love with her at first sight; and Princess Sundari, having seen
Prince Purandara, fell in love with him at first sight too. So the old engagements
were mutually broken and new ones put in train. This is the sort of
story that Shakespeare might have thought up, except that he hadn't
been born at that time. King Parakramabahu then returned to Ceylon
with his daughter and her catch, and the wedding was celebrated at
Anuradhapura on Wednesday, April 10, 1448.
The above story is based mainly on Paranavitana's Princess
Ulakudaya's Wedding. In the source a Sanskrit verse, referring to the
romance of King Mahinda IV and Princess Sundari with which I started
this story, is repeated several times:
Sa Suvarnnaparam prapya Vijayasriyam arahat
Sundarim Srimarasutam samudhe svarnnamalaya.
(He arrived in Suvarnnapura and obtained for himself the Goddess
of Victory. He also wedded, by means of a golden necklace, Sundari,
the daughter of Srimara.)
At the wedding tbe pedigrees of the bride and groom were recited,
and the word Svasti is repeated as a sort of subdued chorus. Here is
Paranavitana's description of the scene (page 130).
"From the manner in which these pedigrees, tbe poem and
the word Svasti have been written on the slab from Bolana, one
can visualise the scene of the royal wedding. From a brief
historical account of the reign of Parakramabahu written on one of
the above mentioned slabs, we learn that the wedding of Candravati
took place in a pavilion specially constructed for the purpose
near the Bodhi tree (Bodbi-manda) at Anuradhapura. The decorations,
the pomp, the show of military might, music, etc, usual on
such occasions, must of course have been there. The dignitaries of
state, the relatives of the royal family, royalty from friendly states,
an

ltEVIEW Al\T!C:Lt
having taken their appointed seats, the parents of the bridegroom
having occupied their special seats, and the king and queen being
seated on their thrones, the prince and princess come to the dais
and stand holding each other's hands. Then the purobita comes
forward and, facing the assembly, recites the pedigrees, preceded
or followed by the announcement that Candravati stands holding
the hand of Sundara Pandya or vice versa. The sonorous Sanskrit
words and phrases with their alliterative repetitions, recited in the
stentorian voice of the purohita, would have exercised a magical
effect on the assembled multitude, who all the time were muttering
the word Svasti (May it be well). The attendant priests seated
on either side of the purohita would be chanting in a low
voice the Sanskrit poem referred to above, while the purohHa
recited the pedigrees.
At the close of the recital of the pedigrees,
the purohita announces the names of the bride and bridegrom, each
followed by the word Svasti. The whole of the audience would
have responded to the purohita by uttering Svasti, not in low tones
as before, but in a loud chorus. In the meantime, the attendant
priests who were chanting in a low voice the poem about Sundari
would have so timed it as to recite the two last verses which they
repeated several times. While the pavilion was reverberating with
the word Sundarim Srimara-sutam samudhe svarnnarnalaya, the
bridegroom, who bad all this time been standing motionless holding
the hand of the bride, would have been handed the necklace, which
be tied on the neck of the bride. And the prince and princess
would be acclaimed by peals of music and other manifestations of
rejoicing usual on such occasions."
I will quote one final paragraph from Paranavitana's source (page
136) though I doubt whether the story can stand up against the other
evidence of the period.
of this paper.
That evidence will be submitted in the next part
"By this victory, Parakramabahu became master of what was then
left of the once mighty empire. of Sri Vijaya. The son of the
king of Java, married to the daughter of the deposed Sundara
Pandya, was appointed to govern Sri Vijaya as a vassal of Para-

316 lmVIEW ARTICLE
kramabahu. In the year 1459, envoys sent by the ruler of Ceylon
arrived at the Chinese Court, and the name of their sovereign given
by them, has been rendered in Chinese characters as Ko-li-shenghsia-la-chi-li-pa-chiao-la-jo.
There was no other ruler in Ceylon
on this date but Parakramabahu, and the name thus rendered in
Chinese characters appears to have been Kalinga-Simhala-Sri­
Vijaya-raja. This title thus appears to have been assumed by
Parakramabahu after his conquest of Sri Vijaya, before the marriage
of his daughter."
21. PARANAVITANA'S SOURCES OF INTERLINEAR WRITING
Before leaving the story in Ceylon for the Peninsula, I will say
something about Paranavitana's new sources. In chronological order,
tlie books and papers he produced based on these sources are:
1. 1963: Princess Ulakudaya's Wedding, University of Ceylon
Review. Vol. XXI, pp. 103-37. Tells the story of the wedding of King
Parakramabahu VI's daughter, where the genealogies of the bride and
groom are given in Sanskrit and translated (see Section 20 above.)
2. 1964: Linguistic Studies in Ceylon and Sri Vijaya, TUCLS,
pp. 79-100.
3. 1965: Appendix to the Giritale stone-seat Inscription
Epigraphia Zeylanica Vol.V, Part 3, pp. 440-3.
4. 1966: Ceylon and Sri Vijaya, Artibus Asiae, Vol. 1, pp.
205-212, Switzerland. Recounts the Romance of King Mahinda IV and
Princess· Sundari (see section 13 above.) Here Dr. Paranavitana
translates his own Sanskrit text of Appendix I, which should be interesting
to compare with the translation made by Dr. Shekar.
5, 1966: Ceylon and Malaysia, Lake House, pp. 234, including
three Appendices in Sanskrit, plates. Subject of Part III of this article.
6. 1967: Newly Discovered Historical Documents Relating to
Ceylon, India and Southeast Asia, Buddhist Yearly, pp. 26-58, Buddhist
Centre Halle, Germany. Gist of the various sources. This paper was
prepared in 1964, but published much later.
7. 1967: Sinha/ayo, Lake House, pp. 61, reprinted 1970, Bird'seyeview
of Ceylonese history.

HEVIEW AH'I'IGLE 317
8. 1971: The Greeks and the Mauriyas, Lake House, pp. 188
including nearly 50 pp. Sanskrit texts, pia tes.
9. 197 2: The Story of Stgiri, Lake House, pp. 152 excluding pp.
127 Sanskrit texts, plates.
The list is not complete. There were some short papers printed in the
Mahabodhi, Calculta, one of which, the Designer of Barabudur, I have
used in Part II of this paper; there were also papers written in the
Sinhalese language which were read at learned institutions; and there
were papers tba t might be called 'preliminary skirmishing' when
Paranavitana introduced his new theories without saying that he had
'new sources' (Ceylon and Malaysia in Medieval Times, in the Journal of
the Ceylon Branch of the Roypl Asiatic Society (JCBRAS), Vol. Vll, pt. 1,
1960, pp. 1-43; and The Arya Kingdom in North Ceylon, JCBRAS, Vol.
VII, pt. 2 1961, pp. 174-224). The first drew a review by Professor
Nilakanta Sastri (Ceylon and Sri Vijaya, JCBRAS, Vol. VIII, Pt. 1, 1962,
pp, 125-140) to which Paranavitana made effective reply (Ceylon and
Malaysia: a Rejoinder to K.A. Nilakhanta Sastri, JC BRAS, Vol. VIII, pt,
2, 1963, pp. 330-337).
At that time, after retiring from the Archaeological Department
in 1956, be was at Peradeniya, University of Sri Lanka, where be was
Research Professor of Archaeology till he retired in 1965. While at
Peradeniya, Paranavitana edited Volume I of the University's History of
Ceylon (from earliest times to the arrival of the Portugese, in two
parts), of which he himself wrote more than half; with its by-product, a
Concise History of Ceylon, which was published in 1961. Also while at
Peradeniya, he deciphered his new sources. or 'documents' as be called
them, and when he returned to Colombo after his retirement, Lake
House became his publisher. They produced his last five books (the fifth
being Art of the Ancient Sinhalese in 1971 ), with the final book, Story of
Sigiri, being distributed posthumously. At the time of his death,
Paranavitana was working on another book for Lake House.
The following information bas been extracted from the books and
papers mentioned above. Apparently there were three major works: the
Suvarnnapurawamsa (the Chronicle of Suvarnnapura or Sri Vijaya), the

318 ltEVIEW ARTICLE
Rajawamsapustaka (the Book of Royal Dynasties), and the Parampar·
apustaka (the Book of Traditions.)
The Suvarnnapurawamsa was first completed in 300 A.D. when
King Mahasena was on the throne of Cey Ion. The chronicle was brought
up to date and enlarged in the 11th century by Maharaja Manabharana,
son of Maharaja Samara Vijayottunga (see Section 14). The original
was written in the Malay language of that time, but it was translated
into Sanskrit and several other languages.
The Rajavamsapustaka was started in the last year of King Mahasena
and finished in the reign of his successor, Sri Meghavarnna, by Maha
Buddbaraksitasthavira, a monk of the Abhayagiri Vihara Sect. The
work was written in the Simhalese language of that time, and there was
a Sanskrit version which also was said to have been written by the same
monk, Then in the twelfth century the great scholar, Buddbapriyasthavira,
wrote a number of historical essays based on the Rajavamsapustaka.
The monk was born at Suvarnnapura of a Simhalese farber
and a Malayan mother, and at one time was at Nagapattana in South
India, where he was Lord-abbot at Cudamanivarmavihara which the
Sailendra king Culamani had built early in the 11th century. From
Nagapattana, Buddbapriya came to Polonnaruva, where be presumably
died. The Rajawamsapustaka and the later chapter, Yavana-rajya-vrilanta,
were the main sources for The Greeks and the Mauriyas.
The third document, Paramparapustaka, was written in the reign
of Vikramabahu (1111-1132) by Bhadra-sthavira, who bad been the
disciple of Suvarnnapura-sthavira (he;d of the Sangha of Sri Vijaya).
According to Paranavitana (The Greeks and the Mauriyas, page 10):
"Bbadra-sthavira's approach to history is biographical He
bas selected a number of outstanding historical personages of
different times and climes, and narrated their life stories, referring
in the process to historical events with which they were connected.
Most of the heroes whose lives are narrated are from Ceylon,
India and the conutries in which Indian culture still prevails, or has
prevailed in the past, but famous personage's of Gt•eek, Persian and

HEVIF.W AH'l'ICLE 319
Roman history are the subjects of some chapters. Alexander the
Great, Julius Caesar and the Emperor Angustus have each been
given a chapter in the Paramparapustaka . ...
"The author of the Paramparapustaka was acquainted with
the Rajavamsapustaka and the redaction of the Suvarnnapura-vamsa,
but there are many instances in which the Paramparapustaka bas
given an account of a historical personage or event differing in
important details from those in the earlier works. The case of
Candragupta is a case in point ... On some stones have been
recorded a list of contents of the chapters of the Paramparapustaka ,·
from this it is seen that Bhadra's work was voluminous, and
consisted of over two hundred chapters."
Another author that might be mentioned is Buddhamitra of
Suvarnnapura. He came to Ceylon in the latter part of the reign of
King Parakramababu VI (1412-1467) and acted as adviser to that king.
In due course, he became ordained, not in the Abhayagiri Sect as were
the other writers mentioned, but in the Theravada Nikaya, and was
known as Ananda-sthavira. He was a great historian and archaeologist,
who researched in the old texts and wrote the Story of Sigiri. Lake
House's blurp about this book says:
"This book gives the results of researches into the history
which centred round Sigiri carried out by Buddhamitra (of Suvarnnapura),
a scholar of the fifteenth century, who unlike the 'scientific
historians' of present-day Ceylon, studied history in depth ... The
result of the researches of this great historian and archaeologist,
given in Sanskrit, were incised in tiny characters on a dozen or
more of earlier Sinhalese inscriptions on the order of that liberal
and enlightened monarch, Parakramabahu VI, who was a scion of
the Kalinga (Srivijaya) branch of the Sinhalese royal family."
The Mahavihara church of Ceylon, who considered themselves
orthodox, were wont to destroy the writings of the Abhayagiri Sect.
Even historical writing they destroyed, and the history that they themselves
wrote, the Mahawamsa and Culawamsa, was biased to the faction
they supported, . All tbt~ t]le l.(alin~a kin¥s, who supporteci tb~

320 UEVIEW ARTICLE
Abhayagiri Sect and were villians to the Mabavihara, knew, and some
of them, principally Magha and Parakramababu VI, had the story that
the Abhayagiri Sect wrote incised in minute characters on earlier
inscriptions. But not all the Abhayagiri writings were put on stone,
and Paranavitana says (page 12, The Greeks and the Mauriyas):
"The chapters of the Rajavamsa-pustaka, relating to the
Greek kingdoms, whether in the original Simbalese or in the
Sanskrit translation, have not been met with in any of the inscriptions
so far examined for the interlinear writings."
The story seems clear enough, namely that Paranavitana had
documents and inscriptions, and he deciphered the documents while be
was at Peradeniya. He said as much in a mimeographed paper dated
1964, a year before he retired.
Meanwhile Paranavitana produced his Ceylon and Malaysia in
1966, which drew a couple of critical reviews, both by historians from
Peradeniya. The arguments on both sides are too philological for me to
follow, but the gist of the argument is, one, Paranavitana and no one
else can read these interlinear writings, so they do not exist and
Paranavitana invented the whole thing himself; and, two, the main
location of Paranavitana's story was Kalinga, and there was no place
with such a name in Southeast Asia.
Kalinga was in India, where the
conservative historians have located all mentions of the name in the
Cu/awamsa. The second argument can now be brushed aside. The
name Kalinga has appeared in an inscription date 893 (the Panuvasnuvara
Pillar Inscription, see Section 12 above), and this Kalinga was
certainly in Southeast Asia. So from this date to the reign of Parakramabahu
VI in the 15th century, every mention of Kalinga in the
Culawamsa and Paranavitana's sources refers to Southeast Asia, ar more
specifically to the Malay Peninsula in most cases.
Also it is ridiculous
to say that Paranavitana invented the whole story, since be produced
out of his interlinear writing three different versions complete with
Sanskrit texts of the stories of Chandragupta in The Greeks and the
Mauriyas, and three of Dhatus~na in The Storr of Siqirf.

REVIE\\ ARTICLE 321
As for the visibility of the interlinear writing, the whole thing
reminds one of a bus journey in up-country Ceylon. The buses had
rails to which those standing can hold. Then some small boys got on.
They could not reach the rails, in fact some of them were so small that
they could not even see the rails. So all those small boys said was,
"There ain't no such thing as rails on this omnibus, pal."
Paranavitana's reply was to produce his The Greeks and the
Mauryas and The Story of Sigiri, when he flooded his critics with
hundreds of pages of Sanskrit text. But all the time, the professor had
his supporters, mainly epigraphists and, of course, my ubiquitous friend,
Mr. Alexander B. Griswold, who is mentioned in the Preface to
The Story of Sigiri as supplying 600 dollars worth of photographic
material to the Archaeological Department on Paranavitana's behalf;
as well as a good typewriter and a stock of paper to facilitate the work.
There were short, very favourable reviews, but the epigraphists kept
quiet. So the situation degenerated further. Paranavitana was the
greatest scholar Ceylon produced in recent years, with an international
reputation to boot, yet his integrity has now been questioned. When he
edits an orthodox inscription, i.e. a non-interlinear one, such as the
Panuvasnuvara Pillar Inscription mentioned above, where the name
Kalinga appears, or the Madirigiri Slab Inscription, where the name
Maharaja Samara Vijayottunga appears (see Section 14 above) the doctors
of methodology suspect that be either invented the whole inscription or
misread certain parts so as to find support for his new theories. This
sounds like desecration of a great scholar to me,
As it happened, while I was writing this paper for publication in
the Journal of the Siam Society in instalments, the Ford Foundation was
kind enough to give me a research grant which enabled me to travel in
South Siam and Malaya, and to spend a month in Ceylon and another
month in Java. While in Ceylon, Mr. H. Amarasinghe, Publishing
Manager of Lake House Investments Ltd., who published Paranavitana's
last few books, took me under his wing. He introduced me to Simbalese
scholars, both those who supported Paranavitana and those who were
against his t4

322 REVIEW ARTICLE
Dr. C.E. Godakumbura, who succeeded Dr. Paranavitana as
Archaeological Commissioner when the latter retired, but has now retired
himself, took me to the Library, the Museum and the Archaeological
Service in Colombo. I was shown some inscriptions, estampages and
photographs with interlinear writing. There is no doubt that there are
interlinear writing, even if nobody but Paranavitana could read them.
But the numerous texts that the professor produced could not possibly
have all been written on the stones, so in reply to one or two questions,
Dr. Godakumbura stated that Paranavitana definitely had documents
which he bad not divulged, probably at the linsistance of the man who
supplied them. They might have come into his hands illicitly. Dr.
Godakumbura then explained that when Paranavitana got stuck on a
passage, he would ask for estampages of that particular part and not of
the whole inscription, so that be could check passages in his reading.
There is confirmation of this from Peradeniya. While the professor was
at that Campus, be did not go prancing all over the island looking at
inscriptions, but worked quietly in his room. As it happened, before
leaving Peradeniya, the professor made public, or rather strongly hinted
at, the existance of decuments, but to get the full significance of his
remarks it is necessary to read carefully between the lines. I will give
just one example, from the last paragraph of a paper mimeographed in
1964 and subsequently published in 1967 (see above.)
"In the case of some (documents), the fact that they have
been recorded on stone is taken from statements made to that
effect, incised on stones other than those on which they have been
written. Of the documents of historical importance, too, only a
small fraction bas been fully deciphered, though that will be
enough, when properly edited, translated and annotated, to form
a large volume."
Professor Paranavitana died suddenly, with another book commissioned
by Lake House still unfinished. He had made a will leaving his
estate to the Public Trustee, who was to sell the property and set up a
fund to help needy scholars who were researching on the subjects be
was interested in. The only thing to do was to see the Public Trustee,
so an appointment was made, an~ w~ went. The .party consist~q of Mr,

REVIEW ARTICLE 323
Perera, Librarian of the Archaeological Department; the afore-mentioned
Mr. Amaraingbe of Lake House; Dr. Liyanagamage, a Senior Lecturer
in the History Department of the University of Sri Lanka Vidyalankara
Campus; and myself.
At the Public Trustee's office we were shown some palmleaf
manuscripts, but they were about Buddhist teachings and medicine. Then
we went to the professor's bouse where we found a great deal in
his own handwriting. If I understand the situation correctly, the last
chapter of the Paramparapustaka that Paranavitana used was 84; and
we found that his draft had got to chapter 88. We did not have much
time to do a thorough search, so we left, intending to go again. Unfortunately
I could not extend my stay in Ceylon and bad to leave before
another appointment with the Public Trustee could be made, so that is
all I know, but as the Public Trustee will in due course publish
Paranavitana's correspondence, as well as some other unpublished
material, we shall no doubt know more about these interlinear sources
than we do at present.
It is my guess that these documents were supplied from abroad
and not found in Ceylon itself, otherwise there would have been no need
for all this secrecy.
An example of an ancient document found recently
in a Western library might be cited. Mr. John Black,
Corresponding
Member of the Journal oftbe Siam Society, discovered some 'Marco Polo
Documents' in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., and be bad
the maps printed in one of the Volumes of JSS, 7th November 1965, w~th
the texts to follow. In the case of the documents under discussion, they
might have been obtained from some Western library in the same way,
perhaps illicitly or even surreptiously, so Paranavitana was asked not to
divulge his source.
This must have been mental torture to a scholar of
Paranavitana's calibre having to use some source which be could not
divulge.
lf my guess is correct, I wish whoever supplied the documents
would make them public as soon as possible.
That person should
understand that they could change a great deal of the histories of Ceylon,
South fndia and Southeast Asia.

324 llEVIEW ARTICLE
Two Ceylonese inscriptions recently published i~ 1973 (Epigraphia
Zeylanica Vol. VI, part 1), give two or three names that change the
histories of Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka. The inscriptions are No. 3
Panduvasnuvara Pillar Inscription of the Reign of Udaya II, dated 893,
pp. 12-20, which mentions a Sangha Radun, who was a princess of
Palambanpura Suvanvaraya (Palembang the Harbour of Gold) in the land
of Yavaju Kalingubimi (Javadvipa-Kalinga); and No. 8 Madirigiri Slab
Inscription of Mahinda VI, dated circa 1060, pp. 39-58, in which Maharaja
Samara was said to have driven away the Colas that remained spread
over the entire Island of Lanka. Both inscriptions were edited by
Paranavitana, but they were not from his interlinear sources. I have
already dealt with these inscriptions in Parts lii and IV of this paper,
but it would be as well to have a very short summary.
1. The history of Ceylon in this period, based mainly on the
chronicular Culawamsa, gives sole credit for driving out the Colas to
Vijayabahu I. This is contrary to the contemporary epigraphic evidence
cited above.
2. The theory of a Sri Vijaya Empire based on Palembang can no
longer hold water. If Palembang was Palambanpura, it could not have
bee1:1 Sri Vijaya at the same time. Sri Vijaya was Chaiya, where an
inscription with that name has been found.
3. The historians of Sri Lanka have considered that all mentions
of Kaiinga in their chronicles to have been located in India, but now
that there is epigraphic evidence that there was a Kalinga in Southeast
Asia

REVIEW AHTICLI' 325
Before the publication of these two inscriptions, there were some
highly controversial Indian and Chinese records, such as the inscriptions
of Kulottunga I of Cola, who appeared as Ti-hua-ka-lo in the Chinese
records; and he was said to have been high Chief of San-fo-tsi (Sri
Vijaya) as well as King of Chulien (Cola). This evidence will not fit
the two Ceylonese inscriptions and make sense unless Paranavitana's
sources are used as well. Without them, the histories of Sri Vijaya and
Sri Lanka have to be revised anyway; but with them, the two stories
can be integrated into a combined history of Sri Vijaya and Sri Lanka
in the same way the stories of Normandy France and Norman England
in the same period comprise one history. I donot know about historians
of Ceylon, because as far as I can see writing the histories of India and
Ceylon has now become a closed field of endevour for Western scholars;
but historians of Southeast Asia should certainly be grateful to the
memory of Professor Paranavitana for what be bas already contributed
towards a far, far better History of Sri Vijaya than what Professor Coedes
produced over fifty years ago.
There will be a Part V to this paper, but it will have to be delayed
somewhat. The story, from Chandrabanu's second invasion of Ceylon
in about 1260 to the arrival of the Portugese at Malacca in 1511, covers
two and a half centuries of the post-Sri Vijaya or pre-European period
in the history of the Peninsula and Sumatra.
M.C. Chaud Chirayu Rajani
Chiangmai University

THE LION PRINCE AND RELATED REMARKS ON
NORTHERN HISTORY
Manit Vallibhotama, tattwiin sitihanavatikumara, chapap sop gan, Commission
for the Publication of Historical Documents, Office of the Prime
Minister, Bangkok 2516
The present publication, together with other recent articles may
signal a renewal of interest in the historiography of northern Thailand, I
Although a number of important studies of particular texts have appeared
over the past half century, there has been no modern attempt to deal
critically with the many problems posed by these texts or to reconcile
their contradictions and write the history of the northern region.
Coedes' translation and study of the Jinakalamali bas probably
influenced more western students than any other work on northern
history, 2 but the Jinakiilama/i, even while covering some of the same
ground, disagrees with the Chiang Mai chronicle in certain important
respects. The latter is one of several northern works included in tbe
collection of Not ton, who translated them into French but neglected, as
Mus pointed out, to criticize his sources,3 Wyatt's edition of the Nan
chronicle bas made many students aware of the history of that province,
but bow many are aware that it contradicts at times the Chiang Mai
chronicle, or that there are two parts to the Nan chronicle which overlap
1) Donald K. Swearer, "Myth, Legend and History in the Northern Thai Chronicles,
''JSS LXH (1), Jan 19.74; Georges Condominas, "Notes sur l'histoire
lawa a propos d'un lieu-dit lua' (lawa) en pays karen' (Ampboe Chom Thong,
Changgwat Chiengmai)" and Srisak Vallibhotama, "um"lnt,flllJ'lttJ [The Region
of Hariphunchai)", both in Art and Archaealag.Y in Thailm~d. The Fine Arts
Department, Bangkok, 1974; A.B. Griswold and Prasert ~a Nagara, "Epigraphic
and Historical Studies No, 13, The Inscription of Wat Pra Yiin," JSS LXII
(t), Jan 1974. The last will be cited as EHS 13, and their other "Epigraphic
and Historical Studies" as EHS plus number.
2) G. Coedes, "Documents sur l'histoire politique et religieuse du Laos occidental",
Bulletin de l'Ecale Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, XXV (1-2), janvier-juin
1925, pp. 1-200. Cited as "Documents".
3) Camille Notton, Annates du Siam, 3 vols., Paris, 1926-19 32; Paul Mus, Compte•
rendu, Camille Notton, Annates du Siam, BEFEO 30, 1930, pp. 466 ff., seep.
467, n. 2.

ItEVlEW ARTICLI•. 327
and are in mutual disagreement ? 4 Increasing numbers of inscriptions
have been published, but in so far as they have been related to the
chronicular material it has been to force them into the framework of the
latter. s
In addition to the above, any study of northern Thai history must
also give close attention to the taf!!nan siizhanava{ikumara (TS), "The Story
of Prince Sinhanavati (the lion prince)", a chronicle of Chiang Saen, part
of which has been republished as the volume under consideration here
with a commentary and analysis by Manit Vallibhotama, whose interpretation
supplies an interesting contrast to recent results of studies in Thai
linguistics and northern history as well as puts into relief a number of
problems in the use of Soutbe~st Asian source material.
It is for the analysis and interpretation that the present volume is
of greatest interest, since the text itself has been published before in
part 61 of praMum batisavatar/Prachum Phongsawadan (PP), "Collected
Chronicles", which carried the story up to 1728 A.D.6 Manit while
admittedly taking his text from PP part 61, cut it off at the end of the
first part ending just before 638 A.D. (or 1108 A.D. as be interprets the
dates). In neither publication is there any indication of the nature,
location, or date of any manuscript with the exception of a vague
reference by Manit to another text consulted about an obscure point.'
A French translation of TS also appeared among Notton's collection
and is obviously from a different manuscript tradition. 8
It ends with a
4) David K. Wyatt, Editor, The Nan Chronicle, Translated by Prasoet Churatana
Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, Data Paper no. 59. The first
part of the Nan chronicle is called bans'Uvatar l

328 REVIEW All'I''JCLE
colophon just at the point where Manit cuts off his text, includes the
section for which Manit had to consult another manuscript, and also
contains a long chapter of Buddha prophecies which is missing from PP
and Manit, but which the logic of the story requires. 9 Not ton likewise
had little to say about his manuscripts beyond mention of two persons
who put their collections at his disposal, but it seems certain that be
worked directly from a manuscript which, according to its colophon, was
copied in cula era 1242 (1880 A.D.) at the jctavalJf}arama.l 0
Manit's text and analysis follow an introduction by Sukich
Nimmanahaeminda, President of the Commission, who, after noting the
contribution Manit bas made to the understanding of a number of eras
used for reckoning time in the northern texts and to the question of
Thai-Chinese relations in early times, states that it "should be a bandbook
for the study of history and antiquities••.ll Such would indeed
seem to have been Manit's intention. A large part of the material
consists of his discussion of problems in dating and historiography, and
gives emphasis to original and interesting points of view held it seems,
by a number of Thai scholars working within a traditional historiographic
framework. Since this book is presented by a prestigious official
body and since more and more students in western countries are making
use of Thai material in their research, it seems useful to bring this
discussion to a wider audience and examine the extent to which the
publication of TS fulfills the promise of being a historian's handbook.
First I shall summarize the content of the text very briefly in order
to bring out the points requiring further discussion.
The story begins with the reign of a Thai king, who is also a ho,
named devakala, ruling in "nagara daiydesa [Thai-country] which was
mo'ah rajagrh ' the capital" in the year 17 of the mahasakaraja, which
usually means saka era, equivalent to A.D. minus 78.12
9) Notton, ibid., pp. 148-168.
I 0) Notton, ibid., pp. XII, 202.
11) Manit, p. 'IJ,
12) Manit, p. 27. In order to avoid a surfeit of italicized forms proper names
will be so written only on their first occurrence unless they are in· quotations
9r the spellin~ and etrmolo~r are bein~ emphasi:~:ed.

HRVJEW AHTICLE 329
This king had 30 sons and 30 daughters. The eldest son was
bimbisara and the second was named sinhanava!ikumara because he had
the strength of a lion (r7ijasih). King Devakala divided his realm among
his children, making Bimbisara upar(ija and letting him reside with one
of his sisters in the capital, and sending the others out to establish
themselves in other regions.
Prince Sidhanavati and a sister with a large suite crossed over the
sara~bii river and headed southeast. After a 4-month journey they
reached a country not far from the kharanadi river, the country of
suv'arr'}agomgaf!Z. There was already a population of milakkayu under
their own king and Sinhanavati made his camp not too far away.
The local naga, bandhunagaraja, appeared as a brahman and invited
Sirihanavati to establish a city there. It was named mo'an nagabandhusinhanava!inagara
by combining the names of the naga and Siilhanavati.
The prince began to rule the area and brought all the miz'akkayu chiefs
under his protection, but 4 days march to the southwest was another city,
umohgselanagara, inhabited by kh'om, which refused to submit and had
to be conquered. By mahasakaraja 22 Siribanavati had subdued all of
Lanna Thai.t3
The story then becomes somewhat confused. Four earthquakes
occur, the last in the year 102. T'hen there is the beginning of a
prophecy explaining why the city was built at this place, but it is broken
off by a statement that bra~ya bandhanati had been ruling in mo'an
yonakanagara for 29 years and died at age 71 in the year 148, which was
the year the Buddha entered nirvana.
At this point Manit refers to another copy of the text which makes
the connection between Sinhanavati and the new ruler, his son. This is
also clear from Notton's version which, pp. 148-168, in a section entitled,
"Les temps bouddhiques", relates the life and activities of the Buddha,
including travels around northern Thailand and predictions about the
cities to be founded there.
l3) Manit, p. 32.

330
HEVIEW AHT!CL~;
King Bandhanati was followed by his son aju[ariija who married
padumavati, daughter of a rishi. The boundaries of his kingdom are
given as hnoh sae in the north, lavara{ha in the south at the mouth of the
maenaf[l ra~mili, in the east the mouth of the river mua at the border of
mo'aiz cu{ani, and in the west the river ga,i.l4
In the same year as Bandhanati's death, 148 of the ancient (poraiJ)
era, King afiitasatrii and maha kassapathera cut the era and established
the mahasakaraja anew. Now Ajatasatru, who was a historical king in
India, a son of Bimbisara and a contemporary of the Buddha, and Maha
Kassapa, who was one of the Buddha's disciples, are believed, in Southeast
Asian buddhist tradition, to have established the buddhist era (A.D.
+543/544) at the time of the Buddha's death.IS Thus the new
malzatakaraja of this text would seem to be the usual Buddhist era and
the old one a pre-Buddhist era also familiar to Southeast Asian tradition.
The foundation of the Buddhist era as recorded here is in the Ceylonese
tradition which makes the first year of the era the same "snake" year in
which the Buddha died. The Thai tradition begins B.E. in the following
horse year.I6
Then there follow stories of Maba Kassapa and mana kaccayanathera,
another of the Buddha's disciples, bringing relics of the Buddha
from Rajagrha to deposit at various places in northern Thailand. Maha
Kassapa's death is noted along with the tradition that his body remains
interred in a mountain, without putrefaction, until the coming of the
future Buddha, Maitreya."
14) Manit, pp. 37-38. hnun sae is believed to be in Yunnan, Lavarattba is Lopbburi
(old Lavo) ra~min is another name for the Ping river, cula11i is supposed to be
Tongking and the gan is the Salween. In my opinion only Lavo, ra~mtih and
gan (Kong) are certain, and the rest require more investigation. See references
in Notton.
15) In adition toTS, see references below, note 53.
16) Notton I, p. 170, n. 1; Piphat Sukhathit "kiin nap pi haen buddha sakariij",
Silpak~n 7 (1), pp. 48-58; prajum Wa caru'k vol. IV, p. 68; Shway Yoe, The
Burman, His Life and Notions, Norton. N.Y., 1963, p. 549,
17) Pr6sence du Bouddhisme, nos 153-157 of France-Asie, fev-juin 1959, p, 353,,
where the tradition is mentjone(l in slightly differ~nt form. Jier~aft~r Qit{lg
Presence,

REVIEW ARTICLE 331
King Ajutaraja is said to have died at the age of 120 after a reign
of 100 years, and was followed by a son, mahraynaraja, and a grandson,
jo'ah, in whose reigns more Buddha relics were brought to the area.
After this there is a list of 16 kings with monosyllabic Thai-type
names such as jin, ga1p, ko'n, fa{i, etc., who reign through a period of
312 years, from 183-495 of the new era, in which no events are recorded
except their occasional repairs to reliquaries. There seems to be no
doubt about the era, since it is frequently identified as that of the Buddha's
nirvana.
Then the scene shifts to the outside world with mention of bra~ya
du!(hagamini, ruling in Ceylon, and the fourth Buddhist council which was
held at that time in 495 of the new era. The synchronism shows some
confusion with respect to Ceylonese chronology, which places the writing
down of the scriptures and the council in question in the reign of
King Vattagamani over a half century later than Dutthagamani, although
the date given by TS, 495 (B.C. 48), is rather close, by one reckoning, to
the accepted date for these events.ts We are probably faced here with
a simple case of scribal confusion of names, as Manit also noted.19
Five years later, in the year 500 after the Buddha's nirvana, the
text says, "the religion of the nuns" bas died out and Buddhism bas
disappeared from all the great countries. It is only flourishing from
mo'an rjjjagrh down to mo'an yuan j(d1 saen.zo This seems to be a
reference to an ancient prediction concerning the admission of women to
the order.21 With the name yuonjah saen the chronicler is getting ahead
•of his story, for that name bas not yet been established and the country
is still known as Yonakanagara.
18) The authorities seem to differ over these dates. Wilhelm Geiger, Culture of
Ceylon in Medieval Times. p. 223, has Dutthagamani reigning 101-77 B.C., and
Vattagamani in 43 B.C. and from 29-17 B.C., while c.w. Nicholas and S.
Paranavitana, A Concise History of Ceylon, pp. 59, 71, place these reigns
respectively in 161-13 7 and 89-77 B.C. Note the variant spelling of .the royal
names in the Thai tradition.
19) Manit p. 60, ~ection 136.
20) Manit p. 61 .•
21) . .Presence; p. 65·8.

332 REVIEW ARTICLE
Then after seven more reigns with which no events are associated
we reach the date 622 after the Buddha's nirvana or as the text of PP part
61 bas it, "the Buddha's religion bad completed 622 years." 22
At that time tri cakkhu ("three eyes") of bhukam (Pagan) had
become brabya dharrma, and seeing that the religion was no longer
flourishing he cut the era which bad been established by Ajatasatru of
Rajagrha by 622 years and established a new era. Since 622 is precisely
the conversion factor necessary to transform the Buddhist era used in
Burma and Ceylon to !aka era, or mahalakaraja, as it is known in Thai
material, it would seem clear that this is the new era which has been
established. The identification is reaffirmed throughout several succeed·
ing reigns in which both the new era and tbe number of years since the
nirvana are mentioned. We need only note that the diff.erence is frequently
621, the Thai conversion factor, rather than 622.23 This would
seem to indicate that tbe BE dates were inserted after the text and .§aka
dates had been composed, a point to which I shall return later.
After this there are twelve more empty reigns which bring the
story up to 279 saka or 900 BE (AD 357}, at which time there is a long
story about war between Yonakanagara and the khom. The latter, who
lived to the southwest of Yonakanagara, had been tributary to the Thai
since the time of Sinhanavatikumara. Now, however, they conquered
their former overlords and all the Thai were forced to move to another
location and pay tribute to the Kbom. This situation lasted 19 years
until a Thai prince bra~makum(ua drove the Khom out and chased them
as far as the sea where they settled in a large plain in the territory of
indapa(hanagara, and the Thai moved back to Yonakanagara. Shortly
after this Brahmakumara founded another city, viaft jaiyaprakiira.24
22) PP6l,p.76.
2 3) See note 16, above.
24) Manit, pp. 7 3-85. In modern times, from at least the end of the 18th century,
khom has been used to mean the Khmer of Cambodia, although I have
previously called attention to •vidence that in earlier. times this was not so.
See Vickery, Review of Prachmn sila charu;k etc., JSS 60 (1), Jan 1972, pp.
397·410. Since TS has the KhOm finally settling at indapa~hanqgara, one of
the names of Angkor, it is certain that TS uses khum in the modern sense.

REVIEW ARTICLE "333
The next story is that of buddhagho~acary of sudharrmavati (Thaton)
011 the west bank of the mae gah (Salween) who, in the 949th year of the
buddhist religion, brought the 84,000 parts of the dharma from Ceylon
to sudharrmavati, haizfavati (Pegu), bhukam (Pagan) and on to mo'ah
yonaka where he also placed relics in various sanctuaries.2s
Then, after a couple of reign changes, there is the story of a king
of Sudharrmavati who invaded the recently established city of Jaiyaprakitra.
An astrologer told its king that the city was fated to disappear,
so, rather than be conquered, the king and the whole population evacuated
the city. This occurred in the year 366 of the new, presumably !aka
era, and when, l!ccording to PP part 61 and Notton, the Buddhist era
had reached 1000 [riu] years. However, BE 1000 should correspond to
.Saka 378. Manit ·has emended w"'u to vfu ("go beyond, elapse"), pro-
. tJ I , tl

334 REVIEW ARTICLE
Finding the city deserted the invading forces retreated, but even so
a flood prevented the Jaiyaprakara king and his people from returning
home. They continued moving eastward until they came to a favorable
spot and founded a new city which they called k'ii'!'baenbejr. "From
that time on the kings of the two sister cities [mo'an] lost touch with
each other and were far apart. From that time on our Thai kings were
divided into two [dynasties of] kings."27 The reference to sister cities
is to Yonaka and Jaiyaprakara, and the two distantly separated groups
of Thai are those of Yonaka and the new city of Kambaetibejr. It appears
that the intention of the chronicler may have been to identify the
new city of Kambaenbejr with the city of that name in central Thailand,
even though the direction of migration, "eastward", is wrong. Manit
accepts the identification, but notes that the story at this point is
"confused", and provides his own, more acceptable, migration route.28
The story then returns to Yonakanagara and after two reign
changes, in the year BE 1003 corresponding to an erroneous saka 467
(see below, p. 353), it is said that the people saw an albino carp
CJ.hl1fl~t~erut~nn) in the river. It was caught and eaten. Then the sun
became dark, a great noise like thunder was beard several times and the
city of vian yonakanagara hluoh disappeared leaving in its place a large
pond. All the people also disappeared except one old woman. She told
the story of what had happened to villagers from the surrounding area
who arrived the next day. These people feared attacks from 'other
cities so they chose a rich man from one of the villages as king, built a
new city, and named it vian pru'kfa.
After the death of the first king of the new city there is a list :of 15
more rulers containing nothing but names and dates, which brings the
chronology up to 559 of the, apparently, saka. era (A.D. 637, B.E.1180/l).
A summary paragraph then reviews "the story of mo'an yonakanagara
.altogether from the beginning [when] Prince sinhanavati came from
mo'anra,Jagrh hluon daiy desa and established mo'an na.gabandhustnhana­
!inagara [sic] right up to [the time ~ben] ·our Lord Bu'ddha ~ecame
27) Manit, p. 93, sections 26?.8,
28) Manit, p. 92, section 265.

REVIEW ARTICLE 335
enlightened and came to save [the people] there. Later on it changed
to mo'ah yonakanagara rajadhani jaiypur'i sri jan saen and then became
vi an pru' k~a which lasted 93 years"29
At this point Nott.on bas a colophon ending his text.30 Manit and
pp part 61 note that the first part of the story ends here, but while Manit
cuts off his text, PP part 61 continues without a break to the second part,
the first events of which are essential to an understanding of part I and
Manit's analysis.31
This second part of TS begins with a review of the changes in era
which have occurred within the time span of the first part of the story,
plus a few important dates from Buddhist history. They are as follows:
- The Buddha died in the year 420 of the ancient (porarJ} era.
- King Ajatasatru then cut the ancient era and established year 1
of the new era (Buddhist era) in a kat met year.
- In the year 99 of the new era, a ra~vay san year, the second
Buddhist council was held at Vesali.
- In the year 218 Asoka conquered jambiidvipa
- In the year 223 maha moggaliputrathera convoked the third
Buddhist council
-In the year 64 [sic], a po'k yi year, bra~ya tri cakkhu cut this era
and established the du!iya sakaraja (second era).
,..... In 560 of the dutiya era, 1182 years after the Buddha's nirvana,32
there is a story about the coming of a new king to Chiang Saen
and then a statement that the era established by tri cakkhu was
t;inished and a new one, !atiya sakaraja (third era) was begun in
a kcu gal year. 33
With the· exception of the ancient era and the clearly corrupt figure
for the year in which the du!iya ~akaraja was established, the order of
th~ eras is exactly like that of the first part and also corresponds to the
knqwn Btoddhist, saka ( du!iya), cui a (!a!iya} sequence. It thus indicates
with certainty that, in spite of the unexpected terminology, such was the
cb,ronological sequence intended by the person or persons who composed
TS. ,
29) lylanit, pp. 100-101.
30) Notton I, p. 20~.
31) PP6l,p.99.
32) PP.6l, p. 91.
~3) PP 6l,p. lOl,

336 HEV!EW AHTICLE
As for the ancient era the writer ofpart 2 must have had in mind
a tradition different from that of the compiler of part 1. This does not
need to cause any embarrassment in the analysis of the text. Several
traditions concerning "ancient" eras are known, and all such eras, jud·
ging by epigraphic evidence, are fictitious. In an earlier review in these
pages I called attention to a belief that an ancient era had been cut at a
date corresponding to A.D. 639 in order to establish the cula era. Bur~
mese tradition holds that the Buddha's grandfather, at a date corresponding
to B.C. 691 abolished a "Kawza" era which had been in use for over
8650 years, and the ancient era of TS part 1, which lasted 148 years
until the Buddha's nirvana, is known elsewhere in Thai tradition as the
aiijana, and in Burma as the "lnsana" era, after the name of the Buddha's
grandfather who is supposed to have established it34
The year 64 for the change from Buddhist to dutiya era is certainly
a textual corruption for the expected 621/622 and need not detain us.
As for the dates of Asoka's conq:uest and the Buddhist councils, it
should be noted that conversion to B.C. dates using the standard 543/544
will not give the dates accepted for these events in western literature due
to the Buddha's death in Southeast Asian tradition being placed 60-80
years earlier than calculated by modern historians. (see below. p. 346).
The cyclical years associated with these dates are also of interest.
The second part has B.E. beginning in a k'dt met instead of a mo'h met
year as in the first part (the snake year in which Southeast Asian tradition
places the Buddha's death was really mo'n sal), B.E. 99 is given as ra~vay
san, while the arithmetic of part 1, although not mentioning that year,
would make it ra~vay set. Ra~vay san is correct, but is not coherent
with kat met for B.E. 1. Besides, rahv~y san as B.E. 99 is in the Thai
tradition, although TS begins the er~ according to the Ceylonese. For
the beginning of the era of tri cakkhu part 2 has po'k yi, part 1 tau yi.
The former is correct, as is the kat gai ( kai) for the beginning of the cula
era. All of this is evidence that the cyclical years, especially in part 1, ·
were inserted haphazardly, probably after the text had been composed.
34) Vickery, "A Note on the Date of the Traibhtimikatha", JSS 62' (2); July 1974,
pp. 275-286; Notton I, p. 170, n.l; Shwa~ Yoe, p. 549.

REVIEW ARTICLE 337
The establishment of the cula era in part 2 is closely involved with
the narrative which is carried on from part 1. As the story goes, there
was at that time a great country (nagara) to the southeast with 1000
royal cities (rajadhani) in which the royal dynasties bad died out and
rulers could not be found. The most important were ii(avi (India) culaQi,
candapuri (Vientiane), kosambi (India and Shan States), hmisJivati (Pegu),
ka/ingar'aj (India), and s'd,ikafa (India). There was also a ruler named
anuruddha dharrmaraja in the Mon (:.m) cotntry who was greater than
all the others. In the whole of jambitdvipa there were 8400 large mo'ah.
lndra then asked Anuruddba to cut the era and establish a new
one. All kings were present for the occasion, but since the 1000 Thai­
Yuon mo'an bad no kings, they could send no representatives. Therefore
Jndra sent down from heaven 1000 devapu£ra to be born as kings, and
among them was laval)cunkaraja devapu{ra who came down to vian
pru'k~ii, jian saen. All the other of the 1000 mo'an received rulers at this
time except haribhunjaiy and sukhod'ay. In Chiang Saen itself a new city
was built and named vian heraiianagara no'n yah jian saen because,
according to the story, Lavahcankaraja descended from heaven on a
golden (herana) stairway.
The reign of Lavahcailkaraja is filled with stories of relics and
temples and folk etymologies on the names of localities in the Chiang
Saen area. He dies after a reign of 120 years. His son then reigns for
62 years and is given credit for establishing several Buddha relics. He
is followed by nine empty reigns which take the story up to a date
corresponding to A.D. 1023. Then after sevaral episodes of partly
supernatural folklore involving Chiang Saen and its neighbors we reach
the story of khun cu'o'n at a date around A.D. 1108.
Since Kbun Cu'o'n is an important folk hero for several northern
peoples it is well to take note of the story recorded here. It begins with
an invasion of Chiang Saen by vassal states of which the most important
were kosambi, kalingar'aj, savi:itthi (Sravasti), hah{avati, ayodhaya (Ayutthaya)
in order to obtain two beautiful girls who had been born there.
The ruler ofcandapuri and his elder brother bra by a kaev hluon (Vietnam?)
also invaded for the same purpose. Khun Cu'o'n defeated the invaders,
got both girls and the throne of Chiang Saen, and was given the title
bra~ya cu'o'h fa dharrrnikaraja in the year A.D. 1120,

338 RICVIEW ARTICLE
Later bra~y'a hlum fa kau biman of mo'aiz videharaj (India and
China) and his brother bra~ya cu(af!'i also started to attack to obtain the
girls, but when they beard of Cu'o'il.'s victories they gave up the attempt,
From that time on he received tribute (,~ff'l!J) from all the ho and kaev
in the east and north as well as from Kosambi, Kalingaraj, Hail.savati and
Ayodhaya.
After more than fifty years of rule Cu'o'n died in an elephant duel
with the ruler of an unidentified kingdom, maen ta tuk khuk fa (a yii'n,
"far to the east", and his kingdom was divided among his five sons in
the year 554 (A.D. 1192).35
No more events are mentioned for three generations until the reign
of Cu'o'd's great-grandson tav meiz, in the line ruling in Chiang Saen,
who was to be the father of King Mangrai.
Immediately the story is
again filled with folklore,' omens and predictions of which one example
should be noted.
This concerns the choice of name for lav men's son,
based on a combination of the names of the two parents and a hermit
who was predicting the child's future greatness. According to the story,
Mangrai's name was formed in the following way: The father's name,
(lav) men and the hermit's, padamahkar, supplied the first syllable, mah,
and then they "took the name of the mother, deb gal]l khay, daughter of
35) PP 61, p. 121. The names I have identified in parentheses are those which
are known for certain to have been in use at one time or another for the areas
concerned. The others have been localized by various writers, but it is not
clear to me whether such identifications were based on mere guesswork or
more solid evidence. In Notton, for example, Alavi is Chiang Rung (I, 156),
Culani is a part of Tongking (I, 1, 3,). Sai1kata is not mentioned by Notton
and I am suggesting that it derives from Saketa, one of the cities of classical
Buddhist India (see Hermann Olden berg, Buddha, Goldmanns Gelbe Taschenbucher,
pp. 96, 369). Since this name cannot be attached to any local place,
it is evidence that the whole group of Indian names in TS was taken from
Buddhist literature. maen ta tok, etc. is not clearly identified, and in one story
''Phraya Maen Ta Tok" is a person while "Khok Fa Phi Ta Yuen" is a country
with which he is at war (Notton I, 18 ff., III, 18, 28). Videha was known to
the Shans, at least, as a name for China (Sai Saimong Mangrai, The Shan States
and the British Occupation, Southeast Asia Pro~ram, Cornell University, Datil
Paper no. 57, P· IV, n. 2).

REVIEW ARTICLE
339
dav jian run kaev jay mo'an, and arranged [ray n~J it to fit".36 Thus
the name of the child was manray. This is obviously a folk etymology,
and a very tortuous one, devised to explain a name unlike the ordinary
run of northern Thai names and the origin of which had long been
forgotten.
With the appearance of Mangrai the story becomes very much like
that of the well-known Chiang Mai chronicles, but with the emphasis on
Chiang Saen, and we very soon reach a period for which the relationship
between the chronicle and true his tory is not much in doubt. I shall
leave it for the moment and return to the TS proper.
To most readers the story of TS part 1 and the beginning of part 2
would appear, I believe, as a fairly clear case of Indian and Buddhist
themes being taken over, mixed with local lore, placed in the geographical
setting of northern Thailand, and of interest mainly for the way in which
it was done. If there is any of the real history of northern Thailand to
be gleaned from the mixture, it can only be done when the foreign
elements have been identified.
Manit, however, prefers to see it as a work of straight Thai history
"concerning the period when the Thai people entered and became
important in the area of present Thailand".37 Nevertheless, be says, it
may appear confused if read superficially, due to lacunae and poor
arrangement in successive stages of copying. It is only when read
carefully and interpreted that the full meaning is clear, and his copious
notes are to show us what the true meaning is and to explain the
assumptions which his interpretation requires.
The most drastic of Manit's revisions of what seems to be the
superficial meaning of the text concerns the chronology. Instead of a
sequence of pre-Buddhist era, Buddhist era, saka era and finally, in part 2
which he didn't publish, cula era, Manit claims that the eras used in TS
are·:
- poralJ (ancient), or pa{hama (first) era, beginning from 413 B.E.
(130 B.C.), the era with which the text opens.
36) PP 61, p. 124.
37) Manit, p. 4.

340 REVIEW AH'J'JCLE
_ du!iya (second) era, which the text calls the era dating from the
Buddha's nirvana, and which in Manit's calculations would start
from 17 A.D.
- !a!iya (third) era, 622 years later, which Manit identifies with
the cula era. 38
Of course, since he omitted the second part of the text, he does not have
to account for the era which it explicitly identifies as tatiya or cula era.
In addition to this Manit goes into some detail regarding an era
which be calls the "original Thai" (hw l~lJ) era,39 and this is made
necessary by his views on the 10 and 12 year cycles which accompany
nearly all dates in the text, which are frequently wrong, and which he
attempts to rectify. For example the first date of the story, the year 17
of an era called maha .Sakaraja, is called a kat cai year. This is an error,
and Manit wished to emend it to kat mau. The only way to convey to
the reader an idea of the type of calculation involved and to justify the
further discussion which I shall pursue, is to translate Manit's passage
on this point.
"At that time it was the year 17 of the ma/la sakaraja. [The
expression] a kat cai year 17 of the maha sakaraja' is here the
ancient era equivalent to B.E. 430 (adding the figure 413). As for
kat cai year being equivalent to rat year, seventh of the decade,
this cyclical year here, so far as bas been investigated, ... is in
error by 3 years. It should be a hare year. If the cyclical year is
taken as a base, the year of the era at the beginning of the story
should be 14 which is equivalent to rat year, B.E. 427; Before
indicating whether the year of the era or the cyclical year should
be taken at the correct base, I should like to first discuss the year
in which the pora~z era started. [The words] 'it was year 17 of the
mahii sakaraja' or poralJ era mean that the time in which the era
bad been in use was 17 years and was equivalent to B.E. 430.
Thus, if we count back to find the year when it was first established,
that is maha sakaraja or poraf! era 1, it will be equivalent to B.E.
38) Manit,pp. n, ,, 12, 13.
39) Manit, pp. 8-11.

REVIEW ARTICLE 341
414, a pig year. Using the 10-year cycle [rrn] together with the era
as 'year 1' [ekasak] it will be thus: pig year, first of the decade,
poratf era 1. In the language of the northern Thai it would be
expressed as pora'! era 1, a kap kai year. When the porar} era bad
reached 17 years the 10-year cycle and the era would have completed
one full turn plus a remainder of 7. The remainder of 7 is
equal to sapra of the southern Thai or kat .of the northern Thai,
and corresponds to year of the bare {thau~ or mau) as well. Thus
it can be concluded that maha sakar'aja 17, kat cai year is really a
kat mau year, that is, hare year, 7th of the decade, [Buddhist] era
430". 40
If the foregoing appears very tortuous to uninitiated readers, let
me hasten to assure them that it is equally hard going for those in the
habit of working with Thai dating systems. As a matter of fact, and
for reasons which I shall set forth below, not only is kat cai incorrect for
the year in question, whether considered as pre-Buddhist poiaf) era or
equivalent to B.E. 430, but kat mau as well is both incorrect for the year
in question and, in addition, is an impossible combination. The true
cyclical combination for pre-Buddhist poraf} 17, had such a system been
in use at the time, would have been rahvay sana and the true cyclical date
of B.E. 430 was mo'h mau, which was indeed a bare (mau) year, as Manit
calculated, but kat mau is impossible, since in the way the system works
one of those terms, no matter what numerical year count is used, will
always accompany odd numbers and the other even.
Although most readers probably have some familiarity with these
cycles, an understanding of which is essential to the treatment of
Manit's analysis, the descripitons I h,ave seen often leave important
points in obscurity.
The so-called northern .cycle consists of two series, one of 10 and
the other of 12 terms, such as, for ex;ample, the numbers 1-10 and the
letters A-L, combined in the manner t~A, 2-B and so forth up to 10-J,
after which the first series starts again, 1-K, 2-L, 3-A, etc. The result
40) Manit, p. 16.

342 REVIEW ARTICLE
is 60 combinations which repeat over and over plus 60 other combinations
which never occur, that is half of the series of 12 always occur
with odd terms of the 10 series and the other half with even.
In addition to northern Thailand and Laos, this cycle is also known
in Vietnam and China where it is found in very early documents and
almost certainly originated. On this point we must be clear-it is not
that China, Vietnam and Thailand have similar cycles, but a single
cycle bas been used in local chronologies in all three countries. Some
of the Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai terms seem clearly related,
although others are not, and entries in the Chinese histories show that
years in China had the same cyclical designation as they have in the
system presently found in northern Thailand.
In the paragraph quoted above Manit referred to corresponding
southern and northern cycles and seemed to have in mind an idea which
often finds expression in the literature, but which leads to unnecessary
confusion-that there is a difference of 5 between the numerical value of
the 10 series in northern and southern (Ayutthaya-Bangkok) Thailand.
In fact, the southern Thai never used the cycle in question, but combined
a Mon-Kbmer series of 12 animal names with a 10 series of Pali numerical
terms, eka§ak, dosak etc., corresponding to the digit figure of the
dates both in the saka and cula eras which, judging by extant documents,
were the only precise year dating systems in regular use in all of Thailand
as well as in Cambodia before modern times.
In China, where the so-called northern cycle came into being, there
was no long-term era, historical events being dated by reign periods, and
the 60-year cycle was the only permanent system known. Traditionally
the 10-series began with chia (Viet gidp, Thai kap), but when, at an
undetermined time, the Chinese 10/12 cycle began to be combined in
Thailand with the cula or saka eras, kap years, which were such by virtue
of the cycle which had been repeating itself for hundreds, if not thousands,
of years, coincided with cula and saka dates ending in 6. Thus the term
which in northern Thailand was felt to be inherently first of its series
actually fell on numerical dates of the saka and cula eras which ended
in 6.

HEVIEW ARTlCLE 343
Therefore when dealing with this cycle in the Thai context one
may ignore statements about the "northern cycle being behind the southern
by 5 years", or "kap representing first of the decade in the north,
but sixth of the decade in the south". 4 1 Kap and the other terms of
this cycle were never used in the south, there is no northern era with
digit l corresponding to kap, and with respect to the cula and saka eras
kap always coincides with digit 6.
This cycle might occasionally be found in use with Buddhist era
dates in relatively late documents, and depending on whether the B.E.
date in question corresponded to cula plus 1181 or 1182 kap, for example,
would fall on dates ending in digit 7 or 8. I cannot cite any examples
using the northern 10-year cycle, but such use of the southern 10-year
cycle, ekasak, dosak, etc., is well attested. Thus, in inscription 97 we find,
"cock year, ninth of the decade, Buddhist era 2260 ...", in inscription
98, "era 2057 ... dog year, 6th of the decade", and in a 19th-century
document, "snake year, first of the decade, B. E. 2412.4 2
In TS this cycle is much in evidence and is found with nearly every ·
mention of a year, no matter in what era. Manit, who devoted considerable
attention to this cyclical system, recognized at one point the
unity of the northern Thai and Chinese cycles,43 which should have
caused him to realize that some of his reconstructions were impossible,
but, following other Thai scholars, he erected on this basis a mythical
"original Thai" era established in the 27th century B.C. by the legendary
"Sino-Thai" emperor Huang-Ti and which he apparently believes to
have included a continuous year count as well as the 60-year cycle. 44
Now as far as the earlier use, and probable origin, of the cycle in
China is concerned, there is rather precise information available. That
it is as old as the period ascribed to Huang-Ti seems certain. The
.characters for the cyclical terms "are among the commonest on the
41) Manit, p. 7.
42) prajum ilila caru'k Ilf, pp. 70-71, 79; and Natthaw~t Sutthisongkram, samtec
cau b1·a~lya param maha sri suriyavant, pp. 611-12,
43) Manit, p. 8
44) Manit, pp. ~-1 t

344 REVIEW AH'J'JCLE
oracle-bones of the mid-2nd millenium [B.C.]", but "they were used
strictly as a day-count" and did not come into use for the years as well,
"until the end of the Former Han in the ... 1st century".4s
Thus there
was no continuous era in early China corresponding to what Manit wished
to call the "original Thai era". Moreover, such an era never developed.
"Under Wu Ti [141-87 B.C.] it became customary to count years by
arbitrary year periods (nien-hao) chosen largely for their magical potency
. . . .
The result bas been a chaotic method of counting years,
which bas made the Chinese all the more dependent on dynasties for
reckoning time". 46
As for the initial term of the cycle, there is a clear
statement in the History of the Former Han Dynasty, ["Wang Mang]
ordered that in the primary schools of the empire [the day] mou-tzu should
take the place of [the day] chia-tzu as the first day of the sixty-[day]
cycle .... [But] most of the people did not obey [this order]". 4 7
Thus
chia (Thai kap) had always been the traditional first term and even an
emperor was unable to push through such a drastic reform as changing
a cycle. It is also certain that when the cyclical terms were used for
years in China they had precisely the same relative chronological positions
as several centuries later in Thailand. Two 9th-century examples suffice.
The Veritable Record of the T'ang Emperor Shun-Tsung gives the years
corresponding to A.D. 805 and 806 the cyclical designations i-yu and
ping-hsu, which correspond exactly to tap /au and rahvay set, the correct
designations for these years in Thai usage.48 ·
45) Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, III, p. 396.
46) Edwin 0. Reischauer and John K. Fairbank, East Asia the GreatTradition, p.113.
4 7) by Pan Ku, Homer Dubs, translator, pp. 346-7
48) Translated with introduction and notes by Bernard S. Solomon, Harvard Uni~
versity Press 1955, pp. 2, 58. For comparison of Thai and Chin'ese cyclical
terms see Roger Billard, "Les Cycles Chronographiques Chino is dans les Inscriptions
Thaies"; BEFEO LI (2), 1963, pp. 403-413.
The correct reading of cyclical dates in the past may be easily determined
by extending backward the tables published by Cham Thongkhamwan
in thalaeizkar pralfvatisastr ekasar pora'!agati, pi di 4,lem 2, 3, Bangkok 2513.
Of course; au ~U9h c,latc;s before,: A.D., at least. are purely theoretical, ..

REVIEW ARTICLE 345
Close examination of the cyclical combinations of the text of TS
shows most of them to be in the realm of utter fantasy.
Thus, to first
take only the sequence of cyclical years without reference to the accuracy
of the numerical dates, the first three, kat cai, huoiz pau, tap sai for the
years 17, 18,22 form a coherent sequence even if wrong for the dates in
question, but tbe next one, mo'iz kai for year 67, does not. By accurate
arithmetic mo'iz kai would be 64 and 67 would be kat yi. 49
The next three
dates, po'k cai, mo'iz sai, tau set for the dates 68, 97, 102 are coherent with
respect to mo'n kai- 67, but then out of order with the earlier dates. so
Accurate addition from this point would place 148, the year of the
Buddha's nirvana, in a po'k san year, but if the following year, first of
the new era, is moiz met, as the text says, 148 should be rahvay saiza two
years earlier than po'k san. Year 2 of the new era, as ra~vay san, is
quite incoherent, since ra~vay precedes rather than follows mo'n and the
next date, kat sai- 82, is not only out of sequence with all that has gone
before, but is an impossible combination. Following this there are year
dates 151, 152, 183, 200, 216, 218, 276 the cyclical combinations for
which are all but one incoherent with each other and with what has gone
before. Only 183, kap set, followed by 200, luoiz mau, provide a correct
sequence. 5 I
It is only when the dates get up to the beginning of what is clearly
the cula era, or as TS calls it, the third era, that we find some coherency
in terms of cyclical usage as preserved in extant contemporary documents.
Thus the year 1 of the third era is kat gai, as it should be. In the
saka or second era this would be 561, which the chronicler well understood
since he wrote that the third era was established by cutting 560
years from the second era.
Let's again test some of the earlier dates by proceeding back from
the coherent one. 560 saka would then have been po'k set and 559 mo'il
lau. But the text has 559 po'k set. This shows that the cyclical terms
were probably inserted post facto and the chronicler forgot that "cutting
49) Manit, pp. 27, 30, 32, 34.
50) Manit, pp. 34-35.
51) Manit, pp. 48, 53, 54, 55, 56.

346 REVIEW ARTICLE
560" from the era meant that 561 corresponded to year 1 kat gai. The
next earlier date in the text is 550 rava.y cai which is entirely incoherent
no matter from where it is counted. 52
The foregoing seems to demonstrate that before the year 1 of the
cufa era the cyclical dates of the text were inserted carelessly and often
even capriciously after the text as a whole had been compiled, and cannot
possibly have been taken over from an ancient contemporary document.
They also reveal an author who was ignorant of the way in
which the cycle really worked.
As I noted, Manit also recognizes that the cyclical dates are full of
errors and he attempts to revise them according to his conception of the
eras which were actually in use and succeeded one another in northern
Thailand between one and two thousand years ago. Following the
mythical "original Thai" era in this sequence comes the Buddhist era
which, according to Southeast Asian theravada tradition, was established
immediately after the Buddha's death in a snake year, and Manit notes
the one-year difference between Ceylonese usage in which year 1 of B.E.
is the snake year of the Buddha's death, while in Thailand year 1 is the
following horse year, resulting in a situation in which, with respect to
A.D., a Buddhist date equals either A.D. + 543 or 544.
Now these dates for the Buddhist era, since they are valid for
nearly all the extant documents of Burma, Siam, Cambodia or Laos are
proper when discussing the Buddhist era as a cultural item within this
region, but when dealing with a story such as TS which involves India
and China as well, such Southeast Asian assumptions may not be taken
as absolute facts. First of all, in the opinion of historians of India, the
death of the Buddha did not occur in 543/4 RC., but rather in± 480, or
± 460, and even such an ardent Ceylonese nationalist asS. Paranavitana .
found himself forced to admit that although "the Buddha, according to
Ceylon tradition, was born in 623 B.C .... modern historians favour a
52) Manit, p. I 00.

date some sixty years later"s3
opinion outside Southeast Asia
than a provincial tradition.
REVIEW ATTJCLE 347
Thus. it seems that the best scholarly
views the 543/4 date as nothing more
Whatever the truth about the exact date of the Buddha's death, it
is certain that never did "the holy arhats and disciples led by Maha
Kassapa together with the princes, in particular King Ajatasatru, agree
to establish the era of the religion, or Buddhist era ... "54 soon after the
Buddha's death, nor was such an era in use in northern Thailand or
anywhere else in Southeast Asia at a time close to its hypothetical year 1.
Ample Indian epigraphical records, with a multiplicity of eras, show that
no Buddhist era existed there until the second millenium after the
nirvana, at least, Pali, Sanskrit, and early Chinese texts show a wide
variety of beiiefs about the date of the Buddha's death, and the earliest
mainland Southeast Asian record of the use of such a reckoning is the
so-called Myazedi inscription of B.E. 1628 (A.D. 1084).ss
The poriit.z (ancient) era is a different sort of problem. Although
the text states explicity, and its name also implies, that it should have
been the earliest, even preceding the Buddhist era, Manit wishes it to
begin later, in B.E. 413, although he does not relate its origin to any
specific event. The identity of detail in the text, however, leaves no
doubt that the compiler of TS intended it as the pre-Buddhist anjana era
which, although fictitious, was a part of Buddhist tradition in Burma as
well as Thailand, 56
53) C.W. Nicholas and S. Paranavitana, A Concise History of Ceylon, Colombo,
1961, p. 38. For other examples of this opinion see, Prtsence, pp. 219; Wm.
Theodore deBary, ed., Sources of Indian Tradition I, p. 90; R.C. Majumdar,
B.C. Raychaudhuri, Kalikinkar Dutt, An Advanced History of India, p. 56;
Paul Masson-Oursel, Helena de Willman-Grabowska, Philippe Stern Ancient
India and Indian Civili.zation, p. 153.
54) Manit, p. 1 I,
55) Sten Konow, "Notes on the Eras in Indian Inscriptions", India Antigua, pp.
193 ff.; Rhys Davids, Ancient Coins and Medals of Ceylon, International
Numismata Orientalia, London 1879, pp. 3 8, 43, 44; Epigraphia Birmanica Vol
I, Part I, Rangoon 1919; and see the discussion between J.F. Fleet and C.O.
Blagden in several articles, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1909-1912;
Edward J. Thomas, The Life of the Buddha, pp. xxi, 27, 27, n.l.
56) Notton, pp. 170, n.l. 204; Shway Yoe, p. 549.

348 REVIEW AR'f!CLE
Also fictitious is Manit's du£iya .Sakaraja, beginning at a date
corresponding to A.D. 17. It is only made necessary by the artificial
sequence into which he has fitted the eras, although it does coincide with
a local tradition.s7
Of course, in altering the meaning of the eras, Manit bad to find
explanations for the very explicit statements of TS concerning the
Buddhist era and such well known figures as Ajatasatru and Maha
Kassapa. His explanations are found in note 45, pp. 38-39, note 55,
pp. 43-45, and note 170, pp. 70-71.
In the first of these notes he declares that Ajatasatru and Maba
Kassapa of TS are not the persons of those names known from Buddhist
)ore, but rather local figures from northern Thailand. He identifies
Ajatasatru with King Ajutaraja, ignoring the logic of the narrative that
Kassapa first cut the era with Ajatasatru, then took relics to Yonaka
where he met Ajutaraja. Maha Kassapa himself, in note 55, has become
the Kassapa-Matanga who introduced Buddhism into China about 65
A.D.
As for the many explicit remarks about dates in "the Buddhist era",
or so many years "after the Buddha had entered nir'vana", Manit has
provided a long explanation in note 170, pp. 70-71, in order to circumvent
the difficulties.
He starts by saying that since the "Buddhist era" of the text does
not fit the known facts of B. E., it must be something else, even though
the reason it does not fit is because of his own arbitrary arrangement.
Then he reasons that:
- bra~ya b"tmdhanati and the Buddha of the text died in the same
year.
- The Buddhist religion then spread from "China down to the area
of yonaka", which is his interpretation of the statement in
paragraph 140 that the Buddhist religion "was only flourishing
from mo'ah rajagth down to mo'an yuan jiin saen".
- The religion of China at that time was Taoism.
- bra~y'a bandhanati must have been a strong supporter of Taoism
and considered as a sort of angel (brahmadeva) of Taoism.
57) See below concerning the era of bandhumatti.

REVIEW ARTICLE 349
- When Buddhism had spread in the yonaka area as much as
Taoism, the people must have started using the term "Buddha"
for bra~1ya bcmdhanati.
- Thus this so-called Buddhist era, which, according to Manit's
calculations would have begun in 17 A.D., and is not attested in
any other source, would have been a Taoist era established at
the death of a king of Chiang Saen.
In connection with this and with Manit's du!iya era it should be
noted that in at least one other version of northern history, Notton's
translation of the Chiang Mai Chronicle, there occurs a bandhumatti era
in conjunction with a date equivalent to A.D. 17.
Thus in Notton III,
p. 11, it says, "En 560 de cet tee re [Buddhist era] B'iindhumattidhammikaraja
de Lanka supprima cette ere 560 et en fonda une nouvelle ...."
There,
however, the poraJ! and Buddhist eras are accepted as I have presented
them above and the era following Bandhumatti's and established in its
622nd year, equivalent to A.D. 639, is the normal cula era. We thus find
some of the same elements of Manit's revision arranged in a different way
and dating from the 19th century or earlier. In fact, this older revision
is better than Manit's for it involves no arbitrary historical assumptions.
Just as in Manit's case, though, enough is known about early South Asian
time reckoning to be certain that the Bandhumatti era of 17 A.D. is
fictitious and the only problem is to discover how it got into the
chronicles.
My own conjecture is that at some stage in the descent of the
manuscripts from copy to copy the figures 622 and 560, the usual
conversion factors for, respectively, Buddhist to saka and saka to cui a eras
were simply transposed. The next step, possibly by a later scribe, was
then to invent a designation for the "new" era. In this system, though,
the saka era has disappeared and the two Pagan rulers, Tricakkhu, who
in TS founded the saka, and Anuruddha, who established the cula era,
have been fused into one, the latter.ss This arrangement might be
particularly easy for a scribe in the north where saka was never m
current use, and who therefore might have ignored its importance.
58) Notton,IJI, p. 12.

350 HEVIE\\ AHTICLE
Until more manuscripts are studied the history of this fiction can
only be conjectural. It also appears in the Nan chronicle, which in its
early part is almost exactly the same as that of Chiang Mai, and is
indeed presented as a history of Lanna, but here the date is 570 rather
than 560.59 Since the Nan version is later than Notton's original, it
may be merely another copy of the same tradition.
The Chiang Mai chronicle published by the Commission and
reviewed in these pages by David K. Wyatt60 has a serious lacuna just at
this place, On its page 3, in the Stb line from the bottom, the incoherent
" ~ .\ " " "' t

HEVJE\V ,\ H'I'ICLE 351
calculation, say B.C. 482, would give A.D. 78 for the new era. This
would then be the true saka era and we would have a relic of a time
before the present Southeast Asian Buddhist era was in use and B.E.
calculations were made with a figure closer to that accepted by
indologists. The relic is still preserved in Bandbanati of TS, who is
associated with eras called "mahasakaraj" even though they are clearly
something else.
As for Manit's arrangement, we can only say that it is an extremely
arbitrary construction made to fit a preconceived picture of northern
history.
Before moving from the subject of chronology there is one series of
dates into which, all consideration of historical truth aside, scribal errors
have slipped, the rectification of which is important to the investigation
of the original structure of the story. I apologize to the reader in advance
for leading him into and, hopefully, through the following maze, but the
chronological structure is important to the analysis of such texts and
examination of its detail cannot be avoided.
The dates in question begin on p. 89 with saka 349 given together
with B.E. 968, which is incorrect since 349+621/2=970/1. Then, in a
passage which is apparently contemporary, we find date 456, but on p.
91 the date is back to 366, equivalent, in Notton and PP'61, to B.E. 1000,
an error of one 12-year cycle ( 1000-622=378).63 After this, p. 94, the
saka dates jump again to 469 followed by 467, and on p. 98 are back to
376, 378, etc. Total confusion reigns.
In looking for the source of these errors and in trying to restore the
dates to their original pattern we must first of all take note that errors
and impc£sible arithmetic abound in the text. For example, on p. 72 a
certain king is said to have taken the throne in 259, reigned 17 years
and died in 259, and his successor who also succeeded to the throne in
259, is said to have been ruling for 2 years in 279, close to, but not
exactly what correct addition from 259 would have given. Again, on p.
77, a prince was born in 283, but 13 years later the date was 213.
However, approximately 3 years later the date, on p. 83, is 299, which
63) Notton I, p. 196; PP 61, p. 93; Manit p. 91, does not accept the interpretation
"1000", emending viu to v:'u.

352 REVIEW ARTlCLf~
is what the true date should have been. It would seem that errors were
made in one stage of copying and partially corrected in the next. Then,
following the section I wish to examine, in the last reign sequence of the
story, on p. 99, we have the following: khun lati took the throne in 386,
reigned 11 years and died [date 396]. 6 4 His successor khun jai1 then
reigned 7 years and died in 492, a date which cannot be logically
explained except as the result of a random scribal error in copying the
correct 402. The next king, khun Ian, reigned 9 years and died in 500,
showing correct addition of 9 to the erroneous 492, and this erroneous
series continues right on to the change of era from saka to cula.
With erroneous figures alternating with correct ones, one scribe
might perform addition from one base and another from a different one,
resulting in several layers of chronology and extreme confusion of the
type which I wish to analyze.
following the discussion.
For clarity refer to the table immediately
To return to the section which is of immediate interest, pp. 88-98,
we should note first that up to this point whenever two eras are mentioned
together they generally agree arithmetically.
The last date before the
confused part, in which the eras do not agree, is 344, the death of King
64) 3 86 + 11 = 396 is "traditional arithmetic" in which the specified period
includes the base year. Most, but not all, of the calculation in TS has been
done by this method. Traditional arithmetic has been recognized by scholars
(see, for example, A.B. Griswold, Towards a History of Sulihodl!ya Art, p. 38),
but I feel that there has not been sufficient awareness that addition of reign
periods in pre 20th-century chronicles is almost always by this procedure.
Thus, if King X took the throne in 1500 and died in 1505, the old-fashioned
chronicler would count 1500, 1501, 1502, 1503, 1504, 1505, and give him
a reign of 6 years. If his sources said that the succeeding King Y reigned 4
years, he would count 1505, 1506, 1507, 1508, and place the end of his
reign in 15 08, whereas today we would add 1505 + 4 and say he died in 1509.
In a long series switching from one method to the other when chronicles were
recopied has sometimes led to great confusion. One of the best examples
of traditional arithmetic as a system of calculation is the Cambodian Nong
chronicle published in Thai translation in PP, part 1, as BahsU.vatZir khamer.
There the long series of dates with the lengths of intervening periods stated
explicitly leave no doubt about the reality of this system.

REVIEW ARTICLE 353
b(in and succession of King dukkhitta. The latter then reigned 16 years,
which would place his death, by traditional arithmetic, in 359 instead of
the 349 which has already appeared suspect. Such an error, confusion
between the figures "4" and "5", is rather common in Thai manuscripts,
The date 359 would be equivalent to B.E. 980/l rather than the 968 of
the text. However, 344 itself is in error if we accept the 54 years given
for the reign of King Ban from the last date mentioned for him, 279.
Taking the reign lengths and adding them traditionally to 279 gives us
347 for Dukkhita's death, equivalent to B.E. 968, which explains the
occurrence of that date in the text. Or, alternatively 279+54+ 16 by
modern arithmetic gives the 349 which accompanies 968, showing
another possible reason for the former. Embedded in the text are two
layers of arithmetic, apparently created by the process I suggested above,
and I am proposing that at some time in the history of this text another
layer showed 344+ 16=359 for Dukkhita's death and that this series was
carried on to the date of the destruction of the city.
The date 359 again comes up logically in the following passage
which relates contemporary events in the sister city of Jaiyaprakara.
The text has 456 for the death of King Brabmaraja, aged 77, but if we
add 77 to his recorded birth date, 283, we get 359. The next king
reigned 7 years, bringing us up to 366, which is in fact the next recorded
date of the text, on p. 91. When we get back to the kings of Yonaka,
on p. 94, we have 469, for the death of mahavarnJa after a reign of 21
years. If we assume a simple error of 469 for 369, the addition is
correct from the given date of 349 for this king's accession. The trouble
comes with the associated Buddhist era dates, for the next king is said
to have reigned until467, or B.E. 1003, a manifest error whether figured
from 467 or 367. We can assume here the same type of error as in the
previous entry, writing 467 for 367. But still we have 367 following
369. This is probably due to an earlier scribal error, writing 367 for
376. There is in fact evidence for this. . The cyclical term kat
accompanies 469 < 369 and mo'n 467 < 367 < 376. There is a 7-year
difference between the two terms, so that if the first is associated with
469/369 the year with the second must be 476/376. In fact the associations
are wrong as I explain below.

354 REVIEW AHTICLE
Manit commented on some of these errors. Thus be corrected 469
to 369 and 467 to 376, and he saw that the difference of 8 years by
traditional calculation meant that Jayajana's age of 42 at the former
date would give 50, not 70, at the latter (Manit, p. 94, sections 270-
273).
The series 344+16=359 now has meaning. The reign of King
Mahavarrna would then be 359+21=379, and his successor, maha fayajanab,
would have reigned until " ... era ... Buddhist religion bad
completed ... years, King Maha Jayajanah had reigned 1 year ...", 65
that is, 380, or perhaps even 379 if strict traditional arithmetic is applied.
Now either 379 or 380, depending on the conversion factor used, produces
B.E. 1000 (379+622 or 380+621) which, as I shall indicate below, is
pettinent to the structure of the text. Since it comes forth naturally
from one layer of arithmetic I suggest that it actually belonged in an
older version of the story.
The following date, on p. 98, is, however, 376, which might seem
to go back to one of the erroneous layers uf calculation, since even after
all the corrections, the preceding date was 379. But this 379 had been
supplanted by a date, 467, which was doubly erroneous, resulting from
scribal errors 467

HE\'m\\ ARTICLE 355
7 years before the date which I corrected to 379, which gives added
weight to the correction and shows that there is probably still another
old layer of chronology connected with the cyclical terms.
The purpose of this chronological digression, I repeat, was to show
that the text at one time bad 1000 B.E. for the date of the disappearance
of Yonaka Nagara.66 The process of demonstrating this seems very
tortuous, it is true, but it was eventually possible, as in most such texts,
to show that apparently anomalous dates result from different layers of
chronology plus often predictable scribal errors. In TS there are many
different sets of calculations, apparently by different hands, showing that
TS as we !;ave it cannot possibly be a composition written down as a
whole and based on accurate earlier documents. It seems rather to have
been put together bit by bit by many hands who revised and tinkered
according to the way they thought the story "ought to have been". Below
is a table showing the layers of chronology I have identified and the
processes I explained above. Dates in brackets are those implied, but
not expressed, in the text.
Event
Ban on throne 279 j900 279
rcign 54 54
[332]
Ba11 died
Dukkhita
reign
Mahavarrqa
reign '
died
Jayajana
reign
layers of chronology
2 3 4
[332] 344
[332] 344
16 16 16 77
[347]968+-349 [359] (359] 456
349 (359] [359]
21 21 7
--
469 [369) [379] 366=#=1000
469 [369)
[7] 1
1003=7'=467 [376]
Event
283 Brah rnaku mar born
age
Brahmaraja died
Jayasiri
[379) 1000
-----------------· ·----------·· ------------
66) See below, pp. 363-64.

356 REVIEW ARTICLE
As for Manit's chronological revisions and proposed interpretations
of the text, it seems to me impossible to give them serious consideration.
When we include part 2 in the discussion we see without a doubt that
the chronicler intended his eras to be pre-Buddhist ancient, Buddhist,
saka, and cula in that order, arranged in accordance with traditions
well-established in Burma, at least, as well as Thailand. Even if the
chronicler intended that Ajatasatru and Maha Kassapa be considered
local rather than Indian figures, as may well have been the case, this
does not mean that we should conclude the existence of a second pair of
individuals repeating exactly parallel acts at different dates, but rather
that the chronicler displaced the locale of a traditional story.
The reasons for Manit's revisions are not bard to find and lie in
his decision about the identity of the first ruler mentioned, King Devakala
of the ho country (roughly Yunnan), and also king of Rajagrha in
daiydesa, and the decision was prompted by his view of Chinese history
which I shall now discuss.
His point of view is immediately clear in his own introductory section
which he begins by saying that one historical tradition holds the
original area of Thai settlement to have been in the Altai (fltMhw
aloedaiy) Mountains, thereby suggesting an etymology based on "Thai",
whence they migrated to the Huang Ho basin and on to their present
location, while another school says that the Thai are one branch of the
Malay race dwelling in the islands of Malaya and the islands of western
India. The most progressive groups of the race, the Thai and the Japanese,
then migrated, the latter to their present location while the Thai
migrated first to the Huang Ho and Yangtze basins and on southward.67
Manit says, however, that be will not go into this problem of ultimate
origins, since even the question of the entry of the Thai into their
present location is uncertain. He then cites the opinions of several
writers on the subject, such as Lacouperie, Cochrane, Holt Hallett, Taw
Sein Ko, and a Thai publication entitled, "Story of the Thai and Chinese"
~ i ...
(I 'lfl~ Vltnl\J), all of which put forth the view that in the distant past the
Thai bad occupied large parts of China-the Yangtze and Huang Ho
67) Manit, pp. 1-3.

HEVIEW AHTICLE 357
basins, or at least Szechuan and Hupei. Manit apparently accepts this
version, but not the opinion that the Thai only moved into their present
area in the "16th-18th centuries of the Buddhist era", that is 7-900 years
ago. According to him, the Thai occupied the river valleys of /aem don
the "golden peninsula", at least 2000 years ago, and TS is proof of it.6 8
He continues his argument with reference to Mr. Wolfram E.
Berbard's [sic] A History of China as a source for information that China
was only unified under Ch'in Shih Huang Ti in the 3rd century B.C. and
that earlier it bad consisted of various tribes (gotra), whom Manit assumes
to have been mostly non-Chinese. He then asks,

358 REVIE\\ ARTICLE
Later on in the reign of Han Wu Ti the ruler of T'ien came into
conflict with a ruler of the "Thai mo'aft" people who occupied the area
near Talifu to the west, and because of the support of Han Wu Ti the
Thai mo'an ruler, Jen Kuo, won and became ruler of both the eastern
and western districts. 72
Manit's conclusion is that "King khun mo'aiz or Jen Kuo and
devak(t/a [of TS] were active in the same area, at the same time, must
have been one and the same Thai king, and was the one who established
the pora~z or parhama [first] era also".73
This then is the reson for tinkering with the dates of TS, in order
to identify Devakala with a certain character of Chinese history. Since
it is already clear that the proposed revision of the eras is not acceptable,
the identification, whatever the worth of TS otherwise, is not valid.
Moreover, Manit's view of the Thai in Chinese history is probably
equally unacceptable. The idea that the Thai occupied large tracts of
China in the distant past was a creation of certain late 19th-century
European sinologists and explorers. Not long ago a modern sinologist,
F.W. Mote, refuted this contention in vigorous terms and I believe his
arguments are now accepted by all western scholars concerned with the
subject. For detail I refer the reader to his articles and repeat here only
his conclusion that, "We can safely rule out North and Central China"
as areas of early Thai settlement, and his judgement that earlier western
writers on the subject, among whom he cites Lacouperie, Davies, Cochrane,
72) Manit, p. 24. Traditional Chinese history makes Jen Kuo one of a line of In·
dian princes descending from Asoka (Joseph F. Rock, The Ancient Na-Khi
Kingdom of Southwest China, 2 volumes, Harvard Yenching Monograph Series
VIII. Cited as Na-Khi, pp, 7-8). What we should think of this, though, is
clear from further information about this tradition which held that not only
Jen-Kuo, but also the Tibetan, Chinese, Ceylonese, the people of Chiao-chih
(Hanoi region), and the Pai-i people whom Rock identifies as "Tai (Shan)"
were also descended from Asoka (Na-Khi I, p. 51, n.9.). At this writing I have
no access to the latest work on the area. Rock himself was not concerned
with the question of Thai in Southwest China, but the old tradition makes
Jen-Kuo and the Pai-i descend from different branches of the Asoka family
(Na-Khi I, p. 51, n. 9).
73) Manit, p. 25.

REVIEW AHT!CLE 359
and Dodd of the authorities used by Manit, based their opinions on "partial
knowledge of the facts, on somewhat misused evidence, and on far too
simple a view of the problem".
As for Thai in south and southwest
China, this region "is one of the world's most complex cultural zones",
and "It is quite unjustified to assume that all the Non-Chinese in the
area were Thai" (pace Manit, pp. 8, 20, 24, 25).74
ln addition to this the latest linguistic research indicates that the
dispersion of Thai-speaking peoples was from east to west, not north to
south and that if it is proper to speak of an original Thai homeland at
all it would have been in the northern Vietnam-southeastern China border
region with migration of the Thai peoples proceeding to the west or
southwest.7 5
Whatever the final decision on these points may be, the evidence is
all sinological and linguistic and must be dealt with by persons competent
in these fields, working directly with the sources and not simply
referring to the outworn views of 60 and more years ago.
It is regrettable
that a publication issued by a prestigious body such as the Commission
still relies on these old theories without at least noting the
newer evidence to the contrary and trying to face it.
Even if Manit's identification of Devakala, the ho king reigning in
daiyde~a is to be rejected, the opening of TS is intriguing and of intrinsic
interest to students of Thai historiography. Does TS supply an ancient
native Thai tradition, however inaccurate, of Thai descent from China,
74) F. W. Mote, "Problems of Thai Prehistory", Social Science Review 2 (2), Bangkok,
Oct 1964, pp. 100-1 09; and "Symposium on the Prehistory of the Thai
People", Social Science Review, Special Issue No.3, Bangkok, 1966, Quotations
are from pp. 10 2, 104 of "Problems".
75) This research has been so far confined to rather obscure publications and
deserves wider currency. See James R. Chamberlain, "The Origins of the
Southwestern Tai'', Bulletin des Amis du Royaume Lao, 7-8, 1972, pp. 223-244,
and further references therein which indicate in particular that this view has
the support of the well-known Thai specialist William J. Gedney.

360 REV!E\\ ARTICLE
something which western scholars have assumed not to exist? 76
does the story of Devakala and his descendents provide some true information
about an area which may have contained a Thai state, even if
identification with Jen Kuo or any other specific individual is impossible?
To answer these questions we must pay some attention to the story's
structure and examine the meaning and relationships of some of its motifs-something
which should be undertaken first of all in the study of
such texts, before seeking to relate them to events known from other
sources.
The first thing to look at is the Indian and Buddhist framework
into which much of the story is fitted.
Or,
Siil.hanavati, founder of Chiang
Saen, is younger brother of the famous king of Rajagrha, Bimbisara, a
contemporary of the Buddha, and the Chiang Saen area, where Sinhanavati
settles, is southeast of Rajagrha. Mithila, another Indian place
name, is located to the north. Another connection with Rajagrha is
made when, at the Buddha's death, King Ajatasatru and Maba Kassapa
gather up the relics and the latter transports them to Chiang Saen.
Still later, 500 years after the Buddha's death, the Buddhist faith is said
to have been flourishing only from Rajagrha down to Chiang Saen.
Thus Chiang Saen is established as a center with close connections to
the homeland of Buddhism from the very beginning of the religion, and
even the story of Sinbanavati and his brothers pairing off with sisters to
found new kingdoms is the same theme as the dispersion of the Sakyas
in Buddhist lore,76a
76) Mote, "Problems", p. 104, "No Thais of our grandfathers' generation had
heard of the Nan-Chao Kingdom , •. certainly none of them thought of it as a
Thai state", and p. 102, " ... the view, first advanced by those earlier Western
scholars, that the Thai peoples had undergone a First Migration from
North China into Central China ••. and a Second Mig.ration from Central
China into the Southwest , .. and then a great Third Migration • , , into modern
Thailand". Much earlier, E.H. Parker, in a report of 1892, noted that, "In
speaking four years ago to Siamese of high rank at Bangkok, I found that they
were totally ignorant of the history of the Shan Empire", by which Parker
meant Nan-Chao. Quoted in Sao Saimong Mangrai, op. cit., p. 250, n.l.
76)a. Thomas, op. cit., pp. 6-7.

REVlEW ARTICLE 361
In the second part of the story Chiang Saen is included with
c'ilndapuri (Vientiane) and ltan~avati (Pegu), as well as such Indian place
names as kosambi and kalingariij among the 1000 mo'an of the southeastern
part of Jambudvipa. Somewhat later Chiang Saen is attacked by
the rulers of kosambi, kalingaraj, siivatti and others, and was threatened
by the ruler of videha, to the north, who, however, has a title given by
the Shan to Chinese governors of Yunnan. 77
Now the fact of Southeast Asia borrowing Indian place names since
very early times is well known, and their presence generally leads to no
more confusion than the adoption of European place names in the United
States. Indeed, with respect to TS, Manit declares that Rajagrha is
simply a name given to Talifu, and that Mithila is another location in
China for which this particular name was chosen because its first
syllable resembled the Chinese name for a local tribe. 78 We also know
that certain of the Shan states, even in late historical times, were
embellished with classical Indian names. 79
Even if this explanation is reasonable, and I believe there is no
evidence that Mithila and Rajagrha were ever used by local inhabitants
for places in Yunnan, so it is too much to accept Manit's conviction that
in these Southeast Asian places with Indian names there were also rulers
with famous Indian names who accomplished exactly the same acts as
their eponyms.
We must admit, I think, that wherever the compiler of TS believed
these places to be located, for him Rajagrha, Mithila, King Bimbisara,
etc. were the originals, known from Indian history and Buddhist tradition.
Moreover, there is strong evidence that he believed them to have been,
not in geographical India, but rather in the Northern Thai-Burma-South
China area.
77) Sao Saimong Mangrai op. cit., p. 23; PP 61, 119.
78) Manit, p. 16,
79) Sao Saimong Mangrai, op. cit., pp. XXV-XXVI.
80) The evidence for this, I admit, is negative, that is, these names are absent
from such works as Sao Saimong Mangrai, who treats the classical names used
by the Shan, and Rock, Na-Khi, who quotes extensively from the traditional
histories concerned wiih Yunnan.

362 REVIEW ARTICLE
It is noteworthy that in TS Videha, Mithila, Kosamphi and Kalinga
are distributed with respect to Chiang Saen more or less as in relation to
the classical middle country of India, the first two to the north, the last
two to the southwest, and it would seem that several names may have
been borrowed as parts of a system.
All of these names came to Southeast Asia along with Buddhism
and the Indian literature associated with it, and in time the belief
gradually took root that the Buddha himself bad travelled to Southeast
Asia and bad predicted a glorious future for the places in which be
stopped. Popular belief bas even gone further on occasion and held
that the Buddha was born in Southeast Asia. 8t
Even in traditional scholarly works and official opinion the idea
that the classical middle country, where the Buddha had lived and
worked, extended into Southeast Asia found favor. For example, the
Burmese Glass Palace Chronicle says that Buddhaghosa took the Tripi taka
to the southeastern corner of the middle country, to Prome, Pagan, and
the Mon area, and Bayinnaung forbade his men to take prisoners in
Chiang Mai on the grounds that Buddhism had come to Burma from
there. 82
Two other Indian geographical terms making the journey to
Southeast Asia were kamboja and yonaka which in India had been on
the northwestern frontier. The former became an official designation
for part of the Burmese Shan states, while the latter, as we already know
from TS, was given to part of Northern Thailand. 83 Thus, whereas
Rajagrba, Videha, Mithila, Kosampbi and Kalinga are in TS placed in
their correct relative positions, Yonaka has been displaced and occupies
a position somewhat south or southeast of the middle country. I think
this can be explained systematically. In the old Indian tradition Yonaka
and Kamboja were far off, on the northwestern frontier.
In the Burmese
81) Subcontractor's Monograph HRAF-37, N.Y.U. 2, Burma, vol. I, New Haven,
1956, p. 247; Adolf Bastian, Reise durch Kambodja nach Cochinchina, Jena
1868, p. 66.
82) U Tet Htoot, "The Nature of the Burmese Chronicles", 1-Nstorians of South
East Asia, ed. D.G.E. Hall, London, 1961, p. 54.
83) Sao Saimon~ Man~rai, op. cit., p. 43,

REVIEW Al\TICLE 363
tradition, as for example recorded in the Sasanava1?7sa, 84 there is
distortion, but both are still on a distant border, even if in the northeast
rather than the northwest. The probable explanation for the TS pattern
is that the chronicler was brought up in the Burmese Buddhist tradition
and knew that his own country was Yonaka. He also desired to
incorporate local belief that it was an important Buddhist center and
had been founded by a member of the Magadban dynasty. The result
was a distorttion of the classical system through which Chiang Saen,
while still remaining Yonaka, was also close to the important middle
country.
We must acknowledge, I think, that TS, in its early part, was
intended as a story of the original Buddhist middle country, but the
chronicler believed that country to have been spread over Yunnan, the
Shan States and Northern Thailand.
One more aspect of the composition of TS seems also to be
attributable to an Indian origin. Chiang Saen, in the story, bas four
lives. That is, after its foundation by Sii:tbanavati it is destroyed or
deserted three times and rebuilt under new names, thus:
1. mo'an nagab'tmdhusinhanava£inagara, founded by Sinhanavati.
There are hints in a confused part of the text that it was
destroyed by earthquake and flood. In any case it appears,
veJy close to a change o~ era, from ancient to Buddhist, with a
new name,
2. mo'an yonakanagara jaiyapurirajadhani sri jian saen. Tbis city
was in turn destroyed by earthquake and flood at a date which
I have suggested should be 1000 B.E. The city was then
recreated as
3. vian pru'k~a. Then a new ruler sent down from heaven
established the cula era and renamed the city
4. vian herananagara ho'n yail jian saen.
84) Sasanava•:ua, Mabel Bode, ed., Pali Text Society, London, 1897, and in English,
Siisanavan;tsa, B.C. Law, translator, Sacred Books of the Buddhists, vol. 3 3,
London 1952. See the former, pp. 3-10, and the latter, pp. 1-18.

364 REVIEW Al\TICLE
The reader will note that the 1st and 3rd of the renewals coincided
with the establishment of new eras, while the 2nd was in B.E. 1000, a
type of date traditionally associated with important changes.ss In
another important Southeast Asian Buddhist work, Sasanavaf!!sa, the
latest of these eras, cula, is consistently called the Kali era, one of the 4
yuga of classical Indian cosmic time reckoning. Since one of the ideas
of the yuga system was that cities reappear with new identities in each
yuga (For example, Ujjain, in previous yuga was known as padmavati,
bhogavati, and hiranyavati), it would seem tbat this feature of TS was due
to an adaptation of the Indian yuga system to the history of Northern
Thailand.s6 The implication of this, of course, is that everything before
the last renewal of Chiang Saen, at least, is pure fiction.
We see now that nearly all of the structure and important details
of the early part ofTS are adaptations of international-Indian, Ceylonese,
Burmese-motifs which can have nothing to do with the history of
Northern Thailand. They were placed in the geographical framework
85) Dates at 500 and 1000-year intervals after the nirvana have been important
in prophecies concerning tb,e disappearance of Buddhism, See Presence, pp. 657-
662. For a belief in the importance of B.E. 1000 in Central Thailand see the
bahSavatar hiw'a/Phongsawadan No'a or the so-called British Museum Chronicle,
Bangkok, 1964, pp. 6-17, concerning Phra Ruong, who was believed to
have established a new era at that date. See also Sir John Bowring, The
Kingdom and People of Siam, Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints, 1969, I p. 36,
for an English translation of the same remarks. King Prasat Thong also
believed that 1000 of the cula era was a mystically important date. See the
various editions of the Royal Autograph, British Museum, or Bancandanumiis
chronicles under the year 1000. Of course, underlying the very term "millenarism"
is a conception of drastic changes occurring in thousand-year
. periods.
86) Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art aud Civilization, Bollingen
Series VI, N.Y. 1946, pp. 13-18; Sasanava~>,!sa, Law, ex:amples ofKali equiva·
lent to cula in introduction, p. ix, and p. 44; on Ujjain, see Kathasaritsagara,
The Ocean of Story, translated by C.H. Tawney, London 1922, vol. VII, p. 1.
It is interesting to note that hiranya·vati was established in the third
yuga and herana-nagara in the third (!a~iya) era. This suggests more .than ran·
dom borrowing by the compiler ofTS, although I have seen nQ material which
suggests why there should be a speqial connection between Ujjain and Chiang
Saen, ·

REVIEW ARTICLE 365
of Thailand, the Shan States and Yunnan and tied together with lists of
kings of whom only the bare names are recorded and who may safely be
presumed invented for that purpose. In fact, of the approximately 1920
years TS purports to cover from its beginning up to the lifetime of
Mangrai, at which point probably all scholars would agree that true
history is involved, about 1030 are covered by such empty lists.
With this much established we can examine a few more motifs
which, at first glance might appear to be more certainly local. Such a
one is the story of a hero-king, lavacankaraja, who came down from
heaven, founded a new city, and established the last, cula era. Stories
of hero-kings who founded various eras abound in Southeast Asian
literature. For example, the traditional central Thai belief was that
Phra Ruong had founded the cula era. The Chiang Mai and Nan
chronicles attribute it to Anuruddha, and although TS still preserves the
association with Anuruddha, the principal task is given to a local
ruler. 8 7
Since it is quite certain that the cula era came to Thailand from
Burma, any story of its founding by a Thai ruler is of course fictitious.
However, some might choose to argue that only the era-founding is
fictitious, the person of the king himself being real, or at least a·
"reflection" of something genuine in the country's history. In the case
of TS, however, this view does not hold up, for the king's name gives
away both his mythical quality and his origin. We may suppose
-cankaraja to be formed from sankaraja and the latter term is well-known
as a T4ai/Lao corruption of sakar'aja, 'lera", and thus this ruler is King
"era". Moreover, in one Burmese .tradition there is also a king sakaraja
who established the cula era and who is undoubtedly .the eponym of the
Thai personage.ss The latter merely bas lava prefixed to his name
making. him the King Era of the lava people, who may be interpreted as
either tbe-bua -or-the Lao;--- His golden·stairway"from heaven is of course
87) F. or Phra Ruopg see refere!lces in note 8 5 above, and for Anuruddha,. Notton
III, p. 12 and Nan Chronicle, PP, gttru sabha edition, vol. 9, p. 199.
88) The Glass Palace G!ll·onicl~: 1 ;e.dited by·TIA and Luce, London J 923, P· 52.

366 HEVIEW ARTICLE
a theme borrowed from the life of the Buddha, who descended from the
thirty-third heaven to the summit of Mt. Meru on a stairway of gold,
silver and crystat.ssa
Finally we may take up the problem of the opening sections of TS
beginning with the name Sinhanavati itself, deriving from sinha (also
siha), "lion". This is also an international motif, with associations
outside the Thai area. In Mon tradition sihariija came from India to
found Tbaton and died in the year of the Buddha's nirvana.s9 The
theme goes back even farther, to Ceylon, where it provides an explana.
tion for one of the names of the island, sihaladipa.
There the "lion"
king was first called sihalabahu and· was a son of a lion and a Vanga
(India) princess.
Later he became king of Kalinga and was given the
name sihala. His descendents were the first colonists and conquerors
of the island and established the ruling dynasty there. No better
comment on the Northern Thai story of a lion king can be made than
Geiger's on the Ceylon story, "The mythological and legendary character
of these traditions is manifest, on the whole as well as in the details.
Their tendency obviously was to join the dynasty ruling in Ceylon with
the most prominent dynasties of India, the Kalinga rulers and the
Sakyas". Since it is known that one current, at least, of Buddhism and
associated literary traditions passed from Ceylon to Lower Burma to
Northern Thailand, in the case of TS we cannot even adopt Geiger's
further hypothesis that, " ... in all those stories there is at least the
germ of historical truth ... Ceylon was overrun by three successive
waves of immigrants ... " etc.9o In TS we are faced with nothing but a
literary motif, the lion king who came from India to found a local
kingdom, which came to Northern Thailand from farther afield and bad
been used by the Mon in writing their chronicles and even earlier by the
Ceylonese.
88a) G, Coedes, Angkor, p. 47.
8 9 l Sir Arthur Phayre, History of Burma, London 18 8 3, p. 2 8 8, n. 1 ; Glass Palace
Chronicle, p. 49.
90) Geiger, op. cit., section 21, p. 28, for both quotations.

REVIEW ARTICLE 367
Starting with the more obvious we have found probable origins for
the important motifs of the early part of TS, except for the very first,
that of a " ... ho king named devakala ... who ruled nagara daiydda or
mo'an rajagrh the capital ... ". It has already been determined that this
king is associated with a fictitious, but traditional, era, the anjana,
named after a grandfather of the Buddha, and I have adduced evidence
that the compiler of TS believed the original homeland of Buddhism to
be in Southeast Asia-not, as Manit holds, that he wrote about a second
Rajagrba in Yunnan. The geographical situation of the Rajagrha ofTS,
which I say was intended as the original, cannot be in doubt since
Devakala is called a hb king, and the ho, for the northern Thai, have
always been a people residing to the north. At present ho seems to be
applied only to Yunnanese Chinese, but it is not their own term, and its
origin" as applied to the Yunnanese in Thailand remains an unsolved
mystery".91
Thus we do not have to assume that hb, for the Thai, always meant
Chinese. Prince Damrong, for example, wrote that at the time of the
so-called hb wars in the late 19th century, people in Bangkok believed
ho to be a separate ethnic group and were surprised to find the northern
people giving the name to Chinese.n
The term daiydesa for the area in which Devakala ruled is no
problem. We may assume that much of the region for a long distance
north of Chiang Saen, in the Burmese and Chinese Shan states, was
probably inhabited by various Thai peoples at whatever reasonable date
we wish to place the first composition of TS, and without doing violence
to the latest theories of Thai migration.
With Mithila and Rajagrba transposed to the "golden triangle" it
was obvious to the chronicler that this was Thai country, and ho rulers
in Yunnan, whatever ethnic group may have been designated by that
term, were a political fact of life for the northern Thai states. [n fact,
the equation by the writer of TS of Thai and ho in the person of Devakala
91) F.W. Mote, "The Rural 'Haw' (Yunnanese Chinese) of Northern Thailand",
in Peter Kunstadter, ed. Southeast Asian Tribes, Minorities, and Nations vol. II,
chap 13, pp. 487-524, see pp. 490-491, n.3.
!}~) PP part 24, vol. 14, gune sabhti ~dition, p. 176,

368 REVIEW ARTICLE
shows that for his time ho did not have to mean Chinese. Moreover,
not all versions of TS contain the term ho. Not ton calls him ''chef des
T'ai", and notes that the text which the compiler of PY called the
original TS had " ... Devakala, et qui etait chef de tous les T'ai", with
no mention of h?J.93
Like the Thai of Lanna, many of the ethnic groups of Yunnan had
legends connecting them to Indian royalty, and thus for a chronicler
of the area they could be classical Indians, Thai and llo at the same
time.94 It seems certain, then, that this aspect of TS does not indicate
an early Thai "descent from China" theory in the sense given this concep
in the last 100 years. Although geographically there was a descent
from Yunnan to Lanna in TS, the important connection was not with
China, but with Buddhist India transposed to Yunnan.
The last element which needs to be explained is the name Devakala
for which there seems to be no association in classical or Buddhist India
or Ceylon, and it might thus be argued that it is a genuine name taken
into TS from some ancient source. However, as I tried to demonstrate
in the case of bandhanatifbandhumatti, and sinhanavati/siharaja/siha/a,
perfect identity of names is not required to establish related or identical
motifs. It is only necessary to have names which ·include the same
essential elements. There is such a name which I believe can be paired
with Devakala. In both the Chiang Mai chronicle and the Nan version
of Lanna history there is a kuladevila rishi who, together with his brother
Afijana, maternal grandfather of the Buddha, and Sihabanu, the Buddha's
paternal grandfather, cut a more ancient era to establish the one
known as a'iijana and which is the era associated with Devakala in
TS. This theme derives in part from classical India where an ascetic,
Kaladevala, was a contemporary and frequent visitor in the house of
the Buddha's father, and at the Buddha's birth made predictions
concerning his future.9s Since Devakala and Kaladev-are transposi-
9.3) Notton I, pp. 142-3 and n.3.
94) Na-Khi, I, pp. 7, 9, Sln.
95) Notton III, PP. 8, 11; Nan Chronicle, loc. cit., p. 194; Thomas, op. cit, pp.
4Z-43,

REVIEW AHTICLJo: 369
tions one of the other, I suggest we are faced with literary motifs concerning
persons believed to have been associated with the Magadhan
royal family and the a'iijana era. We should not be surprisedei ther
that some versions of TS, for example that of Notton, contain the story
of Kaladevila alongside that of Devakala.
We have seen the manner in
whicll TS was put together, adopting themes from various sources and,
where necessary, inventing elements to connect them.
TS, then, is an interesting piece of historical folklore put together
by men steeped in local written and oral tradition, with little knowledge
of the world outside their own region, and who had no reason to
doubt that it had been an important early Buddhist center, in fact
one of the parts of the classical homeland of Buddhism. Their efforts
to show that their own homeland was the center around which other
parts of Southeast Asia revolved, the center in which all known methods
of time reckoning (and some unknown) were devised, and a center with
which the Buddha himself had been closely connected, are reminiscent
of Ptolemaic astronomy in which the sun and planets revolved around the
earth and irregularities of movement which the theory imposed were
explained by epicycles corresponding to the assumptions which have
to be made in order for sucb traditional history to appear coherent.
Manit's revised version is also traditional history in that be accepts
uncritically the basic premises of TS concerning the impor tance of
Lanna in early times. However, Manit knows that the true Buddhist
middle country was not located there and that, for example, the
Buddha's disciple, Maha Kassapa, did not fly through the air to bring
relics to Lanna. His epicycles, or assurnp tions, thus become more and
more complicated in order to bring TS within the realm of the possible
while preserving its structure and premises.
It is not enough, however, to simply destroy the credibility of the
first part of TS as history. Chiang Saen has a history, and judging by
its monumental remains an extremely interesting one. In fact, these
remains indicate that at some time in the past 4-500 years Chiang Saen
may have been more wealthy and powerful than any other northern

370 REVIEW ARTICLE
mo'ail, including Chiang Mai, and if insufficient notice has been taken of
this it is because Chiang Mai survived until the present as the principal
city of the north and more of its literature has been preserved.
The real problem of Chiang Saen history, then, is not whether
it was a center of the first Thai expansion into the "golden peninsula",
a matter probably impossible to determine, at least on the basis of
extant chronicles, but rather. when, why, and bow did Chiang Saen
in early modern times become a city wealthy enough to erect and
maintain the monuments we see there, and when and why did it then
decline. Altogether too much attention bas been given to the TS period
of the chronicle,96 while the period which really deserves study is that
which begins well after Manit cut off his text. For this later period
TS, or rather the Chiang Saen chronicle, published in full in PP 61, is
a valuable source. Like the Chiang Mai chronicle and other histories
of Lanna, it makes the royal dynasty of Chiang Mai the rulers of
Chiang Saen as well, and the princes in each generation rotate between
Chiang Saen and Chiang Mai with younger brothers sent to govern
other northern mo'an. This political system comes to an abrupt end in
the reign of ku'na (Keu Na, Kilana, soiz saen nii). He gave the governorship
of Chiang Saen to a commoner who had distinguished himself in
warfare and thereafter Chiang Saen was ruled by governors appointed
from Chiang Mai.
From this time on the Chiang Saen chronicle becomes a history
definitely centered in Chiang Saen, although it does little more than
name the governors, record their religious activities and note their ·
relations with other mo'an. A record of one of these governors, at
least, seems to be preserved in an inscription from Chiang Rai. It
mentions an official from Chiang Saen named jav hmu'n jimi saen gii1rz
-------
96) For example, Kachorn Sukhabanij, "Proposed Dating of the Yonok-Chiengsaen
Dynasty", Journal of the Burma Research Society, XLIII, I, June 1960, pp. 57·
62; Kachorn Sukhabanij "Two Thai MSS on the k'unlun Kingdom", in F.S.
Drake, ed., Symposium on Historical, Archaeological and Linguistic Studies on
Sot~thel'n China, South-East Asia and the Hongkong Region, Hong Kong University
Press, 1967, pp. 70-74. I suppose the present review might also fit into
this category.

ILllf'VIE\\'
AHTJCLJ•: 371
tan, who was involved in the construction of a temple in Chiang Rai in
1496. 97 In the chronicle, where jav hmu'n often indicates a governor,
there is a jav bra :ya suvarn}a gartt fan na jian saen who is said to have
died in 1487 after ruling for 25 years, 98 and no other Chiang Saen
governor of the last half of the 15th and first quarter of the 16th cen
turies has a name resembling gam tan.
an error of one 12-year cycle in the chronicle.
The difference in dates suggests
As I remarked earlier, probably all historians would agree that
true history begins with the period of Mangrai. Not only do Mangrai
and his descendants play an important role in all the northern
chronicles, but there is contemporary evidence concerning some of them
in the inscription of Wat Phra Yu'n.99
An important fact which has been carefully skirted in all
previous studies is that although the chronicles provide six generations
from Mangrai to Ku' Na-Mangrai, Jaya (Xai, Jaiy) Sangram,
Saen Bhu, Garp Fu, Pha Yii. Ku' Mi-the inscription, erected by the
last king of this list, only bas four-Mangrai, Garp Fii, Pba Yu, Soil
Saen Na (Ku'Na)-wbo are designated great grandfather, grandfather,
father, son, that is, Soh Saen Na is said to be son, grandwn
and great grandson of the other three.
Proper method, taking the
evidence of a contemporary inscription over that of a late chronicle,
should already have led scholars to reject, or explain, two fictitious
generations, Jaya Sati.gram and Saen Bhii, but instead the problem
bas either bl!en ignored or epicycles have been devised to account
for it.
In fact, the chronicles themselves contain information sufficient
to make the genealogy suspect, even without the evidence of the inscription.
This is the way the chronology of birth dates and ages is squeezed
97) Prajwn Situ c'Ziru'k III, pp. 174-177, no. 69.
98)
99)
PP 61. pp. 181-182,
13
6 144 no
Coedes, "Documents", pp. 195-200; Prajum silii ciiru'l~ III, PP· - • ·
62; EHS 13.

372 REVIEW ARTICLE
in order to insert two new generations into a four-generation time
span.
Thus, in Jinakalamali, one of the oldest chronicles, Haripyava
(Gal!l Fii) was born in 1324, became King at the very early age of 10
years in 1334, "reigned 12years", yet died in 1336 at "age 28".
son, Pha yu, was born in 1336, became king in 1336 at "age 12", and
died in 1355. Finally Kilana (Ku' N~l)
His
was born in 1339 when his
father would have been 3 years old. The Chiang Mai chronicle squeezes
them in a different way. There Saen Bhu's birth is implied in 1276
when his father would have been 11 years old, not impossible of
course, but suspect.
Because Saen Bbu is inserted in this way the life
span of his son Ga1p FIT-born 1302, enthroned 1328-appears normal,
but his son, Pha Yii, is born in 1316 when his father would have been
14, and the last of the series, Ku' Na is born in 1327 when his father
would have been only 9.too
These different dates in different chronicles,
with squeezing at different places, are conclusive evidence, along with
the inscription, of interpolation. That is, two generations, Jaya Sangram
and Saen Bhu, are fictitious, as are the stories in the chronicles connected
with them.
Interestingly, the span from Mangrai to Ku' Na contains
enough chronological space to fit all six generations with normal lives
had the chroniclers tinkered carefully. Instead they evidently maintained
a few true dates and reigns and fitted the rest in as best they
could
Before considering these fictitious rulers further, let's examine
some of the implications of Wat Phra Yu'n for northern history in
general.
We should note first of all the titles of the four kings,
brana maidzriiy hluoiz, brana gaf!J. ju, brana pha yii, cau dav snn saen
na.
Royal titles were not chosen haphazardly, but each polity had
styles peculiar to it, and sudden changes in style of titles reflected
I 00) Coedes, "Documents", pp. 87-1 03; Not ton Ill, pp. 74-92. These are the
basic data given in the passages devoted to chronology. There are also
conflicting statements implying other ages and birth dates, but they only
illustrate the difficulty which the chroniclers faced.

changes in political or cultural orientation.
are four different types of titles.
HEV!EW AHTICLE 373
In the above list there
First there are three titles beginning
with braiia, found in both Thai and Mon inscriptions, and possibly
of Mon origin, I or but whereas in the second and third brana is followed
by what appear to be Thai proper names, in the first the seconde lement
is mahhray which, as I noted above, furnished the occasion for a complicated
folk etymology.1o2
In fact, even casual perusal of published
material on Burmese royalty will show that it was a common Burmese
royal and official title based on the Burmese word for "king", mari.I 03
Why the founder of Lanna royalty bad a Burmese title is a problem
for which no explanation is readily apparent, but it deserves study,
and an adequate treatment would probably modify much of the accepted
story of his reign.
The title of the fourth ruler makes a complete
break with its predecessors in being entirely Thai with no hint of Mon
or Burmese influence.
Thus if our only document on early Lanna were the inscription
we might conclude that the ruler really responsible for making it a Thai
kingdom was Soi1 Saen Na rather than Mangrai.
Another interesting aspect of the inscription is the prominence
it gives to Lamphun, rather than Chiang Mai, as the most important city
of the region, whereas in the chronicles Chiang Mai by this time do to
bad been the capital for six generations.
It will not gloss over the fact
by calling Lamphun "the cultural capital".J04 In the inscription Chiang
101) Vickery, Review of Robert B. Jones, "Thai Titles and Ranks, etc.", JSS 62
(1), January 1974, pp. 160-174. Seepp.170-171.
102) See above, pp. 338-39.
103) Than Tun, "History of Burma: A.D. 1300-1400", .Journal of the Burma
Research Society 42 (1959). pp. 119-133, see table at end; Yi Yi. "Life at the
Burmese Court Under the Konbaung Kings'', JBRS 44 (1), 1961, pp. 85-129;
Tin HI a Thaw, "History of Burma : A.D. 1400-1500", JBRS 42 (19 59), pp.
135-150, see p. 148; Yi Yi, "The Thrones of the Burmese Kings", JBRS 43
(2), 1960, pp. 97-123, seep. 101. '
104) EHS 13, p. 124.

374 HEVJE\V AHTlCLE
Mai is mentioned after Kum Kam and is not even called a mo'an, let
alone a nagara, both of which titles are given to Haripunjai. If we
favored the contemporary inscription over the chronicles we should say
that Lamphun was not only culturally, but also politically, more
important as late as the period of Ku' Na. In fact, one of the old
chronicles, Jinak'alamali, shows some evidence of uncertainty in this
respect. For example, after Mangrai, his son Gramaraja reigned in Bingapura
(Chiang Mai) for a short time and then passed the throne to
his son, Senabhii. Then the latter's uncle Gro'n came and conquered
Haripunjaya, forcing Senabhii to flee. Then "King Gro'n ... took
Haripunjaya ... and reigned 9 years".
The logic of the story of course,
requires Chiang Mai instead of Haripunjaya. The next usurper,
Najjotthara, also reigned in Haripunjaya, and several generations
later Mahabrahma, wishing to overthrow a king in Nabbisipura (Chiang
Mai), "raised a great army, marched on Nabbisipura, took Haripunjaya".105
Later chronicles, such as that of Chiang Mai, have resolved
the contradiction and substituted Chiang Mai for Haripunjaya in each
of those sections.
Although it be agreed, then, that the true history of the north
begins with the reign of Mangrai, that history as given in the chronicles
is in many ways distorted and requires much more study and interpretation.
One of the distortions, as we have seen, is the interpolation of
Saen Bhii and his father Jaya Sangram. These two extra generations of
the Mangrai genealogy must have been inserted for a reason, and in the
case of Saen Bhu we might guess that the reason bad been to integrate
Chiang Saen, after it bad become a rich and powerful city, into a
political system encompassing all of the northern valley kingdoms
and believed to have originated with a hero-king, Mangrai.
There seems to be no special reason for the addition of Jaya
Sangram, 105 but the name occurs in another interesting context, and one
105) Coedes, "Documents", pp, 29, 103.
1 06) "Jaya" is the conventional correct spelling for the name written Xiii=sai (1'11)
in Not ton and jaiy (hw) in the published Chiang Mai chronicle (note 60,
above). See Coedes, "Documents," p. 90, n.2.

HEVIEW AHTICLE 375
which casts further doubt on the legitimacy of its place in Chiang Mai
history. The document to which I refer is Inscription 45 of the Thai
corpus.t07 Its date is equivalent to A.D. 1392, just a few years after the
end of the reign of the king responsible for the Wat Phra Yu'n inscription,
and it contains two lists of ancestor spirits, one of which Griswold and
Prasert interpreted as former kings of Nan and the other former kings
and related royalty of Sukhothai.
This latter list, besides the expected names, includes others previously
unknown, one of whom, nua naf!1 thaf!1, G~iswold and Prasert felt
should be added to the list of Sukhothai kings. I present below the
names of the Sukhothai kings as known from other inscriptions, lOS the
list of Inscription 45, a list of Sukhothai kings found in the version of
the Phra Sihing story included in Jinaka lamali, and the names of certain
Chiang Mai rulers as tbey are given both in Jinakalamali and the Chiang
Mai chronicle .I 09
Sukhothai
Sn Indradi tya
13th c,
Ban Huang
13th c.
Ram Kamhimg
1279-1299/1.516
Lii Tai
1299/1316-1346
1i.i Ta.i 1 tlaha
Dharmariija I
1347~1374
Hahadharmaraja
II, 1376-1398
Inscription 45
pu brana sri indradi~
pu brana pan
Phra Sihing
rocaraja
ramaraja
~u brana ramara~~ palaraja
pu sai sangram
pu brana 1odai
udakajjotthataraja
pu brana mahadharrmaraja lideyyaraja 110
1350-1369
ba nal!l mo'an
ba 1o' dai
1392
Chiang Mai
Mam~raya,Mangrai
Gramaraja,Jaya s.
iz65-1326
Najjotthara 1 bb
dav nail! thvam
l320~'"s-
107) In Praj(wm .:ita caru' ll III. See also EHS l, JSS LVI (2), July 196 8 and especially
EHS 3, JSS LVII (1), January 1969, pp. 68-99, for its interpretation
by Griswold and Prasert; and A.B. Griswold, Towards a History of Sukhodaya
Al't, p. 29.
l 08) Both the names and dates are taken from Griswold, Towards.
109) See Coedes, "Documents," pp. 99, 91-93; the published ChiangMai chronicle,
p. 33; Notton III, pp. 71-76.
II Ol The dates are those of Ramathibodi I of Ayutthaya, in whose reign the
activities of Lideyyaraja are placed. See Coedes, "Documents," pp. 99-100.

376 HEVIE\V ,\HTICLE
Griswold identified Nua Na~ Tharp of Inscription 45 as a king
because of the title J!U brailii, while the other unexpected names were
dismissed as royal family members who did not become king, because
they are not given the title braila.III It seems clear though that Nua
Narp Tha111 parallels Udakajjotthataraja, which name Coedes translated,
"the king who plunged into the water," adding that this was, "a probable
allusion to one of the legends of the Phra Ru•ang cycle, that is, his
mysterious disappearance in the rapids of K~ng Mu'ang."Ilz It would
also seem that in spite of the unorthodox spelling, Narp Tharp of
Inscription 45 is the same name as Narp. ThvamjNajjotthara of the
Chiang Mai histories which Coedes translated, "inondation" (flood),113
and that they relate to the same legendary cycle.
It is also interesting that the Chiang Mai Chronicle, although not
the earlier Jinakalamali, provides Na111 Thvam with a younger brother
1iua r~J,·l and tl?eir names together thus comprise all the elements of
Nua Na111 Tha1p of Inscription 45. These two brothers also have the
unusual title bo dav [w!J ,","l], in contrast to their elder brother Saen Bhu,
whose ti~le is dav, and their father, entitled cau brabya.
I find it highly unlikely that at about the same time in both
Sukhothai and Chiang Mai there were princes named Jaya Sangram and
Nua NaJ?J Thaq1jNa111 Thvam, Nua •. in the same generational sequence,
the name of one of whom bas legendary associations, and both/all of
whom appear only in late texts or in an inscription which designates
them as ancestral spirits. The conclusion I propose is that these names
go back to an older Thai mythology, common to both Sukhothai and
Chiang Mai, and perhaps other areas, that they were evoked as spirits
in 1392 along with the spirits of genuine kings, and that they were
taken into later Chiang Mai chronicles when extra generations were
required to fill out an expanded story.
lll) EHS 3, p. 82 and n. 20.
112) CoedCs, "Documents," p. 99, n. 5.
113) Ibid,, p. 92, n. 4. The spelling of Inscription 45 is ~, and in the Chiang
Mai chronicle fi'·w, instead of current Thai l'i"JlJ but there can be no doubt
of the intended meaning in the chronicle since ' the etymology, "flood" is
explicit.

REVIEW ARTICLE 377
As for Chiang Saen itself, its architectural remains leave no doubt
that the city at some time, perhaps the 15th-16th centuries, was extremely
wealthy and important. However, the extant chronicles are generally
Chiang Mai-centric and Chiang Saen is not given the attention appropriate
to what was probably its position.
I would like to put forward as a hypothesis that Chiang Saen began
to become important in the late 14th or early 15th centuries and in the
course of the 15th-16th centuries became one of the most important,
if not the most important, in the north, gaining wealth from trade
along the river (of course, explanation must be sought for the position
of Chiang Saen becoming especially advantageous at that time and not
earlier or later).
As it grew to importance chroniclers began to devise appropiate
historical beginnings and Saen Bhu was grafted onto the family tree of
Mangrai to bring Chiang Saen within a Chiang Mai-centric political
system from its beginnings. The story could have been invented either
at Chiang Mai to account acceptably for an increasingly powerful
rival, or at Chiang Saen, in order to prove center. Then the Chiang
early association with the older cultural, religious, and political Saen
chroniclers went even farther back in time, and developed the TS story
to make their region appear preeminent from the beginning of significant
time.
The history of the north indeed deserves more attention, and its
materials are truly fascinating. The Commission should be encouraged
to collect and publish more northern histories, starting with those that
are little known or not easily accessible. It must be remembered,
though, that study of these materials has to begin with dissection and
identification of the elements entering into their composition and
not with ever more complicated epicycles to justify their original
structure.
School of Humanities,
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penanq
Michael Vickery

NOTE
KING MANGRAI AND CHIANG RUNG
by
David K. Wyatt and Dian Murray
One of the most serious problems confronting the historian in
attempting to utilize the potential riches of the Thai chronicle traditions
is the difficulty encountered in checking the reliability of his sources.
The northern chronicles in particular often give the impression of having
derived from a single, almost circular tradition; and if for example, two
different chronicles are both based on a single source, it is no proof of
reliability to say that the two check against one another. However, an
interesting case has come to light which tends, at least on first impression,
to enhance the status of the Chiangmai chronicle and thereby
opens the possibility that further research in the same direction might
provide the historian with additional materials for the study of the
earliest periods in Thai history.
As part of an attempt to gain a broader picture of what was
occurring in the "Thai world" during what Kachorn Sukhabanij has
called the "Beachhead States" period of the eleventh and twelfth
centuries A.D., we investigated one Chinese source concerning the
history of the Tai Lti principality of Chiang
·*
Rung
.-)
(Keng Hung; in
Chinese, Ch'e-li), on the Mekong River in extreme southern Yunnan.
This source is a curious volume by Li Fu-i (-.t entitled Ch'e-li
hsuan-wei shih hsi k'ao ting Sf! 1:. :S {d': It-~-/§ ~T [A Revised Study of the
Genealogy of Ch'e-li Pacification Chieftaincy'] published apparently in
Cb•e-li (but perhaps in Shanghai) in 1947. The work consists of two
parts, the first of which is a scholarly attempt to establish the succession
of rulers in Chiang Rung from the first, Pa Chen, who ruled from 1180
to 1192, to the last, Chao Mhom Lhong Khong Gham (in the romanization
given in the text), who ruled from 1927 to 1943. The second
portion of the volume consists of what appears to be a similar "kinglist"
written in Tai LU script, with a Chinese translation on facing
pages. We have not yet had the opportunity to ~et beyond the rei~n

KING MANGRAI AND CHIANG RUNG 379
of the eighth ruler (and any further work on the subject may be long
delayed); but one striking passage connects so directly to the chronicle
traditions of north Thailand that it seems worth immediate attention.
The passage in question (pages 6-7) is that treating the reign of
the fourth ruler of Chiang Rung. In Dian Murray's translation following,
the first form of a name given is in Wade-Giles romanization. Where
Li Fu-i has provided another romanization, this is included in parentheses;
and where possible suggested modern Thai forms are given in square
brackets. The portions in italics are "interior" footnotes inserted into
the original text by Li Fu-i, and in this case are based solely on references
to the Le-shih, a source not otherwise identified which may be
Vietnamese.
4. T'ao-lung-chien-tzu (Dao Rung Kian Jhai), A.D. 1234-1257
T'ao-lung-chien-tzil inherited his father's position in
Tsu-la [chunlasakkarat] 595.
Sung Dynasty, Emperor Li Tsung's Tuan-p'ing reign,
first year; A.D. 1234.
He had one son named T'ao-Liang-t'ung; one daughter named
Niang-wo- [or 0-]min-k'ai-fa (Nang 0-Ming Khai Fa).
The L~-shib writes 0-Ming Jom Meeng.
When she was a little older, her name was changed to Niang
Wo- [or 0-]-yen (Nang Ok Yan).
The L~-shih writes "Nang Ole Bian."
It also happened at that time that Shih Cbing-hai ch'iu [or
ts'iu] (Chao Jing Rai) [Chao Chiangrai]
The L~-shih writes Shih Lan-na.
also changed her name to Niang K'eng-chieh [?].
Nang Gham Kai. The L~-sbih writes Nang Gham-khai.
When T'ao-lung-chien inherited his father's position be was
thirty-nine years old. He was on the throne for twenty-three
years and died at the age of sixty-two. That was in ... Tsu-la
619.
Sung Dynasty, Emperor Li Tsung's Pao-yu reign (I 253-
1258); A.D. 1257.

REVIEWS
The Buddha's Words. Extracts from tbe Pali Canon translated by
various scholars, collected by Bbikkhu Kbantipalo for the Buddhist
Association of Thailand, published on the auspicious occasion of His
Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Forty-Eighth Birthday Anniversary
(Thai Watana Panich Press, 5th December B.E. 2518(1975 A.D.),pp. 282.
One way, usually accepted as the most reliable, to know the real
teachings of the Buddha is to learn what the Buddha himself said, that
is, the sayings of the Buddha as handed down to us in the Scriptures.
Among the Scriptures, only the Pali Canon, formally called the Tipitaka,
purports to record the exact words of the Buddha. Thus, to learn t~e
real sayings of the Buddha means to read the Pali Canon. The Pali
Canon or the Tipitaka, however, is usually not readily accessible to
the general reader. Though it is available in translations, in Thai,
complete in 45 volumes, and in English, nearly completely published,
the Tipitaka is too voluminous for the average reader to read in his
workaday life, and for any publisher to publish in a wide-circulating
manner, not to speak of a pocket Tipitaka. Till now, the study of the
Tipitaka bas been confined to a few scholars.
As a solution, there have been attempts by various scholars to
publish selected portions of the Pali Canon. These works fall into two
categories. ·One is the publication of some specific canonical sections
or selected Suttas. The other is the collection of extracts from the Pali
Canon arranged within a specific framework or according to a set
outline. Works of the latter category look in one way like the attempts
to create pocket-sized Tipitaka. Excluding earlier works such as H.C.
Warren's Buddhism in Translations (published in 1896), which include
also non-canonical selections, the attempts in this line can be traced
back to the Venerable Nyanati!oka's The Word of the Buddha, published
in German in 1906 and in English in 1907, and F.L. Woodward's
Some Sayings of .the Buddha first published in the World's Classics in
1925 by the Oxford University Press. In Thailand, the first Thai
collection is, as far as can be traced, Bhikkhu Buddbadasa's A Life of the

HEVmws 383
Buddha as Related by the Master Himself ('11l'Vl11V1~1";;1!1mm~iflH.b first
published in 1936. Now comes the present ~ork under review as the
latest publication in this category, ln fact, it is not merely the latest,
it is also the first, that is, the first English collection ever published by
a Thai hand or a Thai organization. Notably, this work is a synthesis
of works in the two categories, as the collector uses as his material a
number of extant translations by various scholars, some belonging to
the first category, others to the second one. The names of noted
translators like Ven. Nyanamoli Thera, Ven. Nyanaponika Mahathera
and V en. N arada Thera speak well for the selections.
Also characteristic of this book is the aim of its production which
is more of dissemination, carried to the extent of having its copies
placed in all leading hotels. As accepted in the Foreword, the idea is
derived from the B.D.K. (The Bukkyo Dendo Kokai or Buddhism
Promoting Foundation) which has achieved the popularity of the
Teaching of the Buddha by managing to place copies of it in almost all
hotels in Japan.
The extracts in the present work are arranged in eight chapters,
beginning with (1) The Buddha and His Teaching. Then follow six
chapters on the Dhamma dealing with (2) The Round of Birth and Death.
(3) Wrong Views and Right Views, (4) Faith and Understanding, (5)
Good Conduct, (6} Mind-Training and Meditation, and (7) The
Development of Wisdom. The eighth chapter, The Enlightened
Community, is devoted to the teachings on the Sangha. Thus,
roughly speaking, the book deals with the Three Treasures of the
I
Buddhists: the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha respectively. For
the six chapters on the Dhamma (Chapters 2 to 7), the Collector takes
the well-known Threefold Training as the theme. The first three of
these (Chapters 2, 3 and 4) serve as an introduction to the knowledge of
the Dhamma, distinguishing between Buddhist and non-Buddhist beliefs,
and thus as a theoretkal foundation, establishing in the beginners the
right view which is required before practice. The three theoretical
chapters are followed by the three practical ones on Sila (Chapter 5: Good
Conduct,, Samadhi (Chapter 6: Mind-Training and Meditation), and
Pafifia (Chapter 7: The Development of Wisdom). This is a meaningful
arrangement, proving the work to be a systematic collectiop. of the
13vddha's teachin~s.

384 REVIEWS
Of the approximate number of 114 selections, few are short
extracts, many are long passages and not a small number are whole
Suttas. Of these, Suttas like the Kesaputtiya Sutta, the Upali Sutta,
the Sigalovada Sutta, the Vyagghapajja Sutta, the Potaliya Sutta, the
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the Malui'lkya Sutta, the Vatthupama
Sutta, the Bhaddekaratta Sutta and the Ratthapala Sutta are of medium
length and occupy a large number of pages. Moreover, several of them are
furnished with introductions and learned notes, adding to the impression
of a scholarly work. In sum, The Buddha's Words is helpful not only to
the general reader, but also to those who have some knowledge of
Buddhism and would like to go further in their studies. It not only
gives to the beginners and the outsiders some ideas of what Buddhism
is, but, to a greater degree, deserves the attention of scholars.
The fact that the book was published on the auspicious occasion
of the 48th birthday anniversary of His Majesty the King should be the
cause of great delight. H.M. the King is Himself a Buddhist and
Upholder of Religion. Specifically, be is the Royal Patron of the
Buddhist Association of Thailand, by whose initiative and energetic
efforts this book bas come into being. In fact, the work is a joint effort
of persons and parties, namely, the Buddhist Association, the publisher,
Bbikkhu Khantipalo, the collector, the Thai Watana T. Suwan Foundation,
the supporter, and the editor and staff of Visakha Puj(i, who steered
the manuscript through the press. This is a work of unity and thus
will be a worthy tribute to His Majesty and a valuable contribution to
the celebration on this great occasion.
May this attempt of the Buddhist Association of Thailand "to
propagate Dhamma to those who visit our Buddhist Land" meet with
anticipated success. May the merit accrued from the conscientious
efforts be, as wished by the publisher, for the blessings to His Majesty
and the Royal Family, and for the welfare and happiness of His
Majesty's subjects throughout the long days to come.
Maha Chulalongkom
Euddhist f}niwrsity
Phra Rajavaramuni (Prayudh)

REVIEWS 385
Puey Ungphakorn,Best Wishes for Asia (Klett Thai Publications, Bangkok
1975), pp. 107.
For the past fifteen years, Dr. Puey U ngphakorn bas held-or has
had thrust upon him-a unique position in Tbai society. In a nation that
has been somewhat bereft of living heroes, he has become a major symbol
of Thai integrity: ao economist and educator of considerable talent and
influence who has also embodied honesty, rationality, humanism,
patriotism, and a delightful subtlety in the conduct of his public affairs.
This small volume is a testament to some of these qualities.
Urged (or perhaps harrassed) by some of bis friends to bring his
views together in a single place, Dr. Puey prepared this collection of
sixteen lectures, essays, and interviews given during the period 1967-1974.
Reflecting the complexity of the man, the tone and purpose of the papers
is highly varied. A few are religious-philosophical statements, almost
ritualistic in intent; others, mainly the public addresses, are expositions
on the interrelationships between the technical decisions of bureaucrats
and the daily lives of the Thai people; and others are statements of Dr.
Puey•s views on contemporary Thai and Southeast Asian political issues.
The most striking attribute of the essays is the attitude of pragmatic
humanism that they convey. Dr. Puey is a man preoccupied with enhancing
the quality of life of the Thai people, and these pages are studded
with numerous specific suggestions for accomplishing this end. In a 1974
interview, he recommends a program for subsidizing the nation's poor, a
policy that was later taken taken over by the 1975 Kukrit government.
Equally imaginative-but, unfortunately, ignored-was his recommendation
in December 1973 that "in a spirit of national reconciliation" (following
the events of October 1973) the government should declare a truce in its
military operations against various insurgent groups and attempt to
bring insurgent leaders to the conference table where differences might
be ironed out.
The book contains two selections that are required reading for any
person who claims an interest in Thailand. One is his 1972 letter from
"Khem Yenying', (his World War II nom de guerre) to "My Beloved

386 REVIEWS
Brother Thamnu" which is probably the most poignant plea for Thai
democracy to be written in the decade prior to October 1973. The other
is his "The Quality of Life of A Southeast Asian: A Chronicle of Hope
From Womb to Tomb." This simple 54-line essay is probably the most
eloquent and perceptive essay yet to be published on the aspirations of
the peoples of Southeast Asia, and on what government policies ought to
be about and can reasonably attain. It is the kind of statement that
should be translated into numerous languages, read by bureaucrats, and
taught to school children.
Herbert P. Phillips
University of California,
Berkeley
Barbara and Leon Hawell, Editors: Southeast Asians Speak Out, Hope
and Despair in Many Lands (Friendship Press, 1975), pp. 132, 14 plates,
appendices and notes.
Despite a short descriptive chapter summarizing historical, economic
and political currents in Southeast Asia, the reader will be disappointed
in this book if be is searching for an academic definition of the social,
cultural and economic patterns that prevatl in the varied countries that
comprise Southeast Asia.
At first reading, it is difficult to grasp any common theme that
would give this collection of articles a sense of purpose and identity,
On reflection, what emerges are the very personalized reflections of
socially and politically ccncerned Asian citizens on what they perceive
to be crucial problems facmg their societies: the lack of social justice,
national identity,and democratic systems fostering basic personal freedom
and the rule of law, the need to achieve a more equitable redistribution
of income and overcome economic exploitation.
A related dimension of this book is an analysis and assessment of
the extent to which the Christian churches in Asia have been responsive
to the needs, concerns and struggles of the poorer, and often times,
oppressed elements of Asian societies as they strive to overcome the
institutional and political barriers to a better life measured in terms of
social justice, personal freedom and economic advantage.

REVIEWS 387
This book is divided into four sections: People, the Setting, the
Places and the Religions. In the first section, the People, several authors
relate their personal histories and experiences as they attempt to define
what it means, in very personal terms, to be a Thai, a Filipino, or an
Indonesian. The Setting, written by the editors, briefly outlines the
historical and cultural influences which have helped to mold present day
Southeast Asia; the impact of the colonial experience; the role of overseas
Chinese; the struggle for independence; and the pace of economic development
and the related patterns of maldistribution of income and Jack of
social justice.
The Places section is concerned with the social, political
and economic strains and tensions in Southeast Asian societies and the
diverse attempts to develop systems of government which will facilitate
economic development and maintain national security while, at the same
time, preserving personal freedoms and social justice.
The different
variations on the sliding scale of autocratic to democratic forms of government
are described and assessed in the Philippines, Thailand, Burma and
Malaysia. The economic role of Japan and the U.S. in Southeast Asia and
its impact on these societies is also ·analyzed. In the last section, the
Religions, several authors describe the activities and status of various
religions in Southeast Asia. Special attention is given to outlining the
history of the Christian movement; present activities of various church
groups; the search by Christian churches for an identity that is particulary
Asian; and the desirability of establishing a viable and meaningful
relationship with those elements of society that have been discriminated
against and have not benefitted either economically, socially, or politically
from the strides made in reaching national development goals.
This book is dedicated to bringing to its readers a new perspective
on Southeast Asia. We hear voices of dissent, of despair, of hope;
voices of concern and commitlment. To fully understand Southeast
Asia today, these voices should be heard.
William J. Kla11sner
Asia Foundation,
Bangkok

388 U~VIEWS
P.B. Lafont et D. Lombard, Litteratures Contemporaines de I'Asie du Sud·
Est (L'Asiatheque, Paris, 1974), pp. 327.
Even if the depot legal was only made in 1975, this collection of
papers, presented at a colloquium at the 29th International Congress of
Orientalists held in Paris in July 1973, bas seen the light of day with
fairly surprising rapidity, by current standards at least. Credit for this
doubtless goes to the joint editors, who had most of those giving papers
to hand in Paris, as relatively few contributors came from outside the
inner cirCle associated with French Southeast Asian studies. Lafont at
the colloquium took charge of 'peninsular' Southeast Asia and Lombard
of 'archipelagic' Southeast Asia (including Malaysia): both give brief
introductions to their sections.
The 22 papers are here presented, and cover 8 countries (9 if Vietnam
is two); only Singapore is left out. Having reference not just to
literatures in the various national languages but regional languages as
well, this volume is a fascinating pot-pourri of which it is very difficult
to distinguish anythtng but a few main odours.
Appropriately, Indonesia, as by far the largest country in the region,
is accorded the largest number of papers, and the range is wide, including
Ajip Rosidi's rather unscholarly if interesting account of recording
Sundanese pantun2 and Mme Lombard-Salmon's fascinating paper on the
translation of Chinese novels into Malay from !880-1930. Labrousse's
presentation, a 'Sociologie du Roman Populaire lndonesien', raises important
sociological questions to which we shall return, and Bonneff deals
in a rather flat way with the strip cartoon, a theme taken up by several
other contributors in the context of other countries. Considering the
potential wealth of regional literatures in Indonesia, it is surprising to
find only the Sundanese pan tun and Mas Marco (sic) Kartodikromo (who
as he died in 1932 is hardly contemporary) representing somewhat
tenuously the corpus of modern Javanese writing.
Malay literature is covered by two articles in English badly in
need of editing. Tharn Seong Chce's contribution starts off with no
reference to literature for several pages and in a style scarcely conducive
to the subject e g. 'This was further given leaven in the iteration given
to the ethos of loyalty to the rulers on the one hand and the severe

REVIEWS 389
condemnation against treason on the other'. If he bad supported some
of his generalisations with facts drawn from texts, his paper would be
more acceptable as a scholarly contribution instead of being a somewhat
abstract sociological survey. He does, however, have some interesting
things to say on the stereotyped portrayal of non-Malays in current
Malay writing. Ismail Hussein's short paper, introducing the neologism
of 'literators', is interesting in placing Malay writing firmly in its rural
origins (since the cities, if occupied by Malays at all, caused them to
write in English) which sets it apart from all the other contemporary
literature in the region.
The presentations of Yabes and Salazar from the Philippines would
have gained from some coordination, or at least better editing. The
former, after a schoolboy division of the periods of modern literature in
the Philippines (the Feudal-Medieval, the Pre-modern, the early Modern,
the Contemporary Modern) and using another neologism 'fictionists', is
very fair about the linguistic problems inherent in a consideration of the
literatures of the islands. Yabes firmly tells us that since 1971 'the name
of the (national) language is changed to 'Filipino' to indicate the expanded
and more inclusive dimensions as distinguished from the narrow and
exclusivl! dimensions of'Pilipino' (i.e. Tagalog). Filipino may be slower
in development but it will be more easily acceptable throughout the
country than Tagalog because the non-Tagalog population constitutes
fully four-fifths ... of the whole population.' But two pages later Salazar
tells us that 'a partir de Ia fin des annees '50 se constitue une tradition
litteraire en pilipino, Je tagal devenu veritable langue nationale'; the
assertion is repeated and in conclusion, in case one had not got the point,
one is told 'Ia nouvelle litterature en pilipino (i.e. Tagalog) est rnaintenant
vraiment la litterature nationale'.
The confusion wrought by the
use of two colonial languages seems not to have been cleared up in the
establishment of a national language, and literature follows. Whether
the Fitipinos are right to put back their literatures and their languages
into the melting pot of nationalism only time will tell: certainly their
authors are not likely to get a very wide public even in the islands by
using Tagalog. The language problem becomes more important than
the literary content, but the admiration, from the safe distance of the

390 REVIEWS
town, of rural simplicity, in contrast to urban degradation, is apparently
a theme to be found in the Philippines in common with other countries.
If the Philippines presents an extreme case of linguistic chaos,
with eight local languages having more than a million speakers each,
and so compounding the problems facing would-be authors, most of tbe
mainland states present in tl11S respect a picture of blessed simplicity;
the one country, Burma, where, because of the existence of belligerent
minorities, one presumes there to be healthy writing in minority languages
is treated strictly from the point of view of contemporary writing in
Burmese and Mme Bernet glosses over complications (literature provides
'une denonciation vigilante de tous les defauts qui font obstacle au
bonheur') and anything more recent than !960. However, she introduces
a complication of her own, to be repeated by all the writers dealing with
the mainland other than Vietnam, of using a phonetic transcription
so eccentric as to make one wish she had stuck to the Burmese (properly
Mon) script.
Manda' le one can guess, but how does •c;eing Phe Mying'
normally write his name in a western script?
Jacqueline de Fels gets round the transliteration problem by having
the original Thai in footnotes (thank heavens, otherwise one would never
01
guess that 'Ron' was 7 fl1.1) but sometimes forgets: 'bao samong' apparently
obtains for IU1!'11J!H, Peltier uses a different transcription for Thai, though
goodness knows which, since it is peppered with numerals e.g. sam kok3
is !'11lJn n.
It looks remarkably like the sys tern used for Lao by Saveng
Phinith which one suspects to be the Ecole Fran

HEV!I!:WS 391
prolongation of the political struggle. Dauphin admires the positive
aspects of the North Vietnamese novel, dealing with 'purely national
problems of Vietnamese evolving in a society undergomg complete
transformation' and points out that there are no schools but only socialist
realist writers. Boudarel is probably right to point out that.
'La litterature d'un pays en lutte pour son independence ne peut
se juger uniquement sur le critere de ses oeuvres purement
litteraires'
and in his article on North Vietnamese literature stresses the use made
of literacy: everyone was systematically encouraged to write, and the
lead was given by the Popular Army, which in 1959 produced 34,000
texts on thf1! theme "the most striking recollection from my time as a
soldier'•, with the best being collected and printed in a volume that ran
to more than 20,000 copies.
When the colloquium took place, Cambodia was also still at war,
though this was not apparently reflected in its popular literature in
Martine Plat's brief but penetrating study paying particular attention to
comic strips.
The themes of thwarted love, rape, the taste for the
Brahminical marvellous and the unreality of the situations (orphans with
neither brothers nor sisters nor relatives, even Khmer usurers with no
Chinese or Vietnamese in sight) show this 'literature' to be completely
escapist; Khmer heroes fight single banded the country's traditional
enemies, Siamese, Vietnamese, or French (in Mile Pmt's text, only the
French were sufficiently important to be capitalised) in night clubs, the
most extravagant description of which does not go beyond a taudry
Phnom Penh establishment.
Mile Piat concludes
"II nous parait done inquietant de voir le Cambodge passer
directement du Stade de l'incuriosite a celui de la lecture de Cette
litterature commerciale."
This comment sufficiently roused Chau Seng, then Prince Sihanouk's
representative in France, at the Paris proceedings to launch, in the
subsequent discussion of the paper, into a splendid attack on 'Ia
litterature decadente alimentaire' without stopping to think that much
of it was produced under him when he was Minister of Information. He

392 REVIEWS
also praised the products of the Pathet Lao presses but admitted he had
not read any. A straightforward collection of the colloquium papers
misses these enlivening scenes. However, Mlle Piat's reservation and
Chau Seng's crit1cisms are probably justified and presumably this
undignified rubbish has been swept away by the new order. Yet it
obviously filled some need in catering for the tastes of a newly if barely
literate public: it is no good having literacy as a goal without supplying
reading material thereafter.
The three papers on Thai literature are likely to be of greatest
interest to readers of this journal. Mme Jacqueline de Fels gives a useful
overview of popular literature defined as cheap paperbacks costing less
than 10 baht a volume in 1973. The different genres of detective novels,
erotic and sentimental works, humorous writing, ghost stories and social
satires are briefly considered, the use of popular con vcrsational Thai
noted (l'oral devient ecrit); and the problems facing authors in the struggle
for survival are well chronicled, squeezed between publishers only likely
to produce something sure to sell and a limited and economically
depressed public interested in being distracted. Not everyone appears
of course, but then not everyone appears in cheap editions. The
reservation expressed that Thailand might be jumping the literacy stage
and going straight into audio-visual communication, given the spread of
television and radio, is not without foundation but the very wealth of
popular literature, judging only by titles available and their profusion at
meeting points like bus stations and in front of cinemas, makes one think
the written word is still playing a role, albeit not always an edifying one,
. ' "
as Illustrated by flfllU1tli~U'll.
' .
The theme of the difficulty of survival is taken up by Peltier in his
survey of 'Le Roman Contemporaine Tballandais'-
"il est presque impossible a de jeunes auteurs d'exprimer des
idees qui n'entrent pas dans les goOts des lecteurs, ce qui fait
obstacle a !'apparition de tendences nouvelles dans la litterature
romanesque contemporaine" ·
Peltier gives a superficial division of fourteen different genres, some of
which seem remarkably similar (for example, 'le roman de cape et d'epee'
and the 'roman d'aventures'; or the 'roman de critique sociale', the 'genre

REVIEWS 393
progressiste' and the 'genre realiste'). The mania for classification, often
pushed to extremes by the French, becomes totally meaningless, especially
as, having decided on his labels, Peltier does nothing with them, but
promptly dives off into thumb-nail summaries of the main novelists, who
for him are Prince Akat Damkoeung, Dorkmai Sod, Kukrit Pramoj, Bunlua,
K. Surang Khanang, and Botan. Not everyone will agree with this selection,
and Botan's claim to attention rests mainly on one novel only which
was penetratingly reviewed in these pages a couple of years back by
Napa Pongpipat. A curious fact about Peltier's article is that it takes
almost no account of the literary milieu-as opposed to genre-and this
would seem to us to be important: the atmosphere of literary cliques and
hatreds, the wealth of recent critical comment, is completely ignored.
Sataree Chitanonda, writing in what passes for English, appropriately
examines 'M.R. Kukrit and his literary work', though in the summer
of 1973 it could hardly have been foreseen be would have become the
Prime Minister within two years. Miss Sataree's contribution to
scholarship is minimal; she does not know the difference between a
printing and a publication of a book and only skims the surface of the
volumes she mentions; she misnames Unger, who becomes Unker, speaks
of Kukrit as a 'columnist' which is an unhappy slip, gives different
transliterations for the same word from one line to the next, and bas
such perceptive comments as 'The novel' (Huan Nang) 'is regarded as
one of the good novels' and 'Among our living writes (sic), be (Kukrit) is
highly esteemed by his contemporary writers ... His choice of some (sic)
interesting themes suchas (sic) Thai ancient customs (sic) and traditions
inspire (sic) some (sic) novelists to produce the some (sic) type of
novels'. All this is very unfortunate, for a critical evaluation of Kukrit's
work would be very apposite. Even an analysis of Red Bamboo in comparison
with Gallico and what Kukrit makes of his material would have
critical value, and a general study of his source material would be most
interesting. However, this is not to be here.
The two contributors dealing with Lao literature, Saveng Phinith,
giving a broad survey of whole field, particularly the Vientiane scene,
and P. B. Lafont dealing with 'La Litterature Politi que Lao', being very
largely the work of the Front Patriotique Lao, between them put their

394 REVIEWS
finger on the whole problem facing contemporary literature in the area.
Is one going to have, in Saveng's inappropriate phrase, •un calque de
scenarii pour midinettes', exemplified in the story improbably translitera.
ted as •Kba2 mey dan aam2', where, on the suggestion of a friend, a man
decides to undermine the health of his wife by endless nights of love and
so get rid of her. Of course, the friend returns two months later to find
the wife radiant, like a rose bush that had just been fertilised, and tbe
husband panting for breath and as pale as a grilled crab, with a fairly
direct conversation of explanation following. Or is one going to have
the edifying and moralising publications of the F.P.L., one of which
Lafont cites lyrically describing the heroes defending a strategic point
for 1,000 days and nights against the reactionary forces of Vientiane and
the might of the American Air Force.
When your reviewer took part in the 1973 colloquium, he was
inclined to dismiss Lafont's concept of 'political literature' as a
tautological chimera. One could not have, or so it seemed, political
literature, though one could have political writing. But if one looks at
what is produced in the free economies, it is scarcely less like literature
for the most part, and often a good deal worse-like Ram Narakorn's
. .
Women like fun (~11~~'1ltlll!l"l.ln) where the Thai prostitute lives in a flat,
drinks beer, eats hotdogs, but having always been bought herself now
wants to buy a man for her sensual gratification. It is easy to say that
the F.P.L. writing and other committed works are moralistic, but ultimately
is it not as valid as literature if not more so than the nonsense that
is churned out by the presses of those ideologically committed to no
more than cash rewards? If Thailand and Indonesia, to take the most
important examples, are to satisfy their newly literate reading publics,
there has to be some real encouragement, preferably financial, of works
of greater value than the mass produced. The presses of Hanoi are
politically slanted, and in consequence tend to see things in black and
white, and their products are undoubtedly often boring; but they can Jay
claim to be more pedagogically wholesome and they are not irredeemably
frivolous. They also make, or at least apparently the F.P.L. publications
make, the attempt to simplify the grammar of the language and to
use terms within the range of the comprehension of the peasants. This

RIWIEWS 395
certainly seems a service worth performing.
To polarise the two
possibilities as pornography or propaganda, smut or socialism, rubbish
or rhetoric would be as simplistic as some of the literature considered at
both ends of the political spectrum. There is no reason why either
extreme should be held; valid works of literature can be and sometimes
are produced by both systems under existing conditions. But these same
conditions tend to force the polarisations, and the unedifying gutter press
of at least one country in the region only exists because people want. to
read something and think they know what they do not want to read.
Lastly the juxtaposition of town versus country throughout the
region needs to be considered. Malaysia is here, up to very recently, an
exception, for writers using the national language have come from the
country. But the authors of most other countries, at least the noncommunist
regimes, are very largely the products of the cities which do
not represent the main elements of Southeast Asian life. This allows
Salazar to claim primacy for Tagalog because Manila is the centre of the
area using the language.
Bonneff notes that Indonesian comic strips
demand that 'le lecteur est cense adherer a !'image d'un univers materiel
qui lui est genera\ement etranger ... La Mercedes y est le symbole du
statut, pour une elite en apparence oisive qui partage son temps entre la
plage a la mode, la station de montagne proche de Jakarta et, le soir, les
night-clubs'. Village life remains pure, but hopeless-'la perspective d'un
depart est riche de promesses'. These are not realised however: 'on ne
voit pas de heros gravir les echelons de la societe. A chacun son destin'.
The same is noted by Labrousse in the popular Indonesian novel: the
permanent framework of the metropolis, its smart districts, and at the
other end of the scale the village representing an ideal to which to return,
dead or rich, but usually neither; in literature the men become tramps,
women whores and morality is black-'il semblerait qu'on ne sorte pas
impunement de son rang et que la decbeance soit infiniment plus frequent
que le bonheur ou Ia reconciliation'. Bunlua and most of the Thai
authors named are products of, or have been assimilated by Bangkok (it
is significant that Kbamsingh Srinawk is not mentioned). Bolan's succes
de scandale was achieved precisely because she attempted an examination
of the mostly urban society by an outsider having only his native Chinese
village as a point of comparison.
~· '.''
)
·;
fi.
)
I l
1
~4

396 REVIEWS
It would seem that one has to choose.
Either one has 'literature'
in the accepted sense, or one bas popular writing catering for the taste of
a newly literate public. Whether this popular writing need pander to
the worst tastes is another matter. One knows the reading habit hardly
exists in the region; there is respect for writing but no great desire for it.
As Labrousse notes, 'La promiscuite familiale, l'entassement des habitations
et les problemes quotidiens reduisent a neant les moments de
disponibilite', so the writing bas to be accessible. But need it be a denial
of literature? Perhaps the presses of the Plain of Jars and the Red River
valley, even if they may not have found the answer, at least provide an
alternative which makes one pause for thought.
This volume then, uneven and infelicitous as it sometimes is, does
provide a general insight into some aspects of literary creation in the
Southeast Asian region in 1973, even if the picture is somewhat changed
by political events two years later in at least three of the countries
considered. It could certainly have gained from casting a wider net for
its contributors. But no collection of this kind is perfect; these are
essentially papers presented at a conference sideshow (there were 6,000
delegates and 22 sections and subsections to the congress, as well as 2
colloquia and 13 seminars) and at least one paper contributed bas been
wisely dropped altogether. The emphasis given by four contributors on
popular literature, including comic strips, breaks relatively new ground
and is challenging. In ways perhaps not intended the collection is also
deeply disturbing and one is left wondering what literature and literacy
should really be about.
Gadjah Mada University,
Yo gyakm·ta
Michael Smithies

REVIEWS
397
G. William Skinner and A. Thomas Kirsch, editors, Change and Persistence
in Thai Society; Essays in Honor of Lauriston Sharp (Cornell
University Press, Ithaca and London, 1975) pp. 386.
It is difficult to know how to handle such a collection of essays,
united for the most part only by their reference to Thai society. So 1
shall concentrate on the two essays that interest me most-those by Akin
Rabibbadana and Steven Piker: then try to fit in some comments on the
nine other essays in relation to the major theme arising from Akin's and
Piker's articles, that is, the impact of economic change on traditional
values and social arrangements; and finally consider their relevance to
the current situation.
Akin's outstanding essay on "Clientship and Class Structure in
the Early Bangkok Period', starts with the historic need of the state to
use or control manpower for cultivation and war, the latter in particular
requiring the rapid mobilisation of the peasantry under members of the
nobility. Because of the scarcity of manpower in relation to abundant
land, the kingdom was perceived, not in terms of territorial sovereignty
as it developed in the West, but of a people owing allegiance to the king:
the boundaries of the state were left vague, for it was the people who
mattered. An elaborate ranking system involved the entire population,
but the basic distinction was between the phrai, the common people and
thus overwhelmmgly the peasantry, and the nai, masters or nobility.
The fundamental dichotomy between "high" and ''low" is expressed in
norms of superior-subordinate relations. These norms are realised in
the appropriate behaviour of a client towards his patron: to show
respect, comply with his wishes, fear to do anything (krengchai} that
would displease. The patron in turn, as a morally superior person-his
possession of merit is in practise recognised through his ability to
exercise power-is expected to behave in a manner which gains the
respect of his inferiors; this usually means being calm, kind, generous
and protective.
Now this formal patron-client relationship, expressed in the
reciprocal behaviour of superior and subordinate according to the
established system of stratification, increasingly became eroded by

398 REVIEWS
informal relations. The latter reflected the impact of economic change,
apparent for some time but especially marked from the middle of the
nineteenth century. The vast expansion of international trade, the
influx of Cbine~e immigrants (who both provided a more convenient form
of labour than the traditional peasant corvee and who came to dominate
internal trade by the 1850s), the commercialisation of rice farming and
reforms of the tax system transformed the character of the Thai economy.
Economic changes brought about concomitant changes in patron-client
relations. First, as a result of the increasing opportunities to share,
directly or indirectly, in the new wealth being generated and to seek
advancement in the expanding bureaucracy, members of the nai class
began to compete vigorously among themselves by means of informal
clientship. Secondly, wealthy Chinese traders, bidding to farm taxes,
were seen as desirable clients because they could afford large gifts.
Finally, within the administration, the chain of command was increasingly
disrupted as informal clients of powerful patrons tended to disregard or
disobey their own formal superiors. An informal client could even build
up his own clientele, rivalling the formal clientele of his direct superior,
because of the status be had acquired as informal client of a phuyai.
Thus power stemmed, not merely from clients as in the old days, but
also from wealth.
Steven Piker, in "The Post-Peasant Village in Central Plain Thai
Society", also investigates the effect of economic and demographic
changes on traditional values and social arrangements, in this case the
continuance of "kindred associations" of two or three closely related
village families. These associations, based on the regular exchange of
goods and services (at harvest time, building a house) provide the major
source of village stability and security. But during the present century,
with virtually an end to cultivable land in the Central Plain, because of
the growth of population and consequent fragmentation of holdings as
land is distributed ever more sparsely among family members, the
problem of insufficient holdings or actual landlessness bas become
acute. In the village near Ayuthaya studied by Piker in the 1960s, just
over half the families were without land. These landless, poorer
families simply have not the means--either in income from farming or in

REVIEWS 399
assets-to play their role in the reciprocal functioning of the kindred
assoctat10n. Piker found that one-third of village families were no
longer members of such associations, and keenly felt their loss. To seek
other forms of security they had three choices: to rent land, but the
proportion paid in rent or kind reflected sharp increases in the price of
land; to become an agricultural wage labourer, supplementing meagre
and casual earnings by handicrafts and petty trade; or to migrate to
other regions seeking land, or to towns and especially to Bangkok.
(The author estimated that about a quarter of the village population
has left the village since 1945). Piker considers that two generations
of landless farmers have so far maintained themselves at a rea1>onable
level of subsistence by providing services for their better-off, landed
neighbours: because the increased earnings of those who do own land
have enabled them to pay for these services. But the social relations
of the landless have drastically altered for the worse: they no longer
revolve around the enduring form of a reciprocally based kindred association,
but are settled according to a precarious and inferior
employer-employee relationship. With these changes in occupation and
·status, Ptker concludes, can be seen the emergence of a rural proletariat
and of social class distinctions, even though these are as yet poorly
recognised.
Now for the other contributions, roughly in order of appearance.
A.B. Griswold and Prasert na Nagara skilfully deptct the differences
between rule in Sukhothai and Ayuthaya: the one based on personal
loyalty to a paternalistic ruler, who protected his people, promoted
welfare and settled disputes in accordance with his sense of justice; the
other depending on a fixed body of civil law and a large and increasing
bureaucracy, which encouraged stability rather than (as they put it) personal
liberty. The editors in their stimulating introduction draw
attention to the continuing dialectic between bureaucratised formal
hierarchy and personalised informal clientsbip. (Unfortunately, the
rather high expectations aroused by their introduction are not altogether
realised in the body of the work.)
Thomas Kirsch and Jasper Ingersoll discuss the understanding of
identity through merit-making (especially in groups) and belief in karma,
which place the individual in a recognised hierarchy of stages on the way

400 REVIEWS
to Nirvana. I must confess that I found Kirsch's thesis-or more
correctly the way he applied Geertz's thesis, that religious motivations
may induce predispositions influencing activities in non-religious
contexts-somewhat unconvincing: to over-simplify, Thai Buddhism is
said to explain the occupational differentiation between men (bureaucratic,
political) and women (economic).
Lucien Hanks writes sensibly about patron-client relations
("entourage"), but the wider concept of a "circle" (extending beyond
the entourage and characterised by impersonal, contractual relations)
formulated at Cornell, does not seem to provide any significant insight
into either business monopolies or government activities. Michael
Moerman argues in his piece that "in the old days" there was a different
sort of "economic man" in the North from that of the Centre; yet
judging by his evidence the "entrepreneurial" qualities of Northern
traders are distinctly limited: they almost never bought on credit for
sale, or hired oxen for trading, and buying and selling prices were
generally stable. David Wyatt summarises elegantly his major work
on the beginnings of modern education, showing how new schools were set
up to produce efficient, trained personnel to meet the needs of
expanding government services, rapid economic development and
military requirements.
Charles Keyes writes perceptively on kin groups in a Thai-Lao community.
(Georges Condominas describes Phiban cults in rural Laos).
Keyes underlines the importance of migration when he shows that over
the last 40 years 75 families have permanently migrated from the village
he studied (present population: 703) near Mahasarakham. He also reports
that nearly three-quarters of all the men of the village, aged between 20
and 40, bad at some time worked in Bangkok and for Vientiane. Finally
Herbert Phillips treats briefly the perennially fascinating topic of Thai
intellectuals. It is a pity, however, that he reproduces without
alteration an investigation carried out in the years before 1973-although
this is being remedied in his present work-as the picture is undoubtedly
a conservative one. He notes the overwhelming attraction of Biwgkok
for the 153 "distinguished", "famous" or "contributing" intellectuals on

mvmws 401
his list, well over half of them were born and reared outside Bangkok.
Phillips gives pen portraits of half a dozen or so leading intellectuals; he
classifies his list into broad categories of "Royal Traditionalists", "Social
Technicians", ''Panel Discussants" and so on, claiming (but again this
will no doubt be rectified) that they tend to be "literati'' elaborating on
the acceptable, rather than ''intelligentsia", implying the dissenting or
heretical innovators.
Finally, what is the relevance of these findings to the current
situation? To my mind they give rise to a series of questions. Are the
traditional norms of patron-client relations cited by Akin-deference and
service on the one hand, protection and assistance on the other-being
eroded by Western material values'? Just as, for example, the formal
patron-client ties of the early nineteenth century were eroded by the
informal ties? More specifically, are the "new men", the financial, industrial
and commercial magnates, the technocrats, the Western-educated
professionals and officials, are they effectively displacing the old-style
military-bureaucratic leaders?
Are the "modernising" values of
entrepreneurial society-rational, calculating, impersonal, thrusting,
competitive, resourceful, experimental-are these de-stabilising values
beginning to prevail over traditional norms of behaviour, i.e. as a reflection
of the growth of industry, the inflow of foreign capital, increased
mechanisation of agricu I ture, wider use of fertiliser and insecticides, and
the innovative response of farmers, all of which indicate tbe shift to a
more differentiated and developed economy?
The case of Chinese
immigrants to Thailand suggests one answer: given the need to make
good in a strange land and the opportunity to do so, sons of poor peasants,
fishermen and artisans were certainly not inhibited by traditional Chinese
values of attachment to the land, occupational status and social
obligations.
Students after 1973, too, in spite of continuing ambivalence
in regard to traditional values, have demonstrated on certain issues a
remarkable change in attitude from one of deference, respect, pragmatism

402 REVIEWS
and career concern to that of challenging authority, probing abuses and
demanding redress of grievances on a nation-wide scale-although the
current degree of militancy may well subside. Yet despite this evidence
of change the history of Thai society in the last two or three decades
may provide another answer: the absorption of "new blood" by a
rejuvenated military-bureaucratic-technocratic elite, rather than the
reverse.
This prompts a related question.
Are not the values of superiorsubordinate
relations and the practice of reciprocal arrangements of
mutual (though unequal) benefit the "form", that is to say the style in
which things are done and people interact, rather than the substance,
which is basically a matter of power (institutionalised, but ultimately
resting on superior force) and possession (the preferential allocation of
goods and services)? Of course, the organisation of power and of
possesssion is not necessartly monolithic, and may even be differentiated,
but in general power and possession are either interlocking, at one end
of the scale, or else overlap, at the other, more "pluralistic", end. Indeed
A kin's discussion of the transition from formal patron-client relations
(according to the then stratification system) to informal relations,
reflecting new sources of wealth and new kinds of power, would appear
to support this contention. To take the argument further: there is no
need to suppose the imminent demise of deference, respect, protection
and assistance in contemporary Thailand, given that these traditionally
sanctioned attitudes and practices are functionally ejjective: that is, they
provide a recognised and acceptable way of legitimising authority
(provided the latter does ''protect" and "assist") and, at the same time,
of ensuring a certain distribution ("trickle down") of material benefits
from superiors to subordinates. Certainly the degree of benefit may be
contested--as shown by labour unions' and farmers' demands-but the
principle remains.
Such is the case today-in spite of the divesse and contrary trends
of student populism, communist-led insurgencies, and growing political
consciousness both at national and local levels. But it is the rural
situation which in the long term presents the most ominous challenge,

HE VIEWS 403
For it is hard to see how a substantial part of the rapidly growing
population, faced with limits to cultivable land and quite inadequate
employment opportunities, cannot but suffer a serious decline in its
living standards. The "green revolution" alone, i.e. without institutional
reforms, is no answer: it may well increase production in the aggregatebut
at tbe expense of employment and at the cost of further polarisation
between the rural elite and the poor. The danger is a very real one.
For if the system cannot fulfil its reciprocal obligations and becomes
obviously one-sided and exploitative-as, for example, in warlord and
Nationalist China-then it will either increasingly rely on force for survival
or else will break down because of internal fissures and/or the pressures
of organised opposition.
Australian National University
J.L.S. Girling
Prateep Sondysuvan, editor, Finance, Trade and Economic Development in
Thailand: Essays in Honour of Khunying Suparb Yossundara (Sompong
Press, Bangkok, 1975), pp. 318.
This extremely interesting collection of essays by Dr. Puey and a
number of younger Thai economists has been published at a time of great
economic and political stress for Thailand and it can be used as a base
for a review of the political economy of Thailand in the post-Vietnam
era.
Many of the contributors are, or have been, associated with the
Department of Economic Research at the Bank of Thailand where
Khunying Suparb Yossundara worked from 1948 to the time of her death
in March 1974. She was Director of Economic Research from 1960-1966
before becoming Assistant to the Governor re~ponsible for international
relations and economic policy and crowned an exceptional career ~y
becoming the first woman Executive Director of the World Bank m
1971-1972. Her death at the early age of 53 led to the publication of
these essays.

404 REVIEWS
The essays are extremely interesting because they reflect the public
policy debates among Thai economists. Over the past fifteen years, a
great deal of material has been written on the Thai economy by "visiting
economists" on tbe staff of USOM, the major Bangkok universities and
the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations. These foreigners have published
a considerable body of work, but whether they worked for six months
or sixteen years their preoccupations were necessarily not distinctively
Thai and their understanding (or lack of understanding) of Thai language
and culture bas inevitably limited the scope of their enquiries. A very
large amount of work bas been produced in Thai and English in the Bank
of Thailand, the Ministry of Finance, the National Economic and Social
Development Board and the other ministries. Much of this material is
unpublished and even the establishment of the Thai Economic Review in
May 1971 bas only partially solved the problem of discovering the
younger Thai economists' views of the major policy problems of the Thai
economy. The present volume not only covers these major policy issues:
rice policy, income distribution, efficiency of industrialisation over the
last decade, monetary policy etc., but also a number of minor issues.
The biography of Khunying Suparb is too short (less than one page)
and only gives the bare dates and details of an extremely interesting life.
A longer essay dealing with Khunying's work in economic policy-making
would have been valuable and normally expected by the reader of such a
festschrift.
Dr. Puey Ungphakorn's own useful essay on "Steps to International
Monetary Order" (the Per Jacobsson Lecture in 1974) (Part 1 Special
Essay pp. 5-22) is preceded by a very emotional letter dated 22nd of
August 1974, which records his difficulties in fighting for democracy
(p.4):-
"In my fight for freedom inside and outside the National Legislative
Assembly during the past seven months, as to be expected,
I have had to contend with much hypocrisy, distortion of facts, a~d
even downright lies."
Dr. Puey can take considerable credit for his battle to reestablish
democracy in 1973 and 1974.
The present Thai Government certainly

HEVIEWS 405
does not represent the "Westminster model", but it is welcome nevertheless.
His essay, however, is rather peripheral to the theme of the volume,
but his view on the present instability of the international monetary
system has already been justified by events. (p. 17) :-
''I cannot venture to predict how long the present upheavals in the
payments positions and prospects will last. This may take 2-3
years. But for all we know monetary conditions may take as long
as a decade to stabilize."
Thailand has benefited considerably
monetary management over the period from !965.
from Dr. Puey's conservative
Dr. Puey's views
on policy changes {pp. 17-21) are virtually all being gradually accepted,
although his preference for a system of "stable exchanges" (p. 20) is
unlikely to be realised for some years.
The central role of the SDR
(Special Drawing Right) predicted by Dr. Puey has already been
accepted.
The book then begins (Part 2) with an excellent overview, "Stability,
Growth and Distribution in the Thai Economy" (pp. 25-48) by
Ammar Siam walla.
He correctly stressed the remarkable stable growth
of the open and agricultural-based Thai economy from 1955-1972.
The
inflationary difficulties of 1974-1975 are ascribed not to the "commodities
boom" and sharp increase in the price of imported crude oil and
petroleum products, which left Thailand "a small net loser" (although by
the end of 1975 Thailand was a large loser), but the problem caused by
fixing the baht in terms of the dollar at a time when the dollar was
falling. Again the rise of the dollar from June-September 1975 is presumably
a factor favourable to lower inflation in 1975-1976. Certainly
Thailand is not likely to return to the stability enjoyed during the
period up to 1972. Thai growth is hampered by the problem of rice
production (p. 37) "which has now been roughly static for about 8 years"
and a rather disorganised industrial policy run by the Board of Investments
which bas been uncritical on foreign investments and lacked any
strategy on industrial exports. Dr. Amrnar concludes by focussing on
income inequality and (p. 4 7) ''the government policies which tend to
accentuate the inequality,.,.''. The problem of increasing rural/urban

406 REVIEWS
dis pari ties and the continuing rapid growth of the Bangkok-Tbonburi
conurbation will remain major problems into the 1980's.
A series of specialist essays on finance topics (Part 3 Section 1.
Instituiions) follow Dr. Ammar's lucid introductory essay. Paiboon
Wattanasiritham (p. 51-78) bas compiled a very useful set of statistics
on Thailand's financial institutions (1963-1973) (pp. 65-78) and his
paper describes very accurately the dominance of the commercial banks.
(p.61):-
"Commercial banks have shown clear dominance among all financial
institutions throughout the period under review. There is no
clear indication that this picture will change significantly in the
foreseeable future, except the possibility that finance companies
may take some of the business hitherto belonging to commercial
banks."
A short paper by Sangob Punnaragsa on ''Profitability of Commercial
Banks in Thailand" (pp. 79-91) is handicapped by lack of data on "excessive
profits" in other industries as Thai data on company profits is
largely unavailable and where available is unreliable.
is sensible (p. 90) :-
His conclusion
"In spite of the lack of information regarding an average return on
other industries, at least it could be concluded that the banking
industry in Thailand makes a satisfactory rate of return to shareholders."
The next paper "Thai Commercial Banking of the 1980's" by Thep.
Roongtanapiram (pp. 93-97) should not have been published. It is very
short and contains no evidence of any original thought and makes no
attempt to construct a quantitative framework. The quality of the
paper can be captured in one sentence (p. 93): "This paper intends to
indicate in which directions Thai commercial banks seem to be in the
1980's ...".
The next paper (Part 3 Section 2. Policies) "An Evaluation of
Thailand's Monetary Policy in the 1960's" by Warin Wonghanchao
(pp. 99-114) is proof that Dr. Warin received his Ph.D. from Cornell in
1970 and is a master of Theilian models for policy evaluation with
maximization of prescribed welfare functions. However his "Decision

REVIEWS 407
Model" is extremely difficult for a non-econometrician to understand and
tlle conclusions are not clearly stated. However, it does broadly support
the Bank of Thailand's monetary policy in the 1960s when Khunying
Suparb and Dr. Puey were most active. Sataporn Jinachitra's short
essay on money supply (pp. 115-121) emphasises the importance of the
monetary base.
The final paper in the Finance section by Supachai
Panitchpakdi "Inflation: The Case of External Disturbances" (pp. 123-
138) provides a very interesting model of the Thai inflation and balance
of payments deficits, which bas been confirmed by events in 1975
(p. 136) :-
"With prtce rise the trade deficit widens which is mainly due to
the increase in the demand for international goods because of the
rise of nominal income."
A better description of events in 1974-1975 could hardly be imagined.
Part 4 ·'Trade" opens with Dr. Ammar Siamwalla's essay "A History
of Rice Price Policies in Thailand" ( pp. 141-165). This paper not only
has a very valuable policy appendix giving a chronology of Thai rice
policy 1955-1973 but is analytically clear in summarising the foundations
of the policy on price (p. 147):-
"Tbe basic elements of control used by the Thai Government to
regulate rice prices were as follows:-
a) Premium rates
b) Quantitative controls on export volumes, including
outright ban on exports
c) Government-to-government sales."
He is excellent on the mismanagement of rice policy from 1972's poor
harvest into 1973 (p. 155):-
"For most Thai consumers, standing in line for any commodity is
an indignity, doing so for rice is an affront to their sense of
decency. The government (Field Marshal Prapass (my insertion)
was oushed into action."
However, Dr. Ammar is reluctant to admit the full extent of the diversification
of Thai agriculture (p. 157):-
"From being a monocultural economy, Thailand now has a
somewhat more diversified structure."

408 REVIEWS
In the export sector at least, rice has declined from 7096 in the early 1960's
to 33% in 1974 on high world prices and will be down to 20-23% of
total export value in 1975 with further prospects of decline in 1976
and 1977.
The next essay "Thai Rice Exports: An Analysis of Its Performance
in the 1960's'' by Chaiyawat Wibulswasdi (pp. 167-190) is a thoroughly
inadequate piece of work taken as a chapter from his 1973 M.I.T. Ph. D.
dissertation supervised by Jagdish Bhagwati. Chuiyawat starts with a
simplistic oligopolistic model of the world rice market. This model
was originally developed by Manmohan Singh in his book, India's
Export Trends (Oxford, 1964), which presumes that the optimal strategy
for every supplier is to protect its existing share. In the case of
Thailand there is no discussion at all of the merits in the early 1960's
of agricultural diversification away from the sharply fluctuating world
rice export economy. There is no mention of the critical role of heavily
subsidised U.S. sales of PL-480 rice to key markets. On close examination
ofChaiyawat's Tables A-I- A-VIII one finds that Thailand's share
held up well over the decade in the commercial markets of Hong
Kong, Singapore and Japan, but lost to the U.S. in Indonesia, Malaysia
and Saudi Arabia and to China in Ceylon. The key question: ''Should
Thailand have competed on price with U.S. and Chinese rice exports?"
is never asked.
Olarn Chaipravat's work on the production structure of paddy
cultivation from 1951 to 1973 (pp. 191-205) is a valuable compilation,
which emphasises the low level of input usage in Thailand and his
conclusion (p. 205) will certainly arouse controversy, a! though it might do
a great deal to mitigate rural/urban disparities if carried out energeti­
cally:-
"It is most urgent for the government, therefore, to introduce the
programme of providing productive farm inputs for the farmers at
subsidized prices in order to maximize the welfare of the farming
population and increase the net foreign-exchange earning of the
country without jeopardizing too much of the government revenue
on the welfare of the urban consumers, especially during the period
in which the foreign demand of Thai rice remains buoyant."
This policy will be costly and difficult to administer, but measures to
raise rise yields in Thailand will be vital in the period 1976-80.

REVIEWS 409
The final section (Part 5) is on "Economic Development" and the
first essay is by Virabongsa Ramangkura "A Macroeconometric Model
for Thailand : A Classical Approach" (pp. 209-221). The model is
definitely for specialist econometricians. It was tested on the economy
from 1953-1969 (a period of great stability) with rather good results
(p. 220) :-
"Taken as a whole, the simulation solutions derived from 1953-
1969 are fairly satisfactory."
However, there is no doubt that for 1970-1975 (a period of great
instability) the results would have been worthless. Medium-sized
econometric models do not work very well during global crises.
Phisit Phakkasem's first contribution "Development Planning and
Implementation in Thailand" (pp. 223-234) is a useful summary and
review of the experience of development planning in the First and
Second Plan periods 1961-1966 and 1967-1971. Pbisit also prepared
a gloomy piece on "Regional Planning Within a National Framework:
The Case of Thailand's Northeast" (pp. 236-243), which emphasises the
continuing difficulties of regional development and regional income
dis pari ties.
The essay by Chaktip Nitibbon "Urban Development and Industrial
Estates in Thailand" (pp. 245-255) is a useful summary of an area
of planning, which has been spectacularly unsuccessful. Bangkok-Thonburi
continues to grow and industrial estates have not been an important
factor in the limited industrial dispersal from 1965-1975.
Narongchai Akrasanee's excellent paper "Import Substitution,
Export Expansion and Sources of Industrial Growth in Thailand 1960-
1972" (pp. 257-277) summarises the ongoing experience of Thai industrialisation
as little has changed in basic direction from 1972-1975,
although the prospects of the garment industry and textiles are now
blighted by severe U.S. quotas and global restrictions under the GATT
Multi-Fibres Agreement. Narongcbai rightly concludes that Thailand
is experiencing difficulties in the transition from import substitution to
export production policies and that (p. 275) :-
"... industrialization of Thailand was characterized by import
substitution and production for the domestic market, with a growing
contribution from export expansion in a number of industries
in the early 1970's."

410 HEVIEWS
Export promotion expansion will be difficult from 1976-1980 as slower
growth in O.E.C.D. markets and quota combine with increasing competition
to limit Thailand's potential for expansion of industrial exports,
but the road back to import substitution appears to be a closed option
in the minds of Thai economic planners.
The final paper "Distribution of Income and Wealth in Thailand"
by Udom Kerdpibule (pp. 279-316) is perhaps the best. Thai "data on
income and wealth are relatively scattered and fragmentary" (p. 283)
and the methodology and the data used show considerable ingenuity in
handling both income and wealth for urban and rural families. The
rural area is very difficult to cover (p. 293) :-
"A vast majority of the Thai population are living in agricultural
household (s), but there is little information on their level of living."
The data assembled is excellent and the presentation balanced, which
means that taxation and education are both recognised as sources of
inequality. The principal conclusions are modest and the institutional
factors are correctly identified. Thailand bas a severe problem of rural/
urban inequalities and a further severe problem of inequality between
rural families (p. 315) :-
"( 1) The mean income of rural families is less than half of the
urban-family income and the differential is getting larger. The
distribution is also more concentrated than that of urban income,
the tendency is also toward a higher degree of inequality."
Thailand and Thailand's economists face many severe difficulties in
the post-Vietnam era. This volume is evidence that the problems are
recognised and are being analysed, but there are few concrete proposals
in this volume and no evidence that the political economy will be quickly
or easily altered to face the challenges of 1976. Thailand's policy-makers
recognise their problems, but find politically acceptable solutions
difficult to devise within the present social and economic structure, but
this volume shows they can adjust to changing conditions.
A11g11s Ho11e
Institute of Commo11wealth Studies,
Oxford

REVIEWS 411
Chakrit Noranitipadungkarn Elites, Power Structure and Politics in Thai
Communities (Research Center, N.l.D.A., Bangkok, 1970), ix+l99.
It is not always fair for a book to be reviewed some five years after
its publication. Theoretical perspectives change and a reviewer has to
consider the work in its historical context rather than attempt a
contemporary assessment. If written now, Dr. Chakrit's book would
probably include a more sophisticated analysis of social competition and
conflict, it might employ the concepts of social network, action set,
quasi-group, etc., to complement or replace the use of sociograms which
indicate one or two way communications between elite members without
reference to context. Given such qualifications, however, the volume
remains important for anyone interested in Thai social organization
because of its pioneering nature and the information it provides about
small town politics and social organization.
In what was his Ph.D. project Dr. Chakrit sought to specify and
study the local elite in two Thai municipalities (tesaban tambol) which be
then compared in order to provide some idea of tbe underlying similarities
as well as of the types of variation which can occur. The first
community is a small coastal town in Cholburi referred to as Bang Saai;
the second, Ban Hin, is located in Saraburi where it is important as a
regional headquarters for the rail way.
In both towns the local elite was first specified by evidence furnished
from a ten per cent sample survl!'y of all household heads plus interviews
with "key" persons in the public and private sectors. A second survey
was then conducted in which those assessed as elite members were
questioned in depth as to their own views of the local elite, their wealth,
family background, participation in public affairs, etc. In so doing the
author was able to compile a simple biographical profile of each individual
as well as obtain a lot of information about local politics, decision
making, disputes, and the complexities of relations with the central
government.

412 REVIEWS
The manner of presentation is for a brief outline of the history of
the town, its administrative arrangements and general social organization,
to be followed by the biographies of those finally classed as constituting
the elite. These are followed by comments on the most salient features
as well as by reference to some of the issues which have affected political
life in the town. In the cone! uding chapters the author discusses
comparatively the characteristics of local elites, the relative importance
of wealth, education, friendship etc. and the way in which the various
sectors of local society, the administrative, the religious and the private
business, are related to one another. He also refers in the final chapter
to the problems associated with the development of a responsible and
responsive system of municipal government, a discussion which is limited
by the fact that at the time of research the government had restricted
opportunities for the election of municipal councils.
Concentration on 'the elite' as a category is at the expense of some
important aspects of the context in which elite individuals operate.
What, for instance, of rich Chinese businessmen or bead teachers not
included in the study or of the non-elite support that local leaders can
mobilise? The lack of such information clearly weakens the evaluation
of the necessary conditions for elite status. What does emerge though
is a fragmented but nonetheless fascinating picture of the way in which
individuals formulate policies, attempt to implement them, and on
occasion compete amongst themselves.
In conclusion the strength of the book lies not so much in the
formal analysis of the material, which within the constraints of the
methodology employed appears well conducted, as in the fact that the
data collected is presented in such a way as can be used by others. In
terms of the background it provides, the work is valuable for any who
consider research into non-rural social organization or social differentiation
in Thailand, as well as to those generally interested in learning
something of a regrettably understudied area of Thai society.
Faculty of Social Sciences,
University of Kent at Canterbury
Jeremy H. Kemp

REVIEWS 413
Likhit Dhiravegin, Political Attitudes of the Bureaucratic Elite and
Modernization in Thailand (Thai Watana Panich, Bangkok, 1973), vi+94.
The terms 'bureaucracy' and 'elite' understandably figure prominently
in much of the general social science literature on Thailand yet
comparatively little systematic research has been published other than in
the realm of administrative science. (Riggs, Siffin, et. al.)* U nfortunately
Dr. Likhit's book does little to remedy this lack despite his treatment
of a number of topics of interest to the specialist as well as to the more
general reader.
Moreover a number of basic methodological and
analytical issues raise doubts as to the real value of this type of research
project.
The work, originally a Ph.D. dissertation in political science,
commences with a heavily footnoted theoretical introduction on the
approach used followed by a cursory and sometimes inaccurate outline of
the development of the Thai bureaucracy from 1237 A.D. to 1971. In
Chapter 3 the author presents data on the background of his sample of
high ranking civil servants in terms of father's occupation, place of
origin, age distribution, education, and membership of associations. In
Chapter 4 the political attitudes of the sample members are assessed
* References cited:
., A. Brand 1968
H.D. Evers 1966
H. D. Evers & T.H.
Si!cock 196 7
Fred W. Riggs 1966
W.J. Siffin 1966
Education and Social Mobility in Thailand
Sociologische Gids 15, 6.
'The formation of a social class structure,
urbanization, bureaucratization and social
mobility in Thailand'. Ametican Sociological
Review 3 I, 4.
Elites and Selection in T.H. Silcock, ed.
Thailand :Social and Economic Studies in Development.
Canberra-Singapore. Donald
Moore Press.
Thailand : The Moderni:wtirm of a Bureaucra·
tic Pnlity. Honolulu, East-West Center Press.
The Thai Bureaucracy: lnstitutio11al Change
and Development. Honolulu, East-West Center
Press.

414 REVIEWS
with respect to change, equalitarianism, and tolerance, along a "Liberal­
Conservative Scale" and these are then correlated with age, educational
experience, and inter-genera tiona! mobility. Chapter 5 consists of a
discussion of the role of the bureaucratic elite in facilitating modernization
with reference to the three values discussed earlier. The author
also criticises the National Development Plans of Thailand as being too
concerned with purely economic factors at the expense of the development
of political participation, which is one of the core criteria in his
definition of modernization. Nevertheless the author is forced to
recognize that in the light of the power of the military in Thailand
"Political participation and the democratic process are antithetical to
the existing political power structure." {p. 54.) He argues that "economic
development without the development of a participant political structure
cannot lead to a viable political system and is likely to lead to political
instability." (p. 57.) Nonetheless the author is hopeful in his opinion
that the "substantial number of liberal members of the bureaucratic
elite suggests that there is a potential for a change of the strate!J.Y of
modernization ... " {p. 60)
Finally, in his conclusion he reviews his
findings and outlines a strategy of political development by means of
a combination of elite groups under a strong leader. In the absence of
any cbarismatic leader be calls for a strong and progressive dictator
like Sarit Thanarat. "The party wbich consists of a coalition of elites
under a strong benevolent dictator would perform two functions:
solidarity and participation through membership," (p. 69.) that is;•
"participant political culture" would be developed among the grass-roots
to stimulate political consciousness as a preparation for the institution
of some eventual democratic competitive party system.
The somewhat grandiose title of the work bears little relation to
the empirical study contained within it. Dr. Likbit attempted to use
ninety-six informants {predominantly male and Buddhist) of high rank
in three ministries, be obtained answers to his questionnaire from fifty-six
of which he was able to use fifty-two. The disadvantage of working
with such a small group is aptly illustrated in the discussion of the
backgraund of members of the Ministry of Interior when the author
relates that "the number of the elite who are from families of the

REVIEWS 415
peasantry (20.8396) is larger than the number of the elite who are from
families of businessmen ( 16.6696)" (p. 20.) which he then associates with
the traditional concern of the Ministry of Interior with local administration.
What is not pointed out is that the discussion is about five and
four individuals respectively. As for the treatment of mobility which
indicates that forty-eight per cent of the sample had fathers in govermeot
service, it is surprising that the issues raised by Evers and Brand as
to whether or not there is a declining level of mobility are not mentioned.
It should also have been recognized that a simple question about a
father's position is not an adequate indicator of mobility in a social
system such as tbe Thai where kin links are important for sponsorship,
educational support, etc. It really is necessary to know something of
the status of grandparents and of the siblings of both parents. Clearly
then if the extent to which the bureaucracy is self-recruiting and the
consequences arising from this are to be examined meaningfully one
must go far beyond the questions asked here.
The relevance of educational achievement is rightly linked to
occupational mobility and interesting variations relating to age and the
prestige of the ministries concerned are noted. The question of whether
or not a high level of educational achievement, by which is usually
meant a higher degree in the U.S. or a European country, takes place
before or after gaining entry to government service is not mentioned.
In other words does mobility follow as a direct consequence of the
American Ph.D. or rather is the requisite government scholarship the
crucial factor, the sign that one is destined for the top so that the degree
itself is in a sense a formality, the issue of a licence for success?
Appraisal of the second part of the questionnaire which is concerned
with the expression of attitudes reveals a similar problem of superficiality.
This part of the survey consisted of twenty-four questions but the results
of only twelve were finally used, the others revealed an inadequate level
of discrimination.
Significantly of those retained there were only two
out of the eight asked on 'equality' whereas six of the eight on 'tolerance'
could be used.
The fact that twelve of the questions showed an
inadequate level of discrimination and that the results of the remaining

416 REVIEWS
twelve indicate a distinct bunching towards the liberal end of the scale
suggest over-all a remarkably homogeneous set of responses. Why
should this be so? Does it reflect an underlying genuine homogeneity
of attitudes in the Thai elite or really is it a formal expression of a
general bureaucratic ideology, tbe expression of safe and standard views.
One has to ask whether or not the responses of these highly trained, very
sophisticated and professional individuals to such questions as "The
foreign policy of Thailand since the second World War has been
pro-Western. We should not change this policy. Do you agree?" or
"Do you agree that people with strange ideas that go against customs
cannot be trusted?" really do reveal much of the respondents' underlying
opinions or of the way in which they are likely to make decisions.
As for the analysis of the contemporary political situation and the
author's proposals, subsequent events must not be used to unfairly
condemn some of his statements. There are, however, some general
points which are relevant to what is now happening. Firstly the statement
that the ideal leader is a charismatic one and that in the absence
of such a person one requires a strong benevolent dictator is particularly
suspect. Too many dictators have ceased to be benevolent once
challenged. Fur"thermore if the dictator is in a strong position backed
whole-heartedly by a unified elite why should any attempt be made
to politicise the peasantry? One of the interesting features of Thai
society when compared to others which experienced colonialism is
the very fact that the indigenous elite did not have to reach out and
mobilize the countryside and in the process create an effective political
party system in order to wrest power from the colonial overlords. In
conclusion it would seem that the author manifests a very traditional
Thai attitude in expecting the impetus for social and political change to
come from the top, others might contend that a more satisfactory
approach would be to examine the basic socio-economic structure of the
society and the changes which are now affecting it.
Faculty of Social Sciences,
University of Kent at Cante1·bury
Jeremy H. Kemp

REVJEWS
417
Wibha Senanan, The Genesis of the Novel in Thailand (Tpai Watana
Panich, Bangkok, 1975), pp. xii+l68.
This short volume is the first to appear in a Western language by a
Thai that deals with an aspect of recent Thai literature. Up to now
most Westerners have had to be content with Schweisguth's volume in
French (which is not even listed in Dr Wibha's bibliography) and
scattered articles in the pages of the Journal of the Siam Society, of
which none of those by Westerners are mentioned. It is a pity that Dr
Wibha did not refer to these, for one has the impression that a good deal
of academic debunking could have taken place; it is unlikely that
Westerners viewing the Thai fictional genre would have very similar
optics to a Thai literary critic.
Dr Wibha's volume 'was written originally us a doctoral thesis' for
London University, and seems to have suffered remarkably few textual
changes. Even the biographical notice for Si Burapha (Kulap Saipradit)
says that he is stillli ving in the text, though this is modified by a footnote
saying he died in Peking in June 1974. Does one see here the traditional
Thai respect for a text so tbat one does not modify it, even when it is
one's own and more recent information makes the original inaccurate?
PhD theses for some reason do not make good reading, and it would have
been expedient for Dr Wibha to have exercised greater editorial freedom
with her text. There are far too many repetitions, jumps backwards
and forwards and apparent irrelevancies to permit the reader to formulate
a coherent picture. There is a long aside in Chapter V oo the
Franco-Thai dispute of 1893, with another on the same subject, of
shorter duration, in Chapter IX. Inevitably King Vajiravudh's plays are
given fairly fulsome treatment, though they are not pertinent to the
subject.
Starting off with an outline of the poetic tradition, Dr Wibha
moves on to a consideration of the prose tradition and then deals, after
a survey on the introduction of printing, with the influence of journalism
at some length. Indeed one might with reason feel that this volume
could be accurately described as a survey of the early printed word in
Thai as much as a study of the rise of the novel. Not until we reach

418 HE VIE\\ S
Chapter VII are we at the subject of the early novels, and then all that
remains are two chapters covering the reading public and the novelists,
and the novel and society.
One is left with the impression that the novel is very alien to the
Thai ethos. It was not until Dr Bradley in the 1830s, and later Dr
Smith, got going with a printing press that the physical means readily
existed for the creation of the novel. The early newspapers, frequently
produced on the presses of these two, were the vehicles of early prose
fiction which was considerably influenced by Western models. The
early novels themselves are frankly linked to the Westernised environment
which gave them birth.
Si Burapba published his first novel, Luk Phuchai, in 1928. Manot,
the son of a carpenter, rises on the educational ladder, goes to study in
Prance, returns to find his wife bas eloped and ends up successful, titled,
and marrying the only daughter of his old friend and former girlfriend
who is some twenty-two years younger than he. This complicated
entanglement of loves and likes was clearly a successful formula, for by
1929 Si Burapba was in the middle of his third novel when Dokmai Sot's
first, Sattru Khong Chao Lon, appeared. This represents more clearly
the conflict between a traditional Thai and a Westernised way of life,
with Mayuri, the daughter of the Thai Amdassador to the US, having
progressive views about marrying for love and her childhood ·friend, to
whom she has been engaged by her family, Prasong, who goes to study
in France. They return, have tiffs, and after much raising and lowering
of the emotional temperature, decide they really are made for each other
after all and settle down a happy couple. The third major early novelist,
whose volume Lakhon Haeng Chiwit appeared in 1929 in book form when
Dokmai Sot's first novel was appearing serially, is Prince Akatdamkoeng
Raphiphat. This is still more frankly Westernising.
Wisut goes off to
England, takes up with journalistic English ladies (one titled) and follows
their profession, moves to Paris, Monte Carlo, Geneva, the United States,
goes on to Hawaii, Japan, and China, and returns to Thailand, poor in
health and heart but rich in experience.

REVIEWS 419
The society described in these three novels is definitely that of the
gilded few. Dokmai Sot describes the traditional nobility with a veneer
of Westernisation, Prince Akat's hero is the son of a Phya moving in
elevated society abroad, and Si Burapha's hero's heartthrob is the
daughter of a rich nobleman and his friends at school the children of
senior ministry officials. But Si Burapha'S" hero, Manot, rises in society,
a poor boy who makes good, a sort of Paysan Parvenu. Prince Akat's
hero, Wisut, feels friendless at home where his only friend a half chinese
niece of his nurse and he roughs it in Fulbam, in the East End of London
and in Bexhill. Otherwise he courts Hungarian countesses in Monaco
and antiquarian baronets in New York, though still being attached in
sentiment to Maria Grey, the reappearing love symbol that by his own
volition he will not attain.
What is interesting, from the point of view of comparative literature,
is the similarities between these plots and attitudes and eighteenth
century French and English novels. Luk Phuchai resembles Marivaux's
novels describing a rise in society, Sattru Khong Chao Lon could be
straight from Jane Austen in its amorous comings and goings and
Lakhon Haeng Chiwit almost any picaresque novel one cares to name
with a recurring love theme- Tom Jones comes most readily to mind.
The characters have however a certain Western un- Thai angst, a restlessness
brought about by contacts outside their normal social environment.
It is difficult to believe that these novels could interest a general Thai
public in 1928-9, but then they almost certainly did not. Mass literacy
is a much more recent phenomenon, and the reading public in the late
1920s was limited to the class the novels described, just as 18th century
novels in the West were socially limited to the affluent few.
If consideration here is concentrated on the first novels of the first
novelists, this is simply a reflection of the volume under review. Si
Burapba's other novels are only mentioned in passing as 'a development
in his style of presentation', though Khang Lang Phap is said to be on the

420 HEVIEWS
same theme as Prince Akat's first novel, the unattainability of love;
Prince Akat's other novels are presented as an extension of the first but
not examined in detail; and of Dokmai Sot's many other novels only six
are mentioned by title and not even Phu Di is examined closely. There is
also no consideration of possible non-Thai sources of the three novels,
no reference to other literatures, and no examination of the influence, if
any, of these writers on subsequent novelists, or a general consideration
of the situation of the Thai novel today.
The volume as a whole appears then to be curiously isolated in
time and place. There is a long warming up process, a brief examination
of three books by three authors, and a quick rounding off with fashionable
lip-service to sociology really being the occasion for a further review
of Thai 19th century history. This is not to say that this viewpoint is
without value; on the contrary, as it comes from a Thai, it is pertinent.
But here the source of the volume, a PhD thesis, interferes with the
broader approach. We have a pinhead closely examined, but all the
other pins in the cushion are ignored. If Dr Wibha could extend this
work in another volume in two directions we should indeed have cause
to thank her; the early Thai home still needs to be put in the international
context of world literature, and the influences of the early Thai novelists
(not just with their first novels) traced up to the present, with the radical
departures in recent times also being noted.
Gadjah Made, University,
Yogyakarta
Michael Smithies

HEV!E\VS 421
o~ ~ ~ r.$v "\ rl t
111Wff11'J3./VtlftnJJ I'I~::E/1FJ1JH:i JJ'Uf111fi'HJUI1'mJJ7'J IV JJ'JV lNtJUW'1l P/fJnWf1311Vn':i 7u
..( /:j """' •
Tamcmn:mtmwmP~W1fi"JV ao 11 (Collected Articles of Francis H. Giles
(Phya Indramontri), published by the Revenue Department on its 60th
anniversary), pp. 260.
This anniversary volume does the academic community a great
service in focusing attention on the writings of Francis Henry Giles, a
keen and astute recorder of Siamese customs and folklore.
It is particularly
appropriate that the Revenue Department and the Siam Society
co-operated in making this volume available as Chaokhun Indra was both
a founding member of the Siam Society and the first Director-General
of the Revenue Department. Mr. Giles, better known as Chaokhun Indra,
served Siam not only as a faithful and efficient civil servant in the fiscal
realm for more than thirty years but as a scholar who studied Siamese
history, literary traditions, and customs and beliefs with insight, understanding
and appreciation. His interest and support of scholarship in
Siamese studies was in evidence during his fruitful years as President of
the Siam Society.
This collection of Chaokhun Indra's writings displays the breadth
of his academic interests and clearly demonstrates his exceptional
command of the Siamese language. Those concerned with the state of
youth in Siam today would do well to ponder the wisdom embodied in
Chaokhun Indra's lecture on moral education of youth delivered to the
Teachers' Association in B. E. 2473 (A.D. 1930). His articles on the Koh
Lak Tradition show his imaginative, inquiring and adventurous academic
spirit and are sufficiently provocative to encourage continuing debate
among historians and scholars of Thai literary traditions. In his
accounts of the ceremonies and rites performed by elephant and wild ox
hunters and by fishermen who catch the fabled Pla Bi.ik, Chaokhun lodra
provides us with exhaustive verbatim renditions of magical chants and
descriptions of rites performed. He traces the derivation of ideas, words
and symbols and evidences his erudition in drawing on Sanskrit literature
and Brahmanic lore and tradition. These studies will remain as classics
in descriptive ethnography.

422 REVIEWS
In his lengthy article on manners and customs of the Chinese people
as gleaned from historical narratives and novels, Chaokhun Indra provides
the reader with insight into Chinese attitudes and concepts ranging from
art of healing, suicide and law to the role play of the Emperor officials
and women. But, as important, the author provides a framework for
literary analysis that might be profitably applied to the novels of modern
day Thailand or the poetry of Sun thorn Pu.
This volume bas value not only in the wealth of academic information
provided but in presenting the portrait of a /a rang nobleman scholar
who might well serve as a model for the western harbingers of modernization
who continue to descend on Siam.
William J. Klausner
Asia Foundation,
Bangkok
v
Suthiwong Phongphaibun, mu~~"
137 pp., illus.
(Nang Talung) (Bangkok, no date),
In this admirable study, the southern Thai shadow play called Nang
Talung, perhaps the most charming of all popular Thai dramatic forms,
is sympathetically and exhaustively examined. Khun Suthiwong's study
offers a detailed description of all aspects of the southern shadow play,
its origins and relationships with the Malay and Javanese forms, its
content- the conventions of invocation, verse forms, plot, etc., and the
social context of performance, that is, the customs attached to it. The
highly limited evidence for what we know of the origins of Nang Talung
is judiciously weighed, and the author offers his own opinion, that this
Thai form of shadow play is most likely external in its origins, deriving
from Malaya and Java, judging from Indic elements in the invocation
and in the plot con tent. A detailed comparison is offered between the

HE\JE\\S 423
Thai Nang Talung and the Malay and Javanese shadow plays.
Khun
Suthiwong provisionally accepts Prince Damrong's assertion that the
Nang Talung does not date further back than the mid-nineteenth century.
Invocation passages for the shadow play cite a succession of teachers
dating back to about this period, and there is a lack of any literary
reference to the Nang Talung earlier than this date.
Regarding the
source of the name Nang Talung itself, be rejects a popular etymology
tracing it back to an old word talung denoting an elephant driver, and
takes it rather to be a shortened form (in the usual manner of the
southern Thai dialect) of the name Phatalung, the southern Thai
province.
The next section extensively records verbatim examples of the
puppet master's art, his wit and humor, his use of different forms of
verse and their varying effects, in the speech of characters of high rank,
as well as in narrative and descriptive passages.
This is a particularly
valuable record of a fast disappearing art, and its preservation, at least
in written form, is an important service to southern Thai culture.
It is
followed by details on the customs and technique of performance,
particularly those of the introductory music (hom rang), the proper
order of introducing each puppet on the screen, each with its appropriate
incantations, invocations, and musical background, then details about
the musical background, the instruments, the supporting members of the
troupe, and the various paraphernalia of performance. The various
occasions appropriate to the performance of the Nang Talung are next
explained.
A separate section at the end describes the various clown characters
and their personalities.
For instance, the clown named Si Kaeo is
thought to represent a man from Ranot in Songkhla, learned in astrology,
charms and incantations. This clown character is of honest, upright
nature; he speaks slowly and firmly, but with sharp wit and good sense.
When angry he is stubborn, and prone to lose his head. In contrast,
the clown Y6t Th~ng is a loud boaster, but a coward at heart, a woman
chaser, strident and argumentative in speech, intrusive into other people's

424 1\EVJE\\S
business, and a follower of Si Kaeo who keeps him in line, and often
pulls him out of a scrape.
The clowns are based on real life characters,
sometimes actual persons, and they embody all the human foibles as in
any great comic tradition.
Even a brief acquaintance with Nang Talung will indicate that the
puppet master needs great skill to at once manipulate the different
puppets in t.urn from behind his screen, while at the same time speaking
the part of each character with instantaneous changes in voice, accent,
and characterization, as appropriate.
His handling of verse passages,
spontaneously contrived on the spur of the moment, and his comic speech
for the clowns (always in the southern Thai dialect) constitute the height
of his skill. One master plays an entire troupe of characters, in a
performance usually lasting through the night to dawn, with the sole
assistance of a few musicians.
The most exciting performances are
competitive between two or more puppet masters of great repute, vying
to attract the majority of the audience to their own performance. In
older times the Nang Talung was performed at celebrations of a general
nature rather than on the occasion of specific auspicious ceremonies, and
occasionally at funerals as well. Most interestingly the shadow play was
suitable for kae bon, the fulfillment of a vow.
In this context the
performance constitutes an offering to a particular spirit as thanks for
the granting of a boon sought by a supplicant.
In the kae bon performance
the story presented must come from the Ramayana, but in
ordinary performances a great variety in plot has become common,
deriving from popular tales, jatakas, and modern fiction.
This volume,
the fruit of one of several projects by Khun Suthiwong aiming to record
and preserve southern Thai cultural traditions, lives up to its admirable
purpose.
The British Library,
London
He11ry Giushurg

William R. Roff, ed.
HE VIEWS 425
Kelantan: Religion, Society and Politics in a Malay
State (Oxford, Kuala Lumpur, 1974), p. 371, bibliography and index.
Kelantan is one of the least known and least understood states of
the Malay Peninsula. Often presented as a backwater and a stronghold
of all that is archaic and reactionary in the Malay cultural context,
Kelantan has rarely been treated from any viewpoint other than an
outside one, and more often than not, a hostile one.
The state is populated primarily by Malays, the vast majority of
whom have no historical recollection of outside origins. This is in
contrast to the West Coast of Malaysia where almost every other Malay
will inform you that he is not really a Malay, but a Bugis, or a Minangkabau
or a Javanese. Most Kelantanese are either traditional rice
farmers or fishermen, living in small villages at close to a subsistence
level. The changes of the past 150 years which have transformed the
rest of the Federation seem to have barely touched Kelantan. The state
has generally been isolated. As Professor Roff points out, as little as a
decade ago the 400 mile journey from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Baharu
required no less than 13 ferry crossings.
This isolation bas, however, been misunderstood. Kelantan
maintains one of the best established and most active Malay language
printing enterprises in the Federation. The Kelantanese are well known
as one of the most industrious groups of Malays in the country. Since
the beginning of this century communications between Kelantan and the
Muslim heartland of the Middle East have been surprisingly active. It
is thus of utmost importance that the role of Islarn in Kelantanese
society be understood. It is this presentation of Islam, in its various
historical, social and political manifestation that is the major contribution
of this book. It is also one of the first volumes in recent years to
treat Kelantan as an entity rather than an enigma.
The book is an anthology of twelve selections.
Four are primarily
historical, four are anthropological and the other four, all by
Kelantanese, deal with biography, religion and Malay periodicals. Since
five of the twelve contributors are Kelantanese and the Western scholars

426 REVIEWS
generally seem to share a pro-Kelantan sentiment, a novel and welcome
perspective is added to the work as a whole. The pieces are arranged
so as to give the impression of a kind of continuous narrative relayed
from a succession of viewpoints. This carries the reader from a court
history by David Wyatt, translated from the Siamese chronicles, to a
radical reinterpretation of Kelantanese social history by the anthropologist,
Clive Kessler.
Four of the first five selections are primarily historical works.
Wyatt's translation of the Siamese Phongsawadan Muang Kelantan
presents a Siamese version of Kelantan's history from its most recent
documented origin. For practical purposes, Kelantan's "official" history
begins in about 1790. It was then, shortly after the re-organization of
the Siamese state uuder the present Chakri dynasty, that the Thai
resumed their involvement in the dynastic squabbles of the Malay states
in this part of the Peninsula. The Wyatt piece is primarily concerned
with court rivalries and with building a case for Siamese hegemony.
Although it bas little to do with Islam, it provides an appropriate
beginning for the book. Malay history, generally dominated by British
and British-trained Malays, is rarely presented from a purely Soutbeast
Asian point of view. This look at Kelantan from the northern end of
the Malay Peninsula forces the reader to re-orient his perspective and
helps to prepare him for what is to come.
Kelantan's transition, from Siamese overlordship to British domination,
is the subject of the second study by Mohd. b. Nik Mohd. Salleh.
This young, western-trained Kelantanese historian offers a competent
treatment of official developments within the state's deeply divided
ruling class. It is important for its treatment of the diplomatic and
political maneuvers among the Siamese, the British and the local Malays
which led to the establishment of British colonial government over the
state. An essential part of this story is his account of the Duff Development
Co., an excellent example of the manner in which the flag followed
trade in the heyday of European imperialism.

REVIEWS 427
The third selection, by Ibrahim Nik Mahmood, another young
Kelantanese historian educated in the Federation, is a narrative of the
To' Janggut rebellion. This movement was the first open expression of
popular sentiment against the bureaucratic changes which bad resulted
from tbe introduction of British rule. It provides an introduction to a
consistent theme in Kelanta n's history; that of a kind of"traditionalistic';
resistance to alien influences. It is unfortunate that Ibrahim was forced
to rely so heavily on official accounts of the rebellion written by those
who suppressed the movement. As a result one gets little information
about how the rebels saw themselves, or what they thought they were
doing.
This piece is followed by a short biography of To' Kenali one of
Kelantan's most prestigious religious leaders and reformers. The author,
Abdullah AI-Qari b. Haji Salleh, is a well-known Malay literary figure
and this is the first appearance of his work in English. This departure
from formal history is a valuable social document. To' Kenali surely
had a more significant impact on the life of the people than did the
actual rulers. He was one of the first of the highly influential Kelantan
ulama who today dominate hundreds of Kelantan communities.
William Roff's study of the origins of the Majlis Ugama dan Isti'
adat Melayu (Council of Religion and Malay Custom) takes us back to
formal history, but continues the religious theme. In Kelantan, lacking
all other avenues to power, members of the state's traditional aristocracy
established a religious bureaucracy by which they could levy taxes, and
exercise certain police and judicial functions. The Majlis Ugama was
founded as an attempt to circumvent the power of the Shari Courts and
to act as an agency of the Sultan. Its organizer, Haji Ni~ Mohamed,
was able to gain sweeping powers for the Majlis and within a few years
it had taken over the collection of the fitrah, a religious tax, and
had launched an ambitious program of school-building and publishing.

428 REVIEWS
Roff presents this phase of the Majlis' operations as the beginning of an
"indigenous social revolution." It was not long however, before the
radically innovative program of the Majlis came under criticism and was
checked by more conservative forces. It was required also to undertake
the building of an expensive mosque in the capital and soon found itself
in deep financial troubles, w bich limited its effectiveness of its educa tiona!
programs. Prof. Roff's piece is indeed one of the most valuable
contributions in this book.
Another equally fascinating piece of reading is the selection
entitled "Theological Debates" by Muhammad Salleh b. Wan Musa and
S. Othman Kelantan. This is primarily a work of piety, being both a
discussion of the history of Islam in Kelantan and a biography, first of
Wan Musa and secondly of his son, Muhammed Salleh (one of the
authors). It represents the family history of two generations of radical
Kelantanese ulama. This supplies a necessary personal note and gives
the reader a first-hand insight into the type of people who have made
Islam such a dynamic force in Kelantan. As such, it is an excellent
complement to the more formal studies by Winzeler and Kessler which
conclude the book.
The history of Kelantan, much of it depressing and uninspiring
(because of the events, not the writers) needs the anthropologist to give
it perspect1ve. The Firth piece, somewhat out of place in this collection,
due to its relatively limited scope, at least provides the reader with a few
more facts. He presents Kelantanese villagers and examines the
pragmatism of their view of folk magic. This, and the Ray beck study
of social stress in the villages, show folk magic as a sort of medical
practice. The Raybeck study offers an interesting description of the
main putri, a kind of primitive psycho-drama.
The three final essays deal specifically with the role of Islam in the
modern life of tbe state. Here religion emerges as one of the major

REVIEWS 429
social and political forces in Kelantanese society. Nash defines some of
the dimensions of conflict between "modernizing" elements as represented
by the bureaucracy and the kampong ideology which holds that " ... a
Malay should live in the sweet shade of his own dusun (house orchard),
engaged primarily in padi farming, among a group of co-religionists and
many kinsmen. In this setting he is to exhibit the grace and charm of
relaxed primitive sufficiency as he orders his life according to Islam and
treats his neighbors with the 'soft and gentle' manners involved in face
to face social interaction." The educational system, run primarily by the
central government, appears, according to Nash's survey, to be replacing
this value system with one based on western ideas and aimed at
encouraging competition and social and economic achievement. He sees
no way in which the aspirations and expectations instilled by the system
can be fulfilled given the present social and political situation and thus
predicts increased ethnic competition.
The Winzeler essay is largely descriptive. He outlines the basic
components of the Islamic social and political order of a Kelantanese
community. The roles and functions of the various religious figures are
defined together with the structure and operation of the pondok (village
religious schools).
The book is concluded with an outstanding study by Clive Kessler
titled "Muslim Identity and Political Behavior in Kelantan". This is an
attempt to, among other things, explain the success of the Pan-Malaysian
Islamic Party (PMIP) in Kelantan. He outlines the conflict between
UMNO and the PM!P as one between a party of salaried urbanites,
traders, money-lenders and land-lords against a radical peasant party.
Kessler takes a large step toward destroying the notion tbat the driving
force of the PMIP is simply attributable to an "outbreak of archaic
religious fanaticisms". But rather, be demonstrates that the appeal of
the PMIP brand of Islam is that it provides an idealistic social theory
which makes possible a critique of the established order and offers a

430 REVIEWS
moral basis for reform and opposition. The conflict, placed in the
terminology of Malay Islam is that between nafsu and aka!. The UMNO
offers modernization, creature comforts, and material prosperity which
appeal to the physical senses (nafsu). This view presents the PMIP and
the peasant movement behind it as appealing to aka/ (the mind in its
moral and spiritual sense). Kessler's quotations from speeches by
political leaders of both sides add much to his case.
It is difficult to pass judgement on the anthology as a whole.
Perhaps some may think that it holds together no better than a tightly
edited issue of the JSS or some other scholarly journal. One might
question the inclusion of the piece on Malay periodicals and perhaps
even the Firth study. One might also raise issue with the mixture of
historical and anthropological studies in the anthology. There is,
however, an interesting kind of cohesion about the book, particularly itt
regard to its treatment of Islam.
Given the present state of scholarship there is a real need for such
a book. It should be seen more as a beginning, rather than finished
product. It provides a take-off point for additional and more detailed
studies of Malay history and society. The inclusion of the valuable
bibliography of Kelantan reinforces this estimate of the book. As a
whole, the anthology provides much material for thought and opens
many avenues for further research. It is definitely a book to be read
and consulted by all students of Malaysia and its culture. The book
should be given the widest possible distribution in Malaysia itself where
it is certain to be controversial. For this reason it is to be hoped tbat
a reasonably priced paper-back edition will be available. A book priced
at £ 11.85 is well beyond the reach of most Asian students.
Chulalongkorn University
Carl A. Trocki

REVIEWS 431
Francisco De Sa De Meneses, The Conquest of Malacca, translated by
Edgar C. Knowlton Jr. (University of Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1970)
pp. 234.
This is a translation of a sevententh century epic poem. The
translator bas provided the reader with a series of interesting essays
regarding the historical background, the poet, the significance of the
poem and the relevant textual commentaries. The translation, so far as
the non-reader of Portuguese can tell, appears to be a competent and,
one presumes, a faithful one. A pair of helpful glossaries of personal
and geographical names has also been appended.
The poem itself is a glorification of the conquest of the Malay city
of Malacca by Afonso De Albaquerque in 1511. The form of the poem
is that of a heroic epic in twelve books of somewhat uneven length.
Like other such works of this period and genre, it is filled with the usual
collection of classical and Biblical allusions together with a cosmic
backdrop. The translation is in prose.
The plot of the story follows the basic sequence of the actual
events. The action begins with Albaquerque at sea with his fleet,
presumably somewhere in the Bay of Bengal. Blown off course by an
adverse wind he has a vision of the Portuguese who died in an expedition
to Malacca under Sequeira in 1509. Now sainted crusaders (having
been killed by Muslims) the specters convince Albaquerque to conquer
Malacca.
After weathering a storm sent by Asmodeus (the demon spirit
who guides the Malays) he reaches Pedir in North Sumatra. Here he
meets Joao Viegas, a member of Sequeira's company wbo managed to
escape. He gives Albuquerque intelligence of Malacca.
After making friends with the king of Pedir, Albaquerque sets off
for Malacca once again. On the way he has a couple of encounters with
Southeast Asians. One of them, an ousted Sumatran king called Genial
(Zainal) allies himself with the Portuguese. During the voyage, AI aida, a
Pedir princess wbo has fallen in love with Viegas, recounts the history
of Malacca. On the fleet's arrival in Malacca, the King asks one of the
Portuguese prisoners to tell him of Albaquerque, so he recounts tbe story
of Albuquerque's campaigns in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.

432 REVIE\I'S
Asmodeus visits Hell in the meantime and marshalls forces to
incite the Malays to attack tbe Portuguese. In Malacca, the factions
desiring peace with the Europeans are defeated and the "wicked"
Bendahara prevails. After a series of negotiations, betrayals, brave
speeches and prophecies, including a supernatural voyage by one of the
Portuguese captains to "Cathay" where he rescues some comrades being
held by the Queen Titania, battle is joined and the Portuguese gain their
victory.
For the historian of Malaya, and perhaps for Malays as well, the
book is disappointing. It teaches nothing new, or worth knowing about
the conquest of Malacca and that era. The period of its composition
(ca. 1630) was a time when metropolitan Portugal had little to do with
Southeast Asia, and it strikes one that the poem is only of interest within
the field of Portuguese literary history.
Knowlton tells the reader that the poet's objective was to inspire
his contemporaries to emulate their forefathers and to refurbish their
empire. In this respect, his poem was a failure in its own time.
Knowlton offers his effort to Malaysian students in the hope of interesting
them in Portuguese history, literature and culture. He suggests that
it could also " ... present to them features of European epic style in a
setting already partially familiar from their study of the history of
Malaya." Unfortunately, like Sa De Meneses, the translator's hope may
A-lso be in vain.
While it is true that the epic is in a Malayan setting, the nature of
the piece is such that it appears more calculated to repel than to attract
the Malaysian reader. The entire tone of the epic is not only pro-Portuguese
and anti-Malay, but also violently anti-Islam. Such a theme can
gain little appreciation in the modern Malay world.
As epics go, The Conquest of Ma/acca cannot be ranked as an
outstanding example of the genre. It is both artificial and prosaic. Sa
De Meneses conjures up rococco heavens of cherubs and archangels
to aid the Christian Portuguese and smoky hells populated by red devils
with pitchforks to connive hopelessly with the Muslims. They do not
fit well with the actually pragmatic and brutal spirit of Albaquerque's
conquests. This is not to say that there is not real romance and

REVIEWS 433
adventure of epic proportions in the Portuguese story of their empire,
but Sa De Meneses misses it, one feels, in his ambition to propagandize.
The book gives us no real taste of any age or place. The characters
nowhere approacb the status of real personalities. Albuquerque himself
is so much of a cardboard archetype that he has no character whatsoever.
His emotions are god-like and fluctuate between universal beneficence
and righteous wrath. His words are all formulas, in fact the whole epic
strikes one as a kind of fill-in-the-blanks contrivance.
Knowlton tells us that the poem bas been faulted by literary
critics for its "historicity". Never having been to Southeast Asia
himself, Sa De Meneses relied on the accounts of Albuquerque and de
Barros. Disregarding one or two minor episodes, he followed his sources
with some fidelity, at least so far as the sequence of events was concerned.
However, one feels that the actors themselves have already recounted
their story more eloquently in ordinary prose than has Sa De Meneses in
this patchwork epic.
The Portuguese sea ventures of the sixteenth century were phenomenal
undertakings.
For one who bas been fascinated by Albuquerque's
Commentaries and other contemporary works, Sa De Meneses' account
is rather a bore. In the epic, the Portuguese actors speak only of
"honor", "religion" and ••fortune", and never of trade, spices and pillage.
The adventures of this small band of forceful men sailing (what were for
them) uncharted seas and conquering cities almost sight-unseen, is
impressive by itself and needs no romanticizing. All of the smoke
generated by Sa De Menesess' battle scenes is only steam. We never
smell tbe gun-powder, mucb less get a taste of the grape.
It is indeed unfortunate that Mr. Knowlton cbose this particular
work of Portuguese orientalia. The actual translation reads well and the
background chapters which introduce it are more fascinating than the
epic itself. The work is well turned out and it is really everything that
a good translation ought to be. One only wishes that Prof. Knowlton
had been attracted by a work more worthy of his manifest talents.
Chulalongkorn University
Carl A. Troclci

434 REVIEWS
Milton Osborne, River Road to China: The Mekong River Expedition,
1866-73. (Liveright: New York, 1975) xxii+249pp. Maps, BriefChrono.
logy, Sources, Index, 20 Black and White Illustrations.
From the voluminous r.ecords of the French Mekong River Expedition
of 1866-68, later events stemming from this journey, the comments
of others who dreamed of the project, and his vast knowledge of the
scene surrounding French interest in Southeast Asia, Dr. Osborne has
compiled an exciting introduction, the first in English, to the trials of
this effort, and a fitting summary to Western adventurism in Mainland
Southeast Asia.
a bout a Western undertaking.
The work is written by a Westerner for Westerners
Seen from this perspective, the Mekong
River and its people become a backdrop for presenting two interwoven
stories: the physical and mental trials of the principal members of the
Expedition, and the political and commercial atmosphere of Western
Europe that provided a rationale for such striving.
A major contribution of this book is that it gives the Mekong River
Expedition, led by Doudart de Lagree, some of the recognition that is its
due; recognition that is traditionally accorded contemporaneous explorations
in Africa, such as those of Livingstone and Stanley. A major
weakness of the book is the inclusion of a postscript chapter detailing
later efforts, on the Red River, by Francis Garnier, second-in-command,
of the Expedition; this unfortunately partially undercuts the significance
the author had intended to give the Mekong effort itself.
The Expedition's charter was to find a new, French, commercial
entrance into southern China to offset an anticipated British effort
through Burma. Since the acquisition of Cochincbina in 1859 and the
establishment of a protectorate over Cambodia in 1863-4, French colonial
circles bad become suffused with this idea. Riches for the greater glory
of "Ia patrie" were to be found, to offset anticipated losses for the
territories already acquired. The answer lay to the north, in the fabled
hinterlands of China, where multitudes of people and an infinity of
resources would complement the industry and commercial enterprise of
France.

REVIEWS 435
From the beginning the attempt was flawed. Over 500 cases of
"necessities", including gold, rations, flour, bread, wine, trade goods and
scientific instruments, left Saigon with the six principal explorers and
sixteen secondary personnel, but little planning for transport its~ took
place. Knowledge of the dangers held in store by the Mekong•slfambor
Rapids was available-indeed Lagree bad previously been that far-but
this did not binder the explorers from pushing up what was meant to be a
conduit for large, ocean-going ships. The subsequent attainment of the
Khone Falls placed almost all hopes for continuous navigation from the
sea out of the picture, but still the Expedition persevered. Disease was
a continual problem, so much so that sickness, except the most acute,
was considered routine. I o teres tingly, the greatest fear of the journey
was not of local peoples or rulers, new physical wonders or discomforts,
but of a rumored contingent of British officers out to reinforce their
country's reputation south of Luang Prabang. Actually, the Expedition
a naturalized Frenchman and his associates who bad been sent by Rama
encountered IV to survey distant northern boundaries of the Thai kingdom.
The members of the Expedition, groping their way along channels
of whicl1 they had no record and through political quagmires of which
they had little knowledge and less facility for understanding, finally
passed into what they hoped would be a more easily comprehensible
situation in mid-October 1867, when they crossed into Imperial China.
Yet, from that point until the reaching of Hankow and Shanghai in June
of the following year, the primary purpose of tracing the route of the
Mekong had to be forgone. In fact, the explorers encountered almost as
many difficulties in China, what with a Moslem rebellion and nearly
disastrous attention from multitudes of Chinese, as they had elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the party crossed the Red River and ascertained its
navigability that far inland. a point which proved of paramount importance
not only for Garnier and French intentions in the area, but also
for Dr. Osborne in his closing of this sequence of events in Southeast
Asia.
The next-to-last chapter of the volume describes not adventures on
the Mekong, but rather the attempt by Jean Dupuis and Francis Garnier
to exploit the Red River for commercial purposes. While navigation on

436 REVIEWS
this waterway was proven feasible, the necessity of proceeding against
the wishes of the Vietnamese rulers made this effort as hazardous as the
Mekong Expedition itself. One hundred years later, we find buccaneering,
such '~evidenced by Dupuis in forcing his way up the Red River and by
Garni1f in temporarily conquering the Hanoi citadel, resulting in his
death in 1873, as extremely foolhardy. Dupuis and Garnier were good
men in the context of mid-to-late Nineteenth Century Europe, but their
effort was extraordinanly misapplied in Southeast Asia.
Dr. Osborne concludes with an Epilogue recounting his impressions,
from his own visits, of famous Mekong landmarks, physical and cultural,
visited or missed by the explorers.
He rightly notes that "much of the
great river over which they traveled remains unchanged ... There have
been physical alterations ... , but these are dwarfed by the political
transformation" (p. 222). While the volume was completed prior to
the even greater transformations of the Spring of 1975, the remark serves
as a prescient observation concerning current conditions.
The book is symbolic of Western involvement in Southeast Asia;
it is an effective general summary of the last hundred years. It highlights
the enthusiasms of many people who rushed to fill a frontier which did
not exist for them; who visualized possibilities in contexts they were
unable to comprehend. There is no doubt that the record of the Expedition
is exciting material, but it is time to begin a new era by writing
in ways that are attuned to the potentials of the Mekong River and the
desires of its people. Dr. Osborne refers to two folio volumes written
by Garnier as the Expedition's report. There is also an atlas and
compilation of beautiful, larger pictures, some in color. What more
details can be gathered from these and the reports of other explorers,
including their letters and journals, and other sources which could shed
light on the demography, nutrition, agriculture, commerce, religion, and
ideals of these people? Perhaps a new age can open with a reassessment
of these early explorations not in terms of Western problems, but in
terms of past and present conditions of the people and resources of tbe
region.
H. Leedom Lefferts, Jr.
Research Institute for the
Study of Man,
New Yorlt

REVIEWS 437
D.G.E. Hall, Henry Burney: A Political Biography (London: Oxford
University Press, 1974), pp. xv, 331, maps, bibliography, index.
This book deserves our attention for two simple reasons.
First,
the author is one of the greatest Southeast Asian historians of our time.
All students of Southeast Asian history, to pass a course of study, must
first familiarize themselves with his works, especially his master piece,
A History of South-East Asia (1955 ), which is widely acknowledged as
indispensable for basic understanding of Southeast Asian bistorical
background, and which bas been a compulsory text and reference since
its first publication two decades ago.
The second reason why Professor Hall's new book is important
lies in the importance of its central figure, Captain (later Major) Henry
Burney, who was, in Professor Hall's words, ''one of the most noteworthy
servants of the East India Company of his time, [and] one who ... came
to play a markedly important part in the histories of two South-East
Asian kingdoms, Siam and Burma". (Preface, p. ix). ,Henry Burney was
born in Culcutta, at that time the seat of the Supreme Government of
India, in 1792, to one prestigious scholar family of Great Britain.
father, Richard Thomas Burney, was Master of the Company's Orphan
School in Bengal. This background greatly influenced Henry Burney's
professional life as a career diplomat, orientalist and humanist.
He entered the Company's Military service in 1807.
clear that at this time be began to develop his scholarship.
His
It is quite
appointment during 181 Os brought him into contact with Southeast Asia
and its civilization for the first time. Soon afterwards, this region
became his main interest. This interest, in turn, served him well as a
diplomat deputed by the Governor General of India to the two most
powerful courts of mainland Southeast A&ia-Bangkok and Ava.
In 18 25, the British found their newly established but substantial
inAuen~e and interest in Southeast Asia in a critical position. After
the recent failure of John Crawfurd's missi:>n, new developments called
for another mission to be sent to make a treaty on friendly terms with
the Starnese court.
His
After serving at Penang for several years, Henry

440 REVIEWS
widely known Burney Papers, these sources include Burney's other
journals, his academic articles and the East India Company's official
documents throughout the period.
The documents clearly show bow
Burney's judgement on individual conflicts or crises developed, and how
he, as an agent of British interests and with his wit and self-confidence,
came to his solutions.
Company's policies are well represented.
Burney's character, his grasp of local affairs and
Unfortunately, however, this book is seen from Burney's side and
that of the British.
Professor Hall makes little effort to arrive at a well
balanced presentation of history. Few substantial parts could be claimed
that Swmese and Burmese reactwns toward Burney's mission in
particular and British sanction in their affairs in general have been
treated with equal impartialtty. This, in addition to Professor Hall's
prejudice against local chronicles, obviously arises from the fact that
local historical sources regarding this period are very poor.
Reading this biography is not without its disappointments.
Professor Hall's rather conventional approach to and style of writing
history makes the book somewhat boring to read. Dealing with details
seems to be his great pleasur~. He also prefers the technique of"let the
document speak for itself", as one might have sensed throughout the
book. In too many cases, what he quotes from Burney's journals or
other official documents unnecessarily runs to several paragraphs.
The organization of this biography is clear enough. There is but
one thing that seems unlikely to be justified. Apparently, be wants to
maintain the balance between Burney's two separate diplomatic careersthat
with Siam (Parts One and Two) on the one hand, and that with
Burma (Part Three) on the other. Perhaps, Professor Hall has his
specific reasons in balancing these two accounts. But one could hardly
be convinced that Burney's career as Resident at Ava for 8 years, is less
complicated and less substantial than his mission to Siam.
More seriously, this biography fails in defending Burney as one who
played a markedly important part in the histories of two South.East
Asian kingdom. Students who want to learn more about the impact of

REVIWES 441
Burney's missions on Siamese and Burmese history from this book will
be disappointed. Little efior t has been shown to analyse the real, longterm
impact of Burney' achievements as a diplomat on, especially,
the Thai social, economic, cultural and political scene which he
encountered.
Nevertheless, Professor Hall's success in giving Burney his rightful
place among the great ambassadors of British India is unquestionable,
and Burney as an orien talist and, to a lesser extent, a humanist, has been
well defended. Finally, Professor Hall's information and comments on
all the sources relating to Burney and especially on Burney's writings
are invaluable for students who have a special interest in this period
and area.
Monash University
Cllalong Soontl'avanicll

OBITUARY
Mom Chao Ajavadis Diskul
In Prince Ajavadis Diskul, who was cremated in the presence of
Queen Rambai, Prime Minister MR. Kukrit Pramoj and thousands of
mourners at Wat Thepsirin on January 22nd after a fatal heart attack
last December 4th, Thailand loses a distinguished patriot who gave his
whole heart to his country and would gladly have given his life for it;
and the world is poorer by a philanthropist, a man of good will to all,
and a grandseigneur of the old school.
The Siam Society mourns in
him one of its highly esteemed, most active members, a former President
and Honorary Vice-President at the time of his death. He is survived
by his widow, H.R. H. Princess Siriratna Busabongs Diskul and their son
Riddhi Damrong Dtskul, brothers and sisters.
Here was a man who had no enemies.
Among those who met him
personally or knew of him through his many, widespread activities, both
national and international, it was bard to find a detractor or anyone who
would bear him malice.
Even those who might at times disagree with
him recognised his unselfishness, immaculate integrity, his sense of
justice and his truthfulness-all the qualities of a "just man". "His
real joy in life," said one of his closest friends, Prince Hubertus zu
Loewenstein who flew in from Germany to participate in the last rites
for ten days, "was to give help and joy to others."
Prince Ajavadis, third surviving son of H.R.H. Prince Damrong
Rajanubhab and grandson of King Rama IV Mongkut, was born March
23rd, 1913 in Bangkok at Voradith Palace on Laan Luang Road. The
house of his birth was recently transferred to Bang Pa-in and is now
part of the temple grounds on the island in the Mae Nam Chao Praya
river there, not far from the burial ground of the Diskul family, where
his ashes now rest in the shade of the Buddhist temple built in the Gothic
style by King Rama V Chulalongkorn.

OBITUARY 443
The young Prince was fortunate to grow up under the tutelage of
his distinguished father. Vang Voradit must have been the most
interesting house in Bangkok at the time. Due to the personality of
Prince Damrong, the man who put Thai historiography and archaeology
on their modern foundations and who, as his King's trusted adviser and
minister created the new educational and administrative system, his
residence was a center of ideas and activities, evolutionary in method
but highly progressive in content, which were to transform the country.
The son's mind was shaped early by this inspiring atmosphere, and it
was easy for him to adjust when he was sent to Europe for his educationto
the same English school incidentally as his elder cousin and later his
close friend, M.R. Kukrit Pramoj.
It was again Ajavadis whom Prince Damrong called to his side
from Oxford University in 1932 when due to the revolutionary regime
be was compelled to leave Thailand for a few years of exile in Penang,
Malaysia. By the same events, the son found himself shut out, at least
in the political field, from a career that had seemed natural for him, i.e.
following in his father's footsteps. Feeling that he would not then be
welcome in the government service, he chose a different line, economics
and finance, to serve his country when he returned to Bangkok in 1933.
The MEA and the Bangkok Bank of Commerce became his main
affiliations; of the latter be was Managing Director for years, still not
retired at the age of nearly 63. His far-flung travels gave him experience
and insight in many countries of the world, including Russia and, most
recently, China. He was a charter member of the Lions Club in Bangkok,
several times its president. and a district governor. In addition, he
engaged in a wealth of charities up to the limit of his strength and
beyond, he put many students through college, supported Buddhist wars
and Christian churches; he helped anyone, Thai or foreigner, who came
to ask for his help, always generously. His last project was the fund to
celebrate the fourth cycle of His Majesty.
i;
I
1
'

444 OBITUARY
Despite his station in life, Prince Ajavadis claimed no privileges for
himself. Whatever professions of respect he received were given to him
readily, in spontaneous affection. One reason for this was perhaps that
he never used his rank for personal advantage but, as far as was in his
reach of power, for the common good and the well-being of others. He
believed that privileges have no justification except as a means to assume
a greater share than others of the burden and obligations in serving.
This was important to him. He considered this a distinctive attitude
which had enabled the Chakri dynasty to rouse and rally the Thai people
after the destruction of Ayuthaya and to lead them safely, as an
independent nation, through the century of colonialism and two world
wars into this modern age. No regime, he believed, could in the long
run exist if in violation of this it preferred power to service. By his life
and virtue Prince Ajavadis Diskul has set for himself a monument in the
hearts of men, more incorruptible than stone or steel.
V o/lanar Zuehlsdorff

CORRIGENDUM
Hans Penth, "Again: The Fortifications of Chiang San", JSS Volume 63
Part 2 July 1975, pp. 349-352
Footnote 12, last sentence, last line, p. 352,
should read: "No particular mention of a wall by the river is made."

Just published
Klaus Wenk
WANDMALEREIEN IN THAILAND
A bibliophile collector's edition in three volumes
with a foreword by H.H. Prince Dhaninivat
The English edition
MURALS IN THAILAND
will be published approximately May 1976
The author comments: "The truly unequalled quality of the reproductions of
Thai mural paintings in this edition provides invaluable material for the study of
Thai art. These reproductions are so extraordinarily faithful to the originals that
they more than adequately serve even the academic purposes of those who have
no direct access to them."
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JOURNAL
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SIAM SOCI'ETY
JULY 1976 .
volume 64 part 2
. .Property of tnt.
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DANGKOJ

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THE jOURNAL OF THE SIAM SOCIETY
contents of volume 64 part 2 ]uly 1976
Articles
Nicholas Tariing
Benjamin A. Batson
Martial Dasse
Anthony R. Walker
E.P. Durrenberger
Jack Bilmes
David P. Chandler
C. Nelson Spinks
Page
King Prajadhipok and the Apple Cart
British Attitudes towards the 1932 Revolution 1
American Diplomats in Southeast Asia in the
Nineteenth Century: The Case of Siam 39
Les Droits des Minorites Nationales dans la
Constitution Birmane de 1947 112
A Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) Prayer at Childbirth
Lahu text and brief ethnographic note 139
A Lisu Shamanistic Seance 151
A Note on Relationships between Buddhist
Temples in Thailand 161
Maps for the Ancestors: Sacralized Topography
and Echoes of Angkor in two Cambodian Texts 170
The Ayuddhaya Period Eartbenwares, Some
Contemporary Thai Kilns, Their Wares and
Potting Methods 188
Note
David K. Wyatt
The Chronology of Nan History,
A.D. 1320-1598 202
Re1•iew Articles
Michael Vickery
M.C. Chand Chirayu
Raj ani
Jeremias van Vliet, The Short History of the
Kings of Siam, translated by Leonard Andaya
from a transcription by Miriam J. Verkuijl~van
den Berg, edited by David K. Wyatt 207
Background to the Sri Vijaya Story
_Part V (Conclusion) 237

Page
Reviews
David P. Chandler
Michael Smithies
William J. Klausner
S. Sivaraksa
Sommai lnganon
C. Nelson Spinks
-,,-
-,-
R.E. M. Irving, The First Indo-China War: French·
and American Policy 1945-1954
Raden Adjeng Kartini, Letters of a Javanese
Princess
Visakha Puja
Thich Nbat Hanb, The Miracle of Being Awake 319
Phra Rajavaramuni (Prayudh), A Dictionary of
Buddhism 320
S. Sivaraksa, ed, Seeds of Peace (Makha Puja
1976) 322
Roxanna Brown, "Preliminary report on tbeKoh
Khram sunken ship", Oriental Art (Winter 1975) 325
Robert P. Griffing Jr., "Dating Annamese blue
and white", Orientations (May 1976) 327
311
313
318
Communication
Likhlt Dhlravegin
Jeremy H. Kemp
A Response to Dr. Jeremy Kemp's Review on
Political Attitudes of the Bureaucratic Elite and
Modernization in Thailand, Appearing in JSS
(Janua1y 1976)
Reply
329
336
Obituary
M.L. Pin Malakul
Professor Sukich Nimmanbaeminda ( 1906 -1976) 338
Annual Report
342
Notice Concerning ~emhership Fee
List of Members, Subscribers and JSS exchange institutions
361
364

KING PRAJADHIPOK AND. THE APPLE CART
British Attitudes towards the 1932 Revolution
by
Nicholas Tarling
The position Siam occupied in British policy in Southeast Asia in
the nineteenth century was exceptional. Its position in British policy in
the interwar years was exceptional also. In the nineteenth century Siam
retained its independence while all around were losing theirs. The
major means the Thais used to attain this end was to come to terms
with the major power in Southeast Asia, Great Britain. In the Bowring­
Parkes negotiations of 1855-6,1 the Siam of King Mongkut accepted
voluntarily what China had been forced to concede-extraterritoriality
and tariff restrictions-as the price of maintaining political independence.
Too exclusive a connexi'on with the British was avoided, and connexions
were made with other states.2 The same principle was followed when,
under King Chulalongkorn, the Siamese developed the practice of
appointing foreign advisers: Britain had the lion's share, but citizens of
other nations held some important posts. Through concessions to the
Western powers, and through a degree of westernisation, Siam sought
with success to preserve its independence. That independence also
depended, of course, on the policies of the great powers, and in particular
on Britain's readiness to accept a substantially independent state as the
outwork of its empire in India-Burma and Malaya. .That readiness
existed before the French established themselves in Indo-China, and it
was reinforced by that event. The aim ofthe British was an independent
Siam open to British commerce and amenable to Bdtish advice. It was
on the whole attained, despite the problems caused by Thai claims in
the Malay peninsula. Siam's position r~mained important in the
twentieth century: indeed the development of air co~munications gave
the country a new significance. · · .
1) See N. Tarling, Imperial Britain in South-East Asia, Kuala Lumpur, f975, cbs.
viii, ix.
Z) cr. ibid., p. 225.
Property at" t.u..,
Siam Society's Librar,
aA'NGKOTC .

2 Nicholas Tarling
The unequal treaties were under pressure in Japan from the 1880's.
In China the struggle of the KMT-CCP coalition secured a reorientation
of British policy in 1926. The long-term interests of British trade, it
was thought, would be better served by coming to an overall accommodation
with the new China than by insisting on privileges secured from
the old. In Siam there bad been no revolution, but the policies and
attitudes of King Vajiravudh reflected something of the new spirit
abroad in Asia, and the unequal treaties were substantially renegotiated
in his reign. Britain still retained the predominant role as supplier of
foreign advisers, and more Siamese students went to Britain than to
other Western states. Upon such things, the continued influence of
Britain indeed appeared to depend. But what they, and thus continued
British influence in fact depended upon, was the continuance of Britain's
power and prestige in East Asia as a whole. That power had greatly
diminished, and the British Foreign Office were trying to sustain prestige
without power, a task the impossibility of which was soon to be shown
up by the exploits of the Japanese.
Even before the Siamese revolution of 1932, a change of attitude
had been noted in 'the governing oligarchy ... there is no longer the same
uncritical and sentimental preference for everything British that so
happily existed until quite recently ... .'3 The revolution went further.
To some extent it was a reaction against the control of the British
financial adviser, E.L. Hall-Patch, who advocated sticking to the gold
standard ev~n after it had been abandoned in Britain, 4 and so hampered
Siam's exports and enforced economies in public expenditure. This
boosted dissatisfaction within the bureaucratic and military elites,
already alienated by the new King's exclusive resort to princely advice.
But the dissatisfaction might have been less intense, had hotaHti-imperial
ideas been spread among the elite by education overseas, particularly
outside Britain. The challenge presented by the Promoters of the
3) Minute by MackiUop, 22 March 1932, F.O. 371/16261 (F2717/2717/40),
Public Record Office, London.
4) Benjamin A. Batson, ed., Siam's Political Future: Documentsj1·om the End of the
Absolute Monarchy, Data Paper No. 96, Southeast Asia Pro$ram, Cqrne\1 !Jni·
y~rsity, Ithaca, 1974, p. 72.

KING l'HAJADHI1'0k AND THE APPLE CART
revolution-a small group of military and civil leaders, organised as the
People's Party-thus went well beyond the financial field.
Yet the People's Party was as anxious to avoid foreign intervention
as the absolute monarchy it sought to displace bad been. Luang Pradit
(Pridi Phanomyong), the French-educated lawyer who was widely
regarded as 'the brain behind the movement', told ministerial heads on
tbe afternoon of 24 June-the day of the coup-that foreign countries
should be notified that the provisional government would observe Siam's
current treaty obligations. Prince Tewawong Warothai, the foreign
minister, 'enquired whether he was merely to notify foreign Legations of
the position or whether he was also to apply for recognition of the new
Government. H~ was told to do both.' He declined to apply for
recognition until King Prajadhipok bad replied to the People's Party's
demands for constitutional change. Eventually it was decided to send
a note to the legations, informing them that the new government would
seek to preserve order and observe obligations. On 25 June the King
accepted the revolution and returned to Bangkok from his summer palace,
Klai Kangwol, at Hua Hin. On 27 June he signed the provisional
constitution.s A judge, Phya Manopakorn, not a coup leader, was
invited to head the government, and Phya Sri Wisarn Waja, a high foreign
ministry official close to the King,6 became foreign minister. He told
Sir M. Delevingne of the British Home Office that the King's 'wonderful'
response meant 'there is no question of recognition of the new government
by foreign states•.7
The King's 'promptness' in accepting the revolutionaries' demands,
it was recognised at the British Foreign Office, strengthened the hands
of 'the more moderate elements•.s The British Minister, Cecil Dormer,
told Phya Sri Wisarn 'that the fact that the movement had been carried
out quietly, without violence, bloodshed or demands for victims, bad
made a good impression in England; to this he replied that its peaceful-
5) Johns to Simon, 28 June 1932, No. 134, F.O. 371!16261 (F5917/4260/40).
6) Tha watt Makara pong, History of the Thai Revohttion, Bangkok, i 9 72, p. 131.
7) Enclosure in Delevingne to Orde, 28 July 19 32, P.O. 371/16261 (F5846/4260/
40).
8) Minute, 5 August, F.O. 371/16261 (F5917/4260/40).

4 Nicholas Tarling
ness had been due to the King ... Had His Majesty held back, or
escaped, as be could have done, ... there would have been chaos ... .'9
At the same time, Dormer felt that 'the fear of "foreign intervention"
played its part in bringing about moderation'. Those words, he reported,
'were more than once made use of by the leaders in the first week of the
~ew regime', and be added that Raymond Stevens, the American Adviser
to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 'himself told me that be was certain
that .n.either French Indo-China nor British Burma nor Malaya would
tolerate widespread disturbances. I was, of course, careful to avoid
saying anything which might encourage him in his belief, in so far as the
British attitude was concerned, but the fear has probably had a steadying
influence.'IO It apparently continued to do so. A Thai scholar has
recently suggested that fear of foreign intervention encouraged the
moderates to cooperate with the People's Party.'' But Dormer put it
the other way round. 'The fear of British or French intervention is still
exercising a salutary influence', he wrote in September, •and although I
have been careful to repudiate the idea as far as we are concerned
whenever it was mentioned to me (otherwise the moderate elements
might try to precipitate it for their own purposes)', it was probable that
the foreign minister and other moderate ministers made use of it.' 2
There were, of course, dangers in this. There was talk of King
Prajadhipok's abdication should the definitive constitution be unsatisfactory.
Dormer thought that, if the King went in a crisis, it would mean
'the disintegration of the country'. 'I had thought of making a suggestion
to you•, Dormer told the Foreign Office,
... that ·a word of advice to the Siamese Minister in London
to impress on his Government the importance of observing
moderation, might have a steadying effect on the situation .
here. On the other hand, after further reflection I saw that
the moderate members of the Government do not need such
advice and that it might not be understood. It is not as if
they were in any doubt. All parties are, moreover, so
9) Dormer to Simon, 28 July 1932, No:lss, F.O. 371/16261 (F6563/4260/40).
10) Dormer to Simon, 3 August 1932, No. 160, F.O. 371/16261 (F6564/4260/40).
11) Thawatt, p. 109.
12) Telegram, 13 September 1932, No.5 RSaving, F.O. 371/16261 (F7009/4260/
40).

KINe; I'HAJADH!POK AND Tl-IE APPLE CART
~bsessed •. or app?ar to be, with the idea of the probable
InterventiOn of etther Britain or France, ... that unless one
ca.n be certain of one's words being correctly interpreted, they
mtght do more harm than good ... 13
The Foreign Office took a similar view. It received somewhat
alarmist comments from William Nunn, an M.P., previously a Customs
Adviser in Siam, about the possibility of French intervention. But it
seemed unlikely that the French would act alone, even though they
'would naturally be anxious that the Siamese revolutionary movement
should not spread into French Indo-China•. Eden told Nunn that 'the
general situation is certainly not too promising but it seems clear that
anything in the nature of vigorous representations on our part would
tend to upset the present precarious equilibrium. Our Minister loses
no opportunity of counselling moderation, and I think that this is all
that can be done in the present circumstances, apart from keeping a
careful watch on developments ....•14
Dormer also encouraged the
English newspapers in Bangkok to praise the moderation of the revolution,
IS
There was some relief when the definitive constitution was
promulgated and the King accepted the apologies of the revolutionaries
for their outspoken words of June.t6 'The King of Siam', wrote Victor
Mallet, 'has succeeded so far in steering a middle course, and has
managed to become a constitutional monarch without sacrificing too
much dignity'.l7 The apology, which Delevingne thought 'funny', 18
R.J. Bowker saw as 'a significant act, which must have strengthened the
position of the king'. 'Both sides seem· to have behaved admirably',
Mallet added.J9 March 1933, however, brought the crisis over Luang
13) Dormer to Simon, 16 September 1932, No. 192, F.O. 371/16262 CP7455/
4260/40).
14) Minute by Mallet, 26 October 1932; Eden to Nunn, 27 October, F.O. 371/
16262 (F7668/4260/40).
15) Dormer to Orde, 29 September 1932, F.O. 371/16262 CF7732/4260/40).
16) Minutes on Dormer to Simon, 21 October 1932, No. 216; 19 November, No.
234, F.O. 371/16262 (F8136, 8719/4260/40),
17) Minute, 19 January 1933, F.O. 371/17174 (F396/42/40).
18) Delevingne to Orde, 30 December 1932, F.O. 371/16262 (F8720/4260/40).
19) Minutes, 20 January 193 3, F.O. 371/17174 (F451/42/40).
5

6 Nicholas Tarling
Pradit's economic programme, and April a royal decree dissolving the
Assembly and State Council. A new State Council excluded the
'extremists', and an anti-Communist law was issued. 20 The 'moderates'
were backed by Col. Phya Song Suradej, a Promoter previously thought
a Communist, and by Colonel Luang Pibul Songgram, 'who has become
the most important military personality'. Dormer was pleased. 'If the
moderates who are now in power can consolidate their position, as they
should be able to do, there is more hope in the future for Siam than
there has been at any time since the revolution of last June ...'2 1 But
late in June he bad to report a new coup, led by Col. Phya Phahol
Pholpayuha Sena and Luang Pibul Songgram, designed to restore the
Assembly and recall Luang Pradit. 22
The references to foreign intervention reappeared. The Siamese
Minister called at the Foreign Office, and assured Sir Victor Wellesley,
the Deputy Under-Secretary, that the new coup was not a revolution.
'The fear of British or French intervention may help to keep developments
within bounds', minuted G. Harrison,23 The new adminstration
insisted it had no 'communistic' tendencies. Dormer referred to an
'unfounded' rumour that be had protested against Luang Pradit's return.
'The Government is evidently very afraid of British and French intervention.
I am hopeful they will prove moderate.•24 A letter from
H. Christiansen, manager in Bangkok of the East Asiatic Company, a
Danish firm that had been very influential, referred to the same question.
'The greatest fear possessed by all is the danger of foreign intervention,
and even the extremists are expected to diminish their aspirations if it
should appear that such an event is possible.' According to Christiansen,
the British Minister bad said that the situation was 'of quite an internal
nature', but that if it led to 'disturbances in which foreign property
b~comes endangered, someone would have to intervene' .2s
20) Thawatt, pp. 139 ff.
21) Dormer to Simon, 4 April 1933, No. 60, P.O. 37111717 5 (P3113/42/40).
22) Telegram, 20 June 1933, No. 13, F.O. 371/17175 (F4097/42/40).
23) Minute, 24 June 19 33, P.O. 371/1717 5 (F4170/ 42/40).
24) Telegram, 23 June 1933, No. 16, F.O. 371/17175 (F4194/42/40).
25) EnclosureinGurneytoOliphant, 15July 1933, P.O. 371/171.75 (F4780/42/
40).

KIN(; l'HAJAD!IIPOK AND THE APPLE CAin 7
Whatever use was made of the fear of foreign intervention, however.
the British saw that a threat could be counter-productive. Indeed when
D.ormer called on Phya Phahol, leader of the new government, and his
adviser on foreign affairs, Prince Varn vaidyakor n, before going on
leave, 'there seemed to be an atmosphere of nervous expectancy as to
the object of my visit ... .' Dormer declared he was happy to go away
'knowing that there were no clouds, large or small, overhanging our
relations ... .' Phya Phahol said the government intended to act with
moderation and to be friendly to foreign interests. 'I thought it a good
moment to say that I had often been annoyed, as be, Phya Phahol,
probably had been, .at the foolish rumours which bad been circulating
during the past year as to our supposed attitude and intentions-! did not
use the word intervention. They. had, of course, been pure imagination.
I never had, as I reported home, any anxiety that our interests were in
jeopardy.' Nor had Dormer believed that Siam would turn away from
'the old path of friendship with England .... •26
One reason for playing down any such threat was apparent: 'it was
bound to arouse, unnecessarily, resentment', as Dormer put it; 27 it
would provoke frustrated extremists, even turn their attention elsewhere.
A newspaper in August reminded readers that Siam had abstained from
voting at the League of Nations over Manchuria. It reported that, at a
dinner on 2 August, Phya Phahcil bad expressed fears of foreign intervention,
and that the Japanese minister bad said his country would help to
stop it. The report was officially denied. The British Foreign Office
thought it might contain 'an element of truth•.2B But the charge
d'affaires, John Bailey, suggested that the predominant Siamese attitude
to the Japanese was still one of distrust and fear.29 •Some of the young
bloods may be inclined to look to Japan as an ally in case of European
intervention-of which the Siamese are mortally afraid-but the Siamese
in general ... are under no illusions .... •3 o
26) Dormer to Simon, 10 July 1933, No. 114. F.O. 371/17175 (F5573/42/40).
27) DormertoSimon,25January1933, No. 21, F.O. 371/17178 (F1558/1558/
40).
28) Minute by Harrison, 13 September 19 33, F.O; 371117175 (F5889/42/40),
29) ·Bailey to Simon, 11 August 1933, No. 133, F.O. 371/17175 (F6241/42/40).
~0) Bailey to Or~e, 11 SeptembeJ: 1933 1
f.O. 37J;17176 W6721/42f40).

8 Nicholas Tarling
The right-wing Bowaradej rebellion of October the King refused to
support, but, against the wishes of the government, be decl~ned to go to
Bangkok, and indeed shifted from Hua Hin to Songkla. Bailey reported
that be seemed anxious for advice, and suggested that Dormer should
break his journey back to Bangkok to visit him,31 But Dormer was
'doubtful of desirability of going to Senggora lest visit should be
misrepresented ... and compromise us'. The Foreign Office agreed. 31
Bailey's own inclination-if the local vice-consul bad to give advice-was
that he should tell the King 'that I was quite without authority to com mit
His Majesty's Government at all and was most desirous not even to
appear to interfere in the country's affairs but that as an old and true
friend of the dynasty of Siam, I felt that the only possible course open to
the King was to come to Bangkok and rule, for be alone could pull the
country together and guide it'.33 In the event, elections were held
according to plan, and the King opened the new Assembly in Bangkok in
December.
Bailey ~ad thought the crisis might worsen. 'Should the King
remain where he is, abdicate, or cross the border into Kedah ... the only
certainty is that His Majesty and the Royal Family would be utterly
discredited, if they are not already, and the probability is thn t the
Government would be, too.' What would happen in Bangkok? I C the
rank-and-file got out of hand, he would recommend that a man-or-war
from Hong Kong be brought on to the scene,34 This idea reached the
Foreign Office first through an Admiralty telegram: 'ships actual
presence at Bangkok might be needed not so much for actual as for the
moral protection and influence it could afford.' 15 The Foreign Office
sought a full report. Bailey said it was a warning not a recommendation:
a ship might be needed eventually, but there was 'no likelihood of this
at present•,36 The Foreign Office remained sensitive on the subject of
31) Telegram, 31 October 1933, No. 45, F.O. 371/17176 (F6858/42/40). ""'"~'""'"'"'"--
32) Telegram, 2 November 1933, No. 47, and reply, F.O. 371/17176 (F6906/ 421
40).
33) Bailey to Simon, 31 October 1933, No. 182, F.O. 371/17176 (F7534/42J 4
Q).
34) Bailey to Simon, 21 October 1933, No. 171, F.O. 371/17176 (F74261421 4
Q).
35) Telegram, 28 October 1933, No. 269, F.O. 371/17176 (F6847/42/40).
~6) Tele~ram, 2 Noverp.ber 193 3, N. 415, f.O. 371( 17176 (f6~07 /42/40),

KINe PRAJADHIPOK AND Tim APPLE CAI\T 9
intervention. Undoubtedly it was an ultimate possibility -even given
the state of British power in the Far East-.at least in the sense of a
naval presence. But it was to be avoided if at all possible, and hints
about it had to be given in the most limited way. The aim was to
encourage restraint, and not to promote further tension between
'extremists' and 'moderates'.
This attitude is summed up by Dormer's remarks when, on his
return to Bangkok, be saw the foreign minister, Phya Abbibal. They
discussed the Bowaradej rebellion and the flight to Songkla.
He said that mischief-makers had been active, spreading
rumours about British intervention and the presence of
warships in the Gulf, to which I replied that I hoped that the
Government had dealt severely with them. If we intervened
it would be because the Siamese had forced our bands, and in
self-protection. He knew, I said, bow much I disliked this
pretence that we were standing over them with the big stick.
Phya Abbibal assured me that our attitude was well understood
and highly appreciated in responsible circles.
Dormer told the foreign minister that he had decided against going to
Songkla so as to avoid embarrassing either King or government. 37
Dormer also spoke to the foreign minister about the lectures on
Siam Yatabe, the Japanese minister, was giying in his own country.
Phya Abhibal said they resulted from Siam's abstention over Manchuria.
'The attitude of Siam on that occasion, be said, was intended to mark
her neutrality [between Chinaand Japan], but Japan insisted on regarding
it as showing support for her case.'
to Japan's interest in Siam,
The lectures, Dormer felt, pointed
and perhaps to a desire to be regarded as its champion
against •foreign aggression'. I am told that there are some
Siamese who affect to believe that if we did not send ships to
intervene during the recent troubles it was because the
Japanese stopped us.
37) Dormer to Simon, 10 Nov~D+b~r 19 33, N(i. 195, P.O. 371{17176 (F7921(42/
40~.

10 Nicholas Tarling
Among the Siamese of the older generation I have never
found anything but fear and dislike of Japan, but they were
evicted last June, and I should not be surprised if the youthful
elements behind the Government today, obsessed as they are
with the bogey of 'foreign (British or French) domination',
are looking to Japan to hold us back in the event, as they
think, of our interfering in their domestic disputes. It is a
frame of mind that the Japanese might easily wish to
encourage, although I have seen no signs of their carrying on
any such propaganda in Siam .... 38
Early in 1934 the Foreign Office were still inclined to play down
the actual role of Japan, if not the potential. Prince Purachatra, in a
conversation with W.A.R. Wood, former consul-general at Chiengmai,
had alluded to irredentism 'amongst the younger members of the new
Government', who counted on Japanese support. Such ideas, Dormer
noted, were put forward before the revolution, for instance by Bowaradej
himself. These had, he agreed, made some impact on the new generation,
too. 'But I give them enough sense to realise that they have more
urgent tasks to think about than extending their present frontiers. They
must learn to work and to hold their own against a Chinese population;
and they must learn how to live in harmony with each other ....' Prince
Purachatra, commented C.W. Orde, head of the Far Eastern Department
at the Foreign Office, was trying to 'make our blood curdle'; and Sir
R. Vansittart, the Permanent Under-Secretary, suggested that it did not
need to be taken 'very seriously, though the idea of the decadency of the
West-no new one-is interesting in its frequent manifestations'. 3 9
Dormer did not think 'this new friendship for Japan which inspires tbe
younger Siamese' would last long 'because its benefits are so one-sided':
Japanese imports swamped the market, but Japan closed the door to
Siamese rice. A.W.G. Randall believed Japan was 'more after trade
than anything else. The movement needs watching, however.'4°
38) Dormer to Simon, 10 November 1933, No. 196, F.O. 371/17176 (F7922/42/
40).
39) Dormer to Simon, 11 January 1934, No. 13, and minutes, P.O. 371/18206
(Fl185/2l/40).
40) Enclosures in Dormer to Foreign Secretary, 6 February 1934 1
N. 33 1
an4
minutes 1
F.O. 371(18210 lf1691/1691/40~.

lONG PHAJADHIPOK AND THI~ APl'LE CARt 11
Luang Pradit, cleared of Communism, was alleged to have declared Japan
'the first Asiatic Power', and spoke of its plan to build a Kra canal.
Becoming minister of the interior, be might, G.W. Harrison thought,
'cause us some trouble'. 41
James Baxter, the Financial Adviser, somewhat beset by what he
regarded as the virtual breakdown of administration, spoke of an 'active
pro-Japanese campaign . . . . Young Siam is convinced that an Anglo­
Japanese war is imminent; that Japan will have a walk-over; that Siam
should have an active part in the war on the Japanese side ....' 42
Dormer himself became more concerned. In May-after the Amau
declaration-he told Randall of 'a distinct tendency on the part of the
younger Siamese to look to Japan. The idea tbat Great Britain might
be involved in war with Japan had increased Siamese self-confidence
almost to the point of annoyance ... .'4 3
Dormer's successor, Sir Josiah Crosby, an old hand who had gone
to Bangkok as student interpreter in 1904, 4 4 noted that 'the gang in
power' were 'secretive' and reluctaht
to entertain direct relations with the foreign community .•. •
The aloofness of Ministe-rs is, I fancy, due to an inferiority
complex, combined with the idea that Foreign Powers favour
a restoration of the old state of things. lt may be feasible to
remove both ofthese factors; I have at least made it abundantly
clear to all "those with whom I ha:ve spoken that I have
not come out with a big· stick behind my back, that there
.· .. need be no fear ofihterference on our part,and -that Britain·
wishes tbe ne.w Siam all success in the process of working
out her destinies ..·. . The restoration of confidence in our .
attitude and intentions should of itself help to correct any
tendency on the part of the Siamese to orientate themselves
towards Japan ....
41) borrner to Simon, 9 March 19 34, No. 59, and minute, P.O. 371/18206 (F2261/
21/40).
42) Baxter to Cook, 17 April 1934, P.O. 371/18207 (F3420/21/40).
43) Minute by Randall, 9May 1934, F:o. 371/18210 (F2731/2202/40).
44) Josiah Crosby, Siam: The Crossroad;s, London, 1945, p. 1.

12 Nicholas Tarling
This Crosby felt he could not take too seriously, since, 'temperamentally'
and 'racially', Japanese and Siamese were 'poles apart'; and the Siamese
were 'at once too astute and too proud to derive from Nippon-at
second-hand-their instruction in the knowledge and sciences of the
West; they are more likely to prefer the original article procured at its
source .... ' Crosby ascribed the initiative in these developments more
to Japan than to Siam. 'It seems to be all part of the big drive, inspired
largely by economic motives, in which Japan has been engaged in the
Far. East during the past two years or so .... '45
A few weeks later, Crosby modified his view of the Siamese attitude
to Japan. What he had said applied to
the older generation of Siamese, but I have since discovered
that the young men of today are less fastidious than their
forbears, and that the facilities for technical education offered
in Japan are likely to attract them on the ground of
cheapness.. . . I am now disposed to regard Japaness rivalry
with us here as a thing which should not be taken too lightly.
Japan is underselling us all along the line and I must confess
I cannot see a remedy for the evil ... 46
True, with the fading of the idea that Britain and France would intervene
against the revolution, there was 'even a dawning recollection of the
threat to Siam's independence-always so present to the mind of her
late rulers-wbichwould arise if the Japanese should ever succeed in
obtaining for t!lemselves an absolutely free band in Asia ..•. ' But as
a result of its industrial and military activities, Japan bad attained a
'predominant position' in Asia, and Siam was bound to take it into
account as 'one of the pivotal points around which her foreign policy
must turn· .... ' Furthermore, Siam might seek more Japanese advisers,
who would be cheaper than the Europeans, and, for a similar reason;
might send more students to Japan.
45) Crosby to Orde, 18 A1,1gust 1934, F.O. 371!18207 (F5730/21/40).
46) Crosby to Orde, 29 September 1934, F.O. 371/18210 (F6579/3035/40).

KING PRAJADHIPOK AND TIU; APl'Lt CAI\'1'
13
Randall thought that this despatch confirmed the view that
any marked move towards the left in Siam would increase the
rapprochement between Siam and Japan, and that the latter
are steadily pursuing peaceful penetration there. Unless
this, however, is done with great discretion, the suspicion of
the Siamese is likely to be aroused and an anti-Japanese
reaction would occur. Direct methods of counteracting the
Japanese penetration are hardly possible but it may be
suggested that if our general prestige in the Far East is
clearly maintained, tbe danger of our influence in Siam being
destroyed would be obviated.
'It illustrates the kind of thing that will happen to an .even greater
extent', Orde echoed, 'if we do not resist Japanese pretensions to behave
as they like in the Far East.' Wellesley thought the Japanese held the
'trump cards. . . . They are determined to become, and will become,
the dominant power in the Far East. I don't see how we can prevent
it.' Lord Stanhope, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, suggested Japan
could be kept lean. •Japan's finances are far from being in a flourishing
condition. She depends on China for a large part of her trade, and
China is not prepared to eat out of Japan's hand unless she is urged by
other Powers to do so , ... ' 47
The debate on Siam thus merged into the debate on Japan. Britain,
it was recognised, had few means of resisting Japan, if any, but the role
of China could be important. It was also important to uphold British
prestige so far as possible. For that, too, might influence the attitude
of others, such as the Siamese. Britain must at least remain one of the
pivots of Siam's foreign policy. So far as their policy towards Siam
itself was concerned, the British bad sought to appear neutral in the
revolution and after it. They bad many ties with the old regime. But
they recognised that the best hope of retaining an influence in Siam-asi9e
from retaining prestige in the Far East as a whole--was to maintain good
relations with the new regime. It was necessary, therefore, not to be
identified with opposition to it. On tbe other band, anti-foreign or
'extremist' or 'Communist' policies would be. unwelcome, and 'modera-
4 7) Crosby to Foreign Secretary, 25 September 19 34, No. 200, F.O. 3 71 I 18 210
(F6575/3035/40).
Property of tl.1.t~
Siam Society's Libr:ac
. IANGKOK

14 Nicholas Tarling
tion' was preferable. It could, however, be counselled only cautiously,
and the use opponents of the extremists made of alleged British readiness
to intervene was somewhat embarrassing and might even be counterproductive.
The best solution was a constitutional monarchy. For that,
it would seem, King Prajadhipok was working. But be could make only
limited use of a British threat to intervene. His other resources were
limited, too.
* * *
King Vajiravudh had employed favourites. Seeing himself as
recapturing the spirit of King Chulalongkorn, King Prajadhipok had
displaced them with princely ministers. But this was to hamper him
when he came to believe that Siam must move in the direction of constitutional
monarchy. On his visit to the U.S. in 1931, be told the press
he intended to grant a constitution. 48 But the plans drawn up for the
inauguration of a constitution on the I 50th anniversary of the Cbakri
dynasty were not carried out because of opposition from the princes. 49
The King gave way, although, according to Prince Tewawong Warothai,
warning them 'that the inevitable result would be a coup d'etat and a
military dictatorship,.so Granting a constitution might have averted
the revolution; certainly it would have affected its course.
Interpretations of the King's conduct after the revolution vary,
both in contemporary reports and among historians. But the interpretation
that seems to make most sense suggests that the .King's aim
continued to be a constitutional monarchy, and that he struggled with
such means as he possessed to bring it about. The revolution, once
begun, had to be accepted. Immediate abdication, or the encouragement
of right-wing reaction, bad to be avoided; they might only precipitate
chaos and foreign intervention. It was necessary to proceed to constitutional
monarchy from therevolution, instead of from absolutism.
48)
49)
Chula Chakrabongse, The Twain Have Me;, London," n.d., p. 135.
Batson, pp. 82-85.
50) Johns to Simon, 29 June 1932, No. 137, F.O. 371/16261 (F5918/4260/40).

KING PRAJADH!POK AND '!'!IF. APPLI•: CART 15
The Promoters were a minority of civilian and military leaders.
Extremism might be modified by fear of foreign intervention, though the
British denied they would intervene, and the threat could rebound on
those who used it. Extremism might also be modified perhaps by
threats of abdication. But some of the left-wing would have found that
welcome, particularly if it could be made to seem the result of the King's
own decision, so that they did not incur blame from peasant masses
loyal to the King. The best check on extremism and the best route to
constitutional monarchy, King Prajadhipok believed, would be free
elections, which might at once make Siamese politics more democratic
and more conservative. Yet the Promoters, entrenched in Senate and
Executive Committee, believed this, too. The King had only the same
limited means to bring them round. The threat of foreign intervention
was. unhelpful. Threats of abdication bad some value, but ultimately
the bluff was called. The King's 'main thesis' was 'that be bad given up
his absolute power to the whole Thai people and not to any group'.Sl
His function would be purely ceremonial only when Siam was truly
democratic. 52 His pre-coup constitutional plans resembled those of the
Promoters in their gradualist approach to democracy. But there were
significant differences. The King had planned meantime to retain a
real veto power on legislation and to choose the nominated members of
of the Assembly. With the Promoters installed, those plans were
difficult to realise. If they proved impossible, the King would have lost
his powers to the Promoter·s, not to the people. Earlier and freer
elections would become essential.
Contemporaries were often impatient with the King, and historians
have misunderstood him. He should have mobilised popular support in
the conservative cause, it is implied. His pooteyesight-he had cataracts
in both eyes-and his fear of physical violence contributed to his failure
to do so. He was, as be himself admitted, indecisive: 'he himself once
told me thatbe saw both sides of every question, which quality made
him a philosopher but not a resolute monarch•.s3 But surely the fapt
51) Chula Chakrabongse, p. 185 ..
52) Thawatt, p. 251.
? 3~ Chula C~akrabon,se, P· ·156,

14 Nicholas Tarliog
tion' was preferable. It could, however, be counselled only cautiously,
and the use opponents of the extremists made of alleged British readiness
to intervene was somewhat embarrassing and might even be counterproductive.
The best solution was a constitutional monarchy. For that,
it would seem, King Prajadbipok was working. But he could make only
limited use of a British threat to intervene. His other resources were
limited, too.
* * *
King Vajiravudh had employed favourites. Seeing himself as
recapturing the spirit of King Chulalongkorn, King Prajadhipok had
displaced them with princely ministers. But this was to hamper him
when he came to believe that Siam must move in the direction of constitutional
monarchy. On his visit to the U.S. in 1931, he told the press
he intended to grant a constitution. 48 But the plans drawn up for the
inauguration of a constitution on the }50th anniversary of the Cbakri
dynasty were not carried out because of opposition from the princes. 49
The King gave way, although, according to Prince Tewawong Warothai,
warning them 'that the inevitable result would be a coup d'etat and a
military dictatorship,.so Granting a constitution might have averted
the revolution; certainly it would have affected its course.
Interpretations of the King's conduct after the revolution vary,
both in contemporary reports and among historians. But the interpretation
that seems to . make most sense suggests that the .King's aim
continued to be a constitutional monarchy, and that be struggled with
such means as he possessed to bring it about. The revolution, once
begun, bad to be accepted. Immediate abdication, or the encouragement
of right-wing reaction, bad to be avoided; they might only precipitate
chaos and foreign intervention. It was necessary to proceed to constitutional
monarchy from therevolution, instead of from absolutism.
48) Chula Chakrabongse, The Twa'in Have Me;, London, n.d., p. 135.
49) Batson, pp, 82-85.
50) Johns to Simon,29 June 1932, No. 137, F.O. 371/16261 (F5918/4260/40).
. L ..

KING PRAJAIJIIIPOK AND THR APPLE CART 15
The Promoters were a minority of civilian and military leaders.
Extremism might be modified by fear of foreign intervention, though the
British denied they would intervene, and the threat could rebound on
those who used it. Extremism might also be modified perhaps by
threats of abdication. But some of the leftrwing would have found that
welcome, particularly if it could be made to seem the result of the King's
own decision, so that they did not incur blame from peasant masses
loyal to the King. The best check on extremism and the best route to
constitutional monarchy, King Prajadhipok believed, would be free
elections, which might at once make Siamese politics more democratic
and more conservative. Yet the Promoters, entrenched in Senate and
Executive Committee, believed this, too. The King had only the same
limited means to bring them round. The threat of foreign intervention
was unhelpful. Threats of abdication had some value, but ultimately
the bluff was called. The King's 'main thesis' was 'that he bad given up
his absolute power to the whole Thai people and not to any group'. 5 I
His function would be purely ceremonial only when Siam was truly
democratic. 52 His prercoup constitutional plans resembled those of the
Promoters in their gradualist approach to democracy. But there were
significant differences. The King had planned meantime to retain a
real veto power on legislation and to choose tbe nominated members of
of the Assembly. With the Promoters installed, those plans were
difficult to realise. If they proved impossible, the King would have lost
his powers to the Promoter's, not to the people. Earlier and freer
elections would become essential.
Contemporaries were often impatient with the King, and historians
have misunderstood him. He should have mobilised popular support in
the conservative cause, it is implied. His poor, eyesight-he had cataracts
in both eyes-and his fear of physical violence contributed to his failure
to do so. He was, as he himself admitted, indecisive: 'he himself once
told me that he saw both sides of every question, which quality made
him a philosopher but not a resolute monarch•.s3 But surely the fact
51) Chula Chakrabongse, p. 185.
52) Thawatt, p. 251.
P] Chula CIJ.akrabon¥se, p. 156,

16 Nicholas Tarling
was that he saw more clearly than others that royal identification with
reaction would have been the way to civil war, not to constitutional
monarchy. Some, by contrast, imply tbat he should have identified
himself more closely with the Promoters' regime. He should not have
spent so much time out of Bangkok at Hua Hin or, after the Bowaradej
outbreak, at Songkla or, ultimat~ly, abroad. Perhaps, indeed, he needed
an especially clear head to follow out his own bard-won policy among
old-fashioned counsellors and courtiers. But on the other hand, he
believed, with some justice, that be could have no influence on the
Promoters if he simply endorsed all their actions and became their king.
King Prajadbipok lost his battle, but it is bard to be sure that be
made major mistakes in strategy or tactics. If the revolution was not
to be followed by major bloodshed, then political power was almost
certain to remain for a long time in the bands of the civilian-military
oligarchy that bad seized power; among whom, too, the military would
have a strong, even increasing, influence. The country is still working
out the implications of the revolution. It is searching, rather as the
King searched, for an Assembly that will share power and behave
moderately, diminishing the role both of civilian extremists and of
military politicians.
The fear of intervention helped to induce moderation among the
Promoters, and the King made use of it. He accepted the revolution,
but hoped to affect its outcome. His attitude, the Foreign Office recognised,
was important as a stabilising factor, although a representative
of Vickers, who noted the importance in the coup of the armoured cars
the firm had been selling, also noted that the King 'seemed to have no
desire to make a fight of it nor did any of his advisers appear to have
much in the way of guts•;s4 and Dormer relayed a report 'that the main
reason which prompted the King to accept the revolutionaries' demands,
and return to the capital was the fear of what might befall the royal
princes', held as hostages. 55 Dormer reported in August that relations
between King and Executive Committee were 'perfectly amicable', but
54) Enclosure in Birch to Foreign Office, 13 July 1932, F.O. 371/16261 (F5547/
4260/40).
~51 Dormeqo Silll.OD, 28 July 1932! No. 158 1
F.Q •• 371(16t61 (F~S63(4260(40).

KING PRAJADHIPOK AND THE APPLE CART 17
that King Prajadhipok did not wish to receive foreigners, as he bad lost
face; and that, although he appeared 'contented with the way that things
are now going', he wished to abdicate, and preparations were being
made for him to live abroad.s6 Such comments are not inconsistent
with the overall interpretation of the King's strategy. Receiving
foreigners would add to distrust and undue fear of intervention. The
abdication threat had to be kept alive as the Promoters proceeded, onlbe
King's insistence, to draw up a definitive constitution.s7 · Dormer added
that, when the People's Party denigrated the Royal Family after the
coup, the King announced his intention of leaving the country at once,
and was only persuaded by the Queen to revert to 'his former intention
of returning to Bangkok'. But such a hesitation could easily occur in
carrying out such a difficult policy as the King was substantially set
on.
In September Dormer reported a conversation with Prince Tewawong
Warotbai. 'It was perhaps only natural that be should regard the
political outlook with misgivings, but it was news to me when be said
that the King intended to make the new Constitution the deciding factor
whether he should stay or go ..•. ' Other hints to the same effect had
appeared elsewhere.
It would seem that the King knows what is in the wind and
that his decision is being divulged either in order to act as a
brake against the extremists, who would deprive him of any
power under the Constitution, or as a warning to the
moderates of what to expect if they cannot assert themselves.
That His Majesty intends to act up to it is, I think, clear, for
be has been preparing for the eventuality ofliving abroad .... ·
The moderates, Dormer noted, 'in addition to wishing to give the
King his proper place at the head of the Constitution with a due measure
of authority', insisted that the elections be free, and that candidates
should not .require the prior approval of the Exec9tive Committee.
Dormer thought the King would not 'act precipitately, although he is
56) Dormer to Simon, 20 August 1932, No. 178, F.O. 371/16261 (F6860(4260/
40).
57) J.K. Ray, Portraits of Thai Politics, New Delhi, 1972, p. 69, ·

20 Nicholas Tarling
prepared to come to acceptable terms with the regime, King Prajadhipok
dit not wish to place himself in its power. The difficulty was that he
appeared to be in the power of the reactionaries who surrounded him.
The outbreak of the Bowaradej rebellion made that difficulty still
greater.
Even in August King Prajadhipok had outlined the situation in
rather depressing terms to James Baxter, the Financial Adviser. The
People's Party aimed 'to hold on to power through fear. It cannot
tolerate the idea of any other party coming into power ....' Only Luang
Pradit had a policy.
His aim is a Socialist republic. He realises that a Republic is
not possible at the moment but wants it as soon as possible.
His policy is highly to the taste of the lazy Siamese intelligenzia
which wants to break the monopoly of the Chinese and
their foreign commercial enterprises. They are too lazy and
incapable of doing it themselves, and appeal to the State to
do for them what they ought to do by their own efforts.
The Luang Pradit faction spread 'scabrous' stories of the Royal Family
with a view to bringing its members into disrepute. Unless there were
'some organised counter-action', it would succeed. 'The only politically
conscious class is inclined to Communism.' The People's Party aimed at
a monopoly of government jobs, and indeed the princes had had too long
a spell. Most of the Party were loyal to the throne, but they feared that
the King, persuaded by his relatives, would seize power. The extremists
wanted to displace the King, and hoped 'to manoeuvre in such a way
that the King will abdicate of his own free will'. The loyalty of the
Arrny-and Navy was limited. 'They will hot tolerate the King taking
active command .... '
Most of the people were monarchists, the King continued, but they
were quite unorganised. The 'hardened conservatives ... live in hopes
that the magical and supernatural powers inherent in the person of the
King will one day confound all his enemies .... ' Such hopes inhibited
their action: indeed they expected the King to act, not themselves. The
'constitutional monarchists' shared something of the same view, and
were

KING PRAJADHIPOK AND THE APPLlO: CART
21
lost without the leadership of the Princes. They are not
desperate enough to face death for a cause. . . . They support
the Constitution as a whole but they would like to see
more conservative people at the helm. They think vaguely
of making a coup and hope to goodness that someone would
get up and do it. They think that the King ought to do
something about it and are rather fed up because be does not.
They vaguely hope that foreign intervention will save the
country from Communism.... It is unfortunate that in the
circumstances, the Princes cannot lead them. If the Princes
were to attempt to lead the Royalists, it would be the end of
the Monarchy. If the Royalists are to do anything they must
find a leader from their own ranks. A real menace of
Communism may perhaps drive them to action-possibly too
late.
Finally there were a few 'diehard absolute monarchists', whose
idea was 'to make a coup and wipe out the whole lot of the Revolutionaries.
They hope that the King will call upon his loyal troops, make war
on Bangkok, execute the Revolutionaries, and reassert his personal rule.
All this is sheer madness.
this opinion.'
It is said that many of the foreigners are of
'There is no turning back. All efforts must be concentrated on
making the Constitution work .... '
the Phya Mana government.
The King bad some influence on
'With the change of Government his
influence can only be a negative one.' To ensure even that
he must have a certain liberty of action. He must not put
himself into a position where he could readily be coerced.
His strongest weapon is the threat to abdicate-effectively
used several times already. To be really effective there must
be some chance that he could put the threat into execution,
that is, to be able to go away, or to retire to some safe place,
and await events; To make the same threat while he is in
· Bangkok is not half so effective since he lacks liberty of
action. The revolutionaries have only to get hold of his
person effectively to stop any kind of movement on the part
of the Royalists ....

20 Nicholas Tarling
prepared to come to acceptable terms with the regime, King Prajadhipok
dit not wish to place himself in its power. The difficulty was that he
appeared to be in the power of the reactionaries who surrounded him.
The outbreak of the Bowaradej rebellion made that difficulty still
greater.
Even in August King Prajadhipok had outlined the situation in
rather depressing terms to James Baxter, the Financial Adviser. The
People's Party aimed 'to bold on to power through fear. It cannot
tolerate the idea of any other party coming into power ... .' Only Luang
Pradit had a policy.
His aim is a Socialist republic. He realises that a Republic is
not possible at the moment but wants it as soon as possible.
His policy is highly to the taste of the lazy Siamese intelligenzia
which wants to break the monopoly of the Chinese and
their foreign commercial enterprises. They are too lazy and
incapable of doing it themselves, and appeal to the State to
do for them what they ought to do by their own efforts.
The Luang Pradit faction spread 'scabrous' stories of the Royal Family
with a view to bringing its members into disrepute. Unless there were
'some organised counter-action', it would succeed. 'The only politically
conscious class is inclined to Communism.' The People's Party aimed at
a monopoly of government jobs, and indeed the princes had had too long
a spell. Most of the Party were loyal to the throne, but they feared that
the King, persuaded by his relatives, would seize power. The extremists
wanted to displace the King, and hoped 'to manoeuvre in such a way
that the King wiU abdicate of his own free will'. The loyalty of the
Atmy·and Navy was- limited.- 'They will hot tolerate the King taking
active command .... '
Most of the people were monarchists, the King continued, but they
were quite unorganised. The 'hardened conservatives ... live in hopes
that the magical and supernatural powers inherent in the person of the
King wilL one day confound all his enemies .... • Such hopes inhibited
their action: indeed they expected the King to act, not themselves. The
'constitutional monarchists' shared something of the same view, and
were

KING PRAJADI-I!POK AND THE APPLJ' CART
21
lost without the leadership of the Princes. They are not
desperate enough to face death for a cause.... They support
the Constitution as a whole but they would like to see
more conservative people at the helm. They think vaguely
of making a coup and hope to goodness that someone would
get up and do it. They think that the King ought to do
something about it and are rather fed up because he does not.
They vaguely hope that foreign intervention will save the
country from Communism... . It is unfortunate that in the
circumstances, the Princes cannot lead them. If the Princes
were to attempt to lead the Royalists, it would be the end of
the Monarchy. If the Royalists are to do anything they must
find a leader from their own ranks. A real menace of
Communism may perhaps drive them to action-possibly too
late.
Finally there were a few 'diehard absolute monarchists', whose
idea was 'to make a coup and wipe out the whole lot of the Revolutionaries.
They hope that the King will call upon his loyal troops, make war
on Bangkok, execute the Revolutionaries, and reassert his personal rule.
All this is sheer madness. It is said that many of the foreigners are of
this opinion.'
'There is no turning back. All efforts must be concentrated on
making the Constitution work .... ' The King had some influence on
the Phya Mano government. 'With the change of Government his
influence can only be a negative one.' To ensure even that
be must have a certain liberty of action. He must not put
himself into a position where be could readily be coerced.
His strongest weapon is the threat to abdicate-effectively
used several times already. To be really effective there must
be some chance that he could put the threat into execution,
that is, to be able to go away,or to retire to some safe place,
and await events; To make the same threat while be is in
Bangkok is not half so effective since he lacks liberty of
action. The revolutionaries have only to get bold of his
person effectively to stop any kind of movement on the part
of the Royalists ....

d
Funhermure. the King'li PH''IIi:rlCC in n~msknk '81\Cl':l fnl!l,e hQpe!i !0 the
Ro)'ulist!l und mukeli !hem more cunhHH !hun c\er lo le~tve thingstothe
gods. ll is really t& mi~l\>rtune thai the !'l(!llf)lc pliu;e It!{! much hope in
the King. He C!HHHH help them much. The 11o.;mcr they realise that
they must help themselves, the beUef'.'
Jn a covering leller to H~1x1er, the King ~4dmilled he did not
see much ht>J.>e. I wi11h people wcmld no! expect too much
and would think uut 5~ome wny (If defendin1thcrmehes ....
The chief fight !:1 uguinst CmmnuniMn. Perhup:> you and
other fLlfcign

KING PHAJADHJPOK AND THE APPLE CAHT 23
Communism. Not all of this was wise; but the policy behind it was
thoughtful, and not simply, nor even substantially, the result of personal
or political cowardice. The note contains some obscurities. Does it
suggest at one point a royalist coup rather than political action? The
general tone seems to be against it. Certainly no prince should lend
himself to such a venture.
Was the King aware of plans for the Bowaradej rebellion? Bailey
thought that the Baxter memorandum indicated that be was.74 But it
would seem that if he were aware of it, he would have wanted to stop it,
even if he were unable to do so. Bailey also reported hearing that the
King wanted a non-princely leader for it. 7s But it might have been
more accurate to say that he did not want a prince involved. In any
case he repudiated the rebels, though some of their professed aims were
his also. But his absence from Bangkok and his court contacts made
him suspect, and his flight to Songkla-perbaps indeed influenced by the
physical fear of a half-blind man, though also, no doubt, by a rumour
that the government planned to seize him at Hua Hin76_only increased
the suspicion. As Harrison put it, 'while the Government is convinced
that the rebellion could not have taken place without the connivance of
the King and the Royal Family, his Royalist supporters are aggrieved at
his precipitate flight to Senggora, ... where he remained throughout the
trouble .... • 77
On his return Dormer called on the foreign minister.
He expressed openly, to my surprise, his conviction that the
King was aware that the rising was to take place, because
Prince Bowaradej would never have moved if he had feared
His Majesty's disapproval. This remark I ventured to doubt,
and asked why should the King wish to see the Government
overturned which contained several Ministers who enjoyed
his confidence, including Phya Phahol, and with whom I understood
he had been cooperating in a friendly manner ....
74) BaileytoSimon, 15 October 1933,No.l66. F.O. 371/17176 (F7213/42/40).
75) Bailey to Simon, 21 October 19 3 3, No. 17 I, F.O. 371/17176 (F7 426/42/40).
76) EnclosureinGurneytoOrde, 11 November 1933, F.O. 371/17176 (F7296/
42/40);NewbouldtoBailey,250ctober 1933, F.O. 371/17176 (F7534/42/
40).
77} Me~Or!lp.dum. 1 31 D~ceml?~r 1933 1
F.Q. 371/1716 (F7350(42(40),

24 Nicholas Tarling
Phya Abhibal agreed, but said the King was embittered by attacks on
him and on the royal family. •He then said that the King was surrounded
by evil counsellors (which is perfectly true), and that even if His Majesty
himself was left in ignorance that the rising was to take place, the Court
must have known about it .... ' Dormer concluded that the King's
position was 'shaken on all sides', suspected as he was by some of
connivance, by others of weakness. '1 am not so sure. that there is
nothing to be said in his defence'; his situation had been 'exceedingly
difficult'. Dormer thought abdication was likely. 78
Conflicting reports from Songkla in November suggested both that
the King was 'very depressed•79 and 'very cheerful'. Both came from
the vice-consul, the latter following a long conversation with the King
during the elections. Both were present at the election for the changwat
of Songkla. The King
commented on the fact that most of the Tam bon representatives
were village headmen and elders ... men of experience.
He said that be had had quite a fight to persuade the
Government to agree to as many as half of the members of
the Assembly being elected, since the Government wished
two-thirds to be appointed. But he had insisted that, with
half of the Assembly elected, the Government ought to be
able to maintain a working majority and that, if they could
not, they ought not to remain in power and he had had his
way.
Referring to the non-elected members, His Majesty
said that these would be chosen by the Government but the
list would be submitted to him and he would raise objections
to any whom he considered unsuitable. He hoped that, by a
certain amount of 'bargaining', he would be able to ensure
that the non-elected members would be fairly representative.
He bad warned the Government that, if they selected unsuitable
people and insisted on their appointment, there would
be a great deal of feeling against them throughout the country,
which might lead to further bloodshed, and he hoped that
they would take his warning to heart.
78) Dormer to Simon, 10 November 193 3, No. 195, F.O. 371/17176 (F792l/42/
40).
79) Ncwbou!Q to Dormer, 17 November 19 33 1
F.O. 371118206 (F21/21/40),

KING PRAJADHJPOK AND THE APPLE CART
25
The candidates had all so far declared themselves in
favour of Constitutional Monarchy and he hoped that this
fact too might have a moderating influence upon the more
extremist members of the Government.
The Government had promised him that, after the
elections, they would allow the Royalists to form a political
party and he hoped to be able to make them keep this promise.
He regarded this as very important, since, if people were not
allowed some outlet for the expression of their political views,
they were liable to resort to violence .... so
The King was obviously still hopeful : he used the rebellion as an
argument with the People's Party for giving conservatives a political
role. Phya Devahastin was elected for Bangkok.SI
The King saw Baxter and Sir R. Holland, the Judicial Adviser, in
December. He referred to
the recent upheaval. . . . There were two movements in
progress at the same moment: one within Bangkok, the other
outside. The first, which represented genuine discontent
with the methods of Phya Phahol's party, would have won if
it had not been forestalled and hampered by the effort of
Prince Bowaradej. No movement which had for its apparent
object the restoration of the old regime could possibly
succeed. It was foredoomed to failure, and for that reason
I was strongly opposed to Prince Bowaradej or any other
member of the princely order heading such a movement. If
Prince Bowaradej had abstained, the forces of the moderate
party would certainly have gained the upper hand in Bangkok,
and recent history would have been different.
The King's own part was 'one of great difficulty. I was bitterly
reproached for not having come to Bangkok and placed myself at the
head of the so-called Royalist party. What good would that have done?
I should have been a pawn in the hands of any party that could control
my movements. I should have descended into the arena of politics.
I might have imperilled the existence of the monarchy.' The government,
on the other hand, suspected liis decision to go to Songkla, a decision
taken at a moment's notice, but proved right by events: ·
80) Newbould to Dormer, 26 November 1933, P.O. 371/18206 (F283/2l/40). •
81) Dormer to Simon, 14 December 1933, F.O. 371/18206 (F556/2l/40).

26 Nicholas Tarling
King Prajadbipok thought that 'what bas happened has cleared the
air'. Even the fanatics surrounding Phya Phahol perceived 'that at the
moment the King is a necessary feature in the Constitution, and I think
that the belief is gaining ground that I am absolutely opposed to any
attempt to reinstate the absolute monarchy. That is quite impossible,
There are elements of hope .... The elections were fairly conducted ....'
Those elected were 'not animated by extreme democratic views'. Phya
Devabastin had attracted a following from the nominated as well as the
elected. The outlook had •improved' since the Assembly was elected.
The aim of the People's Party was to stay. in power. 'Unless they are
turned out by force through some counter-movement within the army,
they will continue in power until the Assembly representing public
opinion is capable of indicating its will in a manner which must
command obedience.' From this account it seems clear that tbe King
still put his trust in a democratic assembly.
There was one difficult issue which be put forward. He wanted
death sentences on those involved in the rebellion commuted, and hoped
the hotheads in power would be influenced by the unfavourable effect
executions would have on foreign opinion. Again the King's attitude
was open to misconstruction. Again, however, his explanation rings
true. 'Vengeance would be exacted in the long run from those responsible,
and one can only envisage, as a result, a vista of revolutions, each
more sanguinary than the last .... '
The King gave no interview to Dormer, but wanted his comments
passed on to him. Dormer felt that King Prajadbipok's account of tbe
revolution was 'absolutely authentic'. The flight to Songkla, decided on
'in a moment of panic', was 'fully justified by results'.· At the Foreign
Office, Randall concluded that the King made out •a good case for
himself', and that his view was on the whole 'balanced and clear,
sighted•.a2
Even before the revolution, the King had contemplated a visit to
Europe during 1933. He had had an eye operation in the U.S. in 1931,
but needed further treatment. The tour was put off, but . the idea
82) Dormer to Simon, 17 January 19 34, No. 17, enclosur~s, aqd min1,1tes, F,Q,
~7lfiB206 wn94f2If40).

kiNG PRAJADHI1'0K AND 1'HE Ai'PLE CART 27
remained current and, combined with talk of abdication, prompted
speculation.
At the end of 1933, the King determined to go in the New
Year, though the government wanted him to remain until the close of
the Assembly in Marcb.s3 One reason was his health. There were
political reasons, too, of which he told the vice-consul at Songkla.
Many people, be said, thought be ought not to leave his
Kingdom at so critical a period, but he himself thought it
would be better for the country if he went away for a time.
Some members of the Government could not rid themselves
dfthe idea that he was anxious to regain absolute power and
his going away might help to persuade them that such was
not in fact the case. Moreover his absence from the country
might help to calm down the more hot-headed of the extreme
Royalists. If the Government could not keep the country
peaceful while he was away, they would thereby show themselves
unfit to govern and, also, if any reactionary movement
manifested itself during his· absence, it would be clear that
the country itself desired a change and people could not say
(as some have said recently), that he had inspired it. He hoped
that by the time he returned from his trip abroad the country
· as a whole· would have made up its mind as to what form of
Government it wanted .... 84
The same sort of statement was made to Holland and Baxter.
1 feel that the situation will be eased if I absent myself for a·
time from Siam. If I remain in the country, but am away
from Bangkok, I can exercise hardly any control or influence,
and my name may be taken in vain by conspirators against
the present Government. If I stay in Bangkok, I am a target
for complaints, and discontented persons will try to focus
their intrigues upon me. If I go away for a time, there may
be a chance for things to settle down. . . . And, as a matter
of fact, I feel that I cannot stand much more of it. The
strain of the past two years bas been terrible. My eye must
be operated on shortly for cataract ..... ss
83) Telegram, 29 Dece;mber 1933, No. 63R, F.O. 311/17174 (F7983/38/40).
84) · As·note 80.
85) As note 82.

28 Nicholas Tarling
The King left on 12 January 1934, after a radio speech in which he
reaffirmed his belief in the constitution and his support for Phya Phahol.B6
But the Assembly was to prove a disappointment, and the rift between
King and government grew rather than declined. The Assembly passed
bills over the King's veto, including one abolishing his prerogative over
death warrants; and tbe government undertook legal proceedings against
Phya Devahastin.
not return.
The King, though it seems he expected to do so, did
He used his threat of abdication in negotiations with the
government, and when these negotiations failed, nothing remained but
to carry it out,
* * *
The King's visit raised some issues of protocol in England. He
travelled as the Prince of Sukhodaya, not as King, but some notice had
to be taken of him,ss
In fact be lunched with George V and the Prime
Minister, dined with the Lord Mayor and the Foreign Secretary, went to
Ascot and Aldersbot, and was seen off by Prince George at Victoria.s9
He returned from the Continent in September and went to stay at
Knowle, Cranleigb.90
It was at this Surrey bouse that the crucial
negotiations were to take place. They risked carrying embarrassment
beyond matter.s of protocol, especially in the context of those Siamese
suspicions of Britain's attitude to the revolution which Crosby was
seeking to disperse; 9 1
comedy.
There were, in fact, some. episodes of tragi·
86) Telegram, 12 January 1934, No.2 Saving, F.O. 371/18207 (F479/115/40).
87) Crosby to Simon, 12 October 1934, No. 211, F.O. 371/18207 (F6886/21/40).
88) Siamese Minister to Simon, 7 June 1933; Memorandum by Monck, 3 October,
F.O. 371/17174 (F3870, 6383/38/40). Conversation with Siamese Charge,
5 .January 1934, and minutes, P.O. 371/18207 (F115/l15/40).
89) Foreign Office to Coultas, 19 July 1934, F.O. 371/18208 (F4063/11S/40),
90) Siamese Minister to Orde, 3 October 1934, F.O. 371/18208 (F5936/liS/40).
91) Enclosure in Gurney to Orde, 22 November 19 34, F.O. 371/ I 8207 (F7046/
21/40). Crosby to Orde, 2 February 1935, F.O. 371/19377 (F1649/296/40),

KING PRAJADHIPOK AND THE APPLE CART 29
In mid-October, the Siamese Consul in London, R.D. Craig, told
Orde that the King had telegraphed his abdication to the Regent. 'The
King wishes to remain in England, and to live an entirely quiet life here.
He is anxious to ~now whether he would be allowed to live here. I told
Mr. Craig that I could not imagine there would be any difficulty.' 'It is
a pity we spent so much time and money on this poor little man', the
Foreign Secretary, Sir John Simon, cruelly commented. 'Will there be
any political reactions?' Orde thought that there might be an interregnum,
since the King bad no son. Possibly 'republican and quasicommunist
elements' would 'get the upper band.. . . This would be
unfortunate and not free from repercussions on foreign policy, since the
radical elements in the Siamese Government are critical of the employment
of foreign advisers, anxious to try risky experiments with Siamese
currency (against which the present British Financial Adviser has stood
firm), and [may] possibly yield to the blandishments of Japan, who has
recently been paying particular attention to Siam and encouraging the
thought of herself as a protector of an Asiatic people against European
exploiters.• But this was 'perhaps the most remote possibility'. Harrison
thought the army would prevent the· proclamation of a republic; but
Randall suggested that 'the coming into power of Left politicians (with
pro-Japanese sympathies)' was 'not to be entirely discounted'. 92
Crosby then telegraphed that tbe abdication was not definite.
The Siamese Minister in Paris was being sent to interview the King, and
later the government would probably send over an emissary to England
who would 'endeavour to dissuade His Majesty from abdicating'.9 3
Already the King's secretary bad told Special Branch officers that there
might be 'reprisals' if the King refused to return to Siam. The proposed
emissaries were said to be Luang Pradit and Luang Tbamrong Nawaswasdi.
The secretary said that the King did not wish to see them, and
indeed was in some apprehension of them. The recent assassination of
King Alexander in Marseilles came to mind, and the Home Office asked
if the emissaries should be allowed to land in England. Harrison thought
Luang Pradit an unlikely emissary and an unlikely assassin. He could
92) Minute by Orde, 16 October 1934, and others attached, F.O. 371/18208
(F6130/L15/40).
93) Telegram, 25 October 1934, No. 49, F.O. 371/18208 (F6326/ll5/40).

30 Nicholas Tarling
not identify the other emissary. It was agreed that they could land, but
that they must be kept under surveillance.94 A partially reassuring
telegram from Crosby confirmed this view.9s The delegation in fact
included Chao Phya Sri Dbarmadhibes, ex-Minister of Finance, the
president of the Assembly; Luang Thamrong Nawaswasdi, who was
secretary-general of the State Council; and Nai Direk Jayanama, secretary
to the foreign ministry.96 Immediately after a telegram from Crosby
had brought this information, the Home Office rang up to say that an
individual called Thamrong had already arrived and gone straight to
Knowle. Another worried telegram to Crosby: but this was another
Thamrong, from the King's own secretariat.97
The Foreign Office considered that the idea of a plot against the
King's life was, as Harrison put it, likely 'to be a figment of the King's
own imagination, stimulated by his ill-health and the recent assassination
at Marseilles'. But certain elementary precautions had to be taken.98
In fact the idea seems rather to have originated with the King's secretary
and Scotland Yard,99 The arrival of the delegation itself, respectable
as it had turned out to be, still, however, required further precautions.
Scotland Yard reported the delegates' reaching Genoa at the end of
November. They were expected to attend a reception for students at
the Legation in London on 10 December 'before attempting to seek
audience with their King'. Two Special Branch officers would be with
the King when the reception was held. Harrison told S.J. Baker of the
Home Office 'that we were a little disturbed at the idea of two police
officers being present when the King of Siam received the delegation,
unless it were at H.M.'s own request'. Baker said Scotland Yard were
satisfied that the delegation was 'more or less reputable, but were afraid
94) Hoare to Harrison, 24 October 1934, and minutes, P.O. 371/18208 (F6349/
115/40).
95) Telegram, 26 October 1934, No: 51, F.O. 371/18208 (F6390/Il5/40).
96) Telegram, 6 November 1934, No. 56R, F.O. 371/18208 (F6608/l15/40).
97) Memorandum by Harrison, 7 November 1934; telegram, 8 November, No. 57,
F.O. 371/18208 (F6653, 6654/115/40).
98) Minute, 5 December-1934, F.O. 371/18208 (F7146/l15/40).
99) Cf. Crosby to Simon, 4 January 1935, No. 10, F.O. 371/19376 (F924/142/
40).

KING PRA.TADH!POK AND THE Al'l'LI~ CAR'I' 31
that some Siamese students might accompany them to the reception .... '
He admitted 'that it would be awkward if the sensational press got bold
of the story that the detectives had insisted on being present at a discussion
... on an internal Siamese affair, but he said that the King's Private
Secretary was rather a scare-monger ....'
He thought the detectives
could be in a room nearby, and only attend the reception if specially
invited by the King.' oo
The King's secretary sought the end ofthe Special Branch surveillance
on 13 December. The previous day King Prajadhipok had met
the delegation. According to the police officers, he had 'weakened in
his determination to abdicate. His demands have been acceded to
almost in full. The outstanding question in contention is that of
constitutional reform in the way of democratic election ....'
The King
wanted a fully-e,lected Assembly. This point, Harrison believed, was
new to the Foreign Office.I 0 1 In fact the Siamese charge had already
complained to the Foreign Office about an article in The Times, emanating,
Orde thought, from someone in the King's entourage, which put the
contest in this context.
..
A conflict has arisen between King Prajadhipok ... and
the Assembly over the Bill passed by that body which deprives
him of his power to review death sentences. The King ...
refused to sign the Bill until it had been submitted to a
plebiscite, or had been made the issue of a General Election.
The Assembly vetoed the proposal, whereat the King felt
bound to offer his abdication as a protest against their action.
The conflict cannot fairly be interpreted as a quarrel
between a ruler anxious to preserve the last vestiges of his
once autocratic power and a representative Assembly voicing
the political aspirations of a people. It is between a King
who has surrendered to revolution as much as, or perhaps
more than, a conscientious and liberal ruler should have
done and on the other side an Assembly which represents at
a generous estimate perhaps one-twentieth of the people of
Siam ....
100) Baker to Orde, 7 December 1934, and minute, F.O. 371/18208 (F7294/115/
40).
101) Baker to Harrison, 18 December 1934, and minute, F,Q. 371/18208 (F7519{
JlS/40)

30 Nicholas Tarling
not identify the other emissary. It was agreed that they could land, but
that they must be kept under surveillance.94 A partially reassuring
telegram from Crosby confirmed this view. 95 The delegation in fact
included Chao Phya Sri Dharrnadhibes, ex-Minister of Finance, the
president of the Assembly; Luang Tharnrong Nawaswasdi, who was
secretary-general oft he State Council; and Nai Direk Jayanarna, secretary
to the foreign rninistry.96 Immediately after a telegram from Crosby
had brought this information, the Horne Office rang up to say that an
individual called Tharnrong had already arrived and gone straight to
Knowle. Another worried telegram to Crosby: but this was another
Thamrong, from the King's own secretariat.97
The Foreign Office considered that the idea of a plot against the
King's life was, as Harrison put it, likely 'to be a figment of the King's
own imagination, stimulated by his ill-health and the recent assassination
at Marseilles'. But certain elementary precautions had to be taken. 98
In fact the idea seems rather to have originated with the King's secretary
and Scotland Yard.9 9 The arrival of the delegation itself, respectable
as it bad turned out to be, still, however, required further precautions.
Scotland Yard reported the delegates' reaching Genoa at the end of
November. They were expected to attend a reception for students at
the Legation in London on 10 December 'before attempting to seek
audience with their King'. Two Special Branch officers would be with
the King when the reception was held. Harrison told S.J. Baker of the
Home Office 'that we were a little disturbed at the idea of two police
officers being present when the King of Siam received the delegation,
unless it were at H.M.'s own request'. Baker said Scotland Yard were
satisfied that the delegation was 'more or less reputable, but werfi afraid
94) Hoare to Harrison, 24 October 1934, and minutes, F.O. 371/18208 (F6349/
115/40).
95) Telegram, 26 October 1934, No: 51, F.O. 371/18208 (F6390/115/40).
96) Telegram, 6 November 1934, No. 56R, F.O. 371/18208 (F6608/115/40),
97) Memorandum by Harrison, 7 November 1934; telegram, 8 November, No. 57,
F.O. 371/18208 (F6653, 6654/115/40).
98) Minute, 5 December 1934, F.O. 371!18208 (F7146/115/40).
99) Cf. Crosby to Simon, 4 January 1935, No. 10, F.O. 371/19376 (F924/142/
40).

KING l'RA.JADHIPOK AND 'n!E APPLE CART 31
that some Siamese students might accompany them to the reception ....'
He admitted 'that it would be awkward if the sensational press got hold
of the story that the detectives had insisted on being present at a discussion
... on an internal Siamese affair. but he said that the King's Private
Secretary was rather a scare-monger ... .' He thought the detectives
could be in a room nearby, and only attend the reception if specially
invited by the King.• oo
The King's secretary sought the end of the Special Branch surveillance
on 13 December. The previous day King Prajadhipok bad met
the delegation. According to the police officers, he had 'weakened in
his determination to abdicate. His demands have been acceded to
almost in full. The outstanding question in contention is that of
constitutional reform in the way of democratic election ... .' The King
wai).ted a fully-e,lected Assembly. Tbis point, Harrison believed, was
new to the Foreign Office.• 01 In fact the Siamese charge bad already
complained to the Foreign Office about an article in The Times, emanating,
Orde thought, from someone in the King's entourage, which put the
contest in this context.
..
A conflict bas arisen between King Prajadhipok •.. and
the Assembly over the Bill passed by that body which deprives
him of his power to review death sentences. The King ...
refused to sign the Bill until it had been submitted to a
plebiscite, or had been made the issue of a General Election.
The Assern bly vetoed the proposal, whereat the King felt
bound to offer his abdication as a protest against their action.
The conflict cannot fairly be interpreted as a quarrel
between a ruler anxious to preserve the last vestiges of his
once autocratic power and a representative Assembly voicing
the political aspirations of a people. It is between a King
who bas surrendered to revolution as much as, or perhaps
more than, a conscientious and liberal ruler should have
done and on the other side an Assembly which represents at
a generous estimate perhaps one-twentieth of the people of
Siam .•..
100) Baker to Orde, 7 December 1934, and minute, F.O. 371/18208 (F7294/l15/
40).
101) Baker to Harrison, 18 Decel!lber 1934, and minute, F.Q. 371 (18208 (F75 19/
l15/40)

32 Nicholas Tarling
The King believed in representative government. But cooperation
with the present government bad been almost impossible. 'It was given
power by an Assembly half of whose members were nominated not
because they represented the nation, but because they were sympathetic
to the mixture of Radicalism and Socialism which inspired the first
revolution. The other half consisted of members returned by an
electorate in which the Government allowed no organised opposition,
and not more than a fifth of the electors voted .... ' The government's
folly was shown by its co.ntinued espousal of plans as infantile as Luang
Pradit's; its injustice by its. merciless treatment of those who took part
in or sympathised with the Bowaradej rebellion. 'When the King's
refusal to give up his right to review death sentences is considered in the
light of the fact that at least six men have been sentenced to death who
sincerely believed that they were fighting for the King against a
communistically-inclined Government it is easy to see why the breach
has been opened and why it will be difficult to close .•.. ' The King
should, perhaps, have made his stand earlier. lll-healtb and physical
weakness helped to explain why he had not. But his sense of duty was
an additional factor. 'He would even now be loth to leave his position
if there was any real hope that he could save the Siamese from any of
the troubles that lie ahead of them. Evidently he feels that there is
little hope of this and that by remaining in his position he would only
allow the Government to use his name and influence in impressing on his
people a policy which they neither understand nor like .... oto2 Prince
Varnvaidyakorn told Crosby that he thought the article was by Ctaig,
'who must have been inspired. by the Court•.t03
Early in 1935 the Foreign Office beard of an 'ultimatum' by the
King which put the question rather differently. He would abdicate,
unless satisfied on four points: that the constitution should be altered so
that a two-thirds majority was required before the Assembly could
override the royal veto; that the King should have an effective share in
102) Conversation, 20 November 1934, F.O. 371/18211 (F6922/6922/40). The
Times, 19 November.
103) Crosby to Orde, 12 December 1934, F.O. 371/18211 (F7671/6922/40).

KIN

34 Nicholas Tarling
As Crosby rightly implied, King Prajadbipok's policy had failed.
He bad, after all, agreed to the constitution; be had appended his
signature to the list of nominated deputies; his demands were not
approved even by the elected deputies.''' Tbe'King's explanation was
that he had signed the constitution 'merely in order to tide over the
critical period', and accepted nomination of half the Assembly 'in order
to smooth matters over•.J1 2 When the situation failed to improve, he
was faced with the task of amending the constitution, using still the weak,
if not two-edged, weapon of abdication. He sought changes not because
he wanted more power, but 'because there should be a safeguard against
legislation contrary to the will of the people',l13 The government
declined to alter the constitution which. be had himself earlier
accepted,ll4
Back in September 1932, Dormer had reminded Prince Tewawong
of Shaw's play The Apple Cart, 'which he might do well to read just
now•.w King Magnus, inde

KING l;HAJADHIPOK AND THE APPLE CAHT 35
or support .... ' Seeking to stay in England, the King assured Sir John
Simon that he would 'not abuse its hospitality by engaging in any kind
of political activities schemes or plots whatever•.l16 But the disturbed
political history of Siam after 1935 once more raised suspicion of his
involvement.
Even early in 1935 Crosby and others bad forecast struggle within
rather than against the government: they expected 'an attempt on the
part of Luang Pibul to oust from power Luang Pradit and his radical
following'.117 Given the absence of democratic politics, it was not
surprising that conspiracy followed conspiracy, though in a more complex
way than Crosby anticipated, and that Luang Pibul became dominant.
Early in 1939, it was alleged that Phya Song Suradej and others had
plotted to recall the ex-King or the exiled Prince Boribat, and planned
an uprising rather along Bowaradej lines. Strong action was taken
against the conspirators. us The ex-King, interviewed by The Daily Mail,
declared that they had not approached him.
'I am accustomed to hear reports of plots against the
present regime almost every fortnight', he said.
'The reason for the periodic attempts at rebellion is that
the present r~gime does not allow the formation of political
parties through which the public can air grievances .... •119
But Prince Cl;mla Chakrabongse told Crosby that be was not quite
certain of King Prajadhipok's innocence. 'The ex-King, be said, had
become "desperate" and it was his nature to shut his eyes to unpleasant
things which were likely to fall out to his advantage ... ' Prince Chula,
Crosby commented, was 'no lover of tbe ex-King ... ' but what he said
tended to confirm the suspicion, amounting to conviction with the
members of the Government, that the ex-King has all along maintained
in secret an active interest in Siamese politics and that he bas never
ceased to work underground against the new regime .... ' Crosby
hoped that resentment against the ex-King would not revive the suspicion
116) Prajadhipok to Simon, 20 March 1935, F.O. 371/19376 (F1957/142/40).
117) Crosby to Simon, 4 January 1935, No. 10, F.O. 371/19376 (F924/142/40).
118) Crosby to Halifax, 7 February 1934, P.O. 371/23586 (Fl658/43/40).
119) Daily Mail, 31 January 1939.

36 Nicholas Tarling
'that we were on the side of the absolute monarchy and of the old
regime .... ' He hoped, too, that the Siamese government would still
send the young King to be educated in England.I20
Prince Athitaya, the President of the Council of Regency, had
already put some pressure on a visitor from his old university, another
friend of Prince Chula's, Steven Runciman of Trinity College, son of the
Lord President of the Council. He bad declared that the govetnment
was 'certain' that the plots against Luang Pibul were 'partly organised
and financed by the ex-King ....' Following a military coup, the ex-King
would return by air, and the boy King would become Crown Prince.
The model was King Carol's return to Rumania. Would Britain turn
King Prajadhipok out on grounds of 'strong suspicion' alone? Prince
Athitaya 'considered it to be very important that the ex-King should
be removed from England, because that would please the Siamese
Government very much and because there is a belief in Siam that Britain
was in favour of the old regime and never liked the Constitutional
Revolution, and because it would greatly simplify the question of the
boy King's education .... ' The Foreign Office decided that no such
'drastic' step could be taken without proof, whatever the immediate
political advantages of taking it might be.t 2 1
In March Prince Varnvaidyakorn told Crosby that Luang Pibul's
government was 'exercised' by the way the ex-King was seeking to
influence Siamese students in Britain, so that they returned home full of
sympathy for him. Matters. bad been made worse by the discovery of
the recent plot, 'to which the Cabinet is convinced that the ex-King was
to some extent privy', and it had discussed not sending Siamese students
to Britain.
We agreed that, in the absence of proof positive that the
ex-King has been conspiring against the existing Government
in Siam, His Majesty's Government could not well be expected
to invite him to leave England. But we both of us came to
the conclusion that good might be done if His Majesty's
Government could at any rate see their way to requesting the
120) As note 118.
121) Hendriks to Harvey, received 18 January 193 9, enclosure, and minutes, F.O.
371/23593 (F598/403/40).

KING PRAJAUHIPOK AND THE Al'PU~ CART
37
ex-King to furnish them with an assurance that, so long as
he remained in the United Kingdom, be would abstain from
any activities that might be construed as interference in the
present-day politics of Siam.
Prince Athitaya said the government was hesitating over sending the
young King to Britain for his education. Crosby, who also broached
the subject with Luang Pibul himself, asked the Foreign Office to take
'tactful steps'. Sending students to Britain was essential to uphold the
'good understanding' between Britain and post-1932 Siam.t22
At the Foreign Office, M.J.R. Talbot felt that the •suggested
approach to King Prajadhipok, although rather ticklish, is probably the
best we can do'.
Nigel Ronald thought that, if a chance could be found,
the Foreign Office could indicate that the allegations bad been made, and,
wi tbout going into their factual basis, indicate that Anglo-Siamese
relations would benefit if the King would give an assurance that he
would not lend himself to such proceedings while in the United Kingdom.
Asked to seek precedent, the Treaty Department pointed out that the
British Government had asked ex-King Carol to leave Britain when he
was engaged in plans to return to his throne. A 'channel' was found in
Cra1g. He saw Sir George Mounsey, Assistant Under-Secretary. The
ex-King, be said, bad entertained the Siamese students at the request of
the Siamese Minister. As for the conspiracy, he was sure there was no
evidence against King Prajadhipok, and thought the allegations had been
trumped up to justify cutting off his allowance, He could, he believed,
easily obtain the ex-King's assurance, though he did not think it would
stop the allegations; and indeed the assurance was promptly forthcoming.l23
But Crosby was still not entirely convinced of King Prajadhipok's
innocence, and thought that his adherents had compromised him. The
ex-King was 'notoriously weak, and has always been in the bands of
those who are most closely in contact with him. It is not impossible
that be may have had an idea of what was going on and preferred to
ignore it-something like the attitude of our King Henry II in the affair
of Thomas a Becket. That is the view which Prince Chula is inclined
to take .... ' 124
* * *
122) Crosby to Halifax, 9 March 1939, No. 128, F.O. 371/23586 (F2695/61/40).
123) Minutes on ibid.; Craig to Mounsey, 26 April1939, F.O. 371/23586 (F4062/
61/40).
124) Crosby to Howe, 7 June 1939, F'.O. 371/235&6 (F7140/61/40).

38 Nicholas Tarling
The ex-King broke his public silence in 1941, at the time of the
Thailand-Indo-China peace conference in Tokyo.
Luang Pibul complained
that his statement was not consistent with the Thai policy of
•equal friendship with all friendly powers'.
King Prajadhipok had in
fact denied that Siam's policy was dictated by Japan, but suggested that
the protestations of friendship that Japan made bad earlier been made
to China too.
'Siam does not want to be under the direction of any
nation. I am sure that this is the policy of the present
Government. lt bas been the traditional policy of all the
Kings of Siam to be friendly with Great Britain and the
British Empire.
policy ....
That is the keystone of all Siamese foreign
'To me it would seem that Siam would be behaving
almost suicidally if she were to make herself Britain's
enemy.•t2S
The two parts of this statement had become more contradictory
than they had been in the heyday of Britain's power.
Then it had been
possible to be friendly with all, more friendly with Britain tban with
others, but not under Britain's direction. Now Thailand, like the rest
of the world, was adjusting to the decline of British power.
Tbat
decline had indeed accelerated while Thailand was still working through
the changes begun by the 1932 coup. Britain had met these changes by
acceptance, encouraged by its weakness, and that acceptance had
extended even to the Pibul regime.
That had not prevented Thai
politicians, including the King, from invoking or suspecting its influence.
The future of Thai politics was more profoundly affected by the advent
of Japanese and later of American power.
In domestic politics King
Prajadbipok bad failed to overturn the apple cart. In foreign policy he
could not inhibit jumping on the bandwagon.
125) Telegram, 1 March 1941, No. 151, F.O. 371/28135 (Fl467/438/40). Daily
Telegraph, 26 February 1941.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA IN
I. Introduction
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY:
THE CASE OF SIAM
by
Benjamin A. Batson*
This paper is not an account of American foreign policy in
Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century, or even American policy
toward Siam. It is rather a study of the men on the scene who were
the official representatives of tbe United States-their backgrounds, how
and why they were appointed, their activities. The sources used are
primarily the American diplomatic records, and hence events will be
viewed largely from an American rather than a Thai perspective.!
* Cornell University
I) The main primary sources used are Despatches f.-om United States Consuls in
Bangkok, 1856-1.906, hereafter cited as Bangkok Despatches, and Despatches from
United States Ministers to Siam, 1882-1906', hereafter cited as Siam Despatches,
both available on microfilm from the National Archives in Washington. The
BanglwkDespatches have been used for the period to 1882 and the Siam Despatches
for the remainder of the century, the two series together totaling about 15
reels of handwritten documents. Some additional materials from Thai and
American archives have also been consulted.
The major secondary source is James V. Martin Jr., "A History of the
Diplomatic Relations Between Siam and the United States of America, 183 3-
1929'' (unpublished doctoral dissertation, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,
1947), in which the first 270 pages, plus several appendices, deal with
the nineteenth century. Martin gives a careful chronological account of various
problems-especially legal questions-which arose between the two governments
in the nineteenth century, but while Martin deals with many of the same
materials as the present paper, his emphasis and point of view are quite
, different. In addition to Martin, some less,substantial secondary sources have
been used, including Frank C. Darling, Thailand and the United States
(Washington, 1965), in which the nineteenth century is inadequately covered
in 17 pages and the diplomatic files are not used at all; and Virginia
·Thompson, Thailand: The New Siam (New York, 1941), which gives a very
brief (pp. 199-205) but informative account of nineteenth century Thai­
American relations based upon the Department of State records.

40 Benjamin A. Batson
Because many of the nineteenth century American representatives were
relatively obscure figures there are some gaps in the data, but it has
been possible to find information on most of them. The assumption
that these men are worth studying depends largely on the nature of
nineteenth century diplomacy. The instantaneous communications of
the twentieth century have made the ambassador to some degree a
ceremonial figure. His ad vice may be listened to, but all of the major
decisions and many of the minor ones as well are made in Washington.
In the nineteenth century, Washington might be weeks or months away,
and in crisis situations a diplomat could only act as be thought best,
inform Washington, and hope that his course would be approved,
Bangkok, halfway around the world from Washington and off the main
Singapore-Hongkong shipping route, was especially remote. It might
take from three to six months to ask and receive instructions, and when
instructions arrived they might (as one Minister to Siam complained) be
"vague, uncertain, and conBicting."2 Nor were communications the
only special problem for nineteenth century American diplomats in Asia.
As "Consuls to Non-Christian Nations"3 they generally administered
the right of extraterritoriality, and thus functioned as much as semiindependent
local authorities as government to government representatives,
with a host of resulting legal and jurisdictional problems.
Nineteenth century diplomatic service could also be physically dangerous
(as it has recently become again): one Bangkok Consul reported being
attacked by an American "desparado" armed with two pistols and a
2) John A. Halderman to Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelingbuysen, Siam
Despatches, January 17, 1885. In the 1870's telegraph service reached
Singapore so that important messages bad to be sent by sea only between that
port and Bangkok, and in 188 3 Bangkok itself was linked by telegraph to
Saigon and thus to the rest of the world. However throughout the century the
Department of State was extremely cost-conscious, being allotted only a small
budget by Congress, and all except the most important communications
continued to travel by sea mail. Even when cables were used so many words
were omitted (td reduce the expense) that the result was occa~ionally unintel·
ligible.
3) The phrase is from an article in the Siam Weekly Advertise1· (Bangkok), March
3, 1870, arguing that non-paid consuls, who usually engaged in private
business, might be as effective as those who received a salary.

AMERJC:\I'i DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 41
knife and another was unable to send his annual trade report because
the clerk carrying his notes bad been run down by a tugboat, while the
American Consul in Brunei barely escaped alive when the American
Consulate was attacked and burned to the ground. 4
Southeast Asia was not an area of primary concern to the United
States in the nineteenth century.
Even the geography of the region
continued to mystify Washington; despatches intended for Syria arrived
in Siam, the reports of the consular agent in Rangoon, Burma, were
occasionally filed under Brunei, Borneo (although administratively the
Rangoon post was under Calcutta), and one of the Brunei despatches
bears the State Department margin notation "See to this as to what
Country or Empire it belongs."s
Southeast Asia remained a backwater of American diplomacy, but
Siam emerged as the most important post in this relatively unimportant
region. By the last decade of the century Siam was the only remaining
independent state in Southeast Asia, and relations with the rest of
Southeast Asia were handled as much through tbe European colonial
capitals as through diplomnts in the region. The salary of the Bangkok
post is a rough measure of its stat us: until 1865 the American consul
l
4) Banglwl1Despatches, May 28, 1861, and October 22, 1875.
The story of the Brunei Consulate is one of the most bizarre episodes in
American diplomatic history. Although a post was authorized as early as
18 55 it was only filled from 18 64 to 186 8, under the aegis of the expansionist
and Asian-oriented Secretary of State William Seward. In addition to the
burning of the consulate, the consul, one Capt. C. Lee Moses of Saco, Maine,
was involved in abortive schemes of empire, purported threats from headhunters,
and various other harrowing experiences. The post had no salary and, as
there was no American trade, no income from consular fees, and the destitute
Moses was finally reduced to sending desperate threats and appeals to
Washington. In reply he was fired, and having accepted the charity of friends
to send bis family back to the United States he made his way to Bangkok,
where he took passage on an unseaworthy ship which was never beard from
again. For details of the episode see United States Department of State,
Despatches j1·om United States Consuls in Bnmei, 1862-1868 (microfilm), and
Bangkok Despatches, August 13, 1869.
5) Bangkok Despatches, July 10, 1872; Brunei Despatches, April land December
31, 1865.

42 Benjamin A. Batson
received only fees, but by 1871 the salary was greater than that of
Singapore, and Bangkok remained the highest paid post in Southeast
Asia.6 The official status increased correspondingly, from Consul (1856),
to Consul-General (1881 ), to Minister Resident and Consul-General
(1882), to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ( 1903).
In 1879 ex-President Grant visited Siam on his round-the-world tour.
One of his party was the journalist John Russell Young, who wrote a
book on the trip and et1ded his section on Siam with an appeal to
Americans, especially "officers of the army and navy-going to seed at
some Indian fort," to take service with the governments of Siam and
other Asian countries. He concluded :7
I do not think there are any appointments in the gift
of the President more important, so far as the well-being of the
country is concerned, than our appointments in the East, and
especially in a_country like Siam. .
The first American Consul in Siam reported that, "The other Treaty
powers are giving much attention to this region, and American interests
here are too important not to receive the best attentions of the
government."s
But despite such hopes, and despite the relative
importance of Siam in the region, an American historian is undoubtedly
right in concluding that in the overall context of American foreign
6) Official Register of the United States, 1857 et seq. Salary was only an approximate
measure of importance, for those posts which might expect higher income
from consular fees were generally given lower salaries.
7) John Russell Young, Around the fVorld with General Grant, vol. II, part I
(New York, 1879), pp, 259-60. Young himself was subsequently appointed
American Minister in Peking. The phenomenon of army and navy officers
unable to find rewarding careers in service at home as the military was drastically
cut back after the Civil War was to have a profound effect on American
foreign relations for at least a generation. The plethora of military titles
among the Bangkok appointees will be noted below.
8) Bangkok Despatches, December 29, 1857.

AMEHICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTIIEAST ASIA 43
relations, "American relations with Siam did not become important."9
The United States faced several special problems in its relations
with Siam in the nineteenth century. The American mission in Bangkok
was underpaid and understaffed by any standards, and particularly when
measured against the elaborate diplomatic establishments maintained by
the larger European powers. Furthermore, American diplomats
represented a republic rather than royalty. An early Ameri~an Consul
in Batavia (Djakarta) had recommended that American diplomats not
let Asian courts find out that the United States was a republic, and the
first American Consul in Bangkok reported that King Mongkut "is
enamored of Royalty and has little respect for plain Republicanism. "1 o
Mongkut was fond of exchanging letters with royal heads of state,
addressing Queen Victoria as "Our royal Sister" and "by race of the
royalty our very affectionate Sister" and signing himself"Your Majesty's
affectioned Royal Brother." II Obviously he felt less comfortable about
writing to elected presidents. Early in 1861 Mongkut wrote to
President Buchanan, "or to whomsoever having been popularly elected
as his successor," to thank Buchanan for a letter and gifts. Mongkut
9) Tyler Dennett, Americans in East Asia (New York, 1922), p. 352. It is harder
to accept Abbot Low Moffat's statement, "The relations between Siam and
the United States never assumed importance to either country until the Second
World War •... "

44 Benjamin A. Batson
then digressed into political theory, discussing the monarchical system
and concluding;I2
It is gathered that under a custom long established
since the time of President George Washington the people of
the United States of America hold an election at fixed
intervals to choose their President and Chief Executive whom
they put into office for a term of 4 years or 8 years. It is
passing strange, however highly commendable it may be at
the same time, that such a custom temains in effective use to
this day without throwing the whole of the United States
into a turmoil of internal strife on every occasion of changing
the head of state as usually happens in other countries.
Presents were a particular problem; Mongkut noted in a monarchy gifts
to a king "will devolve on his heir or successor at his death," but he
was unsure about Republican practice:
Whether these things are to become the private
property of His Excellency President Buchanan who kindly
addressed to us the letter of greetings previously referred to
or whether they are to become State property as in the
preceding case [of gifts to President Pierce] shall be at the
entire discretion of the President and the Senate of the
United States to decide in accordance with the customs and
practice of their own great country.
As late as 1900 the American Minister in Bangkok reported that his
efforts to get the Thai elite to send their children to tbe United States
to study were unsuccessful because, "The conservative element is afraid
of Republican Ame·rica."l3
If American political practice perplexed the Thai court, there was
one feature of the Thai system which confused Europeans and ''us
republicans" alike. This was the institution of the so-called "second
--~--------------------------------------------------~--
12) The letter is in Seni Pramoj and Kukrit Pramoj, "The King of Siam Speaks"
(mimeographed), pp. 165-169. Excerpts from the letter are also available in
Moffat, Mongkut, pp. 88-91.
(Moffat uses tbe official translation, which
differs slightly from that of "The King of Siam Speaks." The original Thai
text is in King Mongkut, Phraratchasan . .. song Phraratchathan j;ai yang Prathet
Tang Tang, Phak 1 (Letters of King Mongkut to F0reign Countries, Part 1),
Bangkok, 1958, pp. 147-152.
13) Siam Despatches, May, 12, 1900.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 45
king" (uparaja,) a seemingly superfluous royal relative who shared
honors but not authority with the "supreme king." When the treaties
were made with the Western powers in the 1850's, the uparaja (Phra
Pin Klao, a full brother of King Mongkut) enjoyed considerable
prestige and influence, the only time in the nineteenth century when
this was true, and treaties were made in the names of both kings,
embassies went abroad from both kings, and presents were exchanged
with both kings-a situation that Washington found difficult to grasp.14
With the exception of the spectal circumstances of the early years of
Mongkut's reign the power of the uparaja had long been declining, and
when the uparaja of the next reign (whose father, an admirer of things
American, had given him the rather incongruous name of Prince George
Washington) died, the office was abolished.l 5
This paper will consist of a brief discussion of the treaty system,
and then a primarily chronological discussion of the men who were
America's official representatives in Bangkok in the nineteenth century.
(The Appendix lists all of these.) The emphasis will be on the consuls
and ministers who became at least temporary residents of Siam rather
than the several treaty missions, whose activities have been more
studied and publicized. Since one of the questions to be investigated is
who was a,ppointed and why, those who were offered appointments but
for various reasons never served in Siam will also be included. Finally,
some conclusions will be suggested about the nature of nineteenth
century American diplomats and American diplomacy, as exampled by
the case of Siam.
II. The Treaty System
In the mid-nineteenth century Siam signed a series of unequal
treaties with Western powers which resulted in infringements of national
sovereignty much like those in the better known cases of Japan and
China. This similarity was the result both of common nineteenth
14) Bang1wkDespatches, September 19, 1859.
15) At a ceremony in 1887 confirming his son as crown prince, King Chulalongkorn
outlined the history of the "second king" institution and remarked
on the difficulties Westerners had in understanding the Thai royal system.
See his Royal Edict enclosed in Siam Despatches, January 24, 18 87.

46 Benjamin A. Batson
century Western attitudes toward Asia and of the fact that many of the
various treaties with Asian states were negotiated by the same men.
Townsend Harris, who made the American treaty with Siam,
subsequently established the treaty system in Japan, and his work in
Siam was based largely on the earlier negotiations of the Englishmen
John Bowring and Harry Parkes, both of whom also represented their
country in China and, in tbe case of Parkes, in Japan as well. In the
nineteenth century America was wont to follow the British lead and the
British fleet (and occasionally the French) in Asia, and American
diplomacy of the period has sometimes been labeled "jackal diplomacy."
In fact the United States often went it alone, without or in opposition
to the European powers, but it is true that the treaty systems were
largely the result of British initiative and power, and that a substantial
community of interests with the European powers, and especially Great
Britain, was recognized. The first American Consul in Bangkok wrote
that, "American interests here are so intimately connected with those of
the other Treaty Powers and especially with the interests of England
that it is of no little importance who is the [British] representative
here."l6
The main privileges enjoyed by the Treaty Powers were
extraterritoriality, limitations on import and export duties, and the
most-favored-nation clause, under which any concession made to one
Western power was automatically claimed by all. Even though the
United States rights were acquired second hand, as it were, the United
States could be even more tenacious than the British in defending its
perogatives. When the Thai Government asked permission to levy a
small tax on shipping in order to pay for a much needed lighthouse, all
of the European powers and even the .American Consul in Bangkok were
willing, but Washington refused to agree on the grounds that even the
slightest concession of treaty rights might bring down the whole treaty
structure,17
16) BangkollDespatches, November 10, 1856.
17) Martin, "A History," pp, 143-46. Noting what he considered an unjustified
British claim of treaty privileges, the first American Consul wrote, "If i6s
yielded to the English, we shall of course claim it without regard to the
meaning of the treaty." Bangkok Despatches, October 3, 18 56.

A'IEBICAN ll!PLOMA'l'S IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 47
The intellectual foundations of the treaty system were the tenets
of nineteenth century Western liberal thought. Europeans bad begun
to arrive in Asia in numbers in the sixteenth century, but for the next
several centuries Europeans and Asians had met largely as equals and
Europeans had generally fitted into the existing Asian world. The
Westerners of the nineteenth century were of a different sort-the rapid
advance of technology in the West gave them a much greater technical
superiority than that of their predecessors, and the teachings of Adam
Smith and his followers gave them a militant faith in free trade.
Perhaps the best expression of this doctrine was given by John Quincy
Adams at the time of the Opium War between Great Britain and China.
Adams argued that the real issue was not opium but free trade, and
thus that Great Britain had the righteous cause. Invoking Christian
principles, he proved to his satisfaction 'that, "Commerce is then among
the natural rights and duties of men." But in the Chinese systemts
everyone has a right to buy, but no one is obliged to sell.
Commerce becomes altogether a matter of convention. The
right of each party is only to propose, that of the other is to
accept or refuse, and to his result be may be guided
exclusively by the consideration of his own interest, without
regard to the interests, the wishes, or the wants of his
neighbour.
This is a churlish and unsocial system ....
The vital principle of commerce is reciprocity; and
although in all cases of traffic, each party acts for himself
and for the promotion of his own interest, the duty of each is
to bold commercial intercourse \\'ith the other ....
In the nineteenth century this new doctrine was to collide with the
traditional Asian belief in strict government supervision of foreign trade.
As early as 1825 the American Consul in Batavia, John Shillaber,
was recommending that a mission be sent to open commercial relations
with Siam. The fact that Great Britain succeeded in negotiating a
treaty with Siam in 1826 increased American interest, and in 1830 and
1831 the Batavia consul again proposed an American mission, suggesting
18) Walter LaFeber, ed., John Quincy Adal?ls and the Ame1·ican Continental Empire
(Chicago, 1965), pp. 49-50.

48 Benjamin A. Batson
that he be appointed to head it.l9 This time his recommendation was
adopted, but the envoy chosen was Edmund Roberts. Roberts was a
New Hampshire sea captain and a friend of Senator Levi Woodbury,
who became Secretary of the Navy in the Jackson administration.
Roberts was sent out as an Executive Agent traveling in disguise as a
captain's clerk; in Siam he quickly concluded a treaty very similar to
the British treaty of 1826. These treaties, whose major clause was a
vague pledge to allow free trade, were made on a basis of equality and
ceded none of the special privileges which the Western powers were to
receive in later treaties.zo
These first treaties did not stimulate trade between Siam and the
West as expected. The Thai Government increasingly imposed regulations
and monopolies that curtailed foreign trade, and American trade
particularly languished. It was reported that between 1828 and 1836
only two American vessels bad come to Siam to trade, and between
1838 and 1850 none at a]l.2I In response to this situation, both the
American and British Governments sent new missions to Bangkok in
1850 to secure more satisfactory treaty arrangements, and both failed,
owing mainly to the intransigent attitude of the Thai court. The
American mission was headed by Joseph Balestier, who bad been
American Consul in Rhio briefly and American Consul in Singapore from
1833 to 1849, when he resigned to devote all his time to business. He
was sent to Bangkok to explain the reciprocal benefits of free trade, but
the Thai remained unmoved by Adam Smith's logic.22
19) United States Department of State, Despatches j1·om United States Consuls
in Batavia (Djakarta), 1818-1906 (microfilm), September 18, 1825; December
10 and 17, 1830; May 30, 1831.
20) On the British treaty of 1826 and Roberts' treaty of 18 33 see Walter F. Vella,
Siam Under Rama Ill (New York, 1957), pp. 118-I 24. The Roberts mission
is also discussed in Martin, "A History," pp. 6-41 (and text of the treaty, pp.
319-321), and Roberts' own Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China,
Siam, and Muscat (New York, 1837), pp. 277-318.
21). Martin, "A History," pp. 35, 41.
22) On Balestier and his mission see Martin, "A History," pp. 42-49, and
Despatches from United States Consuls in Singapore, 1833 et seq. Both the
Balestier mission and the British mission headed by Sir James Brooke are
discussed in Vella, Siam Under Rama Ill. pp. 131-140.

i\MEIHC,\'1 Dll'LmiATS IN SOFI'HEAST ASIA 49
The failure in 1850 only made the Western powers more determined
to "open" Siam.
In 1851 J.H. Chandler, a Bangkok missionary who
was subsequently to serve as American Consul, was in the United States
urging Secretary of State Webster and President Fillmore to press for
treaty revision.23
In the same year the death of the old king and the
accession of Mongkut in Bangkok seemed to offer improved prospects
for successful negotiations.
The American Government considered
sending Admiral Perry, and then an American in China, 24 but in the end
it was the British who took the initiative in concluding a new treaty.
Major provisions of the Bowring-Parkes treaty of 1855 provided for
diplomatic representation, extraterritoriality, fixed tariffs, an end to
trade restrictions, and most-favored-nation treatment.
Some of these
privileges could automatically be claimed by tbe United States under a
limited most-favored-nation clause in the 1833 treaty, but others could
be obtained only through a new agreement between the United States
and Siam. Thus in 1856 a new mission was sent to Siam, headed by
Townsend Harris who was subsequently to achieve fame for opening
America's diplomatic relations with Japan.2s
Harris was chosen
because be was a "faithful Democrat'' with friends in New York
political circles and a bachelor (Japan wanted no foreign women) with
experience in Asia.26
The treaty Harris concluded in Bangkok was
---------- --------------------------
23) Martin, "A History," p. 54.
24) Martin, "A History," pp. 54-55.
25) Harris' mission to Siam is sometimes seen only as a training session for his
more important work in Japan. Thus, for example, Tyler Dennett: "American
relations with Siam did not become important. However the negotiations had
given Harris some practice in treaty-making ... ," Americans in East A.~ia,
p. 352.
26) There is a short biography of Harrts · ' In M arttn, · "A H' Is t ory, " pp • 93 · 95 ' and
an account of his appointment by President Pierce in Mario E. Cosenza, ed.,
The Complete Journal of Townsend Hm-ris (2nd ed., Tokyo, 1959), PP· 1-16.

so
Benjamin A. Batson
modeled closely on the British treaty of the previous year. 2 7
Since it
soon came to be accepted· that each new treaty between Siam and the
West would contain additional Thai concessions, which by virtue of the
most-favored-nation clauses would be enjoyed by all the treaty powers,
Harris' failure to win new privileges left him open to criticism. Chandler,
who had pushed for treaty revision and was subsequently American
Consul, later wrote to Secretary Seward: 2 B
Our minister was in too great a hurry, lost his patience and
self command, and failed to secure any advantages over
treaties up to that date.
In fact, Chandler claimed, Harris bad even failed to correct known faults
in the British treaty: "Any common clerk might have done as well."29
III. Getting The System Going
One of the rights granted the United States in the 1856 treaty was
that of having an American Consul in Bangkok, and Harris had been
empowered by the President to make the appointment. Rather
surprisingly, it seems that the Thai had a hand in the choice of the first
27) Harris' own record of his mission in Siam is in Cosenza, ed., Journal, pp. 83-
163. There is a rather critical account, from a Thai point of view, in Moffat,
Mongkut, Ch. 5, "The Americans," pp. 62-9 5.
See also Martin, "A History,"
Ch. 3, "The Harris Mission," pp. 60-95, and John Wook Moon, "United States
Relations with Thailand: The Mission of Townsend Harris," Asian Profile,
val. I, no 2 (October 1973), pp. 355-363.
The British treaty influenced not only America's treaty with Siam but
also the American treaty with Japan.
The quotation from Dennett cited in
note 25 concludes : " ..• and many of the provisions of the treaty between
England and Siam appeared again in the first commercial treaty between the
United States and Japan two years later."
28) Bangkok Despatches, July 1, 1861.
29) Bangkok Despatches, December 16, 18 62. In a footnote, Chandler added,
''Mr. Harris efforts and success in Japan are worthy of all honor."

AMERlCAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
51
American Consul. Harris recorded in his journal of April 26, 1856:3o
While with the Smndet Oong Noy on Friday morning,
he strongly recommended -Mr. Mattoon as the best person to
be American Consul, saying he knew the Siamese language,
custom, etc., etc. That he was a discreet good man; that
they had full confidence in him; that he never lied; and that
he never got angry, all of which I assented to and believe him
the best person for that place that the government could
select.
On May 28 Harris commissioned Mattoon as American Consul, noting
again in his journal Mattoon's virtues and qualifications and adding,
"He is popular with both of the Kings and the nobles."31
The Rev. Stephen Mattoon was a native of New York State who
had arrived in 1847, the first permanent Presbyterian missionary to Siam.
He was fluent in Thai and served as Harris' interpreter throughout the
mission. We have the evidence of Anna of "Anna and the King" on his
good relations with Mongkut,32 and be seems to have been respected in
30) Cosenza, ed., Journal, p. 12!. The "Somdet Oong Noy," or "Younger Somdet"
("Somdet" was a royal or ecclesiastical title, very rarely awarded non-royal
nobles) was That Bunnag, a man of great power and influence. His family
had put Mongkut on the throne, and with the death of his brother tbe "Elder
Somdet" (Dit Bunnag) in 1855 he had become head of the family and principal
spokesman of the older generation, even though real power was beginning
to gravitate toward his nephews. The complex web of family power structures
is cogently explained in David K. Wyatt, "Family Politics in Nineteenth
Century Thailand," Journal of Southeast Asian History, vol. 9, no, 2 (September
1968), pp. 202-228. (However, the "Younger Somdet" died in 1858 and
not, as this article indicates, in 18 55.)
31) Cosenza, ed., Journal, pp. 155-56. fn a footnote the editor also quotes William
M. Wood, a surgeon who accompanied Harris to Siam and wrote a
valuable account of the mission, to the effect that the Thai were anxious to
have Mattoon as American Consul.
32) Quoted in Darling, Thailand, p. 13. See also the testimony of C.W. Bradley
enclosed in Bangkok Despatches, June 30, 1856.

52 Benjamin A. Batson
both the Thai and American communities. 3 3 There was some discussion
in Bangkok circles as to whether or not it was proper for a missionary
to accept a "political" appointment. Dan Beach Bradley, the doyen of
the American missionary corps in Siam, noted in his journal that when
be first heard of the proposed appointment be told Lady Parkes "that
such a thing would scarcely be possible."34 Mattoon himself seems to
have had doubts about the propriety of his new role; two weeks after
bts appointment be wrote:35
Diplomacy and politics have come to me without any seeking
on my part, and I hope I will not forget my higher duties
while engaged in them. In this as in everything I shall await
the indications of Providence and seek to be guided
accordingly as to the path of duty.
This reluctant consul served for three years, during which no important
problems arose between the two governments. American trade with
Siam enjoyed a brief boom, reaching a peak in 1858 when it was
33) Not even Mattoon, who was the most popular and least controversial American
Consul for decades to come, could escape Chandler's misanthropy. Writing
to the Department of State, Chandler said (of the man who had recommended
himl : "Previous to the late presidential election, Mr. Mattoon was what
I should call a strong pro-slavery man. Since the news of that election be is
as strong the other way. He will be pretty sure to keep on what he regards
as the popular side. I leave you to form your own opinion of Rev. political
missionaries." (Bangkok Despatches, illegible date, November, J 861.)
34) George H. Feltus, ed., Abstract of the Journal of Rev. Dan Beach Bradley, M.D.,
Medical Missiona•-:,• in Siam 1835-1873 (Cleveland, 19 36), entry for May 29,
18 56. However, it seems that Bradley soon relented. On July 4, 1856, he
noted with satisfaction that Matoon had raised the flag and through "the
wonderful Providence of God ... we, the Americans in Siam, are now sitting
under our own banner."
3 5) Kenneth E. Wells, History of Protestant Work in Thailand, 1828-1958 (Bangkok,
1958), p. 26. Not all of Mattoon's descendants shared his skeptici~m about a
career in politics-a grandson was Norman Mattoon Thomas, per~nnial Socialist
candidate for president. (Wells, p. 23).
Biographical data on Mattoon is from Wells; George Bradley McFarland,
Historical Sketch of Protestant Missions in Siam, 1828-1928 (Bangkok, 1928),
pp. 20, 49; and the sources cited in the preceding five notes. There is a pic•
ture of Mattoon in McFarland, Historical Sketch, p. 3 6.

A\IEI\lCAt\ DIPLOMATS It'i i:>OUTHEAST ASIA 53
approximately equal to that of Great Britain, and then declined steadily.36
Mattoon's main problem was the failure of the government to provide a
salary for the post. Starting what was to be a long series of complaints
about pay from successive American Consuls in Bangkok, he wrote to
Secretary of State Lewis Cass:37
I do not now wish to urge my services on the Government. If
they are needed they are worthy of their reward, and if not I
should be relieved and receive a just remuneration for the
time I have already served.
On hearing that H. Rives Pollard bad been appointed, Mattoon wrote
that he would "cheerfully deliver" the consulate to his successor. When
Pollard failed to arrive (see below), Mattoon finally appointed Chandler
as acttng vice-consul (citing his linguistic skills and "integrity") and
sailed for the United States on leave.3s The Americans in Siam raised
$500 to buy a gift for Mattoon, "as a token of their respect and esteem
for his kind and courteous manner while acting as United States Consul
at Bangkok."39
The first presidential appointment of a Bangkok Consul ended in
fiasco. H. Rives Pollard was chosen by President Buchanan early in
1858, apparently through the intercession of his older brother, Edward
A. Pollard. 40 The younger Pollard had been born in Virginia, appointed
from the Kansas Territory, and had never been in Siam. His first
communication with Secretary Cass was a request for a salary. Making
the dubious claim that the trade of Bangkok exceeded that of Singapore,
36) Martin, "A History," p. 100; Darling, Thailand, p. 21; Bangkok Despatches,
May7, 1858.
37) Bangko!~Despatches, May 7, 1858.
38) BanglwlcDespatches, May 26, 1858, and January 24, 1859.
39) Wells, History, p. 26.
40) Edward Albert Pollard (1828-1872) had been a journalist in Virginia and
California. From 1857 to 1861 he was clerk of the Judiciary Committee of
the House of Representatives. By 18 59 he was a secessionist and favored
reopening the slave trade; he spent the war years in -Richmond .w~ere _he
published a paper that was pro-Confederacy but opposed to the admm1stratton
of Jefferson Davis. After the war he championed white supremacy and wrote
histories of the Confederacy and a critical biography of Jefferson Davis.

54 Benjamin A. Batson
he reached an even more dubious conclusion: "In the past, the post has
been a sinecure; it is now fast becoming one of the most important
consulships in the East."4!
Pollard had not yet left for Siam when "enemies" began to circulate
charges about his personal life. Evidence was sent to the State
Department showing that Pollard, using another name, bad lived
with and perhaps married a woman of questionable reputation, and
that he had longstanding debts unpaid. Pollard wrote to Secretary Cass
"confessing to the indiscretions which are not uncommon in youth;'' the
debt, he said was for a "disreputable woman with whom I had some
years ago very indiscreetly cohabited," and if the woman had taken up
a dishonorable profession her family was to blame. To the President he
wrote an equally blunt account of the charges, asking that "some
allowance may be made for the fervor and indiscretions of youth" and
appealing to the friendship between President Buchanan and his late
father and to the testimonials of his influential supporters.42
These appeals were not successful and Pollard's appointment was
revoked. He then sought his brother's help in obtaining reinstatement;
Pollard was now willing to accept the Bangkok post "on any conditions ...
if it comes to the worst I will marry the gir1."43 He asked his brother
to obtain the help of friends in Congress, and to intercede with the
President, stressing Pollard's political service to the administration. His
brother's political influence resulted in a presidential promise of
reinstatement if Secretary Cass would agree. Pollard wrote to Cass
that his personal affairs had been honorably settled-4 4
Nor is political action less deserving of the consideration of
the honorable Secretary. Deprived of my office, I have never
wavered in my support and devotion to the administration
and the cause of Democracy. Even after the revocation of
41) Bangkok Despatches, March 13, 1858. Underlining in original.
42) All of these documents are included in Bangkok Despatches, August 14, 1858.
43) Letter of December 23, 1858 (?), immediately following June 11, 1859 in
Bangkok Despatches.
44) Bangkok Despatches, May 11, 18 59. In a few places the text is illegible and
conjectural reconstructions have been made.

,\\!EHlCAl\ DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEI\ST AS!A
55
my commission I directed my attention to the canvass in the
State of New York, and lent my support, humble and impotent
as it was, to the Democratic ticket; and from that day to this
r have never faltered in my support of the administration nor
has one single week passed without my defending in the press
its measures and policy, foreign and domestic.
The immediate effect of this political appeal is not clear, but ultimately
Pollard did not go to Siam. In the summer of 1860 he wrote to the
State Department resigning as Bangkok Consul and protesting the
appointment of Chandler. He enclosed two letters he had received from
Chandler, then on a visit to the United States. The first stressed the
great cost of living in Bangkok and the paltry income from consular
fees, and warned Pollard not to accept the post unless be were wealthy.
In the second letter Chandler took a different tack; he inquired as to the
truth of certain "reports"-"that you are a person of very loose morals,"
that Pollard had been reappointed in order to get him out of the country,
and "It is not uncommon to hear the remark that the states prison bas
been cheated of its due to give Siam an American Consul."45 On this
acerbic note the case of the first consular appointment to Bangkok came
to an end.
Mattoon's departure and the failure of Pollard to arrive left the
Bangkok Consulate in the hands of John Hassett Chandler. 4 6 Chandler
was a native of Connecticut who had com6\to Siam in 1843 as a Baptist .
mtsstonary. Chandler ran a printing press which bad published the
1856 treaty between the United States and Siam; be later claimed that
he bad been "urged in many ways" to be the first American Consul, but
had thought the post incompatible with his missionary status.47 In 1859
---~------
45) Bangkoll Despatches, August 14, 18 60,
46) Biographical data on Chandler is taken from McFarland, Historical Sketch, p.
49; Martin, "A History," p. 117; Cosenza, ed., .Journql, p. 107; and Bangkoll
Despatches, December 19, 1863, and April23, 1880.
47) Bangkoh Despatches; December 16, 1862. "Strange to say," be added, the
missionary Mattoon accepted the post. Harris seems to have bad a high
opinion of Chandler ("perfectly competent," "an excellent good man," but
"not reliable as to time") but there is no evidence in Harris' journal that he
ever considered appointing Chandler consul. Cosenza, ed., .Journal, pp. 126,
141. Chandler's advocacy of , treaty revision has been mentioned above
(note 23).

56 Benjamin A. Batson
he was no longer connected with the missionaries, and accepted the
position. Some missionaries seem to have bad a good opinion of
Chandler;4B subsequent American Consuls considered him "a consummate
scoundrel" and "a rogue of the first water." 4 9
In the 1860's
Chandler was involved in business affairs which resulted in a lawsuit
that ultimately landed him in the consular jail.SO He was at various
times also a translator and broker for foreigners wishing to do business
with the Thai Government, and an agent and interpreter for the Thai
Foreign Office.
During his incumbency in the Bangkok Consulate, Chandler's
energies were largely devoted toward making his appointment permanent.
Immediately after Mattoon's departure be wrote to Secretary of State
Cass saying, "I am not an office seeker yet if my feeble services are
needed I am ready to serve to the best of my ability."Sl Upon hearing
that he had been named vice-consul, Chandler wrote to thank the
Secr,etary of State, saying that although not acquainted with Cass, he
had "several times seen him, and ever been his warm political friend." 52
Meanwhile Chandler bad beard of Pollard's appointment, and in 1860
be returned to the United States for a visit and wrote the scurrilous
letters to Pollard quoted above. At the same time he wrote to tbe
Department of State from New York to ask if Pollard were really going
to Siam :s3
Friends here are ready with the use of their names, or any
other means in their power, to assist me in obtaining the
appointment of Consul. I feel a great delicacy in accepting
their names and their influence, unless it is pretty sure of
accomplishing the object.
48) See Mattoon's recommendation in Bangko/ 1 Despatches, January 24, 1859; and
Bradley's opinion in Feltus, ed., Bradley's Journal, September 13, 1861. But
in the entry of September 1 7, 18 61, Bradley noted that missionary opinion of
Chandler was divided.
49) Bangkok Despatches, July 26,1866, and June 8, 1876.
50) Bangkok Despatches, January 7, 1876.
51) Bangkok Despatches, February 12, 1859.
52) Bangkok Despatches, September 1, 1859.
53) BangkokDespatches, August 20, 1860.

AMERICAN DIPLOi\IATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 57
By January 1861 Chandler bad been promoted from vice-consul to
consul and returned to Bangkok.5 4 Upon bearing the news of the 1860
election Chandler wrote to the incoming (yet unknown) Secretary of
State, "The new administration will receive my cordial support. "55
Chandler's appointment resulted in a letter from a group of
Americans in Bangkok calling him "obnoxious to the whole community"
and asking his reca!l.56 In September of 1861 Chandler learned that
the Senate had failed to act and his commission bad expired. 5 7 Chandler
wrote to Secretary of State William Seward damning his detractors as
drunks, loafers, and knaves, and adding, "Do not infer from the above
that I wish to run down others to save myself."58 In subsequent
despatches Chandler described himself as "one republican friend" and
an ex.Democrat who bad been Republican since the Kansas Act,59
In the meantime another anti-Chandler petition bad been received
by the Department of State, and Aaron J. Westervelt had been appointed
to succeed Chandler.
Despite his removal from office, Chandler
continued for a number of years to send intermittant despatches to
Washington, a considerable part of which were devoted to criticism of
his successors. His last communication appears to have been sent in
1878, several years after his incarceration in the consular jail : 6 0
My opinion is, that if no better men can be found for consul
and vice consul than those who now fill those positions in the
U.S. Consulate_ at this port, the sooner the consulate is
abolished the better.
·--...,.-----------------
54) It is uncertain whether Mattoon's proper title was consul or vice-consul. He
usually signed himself as "Consul," but the Department of State seems to have
considered this unjustified presumption. Martin, "A History," p. I 09, and
Bangkok Despatches, August 21, 1856 (margin notation).
55) BangkokDespatches,January 18,1861.
56) Bangkok Despatches, February 6, 1861.
57) Bangkok Despatches, September 16, 1861. See also Bradley's .Journal, Septemberl3,1861.
58) BanglwkDespatches, September 16, 1861.
59) BangkokDespatches, December 25, 1861, and February 18, 1862. Cf. his
despatch to Cass cited in note 51 •
60) Banglwk Despatches, June 24, 1878.

58 Benjamin A. Batson
Little of substance transpired during Chandler's tenure in office.
In 1859 American shipping suffered "a great falling off" and an American
trading company in Bangkok sold out.6I The Civil War, and particularly
the activities of Confederate cruisers, which resulted in many American
merchantmen switching to the safety of foreign flags, completed the
demise of American trade with Siam. It was also during Chandler's
term that Mongkut sent his famous letter to Washington offering to send
Thai elephants to start herds in America. Lincoln's brief refusal of the
elephant offer brought protests from Chandler, who thought Mongkut's
offer deserved serious consideration. 62
Aaron J. Westervelt was the first consul appointed in the United
States.actually to serve in Siam. His father was Jacob A. Westervelt,
a New York shipbuilder and "an able and honest reform Democrat"
who bad been mayor of New York City from 1852 to 1854. The elder
Westervelt built clipper ships in the 1850's, and presumably had an
interest in the Asian trade; when young Westervelt was appointed he
had already spent two years in Siam. If Chandler can be believed,
Westervelt's stay in Bangkok in 1858-59 had not been a success.
Chandler wrote to the Department of State charging that Westervelt
"was the most abusive man to the natives I ever met," was a coward,
and had left behind "his native woman and child ... without support."
In addition, Chandler claimed, "It is not possible for a man with his
antecedents t::J have any real sympathy with the present administration."63
Westervelt arrived in Siam early in 1862 and left before the end
of 1863, and his brief tenure as Bangkok Consul was noteworthy mainly
for the flood of criticism, both contemporary and subsequent, which it
produced. E.V. Chandler, a nephew of J.H. Chandler who bad served
61) BanglwkDespatches, June 30, 1859.
62) The letters of Mongkut and Lincoln are in Moffat, Mongkut, pp. 91-95. The
original Thai text of Mongkut's letter is in King Mongkut, Phraratchasan ..• ;
pp. 153-157. Chandler's complaints, written after Westervelt ha

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 59
as United States Marshal in the Bangkok Consulate, complained of
Westervelt's "many bad habits," and that, "The home in which the office
of the Consulate is situated, is as bad as a house of prostitution."64
J.M. Hood, the next consul to be sent out from the United States,
reported that Westervelt "had not the least respectability" and was antimissionary.65
In October 1863 Westervelt reported that the income of
the Bangkok Consulate did not even cover expenses and that he was
leaving. 6 6 Westervelt died in New York in 1879, surviving his father
by only a few weeks.
Westervelt left the Bangkok Consulate in the bands of George
W. Virgin. Virgin had been in Siam for a number of years, as officer on
a Thai ship, in various trades connected with shipping, and as sometime
acting United States Marshal or United States Consul. 67 The evercritical
Chandler reported that Virgin was unsuited to be Consul, was
pro-slavery, and bad made his illegitimate son the jailer; the Consul who
succeeded Virgin called him "the leader of a degraded class of American
Citizens which was formerly rather numerous here," and added that
those remaining engaged in rum selling and other disreputable professions.68
Virgin's tenure as American representative included the last years
of the Civil War and the death of Lincoln.
His infrequent despatches
dealt with such subjects as the transfer of American mercharlt vessels to
the safety of foreign flags and the effects on American commerce of the
Confederate raider "Alabama."69
Early in 1865 Virgin heard heard that
a:new consul had been appointed for Bangkok and that the post was to
64) Bangkok Despatches, October 18, 1862. Similarly the despatches of July 24,
!862,~ndApri118, 1863.
65) Banglwk Despatches, July ~6, 1866.
66) Bangkok Despatches, October 1, 1863.
67) Bangkok Despatches, November 8, 1862, and July 6, 1863; Martin, "A History,"
pp. 117-18. Virgin had been born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1820.
68) Bangkok Despatches, November 14, 1863, December 19, 1863, and July 26,
1866. This latter despatch is the basis for Virginia Thompson's phrase, "a
man inappropriately named Virgin." (Tha!land: The New Siam, p. 202.)
69) Bangkok Despatches, December 12, 1863, and July 27, 1864.

60 Benjamin A. Batson
be salaried; when the expected successor failed to arrive Virgin wrote to
Seward asking to be named consul himself, 7° but without result.71
In October of 1864 one A. Wood had accepted appointment as
Bangkok Consul. Almost immediately another consul was named, and
the available records give no hint as to why Wood failed to fill the post.
Wood was from Auburn, New York, which, perhaps not by coincidence,
was also the home of Secretary of State Seward.72
The mysterious Wood was followed by James M. Hood. Hood had
been born in Massachusetts, was appointed from Illinois, and had never
been in Siam. Hood bore the title of colonel, and was the first of six
consecutive post-Civil War American Consuls in Bangkok who bad the
rank of either colonel or general. He was also the first American Consul
to receive a salary ($2,000), and the first who was not also in business
or missionary work.73 Hood arrived in Bangkok in September of 1865,
and the following July he sent the Department of State a long despatch
denouncing his predecessors :74
I am truly sorry to trouble the Department with complaints
but my duty compels me to say that, since Mr. Mattoon left
the Consulate, there has not been one of his successors who
has commanded the least personal respect either from the
Siamese Government or from the Foreign Officials here ....
King Mongkut, he reported, had decided that the United States was
not really a major power because American warships seldom visited,
and because, "the character of the Representatives of that Nation at his
Court had not been such as to lead him to believe it a great nation."
Hood then went on to criticize Chandler, Westervelt, and Virgin in turn.
But Hood himself was soon a target of the internecine factionalism of
the American community in Siam. J.M. McCormick, an ex-acting
United States Marshal, wrote to Washington accusing Hood, "such an
ignoramous," of "malepractices [sic], peculation, and extortion."75
70) Virgin variously described himself as vice-consul or acting consul.
71) BanglwkDespatches, January 11, 1865, and May 19, 1865.
72) Bangkok Despatches, October 31, 1864.
73) Bangkok Despatches, December 24, 1865.
7 4) Bangkol~ Despatches, July 26, 1866.
7 5) Bangkok Despatches, August 20, 1866.

A~ll!:I\ICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 61
Hood replied that McCormick was a dishonest man, a drunk, and that
Virgin had "pledged his best exertions in having me removed from this
Consulate."76
Hood was soon as controversial as any of his predecessors. To the
surprise of all he consented to hear a libel charge the French Consul had
brought against Dan Beach Bradley, and even found against the venerable
American missionary.77 In another case Hood sent such a strong letter
to Mongkut complaining of dishonesty and injustice in Thai courts that
he was ordered by the Department of State to apologize.n Hood was
also the first consul to report the registering of Chinese proteges, 79 and
despite Department orders to stop the practice and Hood's promise that
"for the future 1 shall take no more, and when the papers of those I have
protected expire, I shall not renew them," the hundreds of names on the
list seemed to grow rather than decrease. so
In a less controversial field, Hood discussed the barriers to American
trade with Siam. Ships which had registered under foreign flags to escape
Confederate cruisers were now interested in returning to the American
flag, but trade was limited by the fact that most American ships were
too large to cross the bar at the mouth of the river leading to Bangkok
(there were only some 14 feet of water over the bar), and transhipping
goods was expensive.SJ
76) Bangka1lDespatches,August21,!866;January 17,1867;andJune4, 1867.
77) In the Bangkok Reco1·der Bradley had charged Aubaret, the French Consul,
with lese majesty. Most Americans, at least, thought the account was essentially
correct, but when Aubaret placed libel charges King Mongkut, perhaps
fearing the French more than the Americans, refused to let any Thai testify in
Bradley's behalf. For details of the "Au baret case" see BangkoT1 Despatches,
February 6, !867; Bradley's .Journal for the period; and Martin, "A History,"
p. 126 ff.
78) BangkoT1Despatches, March 15, 1867, and October 18, !867.
79) It was common practice of the treaty powers to extend their protection to
various non-Western minorities in $iam. 'Such proteges were practically
beyond the reach of Thai law, and gladly paid substantial fees for registration
under.a foreign flag. ·
80) Martin, "A History," p,p. 164-65; Bangkok Despatches, October 2, 1867.
81) Bangkok Despatches, March 12, 1866, and November 6, 1866.

62 Benjamin A. Batson
Late in 1867 the Siam Weekly Monitor began to publish serious
charges against Hood, the nature of which is obscure.s2 Bradley recorded
in his journal entry of December 25, 1867: 83
The weekly Monitor is filled with a terrible disclosure of Consul
Hood's conduct while occupying the station of American
Consul in Bangkok . . . . The disclosure is probably nearly all
true.... There can be little doubt that Mr. Hood wiii
succumb to the terrible blow he has received.
On December 30 Bradley noted:
Counsul Hood bas an auction and sells all his goods, evidently
preparing for a final leave of the Consulate and of the country.
1t is but too true that be bas run himself entirely out of good
character, if he ever truly had any.
And on January 3, 1868, Bradley reported Hood's departure:
He was·manifestly in a hurry to get away. Perhaps it was
with the hope of escaping retributive justice, for it is but too
true that be bas been a great oppressor among us.
By Bradley's account, Hood's departure from Siam was final, but Hood
reported to the Department of State only that he was going home on
leave. In July of 1868 and February ofl869 Hood wrote from Washington
and DeKalb, Illinois, respectively, asking for extensions of his leave
because of illness, and in March of 1869 he finally resigned his post. 84
On leaving Bangkok, Hood named the Rev. Noah A. McDonald as
vice-consul, and the Bangkok Consulate came once again into the hands
of a local missionary. McDonald. was a Presbyterian who bad arrived
82) The Siam Weekly Monitor, which published only in 1866 (?), 1867, and 1868,
is not known to have been preserved. Earlier the Monitor had challenged the
legality of Hood's Chinese protege operation, whic)l may or may not be related
to the later charges. (Bangkok Despatches, July 22, 1867.)
83) The quotations are from Feltus, ed., Bradley's Journal, under the dates indicated.
Bradley, of course, had particular reason to be critical of Hood.
84) Bangkok Despatches, January 1, 1868; July 9, 18 68 (misfiled in 1867); February
22, 1869; and March 4, 1869. In a despatch of June 12, 1867, Hood had
asked for home leave for health reasons, which the Department had granted.

AM!o:IIICi\ N llli'LOMi\'fS IN SOUTHEAST AS! A 63
in Siam in 1860, and subsequently been active as a printer and editor.ss
His association with the consulate spanned several decades; altogether
he served three separate periods (1868-1869, 1881-1882, and 1885-1886)
as interim American representative in Bangkok. McDonald was an
authority on both the Thai language and the country, and published one
of the early works on Siam.s6 When he returned to Bangkok from leave
in 1879 the Siam Weekly Advertiser praised his learning and, noting
Siam's great need for books (i.e., translations of Western works), said
"Mr. McDonald is a man to put his shoulder to the wheel of progress."
When McDonald left again in 1886 the American Minister, Jacob Child,
reported to Washington that McDonald "was a most efficient and popular
Vice Consul and has the respect and confidence of everyone here."87
The major events in McDonald's first term in charge of the consulate
were the death of King Mongkut in 1868 and the accession of
Chulalongkorn, whose long reign was to stretch into the twentieth
century, and a reported i·ise in American sbipping.ss His second term
was noteworthy mainly 'ror the case of "Graham's lunacy" in which an
American suffering from "religious dementia" and claiming to be the
King of Siam tried to break into the royal palace. The Thai Government
asked McDonald to "take charge of any of your subjects who may be
insane." 8 9 When McDonald was left in charge of the consulate for yet
a third time, be finally asked that if no new minister bad been named,
the President consider naming him. However, he added, "as I have no
political influence at home, and have never asked for the appointment, I
have no reason to ex.pect such an appointment" -an opinion which
proved to be correct.90
I;
1
85) McFarland, Brief Slletcii, pp. 49, 53. There is a portrait of McDonald on p.
54 of tbe same work:. ~.
86) Noah A. McDonald, S'iqm, Its Government, Manners, Customs, Etc. (Philadel-.
phia, 1871 ). ·
87) Siam Weekly Advertise,:, January 30, 1879; Banglwk Despatches, (Consular
Series), June 17. 1886. ,
88) Ba;gkokDespatches, October 12, 1868, an'd October 16, 1868.
89) Bangkok Despatches, April 3, 1882; Apri128, 1882; and August 17; 1882.
90) Bangkok Despatches (Consular Series), February 27, 1886. In the same series
see also his despatch of. November 28, 1885, denying a charge that Americans
in Siam had no consular protection.

64 Benjamin A. Batson
IV.
Vicissitudes
If the first period of American relations with Siam was less than a
triumph of diplomacy, the next two decades were to be even more
controversial, well justifying the reported remark of a Secretary ofState
that "the Bangkok Consulate bad been a thorn in the side of the Government."91
Hood's successor as American Consul in Bangkok was General
Frederick W. Partridge. Partridge had been born in Vermont in 1824
of a family with Revolutionary War forebearers, and had studied at
Dartmouth and in the law office of Franklin Pierce. He headed the
Harrisburg Military Academy from 1846-1847. In 1847 he was appointed
a special commissioner by President Polk and sent on a mission
to Mexico, but lacking credentials he was intercepted and held
by United States' troops. After this failure he resigned from the army
and took up farming and further law study in lllibois. He returned to
the military in the Civil War, and was made a colonel for gallantry at
Lookout Mountain and was brevetted brigadier-general for his exploits
at Missionary Ridge. After the war he practiced law in Illinois and
then served in Bangkok from 1869 to 1876, the longest term of any
American diplomat in Siam in the nineteenth century.9 2 He was a
pensions examiner in Indiana and Ohio from 1882 to 1889, and died at
his home in Sycamore, Illinois, in 1899.93
Partridge arrived in Siam to general approbation94 and left on bad
terms with practically everyone. After a few months in Bangkok he
reported to the Department of State that, "I think most of my Difficulties
arise from the carelessness and incompetence of my predecessors;" in
fact he found that except for the missionaries, the Americans in Bangkok
91) Bangkok Despatches, March 2, 18 8 5. The remark was allegedly made in May
1880, when the Secretary of State was William M. Evarts.
92) Hamilton King, who came to Siam in 1898, served until his death in 1912.
93) Information on Partridge, as on other American representatives, has been
taken from standard biographical reference works.
94) Bradley noted in his Journal, October 2, 1869: "Called on our new Consul
and his wife at Mr. MacDonald's and saw nothing to forbid the hope that he
will do honor to our country."

· AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 65
were "sadly lacking in character."9s Partridge was soon feuding with
the missionaries as well: they were "unworthy," "opposed to progress,"
and having failed at religion, meddled in politics and business.96 In one
despatch he lumped together "mutinous sailors, rascally captains, quarrelling
and libidinous missionaries." 9 7 Partridge's special target was
the Rev. Samuel House, an American Presbyterian who had been in Siam
since 1847. In reports on "these Reverend blackguards" be called House
"a Bigoted, venemous old resident of Bangkok," and charged that House
had been pro-British and pro-Confederate.98
Soon Partridge was feuding not only with the Americans in Bangkok,97
but with the British,1oo the United States Navy, the Thai Government,
and the Department of State. Partridge's trouble with the Thai
Government started when ex-Consul Chandler was appointed to represent
Siam at the 1876 Philadelphia exposition. Partridge warned the Thai.
not to trust Chandler, and then bad Chandler arrested on a charge
growing out of old business dealings.!Ol An acrimonious exchange of
notes followed, the Thai Government complained to Washington of
Partridge's behavior and refused to recognize his son F.P. Partridge as
acting consul during Partridge's absence, and Partridge was finally
ordered by the Department of State to apologize for language be had
95) Barzgkol~Despatches, March 14,1870, and February 21,1871.
96) Bangkok Despatches, January 21, 1876.
97) Bang!wkDespatches, June 8, 1876. In 1876 Partridge appointed his son, who
had been unsuccessful in Thai government service, American Vice-Consul.
The appointment was unpopular, and the son, F. P. Partridge, wrote to Washington
castigating his critics as felons, woman beaters, and "two or three
American missionaries who are supported in idleness by a powerful Corporation."
(Bangkok Despatches, May 19, 1876, and June 29, 1876.) On the
younger Partridge, see Martin, "A History," pp. 149-151, 172.
98) Bangkok Despatches, October !0, 1871, and September 19, 1873.
99) Bangkok Despatches, September 19, 1873, and May 19, 1876.
100) Bangkok Despatches, AprillO, 1871. Partridge replied with an attack on the
British Consul-General, Thomas Knox, and a defense of his own conduct : "I
am respected for Energy, Talent, and Personal Integrity."
101) Bangkok Despatches, March 30, 18 75, and January 7, 1876.

66 Benjamin A. Batson
used to the Thai Foreign Minister.1o2
Ultimately, both the navy and the
American Consul in Singapore filed critical reports on the conduct of
Partridge and son, and while home on leave in 1876 Partridge learned
that he had been removed from his post.IOJ
Apart from disputation, Partridge's main activity in Bangkok seems
to have been that of registering proteges and selling licenses that permitted
the holder to deal in imported low-duty spirits. I 04 Partridge blamed
Hood for having initiated the practice of registering proteges, and
reported to Washington that "This whole farce is now completely done
away with," but Partridge's successors found evidence that this was far
from the case.Ios The liquor shops, run both by Americans and licenseholding
Chinese, displayed the American flag as a sign of their immunity
from Thai law, and it was said that "the missionaries feared to unfurl
the Stars and Stripes because the natives thought it was the sign of a
liquor store."I06 Partridge denied authorizing the use of the American
flag, or that the flags used were exact replicas,I07 but a later American
Consul reported: I os
[Partridge] became so completely blinded to everything but his
own pecuniary interest that he was unable to see the
difference between an American flag and a barn door, and be
had about as much respect f01: the one as for the other.
While Partridge was in Bangkok he also had to deal with the issue
of mistreatment of American missionaries and tqeir followers in the
northern Lao principality of Chiengmai, at tbe time a semi-autonomous
dependency of Siam. With the help of the Bangkok government and the
102) BangkokDespatches,January 24, 1876, and June 8, 1876. See also Martin,
"A History," pp. 148-15 L Martin, without explanation, calls Partridge
"that carpetbagger" (p. viii), and calls the Partridge era the "nadir" of Thai­
American official relations (p. 198).
103) Martin, "A History," pp. 150-153; Bangkok Despatches, November 20, 1876.
I 04) These related questions are treated in detail in Martin, Ch. 5: "Proteges and
the Liquor Problem," particularly pp. 166-17 3.
!05) Bangkok Despatches, August 12, 1871, and July 15, 1871.
106) Thompson, Thailand; The New Siam, p. 203.
107) BanglwkDespatches, September 19, 1873, and October 6, 1873.
108) Bangkok Despatches, February 14, 1877.

AMEHICAN DlPLOl>IATS IN SOU'l HEAST ASIA 67
timely death of the old Prince of Chiengmai the difficulty was satisfactorily
resolved.l09 A more important political crisis arose in 1874-75,
when the "Front Palace Incident," an open break between the two kings
of Siam, upset the power structure of the Bangkok elite and brought the
threat of foreign intervention,ll o In a clairvoyant despatch dated
December 28, 1874, Partridge reported that having two kings had led to
misunderstandings, that the two kings were "fast becoming bitter
enemies," and that things would likely "culminate in disaster." "I am
looking for a Revolution here soon ... I feel certain that matters will
culminate in a week."lll In fact matters culminated that very night,
with a mysterious fire at the palace of the supreme king, troop move.
ments, and ultimately, the flight of the "second king" to asylum in the
British Consulate.ll2 With the aid of British mediation a compromise
was eventually reached which left the "second king" with his empty
honors and the supreme king (Chulalongkorn) with the power. In a
later despatch, Partridge blamed the British and French for the trouble
and then, all evidence to the contrary, claimed that he as United States
Consul, "with assistance of 5 or 6 others," had been responsible for the
set tlemen t,ll3
1 09) Bung!w!, De,'j>atches, July 21, 18 70.
110) On the Front Palace Incident, see David K. Wyatt, The Politics of Rrform in
Thailand (Yale, 1969), especially pp. 58-61. The Front Palace was the
residence of the "second king."
111) Bang!wl' Desf>atches. December 28, 1874.
112l Partridge reported that the second king "has my entire sympathy," but this
seems to refer more to the refugee king's personal situation than the larger
issues: local British interests were known to be backing the ''second king,"
and Partridge was no friend of British influence in Siam. W'j>atches, June 18, 1886).

68 Benjamin A. Batson
American trade with Siam continued in decline during Partridge's
time in Bangkok, while that of Germany and France increased, and the
British remained dominant and "calmly superior."II4
The next two American representatives in Bangkok devoted themselves
largely to exposing the misdeeds of Partridge and son. Partridge
left the consulate in the care of W.L. Hutchinson, an American doctor
resident in Bangkok. Hutchinson's few despatches consist mainly of
charges that the Partridges had misled him, stolen arid extorted money
from him, and stolen and sold papers bearing the consular seal. 115
Hutchinson had been in charge of the consulate less than six months
when David B. Sickels, the new American Consul, arrived. Sickels bad
been born in New York City in 1837, and trained as a civil engineer.
He was a war correspondent during the Civil War, and subsequently an
aide-de-camp on the staff of the Governor of Arkansas, where be acquired
the title "Colonel." He became a financial agent for banking firms and
the state of Arkansas, and was described as an "intimate friend" of
General Sheridan. At the time of his appointment in 1876 he lived in
New York and had never been in Siam. After his return from Siam in
1881 he was in banking and associated with the American Surety
Company, and was also active as a writer and lecturer on Oriental
subjects and Eastern religions. Sickels died in 1918.
The local English-language newspaper welcomed Sickels to Bangkok
but commented:II6
He however has an Herculean task before him. He bas
to raise the consulate again to the estimation and confidence
of the Siamese Government and of the Community at large;
we trust be will be adequate to the task.
Two years later the paper believed he had succeeded, praising him as the
man "who has cleansed the Consulate of its filth and corrected the
114) BangkQkDespatches, April10, 1872,
115) Bangkok Despatches, October 12, 1876, and November 14, 1876. For the
varying views of his successor on Hutchinson, see Bangkok Despatches, March
13, 1878; January 8, 1880; and August 2, 1880.
116) Siam Weekly Advertiser, December 7, 1876.

AMEHICAN DIPLOMATS IN SO!JTHEAST ASIA 69
numerous abuses of his predecessor."ll7 Sickels spent his first months
in Bangkok exposing the "abuses of his predecessor." Long despatches
were sent to Washington on Partridge's "outrageous transactions,"
"infamous preceedings," "ignorance and despotism," and his "hasty flight
from Bangkok," leaving "this degraded Consulate." Sickels charged
that Partridge had falsified expenses, sold protection papers to Chinese
and liquor agents, swindled Americans, and stolen consular property;
that the consular seal had been "hawked all around Bangkok and throughout
the Country;" and that Partridge bad produced a fake body in order
to claim a reward and had even tried, unsuccessfully, to bribe "women
of bad character" to give testimony discrediting the missionary Dr.
House. ItS
Within a few months Sickels reported that the reputation of the
American Consulate had been restored, and that diplomatic intercourse
between the United States and Siam was "now more friendly than it has
been at any former period since the ratification of the present treaty."
His only regret was that there w~s so little trade between the two
countries. "Deeming it to be my duty to use my official influence to
extend American commerce," Sickels wrote, he would turn his considerable
energies to this end.ll9
Sickels blamed the low level of American commerce in Siam on
certain unscrupulous American merchants of the past who had sold the
Thai over-priced, poor quality machinery which could still be seen
abandoned and scattered for miles along the banks of the river at Bang~
kok.12o Sickels sent a long list of "Articles that May Be Profitably
sent From America to Siam," and soon after reported the gratifying news
that whereas only four American merchant ships bad come to Siam in
1876, in 1877 there had been nine.t2t He then asked for six months'
leave
117) Siam Weekly Advel'tiser, January 9, 1879, enclosed in Bangkok Despatches,
January 20, 1879.
118) Bangkok Despatches, various dates from December 6, 187 6, through February
15, 1877. See also.Martin, "A History," p. 145.
119} Bangkok Despatches, March 12, 18 77.
120) Bangkok Despatches, August 25, 1879.
121) Bangkok Despatches, Apri115, 1878, and June 10, 1878.

70 Benjamin A. Batson
that I may be enabled to communicate personally with some
of our principal business men (with whom r have been long in
communication) relative to plans for the material extension
of American Trade and Commerce in these waters.
The leave was apparently not granted, and the boom in American trade
proved to be brief and illusory, but to the end of his stay in Bangkok
Sickels was continually writing to "our Capitalists, Ship-owners, and
Manufacturers" in an effort to develop American commerce with
Siam.t22
Sickels was as attentive to American political interests as American
economic interests. He recommended to the Department of State
that America's representative be raised in rank from "Consul" to
"Consul-General," or even "Minister Resident and Consul-General."
This proposal, he said, was motivated by concern for American prestige
(especially vis-a-vis the European treaty powers) rather than self-interest:
"The title of Consul will read as well on a tombstone as that of Consul­
General." He also recommended that the United States follow the
British lead in establishing a consular agent in Cbiengmai,123 and his
representations of the complaints of American missionaries in the North
led to King Chulalongkorn's famous edict on religious freedmn,1 24
It was during Sickel's tenure also that former-President Grant
made his rather reluctant but quite successful visit to Siam, and the
presence of such an important personage was a considerable boost to
122) BangkokDespatches,June 12, 1878;April t, 1880;andJune21, 1880.
12 3) Bangkok Despatches, June 12, 1879. The cost-conscious Department of State
and Congress soon agreed to the change in rank (see below) but. only in the
twentieth century were American diplomats stationed in Chiengmai.
124) Bangkok De>patches, February 5, 1879. Sickels seems to have been particularly
interested in Chiengmai, and frequently sent Washington long despatches
giving valuable information (and some misinformation) on Chiengmai and
other northern Lao states at a time when their relationship with Bangkok was
undergoing important modifications. Cf. Bangkoll DesjJatches, June 12, 1879;
November 11, 1879 (enclosing letters from Daniel McGilvary, an American
missionary resident in Chiengmai); and December 5, 1879 (enclosing contrasting
letters from McGilvary and Marion A. Cheek, an American medical
missionary in Chiengmai who later turned to business. His affairs will be
discussed below).

A~IEHICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 71
American prestige and a source of gratification to the protocal-conscious
Thai Government.I25 Early the following year Sickels cabled Washington
that King Chulalongkorn was planning a tour of Europe and the
United States, 126 and elaborate preparations were begun to receive the
Asian monarch.l27 However the following ~onth Sickels reported that
the king's trip bad been postponed, ostensibly because of the illness of
Somdet Chao Phya Sri Suriyawong, the ex-regent. Seventy-three years
old and in semi-retirement, the old regent was still the most powerful
force in the government, possibly not even excluding the king. Sickels
was skeptical of the Thai Government's explanation; while admitting
that some of the ex-regent's internal organs were "seriously disorganized"
be saw no signs that the old man's health was any worse than it had
been for several years past. Sickels cited rumors to the effect that
pressures from an unknown quarter-the guesses ranged from Great
Britain to the ladies of the palace-had forced cancellation of the trip.
In any case, the royal visit to the United States never materialized.I2s
Sickels also sent several long and generally favorable reports on
the progress of Siam under King Chulalongkorn's reform program, of
interest particularly for the depiction of the struggle between the party
of "Young Siam," centered about the king, and that of "Old Siam,"
centered about the ex-regent.l29 He also sent informative despatches
about the combustible British Consul-General Knox, then in the midst
125) On Grant's visit see Bangkok DesjJatches, May 6, 1879 (which encloses accounts
from the Siam W eekl_y Advertiser), and Young,· Amund the Wodd with Genera~
Grant, one of several valuable accounts by members of Grant's retinue.
126) Bangkoll Desj>atches, February 23, 1880. This was apparently the first time
an American Consul in Bangkok ever used the fast but expensive cablegram to
communicate with Washington.
127) Bangkok Despatches, February 27, 1880, with Department of State notations in
margins. Places the king wished to visit in the United States included
Appomattox, site of G~ant's triumph, ~nd ric.e and sugar plantations in the
South.
128) In 1897 and again in 1907 King Chulalongkorn did visit Europe.
129) Bangkok Despatches, M~rch 12, 1877, and March 18, 1880. This latter
despatch is quoted in Wyatt, Politics of Refom~ in Thailand, pp. 82-83.

72 Benjamin A. Batson
of the last and most serious of his several controversies with the Thai
Go vernmen t.l 3 0
Despite his apparent success, Sickels like his predecessors was soon
involved in the seemingly endless controversies which bedeviled the
American Consulate in Bangkok throughout the century. Chandler's
complaint to Washington, to the effect that if no better consul and viceconsul
could be found the consulate should be abolished, bas been cited
above.I3I Tbe vice-consul in question was J.W. Torrey, who two
decades earlier as president of the American Trading Company and "Rajah
of Ambong and Maludu" had allegedly sent headhunters after the
American Consul in Brunei.I32 Later, after Sickels and Torrey
had reached a falling out, Sickels claimed that he bad only
appointed Torrey "to oblige Major Suder," the American Consul in
Singapore.I33 Sickels was soon on bad terms with Major Suder, and
with Col. Mosby, American Consul at Hongkong as welJ.I 3 4 As a
result of charges from an unspecified source-Sickels blamed William
Claflin, a member of Congress and former Republican Governor of
Massachusetts-Suder was sent from Singapore to investigate the Bangkok
Consulate. Sickels sent a bitter despatch denouncing Suder's
conduct while in Bangkok, and went so far as to praise Partridge by
comparison: "With all his errors of omission and commission he was a
man of ability and commanded a certain amount of respect."135 Sickels
130) Bangkok Despatches, May 30, 18 79 {including a biography of Knox and an
account of his backing of the second king, "now a political non-entity");
December 20, 1879, and March 19, 1880 (both on the fate of Knox' Thai
son-in-law).
131) Seenote60.
132) See note 4.
133) Bangkok Despatches, September 13, 1877, and December 12, 1880. These
despatches include the information that Torrey was from New England, had
been in the East for some 20 years, and was still in 1880 involved in
Borneo schemes and business deals with Baron Overbeck, the Austro-Hungarian
Consul in Hongkong who was subsequently to sell his rights in Borneo
to British interests.
134) Bangkok Despatches, Aprill9, 1880, and May 13, 1880.
135) Bangkok Despatches, January 7, 1880.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS TN SOUTHEAST ASIA 73
was by now critical even of American missionaries like McDonald and
Dr. William Dean ;136
A Consulate not in antagonism to the majority of Citizen
Residents and commanding the respect from the Community
formerly devoted to them, is a novelty of which they do not
approve and which they are prepared to work even with the
disreputable ones to undermine.
In August Sickels' successor arrived in Bangkok, and Sickels wrote
complaining that his efforts to expand American trade "have not been
appreciated by the Department of State" and objecting to "my removal
from office, for frivolous reasons."l37 Sickels praised his successor,
General Halderman, whom he said was pledged to pursue "the same line
of policy which I adopted soon after my arrival: viz., treating the Siamese
like human beings with rights inherited from their Creator."i38 At the
same time he held Torrey "mainly responsible for the errors of my
administration of the Consulate."i39
When Sickels departed Bangkok, The Siam Weekly Advertiser
published a letter from an unspecified group of American residents
praising Sickels' conduct in Siam and the paper itself commended Sickels'
136) Bangkok Despatches, January 8, 1880.
137) Bangkol~Despatches, September 7, 1880.
138) Bangkok Despatches, September 12, 1880.
139) Bangkok Despatches, October 15, 1880, In another despatch (October 5, 1880)
Sickels called Torrey "The author of much mischief in Bangkok," while
Torrey complained to Washington of "the incompetence of my principal."
In the same despatch (August 15, 18 80), Torrey cautioned against the appointment
of missionaries at the consulate, saying that .while he personally admired
them the Thai looked upon the missionaries with "good-natured contempt."
(Torrey's advice may have been influenced by the fact that he wanted to
remain as vice-consu1-Halderman's statement that he "desires to be relieved"
(August 30, 1880) not withstanding-but Halderman instead nominated the
missiona.ry. McDonald.)

74 Benjamin A. Batson
"noble work" and added, incorrectly as it turned out:I 40
On his return to the United States, that government will
doubtless advance Mr. Sickels to positions of still greater
honor and usefulness for honest and faithful service rendered
them in this country.
In a letter to the editor of the paper Sickels bade a bitter farewell:
As you remark, "Public servants a~e not always appreciated
by those whom they have assiduously served," but I am
confident that the time is not far distant when our Consular
service will be established upon a more equitable and creditable
basis.
Months before Sickels' departure, General John A. Halderman bad
arrived to take over the Bangkok Cons4late.
Halderman's birth date is
given variously as 1833, 1836, or 1838, and the place as Kentucky or
Missouri.
Halderman bad been active in Kansas politics and bad been
in the Union Army, winning a citation for "conspicuous gallantry" and
rising to the rank of major-general.
acquired a law degree.
At some point in his career he had
When appointed in 1880 he had never been in
Bangkok; before his departure he went to see General Grarit, ''who
140) Siam Weeldy Advertiser, January 15, 1881. Sickels subsequently claimed
that the Thai Government had wanted to employ him as Thai Consul to the
United States, but that the British Consul-General Palgrave, with whom
Sickels had had several disagreements, had blocked the appointment
(Bangkok Despatches, January 30, 1881, and December 12, 1880.) In 1881
Issac T. Smith was appointed Thai Consul in New York,
Smith, 70 years old
and a past president of the Metropolitan Savings Bank, was said to have been
recommended by Samuel J. Smith, the editor of the Siam Weekly Advertiser.
(Samuel Smith bad been educated in the United States and for a time connec·
ted with the American Baptist mission, but had originally come from Burma
and was said to be a British subject-McFarland, Historical Sketch, pp. 27, 32·
33.) It was reported that Issac Smith had asked to be made ambassador to the
United States (although the United States itself had no ambassadors until
1893), which drew from Halderman the sardonic comment: "ad astra per
aspera." (Bangkok Despatches, August 10, 1881, and September 13, 1881.)

AMEI\JCAN Dll'LOi\IATS lN SOUTHEAST ASJA ?5
favored me with much valuable information concerning Siam."l4t
Halderman served in Siam untill885 and was decorated by the governments
of Siam and French Indo-China. He died in Atlantic City in
1908.
Halderman had abysmal handwriting and an exaggerated style. At
his first audience with King Cbulalongkorn he referred to the United
States as a "pillar of cloud by day and a fire by night." On the lack of
consular furniture he wrote, "Standing, even for one's country becomes
monotonous after being pursued regularly for a few months. It is true,
I have the floor to fall back on ... " He reported the strained relations
between Chulalongkorn and the ex-regent, whose palace was across the
river from Bangkok: "a sultriness prevails on the west side of the river,
which may at any moment give place to a storm of wrath." And Siam,
he found, like bell was both bot and "paved with good intentions."142
In what was becoming a pattern for the Bangkok Consulate,
Halderman began his term to general acclaim and departed in a storm
of recriminations. Near the end of his time in Bangkok, Halderman
noted that at the time of his appointment "the then. Secretary of State
[Evarts] was pleased to remark that, the Bangkok Consulate bad been a·
thorn in the side of the Government; that I was expected to rehabilitate
it; to lift it into public respect."143 Halderman established good relations
with the two kings and the Thai Government.l 44 In 1881 the
United States raised Halderman's rank from Consul to Consul-General,
thus making him the equal of the major European representatives in
Siam. Prince Devawongse, private secretary to King Cbulalongkorn and
soon to be elevated to Foreign Minister (a post be would hold contin-
141) Bangkok Despatches, June 6, 1880. Grant, of course, had visited Siam the
previous year.
142) Bangkok De.~pati::hes; September 11, 1880; January ,4, 1881;' and March 2 7,
1881.
143) Siam Despatches, March 2, 1885.
144) The "second king," Halderman reported, "is one only in name. He has no
'voice or authority in the government." (Bangkok Despatches, September 21,
1880.) See also Siam Despatches, October 25, 1882, in which Halderman
'correctfy predicted that the incumbent "second king" would be the last.

76 Benjamin A. Batson
uously to 1923), wrote to Halderman expressing the king's pleasure and
hinting broadly that the king would be even more pleased if the United
States would raise its representative to Minister,I 45 Later the same year
Halderman again gratified the Thai when he refused to go along with an
otherwise unanimous protest of the treaty power consuls over an alleged
slight at a government reception.t 46
Late in 1881 Halderman returned to the United States on leave,
leaving the consulate in the care of the faithful McDonald.147 Jil
Washington Halderman reported that he had been awarded the Order
of the White Elephant, "valueless" but prized in "the oriental world."
One of the reasons he had been honored thus by the Thai Government,
he believed, was because of his adherence to the traditional American
policy of "nonintervention in the affairs of foreign states."l4 8
He also
asked Secretary of State Frelinghuysen that his title be raised to Minister
Resident and Consul-General. Halderman pointed out that Haiti,
Bolivia, Liberia, and even small Hawaii had American representatives of
this rank, while China and Japan had Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers
Plenipotentiary. But Siam, "a sister Kingdom" located on the same
Pacific Ocean "which in time may become our Mediterranean," had only
a Consul-General: 149
It would seem that the time had come, when we should lead,
and not follow, in the diplomacy of the East.
These arguments proved convincing, and in July Halderman was named
Minister Resident and Consul-General, the first diplomat accredited to
Siam to bearso high a rank.
145) Bangkok Despatches, June 29, 1881, and July 2, 1881.
146) Bangkok Despatches, October 4, 1881.
147) Halderman's request for leave cited his children in Paris and the need tore·
store !;tis health. (Bangkok Despatches, July 3, 1881). In a note on the
unsalubrious climate of Bangkok, Halderman reported that the French Consul
had died, the German representative was leaving, the British representative
was usually away, and the Portuguese had left "swearing he would ,never
return except under guard." CBaugkok Despatches, September 13, 1881).
148) Bangkok Despatches, FebruarY. 11, 1882.
149) Bangkok Despatches, May 25, 1882. In the margin is the notation ''Can this
be done without legislation?" "No."

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 77
The Thai Government welcomed this boost to its international
standing, and Halderman was accorded an unprecedented reception on
his return to Bangkok. 150 But while his relations in Siam were better
than ever, his relations with Washington rapidly deteriorated. Immediately
upon being named. minister, Halderman bad asked for an increase
in salary-always unwelcome news at the Department of State. The
same day in another letter from Washington he had informed Frelinghuysen
of private information received from Prince Devawongse about
a possible Thai mission to the United States. A sarcastic note in the
margin pointed out that Halderman's "confidential" information had
already appeared in newspapers.t 5 1 After his return to Bangkok,
Halderman sent a report on the appearance of a comet which drew the
notation, "last paragrap}l is bosh-as is the whole Despatch. AAA."tsz ·
But the real trouble between Halderman and the Department of
State developed in 1884, when Halderman took strong exception to the
fact that some rather inconsequential negotiations over a new Thai­
American liquor convention were conducted in Washington without his
knowledge. Halderman had been away on sick leave in Hongkong,
Korea, and Vladivostok,t53 and when be returned to Bangkok b~ beard
rumors of the Washington meeting, "a reputed negotiation about which,
I h.ave been compelled to acknowledge to my great mortification, that
[sic] I knew nothing.;•ts4 When the new liquor convention was confirmed,
150) BangkollDespatch.es, October 10, 1~82, and Siam Despatches, October 24, 1882.
151) Siam Despatches, July 15, 18 8 2 (two despatches of same date).
152) Siam Despqtches, October 26, 1882. 'AAA' was Alvey A. Adee, or "Old
Adee" as Theodore Roosevelt called him, longtime head of the permanent
bureaucracy at the Department of State and sometime Acting Secretary of
State. Adee first served in diplomatic posts. abroad, and then in 1882 befame
Third Assistant Secretary of State. In 18 86 he was promoted to Second
Assistant Secret~ry of State; a title he held for nearly forty years; On July
1, 1924, he was commissioned Assistant Secretary of State, and on July 4 be
died.
153) Siam Despatches, May 2, t8'84; May 15, 1884; and June 14, 1884. From
HongkoJ:)g Halderman wrote saying that he hoped for "transfer to a more
congenial post" than Bangkok.
1 54) Siam Despatches, August 2 8, 1884.

78 Benjamin A. Batson
Halderman complained that he had been ignored and humiliated, and that
he could have gotten important concessions from Siam in return for the
treaty rights-which the United States had surrendered.
of State noted, "This is merely personal pique." 155
The Department
When he repeated
the same charges two months later, a Department of State band commented,
"File without notice, except to Ack. by, No. [acknowledge by
number.]
tbis."l56
reply by cable.
by regular mail.
Gen. Halderman is evidently annoyed and ill natured about
In the meantime Halderman had asked for leave, requesting a
The Department had approved the leave request, but
When three months went by and no answer was
received, Halderman assumed that leave, "unsupported as was my
application by political influences," had been refused.
In a stormy
despatch to Secretary of State Frelinghuysen be denounced the Secretary's
handling of the liquor convention negotiations.
Far from winning
valuable concessions, the United States had given in on all points, and
the Thai, amazed at their easy success, no longer considered the United
States a power to be reckoned with.
He contrasted Frelinghuysen with
Blaine, "an American Statesman of vigor and decision," and claimed
that "any other Secretary of State" would have let bim handle the
negotiations.
Instead, he had received "indignities" and "humiliation
to a faithful public officer."lS7
A. few days later he sent Secretary
Frelinghuysen another despatch, which is probably unique in the annals
of diplomatic history: during a trip out of the capital, King Chulalongkorn
had offered to give Halderman a tiger, "which I begged to decline
as I had nci means of supplying immediate transportation to tbe Department
of State." Just to make sure the point was not missed, Halderman
added that be had remarked to the king that a tiger ·on the loose could
155) Siam Despatches, September 13, 1884.
156) Siam Despatches, November 27, 1885.
~
157) Siam Despatches, January 29, 18 85. It wasat this time that Halderman complained
of "the several vague, uncertain and conflicting instructions." (See
note 2.)

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 79
create some useful vacancies in the bureaucracies of both countries.tss
Several months later Halderman resigned.t59
A variety of other [)olitical and economic problems came upduring
Halderman's five. years in office. Like his predecessor, though to a
lesser extent, he worked to promote American trade with Siam. In a
despatch written in 1881, years before Captain Mahan published his
views on sea power and the national interest, Halderman questioned the
"rosy" view of American prospects some of his predecessors bad allegedly
taken, and advocated an expanded United States merchant marine.
Pointing out that Amer~ca was rapidly becoming the world's leading
producing nation, but that most of its trade went in foreign ships,
Halderman called for government investment in a national merchant
marine if private capital continued to be inadequate.t6o In another
report, he discussed the growing economic power of the Chinese in Siam
and the threat they posed ,to Western businessmen.t6t
Halderman expressed strong American support for Siam in opposing
a ):'evived Chinese claim to suzerainty over Siam,t6:z and be reported on
the developing crisis in upper Burma, and the threat posed to Siam-"This
little kingdom, as if between the devil and the deep sea",.....by the
continuing advance of the British in the west and the French in the
east.t63 In domestic politics, he noted the death of the old ex-regent ;164
158) SiamDespatches, February 10,1885.
159) Siam Despatches, June )7, 1885. In view of these developments, Martin's
description of Halderman's term as the "zenith" of early Thai-American
relations (Martin, "A History," p. 198) seems questionable, although it is true
that Halderman's difficulties with Washington do not seem to haveimpaired
his good relations with the Thai Government or the local American community
(Cf. the letter of Rev. William Dean in Siam Despatches, September
10, 1884.)
160) Bangkok Despatches, February 7, 1881.
161) Bangkol~Despatches, October 31, 1882.
162) Siam Despatches, January 13, 188 3; February 20, 188 3; and May 10, 18 83.
163) Siam Despatches, November 16, 1882; January 17, 1884; December 17, 1884;
and March24, 18 84.
164) Sia:mDespcitches;January 20, 1883.
During Halderman's tenure there also occurred a mention of "communism,"
perhaps the first in Thai history. After the attack on President
Garfield, Prince Devawongse wrote to Halderman expressing King Chula-

8Q
Benjamin A. Batson
He was the head and front of the party known as Old Siam,
to which are ascribed non-progressive ideas, old methods, a
hatred of foreigners, and an abiding faith that the bamboo is
the strongest form of Government vouchsafed to man.
Other developments in which Halderman took a special interest were
the linking of Bangkok by telegraph with Saigop in the east (for which
Halderman received an award from King Norodom of Cambodia) and
the British Burma system in the west,t65 the French-backed scheme for
a canal through the Kra Peninsula,t66 and the deteriorating condition of
the United States Legation building in Bangkok.t67
On Halderman's departure from Bangkok the American mission
was again left in the care of Dr. McDonald, who wrote to Washington
asking for the ministerial appointment, but accurately predicting that
"as I have no political influence at home" he would not get it.t68 The
appointment went instead to Col. Jacob T. Child.t69 Child had been
born in Philadelphia in 1832 of Quaker parents, and in 1837 had been
taken to Richmond, Virginia. Child worked on the Richmond Whig and
then in 1855 raised a company of men and went to Kansas to take part
longkorn's hope that the "Superagency who ruled this Universe" would help
Garfield "escape from this unfortunate jaw he is now under." "And His
M!l,jesty .. think that time would come when Providence will open a measure to
secure all rulers in this world from the hands of those based clas~es Soi:iallist,
Nihilist Communists etc." (Bangkok Despatches, July 15, 18 81, spelling as in
original.)
I 65) Siam Despatches, June 30, 1883; August 4, 1883;and March 24, 1884.
!66) Siam Despatches, November 10, 1882; January. 16, 1883; April 30, 1&.83; and
August 20, 18 83.
167) Halderman wrote that the building failed to keep out rain, snakes, lizards,
rats, or ants. (Siam Despatches, September 29, ·1884). The struggle to keep
the building from collapsing and to keep both the building and the grounds
from washing into the river became a major obsession of American representatives
in the last two decades of the century. In 1896 Adee noted that some
$10,000 bad been spent on repairs since 1886 and in approving another
$1200 added : "but it should be understood that this $1200 will complete the
job-barring ordinary wear and tear hereafter-and .not be merely another
handful in a bottomless rat-hole." (Siam Despatches, January 24, 189 6.)
168) Bangkok Despatches, February 27, 1886.
16~) There is a brief biography of Child in the Bangkok Times, July 28, 18:8.8.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 81
in the border warfare. He then started a paper in St. Joseph, Missouri,
which was suppressed when war broke out because of its pro-Union
stand. Child held commissions as major ancj then colonel in Union
volunteer regiments, while remaining active in newspaper work. After
the war he moved to Richmond, Missouri, where pe published another
newspaper. An active Democrat, be was twice mayor of Richmond.
He was named Minister to Siam in 1886 by Grover Cleveland.
Child had a particularly florid style, and was wont to refer to the
sky as "the upper deep," or Siam as the"sun-kissed Kingdom."t7o After
his return to the United States be wrote a substantial work on Siam,
the only nineteenth century American representative to do so except
the long-time Bangkok resident, Dr. McDonald.17t
No important issues arose between the United States and Siam
during Child's term in Bangkok. Child tried to make su~e that American
suppliers would have an opportunity to compete equally withEuropeans
for contracts to provide equipment for Siam's proposed new railways.t 72
He also tried to obtain information about the budget of Siam but
eventually gave up in frustration: 173
To sum up briefly the government of Siam is a closed corporation,
the King is the only man that knows anything
concerning the financial affairs of the. country and he ~eeps
the secret as closely locked as he does his coffers.
In other despatches Child reported riots among the Chinese in
Bangkok, forwarded and supported the request of Americans in the
North for the establishment of a United States Consulate .at Chiengmai,
170) St'amDespatches, September 23, 1886, and January 17, 1891 .(in despatch of
· S. H. Boyd). See also Child's despatch of January 24, 1887, on the ceremonies
confirmi'ng the crown prince as heir to the throne.
171) Jacob T. Child, The Pearl of Asia: Reminiscenses of the Court of, a Supreme
Monarch, or Five Years in Siam (Chicago, 1892). On Dr. McDonald's book
see note 86,
172) SiamDespatches,January11, 1888,and0ctober20, 1890.
113).SiamDespatches, September 5, 1887. The efforts of the American Govern·
ment to obtain information frpm Siam, as froin other countries, on every
conceivable subject will be discussed below,

82 Benjamin A. Batson
and requested more funds to repair the Bangkok Legation, which he
described as a "wreck of ruinous perfection."l74
In 1888 Child's wife became seriously ill and he returned to the
United States, leaving his son C.J. Child, Vice Consul-General,' in
charge of the legation. Soon after reaching the United States Child's
wife died, and early in 1889 he returned to Bangkok. Cleveland had
been defeated by Benjamin Harrison the previous November, and upon
hearing that James G. Blaine had again taken charge of the Department
of State Child submitted his resignation to the President.l75
Child, however, spent nearly two more years in Bangkok awaiting
his successor. In August of 1890 one Alex C. Moore of Clarksburg,
West Virginia, wrote to Blaine declining a presidential appointment as
Minister to Siam, since "I find that after due consideration and
investigation of the Expense and cost of living in Siam, that I cannot
afford to accept the position."I76 The appointment finally went to
Semprohius Hamilton Boyd. Boyd had been born in middle Tennessee
in 1828, and thus was over 60 when he went to Bangkok. , He bad Jived
in Missouri, and then practiced law, taught, and prospected for gold in
California. In 1856 he was mayor of Springfield, Missouri, and in the
Civil War he rose to the rank of Colonel. He represented Missouri in
Congress from 1863 to 1865 and 1869 to 1871; from 1864 to 1868 be
was a member of the Republican National Committee. Between 1867
and 1874 be was a builder and operator of the Southwest Pacific
Railroad, and he also bad a wagon factory. He was appointed Minister
to Siam by President Harrison in 1890, served in Bangkok in 1891 and
1892 and died in Springfield, Missouri, in 1894, apparently of illnesses
contracted in Siam.
Boyd described himself as ~·a plain man, from a plain pr&ctical
nation of people, unused to the cultured formalities and customs of
174) SJam Despatches, June 30, 1889; August 31, 1889; and October 2, 1889. '
175) Siam Despatches, July 2, I 888; July 23, 1888; October 5; 1888 (from Chicago);
January 12,1889;andApril22, 1889. ·
176) Siam Despatches, August 12, 1890. After Halderman was raised to Minister
.Resident and Consul-General in 1882'the salary of the Bangkok post was
increased to $5000, where it n:mainfi:Q \lll-tH 1900 1
when it was f!li~eQ tQ
$7500, ' ·'.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
diplomatic life."177 In Bangkok he attempted to enforce his vision of
American manners and morals, arresting Americans for the "immorality"
of cohabitatiog with Thai or Chinese women. To Washington he wrote,
"My object as you clearly see is to Americanize Society in this respect
regardless of English disapprobation." The British-oriented, governmentsupported
Bangkok Times denounced this "social purity crusade," and
editorialized, "it is startling to find the representative of America, where
every kind of immorality-political, commercial, and social-is ·so
glaring, posing as the knight-errant. "178
Boyd's other major concern was the development of Thai-American
commerce. In a view that Halderman would undoubtedly have
considered ''rosy," he referred to Siam as a "Sleeping Giant" and, in
words reminiscent of generations of believers in the Great China Market,
painted a glowing picture of the prospects for the Great Siam Market.
Although admitting that "we have no commercial relations. We. have
no trade. We. really are ignorant of one another," he looked to a great
future for Siam's "agricultural, mineral, and commercial wealth, awaiting
the touch of American enterprise."l79 Siam's future, however,. was
clouded by the expansionist ambitions of the British, the French, and
the Germans, tao and Boyd reported ominously to W~shington that when
the foreign diplomats in Bangkok were preparing an address to mark
King Chulalongkorn's birthday, ''The [European] Powers declined to
incorporate a wish for the security and permanency of his majesty's
territorial possessions, proposed by your Representative." 181
. . _practically the only diffi9ulty in official Thai-}\m~ricat_l rel~!io~s
during Boyd's stay in Bangkok concerned a complaint of an American
177) Siam Desj;atches, January 17, 1891.
178) Siam Despatches, March 28, 1892, enclosing Bangkok Times clipping. A letter
to the paper alleged that the last American Vice-Consul had openly Jived in
the manner Boyd was trying to suppress. In a margin note on the despatch,
Adee commented that cohabitation, other than bigamous, appeared to violate
no federal law.
179) Siam Desj;(ltches, Febr\lary 9, 1891; February 28, 1891; and March 13, 1891.
180) Siam Despatches, February 12, 1891, and August 13, 1891.
181) SiamDespatches, September 28, 1891.

84 Benjamin A. Batson
citizen, a minor case in which Boyd thought, "my predecessor, Col.
Child. made an ass of himself."l82
In the spring of 1892 Boyd became seriously ill. Boyd wrote to
Secretary of State Blaine saying that he must have home leave or resign,
and asking that permission for leave be cabled. Even so, he warned,
"I will not promise you tbat I will be alive then. Chances are nearly all
against me."l 8 3 Leave was at once granted, but Boyd thought it was
already too late. In a dispassionate despatch entitled "Minister dying"
and beginning, "Knowing that I cannot live but a few days at most,"
Boyd informed the President that he was turning the legation over to the
Rev. L.A. Eaton, an American Baptist missionary.l 8 4 Boyd left
Bangkok, "helpless in mind and body," but contrary to his expectations
be did survive to reach the United States. In October he wrote from
Springfield, Missouri, saying that his continuing illness would delay his
return to Siam, and suggesting that his son Robert M. Boyd be appointed
vice-consul in his absence. In March of 1893, still suffering from
malaria and influenced, perhaps, by the fact that a Democratic administration
was corning into office in Washington, Boyd submitted his resignation
as Minister to Siam.lss
When Boyd dted in the following year, his successor in Siam, John
Barrett, wrote eulogizing his "able predecessor" and gave an evaluation
of Boyd (,whom be bad never met) based on opinion in Siam: ·•He was a
man of rugged ch~racter and simplicity of nature, but strong in bis
conviction and earnest in his purpose." Barrett also reported that King
182) The complainant, George Dupont, was a timber dealer who had been wounded
in an affray in central Siam in 18 89. Boyd considered him "wholly unreliable,"
and when Dupont warned that if the suspect were released the suspect
might kill him, Boyd told Dupont "that r thought it would be a good deed."
(Siam Despatches, .March J 7, 1891, and March 23, 1892.)
183) Siam Despatches, il!e·gible date (May?), 1892. Boyd's handwriting was even
worse than Halderman's.
184) Siam Despatches, June 13, 1892. Nineteenth century diplomatic despatches
usually had a covering sheet giving both a brief title and a longer summary
of contents.
18 5) Siam Despatches, October 19, 1892, and March 2 7, 189 3 (two despatches),

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 85
Chulalongkorn had personally expressed his regrets and warm feelings
for the late American Minister.ts6
L.A. Eaton, "the sole surviver of the Baptist mission in Siam" in
the 1890's, had come to Siam in 1882. When his term in the American
Legation ended in 1893 he sold the properties of the Baptist mission and
returned to the United States.ts7 His few months as American
representative in Bangkok were notable mainly for the first of many
lengthy despatches on the case of Marion A. Cheek, former missionary
turned businessman and incidentally Eaton's brother-in-law, which was
to become a cause celebre in Thai~American relations in the latter part
of the decade; and for the first despatches on the developing political
crisis between Siam and France, which was to culminate explosively in
the summer of 1893.188
In January of 1893 Eaton received word that Robert M. Boyd, son
of the ailing Sempronius B9yd, had been appointed vice consul-general.
Whether or not Eaton tried to block this appointment is unclear;.in any
case he forwarded the Department of State a petition against the younger
Boyd said to have been signed by all the Americans present in Bangkok.
The petitioners said that they had nothing to say against (or for) Boyd's
personal character but that Boyd, who was only 24, was too young and
inexperienced for an important diplomatic post, and .could hardly be
expected to command the respect of European diplomats like the almost
legendary Auguste Pavie, French Minister in Bangkok at this critical
186) Siam Despatches, August 17, 1894, and November 15, 1894. Prince Devawongse
had earlier written to Boyd concerning, "The office you so worthily
filled." (Siam DesjJatches, April 5, 1893.)
187) Information on Eaton is taken from McFarland, Historical Sketch, pp. 33, 319,
and Wells, History, p. 21, which is so closely based on McFarland as to border
on plagiarism. Eaton was later involved in a lawsuit with the United States
Government. (See notes in Siam Despatches, October 10,.1892.}
188) Siam Despatches, February 6, 189 3; April.8, 18 93; and May 4, 1893; (concerning
a Thai reqilest for American mediation. For the American reply rejecting
the request, see Secretary of State Gresham to Phra Suriya, May 18, 1893, in
National Archives (Washington), Notes to Foreign Legations b1 the United States
from the Department of State (microfilm), Siam, 1888-1906.)

86 Benjamin A. Batson
juncture.ts9 They claimed that the news of Boyd's appointment bad
been received "with surprise by the general public in this country and
with profound regret and dismay by the American section of the
Community," and called it "a disgrace to our country and an insult to
ourselves." 1 90
Boyd had arrived in Bangkok in February, but for three months
the Thai Government withheld recognition of his official status and
continued to deal with Eaton. The reason given was uncertainty as to
whether or not Boyd's commission as vice consul-general, given by the
Secretary of State, superseded Eaton's appointment by the elder Boyd,
which had the implicit authority of the President.t9t Boyd thought that
neither this question nor Siam's troubled relations with France justified
189) Both Pavie himself and later commentators have written on his exploits at
length. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Pavie virtually single-handedly
took Laos for France, and his political activities were supplemented by
pioneering achievements as an explorer, a naturalist, and a historian.
190) Siam Despatches, February 24, 18 9 3. There were I 7 signatures on the petition.
In a separate intro4uction, three of the 17 also charged that Boyd bad been
appointed to the salaried interpreter's post by his father although he had no
linguistic qualifications. Boyd's age has been taken from a Jetter of his father
(Siam Despatches, October 19, 1892); the petitioners thought he was 22 or 23.
A Department of State note attached to the petition and dated April 27, I 893,
said, "We believe him to be a competent officer."
Upon hearing of the charges, Sempronius Boyd wrote to the Department
of State on behalf of his son and even offered to return to Siam, despite his
illness. He denounced Eaton, whom he had originally appointed, and claimed
that Cheek wanted to keep his brother-in-law Eaton in charge of the legation
in order to get a favorable hearing in his dispute with the Thai Government
(both Boyds, he said, felt that Cheek was in the wrong.) He defended his
son's character and ability, and even his questionable degree from a "Physio
Medical College." (SiamDespatches, Apri120, 1893.)
191) Siam Despatches, May 17, 1893. The Department of State apparently thought
that Eaton was not sufficiently zealous in pressing the Thai Government for
recognition of Boyd's status. At the end of April a cable was sent to Eaton
demanding immediate action, to which Eaton complied-this time with success-while
denying that he had been lax in his earlier efforts.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 87
the delay, and reported to Washington, "I feel certain there is something
behind the whole affair that should come out."l92
Boyd finally took charge of the legation in May of 1893 and
remained in charge for a year, during one of the most critical periods in
modern Thai history. In the summer of 1893 the tensions between Siam
and France on Siam's eastern frontier culminated in border incidents, a
French display of naval power at Bangkok and an ultimatum, and
finally Siam's cession to France of large areas in the eastern Lao
dependencies. Most American officials sympathized with Siam in its
uneven fight against "French imperialism" and gunboat diplomacy,t93
but the United States bad only a minor role in the affair. Boyd
contented himself with keeping Washington informed through a series
of cables and despatches, and requesting that a gunboat be sent to
protect American interests. Boyd thought that the British were "as
much to be feared as the French,'' and also that in the event of
hostilities the large Chinese population of Bangkok would cause trouble.
After French gunboats forced the river defenses and came up to Bangkok,
Boyd reported that Chinese secret societies "have decided to plunder the
city at the first opportunity. "194
Siam and France eventually came to terms,t9S calm returned to
Bangkok and hope to the despairing Thai leadership, and Boyd
192) Siam DesjJatches, May 18, 1893.
193) Americans were generally less aware than the French of the degree of ''Thai
imperialism" in Bangkok's rule of its outer dependencies; certainly some, and
perhaps a majority, of the Lao elite preferred French rule to Thai rule,
194) SiamDespatches, May 23, 1893; June 28, 1893; and July 17, 1893. This last
despatch contains texts of the notes exchanged between Pavie and Prince
Devawongse (taken from the Bangkok Times). When the French cited the
"disturbed situation" as a justification for the presence of their gunboats
at Bangkok, the Thai Foreign Minister replied that if the French ships
would go away, "the disturbed situation would be changed into a very quiet
one~"
195) On the French ultimatum, the subsequent negotiations, and the final.settle·
ment, see Siam Despatches, July 24, 1893; July 26, 1893; July 28, 1893;
July 31, 189 3; August 5, 189 3 (two despatches); August 23, 1893; September
5 1 1893; October 10 1 1893; ang Qctp\Jer 23 1 1~9~,

88 Benjamin A. Batson
represented the United States at the rather inausptciously timed celebration
of the twentyfifth anniversary of the reign.1 96 Early in 1894 word
was received that a new American Minister bad been appointed, and·
Boyd, who had never been on good terms with the American community
in Siam, wrote to Washington that he would await the arrival of his
successor, "as I. know of no one here whom I should care to leave in
charge of the legation."t97
V. Toward Modern Diplomacy
In the closing years of the nineteenth century American diplomacy
in Siam finally seemed to outgrow the factionalism, personal feuds, and
recriminations that had characterized the situation ever since Mattoon
first hoisted the American flag, and had made the American mission in
Bangkok for so long "a thorn in the side of the Government."
In his first term Grover Cleveland had named fuithful Democrat
Jacob T. Child Minister to Siam, and in 1893 he named another active
Democrat, John Barrett.t9 8 Barrett had been born in 1'866 and thus
was 1ess than 30 years old when he went to Siam, the youngest Minister
in American history. Barrett came from an old Vermont family and had
been educated at Vanderbilt and Dartmouth. He had written on the
South, taught school in California, and traveled to South America,
Europe, Asia, and Hawaii as a press correspondent. He was particularly
known for his interest in America's trade with the Orient. In 1891 he
settled in Portland, Oregon, where he edited a newspaper and was
"prominently associated with the younger element of his party." In
1892 he was named a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
196) SiamDespatches, December 8, 1893.
197) Siam.Despatches, February 16, 1894.
198) Barrett is the subject of a recent biography by Salvatore Prisco III, Joh11
.. ~arrett, Progressive EraDiplomat: A Study of a Cormne1·cial Expansionist, 1887-
1920 (University of Alabama, 1973). See especially Chapters 1 and 3.
Barrett had come to Washington with the backing of Oregon business interests
to seek a consulship in Japan, in which he was unsuccessful, but when he was
able to provide Cleveland with some information the President wanted regard·
ing Siam he was instead appointed Minister to Bangkok (Prisco, John B11rrett,
pp. 10-12, citin~ an acco1,1nt of Josephus Daniels).

AMERICAN DlPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASlA 89
He was "a strong advocate of the development of American influence
throughout the Pacific,', and it was said that Cleveland personally had
high regard for his abilities. He was confirmed by the Senate onl:y. 24
hours after he was nominated for the Siam post, a rare display of
confidence. In Siam from 1894-1898, the bachelor minister was a social
leader and headed the Union Club, the Rifle Association, and the
Sailing Club. After his service in Siam, Barrett was a correspondent in
the Philippines and an adviser to Dewey. Between 1903 and 1906 be
was successively Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to
Argentina, to Panama, and to Columbia. From 1907-l920 he was
Director-General of the Pan American Union, and in the latter part of
his. life he was known mainly as an expert and writer on Latin America;
Pan Americanism, and Pan American trade. Barrett was praised by
President Cleveland for his work in Siam and by Theodore Roosevelt
for his work in Latin American relations. Barrett came. from an old
Republican family but had become a Cleveland Del;llocrat to further his
care.er in journalism; when the populist followers of Willian Jenning]! .
Bryan took control of the Democratic Party Barrett returned to the
Republican Party and remained active in Republican politics. In 1931,
on the eve of the first visit by a reigning Thai monarch to the United
States, Barrett wrote an article on Siam for the New York Heralc/ Tribune
in which he was said to be the only pre-1900 American Minister to Siam
still living. He died in 1938 at the age of 71.19 9
Barrett was not only the youngest American representative of full
diplomatic rank in Siam in the nineteenth century, and the fi'rst since
the early 1860's without a real or honorary military rank, but ultimately
199) At the time of King Prajadbipok's visit Barreu' also proposed to the Thai
Government that he be commissioned· to write a book on Siam: for-publication
in the United States. The Thai cabinet viewed the suggestion with extreme
suspicion, and amid strong criticisms of Barrett's qualifications and character
excuses were found to refuse the offer. Fo.r details· see National Archives
(Banrgkok), Seventh Reign, Royal Secretariat, 99/65 ..
On the other hand, correspondence in the Pap'er.s of Prince Damrong
shows that in the same perio& Barrett's.successor, HaniUton King, was remembe~ed
with bi~h:.r:esard.

90 Benjamin A. Batson
one of the most successful. Barrett's term in Bangkok, l10wever, began
not with successes but with a series of ignominious failures, and for a
time the, young minister seemed likely to merit the title subsequently
applied (by Arthur Link) to the author of the notorious Zimmermann
telegram: "A Prince of Diplomatic Bunglers."
Barrett had been sent to Bangkok especially to deal with the
Cheek case, the main issue outstanding between the )'hai and American
Governments, and most of his time in Bangkok was devoted to this case
and to the related Kellett case, which arose in 1896. Briefly, the Cheek
case involved a dispute between the American missionary turned teak
dealer, Marion A. Cheek (and, after his death in 1895, the Cheek estate),
and the Thai Government. Cheek had borrowed money from the Thai
Government and held leases to teak forests in the Nortb, ·and the
government, claiming that Cheek had failed to meet his obligations, had
seized most of his assets (consisting chiefly of elephants and ctJt teak
logs.) Cheek claimed that he had not violated the contract and that his
enterprise bad been on the verge of success, and sought damages from
the Thai Government for illegally seizing his property and bringing
about his financial ruin. The Kellett case involved an alleged attack by
Thai soldiers on.E.V. Kellett, American Vice Consul-General, who was
in Chiengmai on business partly related to the Cheek case.2oo Barrett!
1.1nlike some ofhis predecessors, strongly believed that Cheek had been
200) The tyvo cases are treated in tedious detail in Martin, "A History,,.Chapter 6_,
pp. 205-59. Martin (p. 20 8), citing the opinions of Barrett and the Briti~h
teak merchant Louis Leonowens, says· that the Thai Government wanted to
use Cheek as "a tool" in opposing British interests. The Cheek and Kellett
cases also take up much of the voluminous Siam Despatches between 1893 and
1899 •.
The Thai case against Cheek was based largely on his alleged failure to
make scheduled interest payments on hisJoans. Irop.ical!y,i11 1879, before
Cheek had left mis~ionary. work for the teak business, he wrote a letter from
the North co~menting. that the Chinese' and Burmese in the. timber trade
used borrowed. papita~ and were often unable to make their interest
payments. (Enclosed jn Ban(fkok Despatches, DecemQer. s, _1879), ·.,

AMEBICAN ll!PLOMA'l'S lN SOUTHEAS'l' ASIA 91
'
wronged by the Thai Government, and even held the Thai Government
directly responsible for his deatb.20I
Early in 1895 Barrett thought that the Cheek case was approaching
a critical stage, and in particular that Cheek's elephant herd was in
danger. Knowing that an American warship was due at Singapore; and
.saying he had no time to code messages and that any telegrams sent
from Bangkok; and even the American Legation records; were likely to
be'read by Thai agents, he left his post without authorization and rushed
to Singapore. From Singapore he sent a coded telegram to Secretary of
State Walter Gresham, asking that the American warship be ordered to
Bangkok. For some reason this message went astray,2'oz and conse~
quently Barrett's two subsequent telegrams to the Department of State
made little sense, and Washington concluded that Barrett wanted the
naval vessel in order to su'pport Siam in some confrontation with the
European powers. When no new orders were received the ship left for
Hongkong as scheduled; two days later Barrett received a curt cable
from Washington asking him to explain his unauthorized absence from
Bangkok. Barrett repHed briefly by cable, and in :a longer despatch
sent by inail (still under the misapprehension that Washington had
received all his communications and understood his intentions) said
that he saw thaHbe Department of State bad not approved hi's course,
and regretted that "distance and hence delayed methods ofcomri:lunication
prevented the Department from seeing the situation as it bas
appeared to me." He bad wanted the gunboat "for its mor'al effect
during a crisis in my negotiations'' and tQ save .Cheek's elephants from
ioi> SiamDeipatches, July -28, 1895. ·.Although un-well, Che~k had· felt competied
'to undertake an arduous trip to northern Siam in an effort to protect his
interests; and he died shortly thereafter. In the same despatch Barrett
enumerated Cheek's good qualities (along with the cryptic remark that, "He
,. _ had of course manyfauits';l and include(f the fact that cheek. always bought
. American goods, even when they were more ex.pen~ive.than compara~~e non··
. American prod~cts.. , . ·
202) In Septembe.r 1S95 Secretary of State Olney informed Barrett that his original
· telegram had finally been traced,,and attributed the delay to its'having been'
sent in naval code. See National Archives (Washington), Diplomatic Instructions
of the Department of State- (.microf.il m), Siam, 18.8 2·1906·l • - -

Benjamin A. Batson
the twin perils of elephant rustlers and Thai officials. It was months
before the communications sent by sea between Barrett and Washington
arrived and enlightened both sides as to the true situation; in any case
it is doubtful whether the American Government would have ordered a
gunboat to Siam to protect 100 elephants. 2 03
Barrett's next plunge into gunboat diplomacy came early in 1897,
following the attack on Kellett in Chiengmai. Barrett again r.equested
that an American warship be sent to Bangkok for "moral effect,'' and
~this time Washington complied. But once again telegram communications
were Barrett's undoing. He misinterpreted a communication from
Washington as applying to the Kellett case, and thinking he was
following instructions be solicited the aid of the British and French
representatives in Bangkok in getting London and Paris to put pressure
. on Siam. The Department of State sharply informed Barrett that its
earlier message had nothing to do with the Kellett case, and the
humiliated minister was forced to recall the letters that he had sent to
the British and French diplomats and explain that be had misunderstood
his instructions.204 Barrett disagreed strongly with Washington's
position that Siam alone should investigate the Kellett affair, but he
qenied that his reactions bad been alarmist or his communications had
used "terms not befitting diplomatic archives." This caution was shortlived,
for two days later Barrett sent an ill-considered telegram to
Secretary of State Richard Olney in which he again objected to a Thai
inves.tigation, and denounced his instructions as "so disastrous [to]
American interests." The Department of State cabled a reply censuring
Barrett for "undue excitemennrnd temper," and the chastised minister
how promised to show more restraint and .faithfully follow instructions.
I[! reply to Olney, Barrett sent .an apologia more notable for its humor
than its logic :2os.
'203-) Siam Despatches, February 21, 1895; February 25, 1895 (two despatches);
Februa·ry27,1895;andJune 19,1895.
204) Siam Despatches, January 13, 1897; January 22, 1897; January 2·5, 1897;
· ·February 2, 1897; February 3, 1897.; and February 6, 1897. ·
· 205) Siam Despat"ches, February 6, 1897; February 8, 1897; and February 10, 1897.
The Department of Sta·te, .after further explanations had been £C:ceived,
withdrew .the cba~ge o("undue e~oiJement.and temper."

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
93
I intended no reflection whatever on the judgement of the
Department in describing its instructions as "disastrous" , ..
Rather remarkably, what had begun as a diplomatic debacle ended
as a diplomatic triumph. The Department of State suddenly revised its
instructions in the Kellett case, moving much closer to Barrett's position,
and the Thai Government (influenced, the Siam Free Press said, by "the
tangible evidence of American determination lying in the river") unexpectedly
agreed to British arbitration in the Cheek case and to a mixed
tribunal to investigate the attack on Kellett. 20 6 The Western community
in Bangkok bailed Barrett as a diplomatic prodigy, and the Bangkok
Times editorialized: 207
Mr. John Barrett has been in every way a success as the American
Minister to Siam, but he has now achieved a real triumph.
Fortunately for Barrett's reputation the diplomatic correspondence was
not available to his contemporaries,
The final settlements of the two cases provided an even greater
triumph for the American Minister. The "mixed tribunal" (on which
Barrett represented the United States and a Belgian represented Siam)
conducted its investigation in Chiengmai and then found the Thai
Government, its officials, and its soldiers at fault on essentially all points.
The Thai Government accepted the result with good grace, while Barrett
sent another less than diplomatic despatch commending the Department
of State for having "finally and fully supported me."2os
When the
decree containing the findings was printed in the Thai Goveninent
Gazette, Barrett's reputation again soared. The Siam Free Press, which
was stridently pro-French and anti-Thai Government, called the decree
"a complete victory for Minister Barrett" over "the most subtle native
diplomats of the East." It marked this ''brilliant victory" by running a
206) Siam Despatches, February 23, 1897; February 27, 1897; and March 2, 1897
(five despatches).
207) Siam Free Press and Bangkok Times clippings enclosed in one. of the March 1,
1897, SiamDespatchtJs.
208) SiamDespatches, October 9, 1897; October 11, 1897; October 15, 1897; and
OctGber 23, 1897. Barrett noted that he wasthe first minister ofany treaty
power to visit Chiengmai.

94 Benjamin A. Batson
portrait of Barrett and a lengthy biographical sketch. 209 The Presbyterian
mission unanimously passed a resolution praising Barrett.21o
In the Cheek case, the British arbitrator found that the Thai
Government had acted arbitrarily and unjustly in seizing Dr. Cheek's
property, and awarded his estate more than 700,000 baht, or some
$400,000. Despite public statements to the contrary, this was much
more than Barrett or anyone else bad expected.211 The Department of
State sent a rare telegram of praise: "This Government gratified and
appreciates your services which contributed so largely [to] result," and
the Western community in Siam again applauded Barrett's successful
209) Siam Despatches, November 17, 1897, enclosing excerpts from the Siam F1·ee
Press, November 15, 18 97. The Siam Free Press, Barrett later reported, was
"commonly called the French organ." After years of provocation, the Thai
Government in 1898 finally prevailed upon the British Minister to withdraw
British protection of the editor (who happened to be a British subject") and be
was expelled from the country.
By "subtle native diplomats" the Siam F1·ee Press meant primarily
Prince Devawongse. Most' Westerners respected the abilities of the Thai
Foreign Minister, and some believed (erroneously) that Devawongse actually
ruled Siam. Sempronius Boyd had described Devawongse as the man "who
really controls in this Kingdom" (Siam DsjJatches, February 28, 1891 ), and
the author Henry Norman thought that compared to Devawongse the noted
Chinese diplomat-official Li Hung Chang was but "an ignorant savage." (Siam
DesjJatches, August 13, 1891.) If Devawongse was the power behind the
throne, it was also common to see sinister Western influences behind Devawongse.
Barrett thought that G. Rolin-Jacquemyns, the Belgian General
Ad.v.i~~r. to th_e Thai Government, was the hidden band (cf. Siam Despatches,
January. 25, 1897), while at an earlier period Halderman had reported that
while Devawongse "really performs the serious office of government," he in
turn was controlled by the "clever Englishman" Henry Alabaster. (Siam
Despatches, July 10, 1884.)
210) SiamDespatches, November 20, 1897.
211) In an interview with the press Barrett claimed that, "There is no truth in the
rumor that I did not expect so decisive an award or so large an .indemnity"
(Siam DesjJatches, April 9, 1898), but in earlier despatches to the Department
of State he had predicted that the American side would win on principle~but
receive only a small cash award (Siam DesjJatches, ·]an.uary 8, 1898, and
February 14, 1898).

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 95
defense of American interests. Barrett, said tbe Bangkok Times, "bas
made a,n unprecedented record as U.S. Minister in Siam, if not in all the
Far East." In bis report to the Department of State, Barrett said that
the award had vindicated his long held convictions and thanked the
Department for its support of his position, which "may £tt times have
seemed more radical than wise to its officials, abler and more experienced
than 1." A few days later Barrett wrote to say that be hoped his earlier
despatch was not "guilty of self laudation" and thaL in his euphoria over
the award be had not meant to take too much credit, credit "as much
due" to the Department and the Cheek estate lawyer as to himself. A
few days later, having thus settled all outstanding differences between
the United States and Siam and left "the field clear," Barrett turned the
American Legation over to his successor Hamilton Ki11g.212
Outside of arriving at a settlement of these two cases, Barrett's
major concern in Bangkok was the promotion of American trade in Asia,
and particularly in Siam. Soon after his· arrival Barrett had described
Siam as "the key to South Eastern Asia," and be s~w the phrase in an
economic.as well as a political sense.zt3 Barrett sent letters describing
I
Asian trade opportunities to Chambers of Commerce in New York,
Californta, and Oregon, and his letter to the New York State Chamber
of Commerce was published by that body as a twelve page pamphlet.2t4
In a long despatch Barrett outlined Siam's plans for railway construction
11nd the prospects that American firms might obtain contracts to provide
the needed equipment. Noting that British and German businessmen
were already active in the field, he suggested that Americans too should
"try for a share of the spoilsY21S (ln the published version, the
~12) SiamDespatches, April2, 1898; .April4, 1898; April?, 1898; April9, 1898
(three despatches); and April 26, 1898. The award turried out to be a somewhat
hollow victory for Cheek's heirs. Creditors in Siam immediately descended
on the estate, and the An1erican Minister reported that the indemnity
might scarcely cover the debts (Siam Despatches, September 27, 189 8, and
October 14, ·1898). Some of the award was eventually sent to the United
States.
213) Siam Despatches, June 5, 1894.
214) EnclosedinSiamDespatches,December 3,1895.
215) Siam Despatches, September 30, 1896. Barkfng back to Halderman, Barrett
cautione

96 Benjamin A. Bats.on
Department of State rewrote this phrase to read, "try for their share,"2L6)
When an American received a concession to provide electric lig.hts for
Bangkok, Barrett reported enthusiastically, but also noted that British,
French, and German agents were competing "more hotly every day"
and expressed the hope the American businessmen would "waken to the
situation."2L7 In January of 1898 he sent Washington a paper entitled
"America's Great Trade Opportunity in the Far East," suggesting that
216) United States Department of State, Consular Reports (Washington), vol. 53, no,
197 (February 1897), pp. 265-68. Despatches that were to be published were
frequently revised to omit irrelevant material' or material which might appear
less than diplomatic in print, or for stylistic reasons.
The series of Consular Repotts (1880+) contains, from 1887 onward,
numerous economic reports from the Bangkok mission. Commercial data on
Siam, largely numerical, also appeared intermittantly from !861 onward in
U.S. Department of State, Commacial Relations of the United States withForeign
Countries (Washington, 1857 + ). Reports from Bangkok not dealing directly
with commerce and trade, and often more concerned with ceremony than
substance, were occasionally printed from 1877 onward in U.S. Department
of State, Foreign Relations of the United States (Washington, 18 6! + ),
The information in Consula1· Rej)orts covers a vast number of subject~.
The American Government in the last quarter of the nineteenth century
appears to have bad an unlimited appetite for data on foreign countries, and
an endless stream of Department of State circulars instructed American
representatives in Bangkok to badger the Thai Government, often with little
or no success, for information on a bewildering array of topics, some of which
the Thai no doubt felt were no concern of the United States. A partial list
taken from Bangkok and Siam Despatches includes reports on Siam's public
health; finances; coinage; budget; military; mint; gold and silver; urban area,
fires, and fire insurance; criminal punishment; forests; tides; port taxes; sugar
duties; banking system; flags and flag regulations; passports and travel permits;
regulations for preventing sea collisions; export duties on pulpwood
exported to the United States; bankruptcy laws; civil service publications;
bounties on exports to the United States; food and drink adulteration;
telep,hones and telegraphs; tobacco laws and taxes; and census statistics. In
addition, the United States sent Siam invitations to participate in international
conferences on statistics, irrigation, postal systems, and various. other f11cets
of nineteenth century te.ohnical progress.
217) Siam Despatches, April 5, 1.&97, printed in Foreif]n Relations of the United
States, 1897, pp. 4.81-82,

AMEHICAN DlPLO~IATS JN SOUTHEAST ASIA 97
it be published. This report was based on replies to more than 100
letters of inquiry he had sent to "leading importers and exporters" all
over Asia. The consensus was that American trade prospects were
bright, but competition was fierce, 1898 was to be a crucial year, and
"delay will be fatal." A number of specific recommendations were given,
including the construction of a Nicaraguan canal, the annexation of
Hawaii, and expansion of the American merchant marine.2ls
Department of State cban~ed the title to "The Markets of the Far East"
and published it in the Consular Reports series, omitting, however, any
mention of the politically sensitive issue of Hawaiian annexation.219
The
Several important political events took place during Barrett's term
in Bangkok, in which, however, he played only a minor role.
In January
ofosl895 Crown Prince Vajirunhis, who was thought to be favorably
inclined toward the United States, suddenly died and was succeeded by
his younger half-brotber.22P
Despite this c-risis in the royal family, later
in the same month King Cbulaloogkorn announced the creation of a
nominated "Legislative Assembly," who~e functions were purely advisory
but which some saw as Siam's first step away from absolute monarchy
and towards more representative rule.
Barrett reported approvingly,
but at the same time cautioned that Siam's progress, "is yet too superficial
to be productive of extensive good and have its influence over all
218) Barrett's summary, but not the paper itself, is to be found in Sip,m Despatches,
January 26, 1898. Barrett had earlier written an article on the proposed
Nicaraguan canal and the Pacific, and when in a similar case the Department
of State pointed out that active diplomats were not supposed to write for the
press, Barrett argued that he had "only one purpose-that of building u}'
America's Comme1·cia( ir~terests in the Pactfic and Far East." (Siam Despatches,
May 25, 1897.)
219) Consular Reports, vo!. 57, no. 213 (June 1898), pp. 187-89. See also Barrett's
.. -Trade Opportunities in Siam," dated January 14, 1898, in the same volume,
no. 212 (May 1898), pp. 55-60.
2_20) Siam Despatches, January 7, 1895, and January 16, 1895. A few months
earlier the young crown prince had reportedly told Barrett, "Jf I were born
again, I should like to be born in America." (Siam Despatches, September 28,
1894.)

98 Benjamin A. Batson
classes."22I
Nonetheless Barrett gave enthusiastic support to the
program of reforms initiated by Chulalongkorn, and when the king's
1897 European tour was announced be invited Chulalongkorn to visit the
United States as well. Barrett had not cleared this proposal with Washington,
and the Department of State sent a strong reprimand when it
discovered that the minister had taken it upon himself to invite a head
of state for an official visit.222
It was also while Barrett was American Minister that Great Britain
and France signed a convention guaranteeing the territorial integrity of
the central part of Siam (but not the periphery), in order to provide a
buffer state between the Asian empires of the two European powers.
Barrett thought the agreement good for Siam, and, indirectly, for the
United States. Barrett generally had good relations with the o~er
treaty power representatives, and in contrast to the policy of some of
his predecessors, he stressed their "necessity of acting in harmony."l 23
Shortly after his arrival in Bangkok, Barrett bad reported:224
221) Siam Despatches, January 16, 1895. The following year, in a confidential
despatch, Barrett was even more pessimistic. Noting that, ''Reforms are
constantly announced but not enforced," he said that many of the Thai elite,
including some of the royal family, did not expect the government to survive,
and were making investments abroad. In particular, "I am informed on
excellent authority that the women in the palace (the best political thermometers)
are secretly negotiating such arrangements as will make them and their
property safe, if the King dies or other complications develop." (Siam
Despatches, ..\ugust 19, 1896.)
222) Barrett claimed that he had only issued the invitation after first ascertaining
that it would be declined (Siam Despatches June I, 1897).
In one report Barrett said of King Chulalongko:rn : ''He is a man who
has the respect of foreigners and natives alike. He is easily the ablest
statesman of Siam, and well fitted to be its ruler." (Consulat Reports, vol. 57,
no. 212 (May 1898), p. 60.)
223) Siam Despatches, January 30, 1896; February 18, 1896; March 2, 1896; and
August I 0, 1896. The quotation is from this last despatch, which was occa~
sioned by Barrett's becoming doyen of the diplomatic corps in Bangkok.
224) Siam Despatches, June 30, 1894. In another despatch, Barrett, "with no
intention of reflecting in any way on a predecessor," criticized Eaton's han~
dling of the Cheek case, and said that in Eaton's time "it was commonly stated
in Bangkok that the Siamese Foreign Office knew much more about the affairs
of this Legation and Consulate General than did the Department of State at
Washington." (October 22, 1895).

AMEHICAN D!PLOiYIATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
99
Without any reflection whatever on my predecessors, it would
appear to me that this Legation has been poorly managed
in a business way as well as others for some time and I
trust that I shall be able to improve the situation.
The following year Barrett sent a lengthy list of achievements tending
toward this end, adding, ''This review is submitted with no thought of
self praise and with no reflection on your representative's predecessors,
but as a resume of general facts." At the Department of State, •AAA'
gave instructions to acknowledge this conduct "as a creditable and
gratifying showing."22 5 The American community in Bangkok was
equally enthusiastic about Barrett, particularly after his diplomatic coup
in March of 1897 when agreement was reached on the methods of settling
the Cheek and Kellett cases. As the same month also saw the exit of
the Cleveland administration in Washington and the return of the Republicans,
uncertainty began to mount as to the future of nominal Democrat
Barrett. A petition asking that Barrett be kept in Siam was sent to
President McKinley. Entitled "What We Think of Him," it purportedly
was signed by all the Americans in Siam who could be reached. The
petitioners praised Barrett's record and stressed the importance of the
Bangkok post: "possibly there is no other post where the American
community is so dependent upon their Minister." Barrett himself denied
any involvement in the petition, and added that what he would really
like would be ''promotion to a cooler post," suggesting specifically Seoul
or the Pacific coast of South America.226
225) Siam Despatches, March 20, 1895. On 'AAA' (Alvey A. Adee) see note 152.
One of the accomplishments· of which Barrett was proudest was the restoration
of the legation building and grounds, done under his personal direction,
and he was mortified when in 189 7 {one year after Adee had laid down
the law about throwing more money down this "bottomless rat·h.ole"-see
note 167) a major landslide swept a considerable part of the legation grounds
into the river. (Siam Despatches, August 2, 1897, with photographs.)
226) SiamDespatches, June 10, 1897, and July 12, 1897. It will be noted that
most of the previous petitions sent from Bangkok had called for the American
representative's removal rather than retention. Barrett had uncharacteristically
good relations with all sections of the American community, although
he found "amusing" the strict moral code of the missionaries who refused to
attend a .Fourth of July celebration because it included dancing (Siam
Despatches, July 6, 1895. The early missionary Dan Bea.ch Bradley had held
that waltzing bordered on lewdness.)

100 Benjamin A. Batson
The fears of the Americans in Siam that the political cbauge in
Washington would result i~ a change of American Ministers in Bangkok
proved to be well-founded. Late in 1897, shortly after the favorable
settlement of the Kellett case had been announced, Barrett learned that
a successor bad been appointed. While he awaited the arrival of his
successor, the Cheek case award was made. Having thus left "the field
clear" for his successor, and the United States having almost simultaneously
gone to war with Spain, Barrett now bombarded Washington with
offers to serve his country.227 Ultimately his services were accepted,
and Barrett left Bangkok for the Philippines where he was both a correspondent
and an adviser to Dewey. In the opinion of his successor, he
left behind in Siam "a record of which our country may be proud." 22 S
McKinley's choice as Minister to Siam was Hamilton King. King
had been born in Newfoundland in 1852. He bad been educated at
Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan, in Germany and Greece, and bad
studied theology in Chicago. His wife was a Seward "of the old N.Y.
Seward family." From 1879 to 1898 he was principal of the preparatory
department of Olivet College. He was also active as a lecturer,preacber,
and political speaker, and published both a Greek reader and a history
of the United States. In 1896 he was a delegate to the Republican
National Convention which nominated McKinley. He went to Siam as
Minister in 1898 and served for an unprecedented 14 years, dying in
Bangkok in September of 1912. In 1903 his rank was raised from
Minister Resident and Consul-General to Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary.229 Jn 1904 be showed something of the
European scbolar•diplomat tradition when be chaired the founding
session of the Siam Society, Siam's first Western-style organization to
promote scholarly studies.
227) Siam Despatches, April 15, 1898; May 13, 1898; and June 20, 1898. The
April 15 telegram to Secretary of State John Sherman read in part, "Can do
anything. Trust judgment caution. Please command me."
228) Sil;unDespa.tches, May 9, 1898.
229) In the early period of Siam's formal relations with Western nations the United
States had taken the lead in raising the rank of its representative in Bangkok,
but the French in 1898 were the first to raise the title of their representative
to Minister Plenipotentiary (Siam Despatches, August 10, 1898).

A~IEHICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 101
King's term in Bangkok belongs mainly to the twentieth century,
but several political and economic developments of significance took
place during his first years in Siam. One of his first despatches from
Bangkok was the not unexpected news that Siam would remain neutral
in the Spanish-American War. In another despatch King noted
Siam's uneasiness under extraterritorial jurisdiction when
she realizes her own progress and Japan's recently acquired
freedom.
He attributed Siam's increasing assertiveness in part to23 o
The fact that Great Britain's policy here is to sacrifice the
individual subjects' rights and to yield on minor affairs that
she may appear in contrast with her rival the French who
perhaps are at times open to the criticism of severity.
The rivalry between Great Britain and France, King believed, had given
Germany an opportunity to compete with the other Western powers for
economic and political influence in Siam, and with considerable success
in both fields,23! American trade meanwhile languished, but King held
out the same optimistic prospects for the Siam market which so many
of his predecessors has touted,232 He sent the .Department of State a
clipping from the Siam Free Press which noted that in 1899 the United
States had for the first time surpassed Great Britain in export trade, an9
declared the United States now to be the leading commercial nation of
the world. As evidence of America's changed role the paper cited her
new colonial policy, programs to build up the ~rmy, navy, and merchant
marine, and American determination to construct as Isthmian canaJ.23 3
King was also involved in long exchanges with the Thai Government
over an alleged clerk's error in the computation of the Cheek
·award,234 and he advised the Thai Government on the development of
230) Siam Despatches, December 21, 1899.
231) Siam Despatches, October 29, 1900.
232) Siani Despatches, June 20, 1900;
233) Siam Despatches, July 11, 1900.
234) Cf. Siam Despatches, December 29, 1899• T)!.e Siam Free Press published a
"muddled" account from theW ashington Times in which it was alleged that a
campaign of vilification against Minister King in Bangkok was being directed
by Ba'rrett and Cheek (Siam Despatches, ·oecember 2, 1898). Barrett and King
were apparently on good terms, and Cheek had been dead sirice 1895.

102 Benjamin A. Batson
education. King had been a professional educator in the United States,
and he wrote "An Outline of An Educational System for Siam" which
be forwarded to King Chulalongkorn through Prince Vajirayan, a
leading monk and later Prince Patriarch of the Buddhist religion in Siam.
But it is unlikely that King's ideas significantly influenced the development
of education in Siam; he started with the false premise that "there
is as yet absolutely no Educational system in this country," and reached
the dubious conclusion (in a letter to Prince Vajirayan) that it "is but a
simple endeavor to accommodate the general principles of a system that
has done so much for Japan to the circumstances that at present exist in
Siam."235
Several important developments also took place at the American
Legation in Bangkok. Late in 1898 King sent the first typed despatch
to originate at the Bangkok Legation, a landmark for historians if not for
diplomats, 23 6 and King requested and received a salary increase,23 7 Also,
in 1899 Lawrence E. Bennett arrived to fill the office of United States
Vice-Consul General, apparently the first time that any consular official
in Bangkok other than the bead of mission was sent from the United
States rather than being recruited Iocally.238
VI. Conclusions
America's representatives in Siam in the nineteenth century had a
number of common charactertics, ranging from minor points like bad
23 5) Siam Desp,ztches, June 14, 1900, and September 25, 1900. King's "Outline"
was enclosed in the latter despatch, but was forwarded to the Department of
the Interior and is not in the Department of State file.
236} Siam Despatches, November 8, 1898. The message concerned the claims to
American citizenship of Chinese who said, but were unable to prove, that they
had been born in the United States.
237) Siam Despatches, December 7, 1898, and June 14, 1900. In the first despatch
King asked for an increase but said that he was not complaining, since he had
taken the job "with my eyes wide open." (See also note 1 76.)
238) Siam Despatches, October 10, 1899. The meager, underpaid staff of the
American mission, compared with the large contingents sent to Bangkok by
.the Europeanpowers, ·was a frequent cause of complaint by American representatives
throughout the nineteenth century.

AMERiCAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 103
handwriting and poor spelling to more important matters of outlook and
policy. They generally had a low opinion of their predecessors and, in
the case of those like Chandler who remained on .the scene, their succe.s~
sors as well. The resulting personal disputes were undoubtedly one of
the major reasons the Bangkok mission was such a "thorn in the side of
the Government." They were surprisingly inexperienced; of the whole
lengthy list of American representatives to 1900 (excluding the three
special agents who came to negotiate treaties) apparently none bad prior
diplomatic service, with the exception .of Partridge who had been sent
on the abortive Mexican mission. So far as is known, none except
Barrett served as American officials abroad after their term in Siam
(King of course died while still serving in Bangkok.) Rather than diplomatic
experience, domestic polical considerations would seem to have
been the basis on which the Bangkok representatives were chosen.
Unfortunately it often is not know exactly how these political influences
operated, but in most cases there is enough evidence to make it clear
that appointments depended mainly on party service and ties to influential
politicians.
America's representatives in Siam in the nineteenth centuryalso
shared in large measure a common w;orld view. They were convinced
of Western superiority, technologically, intellectually, and morally, and
like John Quincy Adams they believed that free trade was as much an
ethical issue as an economic issue. They were part of a developing consensus
in late nineteenth century America that not only the nation's
economic health but also its social and political stability depended on
finding foreign markets for the flood of goods resulting from the rapid
increases in American industrial productivity. Three aspects of this
view of the world and America's place in it are particularly marked in
the records of Amercan diplomats in Bangkok: their commercial orientation,
their low opinion of the Thai, and their 'belief in the efficacy of
gunboat diplomacy.
American diplomats in Siam in the nineteenth century saw themselves
largely as commer.cial agents. In 1859 when Chandler sent a
valuable analysis of Siam's recent history and current political situation,
he added in a covering letter: 239
239) Bangko!l Despatches, September 28, 1859.

104 Benjamin A. Batson
I must confess that I have doubts as to the propriety of
writing much except on strictly commercial affairs.
A large part of the flow of information from Bangkok to Washington
concerned commercial affairs,240 as did most of the information the
American Government published on Siam.24t Sickels, "Deeming it to
be my duty to use my official influence to extend American commerce,"
was particularly industrious in promoting American trade. 242 As was
seen above, he thought his efforts had "not been appreciated by the
Department of State."243 Halderman, while deploring too "rosy" a view
of American commercial prospects in Siam, advocated measures to improve
America's competitive position, including a government-sponsored
merchant marine. 244 Sempronius Boyd was almost lyrical about the
great Siam market and the economic potential of this "Sleeping
Giant." 245 Barrett, reporting to the Department of State on the development
of American trade, noted that "In every way consistent with his
position your representative bas facilitated this progress," and recommended
that American capitalists "try for a share of the spoils." His
letter writing campaigns to promote these goals, and the proposals for
tbe construction of a Nicaraguan canal, the annexation of Hawaii, and
the expansion of the American merchant marine have been discussed
above.246
A second point upon which American diplomats in Siam in the
nineteenth century were practically unanimously agreed was their low
240) A larger part than may appear from this paper, perhaps, for strictly commer­
Cii!! reports were usually in the series of Bangkol~ Despatches, which has been
used only occasionally after the commencement of the Siam Despatches series
inl882. ·
241) See note 216.
242) Bangkok Despatches, March 12, 18 77.
243) Bangkok Despatches, September 7, 1880. See also his despatches of April 15,
1878; June 12, 1878; August 25, 1878; June 21, 1880; and September 29,
1880.
244) BangkokDcspatches, February 7, 1881.
245) SiamDespatches, February 7, 1891, and March 13, 1891. But see also his
less sanguine view of current realities in his despatch of February 28, 1891.
246) SiamDespatches, March 20, 1895; December 3, 1895; September 30, 1896;
and January 26, 1898.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 105
optniOn of Siam, its government, and its people.247 In 1831, in one of
the earliest reports to deal with Siam, Shillaber, the American Consul in
Batavia, described the Thai as a "conceited and arrogant people" "who
.appear not to have the least idea of the value oftime."24 8 Townsend
Harris249 and subsequent America representatives were even more
outspoken in their views, while as a critic of Siam General Partridge was
in a class by himself. zs o
With Sickels American opinion of the Thai began to improve,2s1
although he could write about "The barbaric laws and customs of
this country" and despair (in discussing plans for Ki11g Chulalongkorn's
trip to the United States, which was subsequently cancelled) that,
"Nothing in Siam is certain until it has transpired."252 Child, like
Sickels, was generally sympathetic toward Siam,2 5 3 but still complained
of "the outlawry and demoralization prevailing here," and, in reporting
247) This phenomenon was by no means limited to Siam. With a few exceptions
nineteenth century American representatives were impartially derogatory
of Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans.
248) Martin, "A History," p. 7. See also the comments of Edmund Roberts in his
Embassy to the East em Courts, pp. 227-318.
249) The extreme virulence of some of Harris' opinions may in part be because he
was writing in his private journal, while the records of other diplomats come
mainly from the semi-public diplomatic files. Harris was frequently as
critical of the Japanese as he was of the Thai, although he has acquired a
somewhat spurious reputation as the first American who understood and
admired Japan and its people.
250) See for example Chandler's despatch of March 31, 1859 (on the other hand,
in a despatch of August 18, 1860, he wrote that, "The Siamese are the most
enterprising people of India," "India" being used in its nineteenth century
sense, which often included all of South and Southeast Asia); Hood's despatches
of October 21, 1866, March IS, 1867, and November 2~, !867; and
. Partridge's despatches of March 14, 1870, January 21, 1876, February 21,
18 76, February 29, 1876, June 8, 187 6, and June 24, 18 76.
2H) Cf. BangkokDespatches, March 12, 1877, where Sickels describes the Thai as
"ignorant and superstitious" but not "bigoted nor intolerant," and lists other
virtues as well.
252) Bang:kok Despatches, January 3, 1880, and December 19, 1879.
253) This was particularly true in his published work, The Pear.l of Asia (see note
171).

106 Benjamin A. Batson
on Siam's gold mines, the "thousands of human lives sacrificed, to the
greed of the nobles in their endeavor to obtain the precious metai."2S4
The elder Boyd held that "no Government on the face of the Earth, is
so tardy in attending to Government affairs as Siam." 255 In a despatch
dealing specifically with railroads be wrote :2 5 6
If what is published is true, the Rail Road Department is
more corrupt, and filthy, than the fabulous Stable of Augeas,
and no Hercules, to clean it out. This is a Kingdom of
Holidays, Festivals, luxuries, and extravagance for the better
class, and I regret to say penury, want, slavery, ignorance,
and punishment for the great masses of the people.
The younger Boyd concurred that Siam's "present mode of administration
could not be much worse."2s7
Minister Barrett often had praise for Siam and its people, but be
too could take a darker view, especially when negotiations in the Cheek
case seemed stalled. He was particularly vexed that the Belgian adviser
to the Thai Government, Rolin-Jacquemyns "treats the Siamese in all
his letters and remarks as if they were a people like and equal to the
chief races of Europe and America."258 On the contrary, "there appears
to be little sense of honor, as we interpret the word, in either high or
low classes." The government, Barrett wrote, was a collection of
"European functionaries and loafing proteges." The problem was a
"simple lack of administration. Reforms are constantly announced but
not enforced."259 On the people be reported :260
254) SiamDespatches, September 30, 1887, and March 13, 1888.
255) SiamDespatches, November 20, 1891.
256) SiamDespatches 1
November 12, 1891.
257) Siam Despatches, September 5, 1893.
258) Siam Despatches, May 10, 189 5. Barrett did, with reluctance, restrain himself
from making this argument to the Thai Government. See also his similar
remark in a despatch of January 17, 1895, in which hesaidthatRolin­
Jacquemyns had forgotten that he was "not defending the acts and deeds of
men of a thoroughly civilized nation. He makes a foreign defense of native
errors."
259) Siam Despatches, June 11, 1895; July 28, 1895; and August 19, 1896.
260) Siam Despatches, August 10, 1896. In a margin note Adee instructed tb~t thi§
despatch be acknowled~ed "as read with attentioq,"

AMEIUGAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASJA
107
In some respects they are equal to the Japanese and in most
respects ahead of the Chinese, in the acceptance of approved
foreign ideas of progress, but they lack apparently ambition,
and the power of action and achievement to carry out plans
and promises.
In a despatch refuting some of the wilder stories about King Chulalongkorn•s
private life that appeared in the American press at the time of
the king's first European tour, Barrett had good words for the king, the
crown prince, and the queen regent. Even the king's bodyguard were
"quite smart in appearance for Orientals." "The Government," be
concluded, "as well as the eli mate, also may have its serious faults but
those do not need to be discussed here. "261
Even Hamilton King, a model diplomat who seldom said anything
that could offend anyone, occasionally applied the standard of"approved
foreign ideas of progress" and found the Thai wanting. In recommending
a stratagem of dubious justice by which the United States could recover
the loss occasioned by a clerical error in the Cheek case, King justified
his position on tbe grounds that "the moral code of the Orient and the
moral code of the Occident resemble each other in name."262 And when
a revolt broke out in northern Siam in 1902, King reported to Washington
on the pacification measures of the Thai Government :26 3
Little Siam is doing all she

108 Benjamin A. Batson
the Government to its senses."2 6 4
journal :2 65
The irascible Harris noted in his
The proper way to negotiate with the Siamese is to send two
or three men-of-war of not more than sixteen feet draft of
water. Let them arrive in October and at once proceed up to
Bangkok and fire their salutes. In such a case the Treaty
would not require more days than I have consumed weeks.
Mattoon, the missionary and man of peace, reported to Washington that
a French envoy had arrived accompanied by a ship which could cross
the bar and come up to Bangkok, "a circumstance of no little importance
in negotiating with such a people as the Siamese."266 Chandler recommended
an American naval visit "at least once a year;-twice a year
would be better,"267 and Westervelt wrote to Secretary Seward that, "It
is a good thing to keep the Siamese impressed of the power of a Nation,
by frequently exhibiting their forces.'•26s Hood also concurred : 2 69
Could we have an American Man of War here occasionally,
I could manage to adjust difficulties arising between American
citizens and Siamese subjects, with much less trouble and
delay, than I now have.
264) This view also was not limited to Siam. Even before leaving the United
States for his post in Brunei, Consul Moses asked for an American naval display,
citing the case of Siam as an example of the effectiveness of such
action-:
The people of Siam, though not so warlike as the Malays,
exhibited a far more friendly feeling towards Americans after the
installment of Mr. Chandler as Consul by the U.S. Ship San­
Jacinto; in fact the life of an American was not safe prior to that
event.
(Bnmai Despatches, August 24, 1864. On the. last assertion, an unidentified
Department of State hand replied in the margin, "Not So." The "San Jacinto''
--was-tlie sblp on which Townsend Harris triweled to Siam, and the consul
installed was of course not Chandler but Mattoon.)
265) Cosenza, ed., Journal, p. 15 3. Vessels of shallow draft were required so tha:t
they could cross the bar at the' mouth ofthe river and go up to the capital.
266) BangkokDesjiatches, August 21, 1856.
26 7) Bangkok Desj>atches, March 31, 18 59. This despatch also reported that an
American rice mill was in "successfull opperation," an extreme but not atypical
example of Chandler's spelling;
268) BcmgkokDespatches, April 30, 1862.
26 9) Bangkok Despatches, October 21, 18 6 6.

AMEHICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 109
Partridge was predictably strong in his views. In 1870, convinced that
the Thai were trying to evade their treaty obligations, he wrote to the
Department of State, "I believe the mere presence of an American Man
of War at this port, would do more to settle these vexed questions than
Rivers of Ink." And six years later, at odds with the Thai Government
over its refusal to deal with his son, he wrote to Admiral Reynolds;27o
I find nothing but the presence of a Force in in the river, will
enable me to bring the Government to its senses... I am
quite certain we shall not have to use force, but we must
show it.
Even at the end of the century when, despite the successful French resort
to force in 1893, gunboat diplomacy was beginning to be somewhat passe
in Asia, Minister Barrett was still practicing the art. His early failure
and his later success have been discussed above. Barrett lamented tbe
fact that the American flag at the legation was "becoming very lonesome,"
and advised Washington that, "In these semi.beathen lands there is no
doubt that the visits of gunboats do have a salutary effect." 271
To summarize, American diplomats in Sia.m in the nineteenth
century had no special qualifications and a notable lack of experience.
Their appointments were for the most part a result of political ties. In
the thirty years following the Civil War they came largely from military
backgrounds, finding a career alternative to 1 'going to seed at some
Indian fort." They shared the intellectual assumptions common to most
Westerners of their day, including an almost religious belief in the
economic and political necessity of a growing export trade, an equally
firm belief in the moral, cultural, and technical superiority of the West,
and a consequent belief tbat only force could compel civilized behavior
from "these semi-heathen lands."
Given these characteristics, it is not surprising that Thai-American
official relations were erratic at best, 2 72 and that the Bangkok mission
270) BanglwkDesptttches, March 14,1870, and February 21,1876.
271). Siam Despatchiu, August 17, 1896, and July 20, 1894.
272) It should be noted that Great Britain, whose interests in Siam were much larger
than those of the United States, had similar problems with her official representatives.
Britain's first consul in Bangkok died within a few months of

110 Benjamin A. Batson
long remained a "thorn" in the side of Washington. Some shift in the
direction of a more capable and professional diplomacy is evident in the
last decade of the century, but for the period as a whole America's
relations with Siam would seem to have remained satisfactory more in
spite of than because of the activities of American representatives in
Bangkok.273
his arrival. His successor was Robert H. Schomburgk, reportedly a Prussian
protege of Prince Albert who had difficulty with the English language
CBangkokDesj>atches, August 25, 18 59, and December 20, I 861). Schomburgk
was followed by Thomas Knox, "a penniless adventurer" who had reportedly
left India "under a cloud'' to take a minor position in Siam. His meteoric
rise to British Consul-General and his long tenure in the post were apparently
due to political influence at home; he was constantly on bad terms with the
Thai Government, and with much of the Western community in Siam as well.
After a particularly bitter dispute with the Thai Government his actions were
disavowed by London and he was recalled. (On Knox see Bangkok Despatches,
April tO, 1871; May 30, 1879; October 3, 1879; and March 19, 1880; and
note 130.) In the 1880's another British Consul was sent off to'a post in ''a
cut-throat South American republic," and the Bangkof~ Times noted with
satisfaction that so many British consular officials who had formerly served
in Bangkok had been sent to virtual exile il). minor Latin American posts that
the continent was becoming a diplomatic "penal colony." (Bangkok Times,
December 1, 1888. See also the issues of February 4, 1888, and February 8,
1888,)
For a detailed account of British-That relations in the nineteenth century
see Manich Jumsai, History of Anglo-Thai Relations (Bangkok, 1970), esp. pp.
32-256.
It would appear that France was better served by her official representatives
in the nineteenth century. French Consuls and Ministers in Bangkok,
because they were agents of their country's forward policy, were not popular
with the Thai Government, but the group included a number of able men,
among them Pavie,
273). Perhaps the three main factors contributing to the relatively good over-all
relations that existed between Siam and the United States in the nineteenth
century were a common interest in the maintenance of Siam as an independent
state, Thai recognition of the useful works of American missionaries, and the
relative unimportance of American economic and political interests in Siam
compared to tbo.se pf the major European powers.

AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 111
APPENDIX
Heads of the American Diplomatic Mission in Siam in the Nineteenth Century
Treaty Missions:
Edmund Roberts 1833
Joseph Balestier 1850
Townsend Harris 1856
Resident Diplomats:
Stephen Mattoon 1856-1859
[H. Rives Pollard] [1858-1860]
•
John Hassett Chandler 1859-1862
Aaron J. Westervelt 1861-1863
(George W. Virgin) (1863-1865)
[A. Wood] [ 1864]
James M. Hood 1865-1869
(Noah A. McDonald) (1868-1869)
Frederick W. Partridge 1869-1876
(W.L. Hutchinson) (1876)
David B. Sickels 1876-1880
John A. Halderman 1880-1885
(Noah A. McDonald) (1881-1882)
(Noah A. McDonald) (1885-1886)
Jacob T. Child 1886-1891
(C.J. Child) (1888-1889)
[Alex C. Moore] [1890]
Sempronius H. Boyd 1890-1893
(L.A. Eaton) (1892-1893)
(Robert M. Boyd) ( 1893-1894)
John Barrett 1894-1898
Hamilton King 1898-1912
Source : Bangkok Despatches and Siam Despatches. Those in brackets were offered
appointments but never went to Siam; those in parentheses were acting
representatives. Several who served in an acting capacity for very brief
periods have been omitted. Because of time required for tr!lnsit, or leaves
9f al;>sence 1
the dates may overlap.

LES DROITS DES MINORITES NATIONALES
DANS LA CONSTITUTION BIRMANE DE 1947
Par
Martial Dasse
C'est officiellement le ler janvier 1886, que le royaume independant
d'Ava fut annexe par la Grande-Bretagne et incorpore, sous le nom de
Birmanie, a l'Empire britannique des lndes.
Toutefois, une difference fut faite entre la Birmanie proprement
dite, c'est a dire les plaines centrales habitees par l'etbnie birmane, eh
les Regions Frontieres peuplees par des minorites ethniques ayant un
degre de civilisation moins eleve. Celles-ci, les Etats Federes Shans,
l'Etat Karenni, le district de la Sal ween, a population Karen, et les autres
regions passerent sous !'administration directe du gouverneur anglais de
la Birmanie, qui herita ainsi de l'autorite, dans une grande mesure
purement nominate, du roi d'Ava sur ces regions.
Durant la deuxieme guerre mondiale, les Birmans virent, dans la
defaite britannique devant le Japon, !'occasion de devenir independauts.
Ils collaborerent avec !'occupant nippon qui favorisa cette evolution,
trouvant la un moyen d'affirmer sa domination. Ce fut Ia creation de
l'Armee pour 1'1ndependance de Ia Birmanie, A.I.B. (Burma Independence
Army), en 1941, et la declaration de 1'independance, le ler aoOt 1943.
L'Etat Karenni et les Etats Shans, a !'exception des regions de
Kentung et Mongpan, cedees a la Thallande, furent rattaches ala
Birmanie proprement dite. Des contacts furent egalement pris avec les
Karens qui, jusque la, etaient demeures fideles aux Anglais et avaient
participe ala creation de maquis contre l'envahisseur.
A Ia fin de la guerre, le general Aung-San, l'un des fondateurs de
l'A.I.B., dominait Ia scene politique. 11 s'etait finalement retourrie
contre les nippons, qui montraient trop d'exigences, et, a leur defaite,
faisait figure de liberateur. 11 reclama l'independanc:e, qu' apres.
quelques hesitations 1 la Orande-Bret~gne lui accorda.

LES Dl\Ol'J'S DES MINOlllTES NATIONALES 113
Toutefois, le difficile probleme des minorites ethniques ne fut pas
resolu pour autant. Le general Aung-San leur promit de respecter leur
integrite et une constitution de type federaliste fut adoptee en 1947.
En effet, les minorites ethniques de Birmanie sent trop nombreuses
pour pouvoir ~tre ignorees. Elles sont homogenes, concentrees dans
des regions aux pourtours relativement precis, formant ainsi de veritables
Etats. Il s'agissait done, par la constitution, de respecter et
consacrer cet etat de chases, mais egalement d'en preciser Ies limites.
Une solution convenant apparemment a la situation fut adoptee.
Les anciennes Regions Frontieres seraient erigees en Etat et conserveraient
leur autonomie interne, mais la Birmanie proprement dite aurait
la preponderance sur ces dernieres sans ~tre, elle-meme, consideree
comme un Etat. Au niveau du Parlement existeraient deux Cbambres,
la Cbambre des Deputes et la Chambre des Nationalites ou, tbeoriquement,
les differentes ethnies pourraien t exprimer leur point de vue et
defendre leurs inter~ts specifiques.
1. Les negociations preliminaires
L'adhesion des minorites ethniques se fit en deux temps. Le
gouvernement provisoire du general Aung-San eut d'abord a les convaincre
de sa bonne foi et de son desir de respecter leurs caracteristiques.
Ensuite, une Commission d'enquMc fut chargee de verifier les sentiments
reels de ces peuples et de determiner le cadre general de leur place
future dans la constitution.
(a)
Les Accords de Panglong
Apres la defaite japonaise, le gouvernement britannique expliqua
sa nouvelle politique envers la Birmanie dans un Livre Blanc, pub lie le
17 mai 1945.
Une periode de trois annees, au maximum, sera it instauree, pendant
laquelle le pays serait place sous un regime d'administration du gouverneur,
assiste d'un Conseil Executif et, peut-~tre m~me, d'un Conseil
Legislatif. La constitution serait preparee, en vue de l'iodependance au
sein du Commonwealth.!
1 l F. Dore, Les regimes politiques en Asie, p. 84-8 5.
Property of the
Siam Society's Libran
BANGKOl\

114 Martial Dasse
Ainsi, la Grande-Bretagne refusait de reconnaitre le gouvernement
provisoire du general Aung-San et posait ensuite les principes devant
etre appliques aux. Regions Frontieres. "L'adrninistration des Regions
Frontieres, c'est-a-dire les Etats Sbans et toutes les zones rnontagneuses
habitees par des peuples differents, par leur langue, leurs coutumes .et
leur degre de developpement politique, des Birmans seront, pour le
moment, soumis a un regime special, sous l'autorite du Gouverneur,
jusqu'a ce que Ies habitants montrent leur desir de !'integration de leurs
territoires, so us une forme appropriee, a vee la Birmanie proprement
dite". 2
Un directeur et une administration pour les Regions Frontieres,
ayant leur siege a Rangoon, furent nommes afin de prendre en charge
ces regions. Les Etats Shans furent places sous l'autorite de deux.
Residents ayant sous leurs ordres plus de quarante assistants, presque
tous anglais, et les autres regions sous l'autorite de deux vice-commissaires,3
Ces mesures furent reaffirmees lorsque le nouveau gouverneur
britannique, M. Rance, entra en fonctions le 16 octobre 1945. A
!'occasion d'un discours public, il proclama son intention de suivre Ia
ligne politique detinie dans le Livre Blanc. 4
Cette politique s'explique par le fait que Ia Grande-Bretagne
pensait qu'elle serait accueillie avec gratitude par un peuple la considerant
comme le pays liberateur de !'oppression japonaise. 5
En fait, cela provoqua Ia colere des Birmans, des emeutes eclaterent
et bientOt des greves paralyserent toute l'activite du pays.
La Ligue Antifasciste du Peuple pour Ia Liberte (Anti-Fascist
People's Freedom League) eut peur de perdre l'appui des peuples minoritaires,
dont elle ne s'etait guere occupee jusque la, car les rapports
entretenus jusgu'alors avec ces populations se limitaient a de fragiles
2} J. S. Furnivall, The governance ofmodern Burma, p. 93.
3) ~,: -ibid-
4) J. Silverstein, The struggle for national unity in Burma, These .. · Cornell
University-1960, p. 116.
S) J.F. Cady, A history of modern Burma, p. SOS.

LES DRO!TS DES M!NOR!TES NAT!ONALES 115
contacts. C'est pourquoi, des janvier 1946, les representants de la
Ligue6 essayerent de gagner l'appui des roinorites, concurrences en cela
par le gouverneur Rance.
Le gouverneur et le general Aung-San allerent ensemble assister a
la celebration de la victoire des Kachins et alors que le premier les
remercia pour leur fidelite durant les epreuves de laguerre et leur promit
une aide finaociere pour la construction d'ecoles et d'b6pitaux, le second
leur demanda de se joindre a la lutte pour l'independance menee par les
Birmans.7
Pensant tirer profit de cette rivalite, les Shans organiserent ]a
premiere Conference de Panglong, en mars 1946, a laquelle participerent
les trente-quatre Sabopas (chefs ou princes) de l'Etat Shan, des representan
ts de la Ligue et du gouverneur britannique. Les Sbans avaient
egalement invite des representants des minorites Karens, Kacbins et
Chins en tant qu'observateurs.
Le but de la Conference etait de discuter les projets sociaux,
culturels et medicaux concernant les Etats Shans. Les representants
anglais repeterent leur intention de "garder !'administration des Regions
Frontieres, com me cela etait le cas dans le passe, sous le controle direct
du gouverneur". Toutefois, ils envisagerent la possibilite d'une future
union avec la Birmanie proprement dite.s
Devant cette menace d'aide a une division de la Birmanie, durant
mai et juin, le general Aung-San protesta aupres des Britanniques qui
peu apres cederent et declarerent, qu'au contraire, ils voulaient unir
toutes les minorites avec la Birmanie.9
6) Les maladresses commises par les officiers de l'armee japonaise, nouveaux
maitres du pays, provoquerent un ~mouvement progressif de resistance dont les
difft!rents elements se reunirent, en septembre 1944, dans cette organisation ..
Toutes les tendances etaient groupees autour de Aung-San, formant de la sorte
un Front National ou Front Pop1,1laire. Les principaux groupes en. etaient le
parti communiste, !'Organisation des Volontaires du Peuple (People's Volunteers
Organization), des ligues telles que celles de la jeunesse ou de differentes
minorites · ·
7) J. Silverstein, Thhe cit., p. 132.
8) J. Silverstein, These cit., La Birmanie proprement dite, par opposition aux
Regions Frontieres, est constituc!e par la zone habitee par l'ethnie birmane.

116 Martial Dasse
Les Karens, effrayes par la force grandissante de Ia Ligue et ayant
peur d'etre abandonnes des Anglais, resolurent d'envoyer en juillet une
mission a Londres afin de defendre leurs inten~~ts aupres du gouvernement.
Cette attitude s'explique car !'opposition entre Karens et Birmans
est traditionnelle et la colonisation se traduisit pour eux, plutot comme
une protection contre Ies Birmans, que comme une domination. C•est
pourquoi, durant la deuxieme guerre mondiale, ils se montrerent toujours
fideles aux Anglais. A pres la defaite de ces derniers contre les Japooais,
les Karens organiserent, sous la direction du commandant Hugh Seagrim,
un groupe de resistance dans les montagnes du district de Ia Salween.9
Cette conduite les fit qualifier de collaborateurs par les Birmans qui
deciderent de les cbatier.
En 1942, l'A.I.B. organisa une expedition punitive. Le 21 mars 1
150 hommes de l'A.I.B. arriverent a Papun, en pays Karen, accuserent
ceux-ci d'etre pro-Anglais et demanderent la remise de leurs annes. Le
4 avril, le cbeflocal de l'A.I.B., Boh Nya Na, fut tue dans une embuscade.
Le lendemain mat in, 1' A.I.B., a titre de represailles, fusilla 17 Karens.
Plus tard, elle en executa encore !50. I o D'autres incidents de guerre se
produisirent encore, rendant impossible une reconciliation la paix
revenue.
C'est pourquoi, !a mission conduite par Saw Ba U Gyi re9ut trois
objectifs: remercier les Anglais et Ies Americains de l'aide apportee
dans le passe, etablir des relations commerciales avec l'Angleterre, ces
deux premiers buts n'etant, en realite, destines qu'a cacber la veritable
raison du voyage qui etait de discuter de favon officieuse de la possibilite
decreer un Etat Karen independant de Ia Birmanie,II les Karens voulant,
de cette fa9on, se placer sous la protection anglaise contre une future
domination birmane fort previsible.
Dans un livre intitule "Le cas des Karens" (The case for the
Karens), les Karens exposaient toutes les souffrances subies par leur race
du fait des Birmans et, en particulier, les incidents de 1942.
9) B. Crozier, The Rebels, p. 86
10) -ibid.-
11) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 553

LES DROITS DES l\llNORITES NAT!ONALES 117
Finalemen~, la delegation presenta ses revendications et demanda
qu'un Acte Special du .Parlement etablisse un Etat Karen, distinct de
l'Etat birman, dote d'une constitution liberale, ayant un acces a Ia mer,
ou que le m~me Etat Karen puisse rejoindre une Federation des Btats
des Regions Frontieres, toujours separee de Ia Birmanie et ayant le
statut de dominion du Common wealth.12 ·
Bien qu'une partie de l'opinion britannique soutint ces revendications,
le gouvernement ies rejeta et lorsque la delegation se retira, en
decembre, hors un appui moral, cUe n'avait rien obtenu.
Pendant ce temps, devant le flechissement anglais, en octobre et
novembre, le general Au'ng-San et Thakin Nu (le futur Premier Ministre),
entreprirent une tournee des Regions Frontieres demandant aux peuples
les habitant de se grouper a l'interieur d'un Conseil Supr~roe des Peuples
Montagnards Unis, C.S.P.M.U. (Supreme Council of the United Hill
People). Un embryon du Conseil rencontra le general Aung-San a
Panglong en novembre et apporta son soutien a celui-ci en Ia personne
de Sao Shwe Thaike, Pr~sident du Conseil Supreme provisoire, d'origine
Sban.13
Des le 10 novembre, ayant ainsi assure ses arrieres, la Ligue
posait un ultimatum en trois points au gouvernement anglais:
1. Election d'une Assemblee Constituante en avril 1947;
2. Inclusion des representants des peuples minoritaires dans cette
Assemblee;
3. Proclamation, avant le 31 janvier 1947, que la Bi~manie serait
totaleruent independante d'ici a un an.l4
Immediatement apres cette declaration le general Aung-San refit
une tournee dans les R6gions Frontieres ~din de preciser que, si leurs
habitants se joignaient 'a la future Birmanie independante, Us beneficieraient
d'une autonomic complete, du droit de secession et que, d'une
fac;:on.generale, les droits des minorites seraient proteges.I 5
12) -ibid.-
13) F.N. Trager. Burma: from kingdom to independence, p. 82
14) J,F, Cady, op. cit., p.- 539
15) -ibid,-;-· 1 i.

116 Martial Dasse
Les Karens, effrayes par la force grandissante de Ia Ligue et ayant
peur d'etre abandonnes des. Anglais, resolurent d'envoyer en juillet une
mission a Londres afin de defendre leurs interets aupres du gouverne.
rnent.
Cette attitude s'explique car !'opposition entre Karens et Birmans
est traditionnelle et Ia colonisation se traduisit pour eux, plutot comme
une protection contre Ies Birmans, que comrne une domination. C•est
pourquoi, durant la deuxierne guerre mondiale, ils se montrerent toujours
fideles aux Anglais. Apres la defaite de ces derniers contre les Japonais,
les Karens organiserent, sous la direction du commandant Hugh Seagrim,
un groupe de resistance dans les montagnes du district de Ia Salween.9
Cette conduite Ies fit qualifier de collaborateurs par les Birmans qui
deciderent de les cbatier.
En 1942, 1' A. I. B. organisa une expedition punitive. Le 2 I mars,
150 hommes de l'A.I.B. arriverent a Papun, en pays Karen, accuserent
ceux-ci d'etre pro-Anglais et demanderent Ia remise de leurs arrnes. Le
4 avril, le chef local de l'A.I.B., Bob Nya Na, fut tue dans une embuscade.
Le lendemain matin, l'A.I.B., a titre de represailles, fusilla 17 Karens.
Plus tard, elle en executa encore !50. I o D'autres incidents de guerre se
produisirent encore, rendant impossible une reconciliation la paix
revenue.
C'est pourquoi, Ia mission conduite par Saw Ba U Gyi reyut trois
objectifs: remercier les Anglais et les Americains de !'aide apportee
dans le passe, eta blir des relations commerciales a vee 1' Angle terre, ces
deux premiers buts n'etant, en realite, destines qu'a cacber la veritable
raison du voyage qui etait de discuter de fat;on officieuse de Ia possibilite
decreer un Etat Karen independant de Ia Birmanie,u les Karens voulant,
de cette fat;on, se placer sous Ia protection anglaise contre une future
domination birmane fort previsible.
Dans un livre intitule "Le cas des Karens" (Tbe case for the
Karens), les Karens exposaient toutes les souffrances subies par leur race
du fait des Birmans et, en particulier, les incidents de 1942. ·
9) B. Crozier, The Rebels, p. 86
10) -ibid.-
II) J.F. Cad~op. ciL,p. 553

LES DROITS DES MINORlTES NATJONALES 117
Finalement, la delegation presenta ses revendications et demanda
qu'un Acte Special du Parlement etablisse un Etat Karen, distinct de
l'Etat birman, dote d'une constitution liberale, ayant un acces a Ia mer,
ou que le meme Etat Karen puisse rejoindre une Federation des Etats
des Regions Frontieres, toujours separee de la Birmanie et ayant le
statut de dominion du Commonwealtb.12 ·
Bien qu'une partie de l'opinion britannique soutint ces revendications,
le gouvernement les rejeta et lorsque la delegation se retira, en
decembre, hors un appui moral, elle n'avait rien obtenu.
Pendant ce temps, devant le flechissement anglais, en octobre et
novembre, le general Au'ng-San et Thakin Nu (le ftitur Premier Ministre),
entreprirent une tournee des Regions Frontieres demandant aux peuples
les habitant de se grouper a l'interieur d'un Conseil Supreme des Peuples
Montagnards Unis, C.S.P.M.U. (Supreme Council of the United Hill
People). Un embryon du Conseil rencontra le general Aung-San a
Panglong en novembre et apporta son soutien a celui-ci en Ia personne
de Sao Shwe Tbaike, Pr6sident du Conseil Supreme provisoire, d'origine
Sban.I3
Des le 10 novemb~e,
ayant ainsi assure ses arrieres, la Ligue
posait un ultimatum en trois points au gouvernement anglais:
1. Election d'une Assemblee Constituante en avril1947;
2. Inclusion des representants des peuples minoritaires dans cette
Assemblee;
3. Proclamation, avant le 31 janvier 1947, que la Birmanie serait
totalement independante d'ici a un an.l4
Immediatement apres cette declaration le general Aung-San refit
une tourn~e dans les Regions Frontieres afin de preciser que, si leurs
habitants se joign:aient ·a: la future Birmanie indepelidante, ils beneficieraient
d'une autonomie complete, du droit de secession et que, d'une
fa

11 8 Martial Dasse
La reponse de la Grande-Bretagne vint le 20 decernbre, sous Ia
.forme d'une invitation. Celle-ci fut acceptee par la Ligue, le 26
decembre, et une mission conduite par Aung-San arriva a Londres le 9
janvier 1947.
Les negociations, menees dans une atmosphere de complete comprehension
mutuelle, furent rapidement terminees et le 27 janvier etaient
publiees les conclusions auxquelles avaient .abouti les conversations
entre le Gouvernement de Sa Majeste et Ia . Delegation du Conseil
Executif du Gouverneur de Birrnanie (Conclusions Reached in the
Conversations Between His Majesty's Government and the Delegation
from the Executive Council of the Governor of Burma), plus connues
sous le nom d'Accord Attlee-Aung-San.
Les revendications de !'ultimatum du 10 novembre 1946 etaient
satisfaites et, de plus, le paragraphe 8 des conclusions precisait que
l'objectif des deux parties etait "d'achever !'unification des Regions
Frontieres et de Ia Birmanie avec le libre cons en tement de leurs habitants",
et dans le meme temps, "les peuples des Regions Frontieres devaient,
dans le domaine des intert~ts communs, etre associes de fac;on etroite
avec le gouvernement de Birmanie, d'une maniere acceptable pour les
deux parties".16
Cet Accord prevoyait, en outre, la creation d'une Commission
d'enquMe afin de connaitre que~s etaient Ies voeux des peuples minoritaires
et que! serait le meilleur moyen de les integrer a la Birmanie
proprement dite.
Le mois suivant, afin de discuter avec les peuples minoritaires, une
deuxieme Conference, qui commenc;ait ses tr~vaux le 7 fevrier 1947, se
tenait a Panglong. Les conditions etaient, toutefois, bien differentes de
lors de la precedente car, cette fois, les britanniques appuyaient l'idee de
!'unification immediate des Regions Frontieres avec la Birmanie propre·
ment dite.
16) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 542; J.S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 93

LES DROI'J'S DES MINORlTES NATIONALES 119
Parmi les delegues se t.rouvait Sao Shwe Thaike, qui devait devenir
le premier President de Ia Republique birmane. Le representant Kachin
le plus important etait Suma Duwa Sinwa Nawng, le delegue Chin
etait Wum Ko Hau et le general Aung-San representait la Ligue.t7
Les premiers participants, qui arriverent le 6 fevrier, furent les
Shans et les Kacbins. lis redigerent une resolution, en cinq points,
formulant leurs demandes qui etaient d'avoir les memes privileges
politiques que les Birmans, l'autonomie politique a l'interieur de leur
Etat, de ne pas s'en tenir automatiquement a l'Accord Attlee-Aung-San
et Ia garantie du droit de secession.
Les Chins rencontrerent les Shans et les Kachins le 7 fevrier, et
donnerent leur accord a ces resolutions. Mais, ils y ajouterent trois
stipulations qui furent approuvees a leur tour par les deux premiers
groupes. Les deux plus importantes demandaient l'aide financiere de la
Birmanie proprement dite, si le budget d'un Etat etait deficitaire, et que
le C.S.P.M.U., decide des futurs rapports entre la Birmanie ·proprement
dite et eux.
A la suite de ces reunions officieuses preliminaires, les premieres
discussions officielles eurent lieu, durant lesquelles ce fut le general
Aung-San qui parla au nom du peuple birrnan. 11 rassura les peuples
minoritaires en proclamant que le futur gouvernement n'interviendrait
pas dans les administrations locales et oe supprimerait pas l'autonomie,
11 ajouta que la forme d~s futures institutions politiques a l'interieur des
Etats serait l'affaire des seuls peuples minoritaires et des chefs les
representant.
Apres cinq jours de discussion seulement, le 12 fevrier 1947, etait
publie le texte des Accords de Panglong qui reprenaient presque
integralement les revendications des representants Shans, Kachins et
Chins.l 8
Mais 1es quatre observateurs Karens, la plus importante minorite,
deja en opposition aux Birrnans, "ne furent pas consultes'er rienne leur
17) J. Perrin, Le probleme des minorites dans l•Union.Birmane, p. 5
18) J. Silverstein, These cit., p. 166

120 Martial DassG
fut promis".l9 Cette ignorance des problemes Karens provoqua l'eclatement
de !'Organisation Centrale des Karens O.C.K. (Karen Central
Organization). Saw San Po Thin et Mahn Ba Khaing deciderent de se
rallier ala Ligue et forme rent !'Organisation de la Jeunesse Karen, O.J.K.
(Karen You,th Organization), transformee plus tard en Ligue. de !'Union
Karen (Union Karen League).
Par contre, la majorite, regroupant les intellectuels et Ies extremistes
constituerent l'Union Nationale des Karens (Karen National
Union), avec, comme president, Ba U Gyi.
par la suite de tres graves consequences.2o
Cette scission devait avoir
Mais, ainsi qu'il l'etait prevu dans !'Accord Attlee-Aung-San,
allait etre creee une Commission d'enquete pour controler et examiner
queUe serait la meilleure methode de fusion entre la Birmanie proprement
dite et les Regions Frontieres.
(b)
La Commission d'enquete pour les Regions Frontieres: marsavril
1947.
La Commission d'enquete, sous la presidence du Docteur Ress
Williams, se composait de quatre Birmans et de quatre representants
des Regions Frontieres, soit respectivement, un Sahopa Shan, un Kacbin,
un Chin et un Karen de !'Onion Nationale des Karens.21
Les membres de la Commission se reunirent pour la premiere fois
a Rangoon, le 8 mars. Apres une tournee d'inspection preliminaire de
onze jours dans la region du nord-est de Myitkyina a Loikaw, la Commission
siegea a Rangoon du 19 au 26 mars afin d'ecouter les suggestions
des representants des minorites.
Ensuite, elle se rendit a Maymio du 27 mars au 21 avril afin de
poursuivre son enquete. Enfin, apres une derniere reunion a Rangoon,
la Commission remit son rapport le 24 avril.22
19) J. Perrin, op. cit., p. 5
20j J. Silverstein, These cit., p. 467-468; J.P. Cady, op. cit., p. 553-554
21) J .S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 9 5-96
22) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 547

LES DROJTS DES MINORITES NAT!ONALES 121
Son travail quelque peu ha.tif 23 lui avait cependant permis
d'entendre les propositions et les desirs des Shans, a travers les representants
du Congres pour Ia Liberte des Peuples de l'Etat Shan (Shan States
People's Freedom Congress), des Sahopas, des Kachins, des Chins et des
Karens. Parmi ces derniers, ceux du district de la Salween firent savoir
qu'ils ne voulaient pas a voir une constitution commune avec Ia Birmanie
et desiraient former un Etat independant qui resterait dans le Commonwealth,
si Ia Birmanie s'en retirait,
Le Commission refusa d'examiner ces demandes ainsi que d'accorder
un acces ala mer au futur Etat Karen, ce qui constituait une condition
sine qua non a toute discussion avec la Birmanie proprernent dite.2 4
L'U.N.K. decida alors de ne pas participer aux elections qui se
deroulerent le 7 avril. Du fait de cette abstention, 19 des 24 sieges
reserves aux Karens allerent a !'Organisation de la Jeunesse Karen, les
autres etant obtenus par des candidats Karens independants, appuyes
par la Ligue.25
Fait beaucoup plus grave, l'U.N.K., le meroe mois, commenva a
organiser une force armee appetee, Organisation Nationale de Defense
des Karens, O.N.D.K. (Karen National Defense Organization), destinee
a proteger les interets Karens.
A partir de ce moment, l'U.N.K., representant la majorite des
Karens, ne prit plus aucune part aux. travaux menes en vue de Ia formation
de !'Union Birmane et, des juillet, a la faveur de Ia confusion creee
par l'assassinat du general Aung-San, des unites locales de l'O.N.D. K.,
commencerent a agir de leur propre autorite. 26
Entre temps, le rapport de la Commission avait ete publie et on y
trouvait, en plus de !'approbation totale des Accords de Panglong, les
directives a suivre en vue de la redaction de la future constitution.
La Commission avait decide que les regions suivantes seraient
representees a 1' Assemblee Constituante:
23) J. Perrin, op. cit., p. 6
24) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 549; F.N. Trager, op. cit., p. 103
25) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 551
26) -ibid.- p. 554; F.N. Trager, op. cit., p. 104-105

122 Martial Dasse
- Les Etats Shans Federes, y compris Kokang et Mongpai;
- Les collines Kachins (Kachin Hills);
- Les collines Chins (Chin Hills) et l'Arakan;
- L'Etat Karenni;
- Les Samra Tract;
- Le district de la Salween;
- La sous-division de Homalin;
Les Etats Shans non federes de Thaungdat et Singkhaling Kbamti,
dans le nord-ouest, demandaient a etre incorpores ala Birmanie proprement
dite. Aucun representant valable des Nagas et des Was n'avait
pu etre trouve "vu le degre peu avance de leur civilisation". 2 7
La repartition des sieges souleva un probleme difficile car si les
peuples minoritaires ne representaient que 16% de la population, les
Regions Frontieres couvrent 47% de la superficie totale du territoire
birman. En s'en tenant a une repartition proportionnelle, les peuples
minoritaires se seraient vu attribuer 35 sieges seulement. Mais en se
referant a la grandeur des territoires qu'ils occupaient Ia Commission
recommanda !'adoption d'une solution moyenne et illeur fut accorde 45
sieges, selon la repartition suivante:
- Etats Shans, Kokang et Mongpai. ................... 26
-- Collines Kachins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
- Collines Chins et Arakan. . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
- Etat Karenni. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
- District de la Sal ween. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
- Samra Tract ............................ , . . . . . . l
- Sous-division de Homalin ........................ .
total. .................... 45 28
Le pays Karen n'etait pas considere comme une region frontiere.
Ses djlegues disposerent de 24 sieges, pris parmi les 210 siegesde Ia
Birmanie proprement dite, 4 sieges etant encore reserves aux eurasiens
anglo-birmans; le nombre total des membres de 1' Assemblee etant donq
fixe a 255.
27) Cite par J. Perrin, op. cit., p. 7
28) J.S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 97

LES DRO!TS DES MINOR!TES NATIONALES 123
Lars des elections, Ia Ligue emporta Ia majorite des sieges. Les
leaders de Ia Ligue se mirent immediatement au travail et, des le 27 mai
faisaient approuver leur projet par une Convention generate de ]a
Ligue.
La premiere session de I' Assemblee Constituante se tint ensuite le
19 juin. Apres de rapides travaux, qui ne firent que sanctionner le
projet approuve en mai par la Ligue, la Constitution fut adoptee par un
vote unanime de l'Assemblee Constituante, le 24 septembre 1947.
Le nombre des Etats avait ete reduit a quatre, les Etats Shan,
Kacbin, Karenni, !'Etat Karen ayant un statut provisoire, ce a quoi
s'ajoutait Ia Region Administrative Speciale des Chins.
2. Les Etats de l'Union
Dans Ia Constitution certains pouvoirs sont communs a taus les
Etats, mais cbacun d'entre eux dispose de droits et de privileges fixes en
fonction de leurs conditions economiques, sociales et historiques
particulieres, afin de respecter leur entite.
(a) Dispositions generales
La Constitution, telle qu'elle fut approuvee le 24 septembre 1947,
definit l'Union Birmane comme etant composee de tous les anciens
territoires gouvernes directement par !•administration britannique auxquels
s'ajoutent les Etats Shan, Kachin, Karenni et Ia Region Administrative·speciale
des Chins (R.A.S. des Chins). Les articles 1~0 et 181
prevoient simplement la creation d'un futur Etat Karen.
Les institutions regissant les divers Etats presentent les memes
caracteristiques, sans toutefois etre totalement semblables, etant personnalisees
a fin d'Mre adaptees aux carac teristiques de cbaque Etat.
Conformement a la Constitution, chacun des quatre Etats est dote
d'un Conseil d'Etat compose de tous les membres du Parlement
representant ces Etats, a !'exception de la R.A.S. des Chins qui se voit
dotee, en fonction de son statut inferieur, d'un simple Conseil des
Affaires Chins. (art. 197)
Un membre du gouvernement de l'Union designe sous le nom de
Ministre de l'Etat est nomme par le President sur avis conforme du

124 Martial Dasse
Premier Ministre, en ce qui concerne les Etats Shan, Karenni et Ia
R..A.S. des Chins mais, pour celle-ci, il prend le nom de Ministre des
Affaires Chins.
Dans chaque cas, le cboix doit etre approuve par les membres du
Conseil de l'Etat interesse et il est choisi parmi les membres du Parlement
representant ces derniers. Pour l'Etat Kacbin, c'est le Parlement
qui doit le designer sur avis conforme du Premier Ministre, agissant en
accord avec le Conseil de l'Etat Kacbin (art. 173). Si un confllt survient
entre le Premier Ministre et les representants avec lesquels il doit agir
en accord, le Premier Ministre decide en dernier recours, comme le
prouve Ia pratique instauree par le Premier Ministre U Nu.
Les Conseils d'Etat elisent panni leurs membres, ou d'autres
personnes, des ministres formant un Cabinet qui joue le role de gouvernement
afin d'aider et conseiller le ministre de l'Etat.
Chaque Conseil d'Etat a le pouvoir exclusif d'elaborer des lois
pour l'Etat ou pour une partie quelconque de l'Etat en ce qui concerne
les questions enumerees dans la deuxieme liste de Ia troisieme annexe
de Ia Constitution (art. 92, 2.). Les annexes comprennent principalement
les affai~es concernant Ie droit public local (questions institutionnelles),
les affaires economiques (agriculture, pecbe, opium ct autres stupefiants,
taxes et impOts locaux dont les revenus sont attri bues aux Etats, ces
imp6ts et taxes etant, a leur tour, enumeres dans la quatrieme annexe
de Ia Constitution), !'education a !'exclusion des Universites et de
l'enseignement technique et professionnel superieur, Ia securite, celle-ci
incluant l'ordre et Ia sante publics, Ia justice et !'administration locale.
Ce pouvoir legislatif peut-etre elargi car chaque Conseil d'Etat
peut recommander au Parlement !'adoption de toute loi ayant trait a
une question quelconque pour laquelle le Conseil n'est pas habilite a
legiferer. Mais, a contra rio, tout Conseil d'Etat peut, en vertu d'une
resolution, abandonner a l'Union n'importe Iequel de ses pouvoirs ou de
ses droits (art. 92, 3.).
Des relations exceptionnelles peuvent egalement s'etablir entre
!'Union et les Etats. En premier lieu, il est possible, sitd e,st leur
souhait, que deux ou plusieurs Conseils d'Etat adoptent des resolutions-

LES DRO!TS DES MlNORI'l'ES NAT!ONALES 125
concurrentes afin que le Parlement legifere dans un domaine qui releve
normalement de leur competence, mais toute loi ainsi adoptee pourra
etre amendee ou abrogee par une loi du Conseil d'Etat a laquelle elle
s'applique (art. 95).
Dans le deuxieme cas, le Parlement ret;:oit le pouvoir d'elaborer
des lois ala place d'un Etat, dans les domaines de sa competence normale?
si le President a proclame !'existence d'un danger grave menavant la
securite de l'Union ou mettant en danger sa situation economique (art.
94, 1'). Les lois votees par le Parlement l'emportent alors dans tousles
cas sur celles votees par un des Conseils d'Etat (art. 94, 2')
La. "proclamation de l'etat d'urgence" cesse d'etre valable au bout
de six mois, a moins d'avoir ete approuvee, avant !'expiration de ce
delai, par une resolution des deux Chambres du Parlement. En ce cas,
sa validite est prolongee pour douze mois. Mais cette emprise du
gouvernement de !'Union sur les Etats est liniitee par le fait qu'une loi
votee a !a faveur de l'etat d'urgence devient caduque, au plus tard six
mois apres la revocation de la proclamation presidentielle (art. 94, 3' et
4'),
Enfin, un contr6le general existe dans le domaine de la legislation
ordioaire, car tout projet de loi adopte par un Conseil d'Etat doit etre
soumis au President aux fins de signature et de promulgation.
Celui-ci peut le signer dans le'\nois suivant, mais i1 peut egalement
le transmettre a la Cour Supr~me qui doit, dans un delai de trente jours,
examiner la compatibilite eventuelle de l'ensemble du texte ou de
certaines de ses dispositions avec la Constitution. En cas d'inconstitutionnalite
declaree, le President doit renvoyer le projet de loi au Conseil
de l'Etat pour une nouvelle deliberation et il doit refuser de le stgner si
les amendements necessaires n'ont pas ete apportes. Dans tous les
autres cas, i1 doit signer le projet et promulguer la loi aussitot que
possible a pres la decision de la Cour. Le President exerce ainsi un droit
de veto slispensif.
Dans le domaine financier, c'est'le Chef de l'Etat concerne qui
propose }'estimation des recettes et des d{:pe,nses de l'Etat pour cbaque
annee fiscale. Le budget, une fois approuve par le Consetl de l'Etat,

126 Martial Dasse
doit etre incorpore dans le budget de l'Union. II peut, par consequent,
etre approuve ou modifie par la Chambre des Deputes qui, seule, a
autorite pour adopter ou presenter un projet de loi financier.
En contrepartie de cette tutelle, l'Union peut apporter une aide aux
Etats, dans Ia mesure ou cette aide est jugee necessaire par une commission
ou autorite designee a cet effet. La repartition des revenus fiscaux
ou para-fiscaux entre l'Union et les Etats favorisant grandement le
pouvoir central, cette aide sera presque toujours necessaire. Une somme
est ainsi prevue chaque annee pour etre repartie par un Conseil de
l' Aide aux Etats, groupant des representants de tous les Etats.29
Le pouvoir executif est exerce par le Ministre de l'Etat qui ale
titre de Chef de l'Etat et qui est charge de !'administration de I'Etat,
Son pouvoir s'etend a toutes les questions ou sujets pour lesquels le
Conseil de l'Etat a le pou_voir d'elaborer des lois, mais pour toutes ces
questions la decision du Conseil s'impose au Chef de l'Etat. Sur toutes
les autres questions, le Conseil de l'Etat a simplement un role consultatif.
Afin d'aider le Chef de l'Etat et le Conseil, est elu un Cabinet qui,
dans le cas de l'Etat Kachin, est compose pour moitie de personnes
n'appartenant pas a cette ethnie.
La R.A.S. des Chins a un systeme particulier.
Le Conseil des
Affaires Chins n'a pas de pouvoirs legislatifs et sa mission consiste
II>
seulement a conseiller et a aider le ministre dans l'accomplissement de
ses fonctions, dans les deux domaines ou des pouvoirs lui sont attribues:
!•administration generate et les questions relatives aux ecoles et institutions
culturelles (art. 197).
Ainsi, les relations entre les Etats et l'Union temoignent, en realite,
de la tres grande integration des premiers dans le cadre national et de Ia
dependance dans laquelle sont places leurs organes et les attributions
qu'ils exercent a l'egard du pouvoir central.30 ·
Mais des limites sont aussi imposees au Parlement qui ne peut
augmenter ou reduire la· superficie d'un territoire ou en modifier les
29) J.S, Furnivall, op. cit., p. 100
30) F. Dore, op. cit., p. 452

LES DlWlTS DES MINOR!TES NATIONALES 127
frontieres, sauf par une loi approuvee par le Conseil de tous les Etats
dont les frontieres son t affectees (art. 200).
De plus, le droit de secession peut etre exerce dans les dix annees
suivant Ia date de l'entree en vigueur de la Constitution si une resolution
a la majorite des deux tiers est adoptee par le Conseil de l'Etat interesse.
Le President ordonnera alors un plebiscite afin de connaitre Ia volonte
des populations.
Ce droit n'est reconnu qu'aux Etats Shan et Karenni,
mais est expressement denie a l'Etat Kachin (art. 178) eta l'Etat Karen
(Premier Amende men t, 1951 ).
Enfin, pour symboliser l'Union, un nouveau drapeau a ete con~u.
Dans l'angle superieur droit se trouvent cinq etoiles symbolisant les cinq
principaux groupes ethniques: Birman, Chin, Kachin, Karen et Shan,
entourant une sixieme et plus grande etoile representant la nouvelle
Union.
Ceci est, au mains, une.reconnaissance morale de l'importance
des peuples minoritaires au sein de l'Union Birmane.31
En depit de ces institutions communes, i1 reste necessaire d'etudier
separernent cbaque Etat, car chacun possede des caracteristiques
speciales fondees sur le respect des traditions locales.
(b) L'Etat Shan32
L'Etat Shan comprend tous les territoires connus alors sous le nom
de Federation des Etats Shans.
Cet Etat fut d'abord divise en deux
districts, Nord et Sud, jusqu'a la creation du district de l'Est en 1951, ce
dernier se composant de quatre anciens Etats: les Etats Wa du Nord et
du Sud, les Etats de Manglung et de Kentung.
31) J. Silverstein, These cit., p. 207
32) Sous les Anglais, l1:1s E~ats Shans etaient exemptes de la legislation birmane.
Les Anglais admettaient !'application du droit coutumier pourvu qu'il ne fut
pas en contradiction avec les concepts britanniques de justice et d'equite. La
Federation Shan fut creee en 1922. Un Conseil desChefs, preside par le
Haut-Commissaire pour les Etats Shan, formait une · Assembl~e Constituante
sans pouvoir legislatif. J. Perrin, op. cit., p. 16-17

128 Martial Dasse
La population, telle qu'elle fut recensee, en 1947, par Ia Commission
d'enquete montre que si l'ethnie Shan est la plus importante, elle ne
forme pas Ia majorite des habitants,33
·La representation de l'Etat Shan au Parlement sanctionne cet etat
de fait. Les 25 Shans de Ia Chambre des Nationalites sont choisis
parmi les 33 Sahopas, ce qui consacre leurs pouvoirs traditionnels dans
cet Etat reste sous le regime de la feodalite. Par contre les 25
representants de l'Etat a Ia Chambre des Deputes ne peuvent etre des
Sahopas.
Un probleme se presenta lors du choix du Ministre de l'Etat. Le
Conseil proposa U Tun Myint alors que le Premier Ministre U Nu avait
choisi Sao Hkum Kio. Finalement, tous deux furent nommes ministre
mais U Tun Myint devait, plus tard, abandooner son poste, ce qui
etab!it la preeminence du Premier Ministre dans le choix du Ministre
d'un Etat. Le Premier Ministre U Nu devait, par la suite, imposer
constamment son candidat.34
Le Conseil de l'Etat, durant sa premiere reunion, a pres les elections
generales de 1956, elit un Cabinet compose d'un President, d'un Vice­
President, charge des Affaires interieures et de cinq ministres s'occupant
respectivement de !'Information et Solidarite Nationale, de !'Education•
et Sante Publique, des Finances, de !'Utilisation des Terres, des Travaux
Publics et Irrigation. Le President etait un Sahopa, ainsi que deux de
ses ministres. 35 Le Ministre de l'Etat avait son bureau a Rangoon, mais
il Y avait un Secretariat d'Etat a Taunggyi,36
Le respect de l'autonomie perdit des le debut une partie de son
caractere car l'enseigneme.nt devait etre dispense en birman et, dans les
ecoles primaires, le Shan etait enseigne seulement comme deuxieme
33) 849 000 Shans (dont 55,6% au nord et 44,4% au sud), 271 000 Palauog Was,
206 000 Birmans, 192 000 Karens, 71 000 Chins et 112 000 Indieos et Chi·
nois, soit un total de 852 000 personnes n'appartenant pas a l'ethoie Shan.
J.S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 102
34) Maung-Maung, Burma' Constitution, p. 177
35) J.S.Furnivall,op.cit.,p.101-102
36) -ibid.-

LES DROITS DES MJNOH!TES NATIONALES 129
langue. Mais plus on s'eloignait de la Plaine birmane, en allant vers
l'est ou vers le nord, moins le birman etait parle, sinon compris. On
notait meme une certaine repugnance des Sbans a le parler.
Cependant, apres l'independance, l'enseignement se developpa
rapidement et, en 1953,73 671 eleves frequentaient les secteurs primaire
et secondaire et une ecole d'instituteurs de village fonctionnait a
Taunggyi. 37
(c)
L'Etat Kachin38
En 1958, la population se serait elevee a 600 000 habitants dont
environ 400 000 Kachins, 3 9 le reste etant des Indiens, Chinois et Birmans
qui, en fonction de leur niveau de developpernent plus eleve que. celui
des Kacbins, ne voulurent pas abandonner leur droit de representation
au Parlement aux Kacbins.
Ce probleme fut resolu par Ia repartition des douze sieges reserves
a l'Etat a Ia Chambre des Nationalites. Six furent attribues aux
Kachins et six aux non-Kac!lins. De meme, les membr~s du Cabinet
etaient seulement Kacbins pour moitie, les sept sieges de Ia Chambre des
Deputes etant departages par le suffrage universel.
Par contre, le Chef de l'Etat devait etre obligatoirement Kacbin,
car cette ethnie constitue Ia majorite de la population.4o
C'est egalement afin de proteger les droits des non-Kacbins que le
droit de secession fut refuse a cet Etat. De plus, aucune loi ne pciuvait
alterer les droits ou privileges de l'une des communautes a mains que
la majorite de celle qui est concernee ne vote en faveur d'une telle loi.
La Cabinet comprenait moins de membres que celui de l'Etat Shan
et trois ministeres seulement furent crees: ceux de !'Education; de la
Sante Publique et des Affaires Sociales; des Travaux Publics, Agriculture
et Forets.
3 7) J. Perrin, op. cit., p. 14
38) Apres 1885, les Anglais entreprirent d'isoler les Sabopas Shans des Kachins
et placerent des hommes a eux sur les trones des Sahopas. J. Perrin, op., cit.,
p.40
39) J. Perrin, op. cit., p. 37
40) Maung-Maung, op. cit., p. 178

130 Martial Dasse
(d)
L'Etat Karen
La Constitution ne fit qu'accroitre le mecontentement des Karens
car, dans ses articles 180 et 181, elle prevoyait seulement l'etablissernent
d'une region speciale de Kawtbulay (Terres des Fleurs en Karen) et la
definition eventuelle, par un acte legislatif vote par la Chambre des
Deputes, d'un Etat Karen comprenant principalement la region du
district de la Salween et de ses regions adjacentes a peuplement Karen.
Ainsi, malgre les pressions Karens, la Constitution ne leur accordait
qu'un statut copie sur celui de la R.A.S. des Chins.
En l'occurence, un
Conseil des Affaires Karens compose des membres de Ht Chambre des
Deputes, travaillant en accord avec le Ministre des Affaires· Karens, et
n'ayant qu'un pouvoir d'administration generale et liberte de regler
toutes les questions relatives aux ecoles et aux institutions culturelles
Karens
Toutefois, alors que pour la R.A.S. des Chins ce statut etait
normalement definitif, pour l'Etat Karen une Commission Speciale
devait determiner les voeux des populations ainsi que les limites du
futur Etat.
L'insatisfaction des Karens ne tarda pas a se manifester de fayon
concrete et l'U.N.K. refusa de celebrer la fete de l'independance
birmane, demandant aux Karens de rester chez eux ce jour la et
d'adopter le 5 mai comme leur propre f8te nationale.41 En fevrier 1948,
ils organiserent des manifestations a Rangoon.
Devant cette menace, le 6 avril 1948, le gouvernement nomma une
Commission pour la Frontiere de la Region de Kawthulay (Kawthulay
Boundary Commission) afin de definir les zones adjacentes au district de
la Salween qui, avec celui-ci, forrneraient le futur Etat,42
Son travail
servit de base ala Commission d'Enquete pour l'Autonomie Regiomi.le
(Regional Autonomy Enquiry Commission) formee le. 9 septembre 1948,
41) F. N. Trager, op. cit., p. 104
42) J.S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 1 OS

LES DRO!TS DES MINORli'ES NA'J'IONALES 131
dans le but d'etudier "les aspirations legitimes des Mons, Karens et
Arakanais". 4 3
A cette date, la situation etait deja devenue tres confuse car, en
meme temps que le Premier Ministre declarait vouloir examiner les
griefs des rninorites non satisfaites, il affirrnait: "je suis a 100% contre
l'idee de Creer des Etats separes pour les Mons, Karens et Arakanais". 44
Les Mons, de leur cote, avaient forme !'Organisation Nationale de
Defense des Mons, O.N.D.M., (Mon National Defense Organization),
copiee sur l'O.N.D.K., a fin de proteger leurs droi ts et leurs nationaux.
Pendant que se deroulait l'enqu~te, le 13 novembre 1948, l'U.N.K.,
l'O.N.D.M., !'Association Unifiee des Mons (Mon United Association),
le Front Unifie Mon (Moo United Front), diriges par Ba U Gyi, Po Cbo
et Nai Hla Mauog, faisaient une declaration commune par laquelle ils
demandaient la creation d'un Etat independant, Karen-Man, groupant
les divisions completes de Tenasserim et de l'lrrawady, plus treize
districts adjacents.4S
Cet ultimatum, difficile a accepter par le gouvernernent birman,
etait sans doute dicte par les ambitions politiques Karens, aussi bien que
par la peur d'un resultat negatif de l'enqu~te menee par la Commission.
Sur ce dernier point, les Mons ne se trompaient guere puisque dans un
premier rapport, remis le 19 fevrier 1949 au gouvernement, la Commission
declarait "qu'elle n'avait pas eu le temps de visiter les districts de
Tbaton et Amherst et done qu'elle n'e tait pas en mesure de fa ire une
declaration a propos d'un Etat Moo separe".46
43) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 591. La province de l'Arakan occupe 560 kilometres de
cutes le long du golfe du Bengale. Les Arakanais sont d'origine birmanc,
mais souvent metisses d'indien. Beaucoup soot musulmans et leurs revendications
visaient a proteger leur religion. 11 s'agit done d'une minorite religieuse
non concernee par cette etude.
44) H. Tinker, The Union of Burma: a study of the first years of independence,
p. 37
45) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 592; F.N. Trager, op. cit., p. 106
46) J. Silverstein, These cit., p. 446

132 Martial Dasse
Quant aux Karens, le rapport recommandait Ia creation d'un Et~t
qui serait limite aux regions dans lesquelles les populations en auraient
montre le desir.
Quoiqu'il en soit, il etait deja trop tard pour regler pacifiquement
le problerne car, des decembre 1948, l'O.N.D.K. etait entree en rebellion
armee a laquelle se joignaient les Mons au mois de fevrier 1949.
Du fait de !'insurrection qui s'etendait, Ia creation de l'Etat Karen
fut retardee. Le premier pas fait dans cette direction fut le Premier
Amendernent du 5 octobre 1951. Le noyau de l'Etat Karen etait forme
du dlstrict de Ia Salween ainsi que l'avait recomrnande Ia Commission
car, contrairement aux allegations Karens, ceux-ci ne representaient que
16% de Ia population dans Ia province de Pegu et l 0% dans celle de
Tenasserim.47
La premiere reunion du Conseil de l'Etat se tint en mars 1952 et,
en septembre, un Deuxieme Amendemen t agrandissait l'Etat de cinq
villes contigues au district de Ia Salween. Mais ce!a ne donnait pas Ia
faculte au Conseil d'administrer l'Etat, cette faculte etant repoussee
jusqu'au retablissement de l'ordre auquel le gouvernement de l'Etat
devait participer afin de pouvoir exercer pleinement ses responsabilites
le plus tot possible.
A cette fin, deux Ministres de l'Etat s'installerent a Moulmein en
compagnie d'un Commissaire Extraordinaire du gouvernement. Quand
il devint visible, en 1954, que Ia rebellion, bien que causant des troubles
graves, ne parviendrait pas a renverser le regime, le President de la
Republique notifia aux autorites de l'Etat, qu'a partir du Ier juin, e!les
pourraien t exercer leur autorite dans trois des grandes villes ajoutees a.
l'Etat en 1952.
En fait, ces mesures ne pouvaient guere apaiser les Karens car ceux
qui residaient hors de l'Etat etaient assujettis au mf!me statut que les
Sirmans et done obliges de faire toutes leurs etudes en birman, ce qui
les conduisait inevitablement a !'assimilation.
4 7) Maung-Maung, op. cit., p. 181

Property of the
Siam Society•r.l l.ibr~1.ry
BANGKOK
LES DRO!TS DES MJNOHJ'l'ES NA'l'IONALES 133
En outre, alors que24 sieges avaient ete prevus a la Chambre des
Nationalites, il ne leur en etait finalement accorde que 15 et 7 seulement
ala Chambre des Deputes.
C'est pourquoi, ces dispositions n'arreterent absolument pas la
revolte et aucun parti Karen ne participa aux elections de 1956.
(e)
L'Etat Kayab
L'Etat Kayah possede une curieuse histoire administrative. Seul
a traiter directement avec la Grande-Bretagne, l'Etat Karenni ne fit
jamais partie de }'Empire britannique.
Cela est do. au fait qu'en 1875 les Anglais negocierent avec le roi
Mindon un traite garantissant l'independance de l'Etat Karenni. Le
Royaume-Uni considerait done ce dernier comme un "Etat feodal
independan t": 48
II fut contr6le plus tard par le gouverneur general de Birmanie
mais resta soumis a ses propres lois. C'est en raison de cette independance
passee que le droit a la secession lui fut reconti.u.
Formant un tres petit Etat d'une population d'environ 70 000
habitants, la Constitution prevoyait sa fusion avec le futur Etat Karen,
les Karennis etan t, eux-memes, une branche de cette ethnie. Mais
durant !'insurrection conduite par l'O.N.D.K., les rebelles envabirent
l'Etat Karenni et l'occuperent en partie uncertain temps.
Cela provoqua la rancoeur des Karennis et ils demanderent que
leur Etat soit, a l'avenir, totalement separe de celui des Karens. En
outre, ils changerent leur nom en "Kayah" afin de bien montrer qu'ils se
desolidarisaient completement de ces derniers.
. .
Leurs voeux furent exauces par 1' Amendement de 1951 et le nouvel
Etat Kayah, avec pour capitale Loikaw, fut officiellement cree en
janvier 1952.
La Constitution lui attribuait trois sieges ala Chambre des Deputes.
Le gouvernement se composait de trois ministre seulement. 49
48) J. Perrin, op. cit., p. ·59; Karenni signifie Karen rouge. Les Karennis sont
apparentes aux Karens. ·
49) J.S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 107

134 Martial Dasse
(f)
La Region Administrative Speciale des Chins
Les Chins furent desillusionnes par Ia reapparition du Service des
Affaires Civiles de !'administration britannique et, a l'autonomie, ils
prefererent une aide speciale du gouvernement de !•Union pour Ia
construction d'ecoles et d'h6pitaux et !'acceleration du developpement
de la region d'une maniere generale.so
Des !•entree en vigueur de la Constitution un essai de modernisationprit
forme et par l'acte XLIX de 1948, !'ancien systerne de !'administration
indirecte par les chefs Chins hereditaires etait aboli. On
divisa alors Ia region en deux districts, possedant chacun cinq sousdivisions,
elles-memes divisees en cercles et villages ayant a leur tete
un chef et un conseil elus.
A l'interieur de cette organisation territoriale, des Departements
adrninistratifs furent charges de mettre en oeuvre les decisions du
Ministre des Affaires Chins. Dans chaque district se trouvait un
Inspecteur de !'Education aide par un sous-lnspecteur dans les sousdivisions.
Le Departernent des Travaux Publics etait dirige par un
ingenieur seconde par un assistant dans chaque district.
Au Parlement, les Chins eurent droit a huit representants a Ia
Charnbre des Nationalites et sept deputes pouvaient Nre elus pour
sieger a la Charnbre des Deputes.
Done, si au niveau local, les peuples minoritaires jouissaient d'une
certaine autonomie, en fait celle-ci restait tres lirnitee car il leur etait
presque impossible de s'exprimer au Parlement ou Ia Chambre des
Deputes jouait un role preponderant.
3. Le Parlement et les pouvoirs de Ia Chambre des Nationalites.
Bien que les rninorites ethniques puissent envoyer leurs representants
a Ia Chambre des Nationalites, beneficiant ainsi au plus haut
niveau constitutionnel du droit d'exprimer leurs opinions et proteger
leurs interets contre l'emprise de Ia majorite ethnique birmane, en
realite, a Ia lecture de Ia Constitution on s'aperQoit que le role de cette
Chambre est presque nul et purement theorique.
50) Maung-Maung, op. cit., p. 186

LES DROITS DES MINORJTES NATJONALES 135
(a) L'organisation du Parlement
Le Parlernent se compose du President, de Ia Chambre des Deputes
et de la Chambre des Nationalites (art. 65).
LaChambre des Deputes se compose des membres qui representent
les circonscriptions fixees par Ia loi (art. 83, 1"). lls soot elus pour quatre
ans (art. 85) et le nornbre des membres de cette Chambre doit Mre, dans
toute Ia mesure du possible, le double des mernbres de Ia Cbarnbre des
Nationalites, etant entendu que le nombre total des membres de Ia
Cham bre des Deputes ne doit pas etre fixe a un chiffre inferieur a un
membre pour 100 000 habitants et a plus d'un membre pour 300 000
habitants (art. 83, 2").
De par Ia loi electorale de 1948 et les amendements la modifiant le
nombre des membres est fixe a 250,les circonscriptions etant determinees
dans le meme acte. La repartition des deputes dans les differentes
circonscriptions est fixee com me suit:
Etat Shan ........................... 25
Etat Kachin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
R.A.S. des Chins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Etat Kayah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Etat Karen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . 7
Regions restantes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Total ................... 250
Cette repartition montre l'ecrasante superiorite numerique des
representants de l'ethnie birmane car, en fait, les regions restantes
consistent principalement en Ia Birmanie proprement dite. Dans ces
conditions, i1 sera evidernment difficile aux peuples minoritaires de faire
entendre leur voix, les Birmans etant naturellement enclins a defendre
leurs propres intenHs.
Le nombre des membres de la Chambre des Nationalites devant
etre la moitie de celui de Ia Cbambre des'Deputes, i1 est fixe a 125. La
repartition en est determinee par la deuxieme annexe de la Constitution,
modifiee par 1' Amendement de 1951 portant creation de l'Etat Karen,
qui reduit le nombre des representants de cet Etat a 15 alors qu'il av~it
ete primitivement fixe a 24.

136 Martial Dasse
La repartition definitive fut done fixee com me suit:
Etat Shan ........................... 25
Etat Kacbin ......................... 12
R.A.S. des Chins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Etat Kayah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Etat Karen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Regions restantes ..................... 62
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Les representants des Etats ant done, dans ce cas, une voix de
majorite sur ceux des regions restantes. Mais en fait, meme dans les
Etats, toutes les personnes elues n'appartiennent pas aux groupes
ethniques minoritaires. Si les vingt-cinq representants Shans doivent
etre automatiquement des ignes parmi les trente-trois Sahopas, en ce qui
concerne les douze sieges reserves a l'Etat Kachin, six seulement sont
destines a cette ethnie.
De plus, les trois representants Kayahs etant les trois principaux
chefs hereditaires de cette race, une revocation de cette concession fut
proposee, en decembre 1956 par la Chambre des Deputes.s 1
Ainsi, de par cette repartition arbitraire,s2 les groupes ethniques
minoritaires, meme unis, ne peuvent pas former une majorite dans cette
Chambre.
C~tte representation tend, au surplus, a etre purement symbolique
car, en fait, c'est la Cbambre des Deputes qui detient les pouvoirs les
plus importants .
. (b) La predominance de Ia Chambre des Deputes.
Dans le domaine de la legislation normale, un accord doit etre
obtenu entre les deux Chambres pour qu'un projet de loi soit considere
comme adopte, (art. 100). En cas de conflit, si une Chambre propose
une loi que !'autre n'accepte pas ou si cette derniere propose des amende-.
ments rejetes par la Chambre qui a pris !'initiative du projet, le
51) J.S. Furnivall, op. cit., p. 38
52) J.F. Cady, op. cit., p. 562

LES DHOJTS DES M!NOHITES NATJONALES 137
President provoque la reunion des Cbambres et la majorite des membres
presents sera necessaire pour adopter ou repousser le projet.53
Mais 1a Chambre des Nationalites ne dispose d'aucun pouvoir en
ce qui concerne les projets de Joi financiers. La Chambre des Deputes
a seule le droit de presenter un projet de loi financier (art. 103) qui doit
8tre envoye devant la Chambre des Nationalites afin qu'elle puisse faire
ses recommandations (art. 104) dans un delai de 21 jours (art. 105).
La Chambre des Deputes est libre de rejeter ou accepter ces
recommandations et si le projet n'est pas rctourne dans le delai prevu,
on considere qu'il est adopte par les deux Chambres (art. 105).
Le seul pouvoir de )a Chambre des Nationalites se borne a un
control.e sur la notion de projet de loi financier, ce dernier etant defini
notamment comme un projet contenant uniquement des dispositions
ayant trait a l'impot, aux revenus de l'Union et aux emprunts (art. 106).
Mais encore ce controle est-il etroitcment limite. La resolution
demandant le controle doit etre adoptee a !a majorite des deux tiers
pour que soit formee une Commission des Privileges (art. 107, 2'), se
composant d'un nombre egal de membres de Ia Cbambre des Deputes et
de !a Chambre des Nationalites et d'un President qui doit etre un Juge
de Ia Cour Supreme. En cas de partage des voix seulement, le President
aura le droit de vote (art. 107, 3').
Si la Com mission ne peut faire un rapport dans un delai de vingt
et un jours, on considere que Ia declaration de Ia Chambre des Deputes
est confirmee (art. 108.). Mais ce meme article 108 prevoit une importante
restriction car il stipule que "le President, de son propre chef",
peut refuser de faire droit a la demande.
Cette procedure montre clairement le desir de reduire au maximum
les possibi!ites de controle de Ia Chambre des Nationalites.
Enfin, l'article 123 ne prevoit aucune possibilite d'intervention de
la Chambre des Nationalites en ce qui concerne l'adbesion de !'Union a
un accord international imposant une charge sur les revenus de l'Union,
53) Maung-Maung, op. cit., p. 123

138 Martial Dasse
la responsabilite de !'approbation etant tot a lement devolue a Ia Chambre
des Deputes.
Le pouvoir de Ia Cbambre des Nationalites est encore plus reduit,
sinon pratiquement nul, dans le dornaine politique.
Si le President de l'Union est elu au scrutin secret par les deux
Cbambres reunies en Congres (art. 46), il n'exerce, en realite, aucun
pouvoir, les Birmans ayant, sur ce point, copie le systeme fran~;ais en
vigueur so us la IV erne Republique. Le President designe un Premier
Ministre, chef du gouvernement, conformement au choix de la Chambre
des Deputes. C'est ce dernier qui exerce, en realite, les pouvoirs,
!'imitation provenant ici du systerne anglais.
Le gouvernernent ainsi forme est solidairement responsable, seule·
ment devant Ia Chambre des Deputes (art. 115), et le Premier Ministre
doit demissionner lorsqu'il cesse de jouir de l'appui de la majorite des
membres de cette Cbambre a mains que, sur son conseil, le President ne
prononce la dissolution du Parlement (art. 119).
Nulle part il n'est fait mention d'un quelconque avis que pourrait
donner Ia Cbambre des Nationalites. Dans le domaine politique elle
est purement et simplement ignoree. Son seul droit est prevu a !'article
123 qui stipule que laguerre ne peut-etre declaree sans le consentemenl
du Parlement.
C'est pourquoi, le Conseiller constitutionnel Chan Htoom observait
que "notre Constitution, bien que federale en theorie, est unitaire en
pratique".
Ce systeme qui imposait legalement la domination de la race
birmane, habitant Ia Birmanie proprement dite, sur les peuples des
Regions Frontieres, ne pouvait que provoquer le mecontentement. Aux
Karens et aux Mons qui, des l'independance etaient entres en rebellion,
se joindront bientot la totalite des Kachins, des Sbans et une partie
des Chins, et ce sera le debut de la desintegration de l'Union.Birmane,

A LAHU NYI (RED LAHU) PRAYER AT CHILDBIRTH
Lahu text and brief ethnographic note
by
Anthony R. Walker
The Lahu text given here is just one short example of a vast body
of Lahu ritual poetry, some of which I was able to record during my
anthropological investigations of Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) in the northern
Thai uplands. I This contribution is best viewed not in isolation but as
part of a series of papers on Lahu ritual and religious poetry which have
appeared in this and other jouroals. 2
The Ethnographic Context
Among the Lahu Nyi communities I studied, the birth of a child
occasions the presentation of certain ritual offerings by the child's
parents to the senior religious functionary of the village, the to bo pa_.3
These gifts are then offered to G'uiv sha, the supreme and creating
supernatural of these Lahu,4 The purpose of the offerings and the
accompanying prayer is to inform G'uiv sha that a new member of the
!. My fieldwork was primarily among Lahu Nyi in Phrao and Wiang Pa Pao
districts in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces respectively, For an ethnographic
introduction to the Lahu Nyi of this area see Walker !970b, 1975c.
Regarding the Lahu people as a whole see Walker 1975a, 1975b.
2. See list of references.
3. To from awv to "body"; bo from awv bon "blessing, merit"; thus "blessed or
meritorious body". Pa_ is the male suffix.
4. The etymology of the name G'uiv sba is obscure. By itself, the syllable g'uiv
means "water, liquid, juice" (Matisoff 1965-9 : 612), but the meaning of sha
(mid-level tone) is unclear. Stern's (1968: 300) translation of G'uiv sha as
"Living Breath" is interesting but difficult to accept. In Lahu, ''life" is a sa,.,
and "to be alive" is a sa,., te ve. ''Breath" is aw,,' .sha-, the secondsyllable
sha- differing in tone from shain G'uivs ha. G'uiv+sha-, therefore, means
literally "water breath" and is used to refer to "the cool atmosphere of a
stream, the pleasant coolness around running water" (Matisoff 1965-9 : 614).

140 Anthony R. Walker
community has arrived, and to request divine protection for the infants
The offerings themselves, which are prepared by a member of the newborn's
household (usually the f'atber), are as follows:
(a)
a hpeuv k'o_ (fig. lA). Literally hpeu" means "nest". This is a
small basket loosely woven of bamboo. To its sides are affixed
a number of slender bamboo sticks, each one topped with a small
ball of cotton wool.
Labu usually compare this offering to the
bowl of flowers that theirlowland Buddhist neighbours, the Northern
Thai people, place in front of the Buddha image in their temples.
(b)
some peh" haw or beeswax candles. These are usually placed inside
the hpeu" k'o _. Beeswax candles are an important element i~
Lahu Nyi ritual, as most religious ceremonies among these people
are initiated by the lighting of such candles.6 They are said to
illuminate the way for the suP,ernaturals to attend the ceremony~
(c) a kuv ti" (fig. 1 B). This object comprises flat pieces of bamboo,
notched at one end, and attached at a 45' angle to a bamboo handle.
Lahu told me that the kuv ti" (etymology unknown) represents a
flower like those which Buddhists bring to their temples.
(d) a hto" hi- or "custom (hi-) flag (hto")" (fig. 1 C). Tbe hto" hicomprises
several flat pieces of split bamboo hung from a horizontal
bamboo rod, itself attached to a bamboo handle. The symbolism
of this object is obscure, but it is most likely an imitation of flags
found in Buddhist temples.
(e) a li" tsuh" (fig. 1 D). Literally ''custom ( aw" li"), bound together
(tsuh" ve)." This is a small bundle of bamboo sticks tightly l!lshed
together with a strip of bamboo "rope". Sometimes the sticks are
topped with balls of cotton wool..
5. I have been incorrect in saying previously that birth "occasions no ceremony"
among these Lahu (cf. Walker 1975a: 337, 1975b: 120). It is true, however,
that their birth rituals are minimal.
6. In distinguishing tbemsel ves from Buddhists and Christians, the Labu Nyi
often refer to themselves as peh" tu- pa_ "beeswax burners" (peh" frompeh"
haw "beeswax", tu- from tu- ve "to light", pa_ "men"),

LAIIU NY! PRAYER AT ClllLDBIRTH 141
The to bo pa_ or, in his absence, his wife (who holds the title of
to bo ma) receives these gifts, lights the beeswax candles and prays to
G'ui" sha for the health of the newborn. This prayer, which may be
sung or chanted, can be offered in one of several places: the to bo pa_'s
house, the headman's house, or the haw·- yeh._, the village temple.7 The
haw- yeh" is most appropriate, since it is dedicated to the honour of
G'ui" sha. But it is proper to make offerings in this building only on a
festival day. These Lahu observe two such days (known as shi- nyi or
"merit days"B) each month at the time of the new and full moon. If the
child happens to be born on a shi- nyi, the to bo pa_ will take the gifts
to the haw- yehv. And if a shi- nyi is close at hand, the child's father
may decide to await that day before giving his offerings to the to bo pa _.
But if the gifts are to be offered on an ordinary day, the rite takes place
in the house of the to bo pa_ or the h6adman."
On the occasion when I recorded the prayer given below, the
offerings were received by the to bo ma and taken to tbe headman's
house. There she presented them at the "offering bench" (teh) which
the village leader alone keeps for the Divine Headman (Gui" ma a daw").9
This teh is a low wooden shelf (30 em. wide, 20 em. deep, 5 em. bigb)
set against the back wall on the same side of the house as the headman's
sleeping quarters.
The Text
As in three previous contributions to this journal (Walker 1974a,
1975f, 1976a), I shall present this prayer text and translation in three
stages. First is a formal transcription in the standard Lahu orthography
7. Haw- from Shan ''a prince's palace", yehv "house" in Lahu; thus ''princely
house".
8. · Shi- from awv shi-, the second part of the couplet awv· bon awv shi- "blessing,
merit"; nyi "day"; thus ''day of blessing, day of merit."
9. The Divine Headman is the prototype of all earthly headmen. According to
Lahu Nyi cosmologyr at least as I understood it from informants in my stUdy
communities, everything on earth has a divine prototype in the heavens. I was
told that without a divine prototype, there could be no earthly representation.

142 Anthony R. Walker
developed by American Baptist missionaries in Burma and China.to
Here I have broken the text into stanzas in order to facilitate crossreference,
although no such structure is recognized by the Lahu. Second
I give a "working translation" which is, as near as possible, a word-byword
translation from Labu to English. In this version r omit tone
marks (easily found by reference to the formal transcription) and use
hyphens to join syllables into words. II Finally, I present a formal
English translation of the prayer.
Formal Transcription
1. No" g'a G•uiv rna a daw" co ti,._ co sheb- bvuhv, miv rna ya" hpu a
daw" yeh.,. rna aw" ce.,. bvuhv, mi.,. rna a daw" yeb" rna aw" cev te" ce"
meu" htu,._, hi" ceb" k'aw" ceh" chi haw- ga-o" meh_.
2. Ya" kav du" kav te" c/1 rna" gui" ga" leh ce" ne_, ya" bpu Ia ... meu",
a, awv na a pate" peuv bvubv leb nav hi- ceuv k'aw" ceu" meu" hta,.,
g'aw leh po_ pi" ce".
3. Ya" bpu neb hpu te" peuv bvubv leb nawv chi ceuv l

Verse 1
LAIIU NY! PRAYEI\ AT CHILDBIRTH 143
Working Translation
1. no-g' a : up there
2. g'ui-ma : divine, partaking of G'ui-sha (the supreme supernatural)
3. a-daw : headman, the one who thinks (on behalf of the whole village
community) (daw-ve: to think)
4. co : life
5. ti: first meaning unknown, but here means "everlasting"; compare
ho-ti : all-knowing, ka-ti : all-true. Thus 4-5 means "everlasting,
unending life"
6. co sheh : precious life (sheh from Shan, "a jewel")
-'>&u
7. bvuh : cry out (in prayer)
8. mi-ma : earth, of the earth
9. ya-hpu : person (ya) whitefpure (hpu); in ritual language means
simply "man"
10. a-daw : headman. 8- I 0 means "the earthly headman", the headman
of the village community in which a new child has been born
11. yeh-ma : house
12. aw: four
13. ce: corners. 8-12 "within the four corners of the village headman's
house"
14. bvuh : cry out (in prayer)
15. ml-ma a-daw: earthly headman (see 8-10)
16. yeh-ma aw ce: bouse four corners (see 11-13)
17. te ce : one corner
18. meu-hta : in. 15-18 "in one corner of the headman's bouse"
19. hi: custom
20. ceh : tree
21. k'aw ceh : nine trees. 19-21 (couplet) refers to the ritual paraphernalia
found on the offering bench in the headman's bouse
22. chi : these
23. haw : under
24. ga.o : reach
25. meh : a word placed at the end of a sentence to stress the speaker's
words; thus 15.25 "I really do reach under (i.e. pray at) the nine
custom trees at one corner of the headman's house"

144 Anthony R. Walker
Verse 2
26. ya-ka du-ka (couplet) : child
27. te co : one life
28. ma gui: not separate
29. ga: want
30. leh: and
31. ce ne : ? (Informant said these words were used only for sound
effect; "na sha ve : good, pleasant to listen to")
32. ya-hpu: man; refers to father of the baby
33. Ia meu: own bands (Ia : hands)
34. a: oh!
35. aw-na : above
36. a-pa : father
37. te peu: one time
38. bvuh leh : cry out (in prayer) and
39. na : sickness
40. hi: eight
41. ceu : kinds
42. k'aw ceu : nine kinds. 40-42 (couplet) "all kinds of sickness"
43. meu-hta : on/from (not strictly translatable)
44. g'aw : count, i.e, take note of
45. leh po pi-o : and let pass. 39-45 "take note of all sickness and let
it pass from [this child]"
46. ce indicates that speaker is making request on somebody else's
behalf
Verse 3
47. ya-hpu neh-hpu (couplet): man and woman; here, father and mother
of the baby
48. te peu : one time
49. bvuh /eh : cry out (in prayer) and
50. naw: you
51. chi ceu k'aw ceu (couplet) : nine kinds, ten kinds (of sickness), i.e.
"all kinds of sickness"; compare 40-42

Anthony R. Walker
52. g'aw /eh po pi-a : count (take note of) and let pass (see 44-5)
53. ce (see 46)
14S
Verse 4
54. na-pu : eternal (?)
55. sha-yeh : offering house. This is the second part of a poetic
couplet haw-yeh sha-yeh meaning the village temple.
56. la-sha : right hand
57. hpaw : side
58. haw : under
59. ta-ve.: put
60. ya-o has no meaning, is used only for sound effect
61. hpa-ka ma-ka (couplet) : husband and wife
62. ma gui : not separate
63. te co-e : one life
64. u-hta : upon
65. nyi hk'a lo: lookfwatcb (nyi-ve) over
66. ce-a (see 46 above)
Verse 5
67. a-pa : father
68. sha nyi: offering day
69. a ga : not reach
70. htaw : even though
71. ya-o (no meaning)
72. ya-hpu : man
73. li-hpeu : custom ( aw-li) basket (hpeu-k'o); see fig. lA
74. li-tsuh : kind of offering; see fig. lD
75. ka : also
76. tan : offer
77. Ia leh : come and
78. ya-o (no meaning)
Verse 6
79. G'ui-ma : G•ui-sba, the supreme supernatural
80. naw: you

146 Anthony R. Walker
81. a: not
82. keh Ia : cleanse, purify
83. k'o: if
84. leh: and
85. chaw-ya va-ya (couplet) : the people
86. ka : also
87. ma from nyi-ma-shi : heart
88. hpaw : side
89. ma: not
90. sha-o : easy, content, happy
91. meh emphasises statement; thus 85-91 "really the people's hearts
will not be happy"
Verse 7
92. shaw : wood
93. hpu : white
94. te-ma : one
95. g'a veu Ia : have brought
96. htaw : even
97. ya-hpu : man
98. kui-nyi : perspiration
99. k'aw : nine
100. po : drops
101. yu-taw-ve : come out
102. g'ui-o sha-o ve (couplet) : Oh G'ui-sha!
Formal Translation
I. To the everlasting life, to the precious life of the Divine Headman
up there, I pray;lz within the four corners of the village headman's
12) Because the divine prototypes (see note 9 above) partake of the divinity of
G'uiv sha, the supreme supernatural, and this prayer is being recited in the
village headman's house, it is appropriate that it should be directed to the
Divine Headman. But in praying to the Divine Headman one is also praying to
G'uiv sha; hence the direct address to the latter in verses 2, 6 and 7.

LAHU NYI PRAYER AT CHILDBIRTH
house, I pray; at this one corner within the village headman's house,
I reach under the nine custom trees.I3
2. This man does not want to lose the life of his [newbornJI4 child, so
[be brings offerings} made by his own hands; Father above, Is cry out
but one time and protect [his child] from the eight kinds, the nine.
kinds of sickness.l6
3. The father and the mother [of this newborn child] pray but one time,
You please protect [their child) from the ten kinds, the nine kinds
[of sickness].
4. They put (their prayers] at the right-hand side of the eternal hawyehv,
17 so let the husband and wife not separate, look upon them.
5. Even though the day on which we make offerings to Father G•uiv sha
bas not yet arrived, [the father of the newborn child) comes to offer
this hpeuv k'o_ and this UV tsuh".IS
6. Oh G'uiv sha, if you will not grant purification, these people's hearts
cannot be happy.l9
7. Oh G'uiv sha, even though this man has brought only one p1ece of
white wood, nine drops of perspiration fall from him ! 2 0
13) "Nine custom trees" is simply a poetic way of referring to all the offerings
which are kept on the "custom bench" (or offering bench; see page 141 above)
in the headman's house. To "reach under the nine custom trees" means to
humble oneself in prayer before this offering bench.
14) Words in brackets do not appear in the Lahu text but are implied.
15) Here G'uiv sha, the supreme supernatural, is addressed directly.
16) "The eight kinds, the nine kinds of sickness" is a poetic form meaning "all
sickness". The same is true of "the ten kinds, the nine kinds" below.
17) Through the agency of the to bo ma, her clients symbolically place their
offerings in the divine prototype temple in G'uiv sha's heaven (compare note 9
above).
18). See introduction and fig. 1, above, for explanation of these offerings and the
festival days (shi- nyi) on which they are normally presented to G'uiv sha.
19) There seems to be some notion that birth produces defilement, although the
idea is not particularly developed among these Lahu people.
20) This is simultaneously poetic understatement and overstatement. The number
of offerings is understated, but the relative effort required to produc.e them is
. overstated.
147

148 Anthony R. Walker
Fig. 1. RITUAL OFFERINGS
d. Li"tsuh"

LAHU NYI PRAYER AT CHILDBiRTH 149
MATISOFF, James A.
REFERENCES
1965-9 Labu-English Dictionary. Prepubpcation first draft, MS 751 pp.
1970 "Note on the Orthography of Lahu." In WALKER 1970b: xxxiii-v.
1973 The Grammar of Laha. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of
California Press (Publications inLinguistics no. 75l.
STERN, Theodore
19 6 8 "Ariya and the Golden Book: A Millenarian Buddhist Sect among
the Karen." J. Asian Studies XXVII, 297-328.
TELFORD, James H. assisted by Saya DAVID
1938 Handbook of the Lahu (Muhsol Language and English-LahaDictiona1·y.
Rangoon: Government Press.
WALKER, Anthony R.
1970a
1970b
1972a
1972b
"The La" Hu_ Nyi- (Red La" Hu_l New Year Celebrations."
J. Siam Soc. LVIII part 1, 1-44.
Lahu Nyi (Red Lahul Village Society and Economy in North Thailand.
Chiang Mai : Tribal Research Centre. 2 vols. mimeo.
"Blessing Feasts and Ancestor Propitiation among the Lahu Nyi (Red
Lahu)." J. Siam Soc. LX part 1, 345-73.
Awv r-Ia Hku Ve: The Lahu Nyi Rite for the Recall of a Wandering
SouL" .J. Royal Asiatic Soc. 1972 part 1, 16-29.
1974a "Lahu Nyi (Red Lahul New Year Texts-!." .J. Siam Soc. LXII
part 1, 1-26.
197 4b "Three Lahu Nyi (Red Lahul Marriage Prayers: Lahu Texts and
Ethnographic Notes." .J. Royal Asiatic Soc. 1974 part 1, 44·9.
197 4c "Lahu Nyi (Red Lahul Tests of Innocence : Ethnographic Notes and
Lahu Texts." Acta Orientalia XXXVI, 209-224.
197Sa
1975b
1975c
"The Lahu of the Yunnan-Indochina Borderlands: An Introduction."
Folk XVI-XVII, 329-44.
"The Lahu People: An Introduction." In Anthony R. Walker, ed.,
Farmers in the Hills: Ethnographic Notes on the Upland Peoples of
North Thailand. Penang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia. 111-
26.
.
"Ban Luang: A Lahu Nyi Village." In Walker, e,.?·· Farmers i11 the
Hills, 139-48.

150 Anthony R. Walker
197Sd
197Se
"The Renaming and Ritual Adoption of a Lahu Nyi (Red Labu)
Child: A Lahu Text and Ethnographic Background." J. Asian&
African Studies (Tokyo) no. 10, 18 3-9.
"A Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) Rite of Divorce: A Labu Text with Ethnographic
Notes." Acta Orientalia XXXVII, 17 3 • 8.
197 Sf "Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) New Year Texts-H." .J. Siam Soc. LXlll
part 2, 161-98.
1976a "Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) New Year Texts-III." .J. Siam Soc. LXIV
part 1, 1-40.
1976b "Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) Funerary Chants: Two Labu Texts with a Brief .
Ethnographic Introduction." J. Royal Asiatic Soc. [Forthcoming].
1976c
"Sha_ Lawv Ve: A Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) Prayer for Game: Two
Lahu Texts and an Ethnographic Background." .J. Asian & African
Studies (Tokyo), no. 12, [in press).
1976d "Jaw Te Meh,. Jaw,. Ve: Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu) Rites of Spirit
Exorcism." Anthropos LXXI, part 2, 377-422.
1976e
"Mvuhv Nyi Ne" Caiv Ve: A Lahu Nyi (Red Lahul Rite to Propitiate
the Sun Spirit: Ethnographic Notes and Lahu Texts." Acta Ethno·
graphica (Budapest) XXV nos. l-2.[in press].

,','' ;,1',1!1
A LIStJ' SHAMANISTIC SEANCE 1
,r.
by
E. P. o'urrenberge~
'·. .- ~·
Lisu are slash, a'nd burn agriculturalists who li-ve in the bills of
Northern Thailand, Bu'rma and Southern China,2 Among the Lisu of
Northern Thailand whom I studied, misfortune:; take many forms-pigs
wander away or do not return to. their pens at night, fields may be
infested with insects, and people are stricken with a vai:iety ofillnesses.
Misfortune of one kind or another is an everyday event. Perhaps no
people simply accept misfortune .. Lisu are no exception. They attempt
to find and correct the causes of misfortunes in terms of their own view
of causality and order in the universe.
In the Lisu view the universe is populated by spirits as well as
humans. Often misfortune is attributed to the activites of these spirits.
There are many spirits which may be offended by human actions, and in
retribution visit misfortunes on people until they atone for the offense.
Spirits of long deceased ancestors of patrilineal lineages, lineage spirits
(ni za), can communicate directly with people by riding or possessing
shamans (ni pha).
1) The fieldwork on which this paper is based was financed by a contract from
the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command through
the auspicies of the Division of Neuropsychiatry, Walter Reed Army Institute
of Research. The fieldwork was conducted between November, 1968 and September,
1970. The orthography for Lisu words is derived from the work of
D. H. Roop, who studied the Lisu language and read my field reports and offered
much useful advice. I would also like to thank Professor F.K. Lehman who
read my field reports, ~orresponded with me while I was in. the field, and
offered me invaluable assistance and advice in interpretation of material both
while I was in the field and after I returned. Sala A Yi assisted me throughout
the project. Khun Prasert Chaipigusit, Hill Tribes Research Centre, Chiang·
mai, and Khun Wanat Bhruksasri, Director of the Hill Tribes Research Centre
were helpful in many ways throughout the period of the study.
2) Dessaint, A.Y. "Lisu Annotated Bibliography," Behaviot· Science Notes, 1971,
6:71-94 ....... "The Poppies are Beautiful This Year," Natural History,
1972,81:30.

152 Durrenberger
In order to understand the Lisu view of ~b~ order of the .universe
we must comprehend their relationships with these spirits. On~ important
way of appreciating these relationships is by observing direct
interaction between people and spirits during shamanistic seances. The
purpose of this paper is to contribute to such an understanding by
describing a shamanistic seance.
First, however, let us examine the shaman's role and his place in
setting bad situations aright. Shamans are men who have been chosen
by the spirits of their patrilineal lineages to be "horses". If a man
begins to act in bizarre ways-to have fits, lose energy and want to stay
at home instead of working in his fields, to run about madly and bash his
head against trees, to have nightmares-people will infer that be has
probably been chosen by the spirits to be their "horse". To find out
what to do, they ask an established shaman to call his spirits so people
can ask them. The spirits usually indicate that the man has been chosen
to be a shaman. Having been chosen, the man may not refuse the will
of the spirits, at least, if he resists, there will be dire if not always fatal
consequences.
As these symptoms and interpretations develop, news of the new
shaman spreads. Then, explaining that their spirits have told them of
the new shaman, shamans from surrounding villages come to initiate the
new one. They take the neophyte to a place deep in the forest where
they set out a number of lighted beeswax candles and bamboo cups filled
with mashed beans or water. The neophyte eats the beans and candles
and drinks the water.
One of the shamans calls his great-grandfather spirit to him, and
this spirit questions the neophyte about his lineage spirits-who is senior
to whom, who is most powerful, who can do what things. The neophyte
answers and then the shaman asks which spirit the neophyte would like
to ride him first. The neophyte answers that the most junior spirit
should come first.
Meanwhile, other shamans call powerful spirits to ride them. Just
as when someone gets a new horse all of the children want to ride, all
of the spirits want to ride the new shaman. These powerful spirits

A LISU SHAMANISTIC SEANCE 153
drive off the bad spirits with lighted joss sticks. The bad spirits must
be taught at this time that they may not ride the shaman, for should they
ride hiin when be is trying to cure someone; they would eat the patient's
soul, and be would die. Spirits of other lineages may try to ride the new
shaman, but they are not allowed to. When this initiation is finished,
only the spirits of the neophyte's lineage can ride him and he is able,
with their help, to cure people and to communicate with the world of
the spirits.
Following this ceremony, the new shaman seeks further instruction
from a senior shaman of his ow·n lineage. During such training sessions
the new shaman and the senior one are both possessed and the senior
shaman demonstrates and teaches the various aspects of the role. Lisu
say, "The spirits of the senior shaman instruct those of the junior one."
In addition to instructing the new shaman, the "training sessions''
are important for establishing a consensus among villagers that this
person is really a shaman. In the "training sessions" I observed, the
senior shaman's spirits repeatedly asked people in the audience to judge
wl)etber the trainee's behavior were appropriate .. The new shaman
must not speak gibberish; be must be intelligible.
The senior shaman's spirits also catalogue the various functions of
the shaman and describe just what offerings to the shaman's lineage
spirits the beneficiaries of these services should make. Again, the spirits
ask for confirmation from the people in attendance .
. The shamans' duties involve communicating with the spirits
whenever necessary. They diagnose illnesses and other misfortunes,
separate the souls of the dead from those of the living after a death; drive
away bad spirits, return objects which have been intruded into victims
(tai) either by spirits or sorcerers, exorcise witch spirits (phyi ph'5) and
other bad spirits which may possess people, cure diseases, and extend
peoples' lives by writing letters to god (wusa).
One of the most important functions of the shaman is to discover
the causes of disease and other misfortunes. Therapeutic actions, which
aim to correct misfortunes, are predicated on an etiology of the misfortune.
The shaman invokes his spirits, who ride him, and people can ask

154 Durrenberger
the spirits directly about the causes of misfortunes.
therefore very central in dealing with misfortune.
The shaman is
Because of the shaman's importance in discovering the causes of
misfortunes, and because misfortunes are not uncommon, shamanistic
seances are frequent. In the village I studied hardly a week wentby
without a shamanistic seance for one purpose or another. Seances are,
then, everyday events, just as misfortunes are.
Before describing a seance, I shall describe a Lisu house so the
positioning and movements of the shaman and others will be clear. The
houses are built on hillside terraces. Houses face downhill, with a door
which opens onto a verandah which is shaded by the overhanging thatched
roof. The floors are pounded earth. Houses are typically about
thirty by thirty-six feet but some are larg.er and some smaller. The
walls are constructed of split bamboo planks. On the back wall, at the
height of the top of the wall, opposite the door, is an altar which either
rests on legs or is hung from the rafters. On the altar board are
arranged Chinese cups and/or bowls. Each of these represents a spirit,
To the left, as one faces the altar, are cups for the householder's mother,
father, grandmother and grandfather. The other cups or bowls represent
lineage spirits. The more powerful spirits are located to the right
of less powerful ones. Left and right are determined by facing downhill,
with one's back to the altar, so actually more powerful spirits are to the·
left of less powerful ones.
On either side of the space given over to the altar there are walls
which separate sleepin'g quarters. To the right side of the house (left as
one faces the altar) is a cooking space. Along the front walls there are
usually split bamboo platforms to seat people. Near the center of the
house is a hearth used for cooking or preparing tea. There may be a
split bamboo platform under the altar. This is the general pattern of
Lisu houses although there is much variation according to lineage
custom.
Inside the house there are usually several short wooden stools.
the seance is in response to an individual's being sick, the patient usually
sits on a stool near the hearth, and faces the door. The shaman positions
if

A LJSU SHAMANJS'l'IC SEANCE 155
himself in front of the altar and stands on the platform if there is one
under the altar. Other people sit on the platforms near the front of the
house or on stools. Anyone may speak to the spirits when they possess
the shaman, but usually one or two men will attend to the shaman. They
keep the altar cups full of water, provide joss sticks, bring the things the
spirits request and catch the shaman when he leaves his trance. During
the seance lighted joss sticks are kept on the altar.
The shaman may invoke his spirits with a prayer, or be may simply
whistle for about a minute before becoming possessed. Typically, the
prayer lists some of the shaman's lineage spirits, tells them this is a good
day or night, addresses them as "the ones who can see, who can bear,
who know everything," and "the ones who take care of the horse, the
ones who ride the horse," and asks them to come down. When be is
possessed, the shaman's voice assumes a singing or chanting quality
quite distinct from ordinary diction.
The seance was to find out the cause of Widow Woman's illness.
The shaman was Fish Man. 3 What follows is a description of the seance
and a translation of the dialogue between the spirits and the people.
This is a translation of a tape recording of the seance. I recorded and
translated many of these s.eances with the help of Lisu villagers and my
Lahu assistant, Sala A Yi. The one presented here is typical of a
diagnostic seance.
Spirit: I, third generation daughter (sachf dmyi) have come down.
People, why have you called me'! Third generation older
brother, senior to me .... People, I have come. Third generation
daughter has come to your place. You who are senior to
me, come help.
People: Come down quickly.
Spirit: People have called me; so I am calling you. The people have
become sick.
People: Where we offended, we do not know. What is needed? Come
tell us quickly.
3) For more on Lisu curing and the place of shamans in the process, see Durrenberger,
E.P. "Lisu Curing: A Case History," Bulletin ofT he History of Medidne,
forthcoming,

156 Durrenberger
Spirit: I will tell. I am third generation daughter.
People: Please tell us where we offended. Please tell us. If you do not
tell, it is your fault.
Spirit: If I tell, people, you must use silver and gold. I will tell. If I
tell you, you cannot do everything.
People: We can use [whatever is needed].
Spirit: People, people, third generation great-grandfather (stichf piph'a)
will tell.
People: Please tell us what is needed quickly.
Spirit: I will tell you. I cannot not tell you.
People: Please tell us quickly. Do not wait for us people to tell you,
tell us quickly.
Spirit: People ... People ...
People: Where was the offense? You, spirit who can see, tell us.
you have something to tell us, please tell us.
The shaman took a cup from the altar and sprayed Widow Woman,
who was inside the sleeping room, then sprinkled the right side of the
altar enclosure, the wall of the sleeping room, and banded the altar cup
to Widow Woman.
Spirit: People, people, third generation daughter has come down and
spoken wrongly. You people used only one chicken.
People: Do not say that; if you do not tell us, we do not know. We
have called you.
Spirit : I told you wrong, told wrong. Like this, like that. Third
generation great-grandfather spirit on the gold and $ilver altar
will tell.
People: Tell us whether animals or silver is needed.
Spirit : People, people, she bas been sick for many days. I will tell you
about the offense.
People: What should we do for it to be good ? Please tell us. People
do not know.
Spirit: I will tell you : I will tell you straight.
People: People do not know, cannot do. Pleas~ .tell us.
Spirit: I will tell you.
People: What must we people for it to be good ?
If

A.L!SU SHAMANISTIC SEANCE 157
Spirit: People, people . . . . One senior to third generation daughter
will tell.
People: If you have something to tell us, tell it. What should we do for
it to·be good?·
Spirit:
I will tell who' sent the sickness. 1 will tell who put the sickness.
If I tell you, it is like this; if I do riot tell you, it is like
this.
[The spirit addresses the house spirits] If you sent this sickness,
you have no honor (dzl mafu myi majii). Spirits senior to me,
do you lo.ok after your descendants like this? [to the people]
You looked for' me, so you must keep long hearts (be patient).
If you keep long hearts, you are honorable (du fu myi ju).
People: We cannot keep short hearts.
Spirit: Altar spirits, keep soft hearts.
honorable.
People : What should Wr do to have ho.nor?
lfyoti keep soft hearts, y,ou are
Spirit: If you keep ,long L1earts, you will have honor .•. People do not
know, cannot do .... If you altar spirits sent this sickness,
you do not have honor. More than this, third generation
daughter will tell.
People: You must tell us : you must teach us.
Spirit: I will tell about your whole village.
The shaman coughed and stumbled.
People: Hold your hot'se, do not let it fall.
Spirit: I will tell you.
I will tell about people who do not know.
People: Please tell us how to cut away this sickness.
Spirit: I have seen third generation woman, but she did not tell me
anything. Three generations, four generations, you·look after
your children. · After they know about this, you spirits look.
If your descendants are sick, you have no honor. This the
country of other people. There is much sickness. The people
will laugh at you. The descendants of others do not get sick.
The descendants of others are no.t sick. [To Widow Woman]
İ'l
I~

}58 Durrenberger
You who look for silver and gold, you should not look for silver
and gold in the fields; you should stay in the house and teach
your children. At the top of the village, bottom of the village,
you have no relatives. I ask you, third generation spirit, my
senior, are you angry or not? These are third generation
daughter's words .. Third generation daughter's words are thick.
I do not know, but I have a soft heart. I cannot say more than
this.
People: You must have a soft heart.
Spirit I I am third generation ... people, third generation daughter, the
golden woman, silver woman (phwu lo ma swt lo ma). I will tell.
People: We want you to tell us, so we have called you.
Spirit: I am the last daughter, I will tell you. People ...
People: What must we do to cut away the sickness?
Spirit: If I tell you, you will be poor and hungry.
People: Do not tell us twice; tell us once only.
Spirit: Third ge.neration older brother bas spoken wrongly. People ...
People: If you do not tell us, it is your fault. What should we do.to
cut away the sickness? If people do not listen, it is their fault.
Spirit: Too much to eat. People, people ....
People: You tell us, you teach us.
Spirit : I will speak.
If I tell you, you will be poor.
People: People are sick and have called you.
Spirit: You need to look for an able man at the top of the village, at
the bottom of the village. Do not have a heavy heart, look
quickly.
People: We have nowhere to look for one, we are satisfied with you.
Spirit: You must use much.
People: We can use it, please tell us.
Spirit: People, three generation daughter told you wrong.
People: It does not matter, we can use what is needed.
we do to cut away the. sickness?
Spirit: I, the daughter, will tell you.
What should
People: If you have somethi!Jg to tell us, please tell us everything.

A LISU SHAMANISTIC SEANCE 159
Spirit: There, where you cut wood, call my friend and make a ceremony
there. Before, third generation da,ugbter told you and you did
not keep it in your hearts. You have big hearts. What has
happened to you now ?
People : People are like pigs and dogs.
Spirit: Third generation older brother told you wrong. People, I do
not know, so go look at the top of the village, at the bottom of
the village. Look at the top of the village ~nd the bottom of
the village and make the sickness well, People, people, you
have cold hearts. You eat too much.
People: Let us not have !'rouble.
Spirit : There is much essence of disease.
People : If there is no niore, thank you.
There is no more than this.
Spirit : People, I have told the altar spirits to keep soft hearts. Now
they have soft hearts.
People: If you tell them, may they have soft hearts.
Spirit: Now it will be good for the people. It has become well. People,
I do not know, I cannot do. I have told you much. I do not
know, so I have told wrong. I have spoken wrongly, people.
I have received many joss sticks and much water.
The shaman came out of his trance and the seance ended.
When
shamans come out of their trances, they do not remember what has
happened or what the spirits have told the people. In this case, the
spirit indicated that a ceremony to the spirit of a certain hill should
be made and the essence of disease should be sent from the household.
I think some of the interesting aspects of this seance have to do
with the relations between spirits and people.
We see that spirits, as
well as people, can lose and gain honor by their actions, and that the
people do not have any especial awe for their spirits who are fallibl~,
just as people are. We see, for instance, that household spirits .can lose
honor by not fulfilling peoples' expectations of them to keep the housebold
members from harm. In some seances people ask for much more
specific information-should they offer a pig or a chicken, what has been.

--r
160 Durrenberger
the offense, and so on. Many ceremonies, among tbem, those for hill
spirits have standard forms, so more specific information is not needed.
The spirits repeat that if they tell the people the causes of the
sickness, the people will have to use wealth and will become poor.
Ceremonies are often occasions for feasts where food is distributed,
which brings honor to the sponsor of the feast.
In this seance we see a shaman in action in his role as purveyor of
important information for diagnosis, and something of how Lisu relate
to some of their spirits, as instrumentalities rather than with awe. We
also see that ceremonies are a way of distributing wealth in feasts and
that the honor of spirits, as the honor of people, must be earned.

A NOTE ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BUDDHIST
TEMPLES IN THAILAND*
by
Jack Bilmes
Invitations
Much has been written about Thai Buddhist beliefs and practices.
This is one of the most intensively studied areas of Thai life. The
organization of the Sangha (the Buddhist Order), the role of the monk;
the place of the wat (the temple complex) in village life, the ceremonial
cycle, and the understandings and objectives of the Thai Buddhist layman
have all been well described. But there is an important aspect of
religious life which has received scant attention-between-wat relationships.
This omission is surprising, since these relations are of considerable
importance in the religious life of the village and may be of some
significance in the study of Thai political and social integration.
I will base my discussion on data collected in the Northern Thai
village of Sang Ton. I have reason to believe that these data are fairly
typical for rural Northern Thailand and perhaps, with some modifications,
for the rest of Buddhist Thailand as welL Between-wat relationships are
manifested in joint participation in certain ceremonies which take place
at the wat. When the village of Sang Ton (whose inhabitants are all
members, and the only members, of the Sang Ton Wat congregation)
has one of these ceremonies, it invites, in the name of the Sang Ton Wat,
certain other wats to participate. The invitation may be to one monk
or to some or all the monks and novices of the wat, or to the monks,
novices, and congregation, depending on the occasion and the closeness
of the relationship between the two wats. The relationship is reciprocal,
so when the other wat has that ceremony, it will invite participation
from the Sang Ton Wat. (Each year an assessment is made against
every household in Sang Ton to finance village participation in the
*The research on which this paper was based was carried out in Northern Thailand
from February 1971 to March 1972, under a grant from the National Institute of
General Medical Sciences. I would like to thank Alice Dewey, Alan Howard, and
Takie Lebra for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.

162 Jack Bilmes
ceremonies to which it is invited by other wats. The headman and the
abbot set the amount of each assessment, according to the economic
status of each household.) Moreover, the form of the participation will
be the same on both sides. If, when Sang Ton performs ceremony A, it
invites one monk from Wat X, then, when Wat X performs the same
ceremony,.it will invite one monk from Sang Ton.
The Sang Ton Wat has such reciprocal relationships with 51
other wats. Moreover, the total field of relationships is internally
qrdered along a dimension which may be labelled "closeness." This
order is manifested in the type of invitation (in terms of occasion and
persons invited) which is issued to a particular wat. There are eleven
named occasions in which outside wats may participate: (1) ta:n
sala:k, (2) ta:n ton ngeun, (3) tang tham, (4) ta:n d~:j kha:w,
(5) the:t tham, (6) ta:n thq, (7) pq:j luang, (8) nga :n ban phacha:,
(9) nga: n upasombot, (1 0) thq: t ph a: pa :, ( 11) kathin. These are all
merit-making occasions, involving presents to monks and the host wat,
Not one of these occasions is regularly scheduled, although lt may be
predicted that each rainy season, if a ta: n sa/a: k is not performed, then
a ta: n ton ngeun, ta: n d9 :j kha: w, or tang tham will be held in its place,
and conversely, if none of the latter three are held as an intervillage
occasion, then a ta: n sal a: k will occur. In Sang Ton, however, a ta: n
sa/a: k occurs most years.
It seems reasonable to believe that those wats with the closest
relations to the Sang Ton Wat will be invited to the most occasions.
Before looking more closely at this hypothesis we may note that any wat
invited to ta: n sa/a: k will not be invited to the: t tham. The fact of
this non-overlap may lead us to suspect that both these occasions are
coordinated as part of some single larger occasion, and our suspicion
will be correct. The villagers assert that it is neither necessary nor
appropriate to invite a wat for the: t tham if it bas already been invited
for ta: n sal a: k. Insofar as wat relations are concerned, invitation to
one is a substitute for (although not, as shall be later explainec;l, precisely
equivalent to) invitation to the other. For the moment, ta: n sal a: k and
the: t tham shall be considered together as one occasion, and coded "C."
Occasions 2, 3, and 4 (ta: n ton ngeun, tang tham, and ta: n d~ :j kha: w)

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BUDDHIST TEMPLES . 163
are, for our purposes, structurally equivalent, since they all call for
invitations to the same set of wats. These three occasions are coded
"A.'' ta:n th~ is coded "B" and pfl:i luang is ''D." My data on nga:n
banphacha: and nga: n upasombot, both ordination ceremonies, are not·
complete enough to warrant great confidence, but they seem to fit in
category "A." I will leave the ordination ceremonies out of the analysis,
together with thq: t pha: pa and kathin. As an intervillage event, thq: t
pha: pa involves one congregation deciding to hold a merit-making
ceremony at the wat of another congregation, so as to help out the second
wat in a period of financial stress. ·It is a fairly unusual occurrence and
does not proceed according to the ordinary rules of invitation. Kathin
is also an exceptional occasion with special rules ofits own. (My informants
could not recall ever having bad kathitz in Sang Ton.)
Figure 1
Occasions
A B c D
Wats 1-6 X X X X
7-9 X X X
10~20 X X
21-51 X
The figure shows that if a wat is invited toA, it will also be invited to
B, C, and D, if it is invited to B, it will also be invited to C and· D, etc.
This suggests that we can: conceive the wats as being located on a single
dimension which will account for the patterning of invitations. I have
already named this dimension "closeness." (This refers to closeness of
relationship, not necessarily physical distance.) We have so far distinguished
four degrees of closeness.
The analysis can be further elaborated by taking account of the
fact that there can be different" degrees of participation in occasion C.
For certain wats, all the monks and novices, together with the entire
congregati~n, are invited. This ,form of invitation will be coded "Ct."
For certain other wats, only one monk and one novice are invited. This
will be coded "C 2
." The relllaining wats which participate in occasion

l64
Jack Bilmes
Care not invited to ta: n sa/a: k, at all, but, in the weeks immediately
following ta: n sa/a: k, one monk from each wat is invited to come an:d
preach (the:t tham) at the Sang Ton Wat. This is coded "C 3 ." (That
the invitations to the: t tham are properly conceived as part of the ta: n
sa/a: k occasion is shown not only by the complementarity of invitations
referred to earlier, but also by the fact that in years when ta: n sa! a: k is
not held, the usual invitations to the: t tham are not issued.)
In figure 2, these new distinctions are taken into account.
Figm;,e 2
Occasions
c1 A B c2 c3 D
Wats 1-4 X X X X
5-6 X X X X
7-9 X X X
10-11 X X
12-20 X X
21-51 X
This figure does not look as neat as Figure 1 because of the complementarity
of C 1 , C 2 , and C 3 • A slight change in conceptualization
will rectify this. Let us think of C 3 as representing a minimal amount of
participation in ta: n sa/a: k. C 2 then implies this minimal amount of
participation plus something more. When appropriate, we put an "X"
under c3 to show minimal participation, and under c2 to show "something
more." C1 represents an additional "something more." This
conception allows us to X in C 2 and C 3 wherever C 1 applies, and to X in
c3 wherever c2 applies, thus eliminating those unsightly blanks from
figure 2 and forming a perfect Guttman scale.
Factors Influencing Invitations
One might guess that "invitational closeness" would be strongly
correlated with physical closeness, and figure 3 confirms this guess. At
the most trivial level, we may note that none of the 51 wats with which
the Sang Ton Wat has relationships are extremely distant from Sang
Ton-they are all within a radius of several miles. Moreover, there is a

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@= Sang Ton Wat
* "~ wat invited to CpA, B, D
~ "' wat invited to A, B, C 2, D
0 ,- wat invited to B, C 1 , D
.C. ~ wat invited to C,, D
(!) = wat invite·d to c;, D
0 ,, wat invited to D
X ,, other ·wats in area
"' • paved road
~, Ping River
~-------------------------16-.~2~S~M~ile-s------------------------------------------~
Figure 3.

166 Jack Bilmes
tendency for wats that are invited on several occasions to be physically
closer than those which are only invited on one or two occasions.
Apparently, it is not distance as such, but ease of communication tbat is
important. This is suggested by the fact that relationships extend
further along the north-south axis, which is serviced by a hardtop road,
than along the east-west axis, which is not, The map, however, still
leaves much to be explained. The Sang Ton Wat has relationships with
certain wats which are relatively distant, but not with other wats which
are nearer and easier to get to. Certain wats which are quite close in
terms of physical distance may be invited to fewer occasions than certain
other wats which are more distant. Clearly, there are factors other
than ease of communication which influence between-wat relationships.
A between-wat relationship may be initiated as a result of a special
relationship between the monks of the two wats. For example, the abbot
of one wat may be a relative or friend or former student of the abbot of
another. The Sang Ton Wat invited the wat of Village X only on
occasion D, until the present abbot, a native of Village X and a student
of the abbot of Village X Wat, arrived, Now Sang Ton and Village X
are in a C1 relationship. There is a village rather far to the north of
Sang Ton which is invited to C 2 and D occasions. A former (now
deceased) abbot of the Sang Ton Wat moved to the wat in this village.
This is how the relationship was established.
The relationship between
these two wats was quite close while the monk lived, but is now less so .
•
Relationships between the lay members of the congregations of two
wats may also lead to the establishment of invitational relations between
the wats.
Usually, this results in invitations to D occasions only. For
example, if a member of one congregation moves to another village, he
may, after living in his adopted village for several years, suggest such a
a liaison. Or if members of congregation X have relatives in congregation
Y, an invitational relationship may occur. It will be noticed on the
map that there are two wats far to the south of Sang Ton (outside the
circle) which are invited to occasion D. Formerly, many Sang Ton
villagers went to live there, and the intervillage relationship bas never
lapsed.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BUDDHIST TEMPLES 167
Causes and Effects of Invitations
We must begin by making a distinction between occasions Ct. B,
and D, on the one hand, and A, C 2 , and C3, on the other. For the former
set of occasions, invitations are issued to the congregations as well as the
monks and novices of each wat. For the latter, only one or more monks,
and sometimes novices, are invited from other wats (although the entire
congregation of the host wat participates). When I asked villagers why
wat relationships were maintained, they mentioned one or both of two
reasons: (1) It is more fun to have many people (and, presumably, to
meet people whom one .does not see every day). We might add that this
gives the village bachelors a chance to meet and court girls from other
villages. (2) It is a way of getting a lot of money for the wat all at
once, since the outsiders make cash contributions. This money is
generally used for construction or repair of wat buildings. (Of course,
it all evens out in the end.) The first reason applies best to Ct. B, and D.
The second reason given by the villagers applies equally to all six occasions.
The villagers also mentioned "not allowing relations between
wats to break down" and "unity."
We are led at this point to ask: "Why should relations between
wats not be allowed to break down? What kind of unity is promoted
by such relations and what are its consequences? In trying to answer
these questions, I will have to go beyond what the villagers told me.
The between-wat relationships have certain functions relating to the
Buddhist Order and religion. The presence at village ceremonies of
outside monks is a sign of the unity of the Buddhist faith, and at the
same time the contact among the monks helps to preserve unity and
orthodoxy. Since the monks are invariably feasted and given presents
on these occasions, the invitational relationships may increase the
incentives for entering the Order. So these relationships serve to
stabilize religious practices and the religious Order.
As I have already pointed out, the relationships between wats arise
from personal relationships between. laymen or monks. We might
hypothesize that, when the institutional means are available, and particularly
if normal everyday contact is reduced to the point where the

168 Jack Bilmes
relationship is threatened, there is a tendency to institutionalize the
personal relationship.
In this way, the personal relationship is expressed
and maintained, and a new system of relationshrps emerges at an institutional
level. The relationship between wats is, from one point of view,
a formalization and a celebration of individual relationships. Anthropologists
have shown that people often express idealizations of everyday
social interaction in formal, ritualized occasions. Wat relations are
formal, ritualized reaffirmations of certain social relationships which
might otherwise lapse.
As such, these reciprocal invitations help to
maintain and widen the network of social relationships.
Wat relations are organized into what I will call a kindred-type
network. The essence of a kindred-type structure is:
1) There is a (limited) field of potential relationships. Relations
between temples exist only if the travelling time between them is within
"reasonable" limits. However, boundaries may be extended through
the setting of new limits or the introduction of new means of transportation.
2) The field of potential relations is both bounded in terms of
and internally structured (at least in a statistical sense) by a dimension
(e.g., genealogical distance or travelling time). The probability of an
active relationship decreases with distance, as does the probability of a
relatively close relationship. Some of the potential relationships are
active, others not.
3) An active relationship between two individuals, groups, or
institutions in the field results from a special agreement between those
two individuals, groups or institutions, The set of active relationships
is always open to modification through the establishment of new agreements
or the termination of already existing ones.
4) Each individual, etc. is the center of his own unique (except in
the case of siblings) field of potential and active relationships, and each
such field overlaps with many others, thus constituting a complex,
ramifying network.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BUDDHIST TEMPLES 169
This type of network with its differing potentialities for each
individual, it~ fuzzy boundaries, and its openness to change (since
individual changes will barely affect the properties of the network as a
whole) may be an important element in what has come to be known as
Thai "loose structure" (Embree 1950 originated the term). Certainly it
is typical of Thai friendship relations, kin relations, and temple relations.
The structure is there, and, from a proper perspective, maintains its
essential identity, even while the individuals in it constantly exercise a
great degree of personal discretion in organizing their particular sector
of the network.
The network of temple relationships extends outward, until it
reaches the limits imposed by geographical barriers or ethnic or political
boundaries. The network is a possible mechanism for regional integration,
and in this fact lies at least part of its adaptive significance. In
earlier times, this network may have played a major role in maintaining
the political and religious unity of the Thai, and in enabling the Thai,
by virtue of their wide-scale organization, to gain political ascendance
ov~r the other groups in the area. With the establishment of a modern,
centralized government administration and the improvement in transportation
and communication facilities, the network of wat relationships
has perhaps lost much of its integrating function. But the network is
still in operation-the villagers have their own· reasons for keeping it
alive. Aside from those reasons, which have already been mentioned,
we may think of the network as potentially adaptive. In an unpredictable
world, the network of wat relationships (like networks of personal
. relationships) provides some insurance against possible future inadequacies
in the integrative capabilities of the government administration.
Embree, John
REFERENCES
1950 Thailand.-,a loosely structured social system. American Anth1·opplogist
52:1Sl-93.

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS: SACRALIZED
TOPOGRAPHY AND ECHOES OF ANGKOR IN
TWO CAMBODIAN TEXTS~~'
by
David P. Chandler
This paper will be concerned with invocations to local spirits,
known generically as me sa, which are found in two Cambodian .texts:
one dating from 18591 and the other, printed in 1946, dating at least
from the 1880s,2
Halfway through the month of srap (July-August) 1859, the Cambodian
king Duang (r. 1848-1860) sponsored a ceremony at his capital,
Udong, to cleanse his kingdom of demerit by offering gifts to its guardian
deities and spirits, summoned by name in prayers recited by his court
brahmans, or baku. Another purpose of the ceremony, normally conducted
somewhat earlier in the year, was to ask these guardians for rain. 3
*In writing this paper, I have benefited greatly from correspondence and discussions
with R.I. Heinze, Charles F. Keyes, Ian Mabbett, Eveline Poree-Maspero, Saveros
Pou, Thong Thel, Craig Reynolds, Michael Vickery and Hiram W. Woodward, Jnr,
1) Bakya prakasa devata kmmg brah rajabidhi parzmasastra (Text of a decree to the
spirits in a royal ceremony connected with Varuna) in Buddhist Institute
(camp.) Brt;~h rajabidhi dvad samasa (Royal Festivals of the Twelve-Months'
cycle), Phnom Penh, 1951, 172-179, Translated (with several omissions) as
Adhemard Leclere, "Les fetes locales· au Cambodge. Un pithi polikar plieng
(rain-summoning ceremony)", Revue lndochinoise (RI) 1906, 90-99. A text
with the same title in Leclere, Cambodge, Fetes civiles, Paris, 1916, does not
include the full list of toponyms.
2) Kingdom of Cambodia, Sacca pranidhiin samrap broe nar.t siil'E jumnum kmmg
kambuja (Oath to be used in the cou·rts of Cambodia), Phom Penh, 1946 (Text
MCC 56.036 in the archives of the Buddhist Institute). I am grateful to Pech
Thinh for providing a typescript of this text. The first lines of the invocation
are identical to those in the oath cited in p&rt by Leclere, Fetes civiles, 634 ff.,
(collected in Kampot in the 18 8Os).
3) Rainmaking ceremonies were normally celebrated in April and May, according
to Brah tajabidhi, II, 170,171.; see also Eveline Poree-Maspero, Etude.mr les
rites agrai1·es des cambodgiens (Etude), 3 vols., Paris, 1·961-1969, I, 237, The
festival was delayed in 1859 beca\lse of Ouanfs absence in Karnpot.

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS 171
The invocation, in the Khmer text, runs to some eighty lines of print.
About half of these are addressed to recognizable Indian gods. The
last thirty five lines, however, invoke roughly a hundred local spirits
identified with toponyms and topographical features throughout Cambodia.
About two-thirds of these can be identified.
The second text to be examined is a civil oath (Sacca Praq.idhan)
the first two-thirds of which is taken up by a similar list of me sa, running
to over two hundred names which, as Mme. Poree Maspero has written,
pose "arduous problems of identification".4 Five of the names in this
list (two of which also appear in the 1859 text) are associated with
archaeological sites from the reign of Yasovarman l (r. 889-c. 910), the
founder of Angkor. These names are clustered together in such a way
as to suggest "memories" of Angkor that are absent from other Cambodian
sources, such as the post-Angkorean inscriptions, folk tales, and the
chronicles, or bangsavatar.
The lists themselves, aside from this particular feature, are interesting
for several reasons. In the first place, similar toponymical
invocations have been recorded in Laoss and among Indo-Chinese tribal
peoples, 6 but· they do not seem to have been a feature of Thai ceremonies,
4) Por6e-Masp6ro, Etude, 12, n.!. In identifying toponyms in the text, I have
relied on G. Coedes, "Index alphabetique pour Le Cambodge de M. Aymonier",
Bulletin de la Commisst'on archaeologique del' Indochine, vol. l (1911) 85-169,
and United States Army Topographic Command, Geographic Names Division,
Cambodia, Washington, 1971.
5) See Anonymous, "Prestation du petit serment a !'occasion du nouvel an laotien"
Bulletin de L'Eco/e Francaise d'Extr~rne Orient (BEFEO) XXIX (1929)
530-532; P. Nginn, "Invocation aux devata dans le c~remonie du serment"
France-Asie (FA) VIII (1951) 573-576, and Thao Viboun, "Le Basi", La Revue
Franqaise No. 34 (Jan. 1952) 91-93. See also Charles Archaimbault, "La fSte
du T'at a Sieng khwang (Laos)" Artibus Asiae (AA) XXIV, 3-4 (1961) 191-2,
n. 16, and· Archaimbault, "Les ceremonies en l'honneur des phif'a (pbi celestes)
a Basak (Sud Laos)" Asie du Sud-Est et Monde lt~sulinde (ASEMI) VI/I
(1975) 85-114.
6) For examples, see J. Boulbet, "Borde au rendez-vous des. genies" Bulletin de la
societe des etudes indochbzoises (BSEI) XXX (1960) 640; Bernard Jouin, La mort
et la tombe, Paris, 1949, 227, and Albert Maurice, "Trois fetes agraires rhade"
BEFEO XLV (1951-1952) 191.

172 David P. Chandler
either at court or in the countryside, in spite of the extensive exchange of
cultural baggage among the Thai, Lao and Khmer in the centuries that
followed the abandonment of Angkor.7 Another interestingfeatureofthe
lists is that they are the only written maps, on a national scaJe, that have
come down to us from pre-colonial Cambodia. The absence of pictorial
maps (which survive from nineteenth century Thailand and Vietnam)s is
less important, when approaching the Angkorean echoes, for example,
than the presence of these recited ones, which_ are suggestive of Cambodian
notions, probably extending back at least to Angkor, of sacred
space, ethnicity, and jurisdiction.9 The lists, like those found in the
inscriptions at the ground level of the Bayon, a Buddhist temple built at
Angkor at the end of the twelfth century, are in .some senses an inventory
of the kingdom, a map of and for the use of the ancestral spirits, or nak
7) I am grateful to Ruth Inge Heinze, Charles F. Keyes, Craig Reynolds, and
Hiram W. Woodward, Jnr. for their (fruitless) efforts to unearth Thai toponymical
litanies. One possible exception is the short list of ancestor spirits,
some associated with places, in the fourteenth century Thai oath translated in
A.B. Griswold and Prasert na Nagara, "The Pact Between Sukhodaya and Nan.
Epigraphical and Historical Studies No.3", JSS, 57/l (January 1969) 57-109
at 8 0-82.
8) For Thai examples see Victor Kennedy, "An Indigenous Early 19th Century
Map of Central-Northeastern Thailand" in Tej Bunnag and Michael Smithies
{eds). In Memoriam Phya Anum an Rajaclon, Bangkok, 1970, 315-348 and Klaus
Wenk, "Zu einer "Landkarte" Sued und Ostasiens" in Siam Society, Felicitation
Volume of Southeast Asian Studies presented to H.H. Prince Dhaninivat, Bangkok,
1965 {2 vols) I, 119-122. See also the "map" of Burma and Siam described
in F.A. Neale; Narrative of a Residence at the Capital of the Kingdom of Siam,
London, 18 52, 55, where Siam and Burma are depicted as two people, with
Siam the larger. For reference to Vietnamese maps, see A.B. Woodside,
Vietnam and the Chinese Model, Cambridge, Mass. 1971, 257; P. Huard and M.
Durand (comps.), Connaissance dz1 Vietnam, Hanoi 19 54, 4, and Nguyen van
Huyen, "A propos d'une carte de repartition des genies tutelaires dansle province
de Bac-Ninh" [nstitut lndochinois pour t'etude de l'homme III (1940) 137-
155.
9) For a stimulating discussion of ethnicity, see Robert A. Levine and Donald
Campbell, Ethnocentrism : Theories of Conflict, Ethnic Attitudes and G1·oup
Behavioul', New York, 1972, especially pp. 82-110. See also June Helm {ed.)
Essays in the Problem of Tribe, Seattle 1968.

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS 173
ta, being summoned from particular places to be revered,IO, It is
interesting to see how the toponyms are arranged. In both texts, they
seem to proceed in a clockwise spiral, beginning to the .east of Udong
and gradually enclosing it within a ma11dala, or circle, keeping it to the
right in a process known as pradak~r'na.ll The act of recital, it would
seem, and the shape formed by names recited in a given order (perhaps
as an aid to memorization) were at least as important to the celebrants
because, in a sense, the ~ecital "built" the kingdom as the accuracy of
the names themselves.
Since only twenty-two toponyms are common to both lists, it is
unlikely that they spring from a common source, or were compiled with
reference to each other. In very general terms, the 1859 text appears to
stress toponyms in the vicinity of Udong at the expense of those far
from the capital, while the oath has a greater number of toponyms
associated with archaeological sites.t2 But so many toponyms in both
lists cannot be identified that it is impossible to contrast them usefully in
terms of the way they are distributed over the Cambodian landscape.
10) See J. Dumaryay and B.P. Groslier, Le Bayon, Paris, 1973, 113-134. The
most succinct analysis of the cult of nak ta is Poree Maspero, Etude, I, 3-16.
For various legends about them, see Buddhist Institute (comp.) Brajum
rioeng preng (BRP) (Collected old stories) VIII, Phnom Penh, 1971. There is
an exasperated "definition" of the phrase in Jean Moura, Le Royaume du Cambadge,
Paris, 1883, I, 172: "Sortes de divinite locales, des genies tutelaires,
d'aoges gardiens d'une territoire, d'une foret, d'une montagne, d'une 11e, d'une
riviere, d'un arbre, d'un village, des betes feroces d'une.contrce." On me sa,
see below, p, 184.
ll) Eveline Poree Maspero, personal communication. On the process in general,
see J. Przyluski, "Pradaksina. , en Indochine" Festschrift fur M. Winternitz,
Leipzig, 1933, 326-332, F.D.K. Bosch, "La procession du feu sacre" BEFEO,
XXXII (1932) 7-21, and Groslier, Bayon, 194 •. There is an interesting set
of Biblical parallels in E. Nourry, "Le tour de la ville et la chute de Jerico",
Ch. 4 of his Essais dufolklore biblique, Paris 1922,
12) The oath also has more references than the 1859 text to mountains (23 to 7,
with 2 overlaps), islands (15 to. 3) and forests (14 to 2), but many of these are
unidentifiable. It is not surprising that more than half of the identifiable
toponyms in b_oth texts represent sites within reach of Udong.

174 David P. Chandler
Aside from Vietnam, which benefited from China's rich cartographic
tradition,13 scientific mapmaking was slow to develop on the mainland
of Southeast Asia, and only one indigenous map of Cambodia-of dubious
authorship-drawn earlier than the colonial era has survived.I4
The absence of cartographic tradition in Cambodia can be traced
to the isolation of villages from each other, the sedentary quality of
Cambodian life, and the absence of system a tic cadastral records,
transmitted from one generation or regime to the next. In their everyday
lives, Cambodians had little use for national or even supra~village maps,
although there is abundant evidence that smaller scale ones existed.t 5
The absence of national maps, however, should not be taken to
mean that Cambodians lacked notions of national space, or internal
divisions, especially as these were rendered sacred by local, royal, and
Buddhist ceremonies.J6 For ceremonial reasons, at least, Cambodia was
13) See Joseph Needham and Wang Ling, Science and Civilisation in Chiua, Vol. 3,
Cambridg~, 1959,491-590.
14) Anonymous, "Notes to accompany a map of Cambodia", Joumal of the Indian·
Archipelago, 185 I, 306-31 I; the map was "compiled for the purpose or regis·
tering some items of geographical information" brought to Singapore by a
Cambodian trade delegation. The reference to a "Cambodian geographical
work" in Charles Gutzlaff, Three Voyages along the Coast of China, London
183 3, 49, is probably spurious. In 1867, the Cambodian king presented the
Societe Geograpbique with a map of Cambodia that had been prepared by the
French; see H. Cordier, Biblioteca lndosinica, Paris, 1912 col. 2661.
15) See inscription K. 466, for example, dat.ed 1006 A.D., which includes a small
map. The spacing of rest-houses along Cambodian roads in the twelfth cen·
tury, and the distribution of Yasovarman's digraphic inscriptions, also suggests
fairly sophisticated notions of space. See G. Coedes, "Les gites d'~tape a Ia
fin du XII siecle", BEFEO, XL (1940) 347-49, and G. Coedes, "A !a recherche
du Yasodharasrama", BEFEO, XXXII (1932) 84-112. See also G. Coed~s,
lnscrij;tions du Cambodge (IC) I, 193 (K806) and III, 19 (IC. 207).
16) On Buddhist rituals, seeM. Giteau, Le bornage n'tuel des temples boucldhiques au
Cambodge, Paris 1969, and Luc Mogenet, "Notes sur Ia conception de Pespace
a Louaog Phl,'abang", Bulletin des Amis du Royaume Lao, Nos. 7-8 (1972) !66·96.
On Vietnamese cults, see L. Cadiere, "Sur quelques faits religieux ou magiques
observes pendant une epidemie de cholera en Annam", Rl, 1912, I16, and
Cadii:re, "Le culte des bornes" BEFEO, XIX (1919) 40-4 7.
•

MAPS ~'OR THE ANCESTORS 175
divided, for most of the nineteenth century, into five di or "earths"l7:
Tboung Khmum to the east of Udong, Ba Phnom to the southeast, Trang
to the southwest, Pursat to the west, and Korupong Svai (known today
as Kompong Thoro, and before about 1700 as Santbuk) to the north.IS
These fell under the jurisdiction of five high-ranking officials, referred to
in some sources as stac tran or "regional kings".l9 Purely administrative
districts, known as sruk, were governed by officials of lower rank.2o
The origins of the two institutions-a; and stac tran-are obscure,
although the motif of five sites, four grouped at cardinal points around a
centre, is deeply rooted in Indian cosmology, and evident at Angkor.21
17) E. Aymonier, Geog1·aphie du Cambodge, Paris 1876, 29.
18) Adhemard Leclure, Codes cambodgiens Paris 1900, 119n.
19) References to stac tran, as such, are rare in Cambodian texts, which usually
refer to these officials by their administrative titles. For French references,
see Leclere, Codes cambodgiens, 114 ff., A. Leclere, "Le sdach mealdL", Rl,
1905, 1378-1384, and E. Aymonier, LeCambodge (3 vols.) Paris 1900-1914,
I, 280. A quartering of the kingdom was in effect under Jayavarman VII,
according to Groslier, Le Banyan, 131, and Ceylonese governors in classical
Hmes were refered to as "the quarters" (Hocart, "The Four Quarters", Ceylon
,Journal of Science ( 1926) 105-111 at 10 8). See E. Poree Maspero, Etude, 384,
for a Khmer legend about stac t1·an collected in southern Vietnam. The institution
may have been post-Angkorean (Michael Vickery, pesonee communication).
20) Groslier, Bayon, !31, argues that the kingdom was divided into twenty four
districts under Jayavarman VII. A century later, a Chinese visitor said there
were "more than ninety" districts (P. Peliiot, Memoires sw· les coDtumes dzt
Cambodge de Tchou Ta-Iwan, Paris 1951, 32). In the nineteenth century, the
number fluctuated from around thirty to around fifty. Interestingly, only
two-thirds of the districts in effect at any point in the nineteenth century
appear in the oath, and less thana third appear in the 1859 text-an indication
that the baku did not choose to proceed, in compiling these "maps", from an
administrative vantage-point.
21) ·An ex.cellent description of this pervasive notion is Paul Mus, "Barabadur,
Lesoriginesdustupa •.•"
BEFEO, XXXII (1932)398-411passim. Seealso
A.M. Hocart, "The Four Quarters", and William H. Alkire, "Concepts of Order
in Southeast. Asia and Micronesia", Comparative Studies jn Society and History,
XIV/4. ((972) 484-493, and H.W. Shorto's influential article, "The 32 rnyos
in the medieval Moo kingdom" Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies (BSOAS) i6 ( 196 3) 771-591. On directional symbolism, see B.L. Gordon,
"Sacred Directions, Orientatio~. and. the Top of the Map", History of
[

176 David P. Chandler
The divisions as they stand are certainly post-Angkorean, however, if
only because nodi is centred at Angkor.22
Aside from this "quartering" of the kingdom, what was important
about the stac tran was their ceremonial role, and their relationship to
the king. French sources assert that they shared with the king the power
to impose death sentences; 23 another role they played, according to
Leclere, was to preside on the king's ·behalf at new years' ceremonies
in the di, including those known as loeng nak ta or "raising the ancestors",
at which litanies of guardian spirits (and oaths of loyalty) were probably
recited, and at which human and buffalo sacrifices occasionally took
placc. 2 4 At Udong, one manuscript suggests, the stac tran represented
the di at royal ceremonies, and came under the supervision of the b.aku.2s
Incidentally, all five of the di are mentioned in the oath, but only two
(Pursat and Tboung Kbmum) appear in Duang's text.
Before examining the lists in general terms, a particular group of
toponyms-numbering perhaps fifteen (some may have been intended as
combinations, and others are unidentified) in the oath deserves detailed
attention. Seven of them are identifiable. They are all from Siem
Reap, in the vicinity of Angkor; six in fact, are archaeological sites. Of
these, five contain temples (and, in two cases, inscriptions) from the reign
of Yasovarman I. The sixth site, Bakong, is a temple built in 881 A.D.
by Yasovarman's father, Indravarman I (r. 869-889). Two of the six­
Phnom Krom and Phnom Bakheng-also appear in the 1859 text, as does
an unidentifiable one (Phnqm Prah). The cluster of toponyms in the
22) Originally, the central di may have been Ba Phnom. See David P. Chandler,
"Royally Sponsored Human Sacrifices in Nineteenth Century Cambodia : the
Cult of nak ta Uma Mahisasuramardini at Ba Phom" .Journal of the Siam Society
(JSS) 62/2 (July 1974) 207-222, n.48.
23) E. Aymonier, Cot1rs 4e Cambodgien, Saigon 18 76, 125 and A. Leclere, Recherches
sur le droit publique des cambodgiens, Paris 1894, 18 8-189.
24) Poree Maspero, Etude, 246, 248.
25) France, Bibliotheque Nationale, Fonds Jndochinois 387, (Collection Adhemard
Leclere) -an undated Cambodian manuscript that contains (37) a diagram of
temporary buildings put up by the stac tran at the capital. See Leclere, Cam·
badge, fetes civiles, 610, for the assertion that stuc .tran took orders from the
bpku, and also Leclere, "Bandenh trah p~achea", Rl, 1906, 581•86.

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS 177
oath, which falls roughly half-way through the first one hundred names,
is as follows:
1. . Phnom di ("mountain of earth")
There are four sites of this name in present-day Cambodia,26 Two
are in Seam Reap, and one of these is a small hill, 272 metres above
sea-level, north west of the Angkorean complex, where a temple dedicated
to Harihara, and an inscription dated 893 A.D., was discovered by the
French in 1914,27 Coedes and B.P. Groslier have argued that the hill is
one of four temple sites grouped roughly at the cardinal points around
Yasovarman's "central mountain" of Phnom Bakheng (number 15,
below).2.B Another site of this name, west of Siem Reap, was visited by
Aymonier in the 1870s, and is associated nowadays with a powerful
' nak ta,29
2. promnat rusrei (untranslatable)
Not identifiable as a toponym.
3, brah indrachar ("lord Indra the teacher")
Possibly an oblique reference to Indravarman I, or to one of his
temples at Hariharalaya, but not identifiable with a particular site.
4. jung khnes ("point of a scraper")
Nowadays (and presumably in the nineteenth century) a floating
village at the mouth of the Siem Reap river, near the base of Phnom
Krom (below), with which it may be meant to elide. in the text.
26) U.S. Army Topographic Command, Cambodia, 194.
27) G. Coedes, "L'inscription du Phnom Dei", BEFEO, XVIII/9 (September 1918),
13-14.
28. See IC, IV, 98, n.2, and Groslier, Bayon, t 56. These scholars agree that four
of the five mountains are Bakheng, Phnom Krom, Phnom Dei, and Phnom Bok.
The fifth, to the north, is the Phimeanakas, according to Groslier. For a discussion
of the alignment of temples at Angkor, seeP, Paris, "L'importance
rituel!e du nord-est et ses applications en Indochine", BEFEO, XLI (1941)
301-333, with maps. Coedes suggests that the fifth site should be to the west
of Bakheng, but no elevated site associated with Yasovarman has been located
in that direction.
29) Aymonier, Le Cambodge, II, 369. See also Buddhist Institute, BRP, VIII,
57-61.

178 David P. Chandler
5. phnom krom ("lower mountain")
A small hill, 140 metres above sea level, "below", (i.e. south) of the
Angkor complex.30 The site is also mentioned in the 1859 text. On its
summit is a temple attributed by scholars to the reign of Yasovarman 1.31
6. prek banteai dom ("stream of the lofty fortress [es]"?)
Not identifiable; perhaps an oblique reference to the Siem Reap
River, which flows through the Angkor complex.
7. prek banteai tvea ("stream of the fortress [es] atjof the gate")
Not identifiable, unless as a reference to the Siem Reap river.
There is a twelfth century temple, Athvea, between Phnom Krom and
Siem Reap.32
8. phnom prah ("mountain of the sacred"?)
This toponym also occurs in the 1859 text, where Leclere identifies
it as a village near Udong "whose nak ta is very powerful".33 There is
a small hill called Prah Phnom ("sacred mountain") in western Siem
Reap, with three inscriptions indicating devotions at the site to Siva. 34
The toponym is perhaps intended to merge with (9) below.
9. our chay ("beautiful stream"?)
Unidentifiable, even if read with (8) above.
10. boray tuk thla ("dam of clear water")
Unidentifiable, but perhaps a reference to the catchment area built
at Angkor by Yasovarman, the Yasodharatataka, known today as the
Baray, where four inscriptions of Yasovarman have been found. 35
30} On Cambodian directions, see S. Lewitz, "Recherches sur !a vocabulaire cam·
bodgien, VI. Les noms des points cardinaux." .Journal Asiatique (JA) (1970)
131-141.
31} M. Glaize, "Le degagement du Phnom Krom", BEFEO, XL (1940) 371-81.
32} Aymonier, Le Cambodge, If, 400 ff. See also G. Coedes, "La grotte de Bon .
Prah. Thvea", BEFEO, XI (1911) 398-400, which describes a site on Phnom
Kulen dedicated to Siva.
33) Leclere, "F8tes locales", 98, note 23.
34) See G. Coedes, lncrij)tions du Cambodge, III, 121.
35} G. Coedes, "A la recherche du Yac;odharac;rama" discusses inscriptions K.
279-282, as well as Yasovarman's digraphic inscriptions (note 50, below).
The Yasodharatataka is mentioned in thirty-two inscriptions, includin~ th~
digraphic ones.

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS 179
11. mahasiek rithi (siek is not translatable; maha ... rithi means ''great
power")
Unidentifiable: possibly intended as attributes of an unidentified
person or deity.
12. lolei (not translatable; perhaps a garble for Haribaralaya)
An archaeological site in Siem Reap, located near temples built by
Indravarman I at his capital of Hariharalaya. The site is marked by a
four-towered brick temple erected (or completed) by Yasovarman I in
honour of his ancestors in 893 A.D.
The temple contains several of his
inscriptions-one (K. 323) from 889 A.D. and the others (K. 324-338)
from 893 A.D.36
13. bak dong ("broken dong tree")
Although there is a village of this name in Kampong Thorn, the
phrase probably refers to the temple-mountain of Bakong, erected by
Indravarman I at Hariharalaya in 881 A.D,37
14. phnom bok ("hump-back tilOtlntain")
A small bill, 212 metres above sea-level, about 10 kilometres
northeast of Angkor Thorn, crowned with a temple attributed to Yasovarman
I. Statues of Brahma, Siva and Visnu have been found there; the
presence of these three resembles an arrangement noted by Glaize at
Phnom Krom, and he suggests that the two temples were built at the
same time, in alignment with Phnom Bakheng (number 15 below). 3 s
36) M. Glaize, Les monuments dn groupe d' Ankgot, (Paris 196 3) 259-261. G.
Cocdes, "La date du Bayon", BEFEO, XXVIli ( 1928) 91 suggests that the
temple was originally intended to include six towers, and that work was
suspended after Yasovarman moved his capital to Angkor. The inscriptions
from Lolci are K. 323-338 and 947.
37) Glaize, Les monuments, 250-254 .. Fourteen inscriptions have been found at
this site: K. 304-308, 825-826, 829, 870, 882, 894-895, 915.
38) M. Glaize, "Phnom Bok. Degagemeot", BEFEO, XXXIX ( 19 39) 340-341.
See also Jean Boisselier, Le Cambodge, Paris 1966, 290. Like its "sister"
temple at Phnom Krom, the site has no inscriptions.

180 David P. Chandler
15. bakheng ("ancestor kheng" or "mighty ancestor")
A small bill, about 100 metres above sea-level, located inside the
archaeological complex-of Angkor Thorn, and covered with an elaborate
pyramid, dedicated to Siva, which contains seven inscriptions from the
seventh to the fifteenth centuries A.D. 39 In 1932, V. Goloubew idehtified
it as the "central mountain" (phnom kantal) associated, in the eleventh
century inscription of Sdok Kak Thorn, with Yasovarman's devotion to
the cult of tb.e devaraja.40 The site is also mentioned in the 1859 text.
The toponyms discussed above clearly represent less than fifteen
real places, but the occurrence of five sites associated with Yasovarman
is extraordinary not only in a text which is not otherwise systematic,
but also because verbal "memories" of this kind are difficult to find
elsewhere in Cambodian literature. 4 1 Two questions immediately arise:
39) Jean Filliozat, "Le symbolisme du montagne de Phnom Bakheng", BEFEO,
XLIX (1953) 527 ff. None of the inscriptions is from Yasovarman's reign.
40) V. Goloubew, "Le Phnom Bakheng et la ville de Ya9ovarman", BEFEO,
XXXIII (1933) 319-44, and Goloubew, "Nouvelles recherches autour de
Phnom Bakheng", BEFEO, XXXIV (1934) 576-600. For the eleventh century
reference, see G. Coedes and P. Dupont, "Les steles de Sdok Kak Thorn, Phnom
Sandak at Prah Vihar" BEFEO, XLIII (! 943-1945) 56-154 at 113.
41) The question of "memories" of Angkor would repay detailed research. The
so-called "modern" inscriptions of Angkor Wat date from the sixteenth century
to 1747 A.D. (S. Lewitz, "Les inscriptions modernes d' Angkor Wat'', JA, 1972,
107-129) but ten identifiably nineteenth century inscriptions (IC, VIII, 10)
are all from southern Cambodia. A poem entitled "The poem of Angkor
Wat" was written in 1620 (S. Pou, "Note sur Ia date du Poeme d'Angar Vat",
JA, (1975) 119-124) and attributed the temple to a celestial architect, a theme
echoed in the modern Khmer folk-tale, "Prasad Angkor" BRP, V, 1·25, trans,'
by P. Fabricius in Nokor Khmer, 2, (January-March 1970) 47-61. Although
the word Yasodharapura remained part of Cambodian royal titles until at least
1602 (N. Peri, "Essai sur les relations du Japon et de l'lndochine au XVI et
XVII siecles", BEFEO, XXIII ( 1923) 129, this king's role in the construction
of Angkor, and his connection with the temples mentioned in the oath, were
not clarified until the colonial era, by French scholars. On "post-Angkorean"
Angkor, see B.P. Groslier, Angkor et le Cambodge au XVI steele, Paris, 1958,
esp. 90-139. In Khmer folk-beliefs their loss of the skills evident at Angkor
is traced to the Thai theft, following the capture of Lovek in 1595, of Cambodian
sacred texts (kbuon) concealed inside a sacred ox (brah ko) -Thong The!,
personal communication. See also E. Poree-Maspero, Etude, Ill •

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS 181
Why these sites, and not others? and why Yasovarman, and not another
king?
Neither text mentions any of the monuments erected by Cambodia's
greatest builder-king, Jayavarman VII (r.l178-c. 1219), unless the reference
to Angkor Thorn in Duang's invocation refers to Jayavarman's capital,
and neither text mentions Angkor Wat, even though this was familiar to
eighteenth and nineteenth century Cambodians as a pilgrimage site.42
Indeed, with a few exceptions, the identifiable toponyms in both documents
reflect post-Angkorean conditions. ·Only one toponym in the 1859
text (Nakor Ratchasima, in northeastern Thailand), and two in the oath
(Basak in southern Laos, and Medaeng in southern Vietnam) can be
located beyond the frontiers of eighteenth century Cambodia; these two,
however, are probably references to sacred hills. 4 3 Another anomaly
about the fifteen sites is that they appear under their present-day names
rather than their Sanskritized, Angkorean ones. There is no mention of
Yasovarman's capital city, Yasodbarapura, for example, or of its predecessors,
unless Lolei is a reference to Hariharalaya. There is no way of
telling, of course, when these popular names caught bold and whether,
for example, the"ancestor" in the phrase ba kheng is Yasovarman himself,
Siva, the name of the hill as Yasovarman found it, or, in different ways, all
three of these. 44 With only two texts to refer to, it is alsp impossible to
42) See David P. Chandler, "An Eighteenth Century Inscription from Angkor
Wat", JSS, 59/2 (July 1971) 51~57.
43) Interestingly, neither list inc! udes toponyms connected with Cambodian settlements
in southern Vietnam, as listed in L. Malleret, "Anciens toponymes
du delta du Mekong", L'archeologie du Delta dzt Mekong, 4 vols.; Paris 1959-
1963, IV, 192-197. On Khmer settlement patterns, see B.P. Groslier, "Pour
une geographic historique du Cam hodge", Les cahiers d'outre-mer, 104 (October-December
1973) 337-379. On Me Deng, see Paul Wheatley, "The Mount
of the Immortals ; a Note on Tamil Cultural Influence in Fifth Century
Indochina", Oriens Extremw 21/1 (June 1974) 97-109, On Bassac, Ma Tuan
Lin (tr. Marquis d'Hervey de St. Denis) Ethnographic des peuples etrange1·s ala
Chine, Geneva 1876, 483 (the reference is to the mountain in c. 600 A.D.);
Groslier, "Pour une geographic" 347 says that Wat Ph'u was a Khmer pilgrimage
site in Angkorean times. · ·
44) SeeS. Lewitz, "Recherches sur la vocabulaire cambodgien. VIII. Bakong",
.TA (1970) 147-149. Bakheng is mentioned as a Buddhist shrine in an unpublished
post-Angkorean inscription, K. 1006, from Phnom Kulen, dating from
the fifteenth or sixteenth century: Michael Vickery, pesonae communication.

182 David P. Chandler
determine when, if, or why names were taken off or added to the llsts,
and thus, by implication, which regions and which ancestral spirits rose
or diminished in power between Yasovarman's reign (or earlier) and the
time when the texts assumed their present form.
The answer to some of the anomalies, I believe, lies in what we
know, particularly from inscriptions, about Yasovarman's reign, which
was marked by self-consciously proclaimed continuities with Cambodia's
pre-Angkorean past, by bold architectural innovations, religious tolerance
(or eclecticism) and centralized control, or at least suzerainty, extending
throughout and well beyond the areas of present-day Cambodia.
On his mother's side, Yasovarman traced his ancestry to the ruling
families of Vyadharapura, Sambhupura, and Aninditapura-regional
power centres associated with kingdoms known to the Chinese as "Funan"
and "Chen Ia". 45 On his father's side, he was a great-nephew of the first
Angkorean king, Jayavarman II, under whose auspices the cult of the
devaraja was allegedly introduced in 802 A.D.46
Architecturally, Yasovarman was the first Cambodian king to build
extensively in stone, rather than in brick, and he seems to have had a
45) See Claude Jacques, "Etudes d'epigraphie cambodgienne. VII. Sur l'emplacem~nt
du royaume d' Aninditapura", BEFEO, LIX (1972) 193-205 and 0, W.
Wolters, "Jayavarman's Military Power: the Territorial Foundation of the
Angkor Empire", .Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (J RAS) 1973, 21·30.
46) Four recent studies of devaraja are G. Coedes, "Le veritable fondateur du

MAPS FOR THE ANCESTORS 183
personal preference for building monuments on the top of natural hills,
Here, too, perhaps, he was self-consciously identifying himself with his
forebears, the "kings of the mountain"; Goloubew has speculated that
Yasovarman saw Phnom Bakheng as the successor to earlier sacred bills
(also honouring Siva) at Ba Phnom and at Wat Pb'u (Lingaparvata)" in
southern Laos.47 Stylistically, too, the art of Yasovarman's reign marked
a recognizable development from the past, and the beginnings of the
so-called "Angkorean" style. 48
The king's religious eclecticism has been discussed by Coedes and
L.P. Briggs,49 but his primary devotion was to Siva, the deity metitioned
most frequently in Yasovarman's so-called "digraphic" inscriptions, and
the one to whom Bakheng was dedicated. The digrapbic inscriptionsfourteen
in all, with identical texts, except for one variable line, have
been found throughout Cambodia, as well as at locations in southern
Laos and eastern Thailand.so
In this context, we can speculate that the survival of five toponyms
associated with Yasovarman, rather than with another king, arose in
part from the fact that he founded Yasodbarapura not only as the site of
a personal shrine but as a national capital, with the centre of the nation
at Phnom Bakheng, and digraphic inscriptions (as well as temples
47) Goloubew, "Phnom Bakheng •.. " 344. In the 1870s, Ganesa, the offspring
of Siva and Kali, was thought to be· the guardian of Phnom Bakheng; see J.
Moura, "De Phnom Penh a Pursat en compagnie du roi du Cambodge",
Revue d~Extreme Orient I (1882), 100.
48) Boisselier, Le Cambodge, 246 refers to several stylistic innovations whereby
Yasovarman sought to "place Angkorean power on a new footing".
49) Coedes, "A Ia recherche" 106, L.P. Briggs, The Ancient KhtMr. Empire,
Philadelphia, 19 51, U 2, and E:. Bhattacharya, Les religions brahmaniques dans
l'ancien Cambodge, Paris 1961 ,. 29-30.
50) See Coedes, IC, VllJ, 17 : inscription K. 32.3 at Lolei says that Yasovarman
"made, at alL the cardinal points, a hundred asrami". Aymonier, Le Cambodge,
U; 482-483 suggests, in view of their stylistic uniformity, that they were carved
by a single artist. See Briggs, The Ancient Klime1• Emj>ire, 103, map 9;
which shows that while the inscriptions are fairly evenly distributed to the
east, southeast, south, centre and north, (the two inscriptions from Laos, not
shown on the map) nothing appears to. the southwest, a "dead zone" for temples,
as Oroslier bas sug~estec,i (Le Ba:yon, 125).

184 David P. Chandler
carefully placed at four cardinal points around the capital) indicating
the extent of the new king's jurisdiction. Yasovarman was a map-maker
himself, and it is likely that toponymicallitanies of a national sort were
introduced, made popular, or refined during his reign.s t Yasovarman's
ordering of toponyms in and around Yasodharapura-and thus to an
extent his animation of the landscape-is what survives from his reign in
these toponymical texts. Another reason for the survival of the names
may be that the king's devotion to Siva found echoes at other levels of
Cambodian life (such as village ceremonies of "raising the ancestors",
for example) which Jayavarman VII's esoteric and grandiose Buddhism .
did not.52 Finally, there is the fact that the successors of Yasovarman's
court brahmins, who presided over such non-Buddhist rites as rain-making
ceremonies and oaths of loyalty in the nineteenth century, also retained
custody of the lists.
Another interesting feature of the lists is the phrase me sa (written
me sarin the 1859 text). Some thirty toponyms in Duang's invocation,
and eleven in the oath, are preceded by these words. In some cases, me
sa apparently should be read as a plural; in others, it is connected with
only one toponym. The phrase is used inconsistently in the two textsattached
to archaeological sites, administrative divisions, and oddities of
the landscape. 53 Its meaning of "guardian spirit" is fairly clear, but the
51) See Inscription K. 286 ([C, IV, 58) for a description of Yasovarman's frontiers,
The fact that an eleventh century oath of office, with the two hundred-odd
officials associated with specific sruk, is incised at the Phimeanakas, a temple
with connections with Yasovarman (see above, note 28) may also indicate such
a "memory". The ceremony may have included some ritualistic blood-letting;
see note 52 below. See IC, III, 207-216.
52) See P.C. Bagchi, "On some Tantrik Texts Studied in Ancient Cambodia",
Indian Historical Quarterly, 5 (1929) 754-769, One of the texts, mentioned
in connection with the deva1·aja cult by the Sdok Kak Thorn inscription, the
Ciraccheda ("Beheading") rnay also have been recited at the expiatory
ceremony conducted prior to his coronation by Jayavarman II in the vicinity
of Ba Phnom, recorded in inscription K956, (IC, VII, 128-129). See Claude
Jacques, "La carriere de Jayavarman II", BEFEO XLIX (1972) 105-120.
53) Thus, in the oath, the first me sa is associated with Ba Phnom (a site not men·
t~oned in Duang's text); others in the oath are archaeological sites (e.g. Sa?·
tbuk, Basak) or not identifiable (e.g. Prek A eng, Sbat Shay). The me sa ID
1859 text are more widely distributed, and include Angkor Thom (the pop~lar
name for the Angkor complex), Pursat, and Bakheng, as well as several s1tes
near Udong.

MAPS FOJ;I, THE ANCESTORS
link between this guardian spirit at~d toponyms is not. In an ea.rUer
paper, I accepted Mme. Pree Ma,s.perp.'s suggestio,n th&t th~. pl]!as~
taken as a slt,med contraction of the name Uma Mahis~suraman;lini..,..,
Siva's consort ~illing a demon buffalo. 54 The sugge~tion is ~erupting, a,~ a
statue of the divinity was worshipped as me sa at Ba Phnom a§ !iYGently
as 1944. But tb,er~ seems to be no. correlation, in, the lists, hetw~:;en
places where statues of the goddess have been found (or a cult in her
honour mentioned in an inscription) and, the inc~usion of the phrase.
A1tbo1,1gh me sa at one time may have m,eant "guarqian spirit of tP,e
kingdom, of the sort worshipped at. Ba Phnom," this meanipg seeQls to
have faded by the nineteenth century, when the word may have retained
echoes of this connection and one with, tbe word mahi'st! alone, Khmer,
via Sanskrit, for "bu:ffalo".ss
,,
Why should toponyms be associated with buffaloes, or with, a
goddess in the act of beheading one? Here the evidence is clearer, for
t.he~e are a~nply docutnen~ed connections · betw

186 David P. Chandler
has produced devotions in recent times to particular nak ta.s7 There
is no evidence to suggest that the lists are limited to the nak ta most
honoured in Cambodia at a given time.
In some cases, such as the
sites associated with Yasovarman, what it was that bad rendered the
sites powerful in the tenth century-among the common people, who used
popular names for the sites-had been forgotten, in a sense, by the nineteenth.
And yet something bad been "remembered": the toponyms related
to Yasovarman are grouped together io the oath, and the most important
of them, Bakheng, appears in both texts. One reason for this survival-"
perhaps more inclusive than others--may be Yasovarman's devotion to
Siva. As Paul Mus and others have shown, the worship of this god was
widespread in Southeast Asia, and linked, in many places, to tombs, the
propitiation of ancestors, the use of stone, the fertility of the soil and the
sacralization of places.ss One aspect of Yasovarman;s devotion, the cult
of the devaraja, may have involved ritual bebeadings, and the link
between this kind of sacrifice and the installation (or celebration) of
authority was echoed annually in the Cambodian sruk, after having been
repeated-although this is uncertain-at the four corners, or quarters, of
the kingdom. These rituals subdued the landscape by summoning the
nak ta to renew their contracts with the world of the living-a process
with parallels in classical China. At each level they also announce:d a
celebrant's territorial jurisdiction and only the king (or, technically, his
57) BRP, VIII, especially 175-195. For Indonesian parallels, see J. Knebel,
"Legenden over de plaatsen ..." Tijdschrift Bataviaasch Genootschap 48
(1906) 527-565, 50 (1908) 388-406 and 51 (1909) 377-430. See also C.
St~van Harrell, "When a Ghost Becomes a God" in Arthur P. Wolf (ed,)
Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, Stanford 1974, 195-206.
58) See Paul Mus, "Cultes indiens et indigenes au Champa", BEFEO, XXXIII (193 3)
367-410 and Paul Mus, "La tombe vivante, equisse d'une serie ethnographique
naturelle'', La Terre et la Vie, VII (1937) 117-127. The transmissions and
reshaping of beliefs; as discussed by Mus, are refined in the last chapter of
S.J. Tambiah, Buddhism and Spirit Cults in No1"theast Thailand (Cambridge
1970) 367-378, which attacks the problem of "levels". See also Filliozat,
"Recent Researches", 104, for the unverifiable statement, "In Cambodia there
were no ~acred place§ w)len th~ S11iva reli~ion came",

MAPS ~'Oil THE ANCESTOI\S 187
baku) had access to, or power over, the lists of "national" me sa.s9 The
names they recited and the order they took summoned and synthesized
the kingdom, seen as an amalgamation of ancestors, place-names, and
features of a landscape. In some cases-but not these texts-the definition
was stretched to include "Lao" spirits, perhaps because they responded
to buffalo sacrifices, whereas Thai and Vietnamese counterparts did
not;6o but "Cambodia" in general was the sum of places, arranged in
mandala form, where nak ta were honoured and sacrifices took place. This
notion endured from Yasovarman•s reign (and arguably, from tpe era of
·~Funan") through the collapse of Angkor and Cambodia's "dark ages"
at least until 1969, when officials of Lon Nol's government met ~o swear
loyalty to him and to Prince Sihanouk by summoning spirits to come and
witness their oatb.6t
59) This monopoly may explain why the litanies do not appear in French descriptions
of the annual oath-taking ceremony; cf. Jean Moura, Le Royaume du
Cambodge (2 vols.) Paris 1883, I, 251, and R. Mennetrier, "Les fetes du Tanh
Tok a Phom Penh", Rl, 1912, 334-345.
60) For a bas-relief at Angkor depicting buffalo sacdfice, see Henri Dufour and
Charles Carpeaux, Le Bayon d' Angkor Thom : Bas Reliefs 2 vols., Paris, 191 Q.
1914, plate 9, reference supplied by Hiram W. Woodward. The rarity of
buffalo-sacrifices in Thailand-an,d the rarity,qf statues ofUma Mahisasuramardini
(frequent. in Cambodia and on Java) - pos~s interesting historical
problems, probably connected with the ways and times it was "Indianized".
For an instance of ethnic Lao in Thailand sacrificing buffaloes, see Mary Cort,
Siam or the Heart of Further India, New York, 1886, 362-363-a reference
pointed out to me by R.I. Heinze. For an example of a Cambodian nak ta
speaking HLao", see BRP, VIII, 121.
61) Realites cambodgiennes; 22 August 19,69. Seealso.Kambuja, 22 Octo\)er 1943.
For a discussion of the links between toponyms, local deities, and the administr~tion
at Angkor after Yasovarman's reign, see Grosliet, Bayo11, 113 ff., 264-
66 and G. Coedes, "Les expressions vrah kamraten an et lcanwaten jagat en
vieux-khmer",1'he Adyar Library Bulletin XXV (1961) 447-460.

tHE AYODDHA YA PERIOD EARTHENWARES,
SOME CONTEMPORARY THAI KILNS, THEIR
WARES AND POTTING METHODS
by
C. Nelson Spinks, Ph.D.
During the Ayuddha Period (A.D. !350-1763), a great many earthen
ware and stoneware household utensils were made in and around the
former Thai capital at Ayuddhaya, about 70 kilometres north of presentday
Bangkok oh one of the courses of the Maenam Cao Phraya river.
The exact locations of these kilns are not known, howevet, and there
are no modern kilns in or around the present city of Ayuddhaya having
any historical continuity that still carry on this craft. The nearest
operating kilns to Ayuddhaya today are those at Pakkret, about 30 kilometres
downstream from the old Thai capital, a site which is described
more. fully later in this .article.
Whatever kilns there may have been in Ayuddbaya in the old days
were in all probability destroy when the Burmese forces invested and
.sacl()ed the old Thai city in 1763, bringing to a tragic end tbe long
Ay'uddbaya era in Thai history.
Neverthelbss, Ayuddbaya Period earthenware cooking pots and
stoves, ~nd oth_er kitchen ~ tensils reflect highly ~killed potting, firing, and
in.cised decoration, including some attractive applique work.
The principal types of Ayuddhaya wares were the traditional Thai
moh !chao rice-cooking pots, similar earthenware vessels for cooking curry
(Moh kaeirg), various other types of large and small spheroid-shaped
vessds f~r cooking, earthenware stoves, and ring-stands to which the oval
pots and jars 'COuld be transferred when removed from the supporting
stoves.

1'HE AYUDDHAYA PERIOD EARTHENWARES, 189
For some fine examples of Ayuddbaya Period earthenware pieces,
see Plates Nos. 2 to 9.1
Plate No. 1 is a typical modern Tha1 earthenware rice-cooking pot
(moh khao) that I purchased a few years ago in one of Bangkok numerous
taliid moh din (earthenware markets) for about four baht, approximately
U.S. 20 cents at the then prevailing rate of exchange. For a crude, simple
cooking utensil, it is a beautifully made piece, well proportionedand well
fired being so hard that it yields a· pleasant musical ring when its side is
gently tapped with one's fingers.
Plate No. 2 illustrates a typical earthenware m'oh khao of the
Ayuddhaya Period which bas the characteristic Thai-type pendant-design
impressed around the shoulder of the pot by a carved stamp or a carved
roller that bad been run over the still-soft clay before firing. Still another
Ayuddhaya Period earthenware pot having this same shape and with the
same kind of pendant design is shown in Plate No. 3. A very large
earthenware vessel from the Ayuddbaya Period with an extensively
incised design is illustrated in Plate No. 4, resting on its earthenware
ring-stand.
Some other examples of Ayuddhaya Period earthenware bowls and
pots are shown in Plates Nos: 6, 7, and 8. The piece shown in Plate
No. 6 has a flat base, but all the other examples have the more typical
spheroid 'bases for which special ring-stands must be used to support
them once they are removed from the stove, like the large pot shown in
Plate No. 3. Plate No. 4 illustrates a model of any Ayuddhaya Period
earthenware stove on top of which is a model of a sirnp1e earthenware
bowl from the same period. This unusual item from the Hauge
Collections bas an overall height of 7i ems., the model pot being only
41 ems. in diameter.
1) All the Ayuddhaya Period pieces presented in this article are from the ex ten·
sive ceramic collections .of Mr. and M~s. Victor Hauge, now housed in their
museum-like home at 66'29 Tansey Drive, Falls Church, Virginia 22041 (Tel.
534-4564, to whom I am deeply indebted for the priviledge of examining
their collection. I 'also owe a debt ·of gratitudeto the Freer Gallery of Art of
·the Stnithonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for the superb photographs
their skHled photogra'phers made for me, which form some of the Plates in
this artile.

190 C. Nelson Spinks
Strange to say, in all my exploring in Thailand 1 have never come
across a Thai earthenware k'indi of modern manufacture. The only
extant kendi of which I am presently a ware are those magnificent painted
ware or celadon pieces made at tbe Sawankhalok 13th and 14th century
kilns, or foreign pieces imported from China or Annam in the 14th and
15th centuries. In more recent times, I believe the Thai may have.ceased
using the kendi as a drinking vessel, small silver bowls having come fnto
use for this purpose. Originally in Thailand and elsewhere in Soqtbeast
Asia the kendi appears to have been used primarily for dispensing
medicines to a patient in a prone position, or as ritual vessels for pouring
lustrations.2
Thailand today abounds with ceramic kilns and it would seem
that almost every village and small community has some kind of kilns,
if only for the purpose of making its local, everyday earthenware utentils.
It would be impossible, therefore, to attempt to describe a few of the JtlOre
significant and better known contemporary local kilns: namely, .those
at Pakkret, mentioned above, and at Ratburi that supply the Bangkok
markets today with much of their earthenware utensils, stoneware
mortars and glazed-ware tubs and water jars; the well known contemporary
Chiang Mai kilns, so familiar today to the ever-increasing
numbers of foreign tourists who now visit that paradisicial ~ity of Northern
Thailand ; the well-known Thai kilns near Songkhla in s.outhern
Thailand; the equally interesting kilns of Northeast Thailand at Chokchfli,
near KhoriH in Nakhon Ratsima or Khorat Province ; and the Northeast
kilns at Ban Nong Buau Kin Ma in Khon Kaen Province tbatsuppl~ tbe
Northeast District, as well as Bangkok, with earthenwares and quality
kiln-gloss stonewares.
The brick-constructed Pakkret kilns (See Plate No. 1 0) are located
in a small riverine village of that name about 30 kilometres downstream
2) In this connection, see Michael Sullivan's scholarly study in The /J.I~chivesofthe
Chinese Art Society of Amet:ica, Vol. XI, 1957, .pp. 40-58, with ill.ustrations
and line drawings of kendi of various types and from various places of manu·
facture. This article is the IJ;IOSt definitive piece of work on the kendi with a
full and perceptive .discussion of its uses in Indonesia and elwsewhere in
Southeast Asia.

THE AYUDDHAYA PERIOD EARTHENWARES, 191
from Ayuddhaya on one of the diverse branches of the Maenam Cao
Phraya river. For some years these kilns have specialized in making
moh khao rice-cooking pots, but they have also become deservedly famous
for, their hard-fired stoneware krok, or mortars, unglazed except for a soft
grey kiln gloss. The inner surfaces of these mortars are unglazed and
aredeeply scorred with cross-hatching lines to provide a specially rough
surface that will help to break up and g,rind material placed in the mortar
when the heavy, hardwood pestle is applied. The Pakkret mortars thus
Closely resemble the Japanese surib~chi mortars which also have scarred
inner surfaces and use hardwood pestles.·
The fine kiln gloss on the Pakkret mortars is the result of their
being stacked in the kilns based-to-base, and mouth-to-mouth, so
that the kiln gloss develops only on the two exposed surfaces. These
kilns also make some heavy glazed kitchen water jars.
The wares of the Pakkret are all sent down stream to Bangkok in
those old-fashion picturesque river carg9 boats that still ply the lower
reaches of the Maenaril Cao Phraya river with their strange looking hulls
and their semi-circular rattan-covered roofs. Pakkret mortars have
become so famous, however, .that many people make special trips to t~e
kilns to purchase them and some of the. Paklnet earthenware cooking
utensils. For examples of these latter wares, see Plate No. 11 which
shows small-scale models of such cooking utensils, The piece on the
right in this Plate with a lid bas a perforated base which fits into another
jar similar to the one on the. left in this illustration that is .filled with
water and placed on an earthenware stove to boil, Thus the combination
of these two vessels can be used to steam certain kinds of food, such as
dumplings, in the tota\ absence of anything in the Thai kitchen comparable
to the Western' oven. .
The Ratburi kilns are located on the Maenam Khlong river in the
provincial capital of Ratburi, about 150 kilometres from Bangkok on the
main southern highway to the seaside resort of Hua Hin and points south.
The large sloping kilns at Ratburi are built in the Chinese style. ·.. They
are l')OW flllllO\l~ for tHeir manpf~9tw~ 9f peav!', har9-fir~9 water jar~

192 C. Nelson Spinks
that are handsomely glazed with dragon or floral decorations a yellowish.
brown glaze.
The Rat buri water jars are, of course, much too large and too heavy
to throw on the potter's fast wheel. Instead, they are built up by the
ancient coil method of potting. Once a jar has been raised in this
fashion, plain but unbound and uncarved paddles are beaten against the
jar's sides, while the potter holds a heavy stoneware anvil against the
inner side of the jar opposite each blow of the paddle. This process is
carried out solely for the purpose of strengthening the walls of these
large, heavy jars as part of the finishing process. (See Plates Nos. 12
and 14). After application of the paddles and anvils, the jars are wiped
clean with a damp piece of coarse cloth. The designs are then incised
in the paste with a simple scribe. Plate No. 15 shows one of the Ratburi
potters incising the dragon's mane on one of the jars, using only a broken
piece of a pocket comb for a scribe. Before the glaze material is next
applied, the jars, while still in the biscuit, are dried in open, well-ventilated
worksheds. Finally, the jars are placed in the large sloping kilns
for a high temperature firing to make them into a hard, durable
stoneware. Smaller jars and flower-pot-type tubs are also made in the
same way. In the old days the Ratburi water jars and other wares were
shipped to Bangkok by sea, the sailing vessels proceeding down the
Maenam Khlong river to the Gulf of Siam. Today, however, they are
transported directly to the capital by truck or train and are placed on
sale in the large flower-pot and water jar markets along the Petchburi
Road and the South Sathorn Road, or at the Tal'ad Nat, the weekly
markets staged on Sundays around the Phra Mane Grounds near the
Royal Palace.
At the Ratburi kilns the glaze material is prepared in ~ very
primitive but picturesque manner. The stone for the glaze is first broken
into small pieces on cement or a stone~paved floor with hammers and
heavy wooden mallets. The stone is finally crushed to a fi11e, flour-like
powder by the use of circular stones, flat on top, but convex on their
underides. The girl workers at the kilns stand on top of the circular stones,
and. with, ~rm~ outst~e91led to nw.intia!l their balance while turning their

THE AYUDDHAYA PERIOD EARTHENWARES, 193
bodies from side to side, rock the bea vy stones back and forth over the
glaze material on the cement or flagstone-paved floors, grinding the glaze
material to a fine powder.
These beautiful and useful water jars are inexpensive, costing about
40 to 50 baht each, depending on the size and the quality. of the glaze
and incised decoration. Almost every home in Bangkok seems to have one
or more of these fine jars for use in its bathroom or kitchen, or to place
just outside the bouse so as to catch the fresh rain water running off the
roof. A model of a typical Ratburi water jar is sqown in Plate No. 15.
This piece has the floral rather than the more common dragon design.
The actual model shown in this photograph is only lO ems. in height. An
actual Ratburi water jar would be about 70 eros. in height.
The Songkhala kilns are on the eastern shore of the Thanle Sap, an
inland sea or large lake in southern Thailand. The kilns are principally
along a small stream in this area called Sting Mor, or "pot creek" as this
name may be literally translated into English,3
The Songkhala kilns were also bamous at one time for their manufacture
of flat, light ceramic roof tiles which, in the old days, were
shipped to Bangkok as ballast on the cargo sailing.vessels that then plied
between the capital and this southern part of the country. This type of
roof tile was widely used in Bangkok in the 19th century, and was customarily
known to the Thai as Krabiiang Songkhala, that is, "Songkbala
Tile". (For some examples of Thai roof end tiles, see Plates Nos. 26
and 27).
The Sting Mar kilns are staffed almost entirely by women potters.
They have been in operation for some decades, the potters and other
3) The killns are actually in the ki1 1 g or sub-amphoe (district) of Ban Chai Son,
near the village of Pak Paiyum, about 15 kilometres north of the town of
Songkhalii. According to Dr. Solheim, the word sting is a Cambodian term for
stream, while mor, meaning a pot or jar, is one.ofthe less happy transliter~
ations of the Thai word more commonly rendered moh, that is, a pot or jar.
See Dr. Wilhelm G. Solheim II, "Pottery Manufacturing in Sting Morand Biin
Nong Bua Kin Mii,'' The Journal of the Siam Soi:iet>•; Vol, Lli, Part 2, July, 1964,
pp. 151-61, with 8 , Plate3. .

194 C. Nelson Spinks
craftsmen reportedly being descendents of prisoners-of-war from Laos,
who were originally settled in this remote part of the country by the
Bangkok authorities as a security measure during the wars with Laos in
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, much in the same way that some
of the more politically aberrant Vietnamese refugees from the northeastern
part of Thailand were also transported to and settled in the early
1950's around the town of Phatalung on the northwestern shore of the
Thanle Sap, not far from the present Songkhala site of the ex-Lao potters.
There are also a few Lao-operated ceramic factories on some of
the small islands that dot the Thanle Sap lake near Sting Mbr.
In and around Chiang Mai in the far north of Siam there are a
number of kilns now well known to foreign visitors. The most famous
of these kilns are probably those of the Thai Celadon Company, an
enterprise founded some decades ago by an enterprising women,
Mrs. Robert North. These kilns have successfully specialized in manufacturing
and marketing western-style ta blewares and ornaments with
a fine celadon glaze, such as ash-trays, candle-stick holders, and elephant
figurines, along with larger pieces of garden-type statuary, notably figures
of the Devanama (or Thephanom), the traditional Thai guardian angels,
usually depicted in the attitude of supplication,4
The Thai Celadon Company employs two types of kilns. One is a
small "biscuit kiln" that resembles, except for its diminuitive size, a
beehive. In fact, it looks very much like those enormous beehive-shaped
kilns used in Satul Province, in the extreme southwest corner of Thailand,
that make great quantities of charcoal by burning the plentiful supplies
of mangrove wood that grow in that area along the seacoast and adjacent
waterways.
The Thai Celadon Company's "biscuit kilns" are used only for a
low temperature firing, but after the glaze mixture is added to the pieces,
the wares are then re-fired in the larger kilns that roughly resemble the
kilns at Sukhothai and Sawankhalok that produced hard-fired stonewares
4) See "The Story of Thai Celadon,''~ a six-page brochure published by the Thai

THE AYUDDUAYA PERIOD EARTHJ!:NWARES, 19$
in the time of the illustrious King Rama Kambaeng; but the large Thai
Celadon Company's kilns are of an oblong rather than an ellipsoid
shape.s
Another well known ceramic complex in Chiang Mai is the so-,
called Burmick Kilns that have been operated by Mr. Supbachai Palasiri
and his family for many years. Heretofore, these kilns catered mainly
to the local Chiang Mai market, but more recently, like the kilns of
the Thai Celadon Company, this ceramic complex has also been seeking
to promote its wares among foreign tourists and residents in Bangkok.
I have also been told that some of the Burmick wares have actually been
exported to Europe and Australia, but with unreported results. The
Burmick kilns produce mainly vases, ash-trays and candle-stick holders.
They have also performed, however, the very valuable function of duplicating
in facsimile form some of the traditional Sawankhalok ceramic
shapes, such, for example, as the attractive gourd-sbape,d vase with ears
shown in Plate No. 21.6 The Siiphacbai family originally came from the
Shan States in Burma.7
The Ban Nbng Biia Kin Ma kilns are located near a village of that
curious name some 55 kilometres northeast of the provincial carital of
Khon Kaen province in Northeast Thailand, on the border between Kbon
Kaen and Udorn provinces. Among the wares made at these kilns are
some of the famous Northeast Thai ceramic drums that have lizard or
snake skin stretched tightly over their open ends that make them percussion
instruments.s
5) See Figures Nos. 1 and 2 which respectively show the ellipsoid kilns of Sukho.­
thai and Sawankalok; drawings which I based upon the official surveys made
in the field of these kilns by the Thai Gover_nment's Department of Fine Arts.
6) The original Sawankhalok ware from which this piece was copied was less than
one-half the size of this facsimile.
7) For some helpful background information on the Burmick Kilns, see The Financial
Times (Bangkok) of October 15, 1970, which published a nine-page
article on these kilns of the Suphacbai family, with illustrations of some of its
products.
8) See Figure No. 3 for a drawing of one of these typically Northeast ceramic
drums. See also Solheim, loc. cit,, for a thorough account of these Northeast
Thailand kilns.

196 C. Nelson Spinks
The very productive Northeast kilns at Chokchai are in the amphoe,
or dictrict, of that name in Nakhbn Rajasima Province, just offtbe
Khorat-Ubol Highway that runs across the southernmost tier of pro-
. vinces in the Northeast. (See Map No.4). The Chokcbai kilns were made
by digging large pits in the ground. One side of each pit is left sloping
to provide easy access to and from the surface of the ground. The pit
banks opposite these incline planes have short tunnels that form the
kilns' firing chambers. At the rear of these tunnels shafts rise to ground
level to form the kilns' cbimneys,9
The very heavy and hard-fired products of the Cbokchai kilns are
trucked to Khorat from whence they are shipped to Bangkok by rail.
Heavy vases with incised decoration, like the piece shown in Plate No.
22, are now sold at a special shop in Bangkok far out on the Petcbaburi
Road Extension that caters principally to foreign residents who buy these
handsome jars and have them made into table lamps with teakwood
bases and Thai silk lampsbades.Io
.
We should not belittle this practice of foreigners for making unusual
uses of common Thai products. Some years ago, the de luxe Rama Hotel
in downtown Bangkok on Sathorn Road surprised the Thai visitors by
having its lobby filled with very handsome table lamps made out of
nampla (fish sauce condiment) jars, many of which were made at the
Ratburi kilns.. In fact, the hotel set a new trend among the Thai and
.fo~-eign-~r~ ~i-ike .ln- ~~ing·-~\)m~non T·bai arti~~ls for such ar.tistlcan-d
decorative purposes .
. In Chiang Mai there is a considerable number of small kilns' that
specialize in making the incomparable Chiang Mai earthenware the bases
of which are turrned ink silver, bases, not so much for decorative
purposes, however, but to keep these areas from chipping. Andfor the
• • • ' ' ' I ~ ' '
9) See Figure No. 4 for a drawing of one of the Chokchai based on the author's
surveys of the kilo sites,
10) The Chokchai vases shown in Plate No. 22 is, incidentally, a very old North·
east ceramic form that may possibly be of Khmer origin.

THE AYUDDHAYA PERIOD EAUTHENWARES, 197
Bangkok foreigner's market, the kuat din earthenware water fattier
are now being fitted with cast silver stoppers some of which are made
in the shape of the ever. popular Chiang Mai Elephant.
These lovely water bottles are now shipped to Bangkok by rail, and,
as one may readily assume, it is nowadays easier to find one of these
pieces for sale in the art and curio shops that line Bangkok's New Road
or the Oriental Hotel Lane, than in Chiang Mai, where one must generally
search out the kilns that make them.
A few of the shops in Chiang Mai,
however, now do have these supernal bottles for sale, along with bolts
of Thai silk and carved teakwood elephants. They are usually lnferior
pieces, however, as all the better grade ChiangMai kuat din are sent to
the more lucrative Bangkok market.
In the old days almost every northern Thai household had a number
of these kuat di~1 about the home i~ which to store and have available
cool· drinking water. In. fact, there was ~ustomarily a special roofed
shelf set at one side of the hou~e's ope~,· ~pper storey varandah, where
rows of these bottles were placed to catch the benefit of every passing
breeze and thereby keep their drinkingwater delightfully cool.
Many times when truvelling about in the North of Siam during the
hotdry season, it was always a refreshingly pleflsant experience to have
a drink of really fresh, cold water from one of these bottles when stop~
ping to rest at some .farmhouse or at the salawat of some quiet monastery.
No drinking water ever· tasted so good or so refreshing, for there
is something almost magical about the capacity of a porous, unglazed
piece of ~arthenware to keep dri:nking water fre!lh anP, cool tbat no
modern technology can match witl:l a thermos bottle. or ordinary ice
water.
'
These same bottles. are also manu(aptured in the Shan States of
Burma,.andi can pleasantly recall once when stopping at the dak buJ;~galow
in Lashio to find that the house's Indian "butler'', as those grasping
worthies were .customarily called, had placed a Shan-made !mat din with

198 C. Nelson Spinks
a clean glass on a tray beside my cot. I still have one of these supernal
kuat din from Chiang Mai, and every time I touch its soft, unctuous
surface with my hand, like Aladdin's lamp, it seems to carry me back to
that lovely vale of northern Siam.
The Chiang Mai earthenware kilns also produce other kinds of
porous earthen ware water vessels, including large, lidded jars for storing
water in the bathroom, some of which are actually fitted with faucets
set in holes at their side with rubber washers. The are not so satisfactory,
however, for they keep the bath-water so cold that bathing from
one of these jars on a chilly northern evening or of an early morning in
Siam's far north can be a trying experience.
In the far north of Siam it is also customary to place a simple,
porous earthenware jar at the side of the road on a box, wooden stand,
or the stump of a tree. The jars are filled with cood drinking water.and
have a wooden or earthenware lid to keep out the dust and insects. A
beautifully polished Chiang Mai silver bowl is frequently placed invitingly
on top of the jar's lid. The purpose of these jars with their cool drinking
water and highly polished silver drinking vessels is to provide monks and
other wayfarers on these dusty northern roads a coil drink in the
heat of the day. Farmers, woodsmen and others in the far north customarily
set out these jars ·of cool water as an act of metit in the best
Buddhist tradition, When trudging along· a dusty road in the hot,
dry season, I can well recall how I have gasped with relief and delight
at the sight of one of these jars at the roadside with its sparking silver
bowl!
As noted, many of these superral earthenwares are also made in
the Shan States of Burma. Indeed, some of the Chiang Mai potters and
other craftsmen who now produce these wares in Siam are descendents
of Shan families that migrated to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces
many years ago. And today in the Shan country you can still see these
earthenware vessels being made in places like Hsenwi, Lashio, and Bhamo,
and even around Mandalay and Sagaing, across the muddy but majestic

THE AYUDDHAYA PERIOD EARTHENWt\RES, 199
Irrawaddy River, where such earthenwares are now produced by simple,
open-pit firing, using merely bales of rice-straw for fuel.ll
All these simple earthenwares have a deep animistic significance.
Hence, it is an instructive as well as a pleasurably rewarding experience
to visit these contemporary kilns in Siam and Burma.
They not only
take you back in time, but tbey also bring you into much more direct
and intimate contact with the life of the people by whom and for whom
these simple earthenwares are made.
They are indeed superior products
that enter into the daily lives of the people in various ways, primarily,
of course, as their simple but practical and attractive household utensils,
but also as food and water storage receptacles, as mortuary urns to hold
the ashes of the deceased, and as jars filled with sand to support the
incense sticks, flowers and candles that ase customarily placed before
household spirit shrines or Buddhist household altars, or at those simple,
crude animistic shrines set up at roadsides and river landings in the
northern country to win the favor of the benign spirits of woods, rocks,
sacred trees and hills, or to ward off the machinations of evil spirits from
those and other quarters. It is the close, intimate association of these
wares with the daily lives of the people and their material and spiritual
needs that confer upon them such abiding beauty and enduring charm.
Moreover, the mere manufacture of such wares is also permeated
with a deep-rooted animistic character and association~ As with most
ceramics, their manufacture demands that the potters and other skilled
craftsmen be closely attuned to the spirits of the land, woods, sky, and,
above all, the Guardian Spirit of Fire that inhabits the kiln. It is a
curious point that in Tlutiland, as in so many other parts of the W?rld,
the making of ceramic wares has been entrusted to a large extent to
women, a r6le-assignment that I believe goes much d~eper than a .mere
' ' I ' '
token appreciation of the skill and dexterity of their more delicate fingers.
Their work, in col'nbination with the male fa borers who haul and prepare
the clay and cut and haul the firewood to fuel the kilns was all part of a
,'. ,. .
1·1·) See Plate No. 24, from a photograph of ·open pit firing at Sagaing. Burma,
~a~ en br the au tho~ i!l the ~old seasop. 9f 19 S 4.

200 C. Nelson Spinks
process of creation. Consequently, the important roles assigned to
women in pottery-making may more properly be identified with recog.
nition of their places in the household as mothers and as the members
most directly concerned with preparing the family's life-sustaining food.
Women would naturally have a vital family r6le in any society so
dependent in its everyday life upon ceramic wares.
Consequently, in Thailand, as in China and some other countries,
the pottery kiln has been endowed with a special animistic character and
magical powers, since its basic work involves creation. The Thai consequently
believed that some mysterous force, benevolent rather. than
malign, is involved in the capacity of a ceramic kiln, through the element
of the heat generated by its fire, to convert the simple materials of clay
and stone into objects of rare utility and bewitching beauty. It is significant,
I believe, that in Thailand, as in China, potters have traditionally
recognized that the making of ceramic wares involves the fortuitous lise
in combination of the Five Elements or Natural Forces of the Universe:
what the Chinese reverently call the wu-hsing, namely, wood, fire, earth,
metal, and water; or what the Thai with equal reverence refer to as the
ben~a thut, that is, earth, air, fire, water and atmosphere.1 2 ·Ceramics
are thus created by the special interaction of these five basic el~ments,
and they thus representthe manifestation of a magical or supernatural
power.
Consequently, among the Thai, after the pots and jars have been
carefully turned on the wheel, decorated and or glazed, and are finally
placed in the kiln, it is customary for th~ potters to conduct an appropriate
ceremony of thanksgiving and propitation by placing the required
offerings before a small spirit shrine, call Sal Phra Phum, that is usually
set up directly above the entranceway to the kiln; fo{ through such
humble offerings as incense sticks, lighted candles and fragrant flowers,
12) See, respectively, R. E. Mathews, A Chinese-English Dictionary, Cambridge:
American Edition, Harvard University Press, 1943, p. 1072, the origi~al
edition of which was published in China by the China Inland Mission and
Presbyterian Press; Shanghai, J 9 31 ; and ·George Bradley McFarland, Thai·
English Dictionary, America11 Editicn ~ Stanforc;l Univorsity Pre.ss; t 944, p.,488.

Plate No. 1.
Typical Thai earthenware moh 1

Plate No.2.
Ayuddhaya Period moh Mao Height 17 ems.
(Hauge Collection).

Plate No.4.
Earthenware globular jar with stamped design on the body. Height 25 ems. Diameter 33 ems.
Diameter of mouth 21 ems.
(Hauge Collection).

Plate No. 5.
Squat·shaped Ayuddhayi:i Period earthenware bowl with incised decoration.
Height 13~ ems. Diameter 24 ems. (Hauge Collection).

Plate No.6.
Ayuddhaya Period earthenwere globular cooking pot with domeshaped lid.
Height 18 ems. (Hauge Collection).

Plate No. 7.
Ayuddhaya Period earthenware mOh khao-type pot with incised Thai pendant-style decoration around
the shouldder. Height 13~ ems. Diameter 17 ems. (Hauge Collection).

Plate No. 8.
odel of Ayuddhaya Period pot (4.5 ems. in diameter) resting on a model of an earthenware stove.
er all height of stove and pot 7.6 ems. (Hauge Collection).

Plate No. 9.
Ayuddhay;:t Period earthenware jar with separate circular ringstand. Over all height 36 ems.
Diameter of lip of jar 30.5 ems. Diameter of body of jar 42 ems. Height of footring stand 9~ ems.
Diameter of top of base of ring-stand 26~ ems. This unsual piece probably dates from the !Bih
century. (Hauge Collection).

Plate No. 10.
One of the brick Pakkret kilns. A fired mortar is resting on the sand
to the right of the kiln's entranceway.

Plate No. 11.
Models of contemporary Thai earthenware household utensils made at the Pakkret kilns. Height of
right-hand side jar, including lid, 9 ems.

Plate No. 12.
Making a Ratburf kiln large water jar (Photographed by Mr. Banchai Kunalai at the RatburT kilns
in 1973)

Plate No. 13.
Potter at the Ratburi kilns going over the side of the large weter jar with a paddle while holding a ceran;::
anvil inside the jar opposite each blow of the paddle to stregthen the walls of the vessel made by the co'
method. (Photographed at the RatburT kilns by Mr. Biinchai Kunalaid of USIS Bangkok in 1973).

Plate No. 14.
Potter at the Ratburi kilns incisihg the dragon's mane on the side of a water jar with a broken piece
of a pocket comb. Photographed by the Author at the R1HburT kilns in 1970.

Plate No. 15.
Model of a Ratburi water. jar. Height 10 ems. The actual jars are about 70 ems. in height.
collection. Photograph by the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Author's

Plate No. 16.
Girl workers at the Ratburf kilns grinding stone to a fine powder for making the glaze material, as
described in the text. Photographed at the Rabturi kilns by the author in 1956.

Plate No. 17.
Girl Worker at the Ratburi kilns pouring glaze material over a recently turned basin.
Photographed by the author at the Ratburi kilns in 1956.

Plate No. 18.
Workers at the Pakkret ki Ins making glazed jars to hoi e nampla (fish source) condiment. The boy
in the center turns the heavy wheel by kicking motion of his foot, maintaining his balance by holding
the rope tied to one of the refters of the work shea. Photographed by the author in 1956.

Plate No. 19.
Woman worker at the Pakkret kilns turning the heavy wheel by her foot.
The potter is turning out llrok (mortars) for which these kilns are famous.

Plate No. 20.
A worker at the Pakkret kilns kneeding clay prior to using it on the potters wheel.
Photographed at the Pakkret kilns by the author in 1956.

Plate No. 21.
Goladon glazed gourd-shaped jar with ears made at the Burmick Kilns in Chiang Mai as a small·scale
facsimile of a typical jar from the Sawankhalok kilns of the 14th century. This piece is 1 6 ~ ems.
in height; the body is 15 ems. in diameter and the base has a diameter of nly 9 ems. Photographed
by the Freer Gallery of Art. (Author's Collection).

Plate No. 22.
A contempotary stoneware jar made at the Chokchai kilns in a Northeast Thailand ceramic shape.
Height 37 ems. Diameter 25 ems. (Author's Collection).
Photographed by the Freer Gallery of Aet.

"I
Plate No. 23.
Earthenware Chiang knat din water-bottle. Height 23 ems. Photographed by the Freer Galleryol
Art. (Author's Collection).

Plate No. 24.
Making earthenware water jars by open pit firing, using rice-straw bales for fuel. Photographed at
Sagaing in Upper Burma by the author in 1954. The open-pit firing pit is in the background.

Plate No. 25.
One of the Ratburi kilns with a spirit shrine (Sal Phra Phum) over the entranceway, to assure a good
firing. Photographed at the Ratburi kilns by the author in 1950.

~ •
c 5.7M. + 2.2M·-1
Sand .~:-:·~·~\.~~·.:~·~:;:~~=:~\::: .. :··~:·:··.~~~~.:.
SUKHOTHAI KILN
Fig. 1. Drawing of a Sukh'5thai kiln and also showing the method of stacking the wares in the kiln with a tubular
stand ana disc-shaped pontiles with five projecting legs.

5 . .5M.-----_,...
SAWANKHALOK KILN
s
Fig.2;
Drawing of one of the Sawankhalok kilns showing the manner in which the wares are
fired on top of tall, tubular pont!ls or stands.

~ Lizard Skin
Diaphram
Ceramic Body
Fibre lacing
Fig. 3.
Drawing showing at the top the Japanese bank-type kiln and at the bottom
one of the Chokchai kilns in Northeast Thailand.

--
;~1{~~\~~~.l~:·;~:;';::, ..
F j r e- (I o y
Wedqe shop.ed
Support
JAPANESE BANK TYPE KHN*
... ': '·'\{~!~t~ifj1}\k::, .. ~
THAI TUNNEL TYPE KILN AMPHOE CHOKC HAl

KILN ;ITES +
,,:o,
-~r+..~~~
.i!· - ~ •• ~;~ '1. , ":'
f · .;,~.;~'> Wat Sn Chum
, - ·, r ~ ··!? -->-
,_.,\e
••
"'//r~ (I~ • ... +
- .... #',/~/ r:-.. ••.
..,._...
.. , '-::::-·
Boray Sire
t
1 Lak Muang
2 Wat MahCi That
3 Nern · prCiisCid
/
-....
(" '..._-
. l -· ...... ~ .- ..... - - -- _., ........
Khao Ph:ro Bot Yoi - -- \
I - - .... -- ......
; ·1 f I? :; --:......--- '\ ;; ) J
/Jj I 200 Mo .., I !Jf /'
,,. ·--........ 1/ 1/ (
Sea fe r: 25,000
SUKHOTHAI
KILNS
4 Pratu I('QmphaengHak
5 Pretu Sanluang
6 Pratu Oa
7 Pratu Namo

_Kiln
Sites
N
1
*
CHAUANG·SAWANKHALOK
KILN SITES
0 1 2
~
Kilometres
~ WatKhaoln
I
/
/
Map. 2.
Sawankhalok tovvn and adjacent kiln sites:tlip,stream).
' A"--'"~'
I I,

.
. ....
: :r
I ;
• ::J
: "0
~ :r
E o
• ::1"
: ::..
•'(
01
: ..
D : 0
.
!
::r
' -·
i ::J
\
Ban Wiii
N
Bcin Piing
K·hro
CHAM PAWAI
KILN
SITE
y ...____.l...........}..____
j
Ban ThokWiik
I( i I om e.t reS-
¥ap. 3.
Cham, Piiwai Kiln Sites.

\
!

Doi S~ Liam
Doilham
Rice Fields
Hills
San lcamphaeng
... ............... ,·····
.................... ······················· ...
Ri

THE AYUDDHAYA PERIOD EARTHENWARES 201
the Fire Spirit residing in the kiln will take due note and view with favor
the devoted, diligent and dedicated work of the potter and his assistants,
and assure him (or her as the case may be) a successful firing.
To those who dwell as close to the Unseen World as the Thai, to
depend for successful results by such crass, mundane devices as temperature
cones for a successful firing would indeed be a shoddy substitute
for a proper ceremony of thanksgiving and supplication, as well as a
grievous affront to the Guardian Spirit of Fire who rightfully claims
suzerainty over the kilns. Hence, I have always found it_ a moving sight
to see one of those fully-accutered shrines over the entranceway of a
newly-filled kiln, with its bright fire glowing. with timeless reassurance
through the narrow kiln entranceway" (See Plate No. 35),13
.13) I took this photograph at the Ratburi kilns in 19 56. I would say that this
photograph has captured fully the spirit of the occasion, and I am sure that
the charming young girl potter standing beside the entranceway to the kiln was
as much moved by this event as I was.

NOTE
THE CHRONOLOGY OF NAN HISTORY, A.D.1320-1598
by
David K. Wyatt
Ten years ago, in preparing for publication an English translation
of The Nan Chronicle, 1 I encountered a difficult chronological problem,
The Chulasakkarat dates given in tbe text in most cases were inconsistent
with the animal and decade cycle names attached to each year, For
example, the death of Pha K

THE CHRONOLOGY OF NAN HISTORY 203
The importance of the Reliquary Chronicle lies in the fact that all
its dates, with one exception, are completely consistent. The single
v
exception is the C.S. 812 kat sanga date for the death of Chao Pha Saeng:
the combination of kat with sanga is an impossibility. In this single
case we must assume a copyist's error, the reading of kat for kat, which
is not difficult to imagine.
At issue here are the dates between C.S. 715 and 962, which in
1966 r considered to "differ from true dates by -2 to -3 years, as ascertained
by using the animal and decade cycles" (p. 16).
The dates given
after tbat point in the Nan Chronicle present no particular problems nor
inconsistencies with the Reliquary Chronicle.
The results of this comparison of dates are set forth in the following
table, with the recommendation that the dates given in the Reliquary
Chronicle be accepted in preference to those of the Nan Chronicle.
cannot begin to answer the question of the reason for the divergence of
dates between the two chronicles over the period prior to C.S. 962. 1
can only state my preference for c;onsistent over inconsistent dates, and
for the dates given in a manuscript which may stem back directly to
some older text to those given in a text compiled from uncertain sources
at the end of the nineteenth century, and offer them with the hope that
they might prove useful to historians of early Thailand.
I

Table
COMPARATIVE CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN NAN
-----·-·~··--------------------
1966
1966
Reliquary
Event
conversion
Page Nan Chronicle A.D. Chronicle ==A.D.
9 Pha Nng becomes ruler of Pua 684 kot san 1320
9 Kan Mtiang becomes ruler 715 luang mao 1351
11 Palace built after Reliquary 721 moeng lao 1357 721 kat kbai 1359
11 Khun Inta comes from South 725 luang pao 1361
11 Nan founded by Pba K

1966
1966
Event
conversion
Reliquary
Page
Nan Chronicle A.D. Chronicle =A.D.
···--
19 Son, Thoa MUang, dies 851 rawai sanga 1486 849 moeng met 1487
19 Thao Bun Faeng appointed, 851 rawai sanga 1486 849 moeng met 1487
19 transferred to Chiangsaen, 858 1493
20 becomes ruler again 859 kap yi 1494 857 dap mao 1495
20 Thao Bun Faeng dies 869 dap pao 1505 (869 moeng) mao 1507
v
20 Chao Muang Phae Soi appointed, 872 boek si 1508 872 kot sanga 1510
20 transferred to Lampang 875 kot sanga 1510 875 ka lao 1513
20 Mtin Thao Bun Faeng appointed, 875 kot sanga 1510
20 transferred to Thoeng 877 tao san 1512
20 Chao Mtiang Fang to Phayao 878 ka lao 1513 878 huaid chai 1516
20 Kham Y9tfa appointed & transferred 8 79 moeng pao 1517
20 Phraya N9 Chiangsaen to Phayao 881 rawai chai 1516 881 kat mao 1519
20 Kham Yqtfa appointed again 881 rawai chai 1516 884 tao sanga 1522
20 Lan Th9ng image cast 884 kat mao 1519
20 Saen Songkhram appointed 888 boek set 1526
21 Y -;>tfa returns again to rule 888 boek set 1526 900 boek set 1538
21 Y 9tfa dies 889 kat kai 1527 901 kat kbai 1539
21 Phalatbep LU Chai appointed 889 kat kai 1527
21 Wat Luang built 898 boek san 1536 910 boek san 1548
21 Pegu invades Chiang Mai 920 boek sanga 1558 920 boek sanga 1558
23 N9 Kham appointed by Burmese 922 kot san 1560 922 kot san 1560
23 Sarawadi stops at Nan 942 boek yi 1578 942 kot si 1580
24 No Kham dies
'
953 kat pao 1589 951 kat pao 1589
24 Wat Don Thaen built in M. Pho
'
'
958 kap sanga 1594 956 kap sanga 1594
24 Abbot of Cbae Haeng installed 959 dap met 1595 957 dap met 1595
24 Nan revolts against the Burmese 959 dap met 1595
24 Chao Chetabut attacks Chiang Mai 962 boek set 1598 960 boek set 1598

206 David K. Wyatt
NOTES:
(a) According to three identical inscriptions on the pedestals of
bronze statues of the Buddha, Cbao Ngua Pha Sum became ruler in C,S,
v
'
788-presumably immediately upon the death of Chao Phan Ton. A.B.
Griswold and Prasert I).a Nagara, "The Pact Between Sukhodaya and
Nan (Epigraphic and Historical Studies, 3)", JSS 57:1 (Jan. 1969), 105
and n. 90. As Griswold and Prasert note, however, it is possible that
788 is the date of Ngua Pha Sum's abhi~eka, which would have followed
some months after the death of his predecessor.
(b) Probably a copyist's error for kat sanga: see text.
(c) The Reliquary Chronicle here does not discuss a Kaeo invasion,
but gives this date for the transfer of Thao Kha Kan to Chiangsaen,
which according to the Nan Chronicle occurred as a result of this war.
(d) I.e., hawai, rawai.

REVIEW ARTICLES
Jeremias van Vliet, The Short History of the Kings of Siam, translated by
Leonard Andaya from a transcription by Miriam J. Verkuijl-van den
Berg, edited by David K. Wyatt. Bangkok, The Siam Society, 1975 iv,
97 pp.
For a number of years historians concerned with early Ayuttbay·a
have been aware that a chronicle version older than anything else extant
had been compiled in Dutch by the early 17th-century V.O.C. representative
in Ayutthaya, Jeremias van Vliet, and its publication has been
eagerly awaited for light it might shed on points which remain obscure
in other texts.
Now The Siam Society has provided in very attractive format a
transcription of van Vliet's original text with an English translation and
a certain number of notes on the historiographic problems of the text
and its relationship to other sources. I
Van Vliet's chronicle begins with a very interesting version of the
history of the peninsula and lower Menam basin before the founding of
Ayutthaya. Here van Vliet relates several stories which were current
concerning the first king of Siam in ancient times-that be was a son of
a Chinese emperor and had come to the peninsula a bout 2000 years
before, that be was a brahman named Pbrommatbep, and that Siam was
founded by the Buddha himself. A long time later, about 300 years
before van Vliet's day, another son of a Chinese ruler, Chao Ui, arrived
on the peninsula and became the Thai.> U Thong who founded Ayutthaya.
His acts in accomplishing this are described in some detail. No absolute
1) In what follows I shall use "van Vliet" for the author and vV for the text.
Proper names and royal titles will follow Wyatt's system of transcription
except where etymology is to be emphasized, and there, as in quotations from
Thai texts, the graphic system of transliteration will be used.

208 REVIEW AHTICLE
year dates are given, but tiger year, which may be assumed to represent
the 1350-51 of other texts, is specified for the founding of the city.
Thereafter the chronicle runs through the reigns of kings who may
generally be recognized as those of the standard Ayutthayan chronicles 2
and ends in the period of Prasat Thong, in 1640.
The text is generally
very summarized and there are few political or military details before
the time of King Maha Chakrapattbirat.
Thereafter relations with
Burma and Cambodia are reported quite fully, but with the details often
confused.
For the 17th century, the period which van Vliet knew from
personal experience, there is a good deal of information which must
represent --his own research and which is also included in his other
works.
Although the kings are the same as in the other chronicles, their
reign periods are usually quite different from both of the major chronicle
traditions.
The textual material is also different, and this, together
with its brevity for the first two hundred years, leads one to wonder
whether van Vliet translated a Thai text or put together a history from
disparate information he had collected from various informants.
Although the editor, Wyatt, felt that, "it is much too early to begin
to assess the full value" of vV (p. 9), material is readily at band to go
much farther in this direction than be chose to do, and in fact should
have done, in the present publication.
I intend thererfore, to use this
occasion to compare "his [van Vliet's] version with that of the several
versions of the Royal Chronicles of Ayudhya and other documents," (p. 9),
in order to situate it much more firmly within the picture of Ayuttbayan
history such sources have provided.
2) These are the Hlvan prasro'!h/Luang Praso't (LP) chronicle and a group which
I shall refer to as the 1157 tradition (1157), consisting of a chronicle com·
posed at that date, equivalent to A.D. 1795, and represented today by
Bancandanuma§ (P), and its direct descendents : the version of Samtec bra( 1
banratn (Wyatt's Phonnarat), the so-called British Museum version, the Bradley
version, and The Royal Autograph Chronicle (RA), of which the edition to be
cited here is the sixth, Chonburi, 2511 [ 196 8 J.

REVIEW ARTICLE 209
Since Wyatt cites me as one of several persons who provided
"assistance and advice" (p. i), the reader might legitimately feel that my
comments should have been offered to the editor for inclusion rather
than saved for a review, and therefore I must note briefly the extent to
which I was involved.
In 1972 I found out that Wyatt was working on vV and I wrote to
him for a copy of the translation in order to check it for information
useful in my dissertation research. He very kindly sent me a copy of the
typescript of the English translation, for which I am very grateful. At
the time I was mainly interested in what vV had to say about Thai
invasions of Cambodia, and finding that it provided no information about
such before the time of Naresuan, I put it aside. My only suggestions
to Wyatt at the time, as far as I remember, were that vV provided
clinching evidence that the true title of the king known as Bkatbotsarot
had been Ramesuan and that vV's transcription of proper names and
titles should be clearly indicated in the final•pub\ication. The typescript
I received did not contain any of the Dutch text, or its version of titles,
nor any editorial comment, none of which I saw until receiving a copy
of the publication a couple of months ago. Neither did I study the
whole of vV very closely until recently, when I saw some of its more
obvious relationships with other texts, and in the meantime Wyatt had
had access to a partial draft of my dissertation in which, although not
discussing vV, I had treated the "invasion" of 1369 with respect to other
sources and had described clearly the chronology of Sangi[iyavaiis.3
Certain other of the comments I shall make below are based on material
I have already published and which presumably would have come to
Wyatt's attention.
·The first comment required is a question of bibliography. In his
"Abbreviations" on p. iv Wyatt has a note on LP in which he says that
3) SaizgitiyavaAs samtec bra(L varwra£n vat bra!;. je!,uban tzai r'iijakal di 1, Bangkok
2466 ( 1923). This volume provides the original Pali text and a Thai translation
in parallel columns. Coedes translated the Ayutthaya chronicle from
another manuscript of Sahg1~iyavahs in his "Une recension palie des annales
d'Ayuthya, "BEFEO Vol. XIV (3), 1914, pp. 1-31. There are some minor,
but interesting differences in the two versions. SaizgitiyavaM prope(will here
be cited asS and Coedes' translation Sc.

210 REVIEW ARTICLE
the text published in PCSA 4 is in the original spelling. As I pointed out
in a review of that volume, not only does the text of PCSA not have the
original spelling, but it is not even the original LP. 5 It is another twovolume
copy, probably that of King Taksin's reign which bad already
been identified by Prince Damrong.6 As far as I know, no published
edition of LP preserves the original spelling, and curious readers may
check out any copy to which they have access by comparing it with the
plates of PCSA, which have been taken from the originaL
Contrary to what Wyatt felt (pp. 6-1 0), the single major source for
vV is very clear.
It is the version of Ayutthayan history preserved
today inS. The relationship is clearest in the chronological framework,
which I present below in tabular form beginning with the foundation of
Ayutthaya in the reign of U Thong, Ramathibodi I (vV's pre-Ayutthayan
section belongs to other traditions and must be treated separately). The
reign periods are totalled b.oth by modern and traditional arithmetic,
which I have explained earlier in a review of Sinhanava£ikumar,1
Brackets indicate details for which vV, S, and Sc differ among themselves.
Note that the first date of S, 1892 Buddhist Era, is incorrect, for tiger
year cula era 712, equivalent to A.D. 1350-51, should be B.B. 1893 or
1894; For convenience the calculation of year dates is in A.D. beginning
with 1351, which, since the date is near the end of the year, is the correct
synchronism in this case for 712 tiger.s The corresponding LP dates and
periods are also provided for contrast. ·
4) Parhjum cathmayhettt samiiy ayudhaya bhag 1 [Collected documents of the
Ayutthaya period part 1 ], Commission for the Publication of Historical, Cultural
and Archeological Documents, Office of the Prime Minister, Bangkok,
2510 [ 1967 ]. The LP text is on pp. 93-103.
5) In JSS Vol. LX (2), July 1972, pp. 319-329. Seep. 325.
6) See Prince bamrong's introduction to LP in the various editions of Pra~Jum
banfavatar/Prachum Phongsawadan, part 1.
7) "The Lion Prince and Related Remarks on Northern History," JSS, LXIV, 1
8)
(Jan., 1976), p. 352, n. 64.
Sec Wyatt's comment, vV p. 58, n. 23, and his review of Prasert pa Nagara,
NM11-If1Uf111ll1::·Hlfl1lH11il1U " "_, - ·~ l Researches in Thai History], JSS Vol. LXIH
(2), July 1975, p. 414,

REVIEW ARTICLE :H1
LP sangi!ifv v modern/ traditional
712 tiger/1350-1 1892 tiger 1351
Ramadbipati Ramathibodi
19 years 1370{1369
731 cock/ 1369
Ramesuor
732 dog{1370
Param rajadhiraj
750 dragon/1388
Don lan
RamessarojRamesuah
3 years 1373/1371
guq.lum bailu {Khunluang
18 years Pha-ngua 1391 f 1388
v
Suvaq.qacandolo/Thong Chan 1391/1388
7 days
750 dragon/1388
Ramesuor Ramessaro{Ramesuan +9 +6 [vV, mod.]
9 years/ 6 years [vV, Sc] 1400/1396 1397
757 pig/1395
Bana ram
771 bull/1409
lndaraja
Son of above/Phra Ram [vV]
3 years 1403/1398 1400
NagarindojNakhon In
20 years 1423/1417 1420
786 dragon/1424
Param rajadhiraj (II] Paramaraja/Borommaracha
20 years Thibodi 1443/1436 1440
810 dragon/1448
Param Trailok cau
825 goat{l463
Trailok to Phitsanulok
Param raja in Ayuttbaya
TilokanlHho/Boromma-
20 years trailokanat
1463/1455 1460
850 monkey f 1488
Trailok died
Indaraja{Intharacha
37 years
1500/1491 1497

212 REVIEW ARTICLE
853 pig/1491
Param rajadhiraj died
Ramadhipati reigned RamadhipatifRamathibodi
38 years
891 bull/1529 ·
Hno buddhankiir
895 snake/1533
Son of above
896 horse/1534
Jaiyarajadhiraj
908 horse/1546
Yot fa:
910 monkey/1548
Khun jinaraj
910 monkey/1548
Dhiarraja, Maha
dikra barrtiraj
930 dragon/1568
Mahindradhiraj
1538/1528 1535
2072 bull [S, Sc]
Buddhankur JNo Phutthangkun
5 years 1543/1532 1540
Atthadhirajkumar JWoraratsadatbirat
5 months
JayarajasifChaiyaracha
13 years
Yot!;a/Yot Chao
3 years
Gu!J. JinarajJChinnarat
40 years/40 days
Dehraj/Tbianracha
16 years
Mahind/Mahin
6 years/7 years [vV, Sc]
1543/1532 1540
1556/1544 1553
1559/1546 1556
1559/1546 15569
1575/1561 1572
+6 +7
1581/1566 1579
931 snake/1569
Mahadharrmaraja- DharrmarajafMahathammaracha
dhiraj 22 years 1603/1587 1601
9) The "40 years" of S is an obvious scribal error due to the structure of the
Pali phrase, thus:
Sc cattalisa divasani, "forty days"
S catta?,isa vas semi, "forty years."

REVIEW ARTICLE 213
952 tiger /1590 2134 tiger [S, Sc]
Narayq.to Narissa/Naret Rachathirat +20
"a few years"+"a few years" 1623{1606 1621
+15/28, 20 [vV], 15 [Sc]
966 dragon/1604
End of LP
Reconstructed11
true dates
traditional
967 snake/1605 snake [S, Sc] 1606,
Ekadasaratba/ Ramessaro/Ramesuan +6 +7
Ekathotsarot 6 years !7 [Sc] 1611, 1612
(dog] 1610-11 dog [S, Sc]
Dran Dbarrm/ Indarajaflntbaracba
Song Tham 19 years 1629, 1630
[dragon] 1628-29
Je~tharaja
[snake] 1629
Adityasuravaris
dragon [S, Sc]
Chettbaracha
8 months 1629, 1630
snake [S, Sc]
Athit Surawong
38 days 1629, 1630
[snake] 1629 horse [1630 S, Sc]
Prasat Thong Sri Thammarachathirat 1629, 1630
Prasad Don 11 years at end of vV
1 0) LP gives the name ".Naray" to the king known in the other chronicles as
Naresuor/Naresuan. In this case LP is probably in error, since Europeans less
than a half century later were familiar with the name "Naret", which can
derive from Naresuan, but not from Naray.
' 11) These dates have been reconstructed through the evidence supplied by 17thcentury
European writers, including van Vliet. See Wyatt's notes 113, 118,
119, 124, 128, 129. See also W.A.R. Wood, A History of Siam, pp. 160, nn.
1-3, 171.

214 REVIEW ARTICLE
It is quite clear now that vV, in its chronology, belongs to the
tradition embodied in Sahgiliyavahs. With the exception of the reign
of Naresuan its periodlzation always agrees with either S or Sc. This
shows further that the 1789 Sahgi!iyavans is not an entirely original
composition, but is based on a tradition already written down at least as
early as the first half of the 17th century. Even in the case ofNaresuan,
vV's 28 years, which Wyatt seems to have treated as a typographical
error, can be shown to fit the S pattern. This figure of 28 years appears
in vV's heading for the section dealing with Naresuan's reign (p. 38),
but in the English translation (p. 82) it has.been "corrected" to 20, apparently
to agree with vV's later statement that "he was king for twenty
years" (p. 87). The passage in S has no definite statement about the
lengt,h of this reign, but twice mentions periods of "only a few years,"
[1J ; ~] and then a further period of 15 years,l2 Since the next reign
· began in a snake year, and the correct snake year, 1605, is just 15 years
from 2134/1590, the additional periods of "a few years" imply that the
following snake year, 1617, is meant, and this is exactly 28 years, by
traditional arithmetic, from 1590. These details show that the 28 years
of vV is not a scribal error and that in this passage the text of S as we
find it today existed essentially in the same form in van Vliet's time.
The original writer probably did not intend his passage to be interpreted
as 28 years, but rather envisaged the two periods of "only a few years"
as included within the 15, which was the true length of Naresuan's reign,
and is the interpretation adopted by Coedes.t3 The contradictory
statement about 20 years, which is also incorrect, was probably added
by the compiler of S from another tradition.
A notable feature of the above chronologies is the multiple
possibilities for calculation which they provide. There is the result
provided by modern arithmetic, which was not used by the Thai, and is
only of intere~t for the clues it gives concerning van Vliet's own
calculations. Then there is the traditional calculation from the inserted
BE date for Naresuan's reign, which, taking the true 15 years of Sc, .
results in the true date for the end of Song Tham's reign. The alternative
12) SeeS, pp. 385-386.
13) Coedes, Sc, pp. 21-22.

REVIEW ARTICLE 215
20-year reign period for Naresuan found in vV, if added to the previous
reigns as given, also prov-ides very nearly the correct date for the reign
of Song Tham, depending on the choice made at those points where Sand
Sc offer different possibilities. Tbe same results will be obtained by
using the maximum reign lengths from the erroneous BE date at the
beginning of S. Thus the one thing which all of these schemes have in
common is the goal of making the cumulative reigns reach the true dates
for the Song Tham-Prasat Thong period. This would seem to be proof
that S and vV as we have them represent a written tradition compiled
at that time and including older traditional dates and periods which had
to be in error since they did not add up to known contemporary dates.
It is also worthwhile to note that in spite of the different reign
periods, and in mid-15th century of different kings, the dates of Son the
whole are very close to those of LP, much closer than the chronology of
the 1157 -RA tradition. For the first five reigns S and LP are always
within one year of each other. Then there is serious divergence, due
partly to the unlikely circumstance that in S three kings in a row have
reigns of precisely 20 years. However, Intharacha's 37 years inS brings
the chronologies back together for the reign of Ramathibodi II and they
remain no more than two years apart for several more reigns.
Wyatt did not notice these details, due to his use of modern
arithmetic, which led him to calculate that the total of all the reigns
from 1351 to 1640' came to 307 years, thereby pushing the terminal d

216 REVIEW ARTICLE
Othet examples of chronological confusion of events, the true
dates of which are fairly certain, begin in the reign of Phra Thianracha,
or King Maha Cbakrapatthirat, and not all are due to van Vliet. For
example (p. 74), it is implied that an attack on Ayutthaya by Patani
(1563), the death of Thianracha (1568-9), and the death of the Burmese
king (presumably Bayinnaung, 1581) all occurred within the same year.
In this case the fault is probably not van Vliet's addition but confusion
in the text from which he worked, and perhaps due to the circumstance
that the Patani attack came in the same year as another Burmese
invasion, and the deaths of the two kings, depending on the way the Thai
records are read, could be interpreted as both having occurred in snake
years, something which has more than once led to difficulties in the
composition of chronicles.I4
The next instance of such confusion may more easily be analyzed
with reference to van Vliet's addition. Thus two Burmese attacks which
seem to correspond to events dated elsewhere in about 15841 5 bracket
the death of the Burmese king (1581). For van Vliet, however, 1581
was only two years after the beginning of the reign of Maha Thamma·
racha, rather than twelve, and van Vliet bas confused a Burmese pursuit
of Naresuan after his incursion into Burma in 158416 with one which 1
may have occurred about one cycle earlier following Naresuan's escape
from captivity in Burma, just over two years after the true date of the
beginning of Maha Thammaracha's reign. But on this point see below,
p. 113. In the Burmese attack of 1584 one of the leaders, according to
vV, was Sarrathij, whom Wyatt hesitantly identified as Prince of
Tharawaddy (pp. 78-9). There is no need for hesitation. In LP be is
14) See the LP entries for the years 925, 930 and 943. It is not clear from LP
whether Maha Chakrapatthirat died at the end of 930 or the beginning of 931.
The Burmese chronicle says it was 931, which, like 943, when Bayinnaung
died, was a snake year. See Relationship With Burma-Part I, The Siam Society,
1959, p. 59.
15) The LP entry for 946, and Relationship, pp. 126-128. The dates differby
one year in the two accounts,
16) lbi4,

REVIEW ARTICLE 217
called Savatti and leads the same attack, and the Burmese chronicle
relates that he had been made ruler of Chiang Mai in 1578.17 LP, like
vV, also mentions bana Bassein as another leader in one of the same
campaigns.
Van Vliet's responsibility for the next set of chronological errors,
concerning Cambodia, is even clearer, and shows he was mixing
information from some other source into his basic framework. Still in
the reign of Maha Tharomaracha, which for van Vliet ended in 1601, but
for which the true date was 1590, vV mentions a Cambodian attack on
Nakhon Ratchasima and yearly raids on the Siamese rivers. LP and the
best Cambodian tradition seem to confirm that the former occurred in
1580 and the latter between 1575 and 1581.1 8 Then a punitive expedition
was sent by the Thai, but it bad to be called off due to the famous
Burmese attack in which the Burmese Maha Uparacba was killed. The
true date for this event was 1592.
Following this the great Thai invasion of Lovek of 1593-4 is
described, although vV is in error in stating that the Cambodian king
was captured, rather than his brother. Still in the reign of Maha
'(bammaracha vV includes the return of the Cambodian king (read his
brother) to his throne, an event of 1601.
Due to this chronological squeez·ing in the text ofvV the only clear
political events of Naresuan's own reign are his campaigns in Burma
between 1596 and 1605, plus a possible reference to a campaign in the·
second year of his reign, really 1592-93. There is also one more
campaign into Cambodia which appears to correspond to events dated
elsewhere to 1603,19 but which were not a revolt by the new Cambodian
17) Relationship p. 112.
18) A Cambodian attack overland is placed in 1580 by the Nang chronicle, for
which the best published version is the Thai translation in Pro.~j11m banS'iivatarf
Prachum Phongsawadan (PP), part 1. See p. 200 of the Guru Sabhii edition.
Naval attacks are recorded in LP between 937 and 943.
19) These events are not absolutely clear in any source. They seem to be reflected
in different ways in LP, date 965, Nong at the same date, p. 205, RA, pp. 208-
209, where the date is one cycle too early, and in the fragmentary, but detailed,
Ban.iavatar Lal}vaek [Chronicle of Lovek 1, PP, Guru Sabha edition, Vol. 44,
pp. 274-275, where the date is 160S.

218 RFVIEW ARTICLE
king as vV writes, but a conflict among Cambodian princes in which the
Thai aided the one whom they had restored to the throne. Unexplainable
though, as Wyatt remarks, is that Naresuan is said to have gone from
Cambodia to conquer Champa, something which finds no support in any
other source. Could it be that there is here confusion of events of the
1590's when the Cambodian prince Ream Choeung Prey, who ultimately
drove the Thai forces out after the invasion of 1593-4, then sent a
Cambodian army to conquer Champa?
As I remarked before, and as Wyatt also noted (p. 8), the
chronological confusion shows that van Vliet bad some other source•for
the true dates of many events. It should not be thought that vV may
possibly preserve a more accurate account than the standard chronicles
or that it will "assist in opening, and hopefully settling, the question of
[the] validity" of the chronology in "the period immediately following
the Burmese sack of Ayudhya in 1569" (p. 10). The true dates for wars
with Burma and Cambodia in the latter half oft he 16th century are fairly
certain from the combined evidence of the Burmese, Cambodian and LP
chronicles plus contemporary European writings,2o and van Vliet must
have tried to insert these events in a framework which his ignorance of
traditional arithmetic, and perhaps also the b~sic text he used, had
distorted. (\notber bit of evidence for his use of different sources is the
double mention of Chiang Mai as "Jangoma" and "Tsieengh Maeij" (p. 86),
the first the common term used by Europeans of the time, and the second
which van Vliet would have taken from his written Thai source, perhaps
not realizing they were the same place.
As to textual content, there is somewhat more difficulty in
identifying van Vliet's sources than in the case of his chronology. Since
the latter is the framework of S one could legitimately expect its textual
20) The chronicles are Relationship, LP, and Nang, cited above. The European
evidence is Les Voyages Advantureux de Fernand Mendez Pinto, trans. by
Bernard Figuier, Paris 1628; Reports from Europeans who were in .Burma
between 1569 and 1600 in Publications of the Hakluyt Society, Extra Series,
Vol. X, pp. 110-217; letters of Diego Beloso and Blas Ruiz de Hernan Gonza·
lez, who participated in the Cambodian events of the 1590's, in Blair and
Ro~~rtson,.The Phillipine Islands, Vols. lX ang X,V,

REVIEW ARTICLE 219
matter to have influenced him, but in the last few reigns van Vliet
clearly added much material in his own words and deriving from what
he knew of recent events. In the early reigns, however, Wyatt's
characterization (pp. 8-9) of vV's style is exactly that of S, although the
latter is even more succinct.
Thus, rarely does vV appear to be an
exact translation of the extant S, and the text from which van Vliet
worked must have been fuller.
It is possible, however, to show that the
model for vV was the S tradition, for both contain certain important
textual diagnostic features which differentiate them from the other
Ayutthayan chronicles, and vV's entries often include a nearly verbatim
translation of the opening sentence of each S reign concerning the
succession of the king and the length of his reign.
These features begin in the reign of Ramesuan, the second king,
both the reign of U Thong and the pre-U Thong details of vV being
quite different from S and probably deriving, as Wyatt remarks (p. 9,)
from oral tradition. vV's first two sentences on Ramesuan, "The son of
the dead king succeeded his father in the kingdom peacefully when be
was thirty years old; He_ was called Pbra Ramesuan," are almost
verbatim for the corresponding passage inS. Wyatt remarks tbat, "no
other source gives his age at accession," eviden-tly having neglected to
check s.21 vV in this way supplies the ages of all the kings, something
which occurs only irregularly inS, but where they are to be found they
agree with vV. This is more evidence that van Vliet probably worked
from a more complete text of the S type.
Next is the name of the third king, guQ fum bahu in S and tJaeu
Couloangb Phongh Wo-ae (Chao Khunluang Pba-ngua) in vV, a name
not found in the two major Ayutthayan chronicle traditions.n
Another correspondence is the name of the fourth king, Thong
Chan in vV, SuvaiJf,laCalld, in S, whereas, as Wyatt notes, "The usual
form of his name is Thong Lao."23
21) vV, p. 60, n. 34; S, p. 374.
22) Readers familiar with RA hold your fire. I shall get back to this point later.
23) vV, p. 61, n. 38. Again RA is an eJCception.

220 REVIEW ARTICLE
The name of the seventh king is also common to vV and S. This
is Nakhon In of Suphanburi who seized power in Ayutthaya. LP, as
Wyatt remarks (n. 42), calls him Intbaracha, as does the 1157 tradition,
while the name "Nakhon In" is reserved in those texts for the Thai
prince left to govern Angkor in the next reign. In this connection it
should be noted that both vV and S ignore the invasion of Cambodia
between 1384 and 1388 found in 1157 and RA and the conquest of
Angkor recorded in 1431 by LP and 1421 by the long Ayuttbayan
chronicles.
For the following king the opening sentences of vV and S are
nearly the same and both mention his personal name, Phrachao Sam
(vV) or samtec bra{1 sam (S) without referring to Chao Ai and Chao Yi
and their duel.
The next diagnostic feature is the successor of Trailokanat,
lntharacha, who does not figure as king in the LP and 1157 traditions.
As Wyatt notes, the dating of this period "is confused and complex~~
(n. 47), and it is clear that vV and S are partners in one particular
tradition.
After this vV includes more and more detail not found in S and
which may come from quite different sources. S also bas details, such
as a summary after the first ten reigns, which may not have been in its
own 17th.century ancestor. Nevertheless, there are still small clues
showing the relationship b.etween the two texts.
Thus the officials who killed the usurper, Khun Chinnarat, are
called in vV Okphra Thainam and Okluang Ratcbayut. In 1157 and
'
'
RA the titles of these men are quite different, the two leaders being
Khun birendardeb and Khun indardeb, but in S the first is called vara
udakahethaca, which the Thai translator rendered as bral] day r:al!l.24
In the reign of the king known as Thianracha or Maha Chakrapat,
the text of S, which calls him Dehasin or DeharC!.ja, may have contributed
to some of the confusion which we have already noticed in· vV. Thus
24) S, p. 380, line 12. Sc, p. 20, agrees with 1157 on these details. LP does not
name these men at all.

REVIEW .ARTICLE 221
his reign is said there to have begun in a monkey year, which is the LP
date 910{1548, in disagreement with S's own chronology. Then the
first event mentioned is in a pig year (LP 925/1563) when Burma invaded,
and with this invasion the king's reign ends, as in vV, but with abdication,
not death. There is no mention in S of the Patani attack or a Burmese
king's death.
Thus van Vliet could easily have been following a textual
framework like the extant S, and tbe insertion of the Patani detail,
which he probably obtained from elsewhere, could ·only fall at the end
of the reign.
Although S has Maba Cbakrapat become a monk, it does not bring
him back, like the long chronicles, to replace his son Mahin for a second
reign. S and vV thus agree with LP in giving Cbakrapat and Mabin
one reign apiece, although LP's periods are different.
In the next reign, of Mahathammaracha, there are more interesting
correspondences.
vV gives him the titles Pbra Mahatbammaracba
Pbrachao Song Queen, of which Wyatt seems not to have understood the
last two terms (p. 77, n. 90).
However, Song Queen should undoubtedly
represent Song Kbvae, "two river branches," the ancient name of
Phitsanulok, Mahathammaracba•s own principality.2s HereS is extremely
interesting, calling this king dviratnonama, "named 'two jewels' ",
which the Thai translator rendered as "Brah Mabadbarrmaraja received
. . ... i ~ .. -4 1
a name meamng, 'the klng has two jewels'" (rmaJ1111!111ll1'llHl'UIH~'Ifo11
..... " 1
W7~0~tl1Jlllltln~ 1.). This shows not only that vV's unusual features still
belong to the S tradition, but that the extant S, in its chronicle, is not an
original Pali composition, but a translation from an older Thai text.
Thus its author misunderstood the old name for Pbitsanulok, 'ff!l-:J um,
"two river branches," as a scribal error for 'fftN LLh'J, "two jewels,'' and
translated it tbat way in his Pali version, a cirumstance which probably
indicates that the old name was still current in the early 17th century,
25) For the relationship of Mahathammaracha to Phitsanulok see RA, pp. 7 5-76,
83, and A.B. Griswold, Towards a History of Sukhodaya Art, p. 56. For Song
Khvae, see Griswold, Towards, pp, 6,37 ,40,56. And seeS, p. 382.

222 REVIEW ARTICLE
but had been forgotten in the late 18th, to be rediscovered by modern
research into the Sukhothai inscriptions.26
Further comparison with the S treatment of Mahathammaracha's
reign shows that vV's confusion in this period is at least partly due to
the framework he took over from his model. First, vV devotes much
attention to the story of Naresuan being held hostage for a time in Pegu
following the war of 1569, a story not part of the two main Ayutthayan
chronicles, or of the Burmese chronicle, although it is solidly rooted in
Thai tradition.27 This story is also found in S, where the famous duel
with the Burmese Maha Uparacha comes immediately after Naresuan's
escape when the Maha Uparacha leads a force to pursue him. This
occurs, apparently, during the reign of Mabathammaracha. What is
more likely to be the true story, since the better Ayutthayan chronicles,
the Burmese chronicles, and Europ~an sources agree on it, is that the
duel with the Maha Uparacha took place in 1592, in the beginning of
Naresuan's own reign, bu_t, according to the chronicles, the Maba
Uparacha bad led earlier campaigns into Siam in about 1584, !585, and
1590. 28 Naresuan also, whether ever a hostage or not, in the major
Ayutthayan chronicles led a campaign into Burma, up to a place called
graenfKhraeng, and retreated under pursuit in 1584,29 and it seems that
these different campaigns have been confused in the tradition represented
by S and vV. This confusion is also found in the two collections of
"testimony" from the end of the Ayuttbaya period, 3D where there is only
one campaign led by the Maha Uparacha, and it is in order to pursue
Naresuan after his escape.
26) The misunderstanding was especially easy when reading old-style ross., in
which tone marks are often lacking and the letters n and fl may be very bard
to distinguish.
27) See the two collections of "testimony" from the end of the Ayuttbaya period,
Gam hai kar j(iv k1·w'1 1zau and Gam hai kar khun hlvah h'ii v~t, Glail vidaya,
Ba~gkok, 2510, pp. 89-91, 299-304; Prince Damrong's commentary in RA, p.
365; W.A.R. Wood, A History of Siam, p. 128.
28) LP dates 946, 947,952. Relationship, pp. 126-7, 135-6.
29) LP date 946. The Burmese chronicle says he tried to take Pegu, Relationship,
p. 126.
30) GZi1tt hai kar, etc., op. cit., n. 27, above, pp. 89-94, 300-309.

REVIEW ARTICLE 223
vV also has only one campaign led by the Maha Uparacha, but,
correctly, does not make the duel a result of Naresuan's escape and
places it after several other Burmese campaigns. Where v V seems to
confuse two campaigns is in the mention of Crengb, probably the graeil
which Naresuan invaded in 1584, in connection with Nong Sarai and the
battle with the Maha Uparacba.31
The campaigns in which the Prince of Tharawaddy figures are not
found inS, but the paragraph of vV rela tiog Naresuan's attacks on Pegu,
its surroundings, and Mtiaog Hang near the and of his reign is very close
to the wording of S, even though vV bas no mention of Toungoo.32
The S account of Naresuan's major invasion of Cambodia is
different from vV, and even more in error, relating that Naresuan killed
the Cambodian king after defeating him in a naval battle.33 The wellknown
true account is that·the Cambodian king escaped to Laos while
his brother was captured and taken to Ayutthaya.34
For the remaining reigns, in which vV has·1much extra material, the
significant details to compare with S are the royal titles, Ramesuan for
Ekathotsarot, Intharacha for Song Tham, and Sri Thammarachathirat
for Prasat Thong (in S bra~ sri sudharrmaraj), all of which are missing
from the standard chronicles.
It is safe to conclude, then, that vV belongs first of all to the
same tradition as S, textually as well as chronologically, even though
much other material has been added.
Although the chronology generally gives an impression of less
reliability than the later LP, and the textual matter where it can be
checked is frequently garbled, v V's sources nevertheless preserved certain
genuine details of royal titles absent from later chronicles. The first
example is in the titles attributed to U Thong after his founding of
31) Kreng, mentioned among Naresuan's conquests on pp. 86-87, is probably the
same place. Modern maps show a River Gyaing, graphic graii1, at the same
approximate location.
32) vV, p. 86; S, p. 385.
33) s, pp. 384-38~.

224 HEVIEW ARTICLE
Ayutthaya. To illustrate the discussion I present them below (1) as they
are given by vV, (2) as transcribed by Wyatt, (3) in my own version
using Wyatt's phonetics, and (4) in a graphic transliteration of my
reading as it would be in standard spelling and Thai script. For (l) and
(2) see pp. 18 and 59.
(1) Somdit Pra Raetsja Rama tijbodij srisoerin Tbae borom
(2) Somdet Phra Racha Ramatbibqdi Sisurintha Bpromma
( 3) Sorudet Pbra Racba Ramathib9di Srisurintba B9romma
(4) samtec bra~ raJa ramadhipati srisrindra parama
( 1) t'Jaccerae phad Thieraeija rami soon d'harmamij Craij dij t'siou
(2) chakkaphat Thianracha Ramesuan Thammikarat (tbi) Chao
(3) chakraphatthiracba Ramesuan Tbarmmikarat decho
(4) d\krabarttiraja ramesvara dbarrmikaraja tejo
(1) siaeij baramma Tbip Tbrij pbova nadt thij Bis Borroma Bophit
(2) Si Aiya b

REVIEW ARTICLE 225
and Thammarachathirat (p. 94), and where "Thianracha" is certainly
correct, as the personal name of the king more formally known as Maba
Chakrapat, vV has uniquely Prae tbeen Nae Rhae Tsiae (pp, 29, 72). As
for dij t'siou = tejofdecho, t'sjts is vV's usual way of rendering syllable
initial 'll, as in Tsieeng May (L~u~im.i), on p. 43, tsiaeij for ,'IJU in Pratu
v • 2 d

226 REVIEW ARTICLE
Prince Ratburi edition,36 rather than the more accurate Lingat edition
reproduced by Guru Sabha,37 and, in the examples he gives, the titles
of Rama I (Chakri) and those of King Borommaracha II, do, in fact,
bear formal resemblance to the vV, and Tenasserim, titles, but his
choice o£,, "Ekathotsarot's" titles as another example is inexplicable.
The actual title of the passage he cites is ekadadhara(ha, which may not
a priori be assumed a corruption of Ekathotsarot, and the date 1565/1643
shows that it is certainly not Ekathotsarot in the commonly accepted
sense of that term.3B Moreover, the only expressions identical to the
vV titles are samtec and paramapabitr. The evidence of the laws is
important though, for they do contain one nearly perfect, and other
partial examples of the vV and Tenasserim titles, which help support,
as I indicated elsewhere, the interpretation of these titles as
Ayutthayan ;3 9 and the vV evidence is final proof, if any doubt still
remained, that they were an old, eventually forgotten, Ayuttbayan
tradition. It is tempting to speculate that vV here preserves a
contemporary datum and that these were the true titles of Ramathibodi I.
36) Ka!hmay lem 1, Bral,l cau paramvansdhoe kram hlvati riijpuri tirekrddhi,
Commemoration volume for the cremation of Baldo Am bar Srijaiyyant, 2513/
1970, reprint of the second edition of 1902.
37) Kafhmay tra sam dvini, Guru Sabha 5 vols., numbered !602-1 ?06.
38) The only contemporary documents containing this type of title show that
"Ekatbotsarot" may be a corrupt form and the genuine title Eki1da$aruda.
See A.B. Griswold and Prasert na Nagara, ''Devices and Expedients Vat Pa
Mok, 1727 A.D.," In Memoriam to Phya Anuman Rajadhon, Siam Society, 1970,
pp. 149-150, and Prasarn Bunprakong, "The Royal Letters in Thai Language,
Ayudhya Period," [in Thai], Silpakqn IV (3), September 1960, pp. 43-54, In
the laws ekadadhara~ha is the common form, being found eleven times against
one for ekadasm·atha/ Ekathotsarot. Furthermore, the law to which Wyatt
refers is one of those with a cu{ama11i date (See Wyatt's "The Thai 'Ka!a
Man~iarapiila' and Malacca," JSS LV (2), July 1967, 219-286), which, if the
cu?iimm;zi hypothesis is correct, means that its date 1565 is equivalent to A.D.
1753 in the reign of King Borommakot. These points cannot be discussed
here, and I only wish the reader to be aware that the Eka-type titles are a
very complex problem on which practically no work has been don¢,
39) Vickery, "Tenasserim," P· 57, n 1
25,

REVIEW ARTICL!n 227
Another genuine old title preserved in vV is Phra Borommaracba
Thib\)di/bra~ parama r(i,jadhipati (p, 63), also missing from other
chronicles, but found in as least two Ayutthayan inscriptions. In vV it
is given to the king who corresponds to Borom Rachathirat II of other
texts and whose LP dates are 1424-1448. The inscriptions in question
are no. 49, dated 1418, which Griswold and Prasert have interpreted as
belonging to Intharacha (v V's Nakbon In), 40 and a gold plate found in
Suphanburi and dated 1 ?5?. This date has been restored by Maha
Cham Thongk~amwan as saka 1357/1435 AD on the grounds that
inscription no. 49 proves r'aj'adhipati to have been a title of Borom
Racbathirat II, within whose reign this date would fall, which is not a
sufficient reason, nor is it even accurate, since no. 49 belongs to the reign
. of lntharacha, not Borom Rachatbirat. 41 Nowever, the restoration
itself is not arguable; since the only other plausible hare years with "5"
in the tens position are 1153/1231 and 1453/1531, the first of which is
too early for this type of Ayuttbayan inscription and tbe second of which
falls at a time when it is believed the ruling king bad quite different
titles. 4 Z The contents of the latter inscription also helps to date it. In
addition to the king it includes a second person, bra~ ramesvara/Ramesuan,
in the act which it records, and according to LP the king at that date
had a son, Ramesuan, who later became King Trailokanat.
One more epigraphic occurrence of this title is worth a brief note.
1t is found in a 14th-15th century Khmer inscription of Angkor '.Xhich
is totally illeg,ible except for two royal titles, rajadhipatirGja and
dharmmikarajadhiraja.43 According to LP parama r'ajadhz~raja II, whose
40) A.B. Griswold and Prasert na Nagara, "Epigraphic and Historical Studies No.
1," JSS LVI (2), July 1968, pp. 230-247.
41) PCSA, p. 28. See also Vickery, "Tenasserim," pp. 61-63. By any of the known
Ayutthayan chronologies these two inscriptions would belong to different
consecutive reigns, but it is well-nigh impossible that the two kings had exactly
identical titles, (brah) parama raj'udhi[Jati sri mo.ha c'akrabartiraJa, and these
inscriptions are probably evidence that the Ayutthayan reign sequence at this
point is wrong in all the chronicles.
42) N«j! Phutthangkun. However, there are no contemporary documents from his
reign.
43) Inscription K. 489 of the Cambodian corpus. See Coedes, Inscriptions du
Cambodge [textes] III, p. 229.

228 REVIEW ARTICLE
real title it now appears included rajadhipat'i, was the conqueror
of Angkor in 1431, and it is tempting, even if illegitimately speculative,
to suggest that the inscription included a record of that conquest,
We may now devote some attention to the ways in which vV
contributes, and does not contribute, to certain problems of early
Ayutthayan history. One of the most important of these is the question
of relations between Ayutthaya and Cambodia. There is a good deal
of, reference to Cambodia in the reigns of Mahathammaracha and
Naresuan, but both the details and the chronology are confused and it is
only possible to disentangle them by reference to the better information
of LP and contemporary European reports.
Moving back in time, in the reign of Chaiyaracha, vV mentions
that the king, "waged war often with Cambodia," and, "toward the end
of his life ... wenf. .. to the borders of Cambodia and captured tbe
city of Lamphun." Wyatt understandably exclaims that this is "an
apparent contradiction ... Lamphun is hardly near the borders of
Cambodia 1 LP ... makes no reference to warfare in the east" (pp. 70-
71, n. 71). Actually, the passage provides proof for the solution of a
very interesting historiographic problem which I discuss thoroughly
elsewbere.44 This is the existence of two quite different terms, Kamboja
and Kambuja, the latter meaning since early Angkorean times the
kingdom of Cambodia and based on the etymology kambu-ja, ''born of
Kambu", and the former the name of one of the sixteen great divisions
of classical India, later transferred to Southeast Asia as part of a
geographical system and localized in the Burmese Shan States, and in
northern and central Siam.4s Eventually the two terms became
44) In my dissertation on Cambodian and Thai chronicles which is due to be pre·
seuted to Yale University within the next few months. I realize how mad·
dening it is to be directed to a reference which is not yet available, and which
in some cases seems to avoid publication for a number of years. There is
nothing else to do, though, for the full argument is much to long to include
here. I can say, however, that it is all dow,n on paper, and I am prepared to
send copies of r.elevant sections to any reader who will pay the cost of xeroxing
and postage from Penang.
45) See Sasanavan;sa, edited by Mabel Bode, Pali Text Society, p. 15; G.P. Mala·
lasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, I, pp. 526-7; Dr. Than Tun,
"Administration Under King Thalun," Journal of the Burma Research SQciety,
LI (2), December 1968, pp. 173-188.

REVIEW ARTlCLS 229
conflated, leading to all sorts of confusion. This is clearest in Tome
Pires, who describes Cambodia encircling Siam from the east and around
the north to the borders of Pegu ;46 Pinto who makes the King of Cambodia
(probably either Mahathammaracba of Pbitsanulok or Pbraya
Sawankhalok) one of the leaders of the group who placed Thianracha
on the throne ;47 and the present passage of vV, which is conclusive
evidence. In all of the other chronicles, Chaiyaracha warred more than
once in the north, but never with Cambodia, and his contemporary,
Pinto, had heard of the campaigns,4s Van Vliet had obviously heard
"Kamboja" applied to the north, or his written source used the term,
and he considered it to be the same as the name of the country to the
east.
The most serious result of the Kamboja/Kambuja confusion is the
conquest of Cambodia placed by I 157 in approximately 1351-52 and
borrowed from that source by the Cambodian chronicles. It is most
probably due to the Jinakalamali description of conflict in Kamboja,
meaning central Siam, in the reign of Ramatbibodi 1,49 but 18th-19th
century writers no longer understood it correctly. This is not as radical
a revision of history as some might think. Wolters, in his attempt to
find solid support for a Thai invasion of Angkor in the reign of
Ramathibodi, recognized that the Jinakalamali story and the entry in
the 1157 chronicles were referring to the same event, and in the last few
years scholars conversant with the Thai texts have recognized that the
"Kamboja" of the Jinaf((llamali refers to Siam. so None of them, however,
46) A. Cortesiio, ed., The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires, pp. 108-109, 111-112, 388.
47) Pinto, op. cit., p. 943.
48) Ibid.
49) G. Coedes, "Documents sur l'histoire politique et religieuse du Laos Occidental,"
BEFEO XXV, 1925, pp 1-201, see pp. 99-100.
50) O.W. Wolters, "The Khmer King at Basan (1371-3), and the Restoration of
the Cambodian Chronology During the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,"
Asia Major XII (l ), !966, see pp. 80-81; 0. W. Wolters, "A Western Teacher
and the History of Early Ayudhya," Sangam&astr paridasn, The Social Sciences
Review, Special Number 3, June 2509 (1966), p. 97; A.B. Griswold and Prasert
!).a Nagara, "Epigraphic and Historical Studies no. 11 (2)." JSS LXI (2), July
1973, pp. 107-108; Charnvit Kasetsiri, "The Rise of Ayudbya: A History of
Siam in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries," unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
Cornell University, 1973, pp. 9 5-97. This work will soon bepublished by
Oxford in Asia, but all citations here are from the thesis.

230 REVIEW ARTICLE
saw the final implication of this for the first "invasion of Cambodia" in
the long Ayutthayan chronicles, a story which may now be replaced in
its proper context.
In fact, the most important problem in the history of early
Ayutthaya-Cambodian relations is the date of one or more conquests of
Angkor supposedly carried out in the 14th-15th centuries. All
Cambodian chronicles mention a pair of invasions dated variously
1352/1372, 1388/1408, 1369/1389, 1352/1457, 1472/1492, etc. (the list
is not complete), the late Thai chronicles have three conquests, 1351-52,
1384-88, and 1421, but LP, generally considered most accurate, bas only
one such conquest, in 1431. The latest published work on the subject
seeks to prove that the true dates were 1369 and 1389. 5 1 The vV
chronicle records none of these at all, and does not even mention
Cambodia from the end of the reign of U Thong to that of Chaiyaracha,
where, as we have seen, it is used inaccurately. The first reaction is
thus that vV provides no evidence for any invasion theory, even though,
because of its extremely succinct text, its silence is not evidence against
any invasion either.
There is, however, a curious story from the reign of U Thong
(pp. 59-60). According to this, after ruling about ten years, thus in
about 1360, U Thong left Ayutthaya on the advice of astrologers, and
moved to Cambodia where he built Nakhon Luang (Angkor). After
nine more years, or in about 1369, he left his son in Nakhon Luang and
returned to Ayutthaya where he died. Both Wyatt and Charnvit
Kasetsiri have taken this story as support for Wolters' thesis of an
invasion in 1369, Wyatt believing that "van Vliet reinforces the Royal
Autograph Version's dating of the first Thai attack on Angkor, as
against the later date of LP."s2
This is a very doubtful conclusion. An alternative explanation
for the RA entry has been proposed above. As for Wolters, through a
very fastidious analysis of Chinese sources and, frequently erroneous,
French translations of Khmer chronicles, he sought to prove there 'was
51) O.W. Wolters, "The Khmer King at Basan."
52) vV, p. l 0, p. 60, n. 3 3; Charnvit, op. cit., p. 177.

REVIEW ARTICLE 231
an invasion, not sometime in the 1360's or sometime in the reign
of Ramathibodi, but precisely in 1368-1369. If vV bas a disguised
account of an invasion, it was in 1360, something which would quite
contradict Wolters' calculations.
There is, in any c·ase, a better explanation for vV's story. Its
chronological schemes have shown that it was probably composed about
the time van Vliet worked on it, and it is known tllat both Song Tham
and Prasat Thong were frequently preoccupied with Cambodia,
attempting to assert suzerainty which the Cambodians denied and were
strong enough to resist.s3 Prasat Thong, moreover, seems to have bad
a deeper interest in his neighbor, for he copied the plan of Angkor Wat,
built two temples modelled on it, and at one point planned to give the
classical name for Angkor, Yasodbara, to one of his palaces. 54 The vV
text makes U Thong the founder of most of the important towns of south
central and peninsular Siam, the absurdity of which Wyatt correctly
indicates,ss and what is more natural than to make him, in such a text,
the founder of Angkor as well? This would have provided an ancient
justification for the ardently desired suzerainty. The date 1369 is, I
repeat, not the time when vV makes U Thong go to· Cambodia, but the
year in which be returned, and return was made necessary by an even
older tradition, perhaps true, that U Thong/Ramathibodi bad died that
year in Ayuttbaya. We must finally conclude, I think, that vV
contributes nothing to an understanding of Ayutthayan conquests of
Angkor.
Another historiographic problem is "the bi-polar interpretation
of Thai politics in this period [14th century] that has featured in the
recent work of A.B. Griswold, O.W. Wolters, and others" .(p. 63, n. 44).
5~) vV, p. 90; and see van Vliet's other works, "Description of the Kingdom of
Siam," trans. Ravenswaay, JSS 7 (1 ), 1910, ·p. 3 6; and Historiael Verhael, etc.,
ed. Seiichi Iwao, Toyo Bunko, Tokyo, 1958, p. 200.
54) RA, pp. 428-429; Tri Amatyakul, Silpasamay ayudhaya [Art of the Ayutthaya
Period], Kram Silpakar, 2510, p. 52; Hiram W. Woodward, Jr., "The Art and
Architecture of the Ayudhya Period," Silpakarrm sami'ly ayudhaya [Art of the
Ayutthaya Period], Kram silpakar 2514, p, 64.
~5) vV, pp. 56, 57, 59, nn. 10, 12, 16, 30.

232 REVIEW ARTICLE
Wyatt feels vV•s remark that during the reign of Phra Nakhon In "the
land was burdened with internal wars, but he conciliated the two
parties," is confirmation of this bi-polar interpretation.
""'
I think it is time to subject this bi-polar theor:y to critique before
it takes on too much of a life of its own and becomes a basic fact on
which to build further hypotheses. The "bi-polarity" refers first of all
to rivalry between Ayutthaya and Suphanburi, something about which
there can be no doubt if we accept any version of the Ayutthayan
chronicles as at all factual. Wolters, who originated the "bi-polar
interpretation of Thai politics," went much further, though, and claimed
that the Suphanburi house, which was ethnically Thai, followed a policy
of conquering Sukbothai and other northern neighbors, while the bouse
of Ramathibodi, perhaps Mon, and originally from Lopburi, was
interested in conquering Angkor, and that the foreign policy of early
Ayutthaya shifted as kings of these two houses alternated in the
14th century,56
His views on this fall into line with his conviction that
the two conquests of Angkor occurred in 1369 and 13 89 in the reigns of
Ramathibodi and his son Ramesuan.
Griswold accepted the bi-polar
theory, but for him Ramathibodi was definitely Thai while the
Suphanburi bouse "was perhaps more Mon or Khmer," and his position
is puzzling since be also emphatically accepts the LP chronology which
places the sole invasion in 1431, in the reign of Borommaracbathirat of
the Suphanburi house.s7
Wolters also based his interpretation on the existence of the two
major Thai chronicle traditions, LP, which ignores Cambodia before 1431,
and which he therefore attributed to the Suphanburi bouse, and the 1 I 57
group which has three invasions at earlier dates, and which would have
been a chronicle drawn up by the Ramatbibodi faction. This is
56) Wolters, "The Khmer King at Basan," pp. 82-84; "A Western Teacher," pp,
96-97.
57) A.B. Griswold, Towards a History of Sukhodaya Art, p. 31; A. B. Griswold and
Prasert !la Nagara, "Epigraphic and Historical Studies no. 1" p. 209, and EHS
no. 3 1 JSS LVII (1) 1 January 1969, p. 6~. ~

REVIEW ARTICLE 233
extremely unlikely, since LP only dates from 1680, long after both
houses had died out, and 1157, both in its textual framework and
chronology, derives from LP and probably did not exist in its present
form before the end of the 18th century.ss
As for its accounts of war
with Cambodia, the first, in the 1350's has been explained, the second,
in the 1380's, is filled with anachronistic details and must have been
borrowed from a story belonging at a later date, and the last, in 1421, is
the story which LP places in 1431. Thus in both traditions there is only
one possibly genuine record of an invasion of Cambodia, for which the
best date so far is LP's 143 I.
What vV seems to be noting is the conflict between Supbanburi
and Ayutthaya for domination of the Menam basin, something which is
adequately documented, but there are no grounds for extending this to a
bi-polarity of policy, which may, of course, have existed, but about which
there is no information in the extant texts.
It is perhaps time now to say a little more about vV's treatment
of the pre-Ayutthaya period, something which does not appear to derive
from the S tradition. As mentioned above, van Vliet listed three
different legends concerning a first founding of Siam about 2000 years
before, and these are of course folklore. Of more interest is his story of
the background of U Thong, a Chinese prince exiled from China. Thus
we have one more version of the U Thong story, and a new etymology
for the name U Thong, as due to his marriage with a Chinese princess
named Pacham Thong (p. 57).
U Thong is also said to have built the cities of Langkasuka, Ligor,
Kui, Phetburi, Chongh [?], Cout-Tbiam [?], Bangkok, Nakhon Cbaisri,
Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Kamphaengphet., and Angkor in addition to
Ayutthaya. As Wyatt notes, most of these claims are fantastic,s9 and
it is therefore strange that he wishes to take seriously the account of U
Thong's sojourn at Angkor, which, in vV, is intimately connected with
the story that he built that city. When a source is full of details known
58) The proof of this is too long to even summarize here. See note 44 above.
59) vV, notes 10, 12, 16, 30,

234 REVIEW AHTJCLE
to be in error, it is hardly legitimate to simply pick out other details
and declare them to be important new discoveries.
Neither is vV's mention of Langkasuka as surprising as Wyatt
seems to feel,60
Although ·~o other Thai historical source" mentions
it (p. 10), and it required Wheatley's work on Chinese sources to locate
it to the satisfaction of western scholars, Langkasuka is a part of Malay
tradition, and many Malays, at least in the northern states, 'know' where
it was even if they have never heard of Wheatley or the scholarly
discussion concerning the place.
Given the extent of Dutch activity in
Patani, they could easily have picked up local traditions. Of course,
this tradition could also have still been current in Ayutthaya and,
together with U Thong's other activties in the peninsula would reflect
current preoccupation with that area in the reigns of Song Tham and
Prasat Thong.
As I see it, none of the U Thong stories may yet be
accepted as true, but each is due to particular interests of the Ayutthayan
court at the time it was written down. 6 I
This is also something that
should be noted by proponents of n-polar theories of early Ayutthayan
politics.
Early reports make quite clear that in the 14th and 15th
centuries Ayutthaya asserted strong claims to the peninsula all the way
down to Malacca, yet there is little sign of this in any Ayuttbayan
chronicle except vV, where it comes through in legendary fashion. 62
This "pole" was thus important during reigns of both the early royal
houses, and if it is not given sufficient attention in the standard
chronicles it is probably because they were written at times when the
capital's attention was directed chiefly to other regions and the peninsula
was no longer a major problem.
60) vV, pp. 10, 56, and n. 10.
61) A number of these stories have been collected and discussed by Charnvit
Kasetsiri, op. cit., whose interpretation differs from mine.
62) For comment and further references see O.W. Wolters, The Fall of Srivijayain
· Malay History, pp. 108-9, 15 4-5, 169. The standard chronicles mention on~
~ttack c;>n Ma~acca in 1455 (LP) or 1441 (RA) •.

REVIEW ARTJCL~ 235
Above, p. 111, I made a statement about the concurrence of vV
and S in certain details not found in other chronicles. In fact, some of
these details appear in RA, although not in its direct ancestors of the
1157 tradition, nor in LP. The circumstance that RA, just because it is
the Royal Autograph Chronicle, bas become a sort of official version, has
obscured the fact that it is the final link in a long chain of transmission,
and as a source of history is much less valuable than its several extant
ancestors. The chain of transmission that led to RA's incorporation of
details from the vV-S tradition is rather easy to determine.
Salzgitiyavahs was compiled by Somdet Phra Phonnarat63, who,
together with his pupil, Prince Paramanucbit Cbinorot, prepared in 1807
a version of the 1157 chronicle.64 Later on, in 1850, Prince
Paramanucbit wrote a short chronicle (Satikhep), which was an
abridgement of the 1157 tradition, but included some of the diagnostic
features of the S-vV tradition, such as the names of the Suphanburi
princes and the reign of Intharacba following Trailokanat. At the time
these details must have been taken over from S, the work of Prince
Paramanuchit's teacher, since the earlier versions of the I 157 tradition
did not contain them. Then when RA was prepared in the reign of King
Mongkut these features, for unknown reasons, were adopted, probably
from Sankhep, in preference to the pure 1157 traditon. This is the
reason for my statement that these details are not part of either major
tradition.
The evidence on the filiation of these texts and the role of Somdet
Phra Phonnarat in their preparation provides material for some
interesting speculation about his view of the historian's task and his
beliefs concerning the true history of Ayuttbaya, for the works in which
be had a band comprise three different chronologies and for certain
events and periods two differing textual traditions. There isS, which
63) His title has been variously transcrib~d elsewhere as Phonrat, Wannarat,
Wanratna, Banatatn, Vanatatn.
64) For more details and further references see David K. Wyatt, "The Abridged
Royal Chronicle of Ayudhya of Prince Paramanuchitchinorot," JSS LXI (1),
January 1973, pp. 25-50, see pp. 26-27.

236 REVIEW ARTICLE
he continued beyond the vV period right up to the destruction of
Ayuttbaya in 1767 and the ensuing disintegration of the kingdom.
Besides its own unique chronology, which is found in vV, both Sand Sc
contain a number of inserted dates, probably from the band of Somdet
Phra Phonnarat, and which agree with the tradition of LP, not
rediscovered by later historians until the 20th century. The third
chronology he used is that of 1157, one version of which be prepared.
Certain questions thus come to mind. Did he favor any one version as
being most accurate? Was he concerned only with preserving all old
traditions? Did such considerations trouble him at all?
At least we now know that what had hitherto appeared as his own,
chronologically peculiar, composition was a much older history which
be preserved and prolonged. One can certainly agree with Wyatt
(p.lO) on the importance of the publication of van Vliet's version of
this older history, but its importance, I feel, lies in its evidence for
the analysis of Ayutthayan historiography rather than for any startling
contribution to our knowledge of the facts of early Ayutthayan history.
School of Humanities
Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Penang.
Michael Vickery

BACKGROUND TO THE SRI VIJAYA STORY
PART V (Conclusion)
Paul Wheatley, Impressions of the Malay Peninsula in Ancient Times
(Eastern University Press, Singapore, 1964}, pp. 264, plates; and O.W.
Wolters, The Fall of Sri Vijaya in Malay History (Oxford University
Press, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, 1970), pp. 274.
22. THE POST-SRI VIJAYA PERIOD (1260-1300 A.D.)
With the death of Chandrabanu in Ceylon about 1260, the Sri
Vijaya Empire, if I may call it by such a highfalutin name, came to an
end.
The histories of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra then took
separate courses.
The city-states sent embassies to the Chinese court,
which the Chinese still recorded as coming from San-fo-tsi; but complete
control of the Malacca Straits, based on Muara Takus (Malayu) in
Central Sumatra and Kedah on the west coast of the Peninsula, was no
more.
Into this vacuum stepped the Thai and the Javanese.
We have seen
m section 18 that about the beginning of the 13th century, Tao U-Thong,
king of Ayodbia, had already gone down the Peninsula to Bang Sa pan in
Prachuab Kirikhand Province and divided the Peninsula with Chao Phya
Sri Thammasokaraja of Nakorn Sri Tbammaraj.
Half a century later
Sri In tara tit, King of Sukhothai, went down to Nakorn and co-operated
with Chandrabanu in acquiring the image known as the Buddha Sihing
fron:i Ceylon (section 18). By the end of the century Ram Kambaeng,
Intaratit's youngest son who came to the throne of Sukhothai about 1279,
claimed sovereignty over Nakorn to "where the sea marks the limit".
Some people think that this extended as far as Singapore, while others
think that Ram Kambaeng never even got control of Nakorn. If anything,
they think, it was Ayodhia and not Sukhothai that controlled the south.
In any case, "to where the sea marks the limit'' means that whoever got
control of Nakorn also controlled the Twelve Naksat Cities, ranging from
Cbumporn in the north to Pahang in the south (see section 1 above).

238 REVIEW AHTICLES
Half a century later Ayudhia followed Ayodhia or Sukhothai as the case
may be.
But the main point is that the Thai came from the mountains.
Whatever distance a landlubber may walk, he can only walk as far as
'Land's End'. He cannot walk across water to Sumatra, or, for that
matter, even to Singapore. Jn this way Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula
became politically separated. Tbe Sumatran vacuum was filled by the
Javanese. They were seafarers, and while they could land in some parts of
Sumatra, they were unable to find a firm footing on the Peninsula before
the Tbai drove them into the sea again. Such is the background to the
story. It is not altogether precise but it is adequate for understanding
the evidence that follows.
1268 A.D. Krtanagara became King of Singhasari in East Java.
127 5 A.D. Javanese sources state that Java invaded Malayu (Muara
Takus in Central Sumatra.) Some scholars, however, think that this
expedition, called the Parnalayu, was made in 1292, the year King Krtanagara
died.
1282 A.D. Malayu sent an embassy to China led by two Muslims
named Sulaiman and Shamsuddin.
·1286 A.D. (a) An inscription on the base of an image of Amoghapasa­
Lokesvara, found in the district of Rambahan in the Muara Takus area
in Central Sumatra, tells us that it was brought from Bhumi Java to
Suvarnabhumi by four high officials at the command of Maharajadhiraja
Sri Krtanagara Vikrama Dharmottungadeva (King Krtanagara ofSinghasari
in East Java). The image was set up at Dharmasraya for the
subject people of Malayu to adore. The local king was called Srirnat
Tribuvanaraja Mauli Varmadeva. (See also under 1347.)
(b) Sa-mu-ta-la (Samudra) sent an embassy. This toponym
is thought to have referred to Sumatra, but this is by no means certain.
1292 A D. (a) Marco Polo returned home by the sea route. On his
way from China, be passed through Southeast Asia. Of the places
mentioned, Pentan, 500 miles south of Locac on the mainland, was

RBVlEW ARTICLES 239
Bandon, while Locac itself, or Lokok as the Chinese called the place in
this period, was Lopburi. Malaiur, about a hundred miles to the southeast
of Pentan, was Nakorn Sri Thammaraj (see also under 1295). As it is
necessary to locate the key names correctly for this post-Sri Vijaya period
to have any semblance of sense, I will return to this subject later.
After Malaiur, Marco Polo wen ton to the island of Java the Lesser
(Java Minor) which is some 100 miles southeast of Pentan (Bandon).
The text says "after leaving the island. of Pen tan, and sailing 100 miles
to the southeast one finds the island of Java the Lesser. But you must
understand that it is not so small but that it bas a compass of 2,000
miles". Polo visited six of the eight kingdoms in this island. To me,
Java the Less, 100 miles southeast of Bandon, was Malaya, but the
experts, who take Pentan to have been Bintan for no particular reason
that I can see except that the sounds of the two names are similar,
identify the island as Sumatra. One mastermind bas this to say about
Java Minor:
"Having arrived at the western end of the sea route to the
south of the Malay Peninsula, and having made his rather confused
allusion to Malayu, Polo now speaks of Java the Less by which,
following the Arab pra~tice of applying the name Java to both Java
and Sumatra, and failing to appreciate that Malayu was on this
same island, he can only mean Sumatra."
in this year.
(b) The East Javanese king, Krtanagara of Singhasari, died
Before his death, the king had mutilated the face of _an
envoy sent by Kublai Khan, and the Emperor sent a punitive expedition
to avenge the insult. Meanwhile Krtanagara bad been murdered by
Jayakatvang, the governor of Kadiri, who became king. However Prince
Vijaya, Krtanagara's son-in-law, managed to escape. The Chinese forces
were frustrated when they arrived in Java to find that the king they bad
come to punish was already dead;
Vijaya contacted them for help in
driving Jayakatvang from the throne. This done, Vijaya turned on his
allies, defeated them and became king under the title of Krtarasa
Jayavarddhana, with his capital at Majapahit.
The rei~n of this kin~
-.

240 REVIEW ARTICLES
( 1292-1309) and that of his successer, Jayanagara ( 1309-28) were full of
disturbances, and Java did not interfere in the affairs of Sri Vijaya.
However, embassies to China were sent in 1297, 1298, 1300 and 1308
A.D.
1293 A.D. The Javanese forces sent to occupy Malayu (Central
Sumatra) returned home. They took back with them two princesses,
Dara Jingga and Dara Petak the younger of whom is said to have married
the new king Krtarasa, and was known as Indresvari; while the elder,
Dara Jingga, is said to have become the mother of a future king of
Malayu.
1295 A.D. Kublai Khan sent a messenger to the king of Sien to say
that "you should keep to the word you have given and stop killing the
people of Malaiur". Sien should mean Sukhothai, and the king was Ram
Kamhaeng. Malaiur was Nakorn and not Malayu in Sumatra (see under
Marco Polo 1292 (a) above). It bears repeating that the Thai were
landlubbers and there is no record of their interfering in the affairs of
Sumatra.
There seems to be a great deal of confusion over the Chinese
toponyms of the states in the Central Plain of Siam, so I will confound
the whole situation just a wee bit further. There were two states roughly
divided by the Menam Chao Phya (river). The Chinese called the eastern
state Lokok (Marco Polo's Locac). This was Lopburi or Lawo-kok if I
may call it that because Lawo was the old name of Lopburi. When the
capital moved to Ayodhiaj Ayudhia the name Lokok was still used.
The state on the western side was called Siemkok (Siam-kok). Early
in the Christian Era, Ptolemy called this place Samarade (an inland town),
which is tbe same as Samrattha, a name I understand the Indians still use
to call Siam. It would seem that when the Thai came from the north
into the Central Plain, they took over a Siam that had been occupied by
other races such as the Mons, and possibly some other races before the
Mons. The main locations of Sien were Nakorn or Lakorn Cbaisri (present
Nakorn Patbom) which the Chinese called Lang-ya-shu; Supanburi

REVIEW ARTICLES 241
(Subarna or Suvarna-bhumi, the land of Gold); Kanjanaburi (the City
of Gold); Rajburi and Bejrburi. After Nakorn Cbaisri had become
deserted, the Chinese still used the name Sien or Siam. Later, when
Ayudhia (Lokok) had become powerful in the Central Plain, the name
was changed to Siem-Lokok. One of the Chinese records mentions a
king of Supanburi called by the sound of something like Su-barn-ong.
This was Indraraja, a prince of Supan who became king of Ayudhia.
In the period when Kublai Khan sent a message to the king of Sien
to stop killing the people of Malaiur, Ram Kamhaeng of Sukotbai had
already gained control of Supanburi, Rajburi and Bejrburi, and was in
the process of getting control of Nakorn, or was helping to defend
Nakorn against the Javanese, as the case may be. If I remember rightly,
the Chinese source says that the envoys met Ram Kamhaeng at Bejrburi,
where they delivered the Khan's message.
1297 A.D. Malikul Saleh, the first ruler of Semudera, died in this
year. According to the Sejarah Melayu, Malikul also founded the kingdom
of Pasai in North Sumatra in order to provide each of his sons with a
kingdom.
Semudera and Pasai are twin cities on opposite sides of the
same river, like Bangkok and Dhonburi.
1299 and 130 I A.D. Malayu sent embassies to 'tlie Chinese court.
About I 300 A.D. Ram Kambaeng, who came to the throne of
Sukhothai about 1279 A.D. and died about the turn of the century,
stated in his inscription that his territory in the south extended to
Supanbhumi (Supanburi), Rajburi, Bejrburi and Nakorn Sri Thammaraj
"to where the sea marks the limit". After Ram Kamhaeng's death the
states under the hegemony of Sukhothai broke away and townships set
up their own chieftains.
This brings us to a natural break in the story, and I will go off on
a tan~ent before .continuing witbJbe 14th century evidence,

242 REVIEW ARTICLES
23. PROFESSOR WHEATLEY'S SECOND BOOK
At the beginning, when I offered to write a paper based on
physical geography in order to tear apart Professor Coedes' unscientific
theory of a Sri Vijaya Empire with its capital at Palembang in South
Sumatra, the Han. Editor of this journal thought it should be done in the
guise of a 'review article.' I thought, from their titles, that Professor
Wolters' two books, Early Indonesian Commerce: A Study of the Origins
of Srivijaya, and The Fall of Srivijaya in Malay History, would be a good
starting point for any gift of the gab that I may possess. As it happened
I had never seen these two books before, and while I was waiting for
them to be sent, I started to comment on some of the relevant toponyms
in Professor Wheatley's The Golden Khersonese. This took up so much
space that Wolters' first book had to be treated as an annex to part I.
And now this paper has gone on and on and on to such an extent that I
am afraid Wolters' second.book must again be treated as another annex,
Not only that, but Wheatley has also produced a second book, Impressions
of the Malay Peninsula in Ancient Times, which I think should be mentioned
too, even if only as an annex to Wolters' annex. This will round things
up in a very nice way, because I can then say that I have looked at two
books each by the following professors-Wheatley, Wolters, de Cas paris,
Majumdar, Sastri and Paranavitana. The total is a full dozen, and
I would add my name to this very distinguished company except that 13
is an unlucky number.
Wheatley's second book contains two chapters on Singapore and
Malacca (8: The Century of Singhapura, pp. 101-118; and 9: The Century
of Melaka, pp. 119-176.) Accqrding to Wheatley, Singapore was founded
just before 1300 A.D. He gives the story from the Sejarah Melayu of the
strange animal that turned out to have been a lion,-which gave the name
to the settlement. I might add that SingaporefSinghapura should not be
confused with the other Lion City, Singora)Singhanagara. The founder
of Singapore was a Sumatran prince, Sri Tri Buana, who was of the line
of Raja Iskandar Dzu'l-Qarnain. Tri Buana is a variant of Tribhuvana,
~ title borne by two kings of Malayu ( 1286 and 1378) and a queen-regent

REVIEW ART1CLES 243
of Majapahit (1329-30). Buana ruled for 48 years and was succeeded
by a son. I will give the story in Wheatley's own words, adding numbers
in brackets :
"According to the Sejarah Melayu, Sri Tri Buana reigned for
forty-eight years and was buried on the bill of Singhapura. He
was succeeded by his son who assumed the style of the J?aquka Sri
Pikrama Wira {2), and is memorableforbis repulse ofihe Javanese
forces of Hayam Wuruk. After reigning for eighteen years be, too,
died and was followed by his son, the Raja Muda, with the style
of Sri Rana Wikerma (3) ....
"The Sejarah Melayu relates that after a reign of thirteen
years Sri Rana Wikerma was succeeded by his son Damar Rajah,
who then took the title Paduka Sri Maharaja (4). He reigned for
twelve years and six months. Malay tradition asserts that be was
succeeded by his son, with the style Sri Sultan Iskandar Shah (5),
but there is reason to believe that this last ruler of Singhapura,
elsewhere known as the Sri Parameswara, was in fact a Javanese
or Sumatran renegade, who murdered Sri Rana Wikerma {3) before
usurping his throne.
In any case, be himself was deposed after a
brief reign and fled with his household, first to Seletar and then to
Muar.
According to Malay lore and one European source the
instrument of his defeat was the Javanese, but according to other
early European writers it was either the T•ais themselves, or one.
of their. peninsular vassals·, who ousted the usurper." · · ·
Other authorities (Sir Richard Winstedt, for example), think the
title of the founder of Singapore was Sang Suparba, a rather mythical
prince of South Sumatra, Of the last ruler of Sipgapore, Wi!lstedt writes
as follows: "The title Sri Maharaja is, however, given in these (Malay)
annals to both the father and son of the Palembang prince Parameswara,
afterwards Iskandar Shah, the last lord of Singapore and founder of
Malacca (1344-1424 A.D.)" We shall see later that Wolters has a different·
theory than those of Wheatley and Winstedt,

244 REVIEW ARTICLES
Meanwhile in East Java, the first two reigns of the Majapahit
Dynasty (Krtarasa 1292-1309 and Jayanagara 1309-28) were a period
of internal disorder until Gajah Mada stepped on the scene in 1319. He
became Prime Minister in 1331 and held the reins of government until
his death in 1364. We now continue with the evidence.
1331 A.D. Temasek (Singapore) is mentioned in Gajab Marla's
oath when he became Prime Minister.
1343 and 1347 A.D. The name of a Prince Adityavarman is found
inscribed on an image of Manjusri, set up at Chandi Jago in Java and
dated 1343. Four years later be is thought to have become king of
Malayu, with the title of Maharajadhiraja Udayadityavarman (or
Aditya Varmodya) Prataparakrama Rajendra Mauliman Varmadeva.
He is considered to have been a descendant of one of the two princesses
from Malayu that the Javanese took back with them when they evacuated
Sumatra in 1292. His name is found inscribed on the same image of
Amogbapasa that Krtanagara bad sent to Sumatra in 1286. It seems
that the image was moved from its original location but the base was
left in situ. The new inscription was added later and Professor Sastri,
in his History of Sri Vijaya (page 136) noted: "it is impossible to give
a regular translation of this gibberish which bas been reproduced to give
the reader an idea of the corrupt Sanskrit employed in Sumatra in the
middle of the fourteenth century".
1349 A.D. Wang Ta-Yuan, in his Description of the Barbarians of
the Isles, makes a distinction between San-fo-tsi and Kieou-kieng, and
states that each had a sovereign of its own. Kieou-kieng or Ku-kang
bas been translated as 'Old Harbour' and is thought to refer to Palembang.
If such is the case it confirms that the two parts of Sri Vijaya, Sumatra
and the Malay Peninsula, had become separated, and complete control
of the Malacca Straits, based no Muara Takus controlling the southern
entrance and Kedah controlling the northern one, was no more. The
passage could not have been controlled from Ache or Pasai, say, and
Muara Takus on the Sumatra side, nor from Kedab and Singapore on the

REVIEW ARTICLES 245
Malayan side. It might have been controlled from North Sumatra and
South Malaya, but it was not, because the hinterland was unsuitable.
So pirates, who bad been present throughout the history of Sri Vijaya
from ancient times, came into their own. The Ming annals towards the
end of the century made a record of some Chinese pirates :
"At that time Java had completely conquered San-fo-tsi and
changed its name to Ku-kang. When San-fo-tsi went down the
whole country was disturbed, and the Javanese could not keep all
the land. For this reason the Chinese who were established there
stood up for themselves and a man from Nan-hai in Canton, called
Liang Tauming, who had lived there for a long time and had roamed
over the seas followed by several thousand men from Fukien and
Canton, was taken by them as their chief. He reigned as master
of a part of the country."
1350 A.D. Foundation of Ayudbia by Ramatipati I. In the same
year Hayam Wuruk came to the throne of Majapahit and reigned till
1389.
1358 A.D. The Thai Kot Montien Ban (Palace Laws of Ayudhia)
mentions Ujong Tanah (Johore) and Malacca as dependencies. This
should mean that after Ram Kamhaeng's death about the turn of the
century, Ayodhya, followed by Ayudhia, controlled the Peninsula. But
I do not think this included Singapore.
1365 A.D. The Javanese poem, Nagara Kretagama, written by the
court poet Prapanca, listed Pahang (South Malaya) and Tumasik
{Singapore), as well as many other places, as being under the Majapahits.
Scholars are not in agreement that the Majapahit Empire ever extended
to the Malay Peninsula. The aims of poetry and historical truth do not
always coincide and, if we are to believe the chatter of court poets, the
territory of the King of Siam would include the Daovadungs heaven
where the god Indra holds sway.
We are not told what tribute Indra
pays the king. Meanwhile Wheatley, a writer with a more prosaic style
than Prapanca, comments on page 112 of his book:

246 REVIEW Al\TICLES
"Alas, the inexorable progress of historical research has
stripped away the imposing facade of grandeur and shown that
Majapahit at its greatest extent probably comprised little more than
East Java, Madura and Bali.
The other names in the impressive
catalogue merely reflect the received geographical knowledge of
meaieval Java, and were incorporated only to glorify the Kingdom
of Majapahit in a paean of resounding praise.
South-East Asian
rulers have not normally been too critical of such eulogies."
I wonder if Wheatley is correct. In the first place I doubt if Southeast
Asian rulers read or can read or even understand the gibberish that
court poets produce.
Malay Peninsula as well as on Singapore.
Then I think the Javanese did make raids on the
The story of one such raid is
told in the Thai records, the Chronicles of Nakorn Sri Thammaraj, but no
date is given.
It is inserted after the episode of Tao U-Thong of Ayodbia
meeting Chao Phya Sri Tbammasokaraja and dividing the peninsula with
him (about 1200 A.D.) The story goes something like this:
The Javanese raided Nakorn twice and were repulsed. The King
of Java then retired, but be returned and weighed anchor outside the
harbour. A message was then sent to the King of Nakorn that the King
of Java had brought along a daughter whom be was prepared to present
to the King of Nakorn.
She was more curvaceous than any curve
produced in Java and could win any World Beauty Contest without the
slightest doubt. So would the King of Nakornplease come and fetch her.
The King of Nakorn went-and was promptly taken prisoner. Meanwhile
the Queen of Nakorn set out in pursuit of her husband and arrived at
an island called Koh Nang (Madame Island). The King of Nakorn
was then returned and be paid a tribute to the ~ing of Java. The tribute
consisted of duck eggs.
The duck eggs are too good to be an invention, so the story probably
had some foundation on fact. The Javanese, coming so far from
Java, were likely very hungry and they were prepared to barter even a
king for some grocery to enable them to get home again. The only

REVIEW AHTlCLES 247
geographical information in the story is that the Queen got to a place
called Koh Nang, and this island, I am told, is in the Singora Inland Sea.
So the whole story might have been a Singora legend that somehow found
its way into the Chronicles of Nakorn. Singora has not come into the
limelight to any great extent in the writings on Southeast Asia, but
obviously the Inland Sea played animportantroleinthestoryofthepast
because of its fine anchorage.
back to ancient times.
Archaeological remains from there go
1378 A.D. According to Eredia, Pahang, controlling Singapore, sent
a mission to China. In the Chinese records of the same period, Wang
Tayuan recorded a Thai defeat in trying to take Singapore, while the
Sejarah Melayu admits a Javanese victory. Wheatley thinks the event
recorded in the Malay chronicle happened in the reigns of Sri Pikrama
Wira of Singapore (possibly c. 1347-62) and Hayam Wuruk of Majapabit
(1350-89). On pages 115-7 of bis book he gives an amusing account of
the episode from the chronicle, but it is too long to quote here.
1403 A.D. The Chinese envoy, Yin Ching, visited Malacca and
leaves an impression of a prosperous chiefdom nominally subject to
Siam.
1405 A.D. Malacca sent an envoy to China and the Emperor
appointed Parameswara as King of Malacca. Four years later the settlement
was raised by imperial degree to the status of a kingdom. Ayudhia,
however, continued to send expeditions against Malacca, the last
recorded one being as late as in the reign of King Trailokanath { 1449-
87). Malacca itself fell to the Portugese in 1511 A.D.
This ends the evidence, and we now come to Wolters' The. Fall of
Srivljaya in Malay History. I have not collected all the records, and
what I have collected is probably not very accurate, but the picture
seems clear enough. When Chandrabanu left the peninsula, Sri Vijaya
was left without a maharaja. The Thai filled the vacuum by land and
the Javanese by sea. The conflict between the two enabled Malacca to
~vt itself up. By ~reat ~ood 1\Icl< tpe

248 REVIEW ARTICLES
at Malacca and Parameswara, the local chief, took the opportunity to
ask for protection from the Emperor by saying that be "was aware of
his duty and desired that his country should be considered a district of
the empire, in return for which he would offer annual tribute" (Paul
Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese, page 308). This theme of protection
will be developed in the next section. Incidentally this section and
the one following are printed almost as first drafted and interpretation
of the evidence differs somewhat from that in section 20 (pp. 308-16).
24. PROFESSOR WOLTERS' SECOND BOOK
Historians of Malaya never seem to tire of writing about the
founders of Singapore and Malaya. They do it ad nausea tum. The reason
of course is that some wit has stated that Malaya bas no history before
the foundation of Malacca. This may be true for all I know if we take
Malaya to be limited by the present political boundaries, but if we
broaden the scope to cover the Peninsula, then the statement is definitely
false. Unfortunately historians of Malaya have gratuitously given away
their evidence to Java and Sumatra, and of course jig-saw pieces will
simply not fit if the game is played on the wrong table. So we have
Dutch wits writing about a Sumatran period in Javanese history, and
a Javanese period in Sumatran history, when they should write about
a Malayan period in South Sumatran history, and a Malayan period in
Central Javanese history. Such is the history of Sri Vijaya. This started
with I-Ching in the 7th century and ended six centuries later with
Chandrabanu in the 13th. A century or even two might be added to
either end, but not convincingly because the Sri Vijaya story is based on
the control of the Malacca Straits, and this control started with !-Ching's
evidence when be said that "Mo-lo-yu has now become San-fo-tsi," and
ended with Chandrabanu when the two parts, Sumatra and the Peninsula,
became separated.
Wolters' book d!'lals with the period just before and just after the
end of the 14th century. It is about the founder (not founders) of both
Sin~apore ang M&l~cc~:~.. Bis CMe is oase

REVIEW ARTICLES. 249
M.S. 18), and he writes on page 108 of his book: "we must suppose
that the first three rulers of Singapore were fictitious. The fourth ruler,
the father of the Malacca founder may, on the other band, have a genuine
identity." Iskandar Shah, then, was the founder of both Singapore and
Malacca.
In this way Wolters leaves out the mythical Sang Suparba,
Sri Tri Buana, Sri Pikrama Wira and Sri Rana Wikerma, who, Wheatley
says, was murdered by Iskandar Shah (Parameswara), and instead
produces a rather mythical character of his own, namely 'the Genealogist.'
Also of course be has discarded all the Thai and Javanese notices of
Singapore and Malacca, and yet be managed to write a whole book. I
accept his theory. It makes my story simpler. Wolters g~ves a provisional
chronology of the reign of Iskandar Shah on page 116 as follows:
1389-1390-1391-1392
1392-1393-1397-1398
three years in Palembang
six years in Singapore
1398-1399-1399-1400 en route for Malacca
1400-1401-1413-1414 fourteen years in Malacca
(Iskandar died in the 25th year of his reign.)
Let us now look at the internal evidence from Sumatra. The South
Sumatran inscriptions of the 7th century were written in old Malay, and
obviously the people in South Sumatra at that time were either Malays,
or at.least a people who could read that language. But we do not know
whether these Malays were the ruling class or the people ruled. According
to Malay traditions, Sang Suparba built his palace on the Bukit Siguntang-guntang
near Palembang. While we do not know how old these
legends are, we do know that the kingofSri Vijaya who put up an inscription
to commemorate a park called Sri Kshetra was named Sri Jayanasa or.
Jayanaga.
The inscription was· set up between 683-686 A.D.
After the 7th century Sumatra produced no more internal evidence
until six centuries later. This. was on the base of an Amoghapasa image
sent by the East Javanese King Krtanagara in 1286; The name of the
local ruler was Sri Tribhuvana or Sri Tri Buana in vulgar usage. The
image was then moved, but the base was· left behind, and another
inscription was added in 1347. The name ofthe king is given as Udaya-

250 REVIEW ARTICLES
dityavarman. That is all except for one or two local chronicles such as
the Sejarah Melayu. This document is on a par with the Thai chronicles
of Nakorn Sri Thammaraj, of the Phra Dbatu Nakorn, of Patalung, of
Patani and such, where legends are mixed with what might have been
facts, but the historians of Malaya have given it a bloated importance
compared to its Thai counterparts. As it happens the Sejarah Melayu
is a Malayan and not a Sumatran document, anyway.
The Sumatran external evidence include Javanese and Chinese
records but they are not very relevant. Wolters uses the Chinese records
a great deal but his Sri Vijaya-Palembang and Malayu-Jambi are not
realistic. One Chinese notice should be mentioned, namely the Ming
Annals about the end of the 14th century recorded that a Chinese named
Liang Tauming set himself up as master of Ku-kang or Kieou-kieng.
He was a Chinese pirate.
On page 118 of his book, Wolters gives a quotation from Pires'
Suma Oriental, of which I will requote only one sentence, namely that
Pararneswara "had no trade at all except that his people planted rice and
fished and plundered their enemies, and lived on this in the said channel
of Singapore". Meanwhile Wheatley, on page 307 of The Golden
Khersonese, writes, "A band of corsairs from the southwards, under the
leadership of a renegade Sumatran or Javanese called Parameswara,
established themselves in at least two localities on the west coast of the
peninsula, namely Muar and the Bertram district, sorne two leagues
north of Malacca".
Everybody seems to agree about pirates even if Wolters calls them
'harbour princes', so I will continue with the subject. Pirates are the
same the whole world over. There are two species of them, namely
legal and illegal pirates. Sir Francis Drake in Elizabethan times and
Samuel White in the Ayudhia period (Maurice Collis' Siamese White)
were examples of the legal pirates. They used the king's flag (or queen's
flag in the case of Drake) to enrich the royal coffers a little, and
themselves a lot. The illegal pirates buried their treasure and in
due course expected to buy their way to respectability. I wiii cite ll

1\ttVJE\V Ai\TICLES
supposition in the Ayudhia or early Bangkok period. A pirate would
set himself up in some convenient lair, and as he prospered a community
would grow. To find respectability, he would send tribute to the king
of Krung Sri Ayudbia, or the Pbra Chao Krung Sri Bangkok, as the case
may be, and the king, who probably never bad an earthly notion of what
was goin~ on in his kingdom, would accepf the tribute and make
the donor governor of the place, perhaps even with the title of Luang.
The pirate now had his protection and if he could marry his daughter
off to some Chinese millionaire, quite likely a son of a pirate of an older
generation, his descendants might well become so respectable that the
king would turn them into Pbyas, or even Chao Pbyas, of the realm.
The story of the founder or founders of Singapore and Malacca is
to me nothing but a story of some Sumatran pirates trying to find
respectability. First they (or what Wolters calls the "Genealogist"}
claimed to be descended from Sang Suparba, the traditional founder of
the Malay state in Palembang. Then it was as Sri Tri Buana (Sri
Tribhuvana, a Shaivite-Mahayanist
..
sort of character) ; after that as Sri
Maharaja, a title of the Sailendras; followed by Sultan Iskander Shah, a
descendant of Alexander; then as Parameswara, a descendant of some
Hindu god ; and finally as Mohammad Shah, a descendant of the Prophet
himself. But all this was of no avail, though Parameswara had a bit of
luck when a Chinese envoy visited Malacca and be was able to take the
opprtunity of finding some protection from the Chinese Emperor. The
kings of Ayudbia, being descendants of the Buddbawamsa, did not accept
any such pretence; nor did the Portugese, true sons of the Pope that they
were, accept them. They captured Malacca in 1511 A. D.
It is rather regrettable than I cannot see the story of the founders
of Malacca to be anything other than a story of pirates trying to make
good; it is even more regrettable that I cannot see tbe story of the
Malays in Palembang from the 7th century, when king Sri Jayanasa or
Jayanaga raided them in their lairs and set up 'imprecations' in Palembang,
Jambi and Bangka to keep them in order, until the time they founded
Malacca to be anything but a story of pirates and more pirates ; and it is

252 I\EVIEW ARTICLES
most regrettable of all that my imagination does not soar to such•heights
as to see in Professor Coedes' Sri Vijaya Empire in South Sumatra
anything more than a story of pirates, pirates and pirates.
In Malay history
The first part to the title of Wolters' book, The Fall of Srivijaya,
is a misnomer because the Sri Vijaya story bad en,ded over a century
before; and I rather think the second part of the title, In Malay History,
is also inaccurate. The title of Paranavitana's book, Ceylon and Malaysia,
seems a little loose too, but be gives a definition of exactly what he
means in the first paragraph of his preface : "the name 'Malaysia' in
this work has the significance in which it bas been used normally by
historians, that is, to indicate all those wide regions that are, or have
been, inhabited by peoples of the Malay race".
Wolters does not give such a definition. He separates the Javanese
and the Thai from the Malays, but he d_pes not separate the Malays
from the Sumatrans. Were the pirates of Palem bang, who became princes of
. Malacca, Malays or Sumatrans ? And were the people of Malaya,
before the foundation of Malacca, Malays or of some other race? But
the race that played the most important part in the Sri Vijaya story in
the Malay Peninsula was the Javaka. Who were they?
Ethnic groups is a subject I know nothing about, and to me
present-day political boundaries in the Western sense have no reality in
the context of ancient history. The reason is simply because there. were
no political boundaries in the European sense before the European
period. For instance, I am a Thai, possibly a fairly respectable citizen
of the land today called Thailand. But the Thai. Derm (original Thai)
the Thai Dum and Thai Daeng (the black and red Thai), living in South
China and North VietNam, as well as the Shans in Burma and Laos in
Laoland, would not be Thai in this reckoning. Instead there are Thai
Muslims, Thai Christians, Thai Animists, Tbai atheists and even Thai
hilltribes (Thai Meo, Thai Yao, Thai Karens, etc). It may seem

RIWIEW ARTICLES 253
unpatriotic of me to say so, but I think all this is sheer nonsense. I feel
I am a composite Thai compared to the Thai groups living outside
Thailand. The Thai government however think I have a distorted
sense of humour.
The same applies to Wolters' Malays. But researchers, particularly
in Singapore, have started to use the terms the Tani States and the Malay
States because the Malays of the east coast were culturally distinct
from those of the west coast. The late Dr. C.A. Gibson-Hill of the
Raffles Museum in Singapore once asked me whether the Tani States
were Thai or Malay. Instead of the Tani States, he should have used
the term the Ligor States, or, to call them by their ancient status, the
Twelve Naksat Cities under the hegemony of Nakorn Sri Thammaraj.
As these cities extended from Chumporn in the north to Pahang in
the south, the answer to Gibson-Hill is the Tani States (Twelve Naksat
Cities) may or may not have been Thai, but they certainly were not
Malay in the sense that Wolters used this term. People have said that
Malaya has no histqry before the foundation of Malacca, but this
statement is not true if the history of Malaya is separated from the
history of the Malays. I cannot see how any history of the Malays in
Malaya can possibly go back beyond Malacca, but the Naksat Cities
can probably be traced back a full thousand years.
This is where the original draft ended, and with the Naksat Cities
we have completed a full circle because this paper started with them.
Here is where I should bring this long-winded thing to a close, but let
us go into orbit once more, because new evidence bas come to hand
since I started writing and there are one or two loose ends to tie up,
as well as a few glaring errors that dropped in without being invited to
correct. This will also act as a sort of recap. This part refers back to
parts I and II but not to parts III and IV. To save time and trouble I
will give the list of contents of these two parts. Reference will be based
on these sections with the page numbers given of the -relevant issues.

254 ll.EVI!i:W Al\TICLES
PART I (JSS, vol. 62, pt, 1, January 1974)
1. Langkasuka page 175
2. Lakorn Chaisri 179
3. !-Ching's evidence 184
4. Takola emporium 189
5. Javadvipa and Java 193
6. Wolters' first book 202
PART II (JSS, vol. 62, pt. 2, July 1974)
7. The South Sumatran inscriptions page 285
8. The Sailendra Period 291
9. The external evidence 2.97
10. Comments on de Casparis' theories 305
11. The building of Boroburdur 312
The idea at the start was to locate some of the more important placenames
in the early history of Southeast Asia. Two glaring omissions in
my identifications of toponyms are Ptolemy's place-names and Marco
Polo's eight states in his Java Miror. I will not deal with Ptolemy
lii'
because it will take too long, and will limit myself to Marco Polo.
25. MARCO POLO AND THE COMING OF ISLAM
In section 5 of this paper (pp. 198-202), I identified Marco Polo's
place-names between Champa (Ziampa) and the Nicobars and Andamans
(Necuveran and Angaman) as follows :
Marco Polo
Locac
Pen tan
Two Islands
Malaiur
Java Major
Condur
Sondur
Java Minor
Identifications
Lopburi (Lokok)
Bandon
Koh Samui and Pangnga
Nakorn Sri Tbammaraj
Borneo
Java
Sumatra
Malaya, (Island)

REVlEW ARTICLES 255
These identifications are based on Polo's sailing directions, to say
nothing about wind charts and the sizes of the islands. Polo also stated
that Java Minor had eight cities or states, of which he visited six and
named them.
Marco Polo
Ferlac
Bas man
Samara
Dagroian
Lambri
Fansur
Identifications
Perlak
Pasai
Samudra or Sumatra
Indragiri
Acheh (Lambrey)
Bar us
These idenifications made by modern-day experts locate all placenames
in Sumatra against Marco Polo's evidence. Why should Marco
Polo go to Barus on the west coast of Sumatra when it was well out of
his route to Ceylon? Why should be visit Indragiri which was an
inland state? Also, of course, not to identify the two unnamed states
turns the whole exercise into a rather ridiculous word-game. But to
reidentify these states, it is necessary to accept a few 'suppositions' first,
and the first supposition is simply that my identifications of the four
major islands are correct, viz. Java Minor was Malaya. Marco Polo
also called Malaiur an island, and its capital, identified as Nakorn Sri
Thammaraj, was also called Malaiur. Both Nakorn and Malaya had
traditions of having been islands. The passage from Bbuket Bay (Krabi)
running northeastward to Bandon is all flat land, and if in the old
days ships could not negotiate the whole route then only short and low
portages would be encountered. Then from the Singora Inland Sea there
is a klong (canal) that runs southward to the border, and I have been
told that this canal is connected with the Pedis River in Malaya. Also
Kedah Peak at one time had a tradition of once having been an island.
Whether these places were ever really islands or only by tradition is not
of great import-Polo never went to them and only repeated what his
informants told him.

256 REVIEW ARTICLES
Marco Polo set sail when the northeast monsoon blew, as did
mariners from ancient times. (There is a windcbart in section 3, p.
187.) He got to Champa (Ziampa), sailed across to the peninsula
where he made landfall about Bandon (Pentan), sailed between two
islands where the water was. shallow (Samui and Phangan), to Nakorn
(Malaiur) and from there to or past the Singora Inland Sea to the first
city in Malaya (Java Minor); then down the east coast, round the
peninsula, up the west coast to the last city he visited, and from there
across the Andaman Sea between the Andaman and Nicobar groups
(Angaman and Necuveran) to Ceylon (Silan). From Ceylon he got to
the Middle East and then overland to Venice.
The fleet was a large one and contained at least 2,000 armed men.
The purpose of the voyage was to deliver a Tartar princess to the court
of the Ilkhan of Persia. Besides experienced mariners, the party probably
included ambassadors and certainly ladies-in-waiting. Polo could get
expert information from these people about the places visited or passed,
but whether be made notes or not, we do not know. When be got home
he became involved in a war and was taken prisoner. While a captive
in Genoa he dictated his story· to a fellow prisoner. In bis story be
might have got some minor details wrong, but I think the major aspects
of his narrative would be correct, and these major aspects would include
the directions and sizes of the four islands, which included Java Minor.
So my first supposition can be accepted with confidence. In fact if it is
not, Marco Polo's story is, and will continue to be, straight bedlam.
But Marco Polo was no better than a tourist, so let us compare
him to one. Suppose a present-day tourist travelled from Bangkok to
Chiengmai by a tour bus. The bus, running on a 'superhighway, would
make its first stop at Nakorn Sawan after passing through several
provinces but without actually going into any of the. provincial capitals.
After a stop of half an hour to fill. up, it would set off again and,, running.
through parts of the provinces of Kampaeng Pejr and Tak, make its second:

REVIEW ARTICLES 257
stop at Mueng Tern in Lam pang Province. Another fill-up and the bus then
runs through Lampang and Lamphun Provinces to Chiengmai.
Our
tourist, if be had listened to the chatter of the tour hostess as she made
explanations of the places passed, might have remembered some of the
actual names; in fact, he might have taken some notes even if he had no
idea of writing a book about his trip afterwar~s.
have done the same.)
(Marco Polo might
Then a year or so later, when asked about his
trip, our tourist could give a fair description of the two places where
his bus stopped, but be might forget the names Nakorn Sa wan and Tern,
and say that the first stop was made at Bong-Bang (meaning Larnpang),
and the second at Hoo Flung Yoo Hi (meaning Lamphun, the old name
of which was Haripunchai). But he would have got the names Bangkok
and Chiengmai correct.
The case of Marco Polo is the same.
When be dictated his story
about the City States of Malaya, or what he called Java Minor, Polo
lost his list if he had one, or be had two lists and got them mixed up, or
he never had a list in the first place and simply made up some of the
names himself. Whatever happened, the descriptions were not of places
in Sumatra because that would be against the evidence of Marco Polo
himself.
So the second supposition is that Polo's City States of Java
Minor were on the Malay Peninsula, even if he got the names cock-eyed.
The third supposition is that he visited the six states in the order
he described them.
That is, Ferlac, the first state mentioned, was the
northernmost on the east coast of Java Minor ; from there he coasted
down south to the second state, etc., round the Peninsula and up the
west coast to Fansur, the sixth and last state named, which was the
northernmost location on the west coast.
the open seas to Ceylon.
ancient times.
visited any inland state.
states were Naksat Cities.
From there he sailed across
This was the route used by mariners from
Also included in this supposition is that Polo never
And the fourth supposition is that all these

258 REVIEW ARTICLES
Accepting these four suppositions, one can not only identify the
six places named by Marco Polo, but the two unnamed places as well.
In short, except for the Naksat Cities, there were no other important
towns or Muengs in the Peninsula at that time. The Naksat Cities first
came to our knowledge about 1200 A.D. or only a century before Marco
Polo. For no particular reason I will give the Naksat years in my
identifications as well.
After passing Nakorn, Polo got to or sailed past the Singora Inland
Sea and arrived at the first state in Java Minor which he called Ferlac.
This was Patani (Year of the Ox); from there he went south to Saiburi
on the border of Patani and Narativas Provinces (Year of the Rat,
Basman); on to Kelantan (Year of the Tiger, Samara); then round
the Peninsula up the west coast. Pahang (Year of the Rabbit) was an
inland town and Polo did not visit the place, but as this state covered
both coasts he would have asked or been told about it. The first state
on the west coast that Polo got to was Kedah (Year of the Big Snake,
Dagroian) ; then Trang (Year of the Horse, Lambri) ; and finally
Bhuket or Takua Talang (Year of the Dog, Fansur), from where he
sailed to Ceylon. Of the two unnamed locations one was Pahang, and
the other was either Pattalung (Year of the Little Snake) or Krabi
(Year of the Monkey). Pattalung is on the land side of the Singora
Inland Sea, and as Polo did not go to Singora, the chances are that it
was Krabi. As Polo stopped at Bhuket (Fansur) and Krabi is on the
opposite shore of Bhuket Bay, he would have been given its name. My
identifications, then, are as follows:
Marco Polo Identifications Naksat Years
Ferlac Pat ani Chaloo Ox
Bas man Saiburi Cbuad Rat
Samara Kelantan Khan Tiger
(unnamed) Pahang Thoa Rabbit
Dagroian Kedah Marong Big Snake
Lambri Trang Mamia Horse
Fansur Bhuket Chor Dog
{unnamed) Kra9i Vo~ Monkey

REVIEW ARTICLES 259
The coming of Islam
Marco Polo stated that Ferlac, identified as Patani, was a Muslim
state. That was in 1292. In 1297, or five years later, Malikul Saleh,
the founder and Muslim ruler of Semudra in North Sumatra, died. His
gravestone is still in the Semudra-Pasai District.
Based on this evidence,
as well as on Marco Polo's evidence on Ferlac, students of ancient
Malaysian affairs, mainly Western scholars, have thought that Islam
came to Southeast Asia from the west (Middle East), first to North
Sumatra, then to the west coast of Malaya and on to Malacca. On the
other hand, the Muslims of the east coast, or more specifically, of
Patani, have a tradition that they got their religion from the East, that
is, from China.
The Javanese also have the same tradition. Let us look
at the story of Malikul Saleh in a little more detail,
The story is found in two Malay chronicles, the Hikayat Raja Raja
Pasai and the Sejarah Melayu ("Malay Annals").
Both, of course, were
written down much later than Marco Polo, the Sejarah Melayu being at
least two centuries later, where the arrival of the Portugese is included
in the tale.
According to the Sejarah Melayu, there were two brothers
Merah who lived near Pasangan.
The younger brother, Merah Situ, fled
to Jerun when he beard that his elder brother, Merah Chaga, wanted to
kill him for eating galley worms.
Merab Silu then built Semudra. "Now
it happened that in ancient days the Apostle of God (May God Bless Him
and Give Him Peace) told his companions, 'In the latter days there shall
be a city, below the wind, called Semudra. When you hear tell of this
Semudra go thither with all speed and bring the people of that city into
the faith of Islam, for in that city shall be born many Saints of God.' 10
In due course this was done and Merab Silu, who bad just been
converted, was installed as Raja of Semudra with the title of Malikul
Saleh. The Raja bad two sons. He built Pasai as a settlement for his
elder son, Malikul Tahir, and when he died his younger son, Malikul
Mansur, became Sultan of Semudra in his stead. Semudra and Pasai
are twin cities on opposite banks of the Jambu Ayer River in Sumatra.
Malikul Saleh died in 1297 and his gravestone is still in Sumatra.

260 HEVIEW ARTICLES
The Sejarah Melayu bas been translated by C.C. Brown as the
Malay Annals (Oxford University Press, 1970). The translator used two
texts, Raffles MS. 18 and the Shellabear Text. I will first quote a short
paragraph from the Shellabear, page 30.
"The story of the Rajas of Pasai. Merah Silu is driven out
by his brother and goes to the country to which he gives the name
of Semudra, the Semudra of which the Prophet foretold the
conversion of Islam. The voyage of the missionaries from Mecca
to Semudra and the successive conversions of Fansuri, Lamiri
Haru and Perlak on their way. They reached Semudra where
Merah Silu is converted to Islam and made Raja of Semudra with
the title of Sultan Maliku'l-Saleh."
The similarity of the place-names in this and Marco Polo's would
indicate that Polo had two lists, one of places in North Sumatra and the
other of the Peninsula, and he either got the lists Mixed up or lost one.
This same similarity of names is a godsend to word-garners. They write
yards and yards of arguments, and even equate Polo's Samara to Malikul
Saleh's Semudra, or to Sumatra the island, or to both. But the experts are
in agreement on two points, namely Java Minor was Sumatra, and that
Polo was a nitwit who couldn't even get his islands right. In the same
way Ptolemy a thousand years before was a half-wit who didn't even
know the world was round. I myself prefer to follow Polo's geographical
evidence rather than play the word-game, equate Java Minor with Malaya,
and locate Samara as Kelantan. And, as I have said before, the combined
evidence of Marco Polo and Malikul Saleh has been used to put
forward a theory that Islam came first to Southeast Asia from the West.
It seems curious that while Arab and Persian merchants bad been trading
with the Far East a thousand years before Marco Polo, Islam should only
come to Southeast Asia five hundred years after the death of the Prophet
(May God Bless Him and Give Him Peace). Surely over this long period
some of the merchants and mariners must have been Muslims (May God
Bless Them and Give Them Peace, too). Could these Muslims not have
introduced the discipline a few centuries before Marco Polo?

REVIEW ARTICLES 261
But now within the last decade or two, two Muslim scholars have
produced a theory that Islam first came to Southeast Asia from China.
This agrees with the traditions of Patani and Java, which the Muslims of
Malaya that I talked to seem to accept. One of the two scholars was
S.A. Fatimi, who wrote a paper, "Islam comes to Malaysia" (Malaysian
Research Institute, Singapore, 1963). The second scholar was Dr. Syed
Naguib Al-Attas and his paper is called "Preliminary statement on a
general theory of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago"
(Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lampur, 1969). As what I know
about Islam is completely non-Muslim-centric, I will quote a few
paragraphs from Attas' paper, from the earliest Chinese record to about
1300 A.D. Dr. Attas gives two sets of dates, of the Moslem Era first,
followed by Anno Domini. To make the text quicker to absorb I will
take the liberty of adding both the eras (M.E. and A.D.)
Concise chronology of historical events
"The earliest known record of probable Muslim settlement
in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago was a Chinese report of the
existence of an Arab settlement in east Sumatra (San-Fu-Chi=Srivijaya=Palembang),
headed by an Arab chief in M.E. 55/674 A.D.
A more definite statement on large-scale Muslim emigration into
the archipelago was given by al-Mas'iidi who reported that in M.E.
265/877 A.D. about 120,000 or 200,000 merchants and traders
comprising mainly Muslims (Arabs and Persians) who had settled
in Khanfu (Canton) were massacred following a troublesome
rebellion in south China among the peasants of the T'ang emperor
Hi-Tsung (M.E. 265-276/878-889 A.D.). Consequently, large
numbers of Muslim merchants !\Od traders fled Canton and sought
refuge in Kalab (Kedah) on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
This considerable emigration of Muslim merchants and traders
effected a transference of the entrepot for Muslim trade with the
Chinese empire from Canton to Kedah. We can reasonably
assume that since the Muslims had quite a considerable settlement
in Canton (which dated from as early as the 1st/7th century)
enjoying a high degree of religious and civil autonomy, they must
have perpetuated their mode of settlement and social organization

262 REVIEW ARTICLES
in Kedah, and also in Palembang, whither they had similarly
emigrated. This event seems to have marked the beginning of the
coming of Islam in the archipelago."
The equation San-Fu-Chi=Srivijaya=Palembang is not correct. In
671 the Chinese monk !-Ching was at Chele-foche which was Sri Vijaya,
which in turn was Chaiya on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. At
that time Chaiya was Buddhist, with a thousand monks. Between 683-
6 the king of Sri Vijaya set up inscriptions at Palembang, Djambi, Bangka
and South Lampung. The king was Buddhist, though the archaeological
remains still extant in South Sumatra consist of only a large stone image,
a few small stupas and some unbaked votive stupas. San-Fu-Chi seems
to be a mistake because the Chinese used Chele-foche in this period.
But if Attas is right, then San-Fu-Chi would be somewhere on the
Peninsula and not Palembang because at that time Sri Vijaya had not
conquered South Sumatra. This place might have been Patani, Saiburi,
Kelanton or even Trengganu though Trengganu was not a Naksat City.
The present province of Patani seems unlikely even if the people. there
have a tradition that Islam first came to their province. There was an
older site nearby called Yarang with ancient Hindu remains. This
might have been the Langasuka of Malay folklore (see below). A more
probable site was Kelanton which I have equated with Marco Polo's
Samara, though of course the four cities mentioned above, as well as the
province of Yala, might have comprised a single kingdom of Patani.
Kalab was the Arabs' name for Kedah (the Indians' Kidaram and
Kadaram). Again the ancient remains of Kedah are Hindu and Buddhist,
but this might have been another kingdom that included Perlis and Satul.
The main point is, if we accept the above evidence, by the 9th century
A.D., there were Moslem settlements on both coasts of the Peninsula.
Meanwhile to continue with Attas• records:
"There is evidence of Muslim settlement in the Phan-rang
region in south Champa in Cambodia in M.E. 431/1039 A.D. or
earlier. The Leran inscription near Gresik in east Java dated M.B.
475/1082 A.D. indicated earlier Muslim presence in the region.
· "According to the Achehnese (Malay) chronicles, Islam was
introduced into the northern tip of Sumatra sometime around M.E.

REVIEW ARTICLES 263
506/1112 A.D. by an Arab missionary whose name is given as
Shaykh 'Abdu' Llah 'Arif. One of his disciples, Shaykh Burbanu'l­
Din, later carried on his missionary work as far as Priaman down
the west coast. The date of the establishment of Islam in north
Sumatra is given as M.E. 601/1204 A.D. when Johan Shah became
its first Sultan. The Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai related that the
Sharif of Makkah sent one Shaykh lsma'il at the head of a mission
to spread Islam in north Sumatra in the middle of the 7th/13th
century. The Pasai region of north Sumatra, composed of the
realms of Perlak and Samudra, was already Muslim by M.E. 682/
1282 A.D. The Sultan, al-Malik al-Salih, died in M.E. 697/1297
A.D. or M.E. 707/1307 A.D.
"In Trengganu on the northeast coast of the Malay Peninsula,
a stone inscription dated M.B. 702/1302 A.D. was discovered at
Kuala Berang indicating earlier Muslim settlement in the region.
A Muslim tombstone at Bud Dato on the island of Jolo in Sulu
dated M.B. 710{1310 A.D. indicated that Muslims frequented the
region, perhaps in the course of their trade relationship with
China."
Attas does not mention the Seiarah Melayu. This chronicle is not
considered a good source for history, but I think all chronicles, this as
well as Thai ones, could supply one or two pointers to clear up some
knotty problems. The story of Malikul Saleh contains two discrepancies.
The first is that he was ruler of Semudra, and as be bad two sons, be
built a second city, Pasai, for his elder son while his younger son
succeeded him at Semudra. Pasai and Semudra are twin cities on
opposite banks of the same river. This would mean that they were
really the same city, and it seems contrary to the evidence. Tbe second
discrepancy concerns the conversion of Malikul Saleh. The ship with the
fakir on board set sail for Semudra and arrived at Fansuri, Lamiri and
Haru, where the people were converted. From this point the story, as
translated by C.C. Brown from M.S. 18, p. 32, goes:
"And the fakir asked th.e people (of Haru), 'Where is the
country called Semudra ?' And they answered, 'You have sailed
past it.' S9 h~ wept b11ck Qn bQf!r9 the ship, and they sail~d on
i'
.
'' .
'
.
.
'

264 1\EVIEW AHTICLES
again until they made a land-fall at Perlak, where the fakir admitted
the people to the Faith of Islam. The ship then sailed on to
Semudra. And when they reached Semudra the fakir went ashore
where be met Merah Silu bunting for shell-fish on the beach. And
the fakir asked him, 'What is the name of this country?' And
Merah Silu answered, 'This is Semudra.' And the fakir asked,
'What is the name of the headman of this country?' And Merah
Silu replied, 'It is I who am the headman of the people here.' The
fakir thereupon admitted him to the Faith of Islam and taughtliim
the Muslim creed ... Then said the fakir to Shaikh Isma'il, the
master of the ship, 'This is the country of Semudra of which the
Prophet (may God bless him and give him peace) spoke.' Shaikh
Jsma'il then took ashore from his ship the regalia be had brought
with him and installed Merah Silu as Raja with the title of Sultan
Maliku's-Saleh."
The question is: Why did the ship sail past Semudra in the first
place? The answer of co use is that it didn't. This is how I would
interpret the story. Malikul Saleh was ruler of Semudra on the Malay
Peninsula (say, Marco Polo's Samara which I have equated with the
Naksat City Kelantan.) At that time, after the death of Cbandrabunu
in Ceylon about 1260 A.D., the Sri Vijaya States bad split up and tbe
Peninsula and Sumatra became politically separated. Malikul Saleh,
who at that time bad been converted to Islam, decided to build a retreat
that he could retire to in case the situation degenerated and be had to
evacuate his capital. So he built Pasai in North Sumatra which already
had become Moslem. As it happened, the situation worsened and
Malikul Saleh did retire to Pasai with his elder son, Malikul Tahir,
leaving behind his younger son, Malikul Mansur, as ruler of Semudra.
The king died in Sumatra in 1297 or 1307 and his tombstone was found
in the island. When Malikul Saleh went to Sumatra the name of his city
went with him, and the ne~ name became Pasai-Semudera, though the
old capital was still called Semudra. The name Semudra might merely
mean 'ocean' (Skt. Samudra), that is, Pasai-Semudra was what we would
today call Pasai-on-sea. But that is by the way.

REVIEW ARTICLES 265
Then, when the Malacca-centric authors of the Sejarah Melayu
put their story of Malikul Saleh together, they decided to split the twin
city of Pasai Semudra into two parts, but they forgot to omit the story
of the fakir's ship overshooting Semudra and had to turn back. This
interpretation does not look very good when put down on paper, but
strangely enough there is confirmation of it in the Sejarah Melayu in the
episode of Malikul Saleh's two sons and the King of Siam. The story is
too long to give in detail. ·
The Raja of Sbahru'n-nuwi (King of Siam) decided to capture the
Raja of Semudra alive. One of his war-chiefs named Awi Dicbu was
sent on the mission. The Raja of Semudra was seized, and the story
continues:
"The war-chiefs of the Raja of Semudra forthwith raised an
outcry and drawing each man his weapon, were for fighting the
war-chiefs of Sbabru'n-nuwi, who however cried, 'Lay a hand on
us and we'll kill your Raja, make no doubt of that!' As they could
not now fight the Shahru'n-nuwi war-chiefs, the men of Pasai
accordingly stayed still. Awi Dichu and his men then returned to
their ships taking the Raja of Pasai with them and sailed off home
with him."
The story seems to have got tbe two brothers thoroughly mixed up,
which is natural enough because Semudra was on the Peninsula while
Pasai was in Sumatra. I have already remarked that the Thai were
landlubbers, and however far a landlubber may walk, he cannot walk
over water to Sumatra. So tbe Raja of Semudra that they caught was
captured in the Peninsula. This was exactly what Malikul Saleh was
afraid of when be built a retreat for himself at Pasai.
The story continues. The King of Siam ordered the Raja of
Semudra to tend the palace fowls. Meanwhile the Chief Minister of
Pasai, Saidi 'Ali Ghitayu'd-din by name, disguised himself as an Arab
trader, went to Siam and twice presented the king with valuable gifts
each worth a bhara of gold, but without asking for a favour in return.
Then again for the third time a gift was presented to the king. The
story at this point 'is a little too good to leave out, so I will quote from

266 REVI8W ARTICLES
C.C. Brown's translation (pp. 36-7) even if it makes the paper a little
long. And I will add explanations of the names in brackets for the
benefit of people like myself who may find the story difficult to follow on
account of the strange names.
"After a few days the season came for the return voyage and
Saidi 'Ali Ghitayu'd-din (Chief Minister of Pasai) began to set the
ship's gear for the voyage. He and his companions then presented
themselves before the Raja of Sbahru'n-nuwi (King of Siam), taking
with them as gifts a pair of ducks, male and fa male, made of gold
and studded with jewels, to the value of about a bhara of gold,
together with a deep bowl made of gold and filled with water. The
two ducks were then released into the golden bowl, where they
swam, dived and chased one another. And the Raja of Shabru'nnuwi
(King of Siam) was amazed at the sight of these magic ducks,
and he said, 'Now tell me the truth, what is it that you want? By
the God whom I worship I will refuse you nothing that you desire.'
"Thereupon Saidi 'Ali Gbitayu'd-din (the Chief Minister)
answered, 'If your Highness will graciously grant us this boon, we
crave from your Highness the man who tends your fowls.' And the
Raja of Shahru'n-nuwi (King of Siam) said, 'He is the Raja of
Pasai; as you have asked for him, I will give him to you.' And they
replied, 'It is because he is a Muslim that we crave him from your
Highness.' And the Raja of Shahru'n-nuwi granted Sultan
Maliku'tl-Tahir (the Raja ofPasai) to Saidi 'Ali Ghitayu'd-din, who
took him to the ship. And when they had gone aboard, they
lustrated him and arrayed him as a Raja. And a breeze sprang up,
the anchor was weighed and the ship sailed for Semudra, where
they arrived after a voyage of some days.''
C.C. Brown, the translator of the Sejarah Melayu, bas a long footnote
on the Raja of Semudra (no. 145, p. 212).
• "Raja Semudra: the annalist goes badly wrong with his
nomenclature in what follows. Semudra was the kingdom of
Sultan Maliku'l-Mansur; but the Raja taken in captivity to Siam·

REVIEW AHT!CLES 267
was Sultan Maliku'tl-Tahir who was Raja of Pasai. After describing
tbe captive as Raja of Semudra ...._. the annalist suddenly tells us
that Raja Pasai was carried off to Siam. Yet it was Raja Semudra
who was made to tend the palace fowls in Siam. The rescue from
Siam was made by the chief minister of Pasai, yet when they
returned home it was to Semudra that they went!"
Obviously the reason t?at the Sejarah Melayu confused the Rajas
of Semudra and Pasai in this particular episode was simply because there
were two Semudras, one on the Peninsula and th~
other in Sumatra.
Also obviously the royal house of Malacca, for whose benefit the Sejarah
Me!ayu was written, preferred to get their religion from the west through
a fakir sent by the Prophet (may God bless him and give him peace) from
Mecca, rather than from a faker from the land of infidels (may God
curse them and give them hell). I will squeeze just one more drop of
juice from this particular lemon. The first of the three presents that the
Chief Minister of Pasai made to the King of Siam was a tree made of
gold. I would interpret this to mean that when Malikul Saleh the father,
who was a vassal of Siam, quit Semudra on the Peninsula for Pasai and
left his younger son as ruler, the traditional homage of gold and silver
trees sent by vassals at stated intervals were not sent.
This was tantamount
to rebellion, so the King of Siam sent an official to investigate.
The official, Ok~ya Pichai (? A wi Dichu), entered the city and took the
new Raja back to Siam as hostage.
When the Chief Minister followed
with tbe necessary homage, and after explanations had been made, the
captive was set free.
As for the palace fowls, perhaps the King presented
the Raja with a few chickens as a momento of his visit. Siamese fighting
cocks, called syamgooks in the Balinese language, are recognised as the
finest bruise;rs.
Alternatively the Raja might have turned chicken-thief
and pinched a few of tbe fowls under his charge that bad become particularly
attached to him.
But of course· the story might merely mean
that the King of Siam, who was a Buddhist, preferred a Moslem to slit

268 REVIEW ABTICLES
the throats of the chicken for his table rather than have his own cooks
Jose merit by carrying out such a dastardly act.
of the palace fowls is straight fiction weaved out of thin air.
In short, the story
The Javanese and the people of Patani on the east const of Siam
have traditions that they got their religion from China.
The good folks
of Patani even asked me to say something about the subject in this paper.
Luckily however Drs. Fatimi and Al-Attas had already submitted theses
on this line, so what I say about Marco Polo and the Sejarah Melayucan
be accepted as supporting evidence, or discarded by such people who
would prefer to keep Polo and the S.M. as amusing anecdotes of no
historical value whatsoever. I have no objection either way because I
think Fatimi and Attas' arguments are irrefutable. Unfortunately they
do not tell us bow Islam got to China in the first place, whether by land
or by sea.
However I have been told that Islam was introduced to the
Chinese court by land in the lifetime of Mohammed himself. If this is
correct, it is difficult to understand how the discipline could have got to
the Chinese coast by 674 A.D., let alone to San-Fu-Chi, as stated by the
Chinese records. The story of Malikul Saleh and his two sons fit the
general pattern of the history told by Mas'udi of the massaere of Muslims
in Canton in 877, and the Muslims' subsequent refuge in Kedah seems
reasonable. But the Chinese story of a Moslem settlement in San-Fu-Chi
in 674 seems suspect if the religion came from China.
However if Arab
and Persian sailors of the Islam faith had a settlement somewhere on the
Peninsula, then the Chinese evidence would be possible. But I know
nothing about Islam. I do not know whether conversions have to be
carried out by holy men, or anybody can take the faith without being
circumcised. My ignorance is complete, so I will stop here. God
knoweth the truth. To Him do we return.

REVlE\V ARTICLES
26. NEW EVIDENCE AND SECOND THOUGHTS
(a) The Malay Peninsula
Lakawn Suka ( Langasuka)
269
Raja Marong Mahawangsa founded Langasuka at Kedah on the
west coast (section 1, pp. 175-179). Then in the next generation,
according to the Kedah Annals, the settlement, or perhaps only the name,
moved east to Patani. I will quote a few sentences from Professor Paul
Wheatley's translation of the chronicle from his Golden Khersonese., pp.
261-262:
"Thereupon King Marong Mahapodisat (son of Marong
Mahawangsa) made his son (King Seri Mabawangsa) mount the
elephant Gemala Johari . . . . The elephant raised its head and
set off towards the rising sun ... when they bad almost reached
the sea ... the elephant Gemala Jobari stopped. The princess~
consort said, •Go back to Kedah, to my royal father, and tell him
that this country is called Patani'.. . . Now King Seri Mahawangsa
(called King of Kedah two lines previously) did not want to stay at
Langasuka as it was very far from the sea."
A geographical note might be added concerning King Seri Mahawangsa's
curious remark about Langasuka being far from the sea. The
previous paragraph, from Wheatley's translation on page 261, reads
"King Marong Mahawangsa saw how Pulau ·Lada had
joined the mainland, finally being called Bukit Lada, just as Pulau
Jambul was finally called Bukit Jambul. Pulau Seri was almost
joined to the mainland and was eventually called Gunong Jerai on
account of its height." (Pulau-island, Bukit-hill, Gunong-mount;
Gunong Jerai is Kedah Peak-Author.)
Langasuka, or Alang-kah-suka of Kedah folklore and Lakawn
Suka of Patani folklor~, was the fairyland of the Malays. The chief
fairy was Princess Sadong, "who rules over the little people and wild
goats of the lime-stone hills, and persistently refuses all suitors, be they
never so high-born or otherwise eligible.'' (Kedah folklore, from Wheatley's
The Golden Khersonese, page 262.) But nobody seemed to know
where Lakawn Suka was located. Then in 1962 the Cambridge Univer-

270 REVIEW ARTICLES
sisty's Explorers' and Travellers' Club organised a sort of combined
cultural and archaeological expedition to Malaya and South Siam. They
made recordings and films of dances and drama, of songs and stories,
and in Siam plunged into a little on-the-spot archaeological research,
One of the party, Mr. Stewart Wavell, wrote a book about the trip,
(The Naga King's Daughter, Allen and Unwin, London, 1964.) Wavell's
account of his Princess Sadong and Lakawn Suka is charming, so I will
quote extensively. First of all, travelling by train from Kelantan to
Haadyai, he met a Thai girl called Golden Naga. She was a Nora dancer
from Patani province-her home was at a place called Bukit Sangkalakilee
in the District of Yarang some fifteen miles from the provincial capital.
The party finally got to Yarang and tl1e discoveries there recorded:
(Quotation starts): Her name was Golden Naga, a coincidence
that made me smile at the time, but I was soon to learn that such
names are not unusual in South Thailand. She came from a place
called Bukit Sankalakilee in Patani, and she spoke Malay, because
there was a Malay village nearby. She bad not been back to her
home for many years. She was a dancer in a Menora troupe which
travelled throughout South Thailand.
I pointed out that in Malaya, girls' parts in Menora were
taken by young boys made up to look like girls, and that, to my
knowledge, girls were not allowed to perform. She did not seem
surprised and said that long ago the same custom was observed in
Thailand. Perhaps her most revealing answer was given to my
question: "Why do you dance in Men ora?" At first, she explained
that her father was a Menora performer and that she had been
brought up to be a dancer. Then she realized I expected something
more from her answer and, as an afterthought, she said: ·'It is the
oldest of all magic from the land of Lakawn Suka. We merely
pay our respect to the Princess Sadong."
Anyone familiar with Malay folklore would have shared my
excitement to hear these two ideas in immediate juxtaposition.
Lakawn Suka was the Patani Malays' fairyland equivalent to
Langasuka, and Princess Sadong was the Fairy Princess of Kedah
"Whom all could worship but none could marry." Only recently
I had heard the name again. But where? And then I remembered.
In Kelantan we were told the story of a Princess who lived on top

HEV!EW ARTICLES 271
of the limestone hill on the way to Bacbok, who would not marry.
She was a Thai Princess and her name was Sadong: "whom all could
worship but none could marry." The words were suddenly
illuminated with meaning. Sadong must have been the Sakti
goddess of Langasuka, and where else would a goddess live but on
top of a limestone bill?
"Where did you say your home was?" I asked the Menora
girl in some excitement.
"Near Bukit Sankalakilee in Patani," she replied.
"And where did Princess Sadoog live?"
"In the palace on top of the hill. 1 beard that when I was
a child.''
"Then where is Lakawn Suka ?" I asked, scarcely believing
that she would do anything but laugh at my naivete.
"It's just across the paddy fields," she replied. · "Of course,
you can't see anything, because it was there such a long time
ago." (pp. 149-150)
The climax of our visit to Pattani came with our exploration
of the ruined city of Yarang.. . . Now if Yarang were the site of
the ancient capital of Langasuka, we should expect to find it some
distance inland and close to a broad river. It was not unusual in
ancient times for capitals to be built well upriver because of the
danger of pirate attack. Lookouts could give warning of a
threatening fleet and many ships could be destroyed by defenders
on both banks.
On arrival at the village of Yarang ... we stopped and
scrambled up a huge earth mound littered with quantities of red
laterite bricks, and from the summit looked down into a dark
hole. We could see that the interior was brick-built and had once
been a Buddhist stupa. There were many of these ruined stupas,
we were told, scattered among rubber trees and paddy fields. All
had been broken into by thieves in search of gold and many bronze
Hindu gods and Buddhas bad been found and sold in Patani shops.
The headman did what he could to stop these thefts, but the stu pas
were so widely scattered that it was impossible to keep a guard
on them all. He was very much afraid that when the time came
for a full-scale excavation, there would be little left to discover.

272 REVIEW ARTICLES
We were shown the three huge protective earth walls which
in centuries past had been erected to fortify the palace. In fact,
the village where the palace had stood was called Brahwere, derived,
the headman thought, from Brahwang, which is a Thai word for
palace. We were shown the huge sloping pond which was said to
have been the site of ancient Siva ceremonies, but no proof of this
could be given.
Then plunging off the main track, our Malay hosts slashed
a path towards a concealed granite pillar. It lay broken and
entirely covered by a dense thicket of undergrowth. There were
sockets in the pillar through whjch probably wooden horizontals
would have been inserted. This was part of a temple, we were
told, known as Wat Udeng. Another not far distant had been
known as Wat Lubok. Both had pillars of granite and were believed
to be ancient, but the local people had broken off chunks of granite
and used them for grinding tools. Some examples of carving had
been preserved by the monks, but this pillar in the undergrowth
had been too heavy to move.
Finally, we drove to a field rich in rambutans, low trees
groaning with ripe, red fruit, the finest I have seen. uThese
come from Kedah," I was told, "They are a special variety."
"There is a route, then, to Kedah through the jungle?"
I asked.
"Oh, yes," replied the headman, "It's a very old route,
indeed. It usually takes us about three days."
With a smile the headman stood up, his task of clearing earth
beneath the rambutans completed.
"Look, the base of a Sivalingam !" be said.
A huge square block of granite was revealed. Incised into
the centre was a square depression into which could be fitted a
vertical Sivalingam or phallus. On one side of the square was
groove known as the •ooma" or vagina. These two in juxtaposition
were traditionally symbolic of the creation of mankind.
To see these solid stone survivals at our feet was immensely
satisfying after weeks of groping within the insubstantial world
of ancient music and cultural sound. But here, undoubtedly, was

HEVIEW AHTICLES 273
granite proof confirming so much that bad been foreshadowed in
our many recordings. The Malay Annals describe bow, on conversion
to Islam, the Malays destroyed their idols, and this may
explain why so few relics of Siva have been discovered in Malaya.
But this granite Sivalingam they could not destroy. For centuries
it had lain beneath the mud of this paddy field, until recently
when it was brought to the surface by a farmer working his paddy
plough. And I was soon to learn that six others bad been
discovered in the region of Yarang.
Of legends concerning the city l was told there were few ..
Some· people said it was once the capital of Pattani, and that its
former name was Gob Ta Maha Likay. One of the kings was
called Gorok Maba Cbantra who was also known by the name
of Sri Wangsa, but that is all. I noted the names mechanically in
my book, and then looked again in surprise. SRI WANGSA. The
letters stared at me from the page.
"But Sri Mahawangsa was the King of Langasuka," I said.
"This I cannot say," he replied simply.
"Where is Bukit Sankalakilee ?"
some excitement.
''It is here in tbis village," he replied.
I asked the headman in
"But how could this ruined city be thecapitalofakingdom ?"
I asked in bewilderment, "We are at least fifteen miles from the
River Pattani."
"Ah, that is easy to explain," he replied, "The Pattani River
has from time to. time changed its course. In ancient times it
flowed within a mile of Yarang." My thoughts went back in
gratitude to the Menora dancer, the lady from Langasuka, whom
we had met in the train. (Quotation ends, pp. 164-167.)
Nai Manit Vallipotama, a southern-born scholar, gives the same
identification for Langasuka. Yarang should certainly be excavated.
Perhaps it would be possible lay to the ghost of Lakawn Suka, which of
course should not be confused with the Lakorn Chaisri of the 7th century
(section 2, pp. i 79-183 ). Also of course a few fairies might be found,
who knows?

274 REVIEW ARTICLES
Krabi, Kraburi and Mueng Pahang
The word Krabi has two meanings; one, a monkey and two, a
sword. In the days of old, the emblem of the city was a Rhesus (Naksat
City), but in the modern period, when the provincial city ball was being
built, an old sword was dug up, and the emblem of the city was changed
to Crossed Swords. In this way the Naksat Monkey disappeared into
legend.
Krabi, or Korbie as Colonel Gerini called the place, bas produced as
old artifacts as any place found in the South, which is saying a Jot. At
Klang Thorn for one, and at Khao Javabrab for another, Mediterraneantype
beads have been found in such profusion that some people think
they were manufactured there. In the normal course of events one
would have thought that beads were used by civilized merchants to barter
for valuable local products gathered by ignorant natives, but in this case
it seems the aborigines of Krabi turned the table on the citizens of
Mediterranean lands. But all this is by the way.
In 1225, Chau-ju-kua gave a list of the fifteen city-states (depedencies)
of San-Fo-Shih. In the list were Kienpi and Kia-lo-hi which
should have been Krabi and Kraburi. I did not make positive identifications
because I could get the names mixed up and be accused of playing
the Chinese. wordgame without ever having set foot on the Chinese
mainland. Also Kienpi has been identified as Jambi in Sumatra. It was
better to wait for my guardian angel to send new evidence.
Kia-lo-hi is thought to have been Grabi, a name that appears on
the base of a Buddha image found at Chaiya dated 1183. Professor
Coedes thought Grahi was Chaiya where the image was found, though
this is contrary to the sense of the inscription itself. Kraburi is the
northernmost of the Naksat

REVIEW ARTICLES 215
contained in Ying- Yai-Sheng-Lan or "The Overall Survey of the Ocean's
Shores", 1433. (Note: Ma Buan was the Muslim interpreter to the
famous Cheng Ho, pre-eminent among the eunuchs of the Court of the
Ming Emperor Cheng-tsu (Yung-lo). The Emperor appointed him
~
principal envoy and commander-in-chief of six great expeditions to the
'Western Ocean', 1405-149l.) Black also identified some names on the
map, as well as giving the latitudes.
Toponyms Latitudes Identifications
Chia-lo-bsi 10'99' N. Krbi (Krburi)
Liu-k'un 8'27' N. Nakorn
Fo-lo-an 7'33' N. Phattalung
Sun-ku-na 7'11' N. Songkhla (Singora)
Lang-hsi-chia 6'54' N. Pattani (Lakawn Suka)
Cbi-t'o 6'00' N. Kedah
Chan-pei 1"35' S. Djambi
Chiu-cbieng 3'00' s. Palembang (Old Harbour)
Cbia-lo-hsi was Kraburi. If Cban-pei and Kien-pi were the same,
then it was Djambi in Sumatra; if not, then Cban-pei was Djambi and
Kien-pi was Krabi. Palembang appears in Cbau-ju-kua as Pa-lin-fong.
Before leaving the Naksat Cities, let us look for another lost site.
Mueng Pahang was the southernmost of the Naksat Cities (Year of the
Rabbit). Pahang was a town or city and not a state as it is today. Some
years ago I was told that Mueng Pahang was under water. As there are
several traditions of cities flooded out of existence-in the lake at Payao
in the North, in the Nong Harn in the Northeast-! did not follow the
subject further. In any case the Naksat Cities were supposed to have
formed a shield around the capitals (Chaiya, Nakorn and Singora, which
were not Naksat Cities themselves), and in case of attack on any city,
help could be sent from the other cities. So I thought Pahang should be
looked for near the Panarican Pass. But it now seems I am wrong. The
Cambridge expedition in 1962 already mentioned, got to a mount, a lake
and a feeder stream of the Pahang River, all called Cheni. I will again
quote at length from Stewart Wavell's book, The Naga King's Daughter:

276 HEVJEW AHTJCLES
"Che Yang (Malay guide) wasted no time. She agreed
to come with us to our first objective.- the Naga-haunted mountain
of Gunong Cheni. Cheni is a jungle ridge some forty miles up the
Pahang River on the east coast of Malaya. Until recently, it was
inaccessible and remote, but at the time of writing a road is being
cut through jungle towards the Pahang River at a point directly
opposite the lake which lies at the foot of the mountain. The name
'Cheni' which is given to both lake and mountain is a Thai word
meaning 'gibbon'. (pp. 34-5)
"As we set off once more in our peralw towards the far end
of the Jake my thoughts went back to many theories which bad been
advanced across the years that a city bad once existed beneath the
lake. I had first come upon a reference to it as far back as 1955
in Dr. Linehan's History of Pahang. "It is possible," he wrote, "that
the lake did not always exist in its present form and that it covers
the site of an ancient town." He gave his reasons which made sense
in terms of a strategic focus for transpeninsular waterways and
river routes to sources of gold and tin. An article he published
in 1928 described his visit to the lake and his discovery of a huge
artificial mound to the south of it 'en route' to the River Jeram.
This mound captured my imagination. Across an interval of forty
years, Linehan himself never went back to excavate the moun~ and
no one else had since been there to find it. My own attempt with
a friend in 1956 to discover the mound was a failure. However, the
effect of subsequent broadcasts and my account of the expedition
in a book created widespread interest in Lake Cheni throughout
Malaya, causing many adventurers, expeditions and, more recently,
tourists, to visit the lake.
"One visitor claimed to have seen a monster with eyes 'like
tennis balls of fire'. To another, J. McHugh, who made several
visits to the lake in search of pottery, a Semelai headman had
declared that Nenek, or 'grandfather' as they affectionately called
the Naga, was not, in fact, a python. Indeed, there were two
kinds of Naga. I quote from McHugh:
'One has a head with two bumps on it and the other has a
smaller head like a fowl.' The headman went on to describe its
track in the mud, about ten inches in width, and even the noise it
made, He pointed out where it was thought to live. The place is

REVlEW ARTlCLES 277
in the same area of open lake as 'batu keramat' or sacred stones.
'Once a year,' be said, 'when the white rocks float, the Nenek
moves to the other end of the lake.'
. "Obviously the sacred stone would be interesting but there
was httle to support Linehan's proposition that a former town lay
beneath the surface of the lake. Recent discoveries of pottery and
other artefacts led McHugh to write that there was 'little doubt'
that Cheni has a long history of human settlement. This may well
have been ended by a major flood, for the Pahang River during the
monsoon is said to flow up the six-mile Cheni channel and into the
lake itself." (pp. 41-42)
"Tempek paddled with firm strokes, keeping close to the
bank. I pointed out towards the centre of the lake where it was
deep.
"Can we swim out there?" I asked in Malay.
Unkowingly, I had pointed to the 'Batu Keramat', the
sacred stones. Tempek seemed surprised, but with a smile and
an affirmative 'boleh', he changed direction towards the open
water.
By now the sun had suffused the clouds with red. A breeze
touched the surface of the lake and passed lightly over our skin.
We approached a large square in the lake, its corners marked with
bamboo poles. Within the square, four Semelai in a 'perahu' were
laughing together and hailed us. One stood uprighdn the boat,
striking a half-submerged paddle on something hard beneath the
water. "Batu Keramat!" he called, "Come and see."
Tempek steered our 'perabu' alongside and I grasped the
proffered paddle, but we drifted imperceptibly away from the
rock, and it was only after the third attempt that I felt something
solid beneath. By probing carefully, I formed the impression that
the rock was hroad at its summit; but Charles (Morris, leader of
the expedition), intent on manual investigation, clutched his sarong
tightly to his body and jumped into the water. It was amusing
to watch the sarong come to the surface before he did, his
embarassment being the cause of much merriment among the
Semelai. Eventually, I was persuaded to join him and, between
us, we explored the rock's full dimensions. How tall it was we may
never know. The depth of the mud in Lake Cheni is at least twenty

278 REVIEW ARTICLES
feet, and the depth of the water at this point could have been about
fifteen feet or even deeper. The rock was about eight feet across.
What interested us was that the sides seemed to descend vertically,
forming what appeared to be a great pillar; and this rock, so we had
been told, was the home of Nenek, or grandfather Naga.... If
in ancient times, the Naga serpents had been worshipped in this
valley, surely this great pillar of rock could have been the phallic
focus of that worship!" (page 44)
Such is the evidence for what it is worth. My only comment is to
suggest that scholars, instead of researching from books and making wild
guesses, should go out on a few field trips, when they could produce
wilder guesses that could be nearer the target. The Cambridge Expedition
was not a research one, and Stewart Wavell himself wrote in the
introduction, "Our own expedition to Malaya and Thailand was not
archaeological in purpose: we have merely tried to survey the land."
The party got to Lake Cbeni in Pahang. The Malays have a tradition
of a lost city in Cheni Lake and the Thai have a tradition that Mueng
Pahang of the Naksat Cities was destroyed by flood. If the two traditions
match, then Mueng Pahang was where Lake Cheni now is. But I
have my doubts. Then the,party got to Yarang in Patani. This should
be Lakawn Suka without much doubt. All the evidence seem to agree
without exception, including the Hindu remains of the pre-Muslim
period.
Finally, the party got to Lan Kuen Pang in Nakorn Sri Thammaraj
Province. "Beyond here lie the ruins of Lan Kuen Pang. They are
concealed by a circle of mountains with a single entrance to the valley."
It is tempting to equate Lan Kuen Pang with the capital of Chih-tu,
called Lion City, because it "took more than a month to reach the
capital." I will deal with Chih-tu next, but will not mention Lan Kuen
Pang because I do not accept the identification.
Singora (Singhanagara)
Three of the four main Sri Vijaya locations on the Peninsula can be
identified almost with certainty. Chaiya was Sri Vijaya (an inscription
with that name dated 775 was found there-see section 8, pp. 291-6); it

REVIEW ARTICLES 279
was also !-Ching's Che-li-foche and Paranavitana's Suvarnnapura.
Nakorn Sri Thammaraj was Tambralinga (an inscription with that name
dated 1230 was found there), as well as Holing, Poling and Tan-rna-ling.
Kedah, the second city of the Sri Vijaya City-States, was .Kidaram,
Kadaram, Chieh-cha and possiby the Malayapura of Paranavitana.
Singora was probably Paranavitana's Singbanagara and was the capital
of Cbih-tu.
The T'ung Tien T'ai-p'ing Huan Yu Chi states that the king
of Chih-tu "resides in the city of Seng-chib, which also is called Shih-tzu
(Lion City)."
But the location of old Singora itself is tricky. Chih-tu,
generally located in the Singora Inland Sea, may have to be relocated.
In 671 1-Ching set sail from Canton in a Persian ship and arrived
at Chaiya in 20 days (section 3, pp. 184-9). This was probably the
fastest trip on record because other ships in the same period took 30 to
40 days. Sixty years before, in 607, Chang Cbun was sent as ambassador
to Chih-tu. The evidence i~ as follows (from Wheatley's The Golden
Khersonese, pp, 29-30):
"In the tenth moon (November or early December) of that
year, Chang Chun took ship from the Nan-hai commandery
(Canton). For twenty days and nights they sailed before a favourable
wind (the north-east monsoon) and reached Chiao-sbih
(Scorched Rock) Mountain. Passing southeastward, they anchored
at Ling-ch'ieh-po-pa-to Island, which faces Lin-i (Champa) on the
west, and which bas a temple on its summit."
Say 22 or 23 days, or 20 days sailing and a couple of days at
anchor. From Champa the trip continued to Lion Rock, the mountains
of Lakorn Chaisri and Fowl Cage Island. I have already identified Lion
Rock as Laem Singh outside the Chandaburi River, the mountains of
Lakorn Chaisri as Khao Sam Roi Yod and Fowl Cage Island as Koh
Rang Kai outside Patiew in Chumporn Province (section 2, pp. 180-3).
"Then going southwards they reached Shih-tzu-shih (Lion
Rock), whence there extended a chain of large and small islands.
After two or thr~e days' voyage they saw in the west the mountains
of the country of Lang-ya-hsu. Then, continuing southwards to
Chi-lung (Fowl Cage) Island, they reached the borders of Chib-tu."

280 REVIEW AIUICLES
Say about ten days from Champa to Patiew, or a little over a
month from Canton to the border of Chih-tu. (Chang Chun's return
journey between the same two points also took ten days.) But the point
is, if Patiew was the border of Chih-tu, and Chih-tu was in the Singora
Inland Sea, then the 'territory' of Chih-tu would include Chaiya and
Nakorn as well. As these two cities had played bigger parts in the Sri
Vijaya story than Singora, this is quite a problem.
(The King of Chih- tu) "sent the Brahman Chiu-mo-lo, with
thirty ocean-going junks, to welcome them. Conches were blown
and drums beaten to entertain the Sui envoys on their arrival, and
a metal cable was used as a hauser for Chang-chun's vessel. It
took more than a month to reach the capital."
Say another ten days from Patiew to the capital, or a total of
between 40 and 45 days from Canton for the whole journey. It took
between 30 and 40 days to reach Foche or Holing, and if Chih-tu was
further down the coast, 'it took more than a month to reach the capital'
is correct.
But this is not what the experts think at all. They think the
capital was located far inland, or was up a mountain, or something, and
it took more than a month to get from the borders to the capital. There
is no place on the Malay Peninsula that you cannot get to in one month,
and you can even walk from one coast to the other in less than that
time. The picture of the thirty ocean-going junks sent by the king as
being trawlers sent to berth Chang-chun's vessel as though it were the
Queen Elizabeth, does not seem right to me. They were part of the
welcoming ceremony, as were the conches and drums. Today fighter
planes are sometimes sent to welcome V.I.P. visitors at an airport.
Other evidence is also available:
"The king sent his son, the Na-ya-chia, to welcome Changchun
with appropriate ceremony . . . . On the same day at the
hour of Wei (one to three p.m.), the Na-ya-chia again sent two
elephants, bearing canopies of peacock feathers, to welcome the
ambassadors."

REVIEW ARTICLES 281
If the capital was really located on a mountain, why drag a ship up
there? Surely it would have been easier to give the ambassadors a lift
on a few elephants and let the beasts joggle them along in comfort.
"A few days later Chang-chun and his companions were
invited to a ceremonial feast. The pageantry was similar to that
on their return from the first meeting, with guards leading the way.
In front of the king two divans had been erected, on which were
placed leaf-platters, each fifteen feet square, containing cakes of
four colours, yellow, white, purple and red, together with beef,
mutton, fish, turtle, pork and tortoise meats of more than a hundred
sorts."
The menu seems to me to contain some delicious sea-food. If the
capital had been located on some mountain one month's journey from
the sea, I doubt if turtle and tortoise meat would be readily available.
Also of course there would be the econo.mic problem of finding enough
land to grow rice to feed the population of a capital located in the
mountains. So, without arguing with the experts, I prefer to interpret
Chang-Chun's voyage of one month as being from Canton to his final
destination.
For all that, locating the Lion City is still a problem. Some
experts who .. do not need to be named, have equated Chih-tu :-vith
Sri Yijaya, others with Tambralinga, and still others, have translated
Seng-chih and Shih-tzu the capital, not as Lion City, but as Lion Castle.
This would mean that Cbih-tu, the red or copper coloured land, included
Cbaiya, Nakorn and Singora where red earth is ubiquitous and the
capital might have been at Singora or Chaiya or Nakorn, though I have
not seen Lion Castle mentioned anywhere before. For all that, locating
Paranavitana's Singhanagara is still a problem.
at the present Singora becauseSingora is _a new settlement.
This cannot be located
The tongue of land that separates the Singora Inland Sea and the
Gulf of Siam is about 60 kms. long.
the Inland Sea.
There were three entrances into
The northernmost is at Ranod, said to be an old site but

282 REVIEW ARTICLES
I have not visited the location. The middle entrance, about 30 kms. to
the south, is a canal at Satingphra, which bas archaeological remains
and a batch of legends of is own. The southern entrance is at Laem Son
where the present Singora is located. Nearby is Khao Daeng (Red
Hill), an ancient site with archaeological remains.
But I do not think
any of these three places. was the old Singhanagara. They were more
likely sea forts and the capital should be looked for inland. I have been
told of two old sites which I have not visited.
One is called Ban Kao
(I think), in the province of Patalung on the inland side of Singora Lake;
and the other is Ratabhumi in the district of Haadyai in Singora Province.
This latter site is near the canal that runs due south and is said to join
up witlt the Perlis River in Malaya.
One might have been Singhanagara
and the other old Patalung, one of the Naksat Cities which had the year
of the Little Snake as its emblem.
But research and excavations are
necessary before any positive identifications can be made.
The nature of this paper seems to have changed all of a sudden.
The original aim was to locate a few ancient toponyms, but now it seems
we are trying to find some old sites to match placenames.
Thanks to
Stewart Wavell, Yarang in Patani Province might have been Lakawn
Suka, the Malay fairyland of Langasuka, and Lake Cheni in Pahang
might have been the site of Mueng Pahang of the Naksat Cities, and
thanks to me and my guessing, Ratabhumi might have been Singbanagara
and Ban Kao old Patalung of the Naksat Cities.
but there is more to come.
All this is conjectural
A site well in the hinterland of Central
Sumatra might have been an old seaport, and the capital of a kingdom
in Central Java might be twenty feet underground.
fun not found in any textbook, I am afraid,
All good conjectural

REVIEW ARTICLES
27. NEW EVIDENCE AND SECOND THOUGHTS
(b) Java and Sumatra
283
South Central Java
Central Java in the Sailendra or Buddhist Period, between about
700 and 900 A.D., had two contemporary dynasties: the Sailendrawamsa
and the Sanjayawamsa. According to Dr. de Casparis' theory, (section
10, pp. 305-312), the latter had their seat of government at Mataram.
Unfortunately de Casparis did not identify the locations of the two
capitals, so his theory is not accepted by Indonesian scholars. Still I
think there were two contemporary dynasties in Central Java. One was
in the south on the Prambanan and Kedu (Borobudur) Plains, and the
other in North Central Java with the main settlement probably on the
Dieng Plateau. But first let us locate the two capitals in South Central
Java. The names of the kings of this period are:
Kings of Mataram :
The Sailendras :
1. Rakai mataram sang ratu sanjaya
2. Sri maharaja rakai panang karan
3. Sri maharaja rakai panung galan
4. Sri maharaja rakai warak
5. Sri maharaja rakai garung
6. Sri maharaja rakai pikatan
7. Sri maharaja rakai kayu wani
8. Sri maharaja rakai watu bumalang
9. Sri maharaja rakai watu kura (Balitung).
1. Sanna, brother-in-law of Sanjaya, first in the Mataram list above.
2. King Visnu of Chaiya, son of Sanna above. Set up an inscription at
Chaiya dated 775.
3, Prince Panarokarana, son of Visou (No. 2). Set up an inscription at
Kalasan dated 778. He has been equated with Panang Karan,

284 REVIEW ARTICLES
second in the Mataram list. As he succeeded Sanjaya, I would
suggest that he married one of the latter's daughters, and when he
built a new capital for himself, one of Sanjaya's sons, Panang Galan
(No. 3 in the Mataram list), succeeded him. When his own father
Visnu died, Prince Panamkarana succeeded him in Java as King
Dbaranindra. He set up the Kelurak inscription dated 782.
4. Samaratunga or Samarottunga, son of Dbaranindra listed above.
His name appears in several inscriptions, as well as those of his
father, King Indra, and his daughter's, Princess Pramodavardbani.
He would appear to have had a long reign lasting fifty years.
5. Princess Pramodavardhani, daughter of Samaratunga. She married
Pikatan, the sixth name in the Mataram list, and became Queen Sri
Kahulunnan. Her name, both as Princess and Queen, is found on
several inscriptions, two of which came from Kerang Tenah and are
dated 824 and 842.
6. Kayu Wani, the seventh name in the Mataram list, was a son of
Queen Kahulunnan. He succeeded his father Pikatan about 856.
We will begin from Jogyakarta to look for these "two lost capitals."
Jogya, the present capital of Central Java, lies due south of Semarang,
the main port on the north coast. Two roads run from Sernarang to
Jogya: one through Magelang, and the other through Surakarta.
Prarnbanan lies 17 kilometers from Jogya on the road running northeast
to Surakarta. On that road you first reach Chandi Kalasan on the right
hand side of the road about 15 or 16 kilometers from Jogya. Kalasan was
built in 778 by Paramkarana-and here I would like to correct an error
I made in section 10, page 307, in which I stated the Archaeological
Service of the Republic of Indonesia had a field musem at Chandi
Kalasan, and the name of the district was I

REVIEW ARTICLES 285
and then, before reaching the River Opak, on the left side is Chandi
Bogem. Not very much remains above ground of either Bogisan or Bogem,
except for a few Buddha images. These images have rather elongated
bodies and can be given an early dating. Archarn Kbien Yimsiri
estimated that they were made between 650 and 700 A.D., or say 700
A.D.
Across the River Opak we first come to Prambanan ·on the left
side of the road. This is the greatest Hindu temple in Java. Behind
Prambanan are two small chandis, Lampung and Bubrah, and a little
farther on are two of the great Buddhist complexes, Sewu and Plaosan.
Khien Yimsiri thinks that Sewu and Prambanan were contemporay
structures and has dated them from 775-825, while he bas given
Plaosan a date of 825-850.
Plaosan is a twin complex-and here I must correct another error.
I thought one of the complexes was called Plaosan Lor (north complex),
while the other was Plaosan Kidal (south complex). Actually both
complexes comprise Plaosan Lor, and there is another, smaller, cbandi
nearby called Plaosan Kidal.
Plaosan Lor was begun by King Samaratunga, and his name
appears in some short inscriptions found there as Sri Maharaja, Wben
he died his daughter, Queen Sri Kahulunnan, and her husband, Pikatan,
carried on the work. Their names also appear in the same set of short
inscriptions from Plaosan Lor dated.about 850. Plaosan Kidal seems to
fall between Sewu and Plaosan Lor, say about 815-835. The images
are not as squat as those at Plaosan Lor and still retain the classic
expression of the Borobudur and Sewu images. There is also a feeling
of femininity about the Chandi, so I would suggest that Princess
Pramodavardhani founded this structure before her marriage to Pikatan,
when she went to live in Mataram.
Sewu might produced as many as four inscriptions. The first is the
Kelurak inscription dated 782, which recorded the setting up of a Manjusri

286 REVIEW ARTICLES
image by King Dharanindra (Prince Panamkarana of Kalasan, 778).
The second inscription came from Sewu itself. This is dated· 792 and
records the enlargement of Manjusrikrha. We do not know if the
enlargement was made by King Dharanindra himself or by his son
Samaratunga. Kelurak is the name of a place and not of a cbandi.
Prior to the discovery of the second Manjusri inscription, it was believed
that the Kelurak stele referred to Chandi Lampung located nearby.
Now, however, Boechari, the epigraphist, thinks it also came from
Sewu.
Two other inscriptions that might have come from Sewu are
those of Kerangtenah dated 824 and 842. The first inscription bears
the names of King Indra (Dharanindra), Samaratunga, and Princess
Pramodavardhani; while the name of Queen Sri Kahulunnan appears in
the second. I was informed that Sewu was located in a district called
Kerangtenah, but this name appears all over the country. The two
inscriptions of that name have long since been moved from their
provenance so no one really knows where they first came from. At any
rate, Dr. de Casparis equated some of the edifices mentioned in the
inscriptions as those of the Borobudur, Mendut, and Pawon group,
though the inscriptions did not come from that district. But some
Indonesian scholars think the inscriptions came from, and refer to, the
Prambanan, Sewu and Phwsan group. Certainly the dates fit better.
In 824 Princess Pramodavardhani was still unmarried and lived with her
father; then in 842, after her father's death, she returned from Mataram
and, as Queen Kahulunnan, set up her second inscription. An argument
like this, however, without new evidence is a futile exercise.
The Javanese call Prambanan Lara Djonggrang, while the Thai call
it Brahmanan (Brahma + Ananda, the Great Hindu Temple), in contrast
to Borobudur (Boroma + Buddho, the Great Buddhist Temple). There
is, by the way, an interesting legend concerning Lara (Rara) Djonggrang,
the Slender Maiden. She was King Ratubaka's daughter, who was
turned into stone by the big, bad giant, Bandung Bandowoso. The

REVIEW ARTICLES 287
princess is now the statue Dewi Durga in the Prambanan complex, and
is, to this day, an object of worship. Her father's palace was on the
Ratubaka Plateau. If this story is based on fact, it can be said with
certainty that the legendary King Ratubaka was the Sailendra King
Dharanindra or his son Samaratunga.
There has been great argument as to when Prambanan was founded.
There is, however, general agreement today that it was built in the 9th
century. This theory was submitted by de Casparis, and Purbatjaraka,
from his researches into the old texts of the Ramayana, agrees with it.
More than fifty inscriptions written in red, white, and black paint have
been found at the chandi. This writing is in the style of Plaosan (circa
850) and some of the inscriptions have the word "pika tan", which may
or may not refer to the king of that name. Still it seems certain from
the evidence that the edifice was already in existence by the first half of
the 9th century. Khien Yimsiri gives a dating of 775-825 for both
Prambanan and Sewu. The two Manjusri inscriptions (Sewu) are dated
782 and 792 respectively, and I believe Prambanan was begun before
Sewu. Located by the river, Prambanan has a more outstanding site
than Sewu and Plaosan, which are located among paddy fields. The
fact that Prambanan has the priority site would indicate it was started
before Sewu. At any rate, Khien Yimsiri's dating, based on the art
expression, agrees with both de Casparis' epigraphic evidence and
Purbatjaraka's literary evidence.
Complexes like Prambanan, Sewu and Plaosan were built by kings,
although smaller cbandis may have_ been founded by members of
the royal family or by ministers of the king. To service the huge
complexes, a great on-the-spot community would be required. In short,
what the archaeological service today calls the Prambanan District
was the capital of the Sailendras. Other evidence is also available to
support this theory.
Starting again from the Opak River, there is, on the right side of
the road, a range of hills that slope down to the river and run almost
parallel to the road with a few small chandis, such as Sadjwan, in the
foregroud. These Sl!lall buildin~s, however, need not concern us.

288 REVIEW ARTICLES
The hill is the Ratubaka Plateau, also called Sorogedun. A few
inscriptions have been found on this range, one of which recorded the
founding of a Sihalarama (Ceylonese monastery) by Samaratunga in 794;
and another the founding of a linga by Pikatan dated 856. Opposite
Prambanan, and close to the river, are ruins which, according to the
legend of Lara Djonggrang, were the palace of King Ratubaka. While
legends do not make very good historical evidence they can sometimes
throw light on a dark spot, as we have seen in the case of the Sejarah
Melayu. There is no agreement as to whether the ruins are those of a
chandi or a royal palace. As the ground plan bas no similarity to those
of Prambanan, Sewu and Plaosan, I think it is safe to follow the legend
of the Slender Maiden. It would seem that the Sailendras, true to their
title as Lords of the Mountains, built their homes on the hills and
relegated the abodes of their gods to the plain.
From the epigraphic evidence already cited, it would seem that
Prince Panamkarana (Panang Karan) succeeded Sanjaya at Mataram,
but moved his capital to a new site on the Opak River-one that had
already been a community (Bogem and Bogisan). Panamkarana, who
became King Dharanindra when his father died, built Chandi Kalasan
in 778 and began Prambanan and Sewu. When he died, his son,
Samaratunga, started Plaosan Lor which was completed by his daughter
Queen Kahulunnan and her husband, Pikatan, who set up some short
inscriptions dated 850. In 856 Pikatan turned over the kingdom to'his
son, Kayu Wani, and abdicated. I do not know whether Kayu Wani
(seventh on the Mataram list) moved to Prambanan or continued to live
at Mataram, because two more names follow his. Perhaps Prambanan
was the capital and Mataram the seat of the Uparaja. We now look
for the location of Sanjaya's Mataram and again start from Jogyakarta.
There were three Matarams in the history of Java. One was
Sanjaya's in the 8th century, another in East Java, and the third in Jogya
itself. An inscription from the Demangan district of Jogya is now kept
in the Prambanan Field Museum. I was told it is dated in the 9th or
lOth century but I have no further information, and anyway I do not
think Jogya was the Mataram of Sanjaya. It is too far from Borobudur

HEVJEW ARTICLES 289
and too close to Prambanan, and there would be problems in growing
sufficient food to feed two capitals located in the same plain.
Borobudur in the Kedu Plain lies 42 kilometers on the road running
northwest from Jogya to Magelan; 29 kilometers from Jogya on the
same road is a thriving village called Mutilan, which is situated on a
river whose name I have forgotten. The water is black with lava and
huge boulders fill the riverbed. Ten kilometers further on we come to
a junction of the Rivers Elo and Progo. On the Elo is Mendut, and
across the river is a small cbandi called Banon, while Pawon lies asross
the Progo. Borobudur is almost two kilometers further down tbe road.
The distance from Mendut to Borobudur is three kilometers, and the three
chandis lie in a straight line-which might signify something, although
nobody quite knows what. Stones for the building of Borobudur were
transported down the Elo and Progo rivers and landed at the junction
where they were cut into rough shape before being transferred to the
building site.
A great deal bas been written over the years about Borobudur
and it now seems possible that everybody's theory could become obsolete
all of a sudden. A new metal inscripton has been found in the course
of the present restoraton. Apparently it came from the foundation
level, and, when edited, could give a truer htstory of this chandi than
what had been conjectured. Let us hope it is not a Buddhist sermon
or some useful subject like a list of medicinal herbs, but contains some
information of real historical importance.
I passed Mutilan several times but did not have a chance to stop
and investigate. What I say now is based on information obtained
from talks and discussions, particularly with Boecbari, the epigraphist.
Unfortunately I bad to leave Java before I could have more talks with
him as we had arranged, and I did not take precise notes.
Sanjaya's Changal Charter, dated 732, was set up near tbe
present Mutilan. This district seems to fulfil the conditions for the
location of Mataram, and I suggested as much to Boecbari. He said
that there was evidence, either epigraphic or figure art (I am not sure

290 HEVIEW AHTICLES
which now), that was dug up from a depth of ten feet at a place called
Medari. In response to my question as to where, then, was Mataram
located, he said twenty feet underground!
Archaeologists say there is no evidence, but then what is "evidence"?
Is logic evidence? Boecbari differentiates between private structures,
such as Kalasan, and dynastic edifices like Prambanan and Borobudur.
We then separate the chandis into "functional chandis", such as
Prambanan and Sewu, which serve the day-to-day needs of a community-­
tl1e larger the chandi the bigger the community--and "pilgrimage
chandis" like Borobudur to which people go on festivals, and which
require only a small community for its upkeep in the "off season". On
this basis Prambanan was the capital of the Sailendras, and Mataram,
13 kilometers from Borobudur, lies buried under ground where Medari
now stands.
It seems necessary to locate Sanjaya's Mataram in order to record
history properly, but excavating the site, buried under tons and tons of
boulders and Java, gravel and sand, would be a far more formidable
enterprise than digging up Troy--and more expensive as well. At any
rate, it is submitted in this paper that tbe capital of the Sailendras in
Java was at Prambanan; and Medari now occupies the site of Sanjaya's
seventh century Mataram which was destroyed by volcanic eruptions.
North Central Java
When I was in Java, the Archaeological Service was kind enough
to make arrangements for me to spend four nights each at Borobudur
and Prambanan, and took me on a one day trip to the Dieng Plateau in
North Central Java. The time, of course, was too short for anything but
the most superficial impressions, but the trip was better than nothing.
The Dieng Plateau bas produced some edifices \which pre-date
those of South Central Java, and the theory was that it was an Indian
civilization that preceded the Buddhist Sailendras. A few·small Buddha
beads have been collected and are kept in the Museum storehouse on the
plateau, along with an inscription which, I was told, is 9th or lOth
century. Essentially, however, Dieng w~s a Hindu (Shaivite) civilization,

REVIEW ARTICLES 291
and elaborate explanations have to be made as to bow and why the
rulers changed from one faith to the other, and even back again.
My impression--and a strong impression it was-is that Dieng had
nothing to do with the Sailendras in South Central Java. It had affinities
with East Java. It was a contemporary but separate civilization to that
of the Sailendras, one that started before and ended after the
disintigration of the Sailendras early in the lOth century.
Several new inscriptions have been found on the coastal region of
North Central Java, of which the most important came from the village
of Sodjomerto. It is in Old Malay and Boechari, who edited the text,
gives it a 7th century dating (Preliminary Report on the Discovery of an
Old Malay Inscription at Sodjomerto, Jakarta, 1966}. Two other
inscriptions were found to the south and north of Sodjomerto respectively,
the latter being found only two kilometers from the. coast. Both are
older than the Sodjomerto stele.
Old Malay inscriptions have been found in South Sumatra, and in
several districts in Java. These range in date from the 7th to the end
of the lOth century-the Manjusri inscription from Sewu is dated 792.
Old Malay would appear to have been the lingua franca of that
time, or what the Chinese call Kun-lun, which was used. all over the
Archipelago. No inscription in that language has been found on the
Peninsula, but it was no doubt used there too, as well as on the mainland.
I now wonder whether this language was only used by Malays, or by
Sumatrans, Javanese, and all sorts of other ethnic groups too.
The Sodjomerto inscription mentions a Dapunta Selendra and gives
the names of his father, mother, and wife. He was a Shaivite. I will
quote the text, as translated by Boechari (lines 3-10) ..
"Homage to Civ'a Bhatara Paramecvara and all the gods I honour.
Hiyang-mik is the ..... of the Honorable Dapunta Selendra.
Santanu is the name of his father. Bbadravati is the name of his
mother. Sampula is the name of the wife of the Honorable
, Selendra."

292 HEVIEW ARTICLES
According to Boechari, the name "Selendra" is undoubtedly the
Indonesian form of Sailendra, and Dapunta Selendra was the origin of the
Sailendrawamsa (one of his descendants changing his religion to Buddhism).
I do not accept this theory because to do so would mean leaving
Visnu of Chaiya, who was the head of the Sailendra family, out of the
story. It also leaves out Balaputra of the North Indian inscriptions,
Culamani, Mara Vijayottunga and Sangrama Vijayottunga of the South
Indian inscriptions, and Samara Vijayottunga of the Ceylonese
inscriptions. It would, at the same time, change the international
character of the Sailendra story into a purely Javanese one. In spite of
this, however, Boechari's theory is worth further consideration from
students interested in this particular game.
Central Sumatra
Maura Takus on the Kampar River in Central Sumatra, almost on
the equator, was a Buddhist site. A stupa still remains, and Boechari
thinks it may cover an older one. In 1286 an Amogbapasa image was
sent from East Java to Rambahan in the district of Muara Takus for the
people of Malayu to adore. The image has since been moved, but the
inscribed base is still in situ. Moens equated !-Ching's Mo-lo-yu of the
7th century with Murara Takus. (Sri Vijaya, Java en Kataha, JMBRAS,
1940). He cited Chinese astronomical evidence, and, at the same time,
supplied some literary evidence.
"Ruins have been found near the Kampar River (according
to Yzerman) at Muara Takus, Bangkinang, and Durian Tinggi.
The largest are at M uara Takus. Westenenk reports: •No walls
have been found on the western river shore, as Yzerman reported,
but there are three such walls in existence, mostly of brick, and the
outermost extends to Batoobasoerat (5 miles) and enriches nearly
the whole rich plain for several hundred meters upstream of the
ruin, and continues from there to the Kampar river.' Was this the
capital of Sri Vijaya ? Muara Takus is on the 0' 20' northern
latitude, very close to the equator, and tallies well with other

REVIEW ARTICLES 293
information. According to Bosch, these ruins date from the 12th
century. Krom states, however, that;. 'beneath the outer masonry
(consisting of brick in good condition) a very well preserved
understructure exists; an old structure has been enlarged and
reconditioned, and a second layer built around the old' (this is a
known method in the East Indies). Bosch also cites a Chinese
report that a brick wall of many "li" encircled the city, but this
doubtless refers to San-fo-tsi, which was in an entirely different
locale from Sri Vijaya ...
"Yzerman mentions a remarkable local legend regarding
Muara Takus. He relates that "under the rule of the last prince
of Raja Bichau, the state was so large that a cat walking from one
end of it to the other would have needed three months." This is an
illustration usually used by Malays to indicate a large city, but the
name "Raja Bichau" sounds much like a bastardized "Raja (Sri)
Vijaya !" It was worthwhile, therefore, to go through the old
literature on this subject in order to discover possible traces of
this famous name. The attempt proved successful. Solomon
Muller in his Reports of Sumatra twice mentions the name sought.
He recalls that the bead Penghulu (headman) of the IV Kota's, a
certain "Datu Siepeijaja," lived in Chacbaran of Kota Bahru
(0' 5' northern latitude) on the Batang May (read Manat,
.prounounced Mahi), which was the most prominent place of this
country. Forty years later Rajvan Boest refers to this man as
"Dato Sivijaya." This man was the chief of the adat who was
authorized to grant marriage licenses, issue permits for festivities
to be held, the reclamation of land, etc ...
"The existence of extensive ruins in Muara Takus (coupled
with the name "Raja Bichau," the legendary last ruler of Muara
Takus), makes it appear very likely that the capital of Sri Vijaya
was situated near the junction of the Kampar Kanan and Batang
Mahat Rivers, in the heart of Central Sumatra, within the
immediate surroundings of Muara Takus (having been transferred
from the vicinity of Kelantan on the east coast of Malaya, this
after the conquest of the long since known land of Malayu.)"
I followed Moens and located Mo-lo-yu and Malayu at Muara
Takus. But some Indonesian scholars who have been to the site say that
Muara Takus is so far inland that it could never have been a port.
Although other Indonesian scholars disagree, I have to accept it because

294 REVIEW ART!C.LES
I have never been to Sumatra. However, in this paper, pending a
better site could be agreed upon, I still followed Moens and must leave
this problem to the Indonesians to argue among themselves.
South Sumatra
'
The "Sri Vijaya-Sailendra argument" is no more. Or more specifically,
Professor Coedes' Sri Vijaya Empire is now off the menu. Palembang
was not Sri Vijaya. Palembang was Palambanpura, (Panuvasvara
Pillar Inscription from Ceylon, 893). Coedes' theory was based on the
internal evidence of four inscriptions from South Sumatra dated between
683 and 686. After his retiJJement, another inscription and some fragments
from Palembang were edited by de Casparis, and after his death, still
another was edited by Boechari.
Coedes first introduced his Sri Vijaya Empire in 1918, (LeRoyaume
de Crivijaya, BEFEO), and last wrote on the subject in 1964 (A Possible
Interpretation of the Inscription of Kedukan Bukit, OxJord). The full
list of the South Sumatran inscriptions now reads :
Inscription
1. Kedukan Buket
2. Talang Tuwo
3. Telaga Batu
4. Fragments
5. Karang Brahi
6. Kota Kapur
7. Pal as Pasemah
Date
682/3
684
686
Provenance
Palembang
Palembang
Palembang
Palembang
Jambi
Bangka Island
South Lampung
Editor
Coedes
Coedes
de Casparis
de Casparis
Coedes
Coedes
Boechari
All the inscriptions, with the exception of the one from Talang
Tuwo (Palembang) which recorded the setting up of a park called Sri
Ksetra, contain "imprecations".
Of the people who disagreed with Coedes' theory that Palembang
was the capital of Sri Vijaya, Moens, Soekmono and Boecbari thought
that Palembang was conquered· by Sri Vijaya, and the king set up
imprecations in conquered territory.
The new inscription from Palas Pasemah (South Lampung) was
found in southernmost Sumatra. It is of the same age as the other

REVIEW ARTICLES 295
inscriptions, and the district was called Bhumi Java.
appears in the Kota Kapur stele (Bangka).
This name also
Coedes interpreted the text of this inscription that the king of Sri
Vijaya prepared an expedition from that island to attack Java (Bbumi
Java), while Boechari reinterpreted the text that the king first went from
Palembang to South Lampung (Bhumi Java), where he set up an
inscription. Upon his return to Bangka and Jambi be set up other
inscriptions. The whole expedition to conquer South Sumatra took
three or four years.
In the Ceylonese Panuvasnuvara Inscription dated 893, Palambanpura
was called Suvanvaraya (the Harbor of Gold). Five hundred years
later the Chinese called Po-lio-pang (Palembang) Ku-Kang or Kieou­
Kieng or Chin-Chiang (the Old Harbor). Five hundred years after that,
in our day, Palembang is an inland city located some seventy miles from
the coast up the winding Musi River. The transition from a harbor to
an inland state in a thousand years seems a bit fast, but there it is.
I.~
In 1954, the Archaeological Service of the Republic of Indonesia
carried 6ut a geomorphological survey of the west coast of South
Sumatra, both by land and by air. Soekmono, who was then head of the
Service, stated that Palembang was once located on the tip of a
promontory, and Jambi, today equally as far inland as Palembang, was
located at the bottom of a deep gulf, (Geomorphology and the r.ocation
ofCriwijaya, Indonesian Journal of Cultural Studies, 1963). Unfortunately
the survey did not cover Muara Takus and the equatorial regions, and
the paper did not explain how the land encroached on the sea at such a
fast pace that it could cover 70 kilometers in a thousand years. Anyone
interested in the subject of topographical cluinges in the sea coasts of
Southeast Asia should read a few geological reports. I have read two:
Geological and Geographical Evidence for Changes in Sea Level During
Ancient History and Late Pre-History, by. J. B. Serivenor, with an
appendix, "Evidence for Recent Emergence of the Land in East Pahang"
by F. H. Fitch, JMBRAS, 1949, and Geologic Reconnai5ance of the
Mineral Deposits of Thailand, Bangkok, 1951.

296 REVIE\V ARTICLES
The first paper explains bow offshore sandbars were formed by the
action of waves and were built up until swept by breakers to the
landward side to become attached to the land, when new bars were
formed. The beaches of Trengganu were raised at the first stage to about
20 feet; at the second stage another ten feet or so; and at the third or
present stage another four or five feet above sea level, giving a total of
35 feet or so. New beaches are forming ... new off shore bars are
forming .... and so on.
The second paper, Geologic Reconnaisance, explains, and cites
examples, that the Peninsula had been tilted slightly to the northwest,
with beaches on the east coast at Nakorn Sri Thammaraj, Singora, and
Patani. Sites originally close to the sea have now become inland sites
due to emergence of the land, while the west coast shows submergence.
The western shoreline is quite irregular, indented with estuaries and
fringed with islands. The mountains extend down to the sea in many
places; beaches are rare and small, but mangrove swamps are numerous.
Beads, which one would expect to find inland, have been picked up on
the shore of Pangnga Province. I do not know whether all this tilting
and silting of the Peninsula by geologists bas anything to do with the '
geomorphology of South Sumatra or not. If it does, it might help to
explain the phenomenon of Palembang and Jambi, as well as Muara
Takus in Central Sumatra, being located so far from the sea today.
The Ceylonese Panuvasvara Pillar Inscription mentions a princess
of Pala.,banpura named Raden Sangha, who became the consort of a
Crown Prince of Ceylon. He later succeeded to the throne. I could
never decide what part Palembang played in the overall Sri Vijaya story,
-but now-with this new evidence-we can say that Palembang was a full
fledged member of the aDJalgamation of city states of Sri Vijaya. It was
a capital that controlled South Sumatra, and included Jambi, Bangka
Island, and South Lampung in its territory. Palembang came into the
story right at the beginning and, with wide gaps, was still there after
Sri Vijaya bad disintegrated.
One more problem remains-a problem that runs through the
whole story, and one which no. one except Moens appears to have tried
to solve,

REVIEW ARTICLES 297
28. THE CHINESE WORD-GAME
The year 1974 seems to have been a lively one in the historiography
of Sri Vijaya. By the middle of the year the first two parts of this
paper had been published, and after that, when I went to Java, a paper
on the same subject was presented to the International History Congress
held at Jogyakarta. The scholars present were extremely kind and they
did not throw me out of the window. By the end of the year one Dr.
Harun er Rashid, a scholar who was not present at the Jogya congress,
accepted in writing that Cbaiya in South Siam was Sri Vijaya. His paper
is "Ancient Association between Bengal and Thailand", published in the
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Vol. XIX, No. 3, December
1974.
Meanwhile in the same year the University of Pennsylvania Museum,
under Dr. Bennet Bronson, excavated sites in South and Central Sumatra in
cooperation with the Archaeological Service of the Republic of Indonesia.
I was told by Americans in Bangkok and Indonesians in Java that the
results were most disappointing. In fact tbe expeditions were complete
failures. I have not seen any of the reports, which is a pity because I
myself have never been to any part of Sumatra, so what I write now
could contain a greater percentage of nonsense than it normally would.
A pity, I repeat, because I would like to end this paper on a serious note.
However Bronson allowed Professor O.W. Wolters to read a
preliminary report on the Palembang excavations in South Sumatra, and
Wolters wrote a paper that is under present discussion. Wolters
mentions two short accounts, "A Lost Kingdom Mislaid: A Short Report
on the Search for Sri Vijaya" by Bronson, and "Archaeology in Sumatra
1974" by Jan Wisseman; and he calls Bronson's unpublished report
"Archaeological Research in Sumatra 1974". As tbis title is a little
misleading I should explain that it refers only to the, first or South
Sumatra excavation, and not to the Central Sumatra dig carried out
later in the same year (1974). Wolter's own paper is titled "Landfall
on the Palembang Coast in Medieval Times," published in Indonesia, a
series produced by Cornell (No. 20, October 1975.) My remarks that
follow are based on the meagre material that Wolters used from
Bronson's preliminary report.

298 REVIEW ARTICLES
Bronson excavated two sites in South Sumatra, namely Penyaringan
Air Bersih and Geding Suro. I wonder why he never dug Kedukan
Bukit, Talang Tuwo and Talaga Batu where 7th century inscriptions
were set up, because normally inscriptions would surely be put up in the
built-up areas of their time. Or why not dig around the large stone
Buddha image and small stupas on the Bukit Seguntang? Or perhaps
be did and Wolters failed to mention it. I ask this question because I
'
have known archaeologists to have dug holes in the wrong places and
produced same very nice results. There was an English archaeologist
who went digging' for the capital of Chih-tu at Satingphra in Singora
province. She found a lovely brick wall so I didn't have the heart to tell .
her that she was digging at the wrong site. I wasn't sure whether she
would cry or laugh. Then a French archaeologist went to dig for the
old city of U-Thong in the Central Plain. As be had a reputation, some
students from the Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, were
sent to observe his methods of excavating. The students could not speak
French nor could the Frenchman speak Thai, so there was no
communication between them. So the students just stood around
observing from a distance. Then some yokels came and observed too.
They could not speak French either, so they asked the students, "What
is Monsieur !'archaeologist digging for?" The students told them, "He
is digging for the lost city of U-Thong." The yokels pondered for a
while, chewing bard on their straws, and then asked, "Then why is the
mongsoo digging in that old river bed?" Meanwhile the archaeologist
collected his considerable booty and when be wrote his report, instead of
saying what I would have said, "There has been a lot of rain here lately,
hasn't there?" be thought U-Thong was destroyed by flood. I cannot
vouch for the truth of this story, nor for the report which I haven't seen,
but such is what one of the students who were sent to observe the
excavations told me. As for Thai archaeologists, they never seen to know
where to dig until thieves have taken most of loot. Yarang in Patani
province is a case in point. This site could turn out to be Langasuka,
the land of the Malay fairies. But who cares, ask the archaeologists.
Meanwhile, to return to Bronson, the Air Bersib site produced
sherds of the 14th centuries, and a few pieces that might have been 13th

REVIEW ARTICLES 299
and perhaps even 12th centuries, but "the entire area does not contain
enough pre-14th century artifacts to make one small village." Geding
Suro was later than Air Bersih-16tb-17th centuries, or say between about
1500 to 1650-1700 A.D. The two sites had no continuity with one
another or were in any way connected. Air Bersih was a Chinese
settlement-I do not know whether this interpretation was made by Bronson
or Wolters, but it seems to fit the facts as we have them at present-while
the archaeological remains of Geding Suro have dose affinities to the late
and post-Majapahit style of East Java. This seems also to fit the facts,
only unfortunately Wolters does not tell us whether the structures were
Buddhist or Hindu. Then some four hundred votive stupas of unbaked
clay were found near a bouse called Sarang Waty on the outskirts of Air
Bersih. They have been given a dating of anything between the 8th and
14th centuries, a span far too long to be of practical value. Unbaked
votive stupas have been found on the Peninsula, I think from above
Chaiya to the border and perhaps even beyond; at Boroburdur in South
Central Java and in Bali; and now in South Sumatra. The Boroburdur
stupas can be dated with certainty as being 8th and 9th centuries, and
some of the South Siam votives can probably be dated with the same
certainty. A comparison of these finds with those from South Sumatra
is indicated for a better dating. The main thing is that these votives
were Buddhist and it should be possible to find some other evidence of a
Buddhist period in South Sumatra. Again unfortunately Wolters does
not give a dating for the srnaU Buddhist Stupas on Bukit Seguntang,
though be says, "The domestic debris at Bukit Seguntang, however, is
very sparse and is attributed to the period of Air Bersih. But this debris
does not prove that the Buddhist stu pas were built at the time of the
Chinese settlement of Air Bersih." I will flog this dead horse in
midstream further. While images and inscriptions can be moved from
place to place, stupas cannot; and if in the course of centuries, repairs
and alterations are made, something of the original structures usually
remains into which archaeologists can. dig their teeth.
Bronson's interpretation is that. there was no settlement in the
Palembang area before Air Bersih in the 14th century, and the large
Buddha image and 7th century inscriptions were moved from somewhere

300 UEVJEW AHTICLES
else and placed in the Palembang area. If so, why not put the pieces in
the same place and call it a "Private Museum?" And where were they
moved from ? From the Palambanpura of the 9th century Ceylonese
inscription? So Bronson's interpretation is quite impossible, and I will
quote a few sentences from Wolters paper {page 43). He bas a very good
point.
"The archaeologists in 1974 were so confident that there
was no settlement in the neighbourhood of modern Palembang
before the fourteenth century that they felt compelled to suggest
that the inscriptions were imported from outside the region much
later in time. They believed so in spite of the fact that the statuary
as well as the inscriptions found on the (Bukit Seguntang) peninsula
are almost exclusively associated with the Mahayana and belong to
a time span approximate!y from the seventh to the tenth century.
If these items were brought to Palembang by a latter-day collector
of antiquities, the collector was not interested in a random
assortment of imports. And, if Geding Suro (c. 1500-C. 1700)
was the earliest settlement in the region, the presumption is that
the collector of Buddhist remains was Moslem-"
I have taken the liberty of adding a name in brackets to the above.
According to Soekmono in his •Geomorphology and the Location of
Criwijaya', mentioned in the previous section, in the 7th century
Palembang was located at the very tip of a promontory, which
promontory Wolters calls the Bukit Seguntang peninsula. It would seem
that Wolters and I are agreed that Bronson dug his holes in tbe wrong
place. Wolters' paper under discussion is to suggest that excavations
should be carried out south of the Musi river. The arguments are long,
running to nearly sixty pages and include thirteen old maps. I will be
much shorter.
Three Chinese toponyms are discussed, and four itineraries are
mentioned, of which two are discussed at length. The three toponyins
are contained in a sentence from Ma Huan (15th c.)
"Old Haven (Old Kang) is exactly the same country as that
formerly called San-fo-chi, (and) the foreigners call it by the name
P' o-lin-pang."

REVIEW ARTICLES 301
1. San-fo-ch'i: Wolters writes, "The original identity of San-focb'i
and Srivijaya need not be disputed." Indeed the identity ofSan-foch'i
should, in fact must, be disputed otherwise the history of Sri Vijaya
cannot be writ ten and made convincing. In 671 I-Ching set sail for a
place be called Chele-foche (as the French spell the name, and from now
on till further notice I will use this spelling). Chele-foche is thought to
have been Sri Vijaya, and in such case San-fo-ch'i could not have been
Sri Vijaya as well. I am not aware of anybody except Moens discussing
this point. He located Chele-foche on the Peninsula and San-fo-ch'i in
Sumatra. I myself located Chele-focbe at Chaiya where an inscription
bearing the name Sri Vijaya has been found; and I accepted that San-foch'i
was also Sri Vijaya, but in the context of a country rather than a
city or town. The name Sri Vijaya appears four times in non-Chinese
sources.
(a) 7th Century: in some inscriptions from South Sumatra. The
name had been equated with Palembang, but as we now know from a
9th century inscription from Ceylon that Palembang was called
Palambanpura, Sri Vijaya in the same period must have been located
elsewhere.
(b) 8th Century: in an inscription from Chaiya dated 775 A.D.
(c) 11th Century: South India inscription. The Chola army first
raided Kedah and then went on to take Sri Vijaya. Both places, then,
must have been on the Peninsula.
(d) Nepalese source: The name appears as Sri Vijayapure-
Suvarnnapure 'Lokanatha. This was a double-barrelled name for
Chaiya.
These four mentions of Sri Vijaya match the geographical evidence
of !-Ching's Chele-foche and refer to Cbaiya, not Palembang. I will
return to San-fo-ch'i later.
2. P'o-lin-pang was Palembang or the Palambanpura of the 9th
century Ceylonese inscription. The city was also called Suvanvaraya or
the Harbour of Gold.
3. Old Kang: translated ~s Old Harbour, that is, after the 9th
century Harbour of Gold of Palambanpura had become dilapidated and

302 REVIEW ARTICLES
a new harbour come into being, the 15th century Chinese called the
Harbour of Gold by the name Old Harbour. Such is the old translation
of Old Kang. Wolters now proposes to translate the toponym as Old
Channel. Old channel to what ? To Palam banpura the Harbour of Gold?
And surely Old Channel ca:nnot possibly be the name of a country. Let
us have that short sentence from Ma Huan again, with Wolters' new
translation.
"Old Channel (Old Kang) is exactly the sa me country as that
fromerly called San-fo-ch'i (Sri Vijaya), and the foreigners call it
by the name Po-lin-pang (Palembang.)"
The reason for this new translation is because Wolters wants to
find a new capital (read Old Capital, please) of Sri Vijaya south of the
Musi river. The whole exercise is tedious and laboured because at the
time be wrote be had not seen the 9th century Ceylonese inscription with
the name Palambanpura; so for lack of energy and space I will for the
present dispense with discussion of the Chinese itineraries that Wolters
used as the basis for his argument. But I will quote a sentence from his
paper, a sentence from one of the early paragraphs.
"The results of the 1974 expedition are probably the most
fruitful contribution to the early Palembang history since Coedes
in 1918 restored the meaning of the term Srivijaya." (page 2)
This sentence is ambiguous because Bronson's results seem rather
negative compared to the other evidence already in hand; and Wolters
himself does not accept that the 7th century inscriptions were moved to
Palembang from somewhere else, especially when the period was Moslem.
I started this paper by remarking that to write any history of Southeast
Asia without first identifying the more important toponyms with some
degree of certainty is an exercise in futility. Coedes' Sri Vijaya Empire
is the classic example of' this futility. And now we seem to have a new
frustration on our bands. But this is not to say that Palembang did not
have a history of its own. In fact I will give a pattern of that history

now.
HEVJEW ARTICLES 303
(A history of Palembang, or Palambanpura as I will now call the
place, is not the same as a history of Sri Vijaya as Coedes understood the
term, but it is a part thereof.)
But to write any semblance of history of
South Sumatra without knowing where its capital was located makes me
feel rather like a double-Dutchman writing a history of Central Java in
the 8th and 9th centuries without knowing where Sanjaya's Mataram
and the capital of the Sailendras were. However this is not a history
but only a pattern which perhaps, if accepted, can be filled up with more
details and given more exact dating.
Phase 1-7th Century: From the internal evidence of the South
Sumatra inscriptions and 1-Cbing's external evidence, the king of Sri
Vijaya from the Malay Peninsula conquered South Sumatra. This brought
the Malacca Straits under one control, and this control lasted six
centuries.
Phase !1-9th Century: Palambanpura developed, became prosperous
and was called the Harbour of Gold. The city bad royalty and very
likely the princes were related to those of the other Kalinga countries, who
were Saileadras ruling in the Peninsula and Central Java. A Princess of
Palarnbanpura, Sangha Raden by name, became Crown Princess of Ceylon
and, probably, subsequently queen of the island. She was a Buddhist as
were her people and the peoples of the other Kalinga lands. This we
know from the internal evidence of the unbaked votive stupas at Sarang
Waty, and from those found at Boroburdur and several other districts in
South Siam.
Phase III -Air Bersih:
In about 1260 Cbandrabanu was killed on
the field in Ceylon, and Sri Vijaya lost control of the Malacca Straits.
Palarnbanpura went into a decline from attacks from East Javawhich could
not be defended for lack of aid from the Peninsula and Central Sumatra.
Chinese pirates came into their own.
(Wolters mentions two pirates of
the period by name, viz. Ch'en Tsu-i and Liang Tao-ming, and I wouldn't
be in the least surprised if the founder of Malacca was also a Chinese

304 REVIEW ARTICLES
pirate from South Sumatra.) The pirates had their lair at Air Bersih,
and it is not in the nature of pirates to put up religious monuments or
move sacred images and inscriptions from one place to another.
More
likely they would have sold them to American tourists for their private
museums, if such a species existed in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Phase IV-Geding Sura: Cheng-Ho put down the. pirates, and a new
community of indigenous people carne into being at Geding Suro.
According to Bronson, "The people who moved into Geding Suro may
not have been exactly the same people, or had the same socio-economic
setup, as the people who moved out of Air Bersih a few years earlier."
According to Wolters, the Indonesians of Geding Suro were Moslems,
and they would not have moved any sacred Buddha images from place
to place. More likely they would have knocked the heads off the images
and sold those heads to American tourists for their private museums, if
such a species existed in the 16th and 17th centuries.
I will now quote a few more sentences from the last paragraph of
Wolter's paper.
"In the present study I have been dealing with an environment
of mud, and yet I have been unable to address myself satisfactorily
to the matter that bas come to preoccupy me. How did these
people think about themselves in an environment where no center
could ever expect to be permanently in the right place except the
peninsula on which Bukit Seguntang stood? This question rather
than the location of Srivijaya now seems to me to represent the
real mystery of the gulf of Palembang. Perhaps my question is an
unreal one. I hope, however, that a new level of enquiry will evolve
with its focus on understanding the nature of early Malay
civilisation. This topic is surely more worthwhile than speculation
about where each group of them lived or measurements of their
degree of participation in forign trade."
I have said that the sentence quoted above from page 2 of Wolters'
paper was ambiguous. It would seem that Wolters, realising that the
capital of Sri Vijaya can no longer be located at Palembang, bas now
hedged his bets into three ways : ·

REVJEW ARTICLES 305
1. Perhaps there was "another Palembang" south of th~e Musi
river. It bears repeating that, according to Soekmono's geomorphological
paper, Palembang in the 7th century was on the tip of a promontory
and the land below that was stilL under water. In any case, from what
I have seen, if there had been another Palembang it could be found more
easily from air photographs than conjecturing about it.
2. In case another Palembang cannot be found, Wolters seems to
veer from straight history to a research on the changing coastline of
Southeast Sumatra. Four Chinese itinararies are mentioned of which two
are discussed, namely,
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
7th century 1-Ching,
8th century Embassy from Pyu in upland Burma,
11th century Embassy from South India, and
15th century Ma Huan.
The 7th and 15th century itineraries give no trouble. The evidence
is first hand by writers who visited the locations. But the 8th and lltb
century itineraries are something else. The information was supplied to
the Chinese by foreign embassies, probably through interpreters. It is
difficult to understand why embassies goJng to China from Burma and
South India should use the Sunda and not the Malacca Straits. Indeed
if Pyu was really in upper Burma one would have expected the journey
to have been made by land and not by sea at all. But this is immaterial.
The main point is that if the two embassies went through the Malacca
Straits, then the Chinese toponyms that Wolters located in South Sumatra
could all be wrong. On the other hand, if the trips were really through
the Sunda Straits, landmarks in the Peninsula and North Sumatra would
-have been sighted and probably mentioned. So only some of the
toponyms might have been mislocated. The whole exercise smacks of
playing the Chinese word-game to me~ And iri any case, the muddy
coasts of South Sumatra is hardly a worthwhile research subject for a
historian of Wolters' calibre.
3. Again, if another Palembang cannot be found, Wolters switches
fr9rn history to "the nature of early Malay civilization," If the people

306 REVIEW ARTICLES
of South Sumatra were really Malays and not Sumatrans, or of the
Javaka race, or Chinese pirates, then research on their early civilization,
or the equivalent, can probably be carried out more comfortably in some
backward community of Malays in Malaysia. Again, the subject,
compared to straight history, is hardly a worthwhile one for a historian
of Wolters• calibre.
But I hope I am wrong. I hope Wolters is not really giving up
history because the History of Sri Vijaya seems to have arrived at a
most interesting stage, what with about half a dozen ".pew inscriptions"
from Central Java and three or four from Ceylon that have been recently
published or are about to be published, including one from Boroburdur.
These pieces will have to be properly analysed and set into the structure
of the Sri Vijaya Story. And some of Paranavitana's sources of
interlinear writing will have to be used as plaster to cement the whole
story together. Ceylonese epigraphists accept these sources of
Paranavitana but second rate historians find the whole exercise too
difficult to handle, so they say, though not necessarily think, that
Paranavitana invented the whole thing out of thin air. But a historian
of real calibre, even an orthodox but a meticulous one, should have no
difficulty in picking out what should be retained and what discarded.
The whole racket is a historical challenge of some dimension. I hope
Wolters will accept it. I hope be will not give up the unholy ghost of
history simply because the capital of Sri Vijaya can no longer be located
in South Sumatra. Goodness knows, his toriaus wor king on this period
are few enough. And now we will return to that most vexing of
problems-San-fo-ch'i.
The early history of Southeast Asia before the European period is
more a joke than a history. In proto-historic times before the various
states and districts produced inscriptions of their own, the Chinese
records were the most important single individual source. In due course
this external evidence must be equated to some internal evidence when
that evidence comes into being. Some Chinese names have been
identified with virtual certainty: some have not been identified but fit the
loc~l evidence and can l;le accepted i b1,1t sop.1e identific;~tions leav~ ~

REVIEW ARTICLES 307
great deal to be desired, to say the very least. A few of the more
controversial names include: Funan and Cbenla, Cbeie-Foche and
San-fo-ch'i, and Pyu.
Colonel Gerini was the first to interpret Funan as Banom, meaning
a mountain. This is generally accepted, but of course there is no real
proof and historians tend to use Funan rather than Banom in their
writing. Funan was a country which some place in Cambodia, others
in the Central Plain of Siam, and still others in the Isan or Northeastern
Plateau. Cbenla is also thought to have been a country, the state that
succeeded Funan. Nobody knows what this name corresponded to, but
it has generally been located in Cambodia. This is contrary to the
earliest epigraphic evidence. Three inscriptions of the Cbenla period,
possibly earlier than any found in Cambodia, came from the Jsan Plateau
in present-day Siam. When this fact had been pointed out to some
scholars, at least one thought that Chenla was not located where it had
been thought, at least in the early period. I think Cbenla was not a
country at all. It was the name of a dynasty that ruled Funan. The
dynasty was the Cbandrawamsa which the Chinese pronounced Chenla.
Some people also call me Tan Chenla because I am of the Lunar Line
too, though I regret to report that others think the Loony Line would be
more appropriate. But I wouldn't care to be quoted on this.,
The equivalent for the 7th century Chinese name Pyu bas also not
been found. It is thought to refer to a people or race that lived in the
district of Sri Ksetra (Prome) in upper Burma. The names of some
kings (?) of Sri Ksetra written on funerary urns have been deciphered:
Suryavikrama, Harivikrama, Sihavikrama, Prabhuvarman, and Jayacbandravarman.
These names are Indian and it might be asked whether the
Pyu were an Indian tribe, or perhaps the race has been located in the
wrong place. I will make a guess, not very seriously, that the Chinese
name Pyu was Phya, a title used in several countries and means King.
The Chinese might have used tbis shorter form for Phya Sri Ksetra
(Pyu Shi-li-ch'a-ta-lo). But in such a case, the title could have been used
for any country that bad come into being by the 7thcentury-PhyaLakorn
Chaisri (Pyu Lang-chia·shu), Phya Kamalanka (Puy Chia-ma-lang-chia),

308 REVIEW ARTICLES
Phya Dvaravati (Pyu To-lo-po-ti), Phya Isanapura (Pyu 1-shang-na-pu-/o),
Phya Mabacbampa or Chulani (Pyu Mo-ho-chan-poor Lin-i), Phya Sri
Vijaya (Pyu Chele-foche) or even Phya Palambanpura (Pyu P'o-lin-pang.)
From this list I venture to leave out Phya Funan and Phya Chenla. The
point is, I am not conviced that if Pyu had been located in upper Burma,
it would have sent embassies to China by sea through the Sunda Straits
in 802 and 807. Perhaps some Sinologist would be kind enough to look
further into this question.
Cbelo-foche and San-fo-ch'i have both been equated with Sri Vi jay a.
This is quite impossible. Some people have identified these two names
as Sri Bodhi and Sam Bodhi, but I prefer Sri Vijaya because this name
appears four times in non-Chinese sources. I place Chele-Foche at
Chaiya, and this identification can be accepted with confidence. Several
scholars have already done so, though as at writing I have only seen one
written case.
I seem to remember that San-fo-shih sent embassies to the Chinese
Empire before Shih-Ii-fo-sbih (as I will now spell the two names), but
I can no longer find the reference. But never mind. The Peninsula bad
long sent embassies before !-Ching mentions Shib-Ii-fo-shih in the 7th
century. The list, from Wang Gunwu's The Nanhai Trade, JMBRAS,
1958, is:
608
608, 609, 610
63.5
644
647
648, 666
671-695
716, 724, 728, 742
767,768, 813, 815, 818 Holing (Nakorn)
820, 831, 860-873 Sbepo (Chaiya).,
Chia-lo-sh ih · (Kraburi)
Chib-tu (Singora or possibly Chaiya on the
Bandon Bight, or both)
Pan-pan (Viengsra on the Bandon Bight,
also on the Bight was Kan-to-li)
Mo-lo-yu (Malayu, Muara Takus)
To-po-teng (Trang, Taptieng)
Holing (Nakorn, Tambralinga)
Sbih-li-fo-sbih (1-Ching)
(Shih-li) Po-shih (Chaiya on the Bandon
Bight)

REVIEW ARTICLES 309
It would seem that the seat of the Maharaja moved between Cbaiya and
Nakorn between 716 and 860-873.
904-5, 960 (San) Fo-shih.
The Chinese word-game is out of bounds as far as I am concerned,
but I have, in this paper, ventured to step in where I once feared even
to tread.
In the 14th century, the Chinese stated that San-fo-shib had broken
into three parts, and the names of the rulers of the three states were
given as Tam-ma-sa-na-ho, Ma-na-ba-pau-lin-pang, and Seng-ka-liet-yulan.
Embassies were sent in 1373, 1374, and 1375. I have identified
these names as :
Tam-ma-sa-na-bo = Dbarmasoka (Chaiya or Nakorn),
Ma-na-ha-pau-lin-pang = Something, perhaps Maharaja, of Palembang,
and Seng-ka-liet-yu-lan = Nissamka Alakesvara (Rayigama).
If these suggestions are in any way plausible, then the three areas
San-fo-shih broke into were the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Ceylon.
Therefore, let us return to the Chinese word-game again, but this time
to a version of my own.
Instead of transcribing the names San-fo-shib and Sbih-li-fo-shib,
let us translate them.
San-fo-shih or San-fo-chi, would then be Three­
Fo-shib (the Peninsula, Sumatra and Ceylon). A sinologist once told
me that San-fo-chi could be translated as "three Buddhas of equal
standing". This could mean three lands of Buddhism, or three Buddhist
lands, I suppose. But I will dispense with this translation, as well as with
Vijaya, and simply use Fo-sbih.
In the beginning it was Three Po-shih, and Shib-tse (Ceylon) sent
embassies as early as 405.
When Central Java entered the Sri Vijaya
story in the 7th century, the name Three Po-shih could no longer be
applied, so the Chinese changed it.to Shih-li-fo-shi. This might have been
Sri Po-shih, or even Four Po-shih, though less likely. Then, early in

310 REVIEW ARTICLES
the lOth century, the Sailendras in Java disappeared from the Sri Vijaya
story, so Sri Fo-shih was no longer applicable, and the Chinese
subsequently changed the name back to Three Fo-shih. This name
was used over the next half millenium. That is all there is to the
problem of San-fo-shih and Sbih-li-fo-sbih. It brings Professor Coedes'
theory of a Sri Vijaya Empire which was put forward over half a century
ago, possibly an epoch covering a full century of historical research
based almost entirely on epipraphic and literary s

REVIEWS
R.E.M. Irving, The First Indo-China War: French and American Policy
1945-1954 (London, Croom Helm, 1975), 169 pp.
The subtitle of Dr. Irving's compact and useful book is somewhat
misleading, for the book deals only marginally with American policy
(pp. 98-107), focusing less on French policy as a whole than on the politics
of one party, the Mouvement Republicain Populaire (MRP), a Christian
Democratic Party born in the Resistance and bounded on the left by the
Socialists and on the right by the Gaullist parties. Irving justifies his
choice of the MRP by pointing out that in the early phases of the war
(1946-1951), it was the largest or second largest party in the French
National Assembly; it participated in 23 of the 27 governments that
jjcontrolled" the Indochina War; and for six of the seven and a half years
the war lasted, MRP ministers held the protfolios for Indochina or such
relevant ones as Foreign Affairs and Defence. The MRP had strong ties
witp the Catholic Church, and was particularly susceptible after 1947 to
right-wing pressure.
Dr. Irving does not necessarily agree with Ho Chi Minh's statement
of 1947 that "the key to the problem of Indochina is to be found in the
domestic political situation in France" {p. 45). but by focusing on events
in Paris rather than in Indochina, he highlights parts of the war that are
blurred by historians focusing on other aspects of the story. Dr. Irving
is especially good in discussing French policies at the beginning of the
war ( 1945-1948), for it was in that arena, if anywhere, that developments
might have been differently handled. He argues that the importance of
retaining French prestige (symbolized by overseas possessions, and
especially Indochina) outweighed sympathy for Vietnamese nationalism,
or repugnance for the Communist character of the Viet Minh. In 1945-
1946, all French politic~! parties, includingrthe Communists, agreed that
France bad a. "mission" in Viet Nam, while the Vietnamese did not. To
grant independence to Viet Nam (the word was not used in French
documents about Indochina until late in 1947) would be to suffer an
additional defeat. Unlike the victors of World War 11, the French could
not afford-and its leaders ·least of all-to be Plagnanimous, or, in
American parlance, "soft'\

312 REVJEWS
By locking themselves into an intransigent position, Dr. Irving
argues, the French guaranteed the failure of their own political policy,
the "Bao Dai solution" of 1948-1952. Furthermore, by retailing the
notion that the Indochinese war was part of the "free world's" struggle
with Communism rather than a colonial war, they gained U.S. support, at
the price of losing their own leverage with the Vietnamese army and the
Vietnamese elite. Step by step, the French war foreshadowed the
American one. Optimism tinged with arrogance faded into half-hearted
political "solutions" (that in turn were internationalized with parallel
phases of "Vietnamization") before a combination of conferences and
defeats. In fighting what Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny called the
"most disinterested war since the Crusades" (p. 93-the book is a mine
of fatuous pronouncements) the French gave little except their own and
surrogates• lives. They learned even less; Algeria was the second
"domino" to fall, followed by the Fourth Republic. French policy
towards· Indochina was marked by misreadings of the facts, and
punctuated by summons to the flag. "When French forces are involved,"
one Prime Minister declared (p. 70), "it is not a question of reason, but
of the national interest." Dr. Irving shows that French governments,
floating on the unstable surface of the Fourth Republic, rarely were able
to change Indochinese policies set in the late 1940s by officials on the
spot and by ministers of the MRP. The shortcomings of these policiesand
American ignorance of them-gave America the opportunity to
repeat them, one by one.
The value of Dr. Irving's book lies in its compactness, the judiciousness
of its judgments, and in its extensive use of interview materialalthough
quotations from those valuable and pungent primary sources
might often have been longer. But it cannot stand on its own, at least
as it is titled, because it is Vietnamese history with the Vietnamese left
out (and Indochinese history with Laos and Cambodia barely mentioned),
because it limits itself to one strand of French policy, and treats
American policy-such as it was, before 1954-only in a glancing fashion.
There are other books, of course, that fill those particular gaps. None
springs to mind that deals as succinctly and as well with the particular
problems Dr. Irving has chosen to discuss.
Monash Universit~
JJavid p. Chandler

REV JEWS 313
Raden Adjeng Kartini, Letters of a Javanese Princess (Kuala Lumpur,
Oxford University Press, 1976) xiv+XViii+310 pp.
Arjuna, the hero of the Javanese shadow play, had two wives:
Sambrodro, who was meek, withdrawn and respectful, and Srikandi, who
was tough, forthright and resolute. Sociologists have pointed out that
this wayang personification reflects two types of Javanese (for which,
grosso modo, read Indonesian) women. On this parallel Kartini could be
said to have started as the latter and ended as the former. Her letters,
written between 1899 and 1904 (the ages of 20and 25), reflect the falling
away of her ideals of independent womanhood and a return to conventionality.
The Kartini legend that sprang up after she died in childbirth in
1904, having accomplished almost nothing, is hard to disentangle from
the facts, and it must be admitted that the present volume does not help
the reader to do so. Onto the original English translation of 1921
published in New York, with Agnes Symmers' now dated introduction
and a foreward by Louis Couperus, has been grafted a singularly
unilluminating further introduction by Sartono Kartodirdjo, the professor
of history at Gadjah Mada University, who uses the usual jargon about
Kartini being a nationalist and a patriot, of Java being in a state of social
ferment at the time she wrote her letters, and various other half-truths
or untruths. But then, Kartini herself says the Javanese are known for
their falsehoods.
Why Oxford University Press did not use the excellent introduction
by Hildred Geertz (the wife of Clifford Geertz, whose volume The
Religion of Java is a socio-anthropological classic, and who is herself a
noted sociologist) to the 1964 Norton edition, also published in New
York, is incomprehensible. Mrs. Geertz puts the letters and Kartini's
social milieu completely in place-the new period of the 'Ethical Policy',
her educated father and courtly and mystical foster-mother and the Dutch
personalities who were to play so large a part in Kartini's formation.
First came Mrs. Ovink-Soer, the wife of the new Assistant Resident in
Japara, who was a fervent socialist and feminist, a writer and pamphleteer
in De Hollandsche Lelie, a Dutch women's magazine with a decidedly

314 HEVIEWS
modern outlook.
Kartini took out a subscription and met through the
small ads Stella Zeehandelaar, who was another radical feminist and
corresponded frequently with Kartini, though they never met.
Abendanon
was Director of Native Education, Religion and Industry and so was
in a position to help Kartini materially: he bad heard about Kartini,
gone to Japara and received her and her sisters in Batavia, introducing
them to various intellectuals.
It was through Stella Zeebandelaar that
the head of the Social Democratic Party, H. van Kol, learned about
Kartini and became a powerful supporter. He also visited her in Japara,
accompanied by the editor of the progressive newspaper De Locomotief,
published in Java, and also introduced her to spiritualistic seances. His
wife cautioned Kartini in correspondence about tampering with the
occult, and the two turned Kartini's thoughts in the direction of
traditional Javanese mysticism.
Though Agnes Symmer's introduction covers the basic facts reasonably
well, Hildred Geertz is more profound in analysing the causes of
Kartini's changes of opinion and the influences on her. Her decision
never to fall in love and her abhorrence of an arranged marriage
undoubtedly come from the two Dutch feminists Kartini corresponded
so frequently with. They and others encouraged her in her determination
to go to study in Holland, preferably as a doctor, otherwise as a midwife.
She planned to open a school for daughters of regents under the influence
of Abendanon, but the conservative regents refused permission to their
daughters to attend. Her father's increasing illnesses, interpreted in the
Javanese way as being caused by an unruly child, pushed her more into
mysticism and also in the direction of conformity. When van Kol
finally obtained a Dutch Government scholarship for her to study in
Holland, Kartini refused it, and stayed in Java to marry a widower some
years older than herself, giving in to her father's wishes and an arranged
marriage to -someone of her own class but who had progressive ideas.
She apparently gave in because of her belief that "a Javanese woman
could act unconventionally only if she were married, all the more so if
she had the support of a husband of both advanced ideas and high status"
(Geertz).

REV!f!:WS 315
As Kartini herself said, "we have not yet begun our work and
yet we have seen our illusions dwindle away one by one" (Apri11903).
She did start a school for girls in Japara in June, but by August was
engaged, and in November married in Rembang. Her last year was
spent in looking after her husband's children, and preparing for the
school she was to open after her own child came, but by September 1904
she was dead.
The letters would never have been written (and they were written
in Dutch) if Kartini had not bad intelligent and encouraging Dutch
friends with whom to share her ideas. They would never have seen the
light of day but for the same Dutch friends. It was Abendanon who
collected them and published them in 1911. Curiously, they appeared
in English even before they were translated into Indonesian by Annijn
Pane in 1922. Kartini schools, supported by voluntary Dutch contributions,
were opened and Kartini rapidly became the mother figure of
modern Indonesian womanhood, taken up by the nationalists and turned
into a Joan of Arc in kain and kebaya instead of shining armour.
I
She does not objectively deserve this.
She was an intelligent
aristocrat, chafing in her youth at the constraints society placed round
ber, who ended in total conformity. It cannot be said that she liberated
Javanese, less still Indonesian, women, because the vast majority were
relatively liberated anyway: abangan women (to use Clifford Geertz's
famous divisions), who were overwhelmingly more numerous, did not
subject themselves to seclusion from puberty to marriage. This was
simply a prijaji practice 'demonstrating the high rank and pure blood of
ber family'. The seclusion was in Kartini's case not total and was
indeed considerably relaxed. Apart from the various trips to the local
beach, known touchingly as Klein Scheveningen, there was the trip to
the Abendanons in Batavia, visits to Yogya, Semarang and various other
parts of central Java. Her family also received a large number of
visitors. She did resent the attention and care given to ber brother
(who was of the same mother) and here clearly and rightly saw injustice;
but then in contemporary Indonesia the young male is still more likely

316 REVIEWS
to be cosseted than the female in a household.
that.
Kartini bas not changed
What is most striking about the letters is not how much has changed,
but how little. Kartini was amazingly clairvoyant about her own people
(as Indonesians today can be disarmingly frank about their shortcomings,
while doing nothing to overcome them), referring to them as "these
grown-up children", noting that "the most serious fault of our people is
idleness", and lamenting "the Javanese who possesses no books except
school books". She records Dutch opinions that "we Javanese are
reproached as born liars, wholly untrustworthy, and we are called
ingratitude personified." One of the advantages, she thought, of a
training in Europe over that available locally was that it would make a
great difference "to our indolent people with their exalted ideas". Even
ideal Javanese ladylike behaviour which so riled her is unchangedspeaking
"with a little whispering voice which can hardly be beard by an
ant" and laughing so as not to expose one's teeth. The arranged marriage
is still extremely common, even in the towns.
The other striking thing about the letters is the oddity of some of
the remarks.
She was so 'Dutchified' that she even found Dutch a
"beautiful, musical language", which is an unusual view, to say the least.
She thought the Koran was ''too holy to be translated into any language
whatever" and as no one spoke Arabic in Japara, no one understood. In
1902 she asked Mrs. Abendanon to ask a friend "if, among the Mohammedans,
there were laws of majority, as among you" and added "how
strange for me to ask!
It makes me ashamed that we do not know
ourselves". She found touching the simple faith of peasants who thought
her presence, and that of her sister, caused their rain-making prayers to
be answered; in this she is very much the paternalistic prijaji sure of his
or her position in a changeless, ordered society.
But these oddities are to be expected. Although exposed to
militant Dutch feminists and the like, she was certainly writing at a
period when a consciousness of the outside world was only beginning,
and she was still very young; as she says herself to Mrs. van Kol, most

REVIEWS 317
probably not meaning to be taken at face value, "you must have other
and more useful things to do than to read all this prattle from a
'sentimental' Javanese girl'\
The present volume is not only infelicitous in its introductory
material, but in its editing, which is anonymous. Perhaps indeed there
was none. Judging by the typeface, the volume has been photographically
reproduced from the 1921 edition, proofing errors and all. A vast
number of terms need explanation for the general reader who knows
neither Dutch nor Java (Moesje, dubbeltje, baboe, spada, kebaya, kwade,
kampong and desa, Poeasa-Leberan Nieuwjaar), but they go unexplained
in this edition (though Hildred Geertz's 1964 edition is impeccably
edited). Peculiarities in the original translation are kept, like taking "a
little walk down a turnpike" (in Java in 1901 !), referring to the Susunan
of Solo as "the Emperor", and such small slips of style, as "day before
yesterday" and "year after next" without the definite article, or "my pen
refused to go" instead of "refused to move". Irritatingly the Dutch 'oe'
for 'u' is kept throughout, so one bas for example 'Soerabaja', and a
peppering of 'dj's and •tj's.
This volume is not going to procure many converts to the cult of
Kartinism, and is well below the standard one bas come to expect of the
Kuala Lumpur branch of the Oxford University Press. When an excellent
edition only a dozen years old exists, it seems inexplicable, unless
royalties are cheaper, to reproduce an inferior edition dated by threequarters
of a century, when apparently people could not even count, as
for no apparent reason letters 7 and 9 are totally omitted.
Michael Smithies
Gadjah Mada University
Yogyakarta

318 REVIEWS
Visakha Puja 2519 (Annual publication of the Buddhist Association of
Thailand, 1976), S. Sivaraksa ed., 143 pp., 53 plates.
The 1976 issue of Visakha Puja continues the high standards that
have come to be associated with that publication. Visakha Puja
increasingly bears the imprint of it~ engage, socially concerned and
committed editor, Sulak Sivaraksa. The articles included are instructive
in providing the reader with a better inderstanding of Buddhist
philosophy, while at the same time indicating how to apply Buddhist
principles to cope successfully with the problems of contemporary
society and ultimately to conquer oneself. ("Conquest of the self is best.
Why seek to conquer the multitudes?") Each of the articles provides
insight into the struggle to maintain the relevance of Buddhism to the
social and religious concerns of its followens.
Of historical interest is the sermon of His Holiness Prince
Vajiranana instructing His Majesty King Rama VI on the rectitude of
joining the Allies in World War I in defense of "right," The learned
exposition of the Maha Ch'at ceremony by the Italian scholar G.B.
Gerini (Phra Sarasastra Balakhandha) will be of much value to cultural
and literary historians as well as to scholars in the field of Buddhist
studies.
The noted Vietnamese Buddhist philosopher and poet, Nhat Hanh,
presents an exceptionally lucid discourse, entitled "The Miracle of Being
Awake", indicating how we can apply the truth of the "Sutra on Mindfulness"
in our everyday lives, to each waking moment of our lives.
There is a concise and penetrating analysis of the basic philosophical
doctrines of Buddhism by the Thai Buddhist philosopher, Buddbadasa
Bhikkhu, written under the deceptively simple title "Buddhism in 15
Minutes". Editor Sulak has provided us with his own personal answer
on the duty and task of a modern Buddhist in translating Buddhist
principles into a struggle against environmental destruction and social
injustice in his "Tasks for Modern Buddhists."
Visakha Pu}a increasingly appeals to a widening cross-section of
readership, and this present issue will provide much intellectual food for
thought to Buddhist laymen as well as to scholars.
William J. K/aus11er

REVIEWS 319
Thich Nhat Hanb, The Mz'rac/eof Being Awake, Mobi Quynh Hoa trans.,
Jim Forested. (Bangkok, Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation, 1976),
66 pp.
Thich Nbat Hanh may be called a monk of many parts: the poet,
the social worker, the political activist. In The Miracle of Being Awake,
we come to appreciate the penetrating and lucid mind of a Buddhist
philosopher who can apply the truth of Buddhist teachings to our everyday
actions. His exposition on the "Sutra of Mindfulness" provides the
reader with 'signposts' that will guide him on the path towards
recognition of the miracle of life, liberation from suffering, and peace.
Thich Nhat Hanh, through the simple yet effective technique of
using examples from everyday life as commonplace as eating a tangerine
or washing dishes, is able to make us focus on our inability to accept and
appreciate the reality of a moment in time to wonder at the peace and
joy which awareness of the present gives us. Thich Nhat Hanh carefully
leads us to an understanding that mindfulness frees one from "forgetfulness
and dispersion", and makes it possible to "live each minute of
life".
The author subsequently outlines certain basic techniques to be
used in reaching the exalted state of "mindfulness", focusing on
meditation. Nbat Hanh gives detailed instructions on breathing exercises
which, if properly carried out, will lead toward mindfulness.
An accompanying guide outlines 32 exercises and methods in
meditation exhorting the reader to choose the ones roost appropriate to
himself. The exercises vary in complexity from assuming a "half-smile
when irritated" to "contemplation on your own skeleton", "contemplation
on emptiness" and'' contemplation on detachment''.
The subtitle of this book is "A manual on meditation for the use
of young activists". Throughout the text, Thich Nhat Hanh refers to
the need for the socially committed and involved social worker to carry
out his duties in the spirit and context of mindfulness. Only through an
acceptance of mindfulness and its practice can social service be
meaningful and effective. However, the readership of this intellectually
vital and socially relevant religious treatise should not be limited to
social service activists. Each of us, scholar, civil servant, manual
worker, or housewife can benefit from its wisdom, and hopefully achieve
the "miracle of being awake".
William J. Klaustter

320 HEVIEWS
Phra Rajavaramuni (Prayudh), A Dictionary of Buddhism (Bangkok,
Mahachula Buddhist University, 1976), 374 pp.
The Ven. Phra Rajavaramuni is known to readers of JSS only as a
book reviewer, who bas contributed to JSS since his appointment as a
Rajag'l!a with the title of Phra Srivisuddhimoli. But those who read the
. .
Siam Society's Thai publication on l'll11lfl111'1-11f1~1J;~fl11'1vl!.llJ11illJ~u (2513)
must have noticed the name of Phra Maha Prayudh Payutto-tbat was
his former name. In that seminar, which the Society organized in
collaboration with the Buddhist Association of Thailand,, the young monk
articulately described to participants the constructive role which the
monkhood bad been performing in Thai society. Thai intellectuals,
impressed by his brilliant arguments, modestly put forward, have looked
forward to reading something more substantive from the author ever
since. They were not disappointed to read his lecture on Buddhadhamma,
which was delivered at Thammasat University Big Auditorium on H.R.H.
Prince Wan Waithayakorn's 80th birthday anniversary in 1971. In fact,
this little booklet summaries the essential Teaching of the Buddha so
succinctly that it has become a standard textbook in a number of
colleges. It will hopefully be translated into English. Since then a
collection of his Siamese articles bas appeared in a volume entitled
Buddhist Philosophy of Education for the Thais (Bangkok, Klett Thai
Publication, 1975). He also writes regularly in Buddhist journals, and
some of his articles have been published on special occasions.
The book under review, while basically written for the Thai public,
should be of interest and value to foreign scholars who understand the
Thai language. The Dictionary is divided into three parts. Part I deals
with Dhamma in numerical groups, e.g. groups of two--"Kama: A
subjective sensuality n1Mn1lJ [and] an objective sensuality 'l~M~mlJ"
Theravada Buddhism tend~ to approach the Teaching of the Buddha from
numerical aspects; and His late Holiness Prince Patriarch Vajirafial}avarorasa's
well-known Navakovada bad a section on the topic. The
technique is of particular value to teaching, as it enables people to learn
more easily.
In this book, our compiler has collected many more items
and has given a brief explanation in Thai to each, as well as giving its

REVIEWS 321
English translation. Each entry is given a cross-reference, and every
single technical term could be traced back to the exact page in the Pali
Canon and its commentaries. Obviously this is the work of a very
serious scholar.
Part II deals with a Thai-English Buddhist dictionary. Part III is
the English-Thai Section, plus an appendix on taking the Five Precepts,
etc. Those two parts are not so extensive as the first one, yet they can
familiarize students with exact Buddhist terminology, at least with
terminology which Buddhist scholars tend to use, e.g. "vanity l.Jll::" and
""" J 0 • •
UIJU~ lnVllat10n."
Dictionaries like the latter two parts have been attempted before
by other Thai scholars like Sujeep Bunyanupap of Maha Makut Buddhist
University. Had our compiler had the time, he might have been able to
do a more complete job.
When reading the book under review, the reader may not realize
that the author received his formal education entirely within the
traditional Pali system; having graduated from Maha Chulalongkorn
Buddhist University, he became a lecturer there as well as its Assistant
Secretary -General, besides being an abbot of his own monastery. With
so much administrative work, a large teaching load and "priestly" duties,
Chao Khun has yet managed to find the time to write such a scholarly
work and compile such a dictionary. One cannot but admine him.
With his present sabbatical leave at Swarthmore College, we can be
assured that he will have more time at his disposal; hence his contribution
to our understanding of Thai Buddhism will even be greater than
before.
S. Sivaraksa

322 REVIEWS
S. Sivaraksa ed., Seeds of Peace, Makha Puja 1976 (Buddhist Association
of Thailand, Bangkok), 136 pp.
There seems to be little else in the world these days except
revolution and name-calling-capitalists, imperialists, war-mongers,
reactionaries, etc. Is there no other way to effect revolution other than
through violence?
Seeds of Peace is a welcome relief. It deals with none other than
revolution, but a revolution that is grounded in loving-kindness,
compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. It is a series of articles
telling of the many efforts of individuals and groups made on behalf of
peaceful revolution in Sri Lanka, Viet Nam and Thailand. The articles
are inspiring and clearly show that there is a non-violent way to
revolution, albeit a slower way, but perhaps most importantly a bloodless
way. Included are a delightful Vietnamese folk story entitled "Princess
Sita", which shows loving-kindness and compassion and encourages their
development; a poem called "Excerpt from Violent Lanka-The Day for
Slaughter"; an interview with a Thai meditation master which is very
uplifting; an article dealing with drug addicts at Wat Tham Krabok in
Saraburi Province, among others. One article, "Bangkok Jottings" is
rather out of place here, although it does have its purpose.
But why not let Seeds of Peace introduce itself?
"Many of us love to sayj: 'Peace must take root in our own
heart; if there is peace in our heart, there is peace in the
world.• While there is nothing wrong with this statement in
the light of the Buddha's Teaching,ta number of us usually
commit the error of merely repeating this statement in order
to avoid participating in active peace work. · Many of us do
not even practice methods suggested by the Buddha to quiet
our mind, tame our anger, develop our compassion and
realize inner peace. If we neither participate in peace work
nor practise Buddhist meditation, it is wrong to repeat all
the time 'Peace is in our heart\ because this statement is
only a pretext for not doing anything recommended by the
Buodha,

REVIEWS
"Peace should be first of all peace with our own self. Man
cannot be perfectly happy if .he is still not at peace with
himself. Craving, anger, prejudices, dispersion and forget.
fulness create a permanent battle within us and carry us away
likes the torrent carries away a small cork. We can hardly
be ourselves when we continue to let ourselves be assailed by
these things. Buddhist meditation is to help us overcome
these assailants, restore the peace and whole'oess of our being
to see things clearly in their own nature. Not only the
bhikkhus should practise Buddhist meditation, but the
Buddhist lay people should as well. In this respect we must
realize the bard fact that simply making offering to the
Buddha and to the Sangha is not enough to make us good
Buddhists. We must learn to practise Buddhist meditation
ourselves in order to become Buddhists in essence.
"Peace is a sane relationship between humans. Once we are
capable of seeing things clearly with a serene mind, we shall
realize that our life should be in harmony with the life of all
sentient beings, especially other humans, so that people may
live happily together. Such a kind of sane relationship
between humans is called peace. This relationship is based
on the principle of non. injury (ahimsa) to others. This is the
essential base of life and peace.
"To observe the five precepts of Buddhism, for instance, is to
prevent ourselves from harming people. But the five precepts
are not easy to observe. Take, for instance, the first one: 'Do
not kill•. To kill does not mean just to use a gun or knife to
take the life of another living being. To live in luxury, to
consume while millions of others are starving to death is also
killing. Not preventing war when one is capable of doing
something to prevent it is also killing. Investing in companies
that pollute the environment and deny poor people the chance
to survive is also killing. We have to learn and practise a
great deal in order to really understand and observe this first
Buddhist precept. The same appiies to the other four
precepts.
323
İ.
;
'
l~

324 REVIEWS
"Many efforts are being made by Buddhists everywhere to
alleviate suffering, to promote social justice, to bring help to
the poor and oppressed. These are concrete actions of peace
in the social dimension which can't really be separated from
our inner life and peace. We should also learn about them
and bring our support to these actions.
"Seed of Peace is a modest effort to provide us with the means
to exchange views and experiences on both those aspects of
peace life and peace work. There will not be long articles
speculating on peace in here. There will be only concrete
suggestions to help us live in peace and support peace works.
Contributions from our readers on these two aspects of peace
will be greatly appreciated. We look forward to these
contributions with gratitude."
More's the pity that Seeds of Peace has not yet been translated into
Thai for the benefit of the Thai people at large, especially students who
are dedicated to the violent overthrow of everything old as being
worthless to the new society. It is the Thai nation which is now faced
with multiple problems and political ferment. Why only present such a
valuable book to the English-speaking elite? Seeks of Peace can be
exactly that, a spark to encourage the growth of a truly Buddhist
revolution grounded in loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and
equanimity,
Sommai lnganon
Mahamakut Rajavidyalai Buddhist University,
Bangkok

REVIEWS 325
Roxanna Brown, "Preliminary report on the Koh Khram sunken ship",
Oriental Art (Winter 1975), pp. 356-69 with 11 half-tone plates, 42 line
drawings of Thai ceramic profiles, and an outline chart of the ceramic
finds.
Miss Brown's scholarly article, modestly called a "preliminary
report", is an in-depth account of the ceramic finds from a Thai ship that
sank in the Gulf of Siam in the latter part of the 15th century. The
vessel was carrying a cargo of Thai and other export wares, and was
probably destined for the Philippine or Indonesian archipelagoes, then
the great markets for Thai as well as Chinese and Annamese ceramic
wares.
The vessel with its cargoes remained on the sea bottom on top of a
submerged sandbar until a group of Thai fishermen dived to the seabed
to untangle their nets in September 1974. When the divers surfaced
they brought up several pieces of pottery and later recovered some 82
additional samples. They reportedly sold the lot of their underwater
finds to a Bangkok businessman for the tidy sum of 30,000 baht, or
about 650 Pounds sterling.
When news of the discoveries became known, great crowds of
treasure-seekers flocked to the site, some 12 nautical miles southwest of
the tiny island of Koh Khram, itself some 170 kilometres south of
Bangkok and near the Royal Thai Naval Base of Sattahip, and Pattaya,
the recently developed seaside resort a short way to the north of the
naval base.
In September 1974, however, the Thai Government's Department
of Fine Arts investigated the finds and verified that the ceramic pieces
were 500 to 600 years old. At the same time, the Department of Fine
Arts took steps to prevent the wholesale looting of this important
archaeological site, and borrowed 20 "frogmen" from the Royal Thai
Navy to begin a systematic search of the underwater area.
Some 3,000 fragments of ceramic wares were subsequently
collected, along with some fine whole specimens of the Thai Sukhothai
and SawankhalOk wares of Thai 14th to 15th century kilns. All those
items were carefully sorted and catalogued. Personnel of the

326 REVIEWS
Department of Fine Arts have also been endeavoring to reassemble as
many as possible of the vast numbers of ceramic fragments recovered at
the Koh Khram site.
Of special interest is the fact that the great bulk of the ceramics
are of Thai provenance, coming from the 14th to 15th century Thai kilns
in north-central Siam. The Sukhothai pieces were principally paintedware
plates and bowls, many with the famous fish design painted on
their centres so highly prized today by collectors of these wares. Also
recovered was a large number of Sawankbalok celadon glazed plates and
bowls, many having incised underglazed floral decorations. Other types
recovered were celadon and brown glazed globular jars with ring handles,
along with a considerable number of those enormous SawankhalOk
water storage jars, some of which bad become heavily encrusted with
marine growth.
Two rather curious pieces were also found at the Koh Khram site
which deserve special mention here. One was a simple, bag-shaped
earthenware rice-cooking pot similar to the present day earthenware
moh khao, which today can be found in almost every Thai household
kitchen or be purchased for a few baht at any of Bangkok's numerous
earthenware shops. Another curious piece was a small dish, some 16.2
centimetres in diameter, believed to be of Cham provenance. Although
its Cham origin has not been fully established, it is interesting to note
thaf the piece has what appears from a photograph accompanying Miss
Brown's article to have a number of spur marks on its inner surface, like
those found on roost pieces of Sukhothai painted ware. In that case,
bowls and plates were fired in tall stacks within the kiln, each piece
separated by a circular disc of fire clay havjng a number of projecting
legs. The stands used at the Sukhothai kilns all bad five projecting legs,
and hence left five spur marks on the inner surface of each plate or
bowl, a kind of hallmark which proclaims the authenticity of those
wares. Some Annamese pieces also show the spur marks made by such
discs. The Annamese discs, however, had six legs. Such methods of
firing in tall stacks were obviously meant to conserve fuel. They
were also employed in China and Japan, the number of legs used on each
disc varying.

REVIEWS 327
Miss Brown believes that the unusual Cham piece most likely came
from the recently discovered ancient Cham kilns in the southern part of
Viet Nam. What is believed to be a piece of Vietnamese ware was also
discovered at the Koh Kbam underwater site. It probably also came
from the village of Go Sanh, some ten kilometres west of Qui Nho'n on
the road to Pleiku.
The Koh Khram finds open a new vista in the study of Thai and
other Southeast Asian wares. They also demonstrate that Thai shipping
played an extensive role in exporting Thai and other wares to the
Philippines, Indonesia, and possibly other countries. In that connexion,
the reviewer would like to cite an article he wrote entitled "Siam and
the pottery trade of Asia", which was published in The Journal of the Siam
Society, Vol. XLIV Part 2, August 1956, where among the half-tone
plates the reviewer presented an illustration of a Thai ship in Nagasaki
Harbour from a 16th century Japanese painting entitled "Sbamu Sen"
(Thai Ship), which the reviewer discovered some years ago in the Library
of Congress in Washington, D.C.
St. Petersburg Beach, Florida
Charles Nelson Spi11ks
Robert P. Griffing Jr., "Dating Annamese blue and white", in Orientations,
Vol. 7 No. 5, May 1976 (Hong Kong), pp. 32A8, with 18 colourplate
reproductions of Annamese wares,
Mr. Griffing of the Honolulu Academy of Arts deserves high praise
for his scholarly article on Annamese blue and white wares, It is a
valuable addition to the very limited bibliography of works on the
subject. His presentation is embellished with no less than 18 invaluable
illustrations, all in colour. Tbe article is further indicative of the
growing interest on the part of scholars and collectors in this all too
little-known body of Southeast Asian ceramics. The reviewer wishes
very much that he had bad access to Mr. Griffing's scholarly work prior
to completion of his attempt to -compose bis own recent article, "A

328 1\EVIEWS
reassessment of the Annamese wares", which appeared in the Journal
of the Siam Society, Vol. 64 Part 1, January 1976, with 26 half-tone
plates.
Mr. Griffings' unusual study is primarily an attempt to establish
some kind of reliable dating of the Annamese blue and white wares
about which so little has been written. In the rna tter of accurate and
systematic dating, Mr. Griffing has provided students and collectors of
these wares a most valuable service. Most of these attractive blue and
white wares belong, according to Mr. Griffings' painstaking research, to
the 14th century, particularly at that point when the Annamese potters
began to move away from their dependence on Chinese tradition and
began to experiment on their own. The happy result was a great
flowering of the Annamese blue and whites, and a new spectrum to Far
Eastern ceramics. Consequently, it is not surprising that there was a
considerable export of that newly developed ware to the Philippines and
Indonesia, where even today considerable quantities are to be found.
The great flowering of the Annamese wares tradition continued to
the middle of the 15th century, when many of them were also exported
to Siam where they exerted a considerable, if not determinate, influence
on the Thai potters at the Sukhothai kilns in central Siam. In fact,
many of the Sukhotbai painted-ware plates and bowls exported to
Indonesia can hardly be distinguished from similar types of Annamese
painted-ware pieces of this period. In my above-cited article, I bad
expressed the belief that the Tzu-chou style of painted-ware decoration,
so evident in the work of the Sukhothai potters, may well have come
from Annam, rather than through the Sukotbai Kingdom's rather erratic
and intermittent diplomatic relations with the Yuan court of China, a
view widely if erroneously held heretofore by students of Thai history.
St. Petersburg Beach, Florida
C. Nelson Spinks

COMMUNICATION
A response to Dr. Jeremy Kemp's review on Political Attitudes of the
Bureaucratic Elite and Modernization in Thailand, ~ppearing in the Journal
of Siam Society, Volume 64 Part I, January 1976, pp. 413-416.
In response to Dr. Jeremy Kemp's review, let me say that it is an
honour to have my book commented on by such a renowned scholar as
himself. However, as in all intellectual discourses, agreements and
disagreements cannot be avoided, Tbe points in his review that I agree
with are the following :
(a) On p. 414 Dr. Kemp stated that "the somewhat grandiose title
of the work bears little relation to the empirical study contained within
it". I certainly agree with this comment. But let me point out,
however, that the title was intended to mean that the study is of the
political attitudes of the bureaucratic elite (liberal/conservative), and
the impact of their attitudes on the prospects and processes of
modernization in Thailand. I don't think that the title matters as much
as the fact that the linkage between the elite's attitudes and the prospects
of modernization is not a tenuous one. The discussion of the role
of the elite in the prospect of modernization is carried on by the
hypothesis that the elite can bring about change, given the fact that there
is a large number of liberal officials in Thailand. Here lies the weakness
of the linkage.
(b) I could not agree with him more that there is a disadvantage
to working with a small group (p. 414). But given the limited research
budget and time, and taking into account the fact that co-operation from
the bureaucratic elite is difficult to engage, the result of the findings
should be of considerable value, at least as hypotheses for further studies.
I must point out that in my later research on the sociological attributes
of Special Grade and First Grade Officials of all ministries (excluding
the Ministry of Defence), including the entire population of 2,160
members and a sample of 2,394 of higher civil servants of Thailand, my
findings have confirmed my former study. (That point will be discussed
later.) There is no question that in the next research project on this
subject, a larger sample should be studied. However, Dr. Kemp bas

330 COMMUNICATION
emphasized mainly weak points (p. 415 first paragraph} without mentioning
other significant figures, for example on places of origin of the elite.
(c) I agree that this type of research project will encounter
methodological and hence analytical problems, but I have found it very
challenging and believe that this type of research should be continued
for reasons I shall seek to point out later.
(4) On p. 415 he commented that "the question of whether or not
a high level of educational achievement, by which is usually meant a
higher degree in the U.S. or a European country, takes place before or
after gaining entry to government service is not mentioned. In other
words, does mobility follow as a direct consequence of the American
Ph.D., or rather is the requisite government scholarship the crucial factor,
the sign that one is destined for the top so that the degree itself is in a
sense a formality, the issue of a licence for success?"
This is a very good point. But his criticism bas been rectified in
my later study wherein a discussion along the lines he has mentioned
was presented together with tables showing the numbers of elite members
who continued their studies after gaining official positions, and a
discussion on the differential time required for promotion in regard to
different levels of educational achievement. (See miqJ t7~1flU, "tlnl~!ll~
,:, '!.1 u ~ Ar o VI ~ ., u A
'r11 ~lJ~fl,l~171'1fn11'Jl''I.Lf.-IU1 ~'YIU: n11¥ffil!l1m1U'lfll!l!ll::'Yl1,jft,jf13J~~'fll:fi1'H!nl!l1 L~'flZL~l.Jl.Jn7Z
A 11 ~ 4A IV q i .., " IV d ... -c
t'11U'llt!"n17~'flflU'li'U" 1u t'l'-!l.Jiil 'i1U.'Yl1'1"fl ~~'fl:: 7,lt'l"i7fl ll"Ul:YIU.!l', 'nme~7nn
[m"L'YlYI: Lfl1,)fi17~171~fl'-lfl1t'lq)f~L'fl::'-!1Ul!l!l¥11t'lii4
q
Y!.fl. 2519] p. 144, table 11 and p. 148.
What I cannot accept are the following :
q
t'Mfi3J~fl'-l¥11t'lq)f~~~"l.h::~Y1A'rw,
(a) On p. 413 Dr. Kemp alleged tba t the outline of the development
of the Thai bureaucracy from 1237 A.D. to 1971 is "cursory and
sometimes inaccurate". It should be pointed out that the discussion of the
development of the Thai bureaucracy is, as be himself pointed out, only
an outline, and not the focus of the book. It is given here in order to provide
historical continuity and a perspective on the development of bureaucratic
organization, so that the following analysis could be better appreciated.
It would be of great benefit to me and fair to the readers if he bad

COMMUNICATION 331
substantiated his allegations. Saying that something is inaccurate but
failing to give specific and concrete examples is, in my opinion, a loose,
sweeping and unjusti fled statement.
(b) On p. 415, regarding intergenerational mobility, be said to the
effect that "knowledge of fathers' positions is not an adequat eindicator
of mobility in a social system such as the Thai when kin links are
important for sponsorship, educational support, etc. It is really
necessary to know something of the status of grandparents and the
siblings of both parents." Ideally and theoretically, I would tend to
agree with him. But as be may well know, there are certain subtle
research barriers inherent to Thai society and Thai values, which would
mitigate theoretical ambitions. In Thailand, discussion on family background,
especially with those who are members of racial miorities, is a
very sensitive issue, one verging upon taboo for the bureaucratic elite.
Many officials resent the fact that they have to indicate in their application
forms their father's and mother's names, since it would indirectly give
away their ethnic roots. I was enlightened by an official at the Personnel
Records Division, Civil Service Commission, that the requirement to
write down parents' names and occupations in the personal record may
be dropped sometime in the future owing to the above consideration.
Given such limitation, I firmly believe the information acquired has shed
some light on social mobility in tbe Thai bureaucracy, and is definitely
a step in the right direction.
(c) He stated on p. 415 that the appraisal of the second part of
the questionnaire concerning the expression of attitudes reveals "a
similar problem of superficia1ity". Surprisingly, the treatment of this
part is, to use his own words, "cursory and superficial." And yet this
is the focus of the study. Very little was mentioned about the correlation
between liberalism, conservatism and level of education and age with
the strength of relationship shown by statistical tests. This could
hardly have been overlooked. Thus instead of striking at the crux of the
matter, the review commented on the periphery. Even more surprising
is the fact that no reference was mentioned of McClosky's Conservative
Scale (1958) or the Liberal-Conservative Scale (Kerr, 1952) as bases for

332 COMMUN!CATIO N
comparison. It would seem that the cursory treatment of the attitudinal
part, and the weak comment which followed, suggest that there is either
bias against this type of study or a lack of familiarity.
It should also be pointed out that he seemed to have misinterpreted
or failed to understand the method of assessing internal consistency by
which questions with low levels of discriminatory power were dropped.
In the case of research on a larger group of population other than the
elite, tbe process of screening out questions could be done by two steps.
The first is by having a pretest. After the pretest, bad questions could be
screened out by the method of internal consistency described in pp. 74-76
in my book. The remaining "good" questions are then used in the
research. After the research was completed, for a double-check, one
could again screen out bad questions by the same method. The remaining
questions are then used for calculating and put on the scale. In my study,
there was no pretest for obvious reasons. In the case of elite studies it
is not feasible to have a pretest. To have one interview appointment is
very difficult, if not impossible, let alone having two interviews. As a
result, 12 out of 24 items were dropped. The 12 items could be
considered technically sound, and are sufficient for constructing the scale.
Some scholars, for example D.R. Matthews and J.W. Protbron, used only
five items in their research on Negroes and the New Southem Politics (New
York: 1966).
(d) As for the examples of questions on the elite's attitudes on
foreign policy and tolerance toward unconventional ideas he cited on P·
416, I would suggest that be consult p. 76 of my book, which shows that
regarding question No. 16 on foreign policy, tbe discriminatory power is
1.60, while question No. 22 on attitudes toward unconventional ideas
bas a discriminatory power of 1.75. The discriminatory powers of the
two items are very high, showing that responses to those two questions
did vary greatly. The wording of the questions may sound a bit
inappropriate when translated into English. But at the time of the
interviews when there were talks about having diplomatic relations with
the People's Republic of China, and when wearing long hair for men had
become a fad and talk of the day, opinions on those two issues did vary.

COMMUNICATION 333
(e) On p. 416 in the concluding chapter on the ideal leadership,
it should be pointed out that given the situation at the .time of that
writing, there were certain things the author could not put down on
paper. One has to read between the lines. What I had in mind was
a group of far-sighted modernizing elite of the Meiji Restoration type
who consciously and with great effort laid down the foundation for the
building of a new, strong and wealthy nation. In other words, a group
of elite who, for their own survival as well as the country's survival,
would show initative and retard if not prevent the country from drifting
into political turmoil as I have analysed. This is not meant to be a
value-free statement. So, the comment which asks "why should any
attempt be made to politicize the peasantry ?•; missed the point. His
statement about my very traditional attitude in expecting the impetus
for social and political change to come from the top shows a lack of
sense of political and social realities on his part. Given the situation at
that time and even after 14 October 1973, there is a need for reform
initiated from the top and of course pushed from the bottom. I am for
the interest of the masses and will always stand firm to support their
demands. But I am also realistic enough to see that even the People's
Republic of China, which puts a great emphasis on the proletariat and
the mass line, is basically an elite-led revolutionary country. It is
well-known that the economic and political powers in Thailand are in the
hands ofa small group of bureaucratic (military and civil} and business
elite, and up to the moment the configuration of this power has not
changed. I reject a priori that the advent of civil war in Thailand is
desirable. One way to avoid this is for the elite to launch rapid reforms
in all aspects. Time is running out for peaceful and rational
developmental evolution. Thus, I have advocated reforms in many of
my articles for this very reason.
In conclusion, let me say that the overaU picture I received from
his review is composed as follows :
(a) There is a lack of balance. He bas pointed out the weak
points in the book, which in some cases are not warranted as I have
pointed out. One gets the impression from reading his review that the
book has no positive aspect, that there is little contribution.

334 COMMUNICATION
(b) Reading the beginning of his review, especially the statement
"moreover a number of basic methodological and analytical issues raises
doubts to the real value of this type of research project", would seem to
suggest that he is either biased against this type of behavioral science
research or that there is a lack of familiarity on his part, as I have
mentioned.
(c) With the weaknessness of his comments I have pointed out, I
wonder if such words which he used as "cursory", "inaccurate",
"superficial" could indeed boomerang.
The modest contributions containd in my book are as follows:
{a) The discussion on the sociological attributes oft he contemporary
bureaucratic elite of the three ministries has shed some light onto the
penumbra of the bureaucracy in Thailand. At least, the findings could
be taken as hypotheses which have heuristic value. In my later research
on the sociological attributes of Special Grade Officials (N = 2,160) and
First Grade Officials (20 per cent sample, N = 2,394), the results are as
follows:
Father's occupation
Special Grade
First Grade
Government official 40.98% 32.79%
Businessman 31.46% 27.96%
Peasant 5.6296 10.47%
No answer 11.89% 18.42%
Others 9.98% 10.23%
Total 99.97% 99.9h;
-
(N = 2,160) {N = 2,394)
The two Columns above show that officials with fathers in the
bureaucracy still outnumbered other social groups, although a decline in
the First Grade (32.97 per cent as against 40.93 per cent in the Special
Grade) is noted. This should answer his comment on p. 415 whether
there is a declining level of mobility, an issue raised by Evers and Brand.
Although there is some difference in terms of the number, the patterns

COMMUNICATION 335
of frequency distribution of the above two tables and the table given on
p. 19 of my book (table 3.1) are similar. This indicates that the
previous findings are confirmed by later research with a larger number
of population and samples. The same holds true for other aspects such
as the elite's places of origin.
(b) The Liberal-Conservative Scale based upon three components
(i.e. attitudes toward change, egalitarian values and toleration of different
ideas and behavior) could be further refined. It could also be used as
a measuring instrument. One of my graduate students bas used it to
study political attitudes of the Members of Parliament with satisfactory
results. He is using the findings for his M.A. thesis.
(c) This is a pioneering piece of work which has ventured into an
uncharted terrain, and I was aware of the fact that this type of research
would be susceptible to attack because of methodological problems. But
the undertaking is a challenge, which would allow us to understand better
the mentality of the members of the bureaucratic elite. Insight into
their behavior or policy formulation could be glimpsed from the study.
I have benefited a great deal from the responses to the individual items
dealing with individual issues. Very few scholars have bad the chance
to probe the minds of this group of relatively well-educated people,
methodological inadequacies notwithstanding. This is a start, and I am
convinced it should be persued further.
Political Science Faculty,
Thammasat University
Likhit Dhiravegin

336 COMMUNICATION
Dr. Jeremy Kemp replies:
I regret that you evidently consider my review of your monograph
unfair and biased. What I hope you appreciate however are the
constraints placed on me: in writing an of necessity brief comment in a
journal like that of the Siam Society, I was certainly not conducting a
detailed scholarly_analysis. I also think that criticisms such as the small
size of the sample, the limited number of questions and the inadequate
criteria for assessing mobility are not countered by the fact that you have
subsequently used a larger sample, that others have used even fewer
questions, or that there are very real difficulties in obtaining information
on family backgrounds, though I naturally appreciate all these points.
Indeed r find your comments about intergenerational mobility fascinating
for the light they throw on such issues as ethnic background, parental
occupations, etc.
Where I can usefully expand upon a specific point is on the
historical background. On pages 12 and 15 you indicate that members
of the Royal Family were appointed to high government office in the early
Bangkok period. Perhaps you regard the Bunnag family as royal, but
what I consider very significant is the exclusion of the 'true' royalty
(caw fa, phra ong caw, etc.) from effective government office. The point
I think is important, because one can argue that the reforms of King
Chulalongkorn and his appointment of royalty to the highest positions
at least temporarily altered the basic elite structure of Thai society in
undermining the power of the Khun nang and making the monarchy far
more absolute than it had been formerly (cf. Akin Rabibhadana, 1969).
As for our underlying differences of opinion I think that these are
not due to a lack of understanding or misinterpretation of the issues you
mention. Rather my comments reflect my doubts about tl.tis type of
research. Something which bothers me is the value of any 'liberalconservative
scale' for data collected in this way. What is the relation
between the 'attitudes' derived from such questions as the ones asked,
and the actual processes of decision-making? Are the answers to be
taken at face value as indicating what the respondents think and how
they act? In other words, this kind of research despite its rigorous

COMMUNiCATION 337
techniques ignores what for me are the main issues and problems in the
study of the organisation of the bureaucratic elite. I of course
appreciate that Gabriel Almond, for example, represents an important
'school' of political science. This school however is one of which
political scientists in the U.K. especially are critical because of its
perhaps over-simple positivist assumptions.
Eliot College,
University of Kent at Canterb11r:y
Jeremy H. Kemp

OBITUARY*
Professor Sukich Nimmanhaeminda
(1906-1976)
On 2 February 1976, word got round Bangkok that Professor
Sukich Nimmanhaeminda bad died suddenly. It was unanimously agreed
that the age had lost one of its most important persons.
Looking back over the past 40 years or so, I remember meeting
Professor Sukich for the first time at Cbulalongkorn University, after he
had just returned from abroad. He was going to teach mathematics in
my place. Out of good intentions, I invited him to sit in on a class I was
taking, in order to familiarise himself with the work. I have never ceased
to regret this since I later found out how expert he was at the subject.
To have asked him to watch me was like teaching a crocodile to swim.
As a matter of fact, Professor Sukich was expert in many subjects
including history and literature. These days, the word "learned" is used
rather loosely. Professor Sukich was "learned" in the true sense of the
word. His knowledge was all-round. He knew everything. In this respect
it is hard to find his equal. I cannot think of anyone who would be more
learned than he was.
With this characteristic he was most suited to be a representative
of the people. He was elected to Parliament, representing Chiang Mai,
where he was born and bred. His political career was marked by
ministerial posts on three different occasions, namely at the Ministry of
Industry, Ministry of Economics, and the Ministry of Education. His
highest position was that of Deputy Prime Minister, a position he held
twice, in the Tbanom and the Sanya Cabinets. His last political
post was membership in the Senate. However, be resigned from this
after a few days. I asked him, "Why did you resign?" His reply was
that in the last stage of his life, be wanted to devote his time to his
hometown. He was then Chairman of the Cbiengmai University Council,
and wanted to give ofhis best in that capacity. In this be deserved much
praise.
* Translated from the Thai original by Charit Tingsabadb, Economics Faculty,
Cbulalongkorn University.

OBITUARY 339
But in fact his last act was as a father. He felt ill on the morning
of February 2nd, while getting into the car to take his son to school. He
• died soon afterward.
Having mentioned Chiengmai University, I may be permitted to
observe that the valuable possessions of Professor Sukich were the "two
B's," namely Books and Birds. He owned a vast number of books
including the kind that are called "rare" books. It is a pleasure to learn
that he ordered that all the books in his library be given to Cbiengmai
University. As for his birds, I do not know at the time of writing
whether he ordered them to be freed or given to anyone.
Professor Sukich was quick: a quick reader, a quick thinker, a quick
talker. This last was rather a defect. In his speeches, in order to talk
as fast as he thought, he tended to run his words together, leaving his
listeners behind, both in hearing and in following his ideas. His talks
I
were out of the ordinary and interesting- "On Watching Birds", for
example. His books had the same flavour, as "The Man Named Lee"
exemplifies.
His quickness was clearly noticeable during meetings to consider
some issue. Whether he was chairing the meeting or not, we would know
of his summary views in no time at all. In conversation, friends were
full of admiration and foes of trepidation because be was always ready
with repartee which could sometimes be cutting.
I would like to tell a story. During the Second World War, while
Professor Sukich was Director-General of the Department of Vocational
Education, he was with a party of senior officials from the Ministry of
Education headed by the Minister. We were travelling by car to Petcbabun
Province. The group could not reach the appointed place because the
road was cut at many points. It was necessary to spend ~he night at a
place where no preparation bad been made for our coming. On opening
our eyes in the morning, we doubted whether we could find anything to
eat. But no sooner that than we saw Professor Sukich busy at work in
the kitchen. He bad become our emergency cook, and his cooking was
not at all bad.

-
340 OBITUARY
Twenty years after that incident, I bad the opportunity to taste his
foi thong. He was then Thailand's Ambassador in Washington. It is
not to be forgotten that he had been Ambassador to India and the United
States. Particularly while in India, be bad the opportunity to do some
research in language and culture as well.
Proffessor Sukich had also worked in some important international
organisations. At the inception of the South-East Asian Ministers of
Education Organisation, sometimes called SEAMEO, many countries
wanted their own nationals to be the first Secretary-General. Some
nominated men at ministerial level for the post. But when the Committee
saw the name of Professor Sukicb as Thailand's nominee, they had no
trouble in making the decision. Professor Sukich was the first Secretary­
General of that organisation.
Another important position which Professor Sukich held but regarding
which there seemed to be little public knowledge was the Presidency of
the Royal Institute in which position he was preceded by H.R.H. Prince
Wan. It was a position he so admirably deserved. One reason why I
say this is that at the start of the revision of the Royal Institute Act in
1932, Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram naturally did not have time to do
everything. The details were largely the work of Professor Sukich. It is
perhaps for this reason that Professor Sukich was the only man to be
Royal Scholar in two subjects, namely history and physical sciences.
It is not possible in this short note to mention all the positions held
by Professor Sukich. Recalling from memory, he was the Chairman of
the National Education Council, Chairman of the University of the Air
Committee, and a Senior Vice-President of the Siam Society.
Two days after his death, I attended the funeral rites at Wat That
Thong. Many were there, both Thais and foreigners. And there were so
many wreaths one simply could not count them all. One thing Professor
Sukich could not do was to calculate bow many elementary schools could
have been built with the total costs of the flowers.
That same evening I was asked what the most outstanding
achievement of Professor Sukicb was. For the questioner, it was his
work as the Secretary of Chulalongkorn University. Formerly the

OBITUARY 341
University did not appear to be very important in the eyes of the public.
Hence the lack of staff, funds and facilities. Professor Sukich was the
man who changed such views. The result was the visible growth of
Chulalongkorn University. At the Teachers' Day ceremony held by the
former students of the University on the lawn by the Arts Building on
January 16th this year, it was still being remarked that Professor Sukich
intended the University's flagpole to be the tallest in Thailand.
On February 1st, the start of the Fifth National Book Week, there
was a Good Book Competition. Professor Sukich was the Chairman of
the Committee of Judges. He finished the work on the evening. The
next day, February 2nd, he did not stay to watch the prizewinners take
their prizes.
We have irretrievably lost a man who was capable all-round, strong
and quick. His character was incomparable with anybody on earth.
The loss is deeply regretted.
M.L. Pin Ma/akul

ANNUAL REPORT
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
of the Siam Society Under Royal Patronage
27 March 1975, 8.00 p.m.
The Annual General Meeting, terminating the Council year 1974,
was held on Thursday, 27 March 1975 at 8.00 p.m. at the Society's home,
131 Soi Asoke, Sukhumvit 21, Bangkok.
The meeting was attended by about seventy members and guests,
and the following members of the outgoing Council were present:
H.R.H. Prince Naradbip Bongsprabandh
M.R. Patanachai Jayant
M.R. Pimsai Amranand
Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul
Mr. Kim Atkinson
Dr. Tern Smitinand
Dr. Tej Bunnag
Mrs. Katherine Buri
Mr. Francis Martin
Mr. Dacre Raikes
Mrs. L. Seale
Mr. Graham Lucas
1. Adoption of the minutes of the Annual General Meeting, March 1974
The President proposed that the minutes be adopted. There
were no comments and the minutes were adopted.
2. Presentation of the Annual Report for 1974
The President proposed that the Annual Report be passed.
Again there were no comments, and the Report was passed.
3. Presentation of the financial statement
The Honorary Treasurer presented the financial statement. The
President proposed that the financial statement be passed. The
Honorary Secretary seconded the motion. The statement was passed.

4, Election of Honorary Auditor
A.NNUAL REPORT 343
The outgoing Council proposed that Mr. Yukta na Talang be
re-elected as Honorary Auditor. This was unanimously approved.
5. Election of Honorary Architect
The outgoing Council proposed that Mr. Sirichai Narumitr be
elected as Honorary Architect. This was unanimously approved.
6. Election of Council for 1975
The outgoing Council proposed the following as officers of the
Society:
President
H.R.H. Prince Naradhip Bongsprabandh
Senior Vice President Mr. Sukick Nimmanhaeminda
2nd Vice President H.S.H. Prince Subhadradis Diskul
3rd Vice President M.R. Patanachai Jayant
Honorary Secretary M.R. Pimsai Amranand
Honorary Treasurer M.R. Patanachai Jayant
Honorary Librarian Miss Elizabeth Lyons
Honorary Editor Dr. Tej Bunnag
Leader of the Natural Dr. Tern Smitinand
History Section (ex-officio)
The above were all elected.
The outgoing Council nominated the following as Ordinary
Members of Council:
1. Mr. Kim Atkinson
2. Mrs. Katherine Buri
3. Mr. Graham Lucas
4. M.L. Manich Jumsai
5. Mr. Francis Martin
6. Mr. Dacre Raikes
7. Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul
8. Mrs. Edwin F. Stanton
9. Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa
10. Mrs. L.A. Seale
11. Mr. Perry Stieglitz

344 ANNUAL REPOI\T
and the election of
12. H.E. Mr. Franz B. Howitz
13. Dr. Chetana Najavajara
14. Mr. Piriya Krairiksh
These were all elected.
There were no nominations from the floor, since members bad been
asked to make nominations in writing two weeks before the
Annual General Meeting.
7. Other business
There being no other business, the President adjourned the meeting.
A slide show on "Northern Thai Temples" was given by Dr. Vichai
Posayachinda, of Chulakongkorn Hospital.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
•1975/76
The Committee would like to thank Khun Euayporn Kerdchouay
for the smooth running of the Society. He continues to supervise the
staff and ensure the proper routine maintenance of building and grounds.
New screens were put in the Library, minor staff changes occurred, the
hall was hired for two weddings.
Regarding the Kamthieng House, repairs· were made to the
verandah. A very pleasant meeting was held there by the Southeast
Asian Journalists Travelling Group, sponsored by the Ford Foundation,
when they visited the Society.
A letter was written to the Prime Minister to protest the plundering
of the shipwrecks found off Sattahip. This letter received the encourag.;.
ing reply that action would be taken.
The Committee has aimed at keeping rising costs as low as possible,
while ensuring that the Society's property is well maintained.
Committee Members :
M.R. Pimsai Amranand
Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul
Mr. Francis Martin
Mr. Siricbai Narumitr
Mr. Euayporn Kerdchouay
Chairman
Administrative Secretary

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE
1975/76
Owing to a decline in our principal source of income and a
substantial increase in various items of our expenditures, it appears that
the total expenditures in 1975/76 have exceeded the total income by
about Baht 100,000. In the expectation that this current year our income
will decline further, and the high cost of living will continue to be
reflected in increasing our expenditures, it is evident that a rise in
membership fees is urgently needed.
Books and accounts of the Society have been examined and audited
by our Honorary Auditor, Mr. Yukta Na Talang and his colleagues at
Sycip, Velayo, Na Talang&Co. The Committee would like to express
its gratitude and appreciation to them all for the excellent services
rendered to the Society.
Committee Members:
M.R. Patanachai Jayant
Mrs. Katherine Buri
M.R. Kasemsiribhand Kasemsri
Chairman

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
1975/76
During the past year 238 ne.w members were elected to the Society,
while 50 resignations were received. The membership. drive begun the ·
previous year was not augmented, and will have to. be renewed during
the forthcoming year, especially to bring, more Thais from the government,
academic institutions and other professions into the Society.
We are now considering new means of maintaining the membership,
even if in some special form, of those whose resignations are brought
about by members departing from Thailand, the reason for the overwhelming
majority of resignations.
Once more this past year has demonstrated that attendance at
Society-sponsored functions decidedly increased in accordance with
advance publicity. The newspaper coverage of talks and special events
has been fair, but could be increased. The Committee must work
toward that end.
Com.mittee Members:
Mr. Perry J. Stieglitz
Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa
M.R. Pimsai Amranand
Chairman

ARTS AND CULTURAL CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT 1975/76
The Ford Foundation made an extremely generous grant to the
Society of Baht 470,000, the object of the grant being to support the
Society's programme and expand its activities. It was believed that this
would allow the Society to enter fields of activity wider than its own
resources permit, and to set up continuing programmes for research,
recorda! and education. The Council decided that the general field in
which the grant should be used was that of the conservation of the arts
and culture of Thailand, and delegated the administration of the grant
to the Arts and Cultural Conservation Committee.
Some of the results of the Committee's work have been immediately
made available to members in the form of lectures, publications and
music and dance programmes. These are referred to in the reports of the
Publication Committee. Other activities fall into two main fields: firstly
research, recorda! and perservation, and secondly education. In the
former, two major research projects are continuing: the recorda! of
palm leaf inscriptions of Lanna Thai under the direction of Mr. Sommai
Premchitr of Cbiengmai University, and the recorda! of Thai music under
the direction of Mr. Dacre Raikes.
In the field of education, the activities undertaken were the
presentation of the performing arts on an interregional basis, the idea
being to give people in one part of the country some idea of the dance,
music and drama of another part. This was epitomized in the extremely
,successful presentation of five different groups from different parts of
the country during our 72nd birthday celebrations. Further activities
weare a series of lectures and exhibitions held in the northern, central,
southern and northeastern provinces, and the support of students tours
to local historical and artistic sites, again in the remote provinces of the
north, northeast and south ..
The Ford Foundation has generously made a further grant of Baht
410,000 to enable ~ur programme to continue. Any member interested
in joining in the activities of the group is most welcome.

ANNUAL REPORT
349
Committee Members:
Dr. Sumet Jumsai
Mr. Sulak Si varaksa
M.R. Patanachai Jayant
Mr. Boonyavat Tiptas
Mr. D. Raikes
Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul
Dr. Vichai Posayachinda
Mr. Thanasit Wongseprasarn
Dr. Chetana Nagavajara
Dr. Piriya Krairiksb
Mr. Aub Sanasen
Mr. Sudchai Chermsirivatana
Mr. Euayporn Kerdchouay
Mr. Nit Ratanasanya
Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Treasurer
Secretary
Ass 't. Secretary

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE
1975/76
In the opinion of local and visiting research scholars, the Library
of the Siam Society provides an excellent collection of resource material,
although the limitations of space and funds keep expansion slower than
is desirable.
Once again, the fund established in the memory of Edwin F. ~tanton
has been valuable in providing books outside the normal budget. Purchased
from this account were the Collection of Customs compiled by
Prince Damrong, a bound set published in the 1920s, The Encyclopedia of
Buddhism and several volumes issued by the Buddhist Publication Society
of Ceylon, and the beautiful but expensive Sculpture of Siam by Boisselier.
Donations of books were received from the family of Prince
Damrong, M.L. Pin Malakul, Mr. Victor Sassoon, Mr. Dickinson,
Mr. Graham Nelson and Mr. William Klausner.
The Rare Book Room has been checked and each volume has been
carefully inspected and aired. Mr. Locke, a British Council conservation
expert, has proviqed advice on humidity control.
The Society's professional librarian, Mrs. Marasi, resigned to join
her husband in England. Mrs. Chamriang, who has. recently been
granted a degree in Library Science from Ramkamhaeng University, has
been hired for the position.
Committee Members :
Mrs. Elizabeth Lyons Chairman
Dr. Tej Bunnag
Mr. Uthai Dulyakasem

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
1975/76
At the time of writing, the Committee only bas one publication to
its credit for the past Council Year. There have been frustrating delays
in the appearance of books from our various printers. This situation
should be gradually rectified during the coming months when once again
there will be a steady stream of new titles on display at the Society.
However, the Committee regrets to have to sound a note of warning
to the effect that, as a result of the Society's parlous financial state, the
days of extravaganzas are coming to a rapid end. In other words, there
will be fewer publications and thinner JSSs from now on.
1. Publications and reprints programme
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Publication
Jeremias Van Vliet, The Short History of the King of Siam.
Translated l?Y Leonard Andaya, from a transcription by
Miriam J. Verkuijl-van den Berg. Edited by David K. Wyatt.
Reprinting
(i) John Black, The Lofty Sanctuary of Khao Phra Viharn
(ii) M.R. Pimsai Amranand, Gardening in Bangkok
(iii) Gerini, Chulakantamala: The Tonsure Ceremony as Performed
in Siam (Bangkok, 1895)
In press
(i) Siricbai Narumitrekakarn, Bridges of Bangkok
(ii) Nus it Chaindasi, The Religion of the Blue Meo
In preparation
(i)
A pictorial history of the Siam. Society is being prepared
for the Society's Sixth Cycle Anniversary.. Captions will
be based on a text prepared by Miss Sodsai Kantivorkul.
(ii) Euayporn Kerdcbouay, Nang Yai Wat Khanon (The Wat
Khanon Shadow Play); in Thai and English
(iii) Piriya Krairiksh, The Chula Pathon Chedi: Architecture and
$culpt14rf! of Dvar(lvati

352 ANNUAL REPORT
2. Journal of the Siam Society
Two numbers were published in 1975/76 JSS July 1975, volume63
part 2, reached the record of 501 pages. It was a joint number between
the Society and Mahidol University. Dr. Suriya Ratanakul was
Honorary Guest Editor for the section entitled, "Papers presented at the
Workshop on Southeast Asian Languages. Theme: Linguistic Problems
in Minority /Majority Group Relations in Southeast Asian Countries.
Mahidol University, Bangkok, 13-17 January 1975". The Ford Foundation
gave generous financial assistance to that joint venture.
Generous donations from Mr. Alexander B. Griswold, granted
through the Breezewood Foundation, helped to cover the costs of printing.
The Society is very grateful for the unfailing support for and interest in
its projects from Mr. Griswold.
3, Committee Members:
Mr. William J. Klausner
Dr. Tej Bunnag
Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa
Mr. Harold J. Gross
Mr. Nitya Ratanasanya
Chairman
Honorary Editor, Journal of the Siam
Society
Secretary

PROGRAMME AND TRAVEL COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT 1975/76
With financial assistance from the Ford Foundation, we managed
to work closely with the Textbook Project on Social Sciences and the
Humanities, the Social Science Association of Thailand, in sponsoring
two research projects, the data of which formed the basis of two lectures,
one in honour of our President and the other in memory of our late
Honorary President. The former lecture was given at the Small
Auditorium of Thammasat University, with Dr. Puey Ungpakorn, our
Honorary Member, presiding, and the latter lecture was given at the
Faculty of Arts, Chulatongkorn University, with H.E. Mr. Sukich
Nimmanhaemind, our late Senior Vice President as chairman. The two
lectures were in Thai and were well received. Other lectures, seminars
and discussions at the Society home followed the programme of previous
years.
Some cultural shows also received indirect support from the Ford
Foundation through the Arts and Culture Committee, which arranged
for interregional cultural shows at various educational institutions, and
in quite a few instances the Society benefited thereby. Sri Nakarindraviroj
University (formerly College of Education) at Prasanmitr in
particular developed very close links with the Siam Society. The
success of those performing art projects was due largely to the untiring,
imaginative efforts of Mr. Dacre Raikes. Special mention may be made
of the Six.th-Cycle Anniversary celebration which lasted for three
evenings, and was a splendid effort on the part of everyone concerned.
The celebrations were opened by H.M. Queen Rambhai Barni acting on
behalf of H.M. the King. Exhibitions were arranged for the occasion
by Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul and Mr. Prasit Buri; Mr. Nit Ratanasanya's
contribution also deserves special mention.
Regarding travel, we set a policy to lead an excursion to a neighbouring
country about once a year. However, our attempts to visit
Cambodia and Laos failed twice due to events beyond our control.
Fortunately, Dr. Piriya Krairiksh returned from the U.S.A. in time to

354 ANNUAL REPORT
rescue us by leading a trip to Indonesia with the help of Mr. Smithies,
our Corresponding Member there. The excursion was so successful that
Dr. Piriya was requested to lead a trip to Burma, which everyone enjoyed.
It is with great regret that he bas to leave the Council to become a
curator in Australia.
In collaboration with the Art and Culture Committee, we managed
to arrange a private tour for a group from abroad who wanted to know
this country in a more thorough and academic way than travel agents
could arrange. With the help of Mr. Nit Ratanasanya, we managed to
do this successfully. In the future, apart from the monthly tour, if any
member has friends who want us to lead private tours for historical,
cultural or artistic purposes, we shall be willing to do so as far as we are
able. We feel this will promote deeper understanding of Siam as a
whole, which after all is the main objective of the Society.
In all our travel and programmes, we relied heavily on Members of
the Council who helped us chair meetings, suggested names of speakers,
topics of discussion, and places to visit. We also received kind
assistance from various organizations and individuals, such as the Meklong
Development Project (affiliated with Thammasat University, Kasetsat
University and Mahidol University), which allowed us to join its kathin
ceremony. However, the most useful person to us was our own Administrative
Secretary, Mr. Euayporn Kerdchouay, who worked tirelessly
and smilingly to everybody's satisfaction.
Committee Members:
Mr. Sulak Si varaksa
Mr. Dacre Raikes
Mr. Sudchai Chermsiriwatna
Mr. Nit Ratanasanya
Mr. Euayporn Kerdchouay
Chairman
Co-Chairman
Lectures, seminars, filmshows and excursions 1975/76
27 April Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa, Member of the Council, Excursion to
Pon~ Tuk 1 Prathaen Don~ran~ and U-Thon~

13 May
27 May
10 June
24 June
ANNUAL REPORT ·
Dr. Yeneo Ishii, Kyoto University, Thai and !Jurmese
ecclesiastical examinations
Dr. N.A. Sarker, United Nations Asian Development Institute,
The impact of industrialization of Greater Bangkok
Dr. Somsakdi Xuto, National Institute of Development
Administration, Thai foreign relations in Southeast Asia
Dr. Pataya Saihoo, Chulalongkorn University, The role of
Muslim women in the south of Thailand
21-22 June Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul and Mr. Kim Atkinson, Council
Members, Excursion to Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram,
Ratchaburi and Phetchaburi
1 July Dr. and Mrs. George Willoughby, International Nonviolence
and Organizers of Philadelphia Life Center on the Movement
for a New Society, Non-violent social change in India and
the United States
7-28 July Archeo/ogy'7 5: A joint programme of exhibition and lectures
arranged by the Siam Society and A.U.A. Language Center
with the co-operation of the Fine Arts Department, Silpakorn
University and the Royal Thai Survey Department
15 July Mr. Pis it Charernwongse, Silpakorn University, Ban Chieng
excavations 1974-1975
18-20 July H.S.H. Prince Subhadradis Diskul, Vice-President, Excursion
to Kamphang Phet, Phitsanulok, Uttradit and Nan
22 July Two films: Cremation in Bali, and The Ramayana, both
directed by Brian Brake, were shown with the co-operation
of the Indonesian Embassy at Bangkok
27 July Mr. F.W.C. Martin, Member of the Council, Excursion: Wat
Po revisited
31 July Performance of Hun Krabok, introduced by Mr. D. Raikes,
Member of the Council
5 August Dr. Sumet Jumsai, Association of Siamese Architects,
Mountain and water: How cities strove /or harmony by being
macrocosmicly planned: A case study mainly centred on
ancient Khmer settlements

356
ANNUAL REPOHT
15 August
26 August
27 August
30 August
A panel discussion, The promotion of the Asian Cultural
Forum on Development. Panelists: Mr. Chandra de
Fonseka, Mr. Charles Avila and Rev. Fr. S. Fernando;
Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa, Moderator
Dr. Piriya Krairiksh, Member of the Council, Arc:
hitecture and sculpture -of the Central Ja~anese Period:
An introduction
Ceremonial and folk dances of Malaya, presented
by the Cultural Troupe of the University ofMalaya
Dr. Piriya Krairiksh, Member of the Council, Excursion
to Early Dvaravati Period sites
12-15 September Dr. Tern Smitinand, Member of the Council, Expedi-
16 September
19 September
23 September
18-25 October
JO .Oc.tober
6 November
11 November
liOn to Khun Tan
Dr. Misrolav Fryba, University of Berne, Modern
Western psychology and psychology of Abhidamma
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Meacham, The Quaker International
Seminars in Southeast Asia, Social communication
as a dynamic process in Southeast Asia
A show of four short films: Buddhist heritage of
Orissa, Cave temples of India, Khajuraho and Rangoli,
with the co-operation of the Indian Embassy, Bangkok.
Dr. Piriya Krairiksh, Member of the Council, Excursion
to Java and Bali
Dr. Koson Sri sang, The Church of Christ of Thailand,
The institution of the. Siamese monarchy, in honour of
H.R.H. Prince Wan Waitbayakorn, Kroma~un
Naradhip Bongsprabandh, the President of the Siam
Society (in Thai, at Thammasat University)
The cremation of H.H. Prince Dhani Nivat, introduction
and explanation by Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa, Member
of the Council
Dr. Walter F. Vella, University of Hawaii, The development
of irrigation and the rise of the Thai

ANNUAL REPOI\T 357
15 November
2 December
4-11 December
9· December
9-11 January
13 January
15 January
20 January
27 January
5 February
Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa, Member of the Council, An
expedition to observe the Katin ceremony and boat
tour (at Wat Yokrabat, in Samut Sakbon)
A special performance oflakorn cbatri andlakorn nawk,
introduced by Mr. D. Raikes
Dr. Piriya Krairiksb, Member of the Council, Excursion
to Burma
Dr. Herbert H. Phillips, University of California,
Berkeley, The ethics of scientific research
H.S.H. Prince Subhadradis Diskul, Vice-President,
Expedition to Khon Kaen, Kalasin and Udonthant
Dr. Karl F. Weber, University of Heidelberg, Farmers'
decision-making: Some results of field research
in Chantaburi Province
Mrs. Prakong Nimmanbaemind, Chulalongkorn University,
The northern version of the Vesantaka Jataka.
The Prince Dhani Nivat memorial lecture in Thai, at
Chulalongkorn University
Dance and music from the northern mountains. A
performance of hilltribe dancers and musicians from
Chiang Mai, introduced by Mr. D. Raikes and Miss
G. Schwoerer
Prof. H.H. Prince Prem Burachatra, former President
of the Siam Society and former Thai Ambassador to
India and Denmark, Four decades of the Siam Society
A seminar on underwater archeology with reference
to the shipwrecks off Sattahip. Speakers: Prof. Co.
Pedersen, Dr. Kristian Keller, Vice-Admiral Vichian
Sangkavorakich, Mr. Binich Sombatsiri, Mr. Lars Kan
Rasmussen, Lt. Nakorn Aranyanark and Dr. Pensak
Chagsuchinda; H.E. Frantz B. Howitz, the Danish
Ambassador, presiding

358
ANNUAL REPOl\1'
19 February
Prof. L. Hewage, the Vidyolankara University,
Colombo, Sarvoda Ya movement in applying Buddhishm
to village development in Sri Lanka
20~2 2 February Mr. Euayporn Kerdchouay, Administrative Secretary,
Excursion to Ban Kao, ruins at Muang Singh, Sai Yoke
and U~Thong
26-28 February Sixth-Cycle Anniversary Celebration. Three days of
multi-media entertainment: regional music and dance
fests, textile and basketry exhibitions, photographs
and display on Thailand's natural heritage, and
screening of vintage Siamese films of King Rarna Vll
and rare cultural ceremonies
13-14 March
25 March
Mr. Nij Hinjachiranand and Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa,
Excursion to Nakhon Sawan and Uthai Thani
Annual General Meeting, followed by slide show on
"Mystical Bali Aga" (on the pre-Hindu residents of
Bali) by Mr. Kitti Kupadakvinij and Mr. Frank
Green
~ '

ANNUAL REPORT Of THE NATURAL HISTORY SECTION
1975/76
1. The 1975/16 Committee Members of the Natural History Section as
approved by the Siam Society Council were:-
Dr. Tem Smitinand
Leader and Editor of Natural History
Bulletin
Mr. Daroon Balasiri Secretary
Mrs. Nancy M. Greene Publicity Chairman
Mr. Philip A. Reeves Programme Chairman
Mr. Thosaporn Wongratana Outdoor Activities Chairman
Mrs. Katherine B. Buri Conservation Chairman
Mr. R.L. Kranker
H.E. Mr. Frantz B. Howitz
Mr. Sa-ard Boonkird
Dr. Rajit Buri
2. One double-numbered issue of the Natural History Bulletin, volume
26 nos. 1 &2, of about 200 pages containing 10 original articles on
natural history, was published at a cost of Baht 24,610. A sum of
Baht 2,000 was received for advertisements from the Forest Industry
Organization and the Thai Plywood Factory.
3. Only one hike was made to Phu Kradung in December, bringing an
income of Baht 6,594. A fishery study tour to Samut Prakan and
Chon Buri was made without any profit. The Leader also participated
as the botanical guide on the excursion to Phuket and Phang-nga,
and the expedition to Khun Tan organized by the Society.
4. Four indoor meetings were held, being lectures on natural history.
5. At the General Meeting of the Natural History Committee, held on
on 17 February 1976 in the Prince Dhani Room at the Society's home,
Dr. Tern Smitinand was re-elected as the Leader for the year 1976/77,
and the following Committee Members were duly elected to office:
Dr. Tern Smitinand Editor of the Natural History Bulletin
Mr. Daroon Balasiri Secretary

360 ANNUAL REPORT
Dr. Warren Y. Brockelman Co-editor of the Natural History Bulletin
Mr. Philip A. Reeves Programme Chairman
Mrs. Katherine B. Buri Conservation Chairman
Mr. Prasit Buri
Outdoor Activities Chairman
Mr. R.L. Kranker
H.E. Mr. Frantz B. Howitz
Mr. Sa-ard Boonkird
Dr. Rajit Buri

NOTICE CONCERNING MEMBERSHIP FEES
The membership fees of the Siam Society have not changed since
1969. Meanwhile, the general price index in Thailand has risen by an
additional 55 to 65 per cent. At the same time, the Society's income
from other sources has declined, and the 1976 prospects for those sources
are dim.
Under such circumstances, the Council of the Siam Society presented
a resolution for Members' approval at the Annual General
Meeting on 25 March 1976, proposing a rise in membership fees as well
as a new structure of membership offerings. The resolution was passed,
and the new schedule of fees appears herewith. The customary entrance
fee for new Members has been abolished.
The Council appeals for acceptance of the changes. From a
strictly economical viewpoint, Members do receive more value in terms
of services rendered than the relatively modest outlay in membership
fees. The new fees will not even yield half the Society's budget for
1976; the Society must rely on other sources to make up the differance,
while keeping the financial burden on Members at a minimum.
The Council believes very strongly that the Siam Society performs
an important cultural task in Thailand by helping to promote the arts,
publish new research, preserve the natural and cultural heritage in many
ways, and encourage students and other groups to further those goals.
Even though it is necessary to propose a modest rise in fees, the
Council trusts that old Members will retain their membership and
continue to give the Society their active support.
Yours sincerely,
M.R. PIMSAI AMRANAND
Honorary Secretary

Membership in the Siam Society
Status and privileges
Life
- Subscription to the Society's Journal,
and (on request) Natural History
Bulletin
- Members' discount on publications, tours,
performances
- Use of the Library
- Right to vote at meetings
Regular (renewable annually)
-Same privileges as Life Members
Ordinary (renewable annually)
- Members' discount on publications, tours,
performances
-Use of the Library
- Right to vote at meetings
Amount in Baht
(Minimum) 5,000.-
(Minimum) 500.-
300.-
Student (for local students only; renewable annually) 50.-
- Same privileges as Ordinary Members
- No right to vote at meetings
In addition,- the following category is proposed for the benefit of those who
may not desire active membership, but who do wish to support the good work
of the Siam Society:
Friends of the Siam Society (Minimum) 2,000.-
- Subscribers' names will be inscribed on a permanent plaque
at the Siam Society's home.
Regular and Life Members are encouraged to contribute more
than the listed minimum fees, to support the Society's programme
and goals.
All members receive a discount of20 per cent on all publications.
Members are usually not charged handling fees for processing their mail
orders for publications.

ANNUAL REPOilT 363
All members resident in Thailand are to continue receiving the
Monthly Programme, as well as the detailed Annual Report which is
issued in advance of the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
Interested parties overseas may support the Society by retaining full
membership, or they may subscribe separately to the Journal of the Siam
Society and the Natr~ra/ History Bulletin at the rates listed below:
Journal of the Siam Society 300.- (US$ 15)
(Two issues per year)
Natural History Bulletin 100.- (US$ 5)
(One issue per year)

LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Preben A.F. Aakesson
Mr. Mathias~ Abendroth
Mrs. H. Abeyseloera
Mom Kobkaew Abhakara na Aydbya~~<
M.R. R. Abhakorn
Mr. David Paul Abotomey
Mr. ArthurS. Abramson*
Mr. A.C.S. Adams*
Prof. David B.J, Adams
Mrs. V.T. Adloff*
Mrs. D. Adulbhan
Miss Brigitte Agenet
Mr. Paul Aiken
Mr. Osamu Akagi*
Miss Margaret Alcock
Mr. A. Alexander*
Mr. P.J. Alexander*
Mrs. Marjorie Alford
Mr. Anvar T. Aliakbar*
Mr. Charles Alton
Mr. Pricha Amatyakul*
Dr. E. Ammundsen*
M.R. Pimsai Amranand'r.
Mr. Pinglasvasti Amranand*
Mr. Piyasvastri Amranand•
Mr. Vidusvasti Amranand*
Dr. Herbert Amry
Dr. Jacques Amyot
Miss Marie A.R. Anania
Mrs. Susan Andelman
Mr. Hans G. Andersen
Mr. Charles Anderson
Mr. David Anderson
Dr. Dole Anderson
Dr. Douglas D. Anderson*
Mr. John Anderson
Mr. Hirushi Ando*
· Mr. David I. Andrianoff
Miss Mary Anglemyer*
Prof. Edward M. Anthony*
Mr. Joji Aoyagi*
Mr. Hachiro Arai*
Mr. Charles Arcbalmbault
Mr. Alain Archambault
Mr. Brund Arens
Mrs. Judith Arndt
'Dr. Joel B. Aronson
Phya Arthakariya Nibonda•
Dr. Waraphat Arthayukti
Mr. Charles D. Arthur*
Mr. James P. Ashby
Mr. Mason K. Ashby
Mr. William Philip Ashdown
Mr. Y.I.E. Assis
Mr. Siva Asva Asvakiat
Mr. Kim Atkinson*
Mr. Buncbana Atthakorn*
Mr. Buntbin Atthakorn•
Mr. William Austin
Mr. Tsuneo Ayabe*
Mr. Peter Aylen
Mr. Ebrahim A. Azeez
* denotes life member

LIST OF ;\JEMUERS
365
Mr. Claude Bachmann
Dr. H.W. Bachtiar
Miss Louise Bacon
Miss Kathleen Badger
Mrs. Susan Baig
Dr. Gordon B. Bailey
Mrs. Beatrice M. Bailey
Mr. David A. Bailey
Mr. Jacques P. Bailhe
Mr. Michael H. Baker*
Dr. R. Balakrishna*
Mrs. Malini Balasingam
Mr. Daroon Balasiri
Mr. William Baldwin
Miss Banchop Bandhumedha•
Mr. Dieter-Maria Balzar•
Mr. Halvor Bange
Mr. Dharrnadasa Banij*
Prof. Albert H. Banner
Mr. Dusit Banijbatana
Mr. Hans Banspach
Dr. Hans Banziger
Prof. P.V. Bapat•
Mr. Martin Barber
Prof. HughS. Barbour
Dr. Garland Bare•
Mr. Douglas J. Barnes
Mr. J.N.A. Barnes
Mr. Thomas L. Barratt
Mr. D. Barrett
Mr. Martin G. Barrow
Mr. Norman Bartlett*
Mr. James R. Basche, Jr.
Mr. Douglas N. Batson*
Mrs. Frances S. Bassler
Mr. Erwin Baumann
Mrs. Ralph Baumer, Jr.
Mr. Vance M. Baumgartner
Miss Louise Baumgarten
Dr. Donn T. Bayard
Dr. R.A. Beaver
Mr. Raimon Beard
Prof. Dr. Heinz Becbert
Mrs. Mary H. Becker
Mr. Donald Becker
Mr. Peter James Bee*
Mr. P. De Beer
Dr. Damrong Bejrablaya•
Mr. Konrad Bekker
Mr. R. Martin Bell
Mr. Phairot Bencharit
Mr. Simon Benians
Mrs. Patty Benjamin
Prof. Esra Bennathan
Mr. Stephen Bennett
Mr. Robert Bergin
Mr. Giorgio Berlingieri
Mr. J.N.A. Bernes
Mr. Robin A. Herrington
Mrs. Marie Marthe Berlingieri
Mr. Mel T. Bernard
Miss Lois M. Berney
Mr. Hans Berthel
Mrs. Cynthia Besley
Mr. C.N. Bevens
Prof. Natth Bhamarapravati
Mr. P.K. Bhandari
Mr. M.V. Bbatawdeker
Miss Chamrieng Bbavichitra*
Luang Bbisit Sukhumkarn

366
Mr. Prapasask Bhucksasri
Mr. Dhani t Bhumsuke
Mrs. Linda C. Bigelow
Mr. Anne-Willem Bijleveld
Mrs. Kathy P. Bijleveld
Dr. George Andrew Bin new
Mrs. Betty A. Binning
Mrs. Pamela G. Bird
Mr. Norman Birkemstock
Dr. Ernst W. Birmele
Phra Bisal Sukhumvit
Mr. Belmar Bischoff
Mr. Dean Bishop
Mr. Paul Bixler
Mr. Francois Bizot
Miss Jnga Bjorkroth
Mr. Otto Bjorling•
Miss Ellen Bjorn
Mr. J. Black*
Mr. Knud Rasmus Black
Miss Star Black
Mr. Michael Blackmore
Mrs. Yuko Blair
Mr. J.J. Boeles*
Prof. Dr. Ernest Boesch
Prof. Jean Boisselier*
Miss Theodora Bofman
Mr. T.L. Bolster
Mr. Gerard Bolvineau
Mr. A. Bonnet
Dr. Hans Bonziger
Mr. Sa-ard Boonkird
Mr. Tirayoot Boonmi
Mr. William Booth
Luang Borihara V anakhett*
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Alexander Hay Borthwick
Mrs. Marcelle Boschan
Lt. Col. Jackson W. Bosley
Mr. Neil Wesley Boughner
Mr. K. W. Boughton
Mr. Jean Boulbet
Mr. J.D. Boulter
Mr. Cor roll G. Bowen*
Mr. Richard C. Boylan
Mrs. MaryS. Boylan
Dr. Philip A. Brabeer
Mr. Heinz Braendli
Dr. William L. Bradley
Dr. Nigel J. Brailey
Mrs. Betty R. Branch
Mr. A. Brand
Mr. Robert E. Brandford
Mr. P.O. Brandt
Mrs. Alexandra Braunsteffer
Mr. German Brautigam
Mr. Kennon Breazeale*
Mr. M. Lyall Breckon
Mr. W .R. Brenchley
Dr. R. Peter Brenner
Miss Marcia Ross Brewster
Mr. Earl Bridges
Mrs. Joanna Brierley
Dr. W.S. Bristowe
Mrs. Bahia Britain
Dr. Colin M. Britton
Mr. David Lee Brock
Mr. Warren Brockelman
Mr. Jean Claude Brodbeck
Mrs. Alverna Brodecky
Dr. John F. Brobm*

LIST OF MEMBERS
367
Mr. Jere Broh-Kohn*
Mr. Barry Broman
Mr. P.D. Bronder
Mr. Bennet Bronson
Mr. Maurice Broughten
Mr. German Brautigam
Mr. R.L. Brown
Mrs. Charlotte Brown
Mrs. Lorna M. Brown
Mr. Ian G. Brown
Mr. Michael D. Brown
Miss Roxanna M. Brown
Dr. Stuart Brown
Mr. R.H. Brown
Mr. Robert Bruce
Mr. Viggo Brun
Mr. Michel Bruneau
Mr. Eugene Bruns
Mr. Charles Bryant
Maj. Gen Prasert Buabusya
Mr. Chitr Buabusaya*
Prof. Saroj Buasri
Mr. Vancbai Bulakul
Mrs. L.C. Edna Bulkley*
Mr. Prasong Bunchoem
Dr. Tej Bunnag
Mr. Marut Bunnag
Mrs. Cbancbam Bunnag
Miss Vilaileka Buranasiri
Miss Srihatai Buranasonggram
Mr. Pramude Buransiri
Mr. Prasit Buri*
Mrs. Katherine Buri*
Miss Prapar N. Buri*
Mrs. Prapai S. Buri Jittalan•
Mr. Prasarn Bbiraj Buri*
Dr. Rachit Buri
Mr. A. Burkhardt
Mrs. Julia M. Burks
Miss Mai Mai Burke
Mr. Thomas A. Burnham
Mr. William Spence Burtenshaw*
Mr. John J.S. Burton
Mr. William R. Burton
Mr. Noel F. Busch
Mr. Rolland H. Bushner*
Miss V.A. Butler
Mr. Michael J. Bux
Miss M. Cablasar
Mr. John Cadet
Mr. Juan Cadiz, Jr.
Mr. William Cadwallader
Miss Jacklyn Anne Cohill
Mr. Robert A. Cahn
Mr. Paul Cailhau
Mr. John Cairncross
Mr. Michael Merle Calavan
Mr. C.W. Callaway, Jr.*
Mr. Stuart C. Campbell
Dr. Ernest Y. Campbell
Maj. Donald J. Cann
Mr. Timothy Carney*
Mr. G.D. Carpenter*
Mr. Harry L. Carr
Mrs. E.M. Carrick
Mr. Richard A. Carrick
Mr. Robert Carter
Mrs. Carroll L. Cartwright*
Capt. T.P. Cassidy
Mr. Phillip E. Cast

368 LIST OF MEMBERS
Mrs. Susan 0. Castrence
Mr. Michael Leo Schmicker
Dr. Pensak Cbagsuchinda
Mr. Saad Chaiwan
H.R.H. Prince Cbalermbol Yugala*
Mrs. Mary Challinor
Dr. James A. Chalmers
Mr. James R. Chamberlain
Miss Chusiri Chamaraman
Dr. Theo. Chamberlain
HE. Mr. Abbai Chandavimol*
Miss Churairat Chandhamrong
Mr. Albert T. Chandler
Mr. David Chandler
Mr. Glen Chandler
M.C. Sasavin Cbandratat""
Mr. Wiwat Chandrvirot
Mr. Thavisakdi Chandrvirocbana
Mr. Damrong Changtrakul*
Mrs. Harue Cbangwatana
Miss Souvimol Chanmanon
Mr. Robert Charles
Mr. Chamroon Cbaroenkul
Khunying Sumalee Cbartikavanij
Lt. Gen. Cbalermcbai Cbaruvastr
Prof. S.K. Cbatterji*
Mrs. Estrell Cbauls
Mr. Cbaiyong Cbavalit
Mrs. Maenmas Chavalit
Mr. Chamras Chayobongse*
Miss Seela Chayaniyayodhin*
Mr. Anthony Cbeke
Mr. Brian Cheetham
Mr. J.M. Chiappe
Mr. C.F. Cbicarelli, Jr.*
Mr. Cbille Chiesa
Miss Lucylee Chiles
Miss Ganigar Chinachote
Lord Stephen T. Ching
M.R. Chakrarot Chitrabongs
Dr. Preeda Chitaracbinda
Miss Bancba Cbittibhol
Dr. Prachoom Chomchai
Mrs. Francoise Cbomthongdi
Miss Phornphun Cbongvatana
Mr. Eugene Choy
Mr. Hans Christensen
Dr. John J. Christian
Mr. Raymond Christinge.r
Mrs. Karin Christiansen
Miss Sakorn Cbueiprasit
Mr. Prathoom Chumpengpan
Mrs. Saisuree Chutikul*
Mr. Vipat Chutima
Mrs. Oon Chutima
Miss Krongtbong Chutima
Mr. Edwin J. Clapp
H.E. Mr. C.A. Clarac
Mr. Henry Claudot
Mr. Lucien B. Clawson, Jr.
Mrs. Joanne Click
Mr. William Clifton
Mr. Robert L. Climie
Mr. Louis A. Cohen
Mr. Edward S. Cohen
Mr. Anthony Cockcroft
H.E. Mr. David L. Cole
Mr. Harold F. Colebaugb
Miss Daphne Colwell
Mrs. Carol J. Compton

LIST OF MEMBERS
369
Dr. J. Lin Compton
Prof. Georges Condominas*
Mr. Robert N. Cook Jr.
Mr. Yves Conrad
Mr. Michael John Cornish
Mrs. Georgia K. Cook
Mr. Forrest E. Cookson
Mr. Richard M. Cooler
Mrs. Susanne Cooper
Mr. J. Corman*
Dr. Conrad P. Cotter
Mr. Hugo J. Cotter
Mr. John B. Cox
Mr. Christopher Court
Mr. Thomas R. Cox III
Mrs. Elsie Coyne
Maj. Alexander W. Craig
Mr. Dwight Cramer
Mrs. Noel Crosthwaite
Miss Margaret Crow ley
Mr. John B. Cox
Mr. Richmond Cubis
Mr. J.L. Culbertson*
Mr. William H. Cummings*
Mr. Miguel Angel Cuneo
Dr. Richard D. Cushman*
Mr. John Dahaven
Dr. George F. Dales
Mr. Lance Dane
Dr. Garfielo W. Danenhower III
Mrs. B.A. Banson
Mr. Chitra Dansuputra*
Dr. Martial Dasse
Mrs. Anne-Marie Dauphin
Mr. Frederick A. Day
Mr. David Davies
Mr. S.J. Davies
Mr. Bertell D. Davis
Mrs. R.M. Davis
Mr. Vance S. Davis
Mr. Richard B. Davis
Mr. Philip Davis
Baron F. Duhau de Berenx
Mrs. Rens de Beer
Mr. C.A. Loureiro de Carvalho
Mr. Chandra de Fonseka
Mr. J.H. de Goede
Miss Vijata B. de Silva
Mr. Scott C. Delancey
Mr. T.J. Delaney
Dr. George E. Delehany
Mr. Frank Delong
Hon. Olcott H. Deming
Dr. Dend Dengler
Dr. Eugene Denis, S.J.
Miss Vyvyan Denzey
M.R. Anongdevan Devakul
M.L. Tradhosyuth Devakul
Dr. J.L. de Vries
Mr. F.C. de Weger*
Miss Cbalermsri Dhamabutra*
H.E. Mr. Sanya Dharmasakti*
Mr. Reni Dhont
Mr. T. Bennett Dickerson
Mr. B.C. Dickinson*
Mr. Michael M.H. Dicks
H.S.H. Prince Subhadradis Diskul*
Mr. Andrew C. Dickson
Mr. William Dickinson*
Mr. James M. Dillard

370
Miss Matinee Dilokwanich
Mr. Michael K. Dirks
H.S.H. Prince Marayat Diskul*
Dr. E.R. Doberstyn
Mr. John Dodds*
Rev. Mr PaulS. Dodge*
Mr. Joseph F. Poll, Jr.
Mr. W.A.M. Doll*
Mr. Peter Donaldson
Mr. Nicholas Dolphin
Miss Margaret Donkin
Mrs. Mary P. Doran
Mrs. Velvet Eve Douglas
Miss Gloria Douglas
Miss Vera Beltrao do Valle
Mrs. Nancy Dowdell
Mr. Thomas A. Dowe
Rev. Mr. Ray Downs
Mr. Svend H. Drachmann*
Mr. Daniel Droulers
Mr. Ernest Duchamp
Mrs. Madeleine Duddek
Mr. Jacques du Guerny
Mr. William H. Duke
Mr. Uthai Dulyakasem
Mrs. Anne Cottet-Dumoulin
Mr. Robert Mitchell Duncan
Mr. Michael J. Dux
Mrs. Virginia Dwyre
Mr. William F. Eaton
Mr. Joseph Eazekas
Mr. Bruce Edmands
Mrs. J.C. Edwards
Prof. Soren Egerod
Mr. H~nri Beck~*
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Paul D. Ehret
Miss Madeline Ehrman
Mr. R.F. Einthoven
Mrs. I. Eisenhofer*
Mrs. Sukhabanij Eksaengsri*
Mr. Robert E. Biber
Mr. Gove G. Elder
Mrs. Fred J. Elizalde
Dr. H. Elliott McClure
Mr. G. Ellis
Miss Annette Louise Ellis
Mr. Timothy David Ely
Mr. G.C. Emerson
Mr. Peter Enderlein
Miss Adele Epstein
Miss Ruth M. Erlandson
Mrs. Jean Ernst
The Viscount Errington
Mr. Mogens Bay Esbensen
Mrs. Ghislaine Esguerra
Dr. David E. Eskey
Mrs. Penny van Esterik
Dr. Egon A. Ettinger*
Miss Constance Ettridge
Mrs. Anne Evans
Prof. H.D. Evers
Dr. R.H.B. Exell
Mrs. Florence E. Fader
Mr. James Faddis
Mr. Edward B. Follon
Mr. Frank Farner
Mr. F.J. Farrell
Mr. F. Jeffery Farrell
Mrs. Francine Faulhaber
Mr. Jean-Jacques Favre

Mr. Joseph Fazekas
Mrs. Hollary Feddersen
Mr. David Harold Feeny
Mrs. Anne Feiberg
Prof. David A. Feingold*
Mrs. Dorothy H. Fickle
Mr. David Finch
Mr. Sherwood Fine
Mrs. Patricia Finney
Mrs. Ingrid Finocchiaro
Mr. Patrick M. Fitzgerald
Prof. Dr. Gerhand Flatz
Mrs. Chadin Flood
Mr. Alexander Flotow
Mr. Harry A. Folietta
Mr. Marjon C. Follis
Mr. Ivan M. Fomtchev
Mr. James Robert Foran
Mr. Thomas G. Fesmire
Mr. Brian L. Foster
Mr. Burke Fletcher
Mrs. Dorothy L. Foster
Mr. Jacques Fouilland
Mr. Stephen R. Fox
Mrs. Shirin Fozdar
Mr. H.G. Frandsen*
Mrs. Richard Frankel
Mr. Dean Frascbe*
Mr. James W.O. Frascbe*
Miss Norma Vivian Fraser
Mr. P.R.N. Fraymough
Mr. Lars E. Fredberg
Mr. Howard Freeman
Mr. John D. Freeman
Mr. Ulrich Frei tage
LIST OI! MEMBEl:IS
Mrs. Alan F. Freseman
Mr. Louis Friedman
Mr. Bruno Friedman
Mrs. A.G. Friis
Mr. H.C. Frijlink*
Mr. Thomas Frisbie
Mr. Clifford B. Frith
Mr. Walter J. Frost
Mr. Gerald Fry
Mr. Peter Fuchs
Mrs. Karin Fuchs
Prof. Riichiro Fujiwara
Mr. Robert M. Fulton
Mr. Akio Funakoshi
Mr. Hermann Funk
Mr. Louis Gabaude
Miss Lourdes Gadia
M.R. Rosalin Gagananga*
Mr. Pathom Gajaseni
Dr. Gert Gust-Gajewsia
Mr. Bo Khin Maung Gale*
Mr. George F. Gant*
Dr. Damnern Garden
Mrs. Rareun Netrayon Garden
Dr. Richard A. Gard
Mr. Louis S. Gardner
Dr. John Kennedy Garland
Mr. David Garland Smith
Mrs. M.H. Germany
Mrs. Joy Garney
Mr. Derick Garnier
Mr. John Gartner
Mr. Sangaroon R. Gasikorn
Mr. G. Gately
Prof. William Robert Geddes
371

372
Dr. William Gedney*
Mr. Robert Geesink
Mr. P.F. Geithner
Dr. Rene Gelber
Mrs. Julia Gemmell
Dr. H. Gerlach*
Mr. W.D. Gerow
Miss Lorraine Gesick
Mr. T.W. Gething*
H.E. Mr. John I. Getzotc
Mr. Daniel Ghigo
Mr. Hugh Gibb*
Mr. D.J. Gibson
Miss Jacis Gilbert
Mr. J.M. Giles
Mr. Olivier Gille De Pelichy
Miss Elizabeth Gillespie
Mr. Henry Ginsburg
Mr. Ronald Roy Gilliam
Dr. G.A.R. Giri, O.B.E.
Mr. Ulf Glattkowski
Mrs. Joanne Gisselquist
Mr. Gunther Glauninger
Mr. M.C. Gluckmann
Mr. J.H. de Goede
Mrs. Marilyn Goertsen
Mr. Richard Goldrick
Mr. Jay Goldstein
Dr. Ann Elizabeth Gordon
Mr. S. Gouge
Mr. Robert F. Goninon
Dr. Chester F. Gorman
Mr. James J. Gormley
Miss Ann J. Gosling
Mrs. Elizbeth Gosling
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mrs. D.C. Goss*
Prof. Lee A. Peter Gosling
Dr. Douglas Gould
Dr. Joseph S. Gould*
Mr. Mark Graham
Mr. Wolfgang Grams
Mr. Terry B. Grandstaff
Mrs. Stephen Green
Mrs. B. Gillian Green
Mrs. Richard R. Greene
Miss Susan Greene
Mrs. Betty Lou Greenwalt
Mr. Victor Grenier
Mr. A.B. Gripwold*
Dr. M.E. Griffith*
Mr. F.G.Groarke*
Dr. B.P. Groslier*
Mrs. U .L. Guehler*
Mr. Melanie D. Guldman
Mr. Jean Gullou
Mr. Joseph R. Gunn
Mr. Pracha Guna-Kasem"'
Mr. Gerd Gutschow
Dr. Mary R. Haas*
Dr. Gunther Baasch
Mr. James Allan Hafner
Mr. David L. Hagen
Mr. Jorgen Hage
Mr. David L. Hagen
Dr. Klaus Hahlweg
Mr. Hiromitsu Hakari*
Prof. D.G.E. Hall
Mr. Parker Hallberg
Mr. David Spencer Hallmark
Mr. Heiner Hamann

LIST 011 MEMBERS
373
Mr. James B. Hamff
Mr. James W. Hamilton
Mr. F. Angus Hamish
Dr. John Hamlin
Miss Deborah S. Hammond
Mrs. Sally Hampton
Mr. John Hancock
H.E. Mr. Han Lih-Wu*
Dr. Lucien M. Hanks, Jr.*
Maj. Joe D. Hanna, Jr., G.G., FG.A.
Mrs. T.J. Hannah
Mr. John Lind Hansen
Dr. Bertel Hansen
Mrs. Kate Allan Hansen
Mr. Per Svane Hansen
Dr. Vagn Hansen
Mr. Rene Schwartz Hansen
Miss Pornpen Hantrakool
Mr. M. William Haratunian
Mrs. Barbara Ann Harding*
Mrs. Margret Hargreaves-Allen
Mr. Roger E. Harmon
Miss Jannie Harmsen
Mr. Suthi Harnsongkram
Mr. Edgar Harrell
Mr. Jaimmy G. Harris
Mr. Paul Hartig
Mrs. Adda M. Hartmann*
Mr. John F. Hartmann
Mr. Jack Douglas Hastings*
Mr. Maurice Hawes
Mr. Robert Y. Hayashida
Mr. Charles S. Hazen
Major Richard W. Healy
Mr. Laurin Hall Healy
Mrs. Laurin Hall Healy
Mr. Godfrey L. Hearn
Mr. Hans Peter Heckendorn
Mr. Robert L. Hecks
Mr. John L. Hedges
Mrs. Donna M. Heffner
Mr. F.L. Heider
Mr. H.H. Bellin
Mrs. Britt-Marie Helm
Prof. Mel Helstien
Miss E.J.A. Henderson
Mrs. Eve Herfjord
Mr. Max.E. Herman*
Mr. Dieter Hermanns
Mrs. Eugenia Herr
Dr. Georg Heuser*
Dr. Takeo Hibino
Mr. John Higgins
Mr. Allison Hiler
Mr. Guy Hill
Mrs. Jill Hill
Mr. Derk Hille RisLambers
Dr. Paul Hinderling
Mr. W.E. Hines
Mrs. Edna Hinnorson
Dr. P.D. Hinton
Mr. Boonchuey Hiranpruk
Mr. Drummond Hisloy
Mr. A.V. Hitch
Prof. Herman L. Hoeh
Mr. J. Hoffman*
Mrs. Erika Hofinger
Mr. Samy Hofmann
Mr. D.W. Hogan
Dr. Rolf Hofstetter

I
374
Mr. Paul Hogstedt
Mr. D.J. Holdsworth
Mr. Richard M. Hollander*
Mr. David F. Holm
Mr. Jergen Holm*
Mr. Derek A. Holmes*
Mr. Henry Holmes
Mr. Dennis Holoviak
Mr. James Richard Holt
Mr. H.W. Homan
H.E. Mr. Sunthorn Hongladarom*
Miss Ippa Hongladarom*
Miss Naiyana Hontongkum
Mr. N.C.H. Hoogeweff
Mr. G. Hoppe
Mr. Rudolf Horch
Mr. Wiltrid Horn
Miss I.B. Horner*
Mr. T. Hoshino
Mr. Masahi Hosoda
Mr. Malcolm Hossick
Mr. Guy 0. Howard
Mrs. Alison Howell
Mr. M.T. Howes
H.E. Mr. Frantz B. Howitz
Mr. A.B. Hoytink
Mr. Thomas John Hudak*
Mrs. Gerlinde Hudde
Maj. Roy Hudson
Prof. Franklin E. Huffman
Mr. Urs Hufschmid
Dr. Walter Hugins
Prof. Franklin E. Huffman
Mr. Christopher Hulse
H.E. Mr. Arthur Hummel_
LIST OF MEMBERS
Miss Deborah S. Humrnond
Dr. Harald Hundius
Mrs. Margaret Huntsberry
Mr. Abner Hurwitz
Mr. David L. Hutchinson
Mrs. Angella Ruse
Mr. Sbigeru Iijima*
Miss Kaija M. Ilander
Mr. Amorn Indrakamhang
Mr. Boon Indrambarya
Mr. Cbainarong Indharameesup
Mrs. Phasook Indrawootb
Mr. Jasper Ingersoll*
Prof. James C. Ingram
Mr. Narin Indhewat
Mr. Keiji Imamura
Mr. Vadhana IsarabhakdP
Mr. S. Israsena
Prof. Yeneo Ishii*
S/Sgt. Henry W. lsleib
Mrs. Thavee Israsena*
Mr. Shoji Ito
Mr. Teiicbi Ito
Mr. Y. Iwaki*
Miss Alka Jain
Mr. Boonyasak Jaijongkit
Mr. Susbli Kumar Jain
Phya Jaiyos Sombati*
Mr. R. Campbell James*
Mr. Allan Janson
Mr. Voraputhi Jayanama
M.R. Patanachai Jayant*
Prof. Philip N. Jenner
Mrs. Hermann Jenny
Dr. Chandran Jeshurun

LIST OF MEMBERS
375
Mr. Keith D. Jewell
Mr. Piya Jittalan*
Mr. Nirund Jivasantikarn
Mr. U. Alexis Johnson*
Mrs. Ellen C.K. Johnson
Mr. Thomas Eric Johnson
Mrs. E.H. Johnson
Miss S. Eileen Johnson
Mr. P.A. Jones*
Dr. David Johnston
Mr. David Johnston
Dr. James E. Johnston
H.E. Mr. M.L. Johnston
Mr. Leif Jonsen
Miss Ina Jorgensen*
Miss Phattanee Jatikasthira
Mr. Francois Joyaux
Mr. Sunthorn Jubandbu*
Dr. Laurence C. Judd*
Mr. Jack ~.Juergens
M.R. Prudhisan Jumbala
Mr. Preja Jumchai
Brig. Gen. M.L. Manich Jumsai*
Dr. Sumet Jumsai
Prof. Bimala Kalakicba
Mr. Z.T. Kajiji
Mr. Samran Kalayanaroj*
M.L. Jidjeua Kambbu*
Mr. Cbarn C. Kancbanagom*
Mr. Ruchai Kanjanavanit
Mr. Hans Kanzler
Miss Boonrod Kaokanha
Mrs. Nongyao Karncbanacbari
Miss Karnitha Karnchanachari*
Prof. Dr, Otte Karow
Dr. Allan Karz
M.R. Kasemsririphan Kasemsri
M.R. Saengsome Kasemsri*
M.R. Nitivataya Kasemsri-~<
Dr. Preedee Kasemsup
Mr. Max Kasper
Mr. Hans J. Kass
Prof. H.E. Kauffman*
Dr. Howard K. Kaufman*
Mrs. Erika Kaufmann
Dr. Harvey Kauman
Mrs. S. Kawagucbai
Miss Cathy Kay
Dr. James A. Kearns
Mr. Tony Keeler
Miss Chris Keith
Mr. ~. Kelderman
Mrs. Marjorie Ann Kellberg
Miss Ann Kelleran
Mrs. 1.~. Kellogg*
Mr. Robert M. Kelly
Mrs. Anne Kelly
Mr. Jeremy Hugh Kemp
Mr. Vannsar Keng
Miss Jean Kennedy
Mrs. Anne Keppie
Mr. ~olfram Kerber
Prof. Allen D. Kerr
Mr. Udom Kerdpibule
Mr. Solomon Keston
Prof. Charles F. Keyes*
Mr. Sippanondba Ketudat
Dr. Ouay Ketusingh*
Miss Sodsai Khantiworaphong
Mr. Dhien Kheawkhamsaeng

376
Dr. Thanat Kboman*
Mr. Xob Khongkhakul*
Mr. M. Khosla
Mr. Amnuay Khowanich
Dr. Robert W. Kickert
Mr. J.M. Kilker
Mr. Kikio Kida
Mr. Sokicbi Kimura
Mr. Christopher J. King
Mr. Douglas J. King
Mrs. Madeline King
Mrs. Farida I. King
Mr. G. Kingma*
Dr. Konrad Kingshill*
Mr. J.H. Kinoshita*
Prof. E. Stuart Kirby
H.E. Mr. William R. Kintner
Prof. A. Thomas Kirsch
Mr. Euayporn Kerdchouay
Mr. Charles W. Kirkwood
Mr. William J. Klausner
Mr. Kyuichi Kitatani
Khunying Arun Kitiyakara
M.L. Plaichumpol Kitiyakara*
Mr. James R. Klein
Mr. M. Mck. Kliks
Mr. Dieter Kluth
Mr. D.M. Knapp
Mr. Bruce A. Knarr
Dr. Eugene I. Knez
Mrs. Angela Knippenberg
Mr. R.J. Knowles
Dr. B.C. Knowlton, Jr.
Miss L. Knudsen
Mr. Kazumasa Kobayashi
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Hajime Kobama
Mrs. Karen Kolling
Mr. Suparuek Komoltri
Mr. Jaap Koning
Mr. Irving Kopf
Mr. Aswin Kongsiri
Mrs. Sunetra Kongsiri
Dr. Roy J. Korn
Mr. Vladimir Korney
Mr. Stanley Kosenewski
Mr. Pipat Krairiksh*
Mr. Piriya Krairiksh
Mr. Cbittrapat Krairiksh
Mrs. Ann Kramer
Mr. R.L. Kranker
Mrs. Dinorah Kranker
Mr. R.L. Kranker
Mr. Roger Krasker
Miss Ruth C. Krassrnann
Miss Stephanie Krebs
Mr. David Krecke
Miss Vanrapa Kreutbienthong
Mr. Toemsakdi Krisbnarnra
Mrs. Stanley Krug
Dr. Willy Kuenzel
Mr. Ernest Kuhn*
Mr. Bhornchai Kunalai
Prof. Peter Kunstadter
Mr. Masanori Kuwabara*
Mr. Ronald Kutny
Mr. Chow Cbowkwanyun*
Mr. Aye Kyaw
Miss L. Carol Lacket t
Mr. Edward Lacy
Mr. Culver S. Ladd, Jr.

Miss Busakorn Lailert
Mr. Santi Laksukhum
Mr. Charles Lamarche
Miss Mary Lamberts
Mr. Thomas L. LaMonica
Mr. Bancba Lamsam
Mr. Limin Lamsam
Mr. Paul Lamszies
Miss Diana Lancaster
Mr. Kenneth P. Landon*
Mr. R.N. Landreth
Mrs. Munika Lange
Mrs. Winton Lane
Mag. Dietter Lange
Mr. Henry P. Lange
Dr. Charles C. Lantz
Miss Pornpan Laohasirinadh
Mr. Ti Lao-Sunthorn
Mrs. F.G. Laplante
Mrs. John W. Larkin
Mr. F. Geoffrey Larminie
Mr. William Larrabee
Prof. Kai Larsen
M.R. Salab Latavalya*
Mr. William P. Latch
Mr. Douglas A.J. Latchford*
Mr. Willoughby Lathem
Mrs. Mary Eakin Laugesen
Mr. Donald Lauro
Mr. Patrick Laycock
Mr. Charles Law
Mr. Olga Leary
Mr. Milton Leavitt
Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee
Mr. John D. Lee
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Lee Seng Tee*
Mr. Lee Sheng-Yi*
Mr. Robert Leestma
Mr. John B. Leicester
Mr. Paul Lefeune
Mr. H. Leedom Lefferts, Jr.
Mr. F.K. Lehman
Mr. James Lehman
Mr. Sven-Olof Legnelius
Dr. Boonsong Lekagul*
Mr. Thep Lekagul
Mr. Navarat Lkhakula
Maj. Gen. Danern Lekbakula
Mr. Phayome Lekbyananda
Mr. Jacques Lemoine
Mr. Stephen J. Lesiuk
Mr. L.E.C. Letts>~'
Miss A. Levy
Mr. Harvey Levy
Mr. Paul Levy
Mr. David J. Lewis
Dr. Roger P. Lewis
Mr. T.A. Lewis
Mr. Paul Lewis
Mr. Philip Lilienthal
Mr. H.H. Lim
Miss Pussadee Limbasuta
Mrs. Genevieve Linebarger
Mrs. Robin E. Linen
Mr. Herbert Link
Mr. Griffin Lloyd
Mr. Leslie Locatelli
Miss Edith Logue
Prof. Denys Lombard
Mr. Timothy Long
377

378
Mrs. Rufus A. Long
Dr. H.H.E. Loafs*
Mrs. Reidun Loose*
Miss Lucy Loporacro
Mr. Oliver Lowery
Mrs. Ruth E. Lowry
Mr. Graham J. Lucas
Mr. Guy Lubeigt
Prof. Gordon H. Luce*
Dr. Harvey F. Ludwig
Khunying Urai Lueamrung
Mr. Reinald Luke
Mr. Ralph Luken
H.E. Mr. Ivar Lunde*
Mrs. Greta Lunden
Mr. David W. Luo
Mrs. Albert Lyman
Miss Billie Jane Lynch
Miss Elizabeth Lyons*
Mr. Michael Lytton
Mrs. C.S.I. Mabbatt*
Mr. Sean P.B. Magee
Miss Karen McCaffrey
Mrs. Jill McCaffrey*
Prof. William A. McCleary
Dr. H. Elliott McClure
Mrs. Jessie McCown
Mr. Arthur I. McCutchan
Mr. Robert Paul McDevitt*
Mr. Gava McDonell
Mr. S. Richard McDonough
Mr. Forrest McGill
Mr. Frank G. McGinity
Mr. James A. McGinley
Mr. Ronald T. McLaughlin
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. M. Talmage McMinn
Mr. Jeffrey A. McNeely
Maj. George P. McQuillen
Dr. Ruth McVey
Mr. Kenneth L. Maehler
Mr. Prateep Mahasuwan
Mr. Anthony Maher
M.L. Pin Malakul
Miss Pikul Malasiddh
H.E. Phya Manava Raja Sevi*
Mrs. Maly Manfredi-Curzi
Mr. Krirk Mangalabruks
Mr. Chavelit Mangikul
Miss M. Mangkornkanok
Mr. Picbai Manichote
Mrs. C. Mangskau*
Mr. Ariyant Manjikul*
Mrs. Mette Kristine Manoharan
Mr. Aldo Manos
Mr. Bevars D. Marby
Miss Margaret G. Marchant
Mrs. Alfred Lester Marks
Miss Donna Markham
Mr. Michel Marliere*
Mr. James Marsh Thomson
Mrs. L. Marsili
Dr. Joe T. Marshall
Mr. F. W.C. Martin*
Mr. G.A. Martin
Mr. Donald Martinusen
Mr. Stephen Martz
Mr. A.E. Maskati*
Mrs. Joan Bruce Mason
Mr. Edward E. Masters
M. J.C. Mathur

LIST OF MEMDERS
379
Mr. Fimio Matsuo
Prof. Osamu Ma tsuyama
Dr, Wilhelm Matzat
Mr. Fernand Maurissen
Mr. Pery Mavro*
Mr. W.H. Mayer*
Mr. William E. Maxwell
Mr. Philips R. Mayhew
Mr. Eugene James Medina
Khunying Amphorn Meesook*
Mr. K. William Melchers
Dr. Deb Menasveta
Mr. Peon Mernshasatara
Mr. Somnuk Mernyoung
Mrs. Anong Mesprasart
Mrs. P.S. Messenger
Mr. Peter C. Metcalf
Mr. John J. Metter
Miss Martha Elizabeth Meyer
Mr. Peter H. Michael
Mr. Stephan Michaelsen
Mr. Samuel A, Miess
Dol ina W. Millar
Mr. Richard Miller
Mr. Terry E. Miller
Miss Hope.Millington
Mrs. Patricia Millington
Mr. Sidney S. Mitcbell
Mr. Sunao Miyabara *
Mr. Seiho Miyano ·
Mr. Koichi Mizuno*
Mr. Thomas L. Mackel
Mr. Sven Moerup
Mrs. A. Moltke-Leth
Mr. Richard J. Mooney
Mr. Thomas More
Mr. G.H. Morgan*
Dr. Grace Morley
Mrs. Leslie S. Morrill
Dr. Harold Stephen Morris*
Mr. Charles Morton
Mr. James N. Mosel
Miss Christian M. Mougne
Miss Majorie A. Muecke
Mr. Kurt A. Mueller
Miss Christa Muenich
Mr. Ian Muir
Mr. George F. Muller
Dr. Bruno Muller-Oerlinghausen
Mr. N.A. Mundhenk*
Mr. Sorn Mungkandi
Mr. C.W. Murchie
Mr. David R. Murray
Mr. Robert J. Murphy
Mr. Joseph J. Murrie
Mr. Krishna Murli
Mrs. Renuka Musikasintborn
Mr. C.K. Hyland*
Mrs. Prakhin Xumsai na Ayudhaya
Dr. Chetana Nagavajara*
Mr. Hans Naegeli
Miss Joyce Nakahara
Mr. Teera Nakateeranonda
Mr. Takao Nakayama
Mr. Lad Nakornthap
Mr. Prakban Namthip
Prof. Prasert na Nagara*
Dr. Vichitvong na Pombhejara
Mrs. Wanida na Pombejra
Mr. Banpot na Pompeth

380
Mr. Dhirawat na Pombejra
H.E. Mr. Vivadh na Pombejra*
Miss Wongdeun Narasuj
Mr. Tbongroy Narades
Mr. Sirichai Narumit*
Mr. Wiraj na Songkbla*
Mr. Stephen Nash
Mr. Wadanyu Nathalang
Mrs. Usha Nath
Mr. Sukhum Navaphan*
Mr. Clark Neher
Mr. Victor Neljubin
Mr. Graham A. Nelson
Mr. Rupert Nelson
Mr. Arthur M. Neu
Mrs. Elena Vance Newland
Cha Reng Nganradrud*
Miss Phanngam Ngothamasan
Mr. Jan Nielsen*
Mr. Snob Nielkammheng
Prof. Boonyong Nikrodhanand*
Mr. Kraisri Nimmanahaeminda*
Prof. An Nimmanabaeminda
Dr. Zeer Nir
Mr. Yoshima Nitta*
Miss Mayuree Nokeyungthong
Mr. Walter Noii
Miss Nellie Norkus
Mr. Harry L. Norlander
Mrs. R.G. North*
Mrs. John H. Nortum
Miss Mary Norwood Cooke
Mr. Richard B. Noss
Mr. Noparat Nousatom .
Mrs. Sylvia Nyffeler
LIST OF MEMBERS
Dr. Taryo Obayashi
Mr. Hans G. Oblander*
Mr. Richard O'Connor
Miss Suporn Ocbaroen
Mr. Stanley James O'Connor
Mrs. Jacqueline O'Dwyer
Mr. Samuel C. Oglesby
Miss P.V. Ohlson
Mr. Tadasbi Okaniwa*
Mr. Knud Henning Olesen
Miss Laura Olson*
Dr. James Allen Olson
Dr. Lloyd C. Olson
Dr. Francis Dominic O'Reilly
Mrs. Jean B. Orr
Mr. Svasti Osatbanugrah
Mr. Surin Osathanugrah
Miss Warunee Osatbarom
Mr. H.E. Osborne
Mrs. Akiko Oshima
Mr. Nigel F. Overy
Mrs. George Paduda
Mr. Henri Pagau-Clarac
Mr. Samnun Palavatichai
Mr. Studley Bruce Palling
Mr. Chatchai Panananon
Dr. Khasem Pangsrivongse
M.R. Panthip Boripatra
Mr. D. Papenfuss
Mr. Krid. Panyarachun
Mr. Prasat Panyarachun*
Mr. Chat Panyarachun
Mr. Douglas E. Paradis
Dr. H. Carrol Parish*
Miss Matinee Paripongpochanapisuti*

LIST OF MEMBERS
381
Mr. E. Conard Parkman*
Mr. S. Pasedes-Macbado
Mr. Lewis W. Pate
Mr. Pornsith Pattananurak
Miss Martha Pattillo
Mr. Joseph F. Pauley
Mr. Alois Payer
Mr. Somnuk Pejrprim
Mr. Anatole Peltier
Dr. Hans Penth*
Mr. Andrew John Pepper
Mr. Walter Perera
Mr. B.A. Perez
Mr. Jean Perrin*
Mrs. G. Perumal Pillai
Maj. Gen. Prasit Perunavin
Mr. Lorin Peters
Mr. M.A. Peters
Mr. P.F. Peters
Mrs. Karen M. Petersen
Mr. Harry J. Petrequin
Mr. David Pfanner
Dr. David E. Pfanner
Mr. Dhanee Phanichapol
Miss Pensee Phaolaungtbong
Mr. Chaiporn Phibulsiri
Prof. H.P. Phillips
Mr. A.J. Phillips
Mrs. Lawrence R. Phillips
Mr. Chamni Phimpbisan
Mr. Pinyo Phinainitisatra
Miss Samjal Pbirotthirarach
Mr. Phongtron Phongluangtum
Miss Amporn Pbongsatha
Mr. Phongsak Phongtaranont
Mrs. Jenny Piastunovicb
Mr. Nitya Pibulsonggram
Mr. Laurence G. Pickering
Mr. Ralph Pieris
Mr. Harry H. Pierson'~'
Dr. Michael Pietrusewsky
Mr. Davis Pike
Miss Nilawan Pinthong*
Mr. Michael B. Pipkin
Prof. Capt. Sompop Piromya
Mr. Kasit Piromya
Prof. Duangduen Pisalbutra*
Mr. Kaset Pitakpaivan*
Mrs. Sarah S. Pitts
Dr. Twesakdi Piyakarnchana
Mr. Sa-ard Piyavan
Mr. Vagn G.A. Plenge
Mr. Raymond Plion-Bernier
Mrs. Christine Podivinsky
Mrs. Kathleen Poldy
Mrs. Serrin Polite
Mr. Derek R. Pott
Miss E. Potter
Mr. Tom Potworowski
Mr. Robert L. Potts
Mrs. Robert L. Potts
Dr. Saveros Pou*
Mr. Nakorn Poungnoi
Dr. Robert Poupart
Mr. Thomas F. Power, Jr.
Mr. Arthur A. Powell
Mr. Chun Prabhavivadhana
Luang Pracherd Aksorlaksana
M.R. Seni Pramoj*
Miss Prol:nporn Pramualratana

382 LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Davis Pratt
Miss Chandarat Prawalpath
Luang Promadhat
Miss Siriluk Promboon
Mr. Xujati Promoolpol
Miss Nangnoie Promsuwansiri
Dr, Sem Pring-Puang Kaew*
Mr. James B. Pruess
Mr. Tos Puntumasen*
Khunying Tasniya Isarasena Punyagupta*
Miss Chanchai Puckadhikom
H.H. Prince Prem Purachatra*
Dr. Chaloem Puranananda*
Mr. Chamikorn Puranananda*
Dr. Herbert C. Purnell*
Mr. Supbaktr Purashanansa
Mr. Garry L. Quinn
M.R. Akin Rabibbadana
Mr. J. Race
Mr. H.W. Rackl
Mrs. Anne Radeliff
Mr. D.F.A. Raikes
Gen. Rasmee Rajanivat*
Dr. Somcbai Rakwijit
Mr. Sriprinya Ramakomud
Mr. Steve Ramey
H.S.H. Prince Piyarangsit Rangsit*
M.C. Sanidb Rangsit*
Dr. Prasob Ratanakorn
Mr. Haroon Rashid
Mr. Bhricha Rattakul
Dr. Suriya Ratanakul
Mr. Thomas H. Rau*
Mr. G.V. Ravenscroft
Mrs. Gertrud Rebhan*
Dr. Robert Rees Rofen
Mr. David G. Reese
Mr. Philip A. Reeves
Mr. John M. Reid
Mrs. Inge Rost-Reichert
Mr. Robert Reid
Mrs. Anne Reilly
Mr. Ronald D. Renard
Mr. David E. Reuther
Mrs. Rose Resnick
Mr. Craig J. Reynolds
Mr. Phillip J. Reynolds
Mrs. E.M.J. Ridgeon
Prof. Fred W. Riggs*
Mr. Hans A. Ries
Mrs. Susan Caroll Riley*
Mr. William M. Riley
Mr. Serge Rips*
Mr. Richard F. Rivers
Mr. George B. Roberts, Jr.
Mr. K.A. Roberts
Miss Michele Roberts
Mr. Kevin William Robertson
Mrs. Hellen A. Rocke
Mr. Denis Robinson
Dr. Robert Rees Rofen
Mr. John N. Robinson
Mrs. Pauline B. Roger
Miss Lucille Rogers
Mr. John Rogosch
Mr. A. Rollinson
Mr. Kyd Rojanapenkul
Mr. Jeff Rornm
Mr. James P. Rooney
Maj. Gen. Willard Roper

LIST OF MEMBERS
383
Dr. Klaus Rosenberg
Mrs. Clare Rosenfield
Mrs. Saul Rossien
Mr. Peter T. Roth
Mr. Lewis Rothgeb
Mr. Jason Roussos
Prof. Ranji t Roy Chaudhury
Miss Pbanit Ruamsil
Mr. Tbamanoon Ruangsilp
Miss Gertrud Rubin
Mr. Walter A. Rudlin*
Mr. Albert J. Rub
Mr. Charoon Ruengvisesh
Mr. Dana W. Russell*
Mr. Richard Russell
Mrs. Mattani Rutnin
Mrs. Cbomnongsri Rutnin
Mr. Paul Rutten
Mr. Trevor John Rutter
Dr. Raiko H. Ruzic
Mr. Robert Ryden
Mr. Kevin A. Ryon
Mr. Sanga Sabbasri
Mr. Irving L. Sablosky
Miss Suwanna Sadjawerawan
Prcif. Sood Saengvicbien*
Dr. Nancy Leila Sadkb
Mr. William Sage
Mr. Prapat Saengwanit
Mr. David Sablberz*
Mr. Patya Saihoo*
Dr. Waldemar Sailer
Mr. Takeshi Sakamoto*
Mr. Sao Saimong*
Mr. Somboon Sai-ngam
Mr. Yasuyuki Sakamoto
Miss Khaisri Sakrauandh
Lt. Gen. Phya Salwindhan-Nidhes*
Luang Saman Vanakit*
Mr. Chaloke Sampantarak
Khunying Lursakdi Sampatisiri*
Miss Patricia Samson
Mr. Mahagh Samoepitak
Mrs. Margaret Sander
Miss M.S. Sanderson
Mr. Cecil Sanfor*
Mr. J. Sangsingkeo
Luang Sanit Tulyaraksa
Miss Busaya Sanitwongse
Mrs. Virginia Santikarn
Mr. Thawatchai Santisuk
Mr. Vibul Sarakitpricba
Mrs. Laksanee Sarasas*
Dr. Mary Sarawit
Mrs. Dhida Saraya
Miss Pachuen Sarikapunt
Dr. A.H.V. Sarma
Mr. Ghula~ Sarwar
Mrs. Meredith Sarris
Mr. D.V. Sassoon
Mr. J.M. Sassoon
Mr. Robert Sausse
Mr. Hock Siew Saw*
Mr. Pancba Sayalakshana*
Mr. Robert van Scbangen
Mr. Rainer Schanne
Mr. William M. Schauffier
Mr. Ferdinand Scherer
Mr. Richard Schenk
Mrs. W. Scherrer*

384
Mr. Michael Leo Schmicker
Mr. George Schmidt
Miss Julia Elizabeth Schinnerer
Mrs. Heidrun Schmid
Dr. Court R. Schneider
Dr. Han~ Schneider*
Mr. Hartmut W. Schneider*
Mr. Eddie Schodt
Mr. Paul F. Scholla
Dr. Priedhelm Scholz
Miss G. Schoworer
Mr. Arianus Schrama
Dr. E.P. Schrock*
Mr. Martin Schulman
Mr. Raymond L. Schultz
Mr. Gerald Schultz
Mrs. Cristine Schumann
Mr. Erwin Schurtenberger
Mr. Dale L. Schurter
Mr. Wayne Schutjer
Dr. Heidi Schwandt
Mr. Herbert Schwarz
Mrs. Miriam McNair Scott
Mr. Gunter Schweikle
Dr. Thomas Scovel
Mrs. Lois A. Seale
Mr. Ulrich Seeger
Dr. Harold W. See
Mr. Walter Hans Paul Seeger
H.E. Mr. Gunnar Seidenfaden*
Mr. Benjamin Jay Seldenstein
Mr. Sinnathamby Selvaratnam
Miss S. Serra*
Miss Sawat Senanarong
Mr. A.F. Sennhauser
LIST OF MEMJJERS
Mr. Vivat Sethachuay
Mr. Vija Sethaput*
Mr. Ram Chandra Sharma
Dr. Lauriston Sharp*
Mr. Jeffrey N. Shane
Mrs. Duangphorn Shaw
Mr. William Shaw
Prof. John Shaw
Mr. Hume Shawcross
Mrs. Nisa Sheanakul
Mr. Nid H. Shiranan*
Prof. Dr. Yoshiro Shiratori*
Mr. Paul R. Shirk
Miss Kathleen Shordt
Mr. Ammar Siamwalla
Mr. Charoon Sibunruang
Dr. Jit Kasem Sibunruang*
Mr. Hans Wilhelm Siegel
Miss Puangkhaimuk Silprasit
Mr. Lewis M. Simons
Prof. E.H.S. Simmonds
Mr. Ozzie G. Simmons
Mr. Gerd Simon
Mr. P.E.J.S. Simms*
Mr. D.F.H. Sinclair
Mr. Aksern Sindbuprama
Mr. S. Singaravelu
R. Adm. Chalie Sindusopon
Miss Doonchan Sinprasert
Miss Ariya Sinteyarivatr
H.R.H. Princess Sirintara*
Miss Srinuan Sirimilintr
Mr. Chai Sirisingh
Mrs. Mani Sirivorasarn*
Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa*

LIST OF MEMBERS
385
Mrs. Catherine Sizer
Mr. Robert W. Skiff
Prof. Cyril Skinner
Prof. G. William Skinner*
~r. VI. Skrobanek
Miss S. Sku! Jittajarern
Mr. Dowald M. Sladkin
Mrs. Margaret Edwards Slattery
Mr. Howard E. Slibeck
Dr. William A. Smalley
Mr. Barry Granger Smallman
Dr. George Vinal Smith
Mr. David Garland Sm.itb
Col. Bradish J. Smith
Mr. Harold E. Smith
Mr. Craig D. Smith
Dr. Frank 0. Smith
Dr. Helen L. Smith
Dr. Herbert B. Smith
Mr. Lloyd Barnaby Smith
~r. Ralph B. Smith
Prof. Michael Smithies*
Dr. Tern Smitinand*
Mr. Douglas B. Snelling
Dr. Isabella Vignoli Snidvongs
Mrs. Kamploy Snidvongs na Ayudhya
Mr. Pochana Snidvongs*
M.L. Udom Snidvongs*
~iss Varunyupha Snidvongs*
Miss Wipudb Sobhavong
Dr. Ute Sodemann
Mr. Paul S. Soderberg
Mr. Seedjatmoko*
Miss Anrini Sofion
Mr. D.A. Sahlin
Dr. Wilhelm G. Solheim II*
Miss Maud Soltoft
Mr. Harvey Somers
Dr. Prasert Sombuntham"'
Mr. Harvey Somers
Mr. J. Paul Somm"'
Dr. A.F.J. Sommer
H.S.H. Princess Subpan Sonakul*
M.R. Ying Sub!jja Sonakul
Mr. Pbuwadol Songprasert
Mr. Claus Sonksen
Mr. Amunay Soonsuwan
Mr. Chalong Soontravanich
Mr. Suthep Soonthoropasuch
Mr. Per Sereosen
Mr. Aree Soothipunt
Mr. Boleslaus Sowul
Dr. Frances Lander Spain
Mr. Chris M. Sparke
Miss Marjorie W. Spaulding*
Mr. N.A.J. Spencer
Dr. Charles N. Spinks*
Mr. Has-Jurgeo Spielmann*
Miss. Lois I. Spitz
Mrs. Judith B. Sponaugle
Mr. Michael D.M. Springate
Mr. Carl Springer
Dr. Arporna Sribhibhadh
Admiral Ying Srihong*
Dr. Koson Srisang*
Mr. Leng Srisomwongse
Mrs. Vina Sritanratana
Mr. Anda Sriuthairatsamithep
Mr. Chalermbhand Srivikorn
Mr. Richard A. Stampfle

386
Mrs. Edwin F. Stanton*
Mrs. Susan Staples
Miss Pa-op Staphon
Miss Lucy Starling*
Mrs. Virginia Stave
Miss. Karen Stavnheim
Miss Lisa Stearns
Mr. David I. Steinberg
Mrs. Kate Stefanotty
Mr. Hugo Steiner
Mrs. Ingrid Stenvik
Miss J.A. Stemerdink
Mrs. Ingrid Stenvik
Mr. Christopher John Stephenson
Mr. Theodore Stern
Dr. Larry Sternstein*
Mr. Rex Kenneth Stevenson
Mr. Charles Stewart
Dr. Michael Stewart
Mr. James A.B. Stewart
Dr. Laurence D. Stifel
Mr. Perry J. Stieglitz
Mr. John Stirling
Mr. Hardy Stockmann
Mrs. Barbara Stoecker
Dr. Benjamin C. Stone
Mr. Hans Wilhelm Stolzenberg
Mr. Fred D. Stone
Miss K.V. Stotter
Mrs. Diane S. Strachan
Mr. Robert Stratton
Mr. Theodor James Strehlow
Col. William F. Strobridge
Mr. Richard Stuart
Dr. 0. Stuetzel
LIST OF MEMBERS
Mr. Wolfgang 0. Stuetzel
Mr. Reinhard Strunz
Mr. David Stuart-Fox
Dr. Chung Jen Su
Mr. Montri Subhanij
Mr. Kusan Suchanya
Miss Suvalak Surapolbbichit
Mr·. Seri Suddhapbakti
Mrs. Hiroko Sukanjanajtee
Mr. Kacborn Sukbabanij*
Mr. Vhavit Sukhabanij*
Mrs. Sirivan Sukbabanij*
Dr. Dhara Sukhavachaoa*
Mr. Khaisang Sukbavadnana
Mrs. Preeyanat Sukhavisidh
M.C. Prasobsukb Sukhsavasti
Miss Thanalai Sukphattee
Mr. Geoffrey Peter Summer
Mrs. Benchawan Sundarakul
Mr. Konthi Suphamoogkhon*
Mr. Therd Suprichakorn
Miss Waraporo Suravadi
Mrs. Srinath Suriya*
Mr. Chuchart Suriyakumpol
Mr. And hi Surya
Miss Ancbalee Susayanha
Maj. Gen. Vichien Sutantanondh*
Mrs. Rose Marie Sutatanon
Mr. Phairoj Suvarnasthira
Mr. Kasin Suvatabandbu*
M.R. Vudhi Svasti*
Mom Smoe Svasti
Mrs. Ellen Swan*
Mr. Robert Swann*
Mr. Noel Swanson

Mr. D.K. Swearer
Mrs. Norman L. Sweet
Miss Loretta Swingle
Prof. Rong Syamananda
Mr. David Lawrence Szanton
Mr. Boleslaw B. Szcesniak
Mrs. Pauline Tabtiang
Prof. Takuji Takemura
Mr. Hunt Talmage
Mr. Kensuke Tarnai
Prof. S.J. Tambiah
Mr. Boudin Tamthai
Dr. Bunliang Tamthai*
Mr. David K.S. Tan*
Mr. Tan Kim Huan
Mr. Youngyoot Tanapura
Mrs. Nuria Tangtrongsakdi
Mr. Tbawat Tansamrit
Mr. Watin Tantinirandr
Mr. Tavi Tantisunthorn
Mr. Phairot Tantivaitayakul
Mr. Thawat Tansamrit
Mr. Vichai Tantrativud
Mrs. Deirdre Tanvinich
Miss Yuwadee Tapaneeyakorn
Mr. John David Taylor
Mr. John L. Taylor
Mr. Martin F. Taylor*
Mrs. Marina Tchelistcheff
Mr. Sunt Tecbakumpuch
Mr. Sathien Tejapaibul
Mrs. Cardine Terry
Dr. Barend Jan Terwiel
Prof. Robert B. Textor*
R. Adm. T. Thamrong-Nawasawat
LIST OF MEMBERS
Luang Tbavil Sethpanijkarn*
Mr. Sootcharit Thavorasukba
Mr. Chaivat Thavorntbanasarn
Mr. Anussorn Thavisin
Prof. Jinda Thiemmedh
Mr. John Adams Thierry
Mrs. Krisna Thipkomut
Mr. Richard E. Thomas
Miss Sara A. Thompson
Mr. Kenneth Thompson
Mr. K.R. Thomson
Dr. Donald R. Thomson
Mr. Gordon Thomson
H.E. Mr. Wadim Thorn-Leeson
Brig. Gen. Elliott R. Thorpe*
Mr. Hen L. Tbung
Mr. Hans Peter Tillmann
Mr. Marten G. Timmer
Mr. Cbarit Tingsabadh
Mr. Cbitti Tingsabadh
Dr. P. Tixier
H.E. Mr. Jean-Louis Toffin
Miss Katia Tchekouteff
Prof. Takejiro Tomita*
Mr. Takashi Tomosugi*
Mr. Virginia B. Toms
Mr. Bruce C. Tomson
Miss Rekba Tongswasd
M.R. Tongyai Tongyai
H.E. M.R. Chakratong Tongyai
M.R. Puckpring Tongyai
Dr. Anne J. Townsend
Prof. Frank N. Trager
Mr. Forrest C. Travaille*
Mr. Carl Trocki
387

388 LIST 01' MEMDERS
Mr. Bernard Eric Trigg
Miss J.C. Trotter
Mr. David Trocki
Mr. Toshio George Tsukahira
Miss Sally Tun Thein
Luang Sanit Tuiyaraksa Tulyayon*
Miss Suparporn Tunslaruk
Mrs. Birgine Bang Tune
Mrs. J. Turner
Miss S. Storm-Turner
Mr. G.M. Turpin*
Mr. Andrew Turton
Mr. John Tyler
Mr. Phaichitr Uathavikul
Mr. Bodo Ulrich
Mrs. Margaret Ungphakorn•
Dr. Suchart Upatham
Miss Yveonne Urfer
Miss Nimnual Utara
Mr. Viriya Uthayanaka
Mr. Kitcba Vadhanasindhu
Mr. Viravudhi Vajrabhaya
Miss Mallika Vajarathon
Mr. Obas Vallighakara
Mrs. Rachanee Valls
Mr. Steven Donald van Beek
Mr. Camiel Frederik van Beusekom
Mr. E. van den Hazel
Mr. Jan van der Zee
Mr. Robert van Kuyk
Drs. M.B.C. van der Volden*
Mrs. Penny van Esterik
Mr. Leon B. van der. Watt
Dr. J. van Ginkel
Dr. W.J. van Liere
Mr. Leonard van Luipen
Mr. Alexander C.L. van Nynatten
Mr. J.D. van Oenen
Mr. Edward van Roy
Mr. Johan A. van Zuylen
Mr. Surat Varangrat
Mr. Chusak Varaphitak
Miss Uraisi Varasarin
Mr. Phusaja Varasarin
Mr. Pichai Vasnasong*
Mr. Vai Vathanakul
Mr. Antony D. Vaughan
Mr. Nissai Vejjajiva*
Dr. Christian Velder*
Dr. Walter Vella*
Col. C.F. Vermeulen
Mr. Gabriel Vernlier
Mrs. Avis C. Vessey
Mr. David J. Vickery
Mr. Michael T. Vickery
Mr. Vicharat Vicbit-Vadakan
Mr. Aron Vinor
Mr. J.E. Vidal
Miss Suri Vimolobakarn*
Mr. Pansak Vinyaratr
Dr. Sarasin Viraphol
Mrs. Sumalee Viravaidya Wich
Dr. Samak Viravaidya*
M.R. Butri Viravaidya
H.E. Mr. Eric Virgin
Mr. Pravin Visaria
Mr. H.B.H. Visscher
Khunying Suparb Visessurakarn
Mr. Vittorio
Dr. J. Vixeboxse

LIST OF MEMBERS
389
Dr. Peter Vlachos
Dr. G.B. Voelker
Mr. Allard van Vollenhoven
Miss Verna Volz
Mrs. Anna von Arx
Mr. Rolf Eberhard von Beuren*
Mr. Klaus van der Decken
Miss Kanokvan Vongchanglaw
Mr. Juergen von Jordan
H.E. Dr. Edgar von Schmidt-Pauli
M.R. Chirie Voravarn
Dr. Jngo von Ruckteschell
Miss Suchitra Vuthisathira
Mr. H. Wagenmakers
Mrs. Barbara Wagner
Mrs. Warren Wagner
Mrs. Lillie Zaw Wai
Mr. Eric Waldelius
Mrs. Sarah T. Waldorf
Dr. Anthony R. Walker
Miss Elisabeth I. Wallay
Mr. Jocelyn Waller
Mr. Geoffrey Walton
Miss Ratrie Wanichalaksa
Mrs. Dagmar Mercedes Wannasudhi
Mr. James T. Ward
Dr. Udom Warotamasikkhadit
Mr. David Warren
Mr. Charles P. Warren
Mr. William Warren
Mr. Richard E. Watjen
Mr. William Watson
Miss Barbara Watson
Miss Jenny Peterson Watson
Mr. Mongkol Wattanayangorn
Mr. C.H. Watts
Mr. lvor Llevellyn Watts
Mr. William K. Way
Miss S.B. Weake
Mr. Ulrich Weber
Mr. Paul Weber
Dr. Karl E. Weber*
Mr. H.G. Webb-Peploe
Mr. John F. Weerstra
Mr. Norbert Weis
Dr. Kenneth Wells
Mr. Delane Welsch
Mr. Roger Clarke Welty
Dr. K. Wenk*
Mr. T.K. Whalley
Mr. Richard Whipple
Mrs. Mark I. Whitcraft
Mr. Peter T. White
H.E. Mr. Charles S. Whitehouse
Mr. Floyd L. Whittington
· Mrs. Sumalee V. Which
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Mrs. Helen Wight
Mrs. Santharie Wignaraja
Mrs. Inga Wihlborg
Dr. Gehan Wijeyewardene
Mr. Brayton Wilbur
Dr. Henry Wilde
Mr. Milton J. Wilkinson
Mr. Ted Willard
Mr. Curtis C. Williams, Jr.*
Miss E.A.U. Williams
Mr. James E. Williams
Mr. John Williams
Col. Charles T. Williamson

390
Mr. Rodney Willmott-Pilgrim
Mrs. Jeanne Willy
Miss Constance M. Wilson*
Mr. Kenneth Oean Winkler
Mr. Edward Windsor
Mr. Stephen Winship
Dr. Phillip E. Winter
Mr. Anant Wiriyahpinj
Dr. Robert A. Wise
Mr. Ole Witt
Mr. Sven H. Wittoesch
Mr. William H. Wohnus
Mr. Vichien Wongprecha
Pol. Maj. Gen. Charas Wongsarot
Mr. Thosaporn Wongratana
Miss Carol Woo"
Mr. LanceR. Woodruff
Miss Constance Woodberry
Mrs. Heather S. W oodill
Miss Lillias H. Wood
Mr. James L. Woods*
Mrs. John B. Woods
Mr. H.W. Woodward, Jr.
Mr. R.A. Woodward
Mr. Samuel ,H. Work
Mr. Michael Wright
Mrs. Elizabeth T. Wray
Mrs. Joan S. Wright
Mrs. Susanne Wright
Prof. David K. Wyatt
Mr. H. Yagi
LIST OF MEMBERS
Prof. Tatsuro Yamamoto
Miss Noriko Yamashita
Mrs. Rosie Yarger
Mrs. Pauline Yates
Mr. John Yates-Watson
Mr. Robert C.C. Yao
Mr. Peter Yewdall
Mrs. M. Yipintsoi*
Miss Keiko Yoshida
Mr. Prachitr Yossundara*
Mr. Toshiharu Yoshikawa*
Mr. Chin You-di
Mr. Ed ward M. Young
Mr. Gordon Young
Mr. Stephen Bonsal Young
Mrs. Patricia Young
Dr. William R. Young
H.R.H. Prince Bhanubandh Yugala*
M.C. Mongkolchaleam Yugala
M.C. Cbatri Chalerm Yukol
Mr. Tbanit Yupho*
Mr. Stephen J. Zack
Mr. M.J. z;eglarski
Mr. Boguslaw Zakrzewki
Mrs. Heike Zenker
Mr. William Zentgraf
SFC. Robert J. Zets
Mr. Carl John Zeytoon
Mr. Fritz W. Ziefer
Dr. Volkmar J. Zuehlsdorf

Australia
SUBSCRIBERS
(Institutions)
Adelaide University, Adelaide
James Cook University of North Queensland, Queensland
Fisher Library, University of Sydney, Sydney
Monash University, Victoria
Burma
Rangoon University, Rangoon*
Department of Burmese Language, Rangoon University, Rangoon*
Canada
University of Calgary, Alberta
Denmark
Koneglige Bibliotek, Copenhagen
Munksgaad Ltd., Copenhagen
France
Bibliotheque du Centre de Documentation, C.N.R.S., Paris
C.N.R.S. Centre Documentation, Sciences Humanes, Paris
Great Britain
British Museum, London
Bodleian Library, Oxford
Indian Institute Library, Oxford
National Lending Library for Science and Technology, Yorkshire
Hong Kong
Pokemen Company, Hong Kong
TKC Company, Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

392
SUBSCRIBERS
India
Allahabad Library, Allahabad
Punjab University, Chandigarh
Jawabarlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Japan
Osaka University of Foreign Studies, Osaka
Institute of Developing Economics, Tokyo
Korea
Cultural and Social Centre, Seoul
Malaysia
University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Perpustakaan Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang
Netherlands
University-Bibliotek, Amsterdam
Martinus Nijboff, The Hague
Bibl. Rijsuniversiteit, Leiden
Rijsherbarium, Leiden
Museum voor Landen Vilkenjunde, Rotterdam
Singapore
National Library, Singapore
Sweden
Swedish-Thai Society, Solna
Thailand
Assumption College, Bangkok*
Assumption College of Business Administration, Bangkok
Banque de l'lndochine, Bangkok
Bank of Thailand, Bangkok
Bangkok College of Education, Bangkok
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

SUBSCRIBERS
393
Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok*
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Central _Library, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok*
Kasetsart University, Bangkok
Department of Science, Ministry of Industry, Bangkok
Ministry of Interior, Bangkok
Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Bangkok
National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok
National Library, Bangkok
Neilson Hays Library Association, Bangkok*
Rarnkamhaeng University, Bangkok
Royal Forestry Department, Bangkok
SEA TO Headquarters, Bangkok
Siam Cement Co., Ltd., Bangkok*
Silpakorn University, Bangkok
Srinakarinvirot (Prasarnmitr) University, Bangkok
Thammasat University, Bangkok
UNESCO, Bangkok
Chiengmai University, Chiang Mai
Teachers College, Chiang Mai
USIS, Chiang Mai
USIS, Kbonkaen
Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom
Pbuket Marine Biological Center, Phuket
United States of America
Arkansas University, Arkansas
Asia Collection, University of Hawaii, Hawaii
Base Library, Virginia
Brandeis University, Massachusetts
Bridgeport University, Connecticut
University of California, Berkeley, CaHfornia
University of California, Davis, California
University of California, Riverside, California
University of California, San Diego, California

394 SUBSCRIBERS
University of California, Santa Barbara, California
California State College, Hayward, California
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
College and Seminar Library, Connecticut University, Storrs-Coper.
Edinboro State College, Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa
Lida Hall Library, Kansas, Missouri
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Michigan University, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Missouri-St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.
Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Illinois
Oklahoma University, Norman, Oklahoma
Orientalia Inc., New York City
Pennsylvania University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Stanford University, Stanford, California
Stechert-Hafner, Inc., New York City
Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
Wenner-Gren Foundation, New York City
William and Mary College, Williamburg, Virginia
Wisconsin University, Madison, Wisconsin
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Just published
Klaus Wenk
WANDMALEREIEN IN THAILAND
A bibliophile collector's edition in three volumes
with a foreword by H.H. Prince Dhaninivat
The English edition
MURALS IN THAILAND
will be published approximately May 1976
The author comments: "The truly unequalled quality of the reproductions of
Thai mural paintings in this edition provides invaluable material for the study of
Thai art. These reproductions are so extraordinarily faithful to the originals that
they more than adequately serve even the academic purposes of those who have
no direct access to them."
The edition "Murals in Thailand", the first publication of this scope on an art form
which has almost fallen into oblivion, is remarkable in more than one· way. The
depth of the author's research and the presentation of the mural paintings and the
accompanying text together evidence the highest.levels of readable scholarship
and bookmaking as an art. As the gradual decay of the murals remains largely
unchecked due to the tropical climate of Thailand, the emphasis placed on faithful
reproduction makes these volumes a documentary work of the first order. The
erudite descriptions and commentary by the author demonstrate a wealth of
knowledge and provide a judicious selection of fE!ctual information on the subject,
which render the edition invaluable to any connoisseur and serious student of
Thai art.
Volume I: text with pages numbered 1- LXXIV and 1-356; Volume II:
consisting of two separate books: the first with pages numbered
1-121 and with plates numbered 1-CIX, the second with pages
numbered 122-222 and plates numbered CX-CC.
The 208 large-size colour plates were printed in 4-5 colours with
selected inks on high-quality paper made to order, with official certificates
on the materials used.
Sizes: Volume I: 28 x 3o em, the two books of Volume II: 45 x 55 em.
Subscription offer: until the end of 1976: sFr. 5,750.-, thereafter
sFr. 6,750.-.
PUBLISHER: INIGO VON OPPERSDORFF VERLAG
Waldschulweg 5, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland

GARDENING
IN
BANGKOK
by
Pimsai Amranand
Illustrations by Smansnid Svasti
Second Edition
THE SIAM SOCIETY
UNDER ROYAL PATRONAGE
1976
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G.E. GERINI
CHULAKANTAMANGALA
or
The Tonsure Ceremony
As Performed in Siam
Bangkok 1893
Reprinted
The Siam Society
Under Royal Patronage
1976
Paperback 100 baht
Hard cover 130 baht

THE SHORT HISTORY
OF THE
KINGS OF SIAM
by
JEREMIAS VAN VLIET
Translated by
Leonard Andaya
from a Transcription by
Miriam J. Verkuijl-van den Berg
Edite{l by
David K. Wyatt
Bangkok
THE SIAM SOCIETY
1975
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THE SIAMESE THEATRE
A COLLECTION -oF REPRINTS
FROM
THE JOURNALS OF THE SIAM SOCIETY
edited by
MATTANI RUTNIN
BANGKOK
B.E. 2518
(A.D. 1975)
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A.B. Griswold
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WAT PRA YUN RECONSIDERED
Monograph No. 4
The Siam Society
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1975
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