The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. XLIX, Part 1-2, 1961 - Khamkoo

I·'
VOLUME XLIX Part 1
July 1961
THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
SIAM SOCIETY
(JSS)
'
'l
BANGKOK
2504

VOLUME XLIX PART 1
Articles
TABLE OF CONTENTS
T. Grimm Thailand in the Light of 0 fficial Chinese
Historiography
A Chapter in the ''History of the Jlfing
Dynasty"
Joel Halpern
Eigil Nielsen
Phya Anuman
JULY 1961
Page
The Role of the Chinese in Lao Society 21
The Thai- Danish Pre-Historic &cpcdUion 1960-1962
Preliminary Expedition 1960-61 47
Some S'iamese Superstitions About Trees
Rajadhon and Plants 57
IJ3ook Cff.eviews
J. Blofeld People of the Sun (Prince Dhani Nivat) 65
Bhikld1n Yen Kiat Mcthayana Buddhism (Prince Dbani Nivat) 67
C/?.ecent c3iamese (jJublications
fJG3. History of Wat Bovoranives 69
..
264. Ohandraprabha, S.: Tonring Wat Po with the Department of Mines 70
265. Para,manttjit, Pr1:nce: Ve1·s1}ied Records of the Great Restoration
of Wat Pra Jetubon 72
266. Batwnavedi, the Ven. Pm: Historical Items concerning the
.111onastery of P1•a .Jetubon and its more important effigies
of the Bnddha 7 3
267. Ramct VI, King: Mfsc!!lleneous Articles 73
268. Rama VI, King: Material in connection with and curtain
raisers f1·om his pen 7 4
269. Nimmalnheminda, K.: Sanlcam:Pev Glazed Pottery 77
270. BidyalaJ;h, Kromwnun: The Sto,ry of Rcunct and an English
translation of Ooedes' Empire of the South Seas 79
271. Sathien Ko.ses & Nagapradip: Beliefs of Our Fellowmen 81
ublications of Interest in r!Jther flournals 83
Accessions to the /:.ibrary 87
1

1. Introduction
THAILAND IN THE LIGHT OF OFFICIAL
CHINESE HISTORIOGRAPHY
A CHAPTER IN THE
"HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY"
C(:J,
by
§rimm
Hamburg UniveTsity
Being situated close to China, the country of Thailand
has long since been part of the Chinese geographer's and historiographer's
interest. The first ucconnt of the country-not the
people-seems to have been taken during the Mongol period, at least
it is the "History of the Mongol dynasty" ( Yi.ian-shih),l which
contains in its chapter ~HO a short paragraph on Hsian.2 This
paragraph follows those on Bunna and Champa and in a few lines
only reports on some tribute sending missions and the favorable
reaction of the then Mongol-Chinese Ernperor.S Dnring the reign
of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644 ), however, Thailand with the
n arne "Hsi an-I.,o" 4 had been a firmly established "foreign nation" 5
with whom to have friendly relations was somewhat important. We
do lmow of the third Ming Emperor's (Ynng-lo) grandiose design
to incorporate oversea trade in to the Chinese state monopoly .6
Thus Thailand became one of the great conn tries on tbe way, and
we need not be Stll'pdsed at the more detailed informatio.n that
is given in the official Ming history about "Hsian-Lo". It is con.
tainecl in book 324, fifth chapter dealing with foreign nations
together with Champa (South Vietnam), Cambodia a1,1d others.
The narra:tion is based on earlier accounts like the wellknown
'l'nng-bsi-ynng k'ao 7 (Inquiries into Eastern and Western
countries, first edited in 1()18 ), but these again draw material
from the lively account of the Oheng Ho voyages (see note 6) by
Ma Huan ( Ying-yai sheng-lan,8 first edited 1451, the title meaning
something like " Wonderful Views on Oceans and Shores").

2 T. Grimm
Later ccnnpilatio!JS generally follow this line of approach, i.e. that
of a traveller's note book, curious, not systematic, putting down
what seemed different from the Chinese way. On the other hand it
is the "Veritable Records" ( Shih-ln) 9 that give the background
for the annalistic pattern of recounting tbe steady flow of in.
coming tribnt,c missions and outgoing Imperial envoys. Official
secretaries made short notes about the daily Court procedure to
write them down later in square office style. After the death of
every Emperor the whole file was collecte

HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY 3
Imperial Proclamation for official notice to that country.14 In
the fourth year ( 1a71) their king 15 sent envoys to present a
letter of bomage, 1 6 and together with ( Lii) 'l'sung.chi.1n and his
mission they came to submH tributes of tame elephants, six-leg.
ged.tortoise, and other home products. ( 'l'he Emperor) decreed
to present their king with brocade and :fine silk and to give the
envoys silks varying ( as to their ranlm ). After that, when en•
voys were sent again to offer New Year's congratulations in the
following year, (the Emperor) ordered to pref:lent the Imperial
Calendar and coloured sill{s, In the fifth year ( 1372) a black
bear, white nlOnkeys, ancl other local products were sent as tribute.
In the following year (1373) again they came with tribute
offers. 'l'he elder sister of their king 17 separately sent envoys
to hand ove1• a tributary note made of gold leaves with tribute
offers of native prod11Cts to the Empress. 'fhey were refused.
But the king' a siste1· again sent envoys who came to submit tributes.
'l'he Emperor still dec1ined them, though he feasted and rewarded
the envoys.
At that time their king was timid and not warlike. 'l'he
people in the country eleeted the ldng's uncle 18 to 'administer
the affairs of state. He sent envoys who carne to make the an.
nouncernent (of the throne change) and to present local products.
They were feasted and rew arued as usual. But when afterwards
the new king sent envoys with tributes to give thanks for the
favours granted and the messengers also had presents with them,
the Emperor did not accept,l9 Later envoys were sent to con.
gratnlate on the New Year 1'estival of next year and to present
native products. Moreover, they submitted u map of their own
count1·y.
In the seventh year ( 1374) the envoy Shalipa 20 came
with tributes and made the fol1owing statement: 'Last year, when
our ship had reached the Black-Pig-Sea,2 1 we met with a storm
which ruined t,he ship and whirled it up to Hainan Island. We
relied on the officials there for help and rescue. We still have
with us what is left over from the storm, as tn1a.cotton, laka-and

T. Grimm
sapan-wood and other things for submission.' 'l'he Kwangtung
province authorities reported the matter. 'l'he Emperor wondered
why he had no list of the goods (as befitted an official tribute
mission). And since he had stated his boat had capsized but
native products still were left over, he wus suspected to be (just)
a foreign merchant.22 Order was given to reject him and a note
passed to the Central Secretariat and the officials of the Board of
Ceremonies (dealing with tribute missions) saying: 'In olden
times the nobles of China made a minor visit to the Son of Heaven
every second year and a major visit every third year. Outside
China (the nine regions) there was one visit to the throne once
in a reign. Submission of local products signifies that they are
sincere and respectful and nothing else. Only Ko1•ea knows the
riteB and music (of Chinese state ceremonials) well enough, so I
order (them) to send one tribute mission every third year. As
for the other remote countries like Champa, Annam, Southern
India, Soli, 2 3 Java, Borneo, Srivijaya, 'l'hailand, Cambodia, since
their tribute missions come ineessantly, the toil and cost are too
heavy.
mi~sions ).
Now it is not necessary for them to resume (their tribute
Ym1 ( officiall:l) should prepare the documents for all
these countries to let themlmow about it.'- However, the visitors
(from Hsian-Lo) did not stop to come.24
Their heir-apparent, the Prince (Governor) of Supan,
Chao Nalwn In,25 also sent envoys to present a written document
to the Crown Prince wit.h tribute offerings. It was ordered to
arlmit the envoys to an audieuce before the Crown Prince. rrhey
were feasted and rewarded and sent hack. In the eighth year
( 1375) again tribute was brought to China. Also the hereditary
prince to the former Pdnce (Governor) of Miug-t'ai26 sent envoys
to J)l'eseut a list with tribute offerinl~S,
rewarded like royal envoys. 2 7
and they were feasted and
In the tenth year ( 1377) Chao
Nakon In received an order from his. father 2 8 to corne to Court
(at Nanking). 'l'he Emperor was pleased and ordered, that Wang
Heng, department secretary in the Board of Ceremonies, ancl
others presented an Imperial document with a seul and hand it

HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY 5
bver to him; the text on it read: 'Seal for the King of the Hsian­
Lo Oonntry.' Moreover, he presented the bereditrny prince with
rohes, silks, and the t1•avel expenses. ~~rom this time onwards,
their country complied with the Imperial orders, and it was called
Hsian-Lo for the first time. Every second year one tribute mission
was sent, or two missions every year, or as after tho Chengt'ung
reign (since 1450) one mission in several years (only) as is
told (in the records ).29
In the sixteenth year ( 1383) documents of mutual confirmation
as well as embroidered brocades and China ware were
presented to Cambodia and other countries. In the twentieth
year ( 1387) ten thousand catties of black pepper a11d ten thousand
catties of sapan-wood were sent as tribute. The Emperor sent
officials who recompensed (the envoys) generously. At this time
among the people in Wen-chou 30 there were some who traded
with lign-aloes and other products. The local magistrate ruled,
that because of their collusion with the foreigners they shonld be
executed in public. 'l'he Emperor announced: 'Wen-chon is the
place where (the envoys from) Hsian-Lo must pass by, it is because
of their corning and going that (the people) are able to
trade there. It is not (a case of) illicit co1lnsion with foreigners.'
'l'hen they were pardoned.
In the twenty-first year (1388) thirty elephants and sixty
foreign slaves were offerHd. In the following yeal' Prince Chao
Nakon In sent envoys who came with tribute. In the following
yea1· black pepper, sapan-wood ancllnka-wood we1·e offered, 170,000
catties. In 1395 (28th year) Chao Nalwn In sent envoys with
tribute and the announcement of the father's den th. 31 'I.' he ennueh
Chao Ta and others were orr1ered to go and offer sacrifices with a
decree for the hereditary prince to follow on the king's throne.
An edict was added to the gifts conferred saying: 'Since Our accession
to the throne envoys were ordered to leave China and go
around in all four directions. Those whose feet reached their
destination were 36, and those from whom notice came to Our
ears were 31. If we compare to the present time all the 18 large

1'. Grimm
ccnmtries :111u the 149 sru :1ll ones whose customs are diffei·eu t anti
whose habits are strange, Hsian-Lo is the most familiar one. When
recently envoy8 arrived we learnt, that your former ldng has
already pnssed away. '['he (new) king should follow the reign
of the former king and rule the countt•y in the right way so that
the o11icials aud the people will rejoice. Herewith we send someone
to confer the (following) Imperial order: May the king not
uuglect the principles of law, may he not be licentious in his
pleusures, that he glorifies the illustrious ancestors. Due respoct.'32
When Ch'eng-tsn (the Yung-lo Emperor) ascended the
tluone, he sent an edict. as procbmation to that country. In the
first year of Yung-lo (140a) a gold-plated silver camel-hair knotted
seal3 2 a was presented to their ldng.33 'fhe ldng thereupon
~ent envoys to thank for the favour. In the sixth month (of that
year), becumle the posthumous title was conferred to the High­
Lofty Eruperor,34 envoys were sent who brought the p1•oclo.mution
with prel:!ents. In the eighth month the Government Adviser Wang
Ohe nnd the Envoy Oh.'eng Wn 35 presented their ldng with brocade
ant! i:!ilk. In the ninth month the eunuch Li Hsing36 and others
were ordered to hand over a proclmnation and rewarding presents
to their l•ing, and both their civil and military officials received
presents us well.
In the l:lecond yea1· (1404,) a foreign ship floated up to the
Fulden coast. On investigatiou it was found to be from Hsian-Lo
on a friendship mission to tlll1 Liu.l\in lslands. 3 7 'l'he officials
r.;eized the goods and reported to the throne. The Emperor to~d
them: 'If these two countries are on friendly terms, it is 11 very
fine thing after all. Unfortunately (these people) met with a
f:ltorm, it would be just and appropriate to have pity on them.
How could it be allowed to use this event fot• personal gain l 'l'he
officials concerned should repair the ship and provide food. Wait
for the wind and then send them off to the Lin-Kin Islands.'
In this month, because the JiJroperor had sent clown an
Imperial letter and rewarding presents, their king sent envoys to
offer thanks an

HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY 7
than usual, and also hnndred copies of the 'Biographies of Virtuous
Ladies' 3 8 were presented. 'l'he envoys asked for delivery
of weights and measures for constant models in their country,
which was permitted.
Previously, tribute envoys from Champa were on their
way home. A storm swept their ship to Pahang. Hsian.Lo for.
cibly extorted these envoys, kept them in custody and did not
send them on. Snmatra 39 and Malaldm, moreover, made complaints
(to the Chinese court) that Hsian-Lo had taken the strong stand,
sent t1•oops and taken away the seal and patent the Heavenly Dy.
nasty had bestowed on them. The Emperor released a decree toreprimand
them saying: 'Champa, Sumatra, Mttlakka, and yon, all
have received the Imperial orders. How can yon presume on
power, seize their tribute envoys or rob their letter patents and
seals? Heaven has its clear way, it blesses the good and gives
mischief to the wicked. The Li-bandits 40 of Annam may be regarded
as a strong warning. Yon will have to return the Champa
envoys and restore the seals and letter patents to Sumatra and
Malakka. From now on obey the law, follow the right principles,
keep your boundary, and be honest to your neighbours, that you
may enjoy eternally the blessings of the great peace.'41
At that time a tribute mission sent from Hsian.Lo was
wrecked and swept to Annam, where they were killed by the
Li-bandits. Only one man named Po be 4 2 was spa.t•ecl. When
later the Imperial troops marched into Annam, tbey got hold of
him and sent him to the eapita1, where the Emperor treated him
with sympathy. In the eighth month of the sixth year ( 1408)
t!Hl eunuch Chang Yuan 4 3 was ordered to bring him back to his
country. He presented their king with silk and ordered him to
compensate the families of the slain (merchants and sailors)
generously. In the ninth month the eunuch Cheng Ho4 4 was
sent to their country. The king then sent envoys to offer native
pt•oducts as tt•ibnte and to apologize for tho former offence.
In the seventh year ( 1409) envoys came to offer sacrifices
on behalf of the Benevolent-Pious Empress. 4 5 Eunuchs were
ordered to announce it to the deceased person's spirit. At this
time traitorous people, Ho Pa·kuan 4 6 and others, fled into Hsian­
Lo. The Emperor ordered the (Siamese) envoys (then in Nan-

8 T. Girmm
king) to return and tell their lord, that he shonld not receive
the ahsconders. 'fhe king immediately obeyed the order, sent
envoys who presented horses and native products and also returned
Pa-knan and his p0.ople. Chang Yiian then was ordered to hand
over a proclamation with presents of silks to reward him.
In the tenth year ( 1412) the eunuch Hung Pao 47 and
others were ordered to go there and present silk. In the fonrt,eenth
yeat· ( 1416) 48 the Prince Somdec Pra Borornarajii,dhiraj 49
sent envoys to annonnce the father's death. 'fhe eunuch Kuo
Wen 50 was ordered to go on a visit of condolence (to offer sacrifices).
Other officials were delegated to present an edict nominating
the son as king, presenting him with plain brocade and
plain silk (for mourning). Thereupon he in return sent envoys
to thank for the favours. In the seventer,nth year ( 1419) order
was given to the eunuch Yang Min 5 1 and others to escort (the
Siamese envoy) home, and because Hsian-Lo had raided Malakka,
envoys were sent to reprimand and give order to heep peaceful
relations. The king then once more sent messengers to apologize.
In the eighth year Hsiiau-te ( 1433) the king 52 sent envoys
to the conrt with tribute. Before that a subordinate officer
of that country named Naisanto 53 and others had anchored with
their tribute ship at Hsin-chou harbom· 5 4 in Champa, and had
been plundered completely by the people of that country. In
1436 Naisanto mtmaged to come secretly on a small boat to the
capital (then in Peking) to complain in an accusation of robbery
committed by Champa. The Emperor ordered the envoys from
Champa. to bear witness, but the envoys had nothing to answer,
so he decreed to the king of Champa ordering full restoration of
the robbed men and goods. Champa replied officially to the Board
of Ceremonies saying: 'When our country last year sent envoys
to pt·oceed to Snmatra,54a they also were robbed by Hsian-Lo
pirates. First Hsian-Lo must restore what has been taken away,
then our conotry will surely do the same.' When two years later
( 1438) a. Hsian-Lo tribute mission again arrived, they were notified
of thi.s opinion by special decree ordering them immediately
to restore the Champa men and goods.

HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY
1n 14 46 the king Boromarfi,jadhirii,j (II.) sent envoys wi tb
tribute. 55 In 1453 the Government Adviser Lin Chin and the
Envoy Lin 'l"ai 5 6 were ordered to condole (offer sacrifice) because
of the late king Bot•omarajallhiraj, and to bestow on his heir Pra
Ramesvara 5 7 the royal title. In 1457 their tribute envoy was
presentfJd with metal ornt~ments and :1 golden girdle. In 1462 King
Boromatrailokanath 58 seut envoys to the court with tribute. Tn
1473 the tribute envoys reported, that (their part of) the tally
that had been given in 1457 was eaten up by insects, and tliey
asked to issue a new one, which was permitterl.
In 1481 the tribute envoys, when they were halfway on
their return route, stealthily bought children and women and,
moreover, carried away much unlicensed salt. Order was given to
send officials who should reprimand these foreigners. Previonsly,
a man from 'ring-chon named Hsie Wen. pin 5 9 had smuggled salt
out on sea und was drifted to their conntt·~T· 'l'here he served np
to the Royal :Father-in-Law's retinue, 60 which was like a Han-lin
secretary to tho Celestial Dynasty. Later on he came to the court
as envoy and traded with fol'llidden goods. His affairs became
known ~mel he was demoted.
In 1482 (Oh'eng-lma 18th year) 61 envoys were sent to court
with tribute and the announcement of the father's death. The
Government Auviser L1n Hsiao and the Envoy Yao Lung 62 were
ordered to go there and bestow on the son 6 3 the royal title.
In 1497, when the tribute mission came, the Foreign Languages
Depnrtrnent63a had no interpreter for '['hai, uo the Grand
Secretary Hsl:i P'n 64 ttsked to send a dispatch to Kwangtung
(provincial government) to investigate whether thet•e was someone
who understood to speak and write in that language, that he might
come to the capital for official nse. It wtts so done.
In 1509 there was among the ~:>hips from Hsian-Lo one
which had been floated to Kwangtung. 'l'he Naval Officer, eunuch
Hsinng Hsiian, 65 conferred with the garrison officers to tax its
goous in order to support military expenditures. This was brought

io
T. Gtinurl
to court resulting in a strong reprimand against Hsuan, that he
had misu::;ed his power and should immediately return to Nan"
king.
In 1515 the court tribute was listen on gold leaves, but
in the ( Langnages•) Department nobody knew the letters, so the
Grand Secretary Liang Ch'u 6 6 asked to select and keep one or two
of the euvoys to enter the office for language training. 'l'his was
allowed.
In lfi22 Hsian-Lo anrl Champa cargo boats reached Kwang.
tung. 'l'he Naval Officer, eunuch Niu Jung, 6 6 a let his family members
privately trade with them. He was sentenced to death according
to law. In 1553 envoys were sent to present a white elephant and
local products. The elephant died on tbe way. 'l'he envoys adorned
its tusks with peal'ls and jewels, put it Into a golden plate, and
together with the tail (for proof of its whiteness) 66b they carne
to pt·eseut it. 'l'he Emperor was very pleased at their intention
and sent them home with rieh presents. 67
Dnring the Lung.ch'ing reign ( 15(17-72) their neighbour
country l3nrmn 6R asked for a marriage relation but was refused.
Ashamed and angered (the Burmese king) levied many troops,
attacked and defeated this country ( Hsian-Lo ). 'l'he ( Bnrmese)
king himself planned to seize their crown prince together with
the seal bestowed by the Celestial Dynasty and then to return.
When the second son inherited the (Thai) throne, he presented
a tribute list and asked for a (new) seal which was given to him.
From that time they were controlled by the Burmese. But the
king successor bent his will on revenge. During the Wan-li era
(from 157il on) the enemy troops once more arrived. The king
led the troops, attacker! them fiercely and inflicted a crushing
defeat on them. 'I' he enemy ( king's) son was killed, the rest
escaped hy night. From then on Hsian-Lo was master on the sea.
She led her troopA to attack and destroy Cambodia 6 9 and subdued
their king. '!'hence yea1· after sear they made war and so became
the leading power t\mong [Ill these countries. In 1579 they sent
envoys with tribute.

HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY 11
In 1592, when Japan overwhelmed Korea, Hsian-Lo asked
to move troops secretly so as to launch a direct attack on Japan
and involve her in the rear. Shih Hsing70 from the Central
Command counselled on it, and it was agreed upon. Bnt the governor
of the two Kwang provinces, Hsiao Yen, 71 insisted on its
inadmissibility. So it was put off. Later on the tribute missions
were not interrupted. Even in 1643 (one year before the Ming
collapsed) tribute was brought.
'l'heir country is round about a thousand miles wide. Their
manner is !:ltrong and fierce. They are used to naval fight. 'l'he
general uses a special cnirass to cover his body, swords and arrows
cannot pierce it. This cuirass is made from human slmlls. The
ldngs are from Soli. 72 The officials are divided into ten ranks.
When there is business from the king clown to the common people,
everything is decided upon by their women. In determination and
skill their women in bet surpass the men. If the wife commits
adultery with a Chinese, the husband will give a wir1e feast and
drink together (with the guest). He will be calm and not feel
strange, and he will say: It is because my wife is pretty that she
is li.ked by the Chinese. 'rhey re\•erently believe in Bncldhism,
men aud women often become monks and nuns, they also stay in
nunneries and monasteries, keep to their fasts and obey the
precepts. Their dresses very much ressernble those in China. The
well-to-do revere the Buddha still more. From a profit of a
hundred pieces of gold they offer one half. 'l'he climate is not
tempe1~ate, either cold or hot. 'l'he land is low and wet, people
live in elevated dwellings. Men and women knot their hair and
cover their heads with white cloths. When well-to-do die, the)1
use qnic1o:si1ver and pour it (for embalmment) into their mouths
before they inter them. The poor expose their dead on the sea
shore, whore there are swarms of crows flying and pecking, and in
a moment all is finished. The family collect their bones, lament
and cry ancl throw them into the sea. They call it the birds
funeral. But they also invite monks to prepare almafood honouring
the Buddha. For trade they use precious sea shells. The very
year they do not use them a serious pestilence will be in the
country.

12 T. Grimm
Among their tribute goods are:
elephants, ivory, rhinoceros horn, peacock featheJ'B, kingtisher
feathers, tortoise shell~. six legged tortoise, precious
stones, cm·als, Borneo camphor, camphor graius, camphor
powder, camphor oil, camphot• wood, rose water, talc (? ),
Malay ci1mamon, asafoetida, wistaria, resin, gamboge, sulphur,
myrrh, tea lumps, gum benzoin, Lopbnri aloe, aloe,
sandal woorl, aloe resin, laka wood, frankincense, incense
pntchuck, clovetl, opium, pepper, sapan wood, nutmeg, car.
damon, long pepper, ebony, sweet gnm, liquid amber
scented and other kinds of Indian cloth.
In their conntry there is a 'rhree .Jewel 'T'emple, where the
eunuch (.admiral) Oheng Ho is honoured. 73
3. Final remarks
The text of the account on ancient 'l'hailand as contained
in the Ming-Hi~:~tory (chapter BU fol. 14-h to 20a) is cleal'ly divided
into three parts: tho chronology of diplomatic and trac1e
relations, a description of the land and the people, and a list of
the most common goods export,erl to Ohina. Within the ehronology
the two first reigns of Hnng-wn and Yung-lo eove1· about two
thirds of the whole narration, which coincides with the view
generally held among historians that this period was the apogee
of Ming power. Betwee11 the two, however, a certain difference in
content may be noticed: during the Hung-wu period n long aeries
of incoming tribute missions and the regulations for them are
listed, whereas the Yung-lo period shows much more activity
abroad. Ohinese envoys, among them many eunuchs, visited for.
eign conutries and kept continuous diplomat.ic relations. Temporarily,
it seems, the frequency of missions mutually exchanged
comes close to the system of standing charges d'affaires. This
problem awaits further research.
As to the list of merchandise annexed to the account on
ancient Thailand, it is interesting to note that it is by far the
longest one ( 44 items) among the tribute lists given in several of
the foreign nations accounts, although in the nnmber of incoming
tribute missions. Thailand ranks only sixth after Lin-kin, Annam,

HISTORY OF THE MJNG DYNASTY 13
Tibet, Hami and Champa. In chapter 324: under review, for example,
Champa is noted to have offered only six different. goods, since
"their country is not very rich" ( fol. llh ). As to Cambodia
nothing special is mentioned, and for Palemhang74 only eight
different kinds are recorded. The longest list apart, from Hsian-Lo
is given with Malakka ( 2G ), followed by Bengal ( 24 ), North
Sumatra ( 19 ), Ceylon ( 17 ), Johore ( 15) and Oalicnt ( 14 ). Thus
the 44 items of goods mentioned in this narration arouse some
curiosity not only in the ecouomic situation of 'rhniland during
the Ayudhya era, hut also regarding the procedure and structure
of foreign trade in that t.ime. 75 ~l'he chapter on t.rade in Asia
before t.he advent of European powers still awaits detailed re.
search. Some of the above met·chandise has been identified -..vi th
the help of a llook that is just stepping in. 76
Modified and corrected (as is done partly, see the notes)
the given facts still Sl

NOTES
"HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY"
1. ru:;t Y11an-sbih. Compiled in a very short time right, after
the Ming had established their I'nle, commonly regarded as one
of the poorest among the dynastic histories. But see G.H. Luce,
'rhe early Sya,m in Burma's History, J.S.S. vol. XLVI Pt. 2
(August 1958) p. 204 note 269.
2. ilt Hsian. Translated by G. H. Lnce op. cit., J.S.S. vol. XLVII
Pt. 1 ( Juno 1959) p. 90, before him by P. Pelliot in BEFEO t. IV
p. 24-2 f.
a. In order to Jearn more about the Chinese accounts of the 'l'hai
people in that period see the article of G.H. Luce referred to above,
especially J.S.S. vol. XLVI Pt. 2 p. 145 ff. and p. 164 ff.
•.1·. ''i.l!lt ~"IL II - s1an- . I ~o.
5. jr @1 wai-kun.
Ei. '!'his view follows John. K. :Fairban}{, Trade and Diplomacy
on the Ohina Coast, Cambridge Mass., 1953, pp. 33-38; but see
ulso .J.J.L. Duyvendak, Ma Hnan re.examined, Amsterdam 1933;
and P. Pellint in 'l"oung Pao vols. XXX, XXXI, XXXII, among
other authorities.
7. _t d7 Y"f-~'" Tung-bsi.yang k'ao.
8. iA7lfJi~~t Ying-yai sheng.lan.
9. 'Jlr ~ Shih-1 n.
10. 'rhe best account on the compilation of the Ming-shih is
given in Li Cidn-hua's ~ i' .i(io treatise, Ming-shih tsuan-hsiu k'ao
fl}j ;t}~1i};{t (Researches into the compilation of the M ing history),
Yenching Monograph No. 3, Peking 1933 (in Chinese).
11. 'rhe Sui-histor•y (A.D. 581-618 ), book 82, containa this statement
which has been argued long since, Japanese scholars have
stressed the situation of the "Red-Soil-Country" somewhere in
Indonesia, probably near Palembang in Sumatra, see Kuwada Bokuro
in 'l'oyo gaknho vo1s. 9 and 10. The Ohinese term is ;$ ..±. ~1
Oh'ih-t'n kuo.

HiSTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY 15
12. Lo-Hu after ;J.ll must be Lopburi, although the first syllable
has no ancient or at least archaic fi1wl labial; the second syllable
has no initial labial either, but "hn" antl '' fu" are similar in
Fuldenese, thus a "Lo.fn" for" Lavu" might he established.
lB. 'l'he present Chinese name for Thailand, Hsian~lo, apparently
derives from this combination.
14. 'l'he Hungwu Empet'Ol' aunouncell his accession to the throne
to all the countries surrounding China at the same time asking
for their submission. 'rhe sentence here apparently refers to this
diplomatic action.
15. Here follow five Chinese characters reading in Mandarin
like ts'an.lie chao.pi.ya, ~.f.!lH?J ~ ~ apparently to rende1· the
title Som dec Ch aopraya. Since the king of Ayud h y11 from 1369
was Boromarf1ji1 I, the title must refer to him, although the throne
change and a slightly differing title or name for him m·e given n
few lines below, see note 18. 'fhe Chinese text as given here
seems to point to two different persons which might be explained
as misunderstanding on the side of the Ming redactors.
16. Ji;.;Jt feng piao. At the same time this refers to a list for.
mally drawn np to give notice of the tribute gifts r.Jiered.
17. Here fol1ow fonr Chinese characters reading •rs'an-lie ssiining
~.f!J..\21~
18. The ten characters following read lil{e 'l's'an-1ie pao pi-hsie·
ssu-li ch'e-lo-ln ~.?.!l W ~Afl 'l~ 11 }R 11 $~~. What the Chinese redactors
had in mind is not easily guessed at, but something like
'Somclec Pra Bororoarajadhiraj' must have been the source obscured
by wrong transmittance. The event and the person are clear.
19. Apparently this together with the refusal referred to above
are to be understood as precaution against fm·eign trade slipping
out of state control, see notes 22 and 24.
20. i:}l Sf!.. ;fit Sha-li-pa.
21. '!'his otherwise not identifiable name probably points to the
South Ohina Sea somewhere 110rth of the Paracel Islands. 'l'he
Chinese term is .~~4\Pf Wu.chu.yaiJg,

16 T, Grimm
•>·> 'llfflli fan-shang, i.e. not a tribute mission envoy. 'l'he te1•h\
set>ms to imply some reluctance ou the side of the Chinese Emperor
to deal with these "merchants" who wonl

HISTORY OF 'fHE MlNG DYNASTY 17
h:now who was who. Chao Nalron In it was whom they knew and
tmated. His information could well have been the source of this
!nistake.
:~2. ak~ ch'in tsai. The well known fot·mula at the end of
Imperial decrees doel:l not in the first line demand obeisance on
the part of the recii)ients but was included in the document t1s
ending formula by the high Chinese officials who dealt with a1Jd
handed down that document.
32a. It could not be ascertained as to what 1'eally was refer!'e

is
42. .~~ .W.. Po he.
4B. ?!J.f-~Ohang Yiian.
T. Grlmr\1
44. J~~::fo Oheng Ho, tho famous eunuch-admiral aud exploret·
of Asian sea routes.
·15. 'l'he empress of Yung-lo dieu in 1407, see Ming-sliih ch. 113.
4G. 1

56. f1] $ I,iu T'ai.
HISTORY OF THE MING DYNASTY 19
57. Tho Chinese transcript here is ~E-~il!fi?\L-M1

20 T. Grimm
Hantha (waddy) i.e. Pegu, see also Pai-i-chnan, 1. ed. H~97, which
has >lt.JJJ·" Tnng-hu Man. Tnug-niu and Tung-hu both refer to
'foungoo, whence the Burmese kings came to rule in Pegu, see
Hall, History of Southeast Asia, p. 210.
69. Ohen-la Jin!it.
70. .:6£ Shih Hsiug.
71. :;i,}HsiaoYen.
72. .f~Jf. So.li. The characters are the same as for a country so
named somewhere in India, see note 23. Does this hint at the
general cultural intlnence from India?
73. This second mention at the very end of our report of the
famed eunuch-admiral and explorer of Asian coasts and countries
for Ol~inrt points to the fact that much of the Ming government's
knowledge of Asia derived from the accounts of his voyages, and
that his reputation ran high although he was only a eunuch.
74. San-fo-ch'i ;.. f~..N-.
75. Since a list almost identical with this one was published
already in a text of 1520 ( Hsi.yang ch'ao.lmng tien-lu cl7$if..tJ:l1f
,WJ;41t Records of the tributes from Western countries), the question
may point to the 15th century already. If we compare this list with
the one given in Tung-hsi yang.k'ao (note 7) ed. 1618, where
"native products'' ( fang-wu -); ~kl) are listed, something like
22 i taros in our list can be regarded as foreign i.e. imported
from other countries irrespective of 14 different kinds of cloth
from India or farther West. Further research here would be
roost gratifying.
76. To-Sei kay akn shi ;/Z cl] ~ .f.lA. :lt (History of Spices and Medicines
in East and West), by Yamada Kentaro, 'l'okyo 1956, 2. ed.
1958.- Apart from Chinese and Japanese scholars the works of
F. Hirth, W.W. Rockhill, P. Pelliot, B. Laufer, J.J.L. Dnyvendak
and others are still most useful contributions to this field. A
recent study published in the Journal of the Malay~"Ln Branch
Royal Asiatic Society vol. XXXI pt. 2, p. 109 ff. by Wang Gungwu,
'fhe Nanhai Trade, A study of the early history of Chinese trade
in the South China Sea, is of specific value here,

THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY
by
!Joel r;J-Calpern
DepMtment of Anth1·opology
University of OaUfo·rnia, Los Angeles
It is intendecl here to only briefly outline some of the nutstanding
characteristics of the Chinese as au urban ethnic
group, and to assess their economic role in the Lao economy.
Throughout the countries of Southeast Asia the Overseas Ohinesel
play a crucial role and in many cases a dominant one in commerce,
industry and banking. Since in most cases they C011stitnte a
minOl'i ty of tb e total population and simultaneously stress theil·
Chinese cultural identity, they pose a critical political problem
to the self-conscious national states in this area that have gained
theit• indepenr1ence from Britain, France ancl Holland since the
end of the Second Wnl'ld War. 2 'rhis problem has been approached
in various ways by the countries concerned. They have attempted
to lessen Ohinese control of commerce by restricting their nctivitie~
in certain bnsinesses or by forcing them to change theil'
cultural orientation, at least outwardly, The Chinese have been
barred from certain trades and professions, forced to eliminate
the Chinese signs on their shops and become formal citizens of
the countries in which they reside. In certain cases deportation
has been resorted to.
These measures have at best had a partial success and
have not been made any easier by the emergence of Chin a as a
major po1itica1 and milita1·y power.
1. The use of this term is certainly indicative of the strong ties
that bind the Chinese to their homeland, since many of the Overseas
Chinese in this country, particularly in Laos, live in areas bordering on
China. Perhaps the tern1 also derives from the fact that many Chinese
even in Laos arrives by ship rathe1· than travel overland.
2. The Chinese also stand out becau.se of theh· great concentration
in the capital cities such as Bangkok, Saigon, Phnom Penh, and
Vientiane.

22 Joel Halpern
Before going into any detail about the relationship bet.
ween the Lao and Chinese communities let us first examine the
history and economic role of the Chinese in Laos. Chinese as
used here does not refer to all emigrants from China who have
come to settle in Laos but rather only to those of the so-called
Han group who have settled in the towns. Excluded by definition
are peoples such as the 1\feo and Yao who may speak and to a
lesser extent write Chinese, and who were either horn or originated
in the recent past in Yunnan, although both of these
tribal groups have extensive dealings with Chinese merchants.
Before the war these people traded with ( Ho) Ynnnauese caravans.
Now they do most of their business with urban Chinese merchants.
'l'he urban, or perhaps more accurately town-dwe1lir1g
Chinese in Laos arc a rather diverse group; Cantonese,3 Yunnnnese,
Hrdnauese, 'l'eochin ( Swatow ),4 and Hal

'i'f-IE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY
nhd its popular use is too vague.
''Congregation" used by the
French in Indo-ChiiHL implies a formal organization which is not
always present particnlal'ly in the smaller towns of IJaos. "Dialect
gronp" is also unfortunate since the speech differences which
cleturmine the groups are more than dialectal in most cases. The
lingui~t's distinction between dialect and language is in essence
that if a speaker from one speech community can, without too
much difficnlt.y, understand a speaker from another speech com.
JUUl\lty. then the forms of speech of the two community constitute
dialects of the same language. If, on the other hand, the two forms
of speech are mutually unintelligible, then the communities speak
two ditl'erent langnages.
On this basis, Cantonese, Hakkn, Hainanese,
nnd Holdden-'reochiu are languages and only the Hokkiens5
n.ud 'l'eocllins !:!peale dialects of the same language.
Ynnnanese also constitute a separate linguistic group.
In Laos the
'l'he divisions of the Chinese groups in Laos seem to be
similar• to those in 'l'hailand with the exception of the Yunnanese
who are much more important in Laos. Over 95 per cent of the
Chinese in 'l'hailand come from the provinces of Kwangtung and
l

24 Joel Ha1petn
Since JJaos shares a common border with China some Hail
Chinese have doubtless been present there for a long time. But
until reeen t times with the beginning of some commei·cial develop"
ment under the French colonial rule this area was probably not
a highly attractive place for settlement. During this century
there has, however, been considerable growth and currently
(1959) the Chinese population of taos is estimated at some 40,000.
'l'he present~day communities have grown up within the memot·y
of living inhabitants, the first migrants having come to many
communities fol'ty or fifty yeaJ'S ago.
For example, two of the
oldest inhabitants of the Chinese community in the town of Xiong
Khonang, men now in their eighties, estimated that they had
come from their native Yunnan about forty years ago. Not all
of the Chinese in northern Laos come from Yunnan as there are
significant uuwbenl from Swatow, Canton, and even Hainan. Since
the defeat of the Nationalists iu China not a few l:loldiel'S and
officer~ have crossed over into Laos and settled down, in some cases
aHHutuing rather important positions in these commuuities. According
to oue observer, the Chinese communities in Laos developed
maiuly from those individuals who had failed to make a living
in 'l'hailand or Vietnam or for one reason or another were dis~
satisfied with conditions in those countries.s More recently there
has been an influx of merchants from Hong Kong,9 but unlike the
refugees from Yunnan most of them came to make a quick profit
during 1956-57 when there was trading in import licenses and
currency manipulations resulting from mismanagement of the
American aid program.
8. Professor G.W. Skinner suggests that the Chinese immigrants
to Laos have come from three directions: 1) overland from southwest
China, mostly Yunnanese 2) overseas to Vietnam and overland to Laos,
primarily Cantonese, and 3) overseas to Bangkok and overland to Laos,·
mainly Teochiu ( Swatow) and Hakkas. Although no specific statistical
information is available, these distinctions are confirmed by some Chi·
nese who have lived in Laos. As might be expected the Yunnanes constitute
the oldest group.
9. Most of them were originally from Shanghai and were mainly
" suitcase" mercha11ts who came only for a short period for quick
profits.

'i'Im ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOciETY 2!}
Almost every one of these communities are politically
tJi•ganized into a fh·oupement Administ1·at1:j OMnois Regionaux. It
is likely that this system derives from or at. least is related to
that which originally developed in Vietnam. 'l'o quote Hinton
( 1958: 10 ), "Under the Vietnamese empire the Chinese were
organized into bang ( congl'egations ), each of which was composed
of people from the same province and speaking the same dialect,
largely exempt from Vietnamese jurisdiction, and nuder a chief
of its own choosing who was in charge of its affairs ...• 'l'he
Ft'ench colonial administration retained the congregation system
in its essentials .... " These are organizations with official standing
in the government. ( Iu cet·tain areas such as Vientiane and
Luang Prabang where their numbers are sufficiently large the
Vietnamese community also has an organization.) Each group is
presided over by a chairman equivalent to a tasseng (district
administrator) in Lao government terms, and often u. vice-chair­
Ill(m as well. Where the community is large enough there is also
a permnuent salaried secreLary and in certain cases some paid
assistants. When the community is large and diverse there may
he two chairmen, one for each area of origin in China. 'l'hus in
Vientiane there are Swatow, Otmtonese and Hakka groups and in
Luang Prabang there are Hainanese and Swatow congregations.
(See 'l'able 2 u.t end for description of the situation in all of
.Laos.)
A chairman is elected to his position every four years,
with the elections usually supervised by the Lao government. He
is 'often a leading met•chan t. There does not appear to be any
time limit on his continuance in this honorary position (no pay
is received) but the job does carry a great deal of social prestige.
He is expected to be generous in providing he1p to the poorer
members of the community.
The duty of the pel'manent secretary in the lal'ger congregations
il:l to deal with Lao government authorities. Unlike many
of the other Chinese he usually has a Jmowledge of French. In
Vientiane the leaders of the Chinese community were fluent in

Joel Haiperh
French and had attended the Lycee Pavie achieving about the
equivalent of a ninth grade education. 'l'he money for meeting
various expenses of the congregation comes from service fees collected
whenever it submits applications to the Lao authorities on
behalf of the Chinese residents, and also from the interest received
on money which the congregation has loaned out, at a monthly
interest rate of five per cent (the usual rate in Laos is ten to
fifteen per cent. per month). In certain cases the congregations
in the li11'ger towns also have jurisdiction over Chinese in outlying
communities in the same province.
A very important function of the community, if it is large
enough, is the operation of a private school. 'l'he maintenance of
these schools which are the largest privately operated ones in Laos
is, of comse, a key factor in maintaining Chinese cultural identity.
In the larger towns the Chinese schools are extensive; there are
some 1,400 pupils in Vientiane and even in the smaller communities
over n huuclrerl Chinese pupils are enrolled. Nine years of
education are offered in the larger towns and six years in the
smaller ones (see Table 2 ). Although certain general aspects of
the curriculum are supervised by the Lao Ministry of Education
which maintains a formal control over the schools their graduates
cannot continue on in the Lao system since these schools do not
teach l!'rench, 'l'hese pupils therefore must go to 'l'aiwan or mainland
China for further training, depending on their political
sympathies. In 195G it was estimated that there were less than
100 Chinese students in government operated educational institutions
inclmling the Lycee. Generally speaking they come from 'the
more prosperous families.
As early as 1900 the prominent role of the Chinese in Lao
commerce was cited by Reinacb ( 1901: 312):
''Just about everyone engages in trade in Laos, in highly
variable proportions, to be sure, ancl each according to his resources.
There are, however, real merchants, businessmen and
ti·aders who are the middlemen between the native producers and
the exporters in neighboring countries or on the coast. 'l'he greater

THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY 27
number of these and also the most active ones, are the Chinese,
then come the Hos and the Burmese. They may act either on their
own account, or in behalf of a small local syndicate, Ol' again as
representatives of Chinese or European houses established in the
ports."
He also makes the further interesting points:
"'1 1 he Laotians are IDOl'S likely to operate individnttlly or
m family groups financed by nobles, officials of high rank or
wealthy men who use this means of putting to work the capital
which business has already bro11ght them."
Although not mentioned by Reinach, an important sym.
biotic relationship seems to have grown up between the Chinese
immigrants and the Lao nobility with the Lao supplying a good
deal of the capital and the Chinese running the bnl'inesses. This
integration was aided by the fact that many of these merchants
took Lao wives. This pattern has continued to the present day.
Although there are formal government regulations limiting certain
types of trade and commerce exclusively to Lao citi?,ens, the
Ohinese have taken in Lao partners who supply their name and
sometimes some capital as well. These business relationships reach
np to the highest levels of Lao society.
In Thailand the royal family itself has participated in
intermarriage with the Chinese. It was rather common for ennobled
Chinese to present daughters to the king as n.utids-in-waiting
and prospective concn bines. One of these was taken as wife by
King Mong1mt and later elevated to a queen. She gave birth to
Princess Saowapa, later one of Rama V's queens and the mother of
Rama VI and Rama VII. Thus, taking into account only known
cases of Chinese admixture, there was from the first an extensive
Ohinese strain in the J akkri royal family which still rules Thai.
land. 'l'he social importance of this fact lies in the consciousness
and acknowledgment of it by the kings themselves. But it was
not only the women who played a role. Phraya Tak or Taksin
was bom in 1734, the son of a Chinese ( Teochiu) father and a

28 Joel Halpern
'rhai mother. He was adopted as a Thai nobleman. He became a
provincial governor, fought the Burmese and subsequently bee~1me
King and ruled from17G7-1782 (Skinner: 1957,20, 26-7).
On speeial ceremonial occasions the Chinese (and Vietnamese)
participate jointly with the Lao but as a distinct group.
On the :2500th Anniversary of Buddhism in Luang Prabang, Chinese
school children in Lnang Prabang formed a part of n procession
parading with a lighted paper dragon to the royal palace. Both
Lao and Chinese who are acculturating to Lao patterns use the
Buddhist pagodas. As far as is know, there are no Chinese monks
as such and Chinese Buddhist are mainly of the Mahayana rather
than the Hinayana sect prevalent in Southeal:lt Asia.
Although interrnat•riage is significant in Laos to some
extent it appears to be discouraged in the major towns as opposed
to the smaller communities where Chinese '\Vives are less easily
available. One explanation fot· this situation may be in the fact
that as a group the Lao have less prestige in Chinese eyes than
either the Thai or Vietnamese with whom the Overseas Chinese
appear to intermarry more readily.
Table il bl'iefly summarizes some approximate statistics
concerning Chinese ownership of urban bnsinesses and points up
their overwhelming predominance. The Chinese are also active
in rural areas. Not only do Chine10e operate shops in many villages
but they also loan money. The villagers often feel they can
obtain lower rates from the Chinese than they can get from their
own clansmen. Actually, the rate is the same, but the Chinese are
willing to take their interest payment in rice at the next harvest.
Psychologically speaking, a farmer would rather part with 100
pounds of rice at harvest time when he has thousands, than 100
kip in cash when he has practically none (Kaufman: 1956, 6 ).
The most important Chinese business concerns are, of
course, concentrated in Vientiane. A brief survey conducted 'in
1959 showed that the Chinese operated 749 or almost exactly 50
per cent of a total of 1550 businesses (see Table 4 ). 'l'he other 50
per cent is divided among Lao, Vietnamese, Thai, French and
others.

THE ROLF. OF THE ClliNESE IN LAO SOCIETY 29
It should be pointed out that most large enterprises such
as banks, insurance companies, saw mills, motor truck transport
firms and p~wticnlal'ly export-import houses have Chinese capital
and/or management, so that actually the Chinese community par.
ticipates in more than half of the total commerce in Vientiane.
This is particularly true in the case of Lao-Chinese partnerships
where the fm·mer supplies his name and govm.•nment contacts
with perhaps some capital as well and the latter manages the
enterprise and provides capital. In the case of import-export
concerns it is the Chinese partner who provides contacts in Hong
Kong, Saigon and other trade centers. Lao-Chinese intermarriage
is also an important factor her8 since a business may sometimes
he registered in the name of the Lao wife. In certain cases the
Lao anc1 Chinese partners may be linked tlll'ongh marriage bonds
between their children.
VVhen one Chinese (a recent; immigrant who had received
an lTinglish education in his native Hong Kong) was asked if he
feared restrictive legislation of the Lao governmf'nt, he replied
that this would not threaten his business but merely create

30 Joel Halpern
as airline supervisors, mechanics, pilots, antomobile mechanics
and hotel managers, while the Indians and Paldstanis operate
fabric stores.
Thai from Bangkok participate in the ownership antl.
management of some of the banks and hotels and also serve as
representatives of certain international firms such as oil companies.
Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese are employed in skilled
positions by foreign governments notably the American aid
mission. They are categorized by the Americans as "Third Country
Nationals," that is, neither Americans nor Lao of the host conn try,
Lao from Northeastern 'rhailand serve as construction laborers,
sarnlaw drivers, and street merchants. Although there is some
overlap in the specializations of these different ethnic groups,
by and 1 arge there does not appear to be much clirect corn.
petition. Rather these occupational structures can be viewed as
a mosaic whose component parts fit together.
In certain cases
some can be removed, as was the case of the Vietnamese truck
gardeners and government officials after the war, without cans~
ing the whole structure to crumble. It is quite possible that
as the Lao acquire further skills they will gradually replace
groups such as Ft·ench technicians, and Vietnamese craftsmen
without necessarily eliminating the Chinese businessmen and
merchants.
To return to the Chinese, let us see to what extent they
are speciuJized and how the situation in Vientiane compares to
that in some of the smaller towns. Although they own half the
shops and participate in most businesses they do not appear to go in
too wuch for small scale peddling in urban areas (although small
Chinese .merchants are scattered throughout the countryside).
'rhus, o£ 1,980 small peddlers in the streets and four marl;:et
places of Vientiane only fifty- three of these are Chinese, the
rest being Lao, Lao f1·om Northeast 'rhailand, and a few Vietnamese.
But even here the Chinese are distinctive in that even
as street peddlers they display a little more capital than the Lao.

'i'HE ROLE OF THE CHINEilE iN LAO SOCIETY
3i
'i'his g1•onp includes the Chinese "hot noodle and soup" vendors
(mainly Swatow) who roam the streets of Vientiane until late at
night clacking his sticks to offer tasty hot food to the movie and
festival crowds. Whlle the 120 taxi drivers and 700 pedicab or
sarnlaw drivers are almost exclusively Lao from Northeast Thailand,
with a few local Lao, a certain number of the samlaws are
owned by Chinese who rent them out. Many European strangers
who see the Chinese noodle peddlers walking the streets at night
contrast their ambition unfavorably with that of the Lao but pay
little attention to the samlaw driver who pedals around looking
for a fare at almost all hours.
Within Vientiane there is a great range in the Chinese
community consisting as it does of British educated Chinese
merchants from Hong Kong who may have arrive(l only a year or
so ago or the largely illiterate noodle selle1· or small shopkeeper
born in Laos who may never have been far from Vientiane.10
In Luang Prabang, the royal capital, business has expanded
much less than in Vientiane but there is nevertheless tt significant
business community since this town is the main commercial
center for northern Laos. Here the Chinese owned more than
eighty per cent of the 233 stores in town (as of 1959 ). Not only
arc they me1·chants and importers, but they also engage in
specialized crafts such as harboring and goldsmithing. 'l'he two
movie theaters in town and a third one under construction are
all owned by Chinese, although in at least one there is some Lao
capital invested. A saw mill, dyeing establishment, rice mill,
brickyard and other small local industries are also owned by
Chinese. Of five local restaurants two are Chinese-owned, one was
]:t'rench (until it closed in 19G8), and the other two are Vietnamese.
Here as in other towns in the north there is a division of
labor among the Chinese community; those from Swatow, Huinau,
10. The large financial support Laos has received under the American
aid program has stimulated the growth of many concerns and also
attracted considerable numbers of Chinese from Saigon and Bangkok
as well as Hong Kong.

Joei Halpern
Canton ttnd. of Haklm origin run the shops or engage iu the im.
put·t businos::~,ll
most Ynnnanese travel in the highlandH and trade
with thtl lVIeo aud Yao. 1 2 'l'his is facilitatetl by the fact that
many of the people in both tribal g1·oup::;, bnt particularly the
Yao, speak Y rtnnanese. In Il!Ull y erule8 these Ynnnunese have
moved SOLlth to Luang Prabang iu recent years and are merely
carrying on the same type of general trading they did in their
formet· home.
According to some reports a number of the Yao in this
area are partially literate in Chinese. Reportedly in one Yao
village abOLlt twenty-five miles from Luang Prabang a former
major in the Chinese Nationalist A.rmy has been giving Chinese
lel:lsous to the villagers and theit· children. He receives his tuition
feel:! in old silver coins which are still widely used currency iu
this area. 1 3 1'he Yao observe the Chinese lunar calendar and
celebrate festivals which are strongly influenced by Chinese culture.
A popular item for merchants selling to the Yao are eo1orfu1
Chinese shrouds which are made in Luang Prabang. 'l'he Yao
1Jelieve that when they die and are wrapped in Chinese shrouds
their spirits will be allowed to return to the laud of the Han from
whence they came. It is not possible to completely authenticate
all of these facts bnt they do serve to indicate the strong cmltural
ties between the Chinese and Yao.
In Xieng Khouang a similar pattern is fonnd. In this
area the Chinese operate twenty-five shops of various ldncls, iueluding
lunch stands and meat stalls. Here, too, the Ynnuanese
carry on trade in the neighboring highlands with the Meo and
other tribal groups. In this predominantly Meo area there are
11. Many of them have direct business connections through relatives
in Vientiane, while in several cases the same individual conducts
businesses in both towns.
12. It is presumed that a considerable portion of this trade involves
opium, but, of course, such facts are hard to check precisely.
13. This Chinese teacher in considered a learned man by the Yao
and is asked to write out spells to keep away the evil spirits. Hereceives
payment for these services and also sells various goods. His
total monthly income is estimated to be over 300 silver dollars.

'hiE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY 33
only two Lao shops, while other Lao residents are peddlers, far.
mers, or government officials. The Meo are farmers, and a few
act as small seale tradesmen of vegetables, meat and poultry. In
contrast, the 'l'ai Dam (Black 'l'ui) ruu half a dozen shops. The
lucal Vietnnwese open·ate a dozen stores, including twn restaurants,
a tailor an1l barber shop, a few general stores and several dozen
stalls selling noodles and mauufactmed goods in the market. A
good deal of this trade is based on the sale of opium by the Meo
and is legally app1•oved by the Lao government within the province.
Twenty-three miles away by road is Phoug Savanh, a town
which has grown up in the last few years because of the opening
of an airport nearby. This town is actually more easily accessible
by air from Vientiane and other centers than is the old
provincial capital nf Xieng Khonang. In this new community
the Chinese predominate in commercial life since they own fortysix:
of the sixty-seven shops in town. Even though they only total
abont 250 persons there the Lao own ten small shops, six Indian
and three Cambodian families run textile shops uncl a few general
stores. A Frenehman runs a bar-restaurant, and the only VietnnrneSt!
fnmily repairs rnc1ios.l4
Muong Sai is an important but rather isolated district
center in northern Luang Prabang province. It has an air-field
and army post and is the administrative and tt·ading center for
the region. As in the larger towns so in this isolated area the
Chinese exert a similar control over commercial life. The eight
families of Swatow extraction and the two of J-Iainanese origin
came here through 'l'hailand some twenty years ago and operate
all of the ten shops in town. There is t'tlso a Lao-rnn food stall.
There are some 400 Chinese in the region, almost all of them from
Yunnan. About half of them have lived in this area for rnore
than two decades, while the remainder have come since the fall
of Nationalist Ohiua in 1949. A few are agriculturalists but
most engage in trade with the mountain peoples.
14. This town is reportedly an important tt·ans-shipment point in
the export of opium by small private planes.

34 joel Halpern
As in other isolated areas the number of Chinese maies fat•
outnumbers the females. About three.quarters of the Chinese have
taken local wives. 'l'he head of the Chinese cornmnnit.y in Muong
Sai illust1•ates some of the characteristic types of relatiOIJBhips
of the Chinese in this area. He originally migrated from Yunnan
thirty years ago, and married a Lao woman. He grows vegetables,
occasionally trades in the highlands and also owns a store in
Vientiane where he has a son and daughter studying in the
Ollinese school. 15
'l'he situation in remote Phong Saly located near the
Chinese border, is quite different. Here, out of a population of
some 5,000 estimated for the town and its surroundings, there
are a few dozen Vietnamese, and approximately two hundred odd
Chinese of whom ninety per cent are Yunnanese.l 6 'l'he bulk of
the population are Phon Noi (a Sino-Tibetan group). There are
also some 400 people known as Hon Lu the descendants of Yun.
nanese who immigrated here five or six generations ago and who
although regarded as of Lao nationality still speak Yunnanese.
'rhey have intermarried with the more recent Chinese immigrants.
The Chao Muong of this district is a Hou Lu.l 7 There arc about
30 stores in town, 15 of which are run by the Chinese, 8 by the
Hon Lu and the rest by the Lao and the Vietnamese. These are
general stores which secure their goods from Luang Prabang.18
About half of the Yunnanese are farmers and the rest are traders
in the highlands.
15. Formerly the Chinese community was about twice its present
size. In 1943 a Chinese school was opened which enrolled 60 pupils but
it was closed down when Japanese troops came in during 1945.
16. There are also seven Hainanese families, three of Cantonese
and one of Swatow origin.
17. From 1949-1956 there was also a school which for a time had
over 90 pupils. Many of these were Hon Lu children. The school closed
down due to the lack of a teacher.
18. Actually Phong Saly is very difficult of access. It is reached
by plane to the Boun Neua airstrip and then thirty miles over a narrow
mountain road. Or one can go by road to Hat Sa a dozen miles to the
northeast and then down the Nam Ou river by boat for three days to
Luang Prabang.

THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY 35
The Chinese position of economic predominance is also
fonnrl. in Pakse in the southern part of Laos. In Pakse the Lao
themselves arc in the minority.
Of a total population for the
area of some 15,000 about half are Chinese, 4,000 Vietnamese anrl
only 3,000 Lao. As in many other areas in Laos, Swatow and
Hakka people make up a large part of the Chinese community.
Recently there has been an influx of Swatow people from the
other side of the Mekong River in Thailand.
Over eighty per cent of the 390 stores in Pakse are owned
by Chinese. Unlike in Vientiane all four of the hotels in town
are run by Chinese,19 as are both movies. In addition there are
some 300 Haldm trnclc gardeners living on the outskirts of town
along the Mekong. They provide Pakse with veget.ables and some
fresh meat.
Members of these families also work as tailors at
home. Many of the Vietnamese work as masons, carpenters,
tailors, barbers and mechanics. The Lao have a monopoly on
gove1·nment jobs, anrl a few are small shopkeepers while the
majority are farmers in the hinterland.
The striking differences between the Chinese and the
Lao with regard to achievement in business and commerce nat,n.
rally raiseg questions. Skinner ( 19!17: 92-94) provides some
answers which although not conc1nsive are highly suggestive.
Although he is 1·efen•ing to the Thai his comments take on adiled
emphasis in Laos where the Thai are regarded as aggressive and
dynamic compared to the Lao. His observations are given here in
abbreviated form:
The complimentary preferences of the Chinese anrl
Thai in Siam are especially striking because the great,
majority of the population in South China, as well as
Siam, is rm•a1, agricultural, and village cent,ered. This was
truer still in the early nineteenth century, by which time
t.he occupational patterns in Siam were fn.il'ly well set.
Moreover, those patterns were not significantly altered
19. The hotels in Vientiane are owned by Lao, Thai and French
interests,

Joel Halpern
after the last decades of the nineteenth century, when
Chinese immigration took on the character of a mass
movement of peasants ...
Of primary importance is the fact that the South
Chinese peasant lived in a grimly Malthusian setting
where thrift and industry were essential for survival.
Characteristics that may have arit>en from necessity
through the centuries came, in time, to be cultural imperatives.
The Thai peasant lived an underpopulated and
fertile land where the requirements for subsistence were
modest and easily obtainerl... In the Thai universe, consumption
and enjoyment ·were the immediate stuff of living.
The Chinese peasant, however, had every practical reason
for thrift and frugality: consumption had to be limited in
the present in hopel:l of assuring future survival; enjoyment
had to he sacrificed for work. Under these circumstances
protracted labor in the interests of the future became
a value in itself ...
The Chinese peasant bad a definite place in a continnnm
of kin-dead, living, and yet to be born-he looked
to the past as well as to the future. His primary goal was
not individual salvation, but lineage survival and advance.
rnent. Protracted labor and extreme thrift were the rneana
of these strongly sanctioned ends. 'l'he ambition of the
Chinese peasant for family advancement was especially
marlred because values in Chinese society were elite-centered...
'l'hus scholarship, government position, the extencled
family under one roof, proper homage and honors
to ancestors ... were possible only as a family rose to elite
status. 'l'he road to success was simple: hard work, thrift,
and mutual help among kin.
'l'he ( 'l'hai) peasant had no place in an historical
continuum of ldn; the Thai did not even use surnames.
Immerliate ancestors were honored by cremation and then
usually forgotten; there was no ancestral cult, no kin responsibility
outside the immediate Ol' extended family.
The religion of the 'l'hai peasant emphasized individual
merit-making and salvation and condemned as worldly

THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY 37
any excessive concern for the material advancement of
self and family. The Thai peasrmt eon1d obtain p1•estige
anrl eome elosest to achieving his spiri tnal ends by entering
the Buddhist priesthood, a step taken by [many J men
which involved no upward mobility.
Lao sentiment about the Chinese appears to be somewhat
ambivalent. To the extent that they are associated with their
homeland to the north they are fearec1.20 Their economic powe1•
anrl industriousness also incite mistrust and envy.
Thet•e is a certain amount of mutual friction in business
re 1atinnships. For example, some Lao complained that Ohinese
merchants from Hong Kong to whom they had loaned money to
set up businesses made a qnick profit and left the country without
repaying their debt!:!, while a Lao revenue agent outlined his pro.
eednrcs: "We first collect taxes from the Chinese and Vietnamese
and then we start on the Lao."
Lao officials often do not hesitate t.o use their position to
extract bribes from the Ohinese ·while other Lao point to the latter
as the root of dishonesty in government saying that if it were
not for the attempts of the Ohinese to corrupt their officials good
rnm•als would prevail. 'l'o a lesser extent these attitudes also apply
to tho Vietnamese. Bnt while the Pathet Lao receive direct support
anrl ad v.ice from the People's Republic of Vietnam, and there has
been n good deal of trouble and some fighting on the Lao-North
Vietnam frontier, the Chinese border has remained 1·elatively
quiet. For the present the Lao do not feel themselves directly
threatened by the Chinese in an active sense as they do by the
North Vietnamese. Another factor causing conflict between the
Lao anc1 Vietnamese is that the French employed the latter as
20. Some Chinese are openly pro-Nationalist. In 1959 there was
a Nationalist Consulate in Vientiane. A number are openly Communist
and some send their children for further education to the Chinese People's
Republic while others go on to schools on Taiwan. But a great
many attempt to appear neutral in the political sense. For the most
part the schools in the two major Chinese centers of Vientiane and Pakse
appear to be firmly in the hands of sympathizers of the C.P.R. while in
Luang Prabang the Nationalists have run the local schools.

38 Joel Halpern
teachers and minor administrators during their rnle in Laos. This
focusing of resentment on the Vietnamese, even though today they
are much less important economically than the Chinese, does to
a certain extent ease t•elations between the Lao and the Chinese.
Another factor is the blurring of lines between the Chinese
and Lao urban commnnities. A good example of this accultnrative
process of the Chinese in Laos and Northeast Thailand is provided
in the autobiography of a yonng Thai-Lao woman ( Tirabutana:
1958, 16-17 ).
Grandmother's father was a Chinese and very clever,
he was a merchant, he could neither read nor wl'ite, bnt
he could }(eep the books perfectly. He i11ventecl his own
mark for each debtor and creditor. Grandfather was half
Chinese, half Thai too, and his younger brother was the
biggest a.nd most brilliant merchant in town in father's
period. [According to my father.] On his own side, he
said his maternal grandmother came from Vientiane ... ,
But on his father's side he could not trace far because his
father died when he was a year old, but somebody told
him that his grandfather had some Chinese blood. And
because his fat.her died when he was so young he had to
be raised np by his uncle-in-law who was Chinese.
This was the funny thing in my family. On my
mother's side there was a lot of Chinese blood but they were
bred in the 'rhai mamleJ•. 'l'hey did not even talk Chinese.
'l'heir manner were properly and completely Thai .... On
father's side, he had just a few drops of Chimse blood,
but he was bred by Chinese so his ma.nners were rather
Chinese but the other funny thing was he could not talk
Chinese.
Viewed in this light the barriers between Chinese and Lao
societies certainly do not appear rigid.
Although the Chinese maintain their own temples, and as
we have seen have their own administrative and educational organizations
they do not constitute' caste groups in the sense that
distinctions are hereditary in the absolute sense. Indeed it appears

hiE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY 39
to be much easier for a Ohinese and more rarely a Meo to become
a Lao in the eultural sense than for the same transition to be made
by a Khnm. At least in some cases there is a choice for the children
of Chinese fathers and Lao wothers. 21 Education is u crucial
factor for if a child completes education in a Ohinese school no
further progress in the Lao system is possible. In almost all cast's
the graduates of these schools remain in the Chinese community
but a number of Ohinese 22 children do, however, attend Lao
schools. In some cases they may even transfer from a Chinese
school before completing the course although this is rather difficult
to do. The Chinese children are often superior pupils with better
than average economic resources. 'l'hey may later hold important
jobs in the Lao civil service, or, in the case of girls may marry
a Lao. 'l'hese mixed marriages occur at the highest levels of Lao
society. These people appear to minimize most of their ties with
the Chinese community and to consider themselves Lao and not
Chineae, although to a certain extent family ties may still be
maintained.
It would be a mistake to consider the Chinese in Laos as
a elosely integrated unit. It is split geographic::~.lly, linguistieally,
politically and with regard to education, occupation and financial
l:ltatus. The1·e U.oes not appear to be any over-all effective organization.
Still it is most; unlikely that the nrban Chinese in Laos
will be assimilated and ultimately disappear as a distinct cultural
entity in tho near future. Emigration, from 'l'hailand, Hong Kong
and Yunnan has in recent years strengthened their numbers. 'l'heir
fnture is undoubtedly closely linked to the extent to which the
Lao government feels itself internally secure and this in turn is
related to the future foreign policies of the Chinese People's
Republic.
--~~--·~----
21. Ethnic differences appear, however, to come strongly into
play with regard to the maniage of Lao men to Chinese women who in
any case are few in number compared to the men.
22. Chinese is used here in the sense of the father's ethnic identification.
The children with Lao mothers are more apt to go to the
government schools.

Town
1. Vientiane
2. Pakse
(Ohampassae)
3. Savannakhet
4. Luang Prabang
5. Thakhek
(Khammouane)
6. XiengKhouang
TABLE I
Data on Chinese Communities in Laos, 1959
Estimated Chinese Foreign Asians
Population in the Provincea
15,000
7,500
3,500
1,800
1,500
1,300
Estimated 'rotal
Population
R, G72 68,000
B,l35 8,000
5,011 8,500
2,683 11,000
5,625 5,500
1,521 3,500
%of
Chinese
22
94
41
16
27
37
Origin of the
Chinese
Over 50% Swatow, the
remainder Hakka,
Yunnanese, Hainanese
50% Swatow,
40% Hakka, the rest
Hainanese, Cantonese
and Yunnanese
60% Swatow, the rest
Hakka, Cantonese,
Hainanese, Fukienese
40% Hainanese,
40% Sw;Ltow, the rest
Yunnanese, Cantonese,
Hakka
Mostly Swatow and
Hakka
:Mostly Cantonese and
Yunnanese, a few from
Swatow
aLao government statistics for 1958. The difference between the estimated Chinese population and the
foreign Asians can be assumed to represent mostly Vietnamese with a few Thais. The overwhelming majority of
all of these foreign ethnic groups live in the major towns. The Chinese group also includes Chinese born in Laos
who are Lao citizens.
..,._
0
......
0
~
::;::
P>
.o-
(1)
...
~-

Town
TABLE I ( Oont'd)
Data on Chinese Communities in Laos, 1959
Estimated Chinese Foreign Asians Estimated Total % of Origin of the
Population in the Province Population Chinese Chinese
7. Muong Sai
(Luang Prabang) 400 - 2,000 20 90% Yunnanese, the
remainder Swatow,
Hainanese
...:,·
::c
8. Sam Neua 500 - 3,000 17 Mostly Yunnanese and :
Hainanese
9. Phong Sa1y 400b - 2,500 8-12 90% Yunnanese, a few ~
...,
Hainanese, Cantonese, ::c
l::l
and Swatow
C"l
10. Muong Sing ttl
(Nam Tha) 200 1,500 13
z
- 90% Yunnanese, the l::l
en
l::l
remainder Hainanese, z
Swatow, Kweichou t"'
;>
11. Paksane
0
(Vientiane) 200 - 2,500 8 Swatow en
0
(')
12. Ban Houei Sei t;:j
....
~
(Nam Tha) ? - 1,500 ? 80% Hainanese, the
remainder Yunnanese
and from Kwangsi
13. Nam Tha 50 - 2,200 2.3 Yunnanese, Hainanese
-- ---
Total 40,000 32,:~.')0 119,700 27
and Swatow
bThese are Lao Nationals who :five or six generations ago emigrated from Yunnan (Ron Lu).
0
t"'
t':l
,;:..
>-'

1!>--
l\:1
Town
TABlE ll
Administrative Structure of Chinese Communities in Laos, I 959
Formal Sub-groups \\itbin Ethnic Extraction Esitmated
Chinese Community of Chairman Population
Vientiane Swatow, Hakka Swatow, Hakka 15,000
Pakse Swatow, Hakka Swatow, Hakka 7,500
Savannakhet - a Swatow 3,500
Luang Prabang Hainanese, Swatow Hainanese, Swatow 1,800
Thakhak - Swatow 1,500
Xieng Khouang Cantonese, Yuunanese Oantonel:'e, Ynnnanese 1,300
Muong Sai - Ynnnanese 400
Sam Neua - Hupeh(nese) 500
Phong Saly - Ynnnanese 200
Muong Sing - Ynnnanese 220
Paksane - Swatow 200
Ban Houei Sei - Hainanese 60
Nam Tha d 50
No. of
Pupils
No. of Years
of School Available
1,423 9
950 9
451 6
239 6
190 6
176 b
- -
60 b
c
32 6
...... 0
-
(D
::r::-
1\)
't:! --
(D
...
p
a A far as is known, there are no formal sub-groups in the community.
hPrivate tuition only; no regular school organization.
CFormerly had about 90pupils; suspended in 1956.
dHas no organized Chinese community.

THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN LAO SOCIETY
TABLE Ill
Chinese Ownership of Business Concerns
in Towns of Laos, I 9 59
'rotal No. of
No.
Chinese
Town Businesses Owned
Vientiane 1500 749
Paksane 40 37
Xieng Khouang 50 25
Luang Prabang 233 190
Muong Sai 8 4
Phong Saly 30 15
Pakse 390 372
TABLE IV
Chinese Businesses in the Vientiane Area, 1959
No. of
%of
Category Concerns 'l'otal Remarks
%
Chinese
Owned
50.0
92.5
50.0
81.0
50.0
50.0
93.0
Small assorted shops 272 34.0 Includes stalls at market,
all carrying assorted
merchandise
Import-export 110
Food stores 73
Artisans 69
Cafes and restaurants 54
Peddlers 53
Factories and mills* 30
Hardware and tire stores 22
* 3 carbonate water concerns
2 ice
1 match
1 candle
2 bakeries
~ breweries
43
13.7
9.0
8.6
6.7
6.6
4.0
2.75 3 machine and tool shops
7 hardware and tool shops
5 auto parts tool shops
5 bicycle shops
2 tire shops
3 saw mills
6 auto repairs
1 battery and tire
1 rubber
5 brick and tile
2 cosmetics

44 Joel Halpern
TABLE IV ( cont'd )
No. of % of
Category Concerns Total Remarks
General stores 11 1.3
Goldsmiths 11 1.3
Pharmacies 11 1.3 5 pharmacies
G Chinese medical herbs
shops
Clinics 10 1.2 1 doctor
:3 Chinese traditional
practitioners
6 dentists
Photo studios 8 1.0
Electrical supplies shops 8 1.0 5 radio shops
3 general electrical
supplies shops
Eyeglass and watch shops 7 0.~
Furniture stOl'eS 7 0.9
Stationers 6 0.8
Banks 6 0.8
Tailor shops 6 0.8
Transportation companies 6 0.8 4 trnclr
1 airline
1 river shipping
Drycleaning and dyeing 6 0.8
Barber shops 5 0.6
Construction 5 0.6
Movie Theaters 2 0.25
Insurance 2 0.25
r_frnck gardens 2 0.25
802
-100.0
~ ~

Age Groups
TABLE V
Chinese Population of Xieng Khouang Province by Age and Sex, 1959
X.ieng Khouang Phong Savanh Lac Hong Lac Bonat Jl.fnong Kam
...,
M F Total M F Total M F Total M F Total l\1 F Total ::r:
- - -- - - -- - - -- - - - - -
-- t'J
J:;:l
Over 60 years 13 15 28 1 3 4 5 9 14 - 1 1 8 1 9 0
20-60 years 188 160 358 57 57 114 68 73 141 31 16 47 48 36 84 0
'=l
...,
Under 20 195 168 363 63 36 99 70 56 35 23 58 46 35 81
126
t:l
t'J
-- - - - - - - - - -- - -- n
2
-- - - -- - - - - -- - -- t'J Cll
Totals 406 343 749 121 96 217 143 138 281 66 40 106 102 72 174
!:Il
No. %
-- -- >
0
Grand Total No. % Grand Total, Male 838 54.9
Cll
-- 0
n
..., til
- -- >

46 Joel Halpern
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Hinton, Harol 0., China's Relat·ions with Burma and Vietnam,
Institute of Pacific Relations, Now York, 1958.
2. Kaufman, H.K., Village Life in Vientiane P·tovince, United
States Operation Mission to Laos, Vientiane, Laos, 1956.
!3. Reinach, Lucien do, Le Laos, A. Charles, Paris, 1901.
4. Skinner, G. Williams, OMnese Societ.11 in Thailand: An Analy.
tical History, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York,
1957.
5. Tirabutana, A Simple One: The Story of a. Siamese Gi1·lhood,
Data Paper No. 20, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University,
Ithaca, N.Y., 1958.

ANCHANABURI
PROVINCE
MAP OF THAILAND
SHOWING THE POSITION OF KANCHANABURI PROVINCE

i"HE THAI-DANISH PRE-HISTORIC EXPEDI'f'ION 1960-1962
PRELIMINARY EXPEDITION 1960-61
by
8igil 9\fielsen
During a conversation early in 1960 between the Danish
Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Ebbe Munck, and the Director of
the Research Center of the Siam Society, Mr. J. Boeles, the possibility
was discussed of promoting Thai-Danish science within
the framework of an expedition. From this conversation plans
were drawn up during the following months for a Thai-Danish
pre-historic expedition to the area between the rivers Kwae Noi
and Kwae Yai.
'rhat just these areas were chosen for the expedition was
due to the fact that. the well-known Dutch archeologist Dr. H .R.
van Heekeren had found primitive stone implements-pebble toolsduring
the years he spent with the Japanese as a prisoner of war
working on the railway from Kanchanaburi to Burma. In 1956
the American archeologist Karl Heider collected a considerable
number of these tools and Dr. Heider also reported two rich finds
of neolithic and bronze age artifacts.
Great interest was shown in the plans for the expedition
both in Thailand and Denmark and the necessary funds were put
at the disposal of the expedition, partly privately- The East
Asiatic Company Ltd., the Otto Me-nstedfund anc1 the Danish Expeditionfund-and
partly from the Research Center of the Siam
Society. Early in the autumn of 1960, the Thai.Danish Pre-historic
Expedition became a reality.
In accordance with the program the expedition intended to
start off with a limited preliminary expedition, which would make
the necessary reconnaissance of the working area during the last
two months of 1960 and the early months of 1961, while the main
expedition, based on the results of the preliminary expedition,
would work the following season, i.e, the cold season 1961.-62.

48 Eigil Nieisen
The scientific staff of the preliminary expedition met in
Bangkok at the end of October. The members were Mr. Chin
Yu-di, Chief of Division of Archeology at the National Museum,
Mr. Aporn na Songlda and l\Ir. Tamnoon Attakor, all from 'rhailand,
Dr. H.R. van Heekeren from Holland, Per S0resen, M.A. and
Dr. Eigil Nielsen, both from Denmark.
The expedition left Bangkok for Kanchanaburi on November
6th having added to their field kit and bought provisions for
an expedition laBting six weeks. The following day they started
their first reconnaissance along the Kwae Noi in a big but rather
primitive honseboat towed by a powerful motorboat. Besides the
boatmen the expedition had been further supplemented in Kanchanaburi
by a police escort, which was to remain with the expedition
throughout its stay in the area.
The transportation and the police escort were most efficiently
organized by the Governor of Kanchanaburi, Mr. Likldt
Satayayoot, with whom plans had been discussed during October
and who continued to give invaluable support throughout. 'l'be
plan for the reconr1aissance included a quick trip through the
Kwae Noi :Hea to the 'l'hree Pagoda Pass on the Burma border, a
slow return along the same route with short visits to all localities-caves
and open dwelling places-that might be thought suitable
for archeological or palaeontological studies and finally, time permitting,
a similar trip through the Kwae Yai area.
Tha-Khannn was reached on the fourth day after leaving
Kanchanaburi and, as the water level fm•ther up the river would
not permit our boat to pass, we continued o>•erland towards the
Three Pagoda Pass using ten elephants as a means of transportation.
We arrived at the Three Pagoda Pass on November 13th
with a strong police escort. Returning with the elephants to the
houseboat at Tha-Khanun on November 17th we visited several
caves. From Tha-Khanun we proceeded by truck to examine
more caves, but nothing of interest was fuuud.
On November 19th an excursion was made to Chande by
speedboat and ucre we found two caves, Chande I and II, where

THAILAND
NAUNG /('IIA
.
N
CHAU/

Three Pagoda Pass, Thai-Burma border
At the Three Pagoda Pass
The so-called River Kwae
Dr. H.R. van Heeheren and Per Sores en

Tm; THAI-DANISH PRE-HISTORIC EXPEDITION 1960·62 49
there were s·tone tools, potsherds etc.
I!'urthermore, at an open
dwelling place-Chande A-we found stone tools of palaeolithic appearauce
and also a goodsized hand-axe.
'fhe next day we visited
another cave which yielded no 1;esults, therefore the first t.hree
localities were revisited and fmther finds were made there.
Between the 21st and the 23rd of November the expedition
continned down the Kwae Noi visiting a number of caves of which
two were outstanding, the Phra cave (the Priest cave, or as named
by the expedition, Sai Yok I) near Sai Yok and the I..awa cave a
little further clown the river.
The Sfd Yok area consists of two caves close to each other
with a big roclr shelter between the two entrances. A considerable
number of pebble tools were collected here and several artifacts
frotn the neolithic ancl bronze ages.
In the Lawa cave, a
very big and exceedingly beautiful stalactite cave, we found both
numerous fossilized bones and teeth and also quite a number of
pebble tools.
vi~itecl
On November 24,th we continued to Wang Po. En route we
caves close to the railway west of Wang Po and made
considerable finds of pebble tools in two of these.
On November
.25th the expedition visited the so-called 'Sawmill Site' on the
outsldrt of Wang Po.
'l'his was the site found by the archeologist
Karl G. Heider in 1956 and we found, as he had stated, that
this was a bronze age site of the greatest interest.
Between the
26th and 28th of November we visited paves both east and west
of Wang Po and revisited one cave, which we had already been
to on November 24th which waf>': extremely rich in pebble tools.
Ap::trt from this cave none were of any special interest even
though we did malre some good finds such as human teeth and
bones from the 'India Oave' near Lumsum and in a rock shelter
not far from this cave.
On November 28th we visited tb.e big
gravel areas near Takilen, whet•e Karl Heider in 1956 found a
number of pebble tools, but our visit yielded nothing.

50 Eigil Nielsen
On November 29th we contiuned our river trip to Han Kan,
It was in this neighbourhood that Dr. van Heel~:er('n had made
his first finds of pebble tools during the World War II and where
later Karl Heider had reported rich finds of neolithic nl'tifacts
on a site which he called 'Bang Site'.
With Ban Kao as a base the expedition visited several
caves but with insignificant results. However, going to HlH1 from
these caves, we discovered several remad,able open dwelling
places on the plain west of Ban Kao. Here we collected wel1HHlrle
pebble tools and also a beautifnl proto-hand-axe. 'l'wice we visited
Karl Heider's 'Bang Site' '\vhero we collected a hrge uumber of
potsherds, polished stone axes, stone bracelets un

THE 'l'Hi\T·DANISH PRE-HlSTORIC EXPEDITION 1960-62 51
cavatf'(l ohjeets wore remnauts of fonr large bronze drums, many
co:Uins made from hollowed out tree trunl's aud numerous pots
from the neo1ithic and bronze ages. ' The expedition collected
quite a lot of this material and also a considerable number of
pebble tools and one proto-hand-a:x:e.
From here the expedition again returnerl to Kanchanaburi
making short visits on the way to two eaves which yielded no
results.
From Kanchanabnri J\Tr. Tamnoon and Dr. Nielsen went
to Bangkok on Decembe1' 17th to arrange for the transportation
of the big collections in Kunchanaburi while Dr. van Heekeren
and Mr. Sorensen and Mr. Chin Yu-di went by train to Ban Kao
to give Mr. Sorensen an opportunity to see 'Bang Site' which he
had missed earlier because of illness.
On December 19th the whole expedition and its finding
wm·e transported to Bangkok and the first half of the prog1·am
came to an end.
The plans for the second half of the preliminary expedition
wet·e now formed based on the experienee gained during the
earlier 8XC:l11'sions.
The numerous sn rface finds we hacl made in the autumn
from many localities could naturally be only of small scientific
va1ne bnt gave a splendid indieation of where it might be rewarding
to start a more systematic search,
'['he most promising sites were as follows:
I 'l'he two Chanda caves, Chanda 1 and 11.
II Open dwelling place, Ohanda A.
III The two St\i Yok caves and the rock shelter between
these two caves.
IV 'rho Lawa cave.
V 'l'wo small caves by the railway west of Wang Po.
VI Open dwelling places on the plain west of Ban Kao.
VII Karl Heider's bronze age station,' Saw Mill Site'.
VIII Kar~ Heider's neolithic 'Bang Site'.
IX 'rhe neolithic settlements pear the Ban Kao ferry.
X '!:'he Ongba cave.

52 Eigil Nielsen
From these ten localities nnmbers III, V and VIII were
chosen for more detailed examination. 'l'he examination wonld
consist of a trial digging which would give information that would
enable us to decide to what extent the main expedition should be
carried through in the next season. There were several other
tempting localities on the list bnt these were thought to he too
extensive for t.he preliminary expedition. 'l'his applied esptwially
to localities VII and X, both of which it is hoped will be
excavated by the main expedition.
During the first half of the preliminary expedition we had
found that the accommodation in the houseboat was insufficient
for a large party such as ours. We therefore requested the Governor
of Kanchanabnri to arrange for the construction of two hamboo
rafts, each equipped with a roomy bamboo hnt.
The rafts were to be constructed at site III, which was
the farthest site up the river and we planned provisionally to
work there for about BO days and then float the rafti:l downstream
to site IV whero we intended to spe11d 10 days, continuing from
there to site VIII, whe1·e we would dig a trial trench for about one
week.
rl'he scientific members were the same as before except
that Mr. Tarnnoon Attakor was replaced by Mr. Kampan Boonyamalik,
Chief of the Second Fine Arts Unit, Uthong. Furthermore,
Professor Sood Sangwichien gave very valuable assistance during
the short period spent working at the excavation of huma11 skeletons
at 'Bang Site'. Several of the boat-crew assisted and local
labourers were hired for the excavations. As in the autumn the
necessary police escort was in attendance.
The expedition once again left Bangkok on the .Jamwry
lOth but, as the building of the bamboo rafts was delayed, we
had to change the working program so that we started at site VIII
where we could make onr base in a Goven1ment resthouse.
The trial digging was started on Jan nary 12th and after
only a few days we made several finds from neolithic burials with
well preserved skeletons, numerons jars, dishes etc. 'l'hese finds
were so valuable that, when the Governor of l{"anch&nabqri

THE TIIAI·DANISI!I'RE·HISTORlC EXPEDITION 1960-62 53
viHitecl the excavation on .1:m1Hiry l~lth and repm·ted that the
bamboo rafts were now ready at site III, we decided that the
examination of site VIII could not be discontinued. For this
reason it was thought necessary to divide the expedition into two.
Pet· S0rensen, Mr. Aporn na-Songkla and lVlr. Kampan Boonya.
malik would continue at site VIII while Mr. Chin Yn-di, Dr. van
Heekeren and Dr. Eigil Nielsen would cany out the excavation
at site III near Sai Yol\.
'l'he Sai Yok team left for Wang Po on January ~20th to
purchat:Je nddit.ionnl equipmeut now required due to the division
of the expedition and continued the next de~y by speedboat to the
Sai Yok district, wh1ne the bamboo mfts had been placed as close
as possible to site III. The excavations he1•e lasted from ,Jnnuary
21st to J

54 Eigil Nielsen
;!. FiudH of bronze age artifacts in n fairly well deliut>d
layer even though disturbed by later burials.
3. Finds of large cnffins of a type similar to those found
in the Ongba cave. Buried in the coffins were hnman
bones nnd cernmies and bronze sculptures from the
15th and Hith century.
4 .. Finds of large earthett :jars with burned human hones,
possibly contemporary with the wooden coffins.
The excavation of the two Sai Yok caves must be eonsidered
as finished hut there is every reason to believe that a bigger and
considerably deeper excavation nf the roclr shelter will yield
valuable results aud for thitl reaB(•ll Sai Yok I is oue of tlw main
points of the program for next year.
Ou Fehrnary 9th we floated clown to locality IV, the Lawn
cave, which we reached in the afternoon of the same day.
According
to the plnn we had intended to worlc here for about 10
tlay~:~ but we very soon realized that the people here were extremely
hostile towards the idea of onr excavating the cave, which
was considered to be holy and also because two priests were living
in the oute1.· cave.
During our first visit to the Lawa cave in
November we had met with no such difficulties, but now ruuwurs
had spread throughout the arer1 about our finds of hnman sl,eletons
both at Ban Kao and Sai Yok.
'l'he path leading to the month
of the cave was found to be ccnnplCJtely bloeked by newly cut
bamboo and it proved impo~sible to Hnd a guide. 'l'he fir~:~t thing
we saw in the cave was a written notice saying that it was for·­
bidden to remove or damage anything in the holy cave.
rrhe following morning five of onr six workers anuonnced
that they were ill, obviously in fear of worldng in the cave, and
as we did not deem it advisnhle to excavate nnder these circum.
tances we continued on our rafts down the river toN am 'l'ok, which
was reached on Febrnal'y lOth late in the evening,
The next day
we dismissed our workers and moved into the Nam rrok rest house
to m:range o.ur collections and equipment for tra11sportation by
rail to Kanchanaburi.
On l~ebruary 12th Dr. :migil Nellsel visitec!

Sai Yok site
Sal Yok site
Ban Kao site
Ban Kao site

TilE THAH>ANTSH Plll,·HTSTORIC E,\f'EDITION 1960-62 S c ,)
Bau Kao whl'l'e M t'. Per S0't•onsen repot'ted that the worl< ·was
drawing to a close. According to Per S0'rensen's subsequent
rlet,ailed report to the 'Expedition Committee the five weeks of
excavfltion at site III ref!llltecl in the finding of 5 hnman skeletons,
of which two were removed encased in plaster of Paris, burial
gifts consisting of earthenware jars and polished stone axes,
several fragments of flat stone bracelets and bone implements,
grindstones, about 20,000 potsherds and 2 to 3,000 animal bones,
mostly fragmentary.
'l'he Sai Yok team !1rrivec1 in Kanchanabnri on February
1Gth. After a visit to Ban .Kao with the Governor they tlually
arrived in Bangkok on J!,ebruary 18th, the Ban Kao team arriving
two days later.
'l'hc field work of the pre1irninary exvedition is now finished
with considerably better results than the member ever dared anticipate.
Based on the studies and experiences of this reconnaissance,
it is now possible to make plans which cover the explo,ratiou
of a very considerable period of the pre-histot·y of the area. An
essBlltial reason for tl1e good results obtained was the IDagnificeilt
manner in which the 'l'hai and Danish scientists co-operated, a
co-operation which will bel even closer in years to come. I would
like to take this opportunity to thank all the expedition members
for work well clone and carried out in the friendlie:;t spirit.
On behalf of the 'l'hai-Danislt Prehistoric Expedition I
would like to express my thanks to the East Asiatic Company
Ltd., 'l'he Otto M0'nstec1fund, Danish ]~xpeditionfund and the Siam
Society, all of whom have contributed to the expedition.
Also on behalf of the expedit.ion, I would like to thank
the gentlemen named below for all the help they have given towards
the accomplishment of the work of the preliminary ex.
pedition.
H.H. Prince Dhani Nivat, Preai(lent of the Siam Society;
Mr. Dhanit Yupho, Director-General of the Fine Arts Department;
Mr. Kria Inthakosai, Deputy Director of the Fine Arts Department;
Mr. J. Boeles, Director of the Research Center of tho Siam
Society; Mr. Likldt Satayayoot, the Governor of Kanchanabnri and
Mr. 'Ebbe Munck, Dauish Ambassador to 'l'haihmcl.

SOME SIAMESE SUPERSTITIONS
ABOUT TREES AND PLANTS
by
q'Jh!Ja .Anuman CJ1ajadhon
It is not advisable to plant certain kinds of trees and
plants near the house or in the compound. They are unlucky.
1. •ran Rang ai1/H ( Oaryota mitis-palroae ). This is a
type of palm tree which bears fruit-like berries in beautiful
clusters but with poisonous fruit walls. 'l'he tree may be found
in the compound of a European house as an ornamental tree. The
Thai people do not grow it for the reason that the second syllable
or word of "tan rang " is similar in sound to another word
which means deserted or abanfloned, (perhaps the poison of its
fruit and also its non-economical nature has something to do with
its taboo).
2. Sala and Rakam tlf!Wmm;fi, ( Zallaca wallichianapalmae
). 'rhese two kinds of trees are very similar. They are
l'!lttan-like palms with sh at·p spines in whorls around the stem.
Sala in Thai means forsaken and Rakam means affliction. Hence
they are not grown in a house compound. Owing to their edible
sour fruits which in some varieties have a sweet flavor and are
of high marketable valne. Gardeners grow them as hedges, for
their sharp spines will prevent trespassers.
3. Soak ifl'n ( Saraka indica). Soak in Thni means angnish
or sorrow. A bad name for a tree to have growing near the
house. Perhaps the tree is the Indian asolta which bears red
clusters of flowers with a mild fragrant odor. In India the tree is
supposed to flower when struck by the foot of a beautiful dams.el.
Asoka in Sanskrit means sorrowless, but this -word in Thai has
lost its first unt\ccented syllable and becomes soak OJ' sok which
means quite the oppol:lite of sorrowless.

58 Phya Anuman Rajadhon
4. Lanthom rfuvm. This is the frangipani or the temple
or pagoda flower tree. The word lanthom has a sonnd resembling
the word rathom which means agony. Hence the taboo. It is
usually to be found in a wat or monastery where, according to
a superstitious belief, any unluclry or ill thing will lose its bad
effects.
5. Kradanga m~~l"Hl ( Oanagium odor a tum). A tall tree
bearing sweet-smelling flowers. It is usually not found near a
house due to the fact that the tree has soft wood, and its branches
are easily cracked and broken.
6. Champi and Champa ~j,1Jllll:t~ll.h (Michelin champalra ).
These are two varieties of a tree which bears in the former a
scented m·eamy white flower, and in the latter yellowish ones
which are in great demand for floral decorations. Both ldnds of
trees have soft wood and are liable to be broken easily, he!lce,
they are not grown near a house.
7. Rak 1ufl ( Oalotropis gigantea), This tree is t.he araka
of India. Its flowers are strung into garlands to be worn aronnd
the neclrs of criminals on their way to the place of execution.
In Thailand the rak tree grows wild in deserted dry places. Its
trnnlr and branches have a milJ[y sap and its flowers are used for
floral pieces which are to be seen usually at cremations. Now it
is the fashion fo1• a bride and bridegroom to wear a garland of
these flowers, for the name rak means love in 'l'hai.
8. Ohaba 'l!Ul (Hibiscus rosa sinensis-Nalvaceae ). This
is a shrub plant which is raised by the Chinese and bears scarlet-red
fiowe1•, Thet·e are many varieties of this shrub with
various beautiful colors. In the old days an adulteress was
punished by being exposed to the public on a kind of stilt with
red chaba flowers tucked above her ears, A convict to be executed
for heinous crimes was also decorated with such a flower behind
the ear on his way to the place of execution. In southern India,
a garland of such flowers is hung around the neck of a criminal
to be executed.

SOME SIAMESE SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT TREES AND PLANTS 59
9. Nang Yaem Ul~HthJ ( Oleredendron fragana ). A shrub
having fragrant flowers. It is easily propagated as its roots run
far and wide underground and shoot up as new plants until they
become a nuisance. 'l'he people believe that Nang Yaem will turn
into a "phi" when it gt•ows old, and disturb the peace of the
house by pelting stones at it. N aug Yaem in Thai means to open
slightly in bloom or the peeping of a damsel, hence its poetic
name is found quoted in Thai erotic literature.
10. Sa rap hi ft17~ ( Ochrocarpus siamensis ). A tree which
bears sweet-scentecl flowers.
11. Phiknn W~ft (:Mimusops elengi ). A tree which bears
small star-shaped flowers which retain thai r sweet scent for a
comparatively long time. On certain important occasions such
as a coronation, Ph\kun flowers of gold and silver are distributed
by the King to officials.
12. Chan 'lll.l ( Diospyros paokmanil-0. B. Clarke). A tall
tree which bears yellow fmit, When ripe the shape of the fruit
resembles the moon. Hence its name.
'l'he above trees No. 10, 11 ancl 12 are not usually grown
in the house compound, but curiously are to be found in wats
and the royal palace compounds. If a pe1•son dares to plant such
trees in his residential compound, misfortune will occur sooner
or later to the owner.
13. Malakaw lJ~'fl~!ltl (Carica papaya-cucurabitaccae). The
papaya tree with edible fruit, has no bark and is liable to uproot
easily, hence, it is not advisable to grow in the house compound
or near the house. Unripe fruit of the papaya is used
as food, but ripe fruit in the old days was not usually eaten because
of its strong butter-like smell which Thai of older generations
disliked, Recently a number of varieties of this tree have
been introduced into the country with iwproved fruit which suit
the taste of the younger generation. 'l'he papaya tree is to be
found in the compounds of houses, but older people cling to super.

60 Phya Anuman Rajadhon
stitious beliefs, and give well-meaning advice that it is not good
to have such trees in the garden.
14. Phutaraksa "'!_'Vlli~~mll (Canna Sp.). In Thai, thi!! means
"Buddha's protection". It is cultivated in a bouse compound for
its beautiful showy flowers. Some people object to the growing
of this plant near the house. It is believed the name Bnd1lha
has a great deal to do with the SUI)erstition, fo1· anything sacred
or in connection with "phi" is not allowed to be in the same
compound as an inhabited house.
15. Po i"W (Ficus religiosa ). The religions fig tree under
which the Lord Buddha was sitting when he received his enlightenment.
It is to be found in most of the wats. Henee,
when a person sees from afar a po tree, he ln10ws that a wat is
there. Such a sacred tree is not grown in the compound of the
house. 'I'he po tree in the wat is usually a tall shady tree arouud
which the people sometimes wrr.p a yellow rol1e in the same manner
as robing a Buddha image with the yellow robe. Some people
place bamboo poles, trimmed and whitewashed, as supports to the
holy tree, In the old days cowrie shells ul:led as token money,
were inserted inside the bamboo poles. Poor people will bury the
bones and ashes of their dear ones near the root of the po tree
so that they may be near the holy symbol of the Lord Buddha.
16. Nun >ll-1 (Oeibo pentendra) 01' kapok tree is not grown
'
near a house.
17. Ngiew ;, ( Bombax malabaricnm-:Malvaccae ). It is
unlucky to grow the red silk cotton tree in the house compound.
These two types of trees have soft wood of no economic
value. In former clays big ngiew trees were utilized as coffins
for the soft wood could be dug out easily for the purpose.
-.j'
18. Takian lll::li'Wl-1 ( Hopea odorata) and-
19. Yang tiN (Dipterocarpns alatus). These are tall forest
trees. 'l'hey are of course not fit to be grown in a limited house
ground. Besides, such big trees are believed by the people to be

SOME S!AME

62 Phya Anuman Rajadhon
tree is not grown near the house, perhaps, apart from the smell
of its flowers when in bloom, the last syllable "sa" of Phutsa"
also means in Thai to diminish or to grow less. It is unlucky
to have it in the compound of the house for one's fortune in
trade will grow less and less.
2L Mayom lJ:t;!UJ ( Phyllanthns distichus-euphobiaceaea ).
The star gooseberry which bears acid fruit. Its branches are
used by monl;:s who dip it in the consecrated water and sprinkle
it on persons or places as a sort of ritual purification. Some people
do not grow this tree near the honse. 'l'he Lord of "phi" is called
in Thai, "Phya Yom" from Yama the Indian God of Death. Perhaps
because the name of the tree "mayom" sounds like Phya Yom
in its last syllable, it is not grown near the house of some people.
The branch of mayom tree which is used for the purification ritual
is no doubt used in imitation of Yama, the Indian God of Death
who holds a staff ( Yama Dandha) with which he beats the evil
spirits. On seeing such a staff the evil spirits will flee.
22. Marum lJ:;~)J ( Moringa, oleifera-Maringaceae ). The
Indian drum stick tree which bears pods like drum sticks. Some
people object to have such a tree grown in the house compound;
No doubt the objection is due to the name of tree "marum" which
coincides with the Thai word ma-rum which means "to come in
a crowd". This may be taken to mean to come in a crowd in
order to consume food or to come in a crowd to attack.
23. Kluey Tani mt"1ufl1~. A variety of banana which bears
fruits. 'fhough delicious to taste when ripe, it is not usually
eaten on account of its numerous seeds. They are cultivated in
gardens for their leaves which have the highest quality for
wrapping purposes, or to make into leaf cups. They are in great
demand in the market. Kluey Tani is not grown near the house
for it has an evil repute that it has a female" phi" named Nang
Tani who every now and then scares people. It is a belief that
by certain magical art the Nan(} Tani may be induced as an ally
in love affairs. Here is one of the arts. You go t(l such a banana
I

SOME SIAMESE SUPERI3TJTIONS ABOUT TREES AND PLANTS 63
tree which is ahont to hem· a bud n.nd flirt with the Nang 'l'ani·
imaginn.ry of conrse. Repent this many times in the following
days until yon are sure in your imagination that she consents to
love yon. 'fhen cut a small piece of the root and carve it into
a figure of a woman. While doing so reci'te a certain mantra or
magic spell. Store it cat•efully in a small receptable. During
the night the Nang 'Trtni will appear to you in a dream as your
wife. If yon love any girl you can invoke her to the successful
end of the affait·. Like a human wife the Nang ']'ani will resent
this and do yon harm if you mar•ry a girl without her· permission
or consent.

BOOK REVIEWS
Blofeld, .J.: People of the Sun, Hutchinaon, & Oo. Ietd., London, ilL
192 pages.
The series of studies of the different types of the Siamese
people have been based upon the author's observation. The way
of telling is full of humour and yet widely informative and accurately
indicative of the thought and feeling of the people which
forms the topic of the book. The material is presented in 11
chapters, each one describing a type rept•esentative of the social
structure at the present time of our people. The types have been
formed hy taking individuals or amalgamations of them, duly
camouflaged of conrse to save embarrassment to individuals. Most
of them can be recognised aud unless the originals sadly lack hn.
mour their portrayal should give no offense whatever. What is
moHt interesting is the presentation of the topic of the reaction of
all classes of the people to the rapid transition that is going on
in Siam.
This review would assume a disproportionate number of
pages of ou.r Journal were our notice to deal singly with Qach of
these interesting sketches. It may be perm~ssible to pick ont
some of them. 'l'he first type to be t.al~en uP. ~or study is "the
Prince". This is supplied by the author's in tim. ate acquaintance
with a couple which forms, u~1der camouflage, well-educated relic!'\
of the past though still representative of the average opinion of
what there was of an aristocracy which was responsible for the
continuation of the nation's independant existence. In reading
through the book one cannot help feeling that what passes for the
reaction of a liberally educated aristocracy of yesterday towards
the rapid tn~nsitiop to rpodern ~aterialism al:most coincidef'! with

66 BOOK REVIEWS
the reaction of the peasant with tho difference that thn former
refrains from opposition for reasons of patriotism. The reaction
can be gleaned from such passages as that of Old Dum's business
ethics ( p. 32 ); of the attitude towards monastic training among
the educated (p. 48); of tbeil• valuation of their Buddhist religion
(p. 49) which does not, unhappily, apply to the teaching and professional
classes in general; of the appreciation of the m·ts and music
(e.g. p. 70-72); of former gooclruanners and customs which are being
unnecessarily hidden away throngh the avid abso1·ption of western
ways (p. 73 ); of the contempt of the past ( p. 81 ); of the teaching
profession and their reel tape especially in dress ( pp. 105, 109,
115 etc.). Delightfully true to life are the random sketches of
three types of women; most interesting too are the various
1·eferences to mountain people and those of the hinterland.
Modern publicists from lands which have never known a
monarchical form of government may wonder at the singularly
successful monarchy which even now when it hardly exists
except in name is still an object of real veneration an.10ng the
people should ponder over what the author has to say about this
in just a dozen of lines on pp. 32-33. Another topic that always
comes up before an intelligent reader is the problem of 'l'hailand
vet·sus Siam as a denomination of our country ( p. 13 ). Another
topic again, though there are no two sides to it, is the absence
of any social restrnint on the rights of women ( p. 142) whirh is
well set down.
From these instances of its contents the reader may, it is
hoped, gain the impression that the book is a serious stndy which
can be read without boredom and can be an accurate source of
much information.
Banvlcok, 17 May1961,

BOOK REVIEWS 67
Yen Kiat, Bhikkhn: Mahayana B'ltddhisrn, Pracand Press, Bangkok,
1%1, 97 p.
This is a treatise on Buddhism of the Mahayana School
presented from the point of view not only of an adherent of that
school of thought in general but also represents the Siamese
point of view of it.
Commencing with a life of the Buddha in
that early period of Indian history of which the author gives us
a picture, the treatise goes on to recount the' history of the
Buddhist religion in India, then discusses the tenets and philosophy,
going on to its practices and fiually its condition in various
parts of the world.
It is interesting for the author's acquaintance with both
the main schools of Buddhist thought and with conditions of this
country.
It is evident from this presentation that the main difference
between the schools of thought is that while Mahayanism
lays emphasis on the institution of the Bodhisattva, or the prospective
Buddha, which comes near to the Christian idea of the
earthly saviour of manldnd who is a sort of an emanation of God;
the other school, the 'l'heravuda, is free from divine and transcendental
elements relying entirely on its philosophy of rational
thinking with an emphasis on the practice of good morals.
The publication is one of the mementos of the cremation
of the remains of Mr. Sanau Bunyasiribhandhu's mother, whose
relative the author is.
The latter in fact has had a wide experience
of the world for he served in the government for some
time before assuming monastic robes.
Like his relatives of
the Hoontralml family he has a good working knowledge of
English and is thus in a position to give qualified interpretation
to a subject like this.
Bangkok, 8 JuZy 1961.
CIJ.

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
.... ... ""'
26:1. History of VVat .Bovoran·ives VI1U1UfJ~lJI'J':i'1.1LI)f\r.JV11:f
& .... ..... "" ,(
~l,l LVI ~'W':i' :' ~ -:1 'JJ J'l'jf l~1 !lH.IVI{11J -:1 l'J~ :fb!J1 nt.fJ-:1 fi 'Vl H'l"' Hl-:!l'J~ King
1\'Irrulmt Academy Pl'NJS, Bangkok, B.E. 2503, ill. plan, 153 pages.
A history of Wat Bovoranives was published in 1922 in
memory of His late Royal Highness Kromapraya Vajiranana-va.
roros who had been its author, dealing with the theme from the
probable beginning of the institution through the incumbencies
of the Ven. Vajirail.~ua Bhikkhn (later King Mo~kut ), of 'the
late Patriarch Kromal)raya Pavares down to that of the late
Supreme Patriarch Kroma{Hayii, Vajirananavaroros up to his
death. 'J'he publication under review can•ies .this history down
further through the reigns of King Rama VI, King Prajadhipok,
King Ananda to the present reign, during which the late Patriarch
KromalnMJ Vajirananavou·s 'presided over t'he destinies of the
institution.
'l'he auth.o·rsh'ip anrl e(litorial work are anonymous although
O'ne gnt·het•s it 1 has been under the direct responsil:Jility and guidance
'Of 'tihe pt·esont incumbent of the monastery, who was the
late Patriarch's closest pupil. The work has been sponsored by
the community of the monastery of Bovot•anives and published by
the above-named press.
The contents are in fact a collection of items not only
of 'the monastery's history "but also of the work of the abbot, the
Patriart)h to whom it has been dedicated, in his capacity of Head df
the J')harmo:ynt Se'ct which played a prominent part at first in
o·rganising the national education and late1· the BuddhistUni'Veraity
named the lUng MoJJlmt University. Attention has been paid fully
to what •has happened in 'the monastet·y throughout this •period
by way •of extending education, maintaining the monastic 'life,
contributing to the spiritual .life of the nation ·beyond its monastic
bounds. Monastic modesty has neve1·theless he-ld back :much of

70 RgcgNT SIAMESE PllBLIGATIONti
the potential publicity which might have been given to the good
works accomplished. In the last ehapter there is a summary of
t.his work very modestly told. Among other matters in the appendix:
is a description of the murals in the upper walls of the assembly-hall
or bot, clesigued by King Moukut while an abbot of
the monastery during the reign of his brother, Rarna III, depicting
what look like sceues of European life but really intended,
each and every one of them, to be allegorical of the virtues of the
Lord Buddha. Inspite of their CO!Jsiderable age the murals are
still in good condition though unfortunately bidden away in the
upper reaches of the walls.
264. Chandraprabha, S. : 'Touring Wat Po with the Depa1·tment
of Mines, L~tJI'JfJ~ 1winu l'i.'iV!;!Gl Navajat Press, Bangkok, sexa.,
B.E. 2503.
ill. 62 pages.
On the 11th of December 1960, there was celebrated at Wat
l\•a Jetubou a festival in honour of His late Royal Highness
Kromsomdecpra Paramanujit, former abbot of Wat Pra Jetnbon
and Patriarch of the Kingdom, who besides his high position in
the Buddhist Church was a great poet, when publications were
gi veu away to invited guests and also sold to the public at nominal
prices. The volume reviewed here was one of them.
It is a little brochure of rnod,est size and aim. It was described
as a guide-book for children. Its contents were, however,
written with scientific knowledg~ and enthusiasm. Dealing primarily
with rocl{S and stone used to build the edifices and to
adorn its rookeries, it shows au intelligent appreciation of the
history and artistry of the monastery and of the educative value
of its insm:iptions. In his description of the place the author has
been able to draw upon a similarly keen interest of a number of
young scientists of uni varsity standing. 'rhe charm of the bro.
chnre lies in the fat:Jcinating manner of its presentation.

IH,CENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS 71
In the short 11reface written hy Dr. Wija St·eshthapntra,
l >irector.Geueral of the Depat•tweut of lVIiues, it is pointed out
that, whereas the youth of Siam in these days of rockets knows
n good deal of about the latest inventions, about b11ildings which
soar near to the heavens, about Hyde Park and so on, very few
can say that they know monuments right in our midst like Wat
Po.
It is with the hope of cn1tivating son1e interest in our own
nwnnments of which we should be proud that the little brochure
has been planned.
In descl'ibiug the charms of Wat f•o, the autho1• quotes
the late Prince Naris, acknowledged to be an artist of high rank
in our days; going on to the 1•ecording of the initiative and sponsorship
in the total repairs of the monastery by King Rama III;
remarking npon the surprising fact that this Kiug seeruecl to have
anticipated the as yet nul{llOWll sciencPS of Petrology, Mineralogy
and Palaeontology, now the main instruments of industrial knowledge.
He then goes on to learl the remler on a tour of the precincts
with the l;;een observation of u scientist. Artistic features
are by no means neglectetl, and here one can lea1·n much about
designs and artistic ideals.
One featnre !lnems as yet, missing. In the dayl:l of the great
repairs of King Rarna III we are told by t.he inscriptions that it
was His Majesty's intention to gather there all medicinal plants
to be found in Siam.
'I'hese have nltturally disappeared after
such long years and neglect; hut for the sake of recording the
all-round interest shown by RB.rna 111 in PI'eserving the sciences
of utility it should not be insurmountable to obtain the collaboration
of botanists to work out identifications of the plants mentioned
as having been planted there. 'rllis fact is mentioned in
the hope that fntnre editions might include such a feature,
The tour round has been based on the versified record of
repairs from the pen of the then abbot of the monastery, Prince
Paramiilnnjit, in whose honour the festival was held.

72 RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
Bangkok, B.E. 2503, ill. sexa. 100 pages.
Although these records have been published before (1929)
and formed the subject of an article in ,TSS XXVI, 2, pp.l4B-170,
it has been thought that a notice of this recent publication may
not be out of place since it is a separate volume and not as on
the last occasion an inclusive publication of all the inscriptions
of the monastery. It has been tastefully got up and contains lilce
the volume reviewed above (no. 264) a number of good illustrations.
A point that should be taken up here, because my article
in JSS XXVI, 2 failed to mention it, is the date of the poem
beyond the fact that it was conelncled in the year 1845, three
years prior to the completion of the restoration.
In the last stanza of the poem it is stated that this poem
was concluded late in the night of Thursday the 12th of the waxing
moon of the nth month in the year of the lesser era 1207, being the
year of the snake. On referring this date to Prince Priclidehya
Devakul, the latter calculated it and found that the Thursday
mentioned could not have been the 12th of the month but rather
the lOth. The choice will bave to be taken of either Thursday
the lOth or Sattll'day the 12th. The calculation has been checked
by the Prince himself with other sources including Whitaker's
Almanac. and an astrologer's almanack ar1d found in agreement
with his finding. From my experience in checking dates of old
docnJllents, such as the old Law Preambles, the day of the week
is less liable to inaccuracy than the numerals. If it must be
a~sumed one way or another, therefore, it would seem t.hat we
ma;y t~:~ke
poem,
Thm•sday the lOth. for the date of conclusion. of the

m;CEN'r SIAMESE PUBLlCA'l'IONS 73
"
?(i(i, RatnnvPrli, 'l'he Ven. Pt•a: Hi~tm·iml Items concerning the
"
Monastery of Pra .Telttbon and Us more 1:m.pm·tant effigies of the
' ~4-- 0""'
B~tddha. tJ 'EllJ'i' :;r.JvFHl 'VJ:f: L':Jl fFlVHHLa::: i"l'i' ~'VIJVl 'Jij 1J ~'1 fl 'QJ Si vavorn
1 1 ~ •
Press, Banglwk, B. E. '!503. ill. sexa. 9R pages.
.
'l'his is the third of the series of literature on Wat Pra
Jetubon issued under the sponsurtlhip of the P.E.N. Club of the
Faculty of Letters in Ohu1U.lou1,(n·n University, Bangkok, for
presentation nncl sa1e on the occasion of the festival in honour
of the Patriarch Prince Pn,\•amfi.nujit in 1%0. The seriNI in well
got up and well planned. Artist.ic pictorial 1•ecor(ls of t.he monastery
are distribntE'Cl over the three volumes.
The topic of the volume under review is a short collection
of historical notices of the monnmen ts of the monastery. Iconographic
details are intere\lting nnd some of them are not to be found
elsewhere.
2ti7.
"" c'
Rama VI: Jlf?:scellrtneou,g Articles. 1ln'J.JI'JICllJVl~J':'i''l~UWU1!
jjffl'lrt:!Vll~n KrnJjte{l Kal'{Jim~ Press, Banglwk, B.E. 2504, octo.
pp, 1-148.
King RU.ma VI was in the habit of writing articles on
pnhlic life which were dtlly contrihutorl, to the Pree.s under a
camouflage of authorship al:l Wt\8 propel' for protocol. Many of
these contained rnatol'ial of scholastic value, such aB the derivation
of the name Bh'tJ,lcAt ( pp. 124-5 ), the titles of Bh1:mukh and
Wa'!.}sam ( pp. 125-8 ); but the majority of them were political
and social snch as the one entitled 1'/w Hal1it of Imi.tation then
pr·evaleut amon ~.{ tho bureaucracy who liked to ape fa rang ways.
Had thll King bnt known that within 10 years of his death we
would get mot•e and more involved especially in sartorial imitatioml
as to become thl'l laughing-stock of the west whom we
imitated to the extent of wearing g1ovcs in the ext1•eme heat etc,
one cannot imagine how the reaction w:m1d be on His Majesty's
fee1ings of natnral dignity.

74 RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
One has to admit, however, that the human mind after
all must needs follow a process of development through infancy
when it is natural to imitate.
One has to hope though that the
national mentality will develop along natural lines through
adolescence to maturity.
2G8. Rama VI: Material in conneclion with and curtain raisers
2-- ..,!. .e. ""' ..,!.
hom his pen. FJIJ1'1-l'J'llltJIJflm~r~n~nrru.unrsJ:rjfmtJVJ'Vln ll~Ci:U'Vl
""' ..!!. J. ~. "
!Cl:flJL1JfllJ.:IlHJ·Hlml11JJ'J''W Pracanclra PresA, Blc, octo. 9G
p:tges.
King Rama VI's writings though already publi~hed
for
the most pa1·t always find a ready demand in the form of cremation
mementos. The volnme under review was dedicated to the
,
late Momchao Pous Bhuvanat.h Dvivous. The selections therein
contained are not often available in print aud in any case have
never been reviewed in our columns. They a1·e:-
1. King Ohulaloukorn's letters to his son, the Crown
Prince ( Rama VI) in the form of a journal of a river trip up
north. 'l'hey treat of matters in connection with archeology and
administration. Among the former is an interesting discussion of
the site of old Kamt~eu ~ejra and what remained of her monuments
at the time of the King's visit in 190G ( pp. 1-11:3 ).
2. A memorandum on the subject of the Fo•rest Asu?"a,
Hiraniiabanasiira, afancifulextravagam~aarisingout of a dream of
one of the Crown Peince'H snite travelling liP to Ohieumai in the
days before the completion of the northern railways. 'l~he journey
was considered by all to be qnite an undertaking foritwasthrongh
hills and vales which bred malaria and teemed with wild elephants
and dangerous animals.
The dream was to the effect that
a guardian spirit appeared. before the dreamer and told him that
with the presPnce among them of Ancb an exalted personage they

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS 75
had no need to fear illness or death from which the spirit would
pt•otect them. The story appealed to the artistic mind of the
Prince, who worked out of it n statue of a guardian yalcsh which
still exists and has become an object of veneration amoug a section
of people in the Court.
~\. An account of the discovery of two metallic oriHalll

76 RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
tainment which would in this case be whatever main piece the
cnrtain.raiser was intended to usher in. 'l'his last feature, a play
within a play, is common in Sanskrit dramatics and happens to
coincide with Shakespearean tradition (e.g. The Taming of the
Shrew).
d, d
b. The bi'f'th of 8ttkrib and Pati. 'b]l'M'L~U.:J~fl The gist is
~
that of an old hermit with a young wife by whom he had first a
daughter then two sons, of whom the aged father waR very fond.
In a fit of jealousy the daughter bemoaned the injustice of the
dotiug father in preferring sons of others to his own child.
suspicions being aroused, the old seer tested the parentage of his
children by throwing them all into the river with a vow that
his own off~pring
His
would return to him. 'l'he daughter swam back
but the two sons born respectively of Indra and Snrya jnmpE'd
to the other bank and ran off, nne to grow np as Pi1li King of the
simian state of Khidkhin and the other as his brother Sukrib.
They are represented on the stage as monkeys, the former with a
green, the colour of Inch·a, and the latter red complexion indicating
the rays of the sun.
""'
c. The!ncnrnat£on ojtheLion-rnan 1-Jj~~'Jil'liJVI'lT an episode
from the Pttrana of the god Vishnu assuming the fllrm of the
Lion-man to rid the world of the evil genius named Hiranyakasipu.
d,
d. Huw Gtmes lost one of his tusks. WT:fllnl.FJL~U.:J'l Ganes
was the god of wisdom with an elephant face. Keeping watch one
day before the chamber of his parents during their sleep, he
gets into conflict with Rama-of-the-axe who insists on entering
the chamber at once.
Ganes loses oue of his tusks in the fight.
Hearing the noise Siva and his cousort come out. of the chamber
to the surprise of Rii,ma-of-the-axe who becomes apologetic aiJd a
geutlral compromise follows.

RECl

78 RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
ruan. In O.S. 850 ( 1488) the Miin iuvited the community illeluding
men of Pnlao to help in building a vihara, a 8tupa and
a library. The monastery was called Salka!i1anamahantararn, for
which due land-permit was given by the King. Miin Dab-ri:ian
invited venerable monks to take care of the Wat. 'fhree years
later the King gave land to the Mi.-in who turned it over to the
Wat, buying slaves moreover fnr the institution and provided
funds for construction, for making palm-leaf manuscripts and for
casting images of the Master, as well as another fund as an endowment
the iuterest of which was to go to the provision of
daily food fot· the tell monks who were in residence there. The
nobleman ended his record with a curse that whoever despoils
his gift to religion should suffer hell-fire. As the author has
pointed out, the King reigning in Ohieumai in this case would be
the one known as Pra Yod Chieurai. The ruin is held in high
veneration bnt only the stupa remains in situ. Of the five
images mentioned in the inscription only two remain. They are
of the "lion-type". Details of the images are given but as there
is an English part readers who do not read Siamese will find no
difficulty in lea.rning about them. 'fhe point that should be
h1·ought out is that the author thinks that the apparently
wealthy Miin Dab-riian might have utilised the slaves to work in
the kilns. The people of Pnlao mentioned in the inscription might
have come from Ohie;usen since the latter province had a district
of that name.
The main topic is made up of the following headings,
which are accessible from the English part of the book: a description
of the San Kampen kilns, and o:E the pottery; other kiln
sites in north Thailand; relationship to the pottery of the Snkhodaya
period. His opinion that art supremacy of Sukhodaya
passed on the Li1uni1 rather than to Ayndhyi1 sounds likely.

RECI'NT SIAMESE l'UBLICATIONS 79
270. Hidyalahh, Krnrnamun: 'l'h1j Story of Rama aml an English
translatiou of Ooeclc•s' Empi1·e of the So,uth Seas tr. into Siamese
~ ~ ~~
l!tl-1'V'l'l':J1'W \Ltl::f1'1ff!Till1i"lfl'l'Vl::llbi ll'l Prucanrl Press, Bk., 13.1~.
'!!\04, .% pages.
On the occasion of the cremation of the remains of his
mother, Mr. San an Bnnyasiribhamlhn, proprietor of the Press, has
published these repl'ints :1s a memento.
The former, written for
presentation to His lVInjt:sty who ha a1111 hoyond. 1t goes into rletails
sketching the original habittLt of tbe story, the successive stages of
its oevelopment, the story as we have it in Siam in all its versions,
hying special empha!'lis on the one of 17R9 known as the VwrHion
of the First Reign bee:nu1e this is with one exception the source of
all the othel' versions and a short account of the story as it is
found in neighbouring countries with a finc·d chapter on its
probablr venue hefore it reached Siam.
The versions of the Epic apart, two problems present
themselves in connoction with the history of the t:>le of RiLma.
'rhe earliest story is to be found in the Buddhist .Jatalca,, perhaps
in some of the other contern'{)onwies as well, placing it obvinusly
prio!' to the Rarnayana, M Valmlld, which Prnfesso1· Sarkar fixed
as belonging to the close nf the ~2nd e(•ntnry A.D. The second
problem is its migration to Siam and, in fact, south-('ast, Asia in
general.
Not being aware of any 1lefinite pronouncement in any
other scholarly work, it, has been suggested here that the story
came through the Pal1ava kingdom whence it crossed the seas to
,
the sonthern archipe1ago of Srivijnya, whence it tJ·avelled north
to Siam and Cambodia. Whilst the fOl'JlJer country received many
' of the l::ll'ivijayan interpolations and added no doubt more of its
own; the latter-Cambodia-had a closer affinity with the version
that inspired the RU.mayana of Va1rnfki, Both these countr~es no

80 RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS

RECENT SIAMESE PUULlCATillNS 81
nl. SathiPn Koi'PR < 0 '< Na:£Rpl'a(Fp: Fil'lir•Js of 0U1' F'rllowmm
._,..,. A
'C'lYl'!i'iltl~~'lf.ITI'W Praeaud P1·css, l3aug1wk, 1\.E. 2f>Oi\. i11. 420 pages.
The two nnthors are well-known in the liter•ary world
through numerous contribntiong, among which is this series of
Beliefs of Ottr Fello11)rnen, which is now collected nnd published in
a single vnlnme of 420 pages. We do not know whether onr tl'anslation
of t.he name meets with the approval of the snrviving
author, Sathien Kose~:~.
The preEeut edition is issued as a memento
nf Mme S()J,)Sri, wife nf Mr. BnriwnJJS Amatyalml, on the occasion
of hee crematiun in 19ti0. The series covers all the principal
religions of the worltl and is popular in treatnwnt thongh noverthelP!:lS
scholastic in quality.
lts great merit is the clear presentation
of: the wide seope of its topic, taldng into account the fact
nf the lael;: of information on 8imilar themes among the Siamese
reading public.
Boul' I

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST IN OTHER JOURNALS
Artibus Asiae, Vol. XXII, pts 1-2, 1959.
Cordes, G.: Note sur nne stele indienne d\'lpoque
Pitla decouverte a Ayudhya (Siam).
Devendra, D.T.: Seventy Years of Ceylon
Archeology.
Griswold, A.B.: Two Dated Images from the
Shan States.
Waterbury, Florence: Reflections 011 Style.
Vol. XXIII, 1, 1960.
9-14
23-40
59-63
193-194
,,'
Griswold, A. B.: Notes on Siamese Art: i. The
Lacquer Pavilion; ii. An XVIIIth
century Ivory Cetiya; An Ayndhya
statuette hf uni

84 l'UIILICATIONS OF INTERE::iT IN OTHER JOURNALS
Vol. XLIII, 1, 1960.
Olti I-Isien Liu: 'l'he Language Problem of P1·imitive
Buddhism.
Snkhabanij, K.: Proposed Dating of the
Yonok-Ohiengsaen Dynasty.
Nimmi1nhemi11da, S.: A Chiengrnai Image inseribed
in Bn rmese & 'rai.
~l-16
Nhony Abhay: Snr l'Histoire des etat.s compris
entre l'Inde et la Chine,· I3irmanir:1,
'l'hail;mde, Laos, Oambodg", Vietnam. ~H-9;)
East and West, Vol. 11, 4, 1960.
SPstieri, P.O.: 'l'he Gnardstone and its Syrnboli~m
in Ceylon.
2l\7-:275
N0w Series Vol. 1~2,
1, 19fil.
Hameed-ud-Din: Indian Culture in the late
Snltanate Period.
Far East Economic Review, 29, 19fi0.
Kayser Sung: 'l'hniland's Drive for
I ndustrialisatiou.
Indo~Asian Culture, IX, 2, 1\JliO.
Tagore, R.: To Siam.
Bapat, T.V.: Words of Sauskrit Origin in the
languages of south-cHLSt Asia.
J.lil-114
1~7 -1\ll
March of India, XIII, r,, 1961.
'
'
'1' a gore Vo lnme, consisting ()f 12 a 1·ticles on the Life,
'l'honght and Worl{s of the g1·eat P(let, with
features of art.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bulletin, 1%1.
Aschwin-Lippe, Hia Royal High11ess Prince of
Lippe-Biesterfeld: A Dva.ravati Bronze
Buddha from Thailand. 125-132

l'llBLICATIONti OF INTJWI~ST IN OTHF:R .JOURNALS
Pacific Affairs, XXX III, il, 1\:lLiO.
Hall, D.G.K: '!'he St.ory of South-east Asian
History.
26S.2R l
XXX.lll, '1, HlliO.
Darling, F.C.: J\lhrshal Sarit :l.nd the Absolntist
Rule in T hailancl.
Silpakorn, Yol. 5, 1,.1961. (in Siamese)
347-BGO
LitLn·atnre & Hi st. Section: The H0rse iu Literature
& History.
:n.4:l
Yudi, C.: Neolithic Man at Ban Kao, Kanchanabnri. 43-5il
'l'ongkanw;ran, C.: Inscription at a deBerted wat
in Nan.
54-5ti
'l'ramotP,l\1.: Explanation & wording of the song
Su rin trahoo.
T oung Pao, Vol. XLVII, bidr. 3-5
Sven Egerod: The Etymology of the Siamese ·word
to hear "dajjin ".
Tribus, no ll, l%0.
l!'nnke, l

86 PUB!.ICATIONS OF INTER8tiT IN OTIJF;H JOURNALS
lt wuulrl be odious to pick on t this ot· that art ide for 1:1 vecial
mention since~ they lu•ve heen, onfl pl'esumes h·om the high
to!le of scholarship apparent, judiciously preparE>d and
selected. It is preferred to pick out those that might bear
rlireet interest for Siamese culture, thus:
Ghoshal, N.N.: Some Aspects of Ancient Indian
Political Organisation
Muju,nclar, H.O. : Scientific Spil'it in Ancient. India
l'VIa:iumdar, A.K.: Sanskrit His1orica1 Literature
and History
Venkataraman, 'I'.K.: South India and Indian
CulturE>, 2 chapters
Saksena, S.K.F.: Philosophic morale de l'In.te
P· 2n
p. 265
p. 28:-3
p. 331
p. 430
Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research, Bulletin
of the International Committee ou, no 3, 1960.
Halpern, Joel M.: Urgent Task of Research in Laos 72-73

ACCESSIONS TO THE SIAM SOCIETY LIBRARY
from cfjuly to CDecember 1960
Books.
Acharya, P.K.
Annm.an Ra,idhon
Banomyong, Pri

88 ACCESSlONS TO 'L'HE SIAM SOCIETY LIBRARY
Blancharrl, W.
De Blonay, G.
Thai1unrl, its People, its Society, its Culture.
Materiaux pour Sorvir a l' Histoit•e de Ia
Deesse Buddhiqne rrara ( 1895)
Bruee, Helen Nine Temples of Bangkok ( 1%0)
Briggs, IJ.P. The Aucient Khmer Empire ( 1951)
Oappeller, Carl
Chnpponlie, H.
Ohappoulie, H.
Sanskrit-Worterbuch ( 1955) (Presented
by A.B. Griswold)
Rome et Jes Missions d'Indochine au XVIIe
Siecle, 'l'ome I: Clerg11 Portugais et Evequ0s
Fran~:ais dans les Royanmes d' Arm am et lle
Siam (1943)
Rome et les Missions d'Intlochina au xvne
Siecle 'l'ome II : La Constance Romain et
l'Etablissement Dcfinitif des Vicaires Apostoliqnes
dans les Royaumes cl'Annam et de
Siam (19M~)
Chula Chakl'abongBe,: Lords of Life ( 1%0)
H.R.H. Prince,
Chulalongkorn
Univel·sity
Bibliography of Material about 'l'hai1ancl
in WeBtern Languages ( 19Ei0) ( Presentc

nalton, w.
Danielon, A.
Dasgnpta, S.B.
T)avid-Neel, A.
David-NeC'l, A.
ACCESSlONS TO 'l'llE SIAM SOCIETY LlBRARY 89
Phan1eon the AdvPnt1Hf'l' Ol' tbC' Enroperms
in the East ( 1R62)
La MnRiflnP dn Oamborlge et dn Laos (1%7)
An In t1•ocluction to Tan trio Buddhism (1 958)
Initiations and Initiates in Tibet ( 1958)
Magic and Mystery in 'l'ihet ( 1958)
nhauinivat, H.H.
Prince
11oblry, E.H.G.
Dodd, W.O.
1hans, J.
Dra,vs-TyclulPn, H.
A History of Buddhism in Siam ( HHiO)
South-East Asia (1956)
The 'l'ai Race ( 1923) (Presented by Dr.
Kenneth E. Wells).
Histoire de Nang 1\Ianora et Histoire de
Sang 'rhong ( 1947)
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Sibnnruang,J.Kasem: Khun Chang Khun PhLm: La Femme,
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VOLUME XLIX Part 2
November 1961
THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
SIAM SOCIETY
(J s s)
BANGKOK
2504

TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME XLIX PART 2
Articles.
H.R. van Heekeren
B. Ch. Chhabra
NOVEMBER 1961
Page
A Preliminary Note on the Excavation
of the Sai-Yok Rock-Shelter
99
Bangkok Museum Stone Inscription of
Ma.hendravannan
109
Parvatl Thampi
John H. Brandt
Phya Anuman Rajadhon
Book Revim
Burma Research Society
Receut Siamese Publicatious
272. Aniruddha in verse
Temples of South India
The Negrito of Peninsular Thailand
Thai Traditional Salutation
Fiftieth Anniversary Publicativr~s No. 2.
(Charles Nelson Spinks)
113
123
159
171
175
273. Samzulra{5hosa in verse
271. Biogrnphy of Prince Vivadh
275. The Writing of Prince Vivadhanajai
276. Addresses
277. Lectures on Finance Law
278. Items of Finance and Revenue
279. Vivadhanajai Memento
Acce.~sions to t!te Library
Obituary
Secoml A1111ual Report from Research Ce11ter
175
178
180
180
180
180
181
183
190
191

A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE EXCAVATION
OF THE SAJ. YOK ROCK-SHELTER
by
H.R. van Heekel'eu
(Member of the Thai-Danish Prehistoric Expedition)
During the years 1943 and 1944, the author was compelled
to work on construction of the Moulmein-Bangkok Railway along
the Kwac (river) Noi as a prisoner of war of the Japanese.
In March 1943, I had the good fortune of discovering six
unifacially flaked pebble tools in situ in the upper layer of thick
river laid gravels and boulders east of the hamlet of Ban Kao.
This terrace is the highest, widest and most conspicuous of the
Kwae Noi.
I was inclined to believe that this series of tools formed part
of the Lower Palaeolithic Chopper Complex of South and East Asia,
and although no palaeontological evidence was obtained, I assigned
it to the pleistocene period.l In Burma, Punjab and North China, it
was postii!Jle to demonstrate that similar tools belonged to the middle
pleistocene,2 and Mrs. Ann Sievekirig went so far as to suggest,
on geological grounds, that the Tampanian of Malaya was of first
Interglacial or early second Glacial Age.3
However, it is as well to remember that plano-convex pebble
tools go back to the dawn of time in South and East Asia, and should
also realize that more or less similar tools of plano-convex section,
dating from post-glacial times, are found widely spread in the Far
East. I shall refer to this matter again when we come to discuss
the pebble tool problem as a whole.
1. Heekeren, I-I.R. van 1948; Prehistoric Discoveries in Siam, 1943·1944.
Proceedings qf the Prehistoric Society, 2, 24-32.
2. Movius, Hallam L. Jr. 1948: The Lower Palaeolithic Cultures of Southern
and Eastern Asia. Trans. Amer. Phi/. Soc., 38, 325-420.
3. Sieveking, Ann 1960 : The Paleolithic Industry of Kota Tam pan, Perak,
Northwestern Malaya. Asian PeJ•spectives, II, 2, 1958, 91-102.

100 H.R. van Heekeren
More unifacially manufactured pebble tools, but of rather
different shape, were found associated with some sub-fossil bones
in a cave north of the hamlet of Wang Pho, and were classified by
the author as post-glacial or mesolithic.
Subsequently, two polished square axes were picked up from
the ground near the railway station at Ban Kao and finally a friend
gave me a beautiful highly polished shouldered axe which was said
to have been found near Nong Pladuk.
The most important specimens of this collection, seven in
number, survived the war and are now on display at the Peabody
Museum of the Harvard University in Cambridge, U.S.A.
In my paper mentioned in Footnote 1, I wrote: "I hope that
this paper will inspire other archaeologists to investigate that country
on a larger scale, better equipped and under more favourable
circumstances". Many years have passed then and it was not until
the year 1956, that a young Sheldon Travelling Fellow from Harvard,
named Karl. G. Heider, stimulated by Prof. Hallam L. Movius, Jr.,
made fresh investigations in the same area. He made large collections
of pebble tools, all surface finds, and subsequently, guided by
an old local man, discovered in a gully west of Ban Kao near Hoi
Maeng Rak, a great number of neolithic potsherds, fragments of
stone bracelets, some polished square axes and parts of baked walls.
Heider called the place Bang site. He was also the first to report
upon a very promising burial ground from the Bronze Age at the
sawmill site near Wang Pho.4
In the spring of 1960 when I had just returned from prehistoric
field work in South America, I received to my great surprise
and intense joy, an invitation from Denmark to participate in
the Thai-Danish Prehistoric Expedition under the leadership
of Dr. Eigil Nielsen, noted palaeontologist of the Universitets
Mineralogisk-Geologiske Institut, Copenhagen. The third member
4. Heider, Karl G. 1957: New Archaeological Discoveries in Kanchanabury.
The Journal of the Siam Society, XLV, 1,61-70.
__ 1960: A Pebble-Tool Complex in Thailand, Asia/1 ferspttctives, II, 2,
1958. 63-67.

'l'HE SAT-YOK hOUK-SHEL'I'Eli 101
of the expedition was the young prehistorian Per S0rensen, and
in Bangkok it was joined by the three Thai scientists, Nai Chin
You-di, Mr. Arphorn and Mr. Tamnoen.
In the beginning of November 1960, we started otir first trip
along the Kwae Noi with an extension to the Three Pagodas Pass
on the Burma frontiet. From Kanchanabury also named Kanbury,
situated at the junction of thtl Kwae Noi and Kwae Yai (or Mae
Klong ), we travelled by boat to the hamlet of Tacanoi1, which we
reached after four days. From here we travelled oh ten elephants
to the Three Pagodas Pass and back to Tacanon again. In severi
days a distance of two hundred kilometres was covered on eiephnnts,
We then went back slowly to Kanbury, making extensive reconnoitring
trips on both sides of the river. Following this trip we went
from Kanbury upstream the Kwae Yai, once again surface collecting
and reconnoitring.
On these trips an amazing amount of prehistoric material was
obtained, covering the main phases of the prehistory of Thailand,
but as might be expected all of it consisted of scattered single finds
or at best unstratified unit collections, and this, of course, lowered
its scientific value. The finds were made in caves, rock-shelters
and open-air sites. The location of the majority of the caves was
found with the aid of Thai informants and the Governor of Kanbury
also rendered us all requested aid and co-operated most wholeheartedly
with the enterprise. For the rest the success of the expedition
depended a great deal upon the assistance of the Thai members
who participated in the field work.
On the third trip, two sites were selected by us for more
detailed study. Originally we apportioned a period of eight days
only, for trial trenching at Bang site where Karl Heider had made
his neolithic surface finds, as mentioned before. But as it happened,
this site appeared to be a neolithic graveyard, containing well preserved
human skeletons and funeral gifts consisting of complete
pottery and selected polished stone square axes, only matched in
importance by the Sieveldng's excavation at Gua Cha, Kelantan in

ioz
H.k van Heekeren
Malaya.5 We therefore decided to split the party; accordingly Pet'
Serensen and Arphorn stayed behind at Ban Kao to continue the
excavation on a larger scale. Serensen himself writes in a separate
paper on this subject from firsthand knowledge. Nielsen, Chin
You-di and the author left the site after eight days when already
four skeletons with funeral gifts had been brought to light. We
went upstream where we found two bamboo rafts with roofs waiting
for us, and these o;erved us as horne for the next three weeks.
Here, south of the well-known waterfalls of Sai-Yok, there is
a limestone ridge on the left bank, in easy reach of the river in
which are two caves and a rock-shelter. The top of the floor of the
last mentioned lies 28 metres above the low level of the river. Below
the rock-shelter and connected by a steep talus slope we noted a
high terrace of the ancestral river and a low terrace at 21 metres
and at 7 metres respectively above the low :floodmark of the present
river.
Six workmen were recruited in the vicinity of Sai-Yok to
carry out the digging. Cave I, with a refuse accnmulation of only
one metre in thickness, appeared to have been occupied by mesolithic,
neolithic and bronze-age people, and subsequently by historical
people. The latter occupation was indicated by the presence in the
cave of wooden burial coffins containing urns with charred human
bones and mortuary gifts like fine Sawankalok ware of varying shape,
and bronze lime containers. Pottery, beads and a decorated bronze
bell of the bronze age were found in the upper layers only. On the
rockbottom of the cave we found two neolithic graves with httman
skeletons which were almost completely decayed. The funeral gifts
were still present however, notably pots buried intact and many of
them complete, a selection of polished square axes and one small
shouldered axe. I have reserved these groups of objects for separate
treatment. Cave II, having a thin layer of refuse, provided us with
5. Sieveking, G. de G. 1951 a: Excavations at Gua Cha, Kelantan. Federated
i\lfuseums Journal, I/II. 75·1a8.
-------1954 b: Gua Cha and the Malaym1 Stone Age. Malaya Historical
]Oll/'/1{/f, l, 2, 111-125.

some mesolithic 11ebblc tools.
THE SAI·YOK HOCK-SHELTER 103
Outside the caves was a :fine half
open rock-shelter under overhanging rock gables, where we made an
excavation. It is with this excavation that this paper is mainly
concerned. As the :finds are still en route, it will be appreciated
that this report is inevitably incomplete and that it must be considered
as provisional only. Moreover, the excavation is still in a
formative stage and further results are expected from future work.
Yet certain eonclusions may already be drawn and the information
gathered from the excavation can be summarized as follows.
The surface was covered with scattered limstone rubbish in
which we found 7 pebble tools and some potsherds. This situation
was encountered before in many other caves. I have the feeling
that for some reason or another, sedimentation in the caves came to
a long time ago.
We carried out the excavation by taking off the soil in layers
of 2fi ems. carefully following the stratification. The rock-shelter
appeared to be a refuse dump with deep accumulation of debris with
a clearly defined stratigraphy. It has not yet been possible to
establish its depth. At a level of 3.75 metres we came upon a disconformity;
below this level was a loteristic red rubble with some
boulders. In one place we went down to 4 metres without encountering
the subsoil at that lowest level shell refuse and a stone artifact
were still present. Whether traces of Early Man stratified below 4
metres will be found, there is yet no telling.
The Mesolithic Pebble Tool industry; Post-glacial flaked pebble
tools of quartzite with occasional bifacial trimming, form the bulk
of the finds and 198 specimens were obtained from the digging.
The majority were found concentrated in the upper 175 ems, but we
came upon a second 'living floor' at a depth of approximately 3
metres below the surface.
Speaking in geneml terms the implements could be described
as unifacially trimmed, flat-bottomed pebble tools, plano-convex in
section and with a sharp cutting edge.
On the entire ventral face

io4
ii.R. van I'Ieeket'erl
and on the less essential parts of the upper face, the matrix of the
original pebble was left untouched. A few key types are: tools
with a very high dorsal face and steep marginal trimming; flat, discoidal
scrapers, carefully retouched about all edges; 'sumatraliths'
oval in shape, and 'short axes' with straight chopped off posterial
part, which perhaps are not a distinct type at all but only broken
'sumatraliths '.
The lithic material included two pebble tools worked on both
faces and two ground axes or protoneoliths,6 which were found in
the upper layers; in the same layers, six potsherds were unearthed
but after a depth of 75 ems, had been reached no further sherds occurred.
The presence of the sherds and the protoneoliths suggest
neolithic influence or contact.
The pebble tool complex of the lower deposit is entirely preceramic
and all the tools are worked on one face only. During the
excavation many large bivalve freshwater mussels were found in all
layers, but a curious feature is the great rarity of mammal remains.
It appears that the people whose tools were found in the debris,
based their economy on a full exploitation of their favourable riverine
and forest environment, by some kind of restricted wandering. The
rivers there were well stocked with fish and shellfish, as they still
are at present.
The most important pursuit was fishing and shellfish gathering;
next in importance came hunting and collecting of wild food,
whether animal or vegetable. Each band or family probably had its
own territory and division of labour was based on sex. Women, it
seems were mainly responsible for collecting shellfish and wild fruits
and digging up esculent roots; men for hunting and fishing. The
people frequented rock-shelters and caves, if found to be convenient
and in easy reach of fresh water, but they also erected, temporary
self made shelters in the open. In this connection it may safely be
assumed that the accumulations of pebble tools together with factory
waste which we found at several places in the open plain near Ban
6. Colani, Madeleine, 1932: Le Protoni!\olithe. Praehistorica Asiae Orienta/is
93-95.

TilE SAI·YOK ROCK·SHEL'.l'lU! 105
Kao and elsewhere, were actually remains of ancient hunting camps,
now exposed by natural erosion.
Of course, as only the imperishable part of the original material
culture has been retraced during excavation, the archaeological
record, gives too simple an idea of the culture of tl1e people.
There is little doubt, that they also made extensive use of wood,
bamboo and bark, but whether they had bows or spears or blowpipes
is a matter of conjecture. I am inclined to believe that the pebble
tools were mainly wood-working tools, and tools for chopping, cutting,
scraping and other purposes.
The excavation had brought to light a burial of this ancient
period which was unmistakably associated with mesolithic unifacially
flaked pebble tools, without potsherds. It was a rather ill-preserved
skeleton of a human adult, 150 ems. below the surface. It was
placed almost parallel to the rear-wall on a bed of boulders; it was
found lying on its back, face turned to the right, knees updrawn,
right hand under the chin, left under-arm across the body. A heavy
stone slab of quartzite was placed on the upper part of the body and
the thoracic area has been subjected to downward pressure and was
badly decomposed. The soil above the head and part of the body
was stained with red ochre, a feature which has been connected
with religious conceptions at the time. Red pigment (the colour
of' blood' and 'life') and its use in connection with burials are known
throughout the Malay Peninsula and the Archipelago, but were
unknown in Indo-China during mesolithic times.
Grave goods in the normal sense were not present, but a large
mammal bone on the chest and many mussels, all with the hollow
side up and placed on top of each other, are remains of food, meant
to be taken along the journey after death, which suggests a belief
in immortality.
What struck the observer at first glance; was the small stature
of the skeleton, the remarkable thickness of the skull, which was
11-12 mms. in places, the fragility of the limb bones, and the small-

106 H.R. van Heckeren
ness of the mandibular ramus and dentition. It is obviously a skeleton
of Homo snpiens, albeit of a very primitive type. More will be
said of this skeleton as soon as craniometric and comparative osteometric
studies have been carried out by physical anthropologists.
One point however, seems already to be certain. The skeleton
is physically distinct from the megalodontic Australo-Melanesians,
who were supposed to be the originators of the mesolithic
pebble culture.7
The overall picture, as based on the nature of the archaeological
material of the Sai-Yok rock-shelter is without any doubt
analogous with that of the Hoabinhian of Indo-ChinaS and Malaya.9
Or to be more precise the lower deposits contain, as mentioned
before, a flexed burial connected with stone tools without exception
worked on one face only and no potsherds, and should be ascribed
to the Early Hoabinhian. In the upper layers however, apart from
unifacially worked stone tools, were found some potsherds, two
ground stone tools, two bifacial stone implements and these should
be ascribed to the Middle/Late Hoabinhian. Previously a similar
sequence was obtained at the Gua Kerbau and Gol Bait in Malaya
by Van Stein Callenfels.lO
The Hoabinhian and related cultures have a rather wide geographic
range in the Far East. Regions where they occur most
frequently are South China (more than hundred caves in the
Sechwan and Kanshu provincesll ), Indo-China (numerous caves
7. Stein Callenfels, P.V. van 1963: The Melanesoid Civilizations of Eastern
Asia. Bulletin Rcifjles !vluseum Series, B, No. 1, 41-51.
i::l. Colani, Madeleine 1927: L' Age de Ia Pierre dans la Province de Hoabinh
(Tonkin) MJmoires Serv, G(!Oiog. Indo-CIIine, 14.
9. Tweedie, M.W.F. 1953 : The Stone Age in Malaya. Joumal Malayan
Brauch RAS, 26, 3-90.
10. Stein Callenfel~. P.V. van and I.I-I.N. Evans 1926. Report on Cave Excavations
in Pemk. Oudheidkwulig Vers/ag., 3/4.
---and H.J), Noone 1940: Report on an excavation in the rock-shelter
Go! Bait near Sungai Siput (Perak). Proc. Brd Congr. of The Preh. of the Far East,
119-125.
11. Chen Te-K'un, 1959: Prehistoric China, Vol. 1, 47-51.

'i:I-l.E SAI-YOK nocK-SHELTEn
and rock-shelters and some kitchen middensl2 ), the Malay cave
depositsl3 and perhaps Borneo 14. This culture it seems has reached
Kangaroo Island and South East Australia and Tasmania15 but how
it was transmitted, and in which direction, is still unknown. Its
ultimate origin is more difficult to determine but it seems likely that
the homeland of his culture is to be found in South China.
In Thailand it is found concentrated in the valleys of the
K wae Noi and K wae Yai, and Sarasin reported to have found
evidence of it in some caves in the north and the south of the country.16
Something like 20 localities can be put on the map already,
but there are certainly more.
We are still without an answer as to the exact date, but
charcoal samples for time analysis were taken from most layers and
are being tested by the radio-carbon method.
The pebble tool problem and future research: As has been emphasized
before, pebble tools in the Far East are already known
since Middle Pleistocene times and in North China, notably in
Chou-kou-tien, they have been found in association with fossil
remains of Pithecanthropus pekinensis.l7 On the other hand, pebble
tools which have no fundamental technological differences with
the former are also known from post-glacial times,
With the above remarks in mind, we have to realize, that too
much emphasis cannot be placed on typology because typology itself
is not an adequate guide to the relative age of the various types.
I am inclined to believe that the mesolithic culture represents
a continuation of the Lower Palaeolithic, but an authority of Teilhard
de Chardin's stature holds a diverge!lt view and suggests that
12. Patte, E., L'Indochine prehistorique, Re11ue Anthropologique, 1!:!36.
13. Tweedie, M.W.F. 1955 ; Prehistoric Malaya, Background to Malaya
series, no. 6.
14. Harrisson, T., 1947; The great Niah Cave. A preliminary report on
Bornean Prehistory. Man, vol. VII, 161-166.
15. Tindale, E.K. 1937; Relationship of the extinct Kangaroo Island culture
with cultures of Australia, Tasmania and Malay. Records of the South Australian
Museum, 6, 116-119.
16. Sarasin, F. 1933: Recherches prehistoriques au Siam. L'Antropologie,
5'1, 547-548.
17. LeGros Clark, W.E. Pithecanthropus in Peking. Antiquity 19, 1-5.
io7

108 H.R. van Heekere11
the resemblance in type, is only superficial. 18 What stands, however,
is that the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic both know unifacially
worked pebble tools and that typology as a diagnostic should be
used with caution and that the results must be treated with the
utmost reserve. 19
We have to realize that only stratigraphical, geological and
palaeontological evide.nce of antiquity can help us with this problem.
Therefore, further studies of this topic must be concentrated on
ancient, fossil bearing gravels containing pebble tools. I am afraid
that the gravels of the Kwae Noi are of little assistance as they are
entire! y devoid of fossils.
The author has supposed that the pebble tools he has found
in situ in the gravels of a high terrace near Ban Kao, are palaeolithic.
Important though this viewpoint may be, it has no undisputably
clear foundation, and my argument might fail to convince,
as we still do not know when these gravels were laid down by the
ancestral river.
Another approach to the matter would be to carry out excavations
in rock-shelters with deep refuse accumulations connected
with high level river terraces, such as seem to exist in Sai-Yok.
Such excavation, admittedly, would be by way of experiment,
but the possibility of further discovery is always latent in our work,
and new prehistorical and palaeontological facts may well be brought
to light, provided the excavations are carried well down into the
lower strata. 20
1
lve hope that such further exploration will take place in the
fall of the year 1961.
18. Tt:ilharcl de Chardin, P. 1950: Le Paleolithique du Siam. L'AIIthropo/ogie,
5·1;517-5,18.
19. In South and Middle Africa, prehistory begins with pebble tooln and leads
on lo the development of the bifacial hand·axe.
In the East, however, it seems that archaic pebble tools persisted for long periods
after they have given rise to more advanced types elsewhere.
20. Chan Te·K'un 1959 : Prehistoric China, Vol. I,47 -51. In limestone caves
in Kwangsi, s~uth China, two type3 of layers have been distinguished. The upper
deposits are of post-glacial age and contain m ~solithic pebble tools and a sub-fossil
fauna; in the deeper layers a Stegodon fauna was encountered with remuinH of
Gigantopithecus and Pithecanthropus.

BANGKOK MUSEUM STONE INSCRIPTION OF
MAHENDRAVARMAN
by
B. Ch. Chllabra, New Delhi.
Joint Director General of Archaeology,
Government of India
On. my way back from Indonesia to India in December 1960,
I happened to stop for a couple of days at Bangkok. While there,
I paid a visit to the National Museum of Thailand in company with
Mr. Nirmal J, Singh, Press Attache, Embassy of India in Thailand.
We were cordially received and shown around by Prof. Luang Boribal
Buribhand of that museum. I was sad to learn that there had
recently been a conflagration in one wing of the great museum, causing
considerable damage to valuable records and monuments. The
gallery of stone inscriptions had also suffered much from that fire.
As we were inspecting the exhibits in that gallery, my attention was
suddenly attracted by a stone slab with a short early Sanskrit inscription,
beautifully engraved in four lines. The same inscription
forms the subject matter of the present paper.
The inscribed slab, I was told, had been newly acquired by
the National Museum of Bangkok. I learnt further that it had not
yet been published anywhere.
I am editing it at the instance of Mr. Nirmal J. Singh who
was to supply me with a facsimile of the inscription as well as with
the details as to the find-place and the circumstances of the discovery
of the inscribed slab. I received from him an inked estampage
of the inscription in February 1961, through the courtesy of
Prof. Luang Boribal Buribhand. The accompanying photograph is
a reproduction of the same estampage. This stone inscription had
been found at Aranyaprades District (about 350 kilometres east of
Bangkok) by Mr. Serie Naenhna, assistant curator of the Provincial
Museum. He found it in the vicinity of Prasat Kh(lo Chon~sr*.J,
Chaen~ during his eXJ?edition last rear,

110 B. Ch. Chhabra, New Delhi
The inscribed space measures 28 X 30 em. The four lines of
the inscription constitute but one stanza, each line containing one
quarter of the verse, the metre being Anushtubh. The alphabet is
an ornamental type of what is commonly kn~wn as Pallava-Grantha
of South India of about the seventh century A.D., and the language
is Sanskrit, as already indicated. As to the contents, the inscription
records the excavation of a tank, called Sankara Ta_taka, by Mahendravarman.
Even though there is no indication in the inscription as to
the identity of this Mahendravarman, it is possible to identify him
with the King Mahendravarman of Kambuja or Kambujadesa, i.e.
Cambodia, son of Viravarman and the youngest brother of Bhavavarman.
This last mentioned ruler is reputed to have founded the
dynasty of Kambuja kings, having defeated his rivals, of the earlier
kingdom of Fu-nan.l It goes without saying that the present Thailand
at that time formed part of Kambuja or Cambodia. Bhavavarman
was succeeded by his youngest brother whose name was Chitasena
and who assumed the second name Mahendravarman at the
time of his coronation. The practice of assuming coronation names
was in vogue in ancient India and was followed also in lands and
islands that came under the Indo-Aryan influence. The reign period
of this Chitrasena-Mahendravannan falls between the closing years
of the sixth century and the early years of the seventh century A.D.
It is further of interest to note here that the same Chitrasena­
Mahendravarman is known to us from two more stone inscriptions
that have already been published. The earlier of these two is known
so far in three versions and the later in as many as six versions.2
Again, the earlier one mentions him only as Chitrasena, indicating
thereby that by that time, he had not yet come to the throne. The
later one expressly states ' that he was formerly known as Chitrasena
and assumed the name Mahendravarman at the time of coronation.'S
Since our inscription makes him already well-known as
1. Compare R.C. Mujumdar's Kamb11ia·desa (or An Ancient Hindu Colony in
Cambodia). Madras 1944, pp. 47 ff.
2. Ibid. p. 54.
3. Ibid.

Mahenclravarman's stone inscriptions in the Museum at Bangkok, Thailand.

BANGKOK MUSEUM STONE INSCRIPTION OF MAHENDRAVARMAN 111
Mahendravarman, it may be taken to be the latest of the three inscriptions
so far known of him. It is quite possible that the present
inscription was also made available in more than one version like
the other two and that some other version or versions of it may come
to light in future.
The two inscriptions already known record each the establishment
of a Sivalihga by the king, which shows that he was a devout
worshipper of the god Siva. His naming the tank, the excavation
of which is the object of the present inscription, as Sarlkara Tataka,
accords well with that.
Text
yas = sri-Mahendravamm = eti
Mahendra iva visruta~ [I *]
sa Sa6karatat~k-akhyafi =
chakhan = emafi =- jalasayam [II *]
Translation
"He, who is known as the illustrious
Mahendravarman, famous like Mahendra
(i.e. Indra, the Chief among the gods),
excavated this reservoir of water, named
, 1
Sankara Tank. 01

TEMPLES OF SOUTH INDIA
by
CjJaruati 73hampi
Untouched by the architectural concepts of the West, unmoved
by Islamic influence, relatively undisturbed by the various
invasions which the rest of India was periodically subject to, the
temples of South India are some of the purest examples of Hindu
and Dravidian art existing today. These buildings are no monarch's
appeasement of his own vanity. Nor are they memorials to the dead.
Nor again are they a more commemoration of one particular event.
Rather are they testaments to Man's timeless faith in something or
someone beyond himself. In fact these massive structures surging
upwards and encompassing all the manifold aspects of Hindu religion
and mythology are symbols of humanity's eternal reaching out
to the sublime, the divine, the infinite. And whereas most wellknown
architectural monuments are things of the past, wrapped in
the silence of the dead, these temples today are still teeming with
life and with a vitality all their own.
The heyday of the South Indian temples lasted from the 7th
to the 17th century, a.d.-from the reign of the Pallavas to the Vijayanagar
and Nayyak dynasties. However, from references to them
in the Puranas such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, in the early
Dravidian annals and in the works oE Tamil, Telugu, Malayalee and
Canarese poets and scholars, the origin of this temple art dates back
many hundreds of years before that, even to pre-Aryan times. Such
a reference in a very early Dravidian work is made to the temple of
Kanya Kumari at the extreme southern tip of India where the three
oceans meet. According to this legend this is the spot where Parvathi
awaited the arrival of her celestial bridegroom Siva who, to
her consternation, was unduly late in coming! Often a temple is
built on the site of a particularly sacred or auspicious event. Such
is the temple of Rameswaram on the south-east coast of India, where
Rama is supposed to have set foot on his triumphant return from

114 Parvati Thampi
Lanka after the defeat of Ravana, known as Thosakan in Thailand.
Or the temple of Tbiruvannamalai on the hill of which Siva once
appeared in the form of a great tongue of fire. Frequently a temple
was erected by a ruler in gratitude for some favour granted. The
splendid Rajarajeswara temple in Tanjore was built by King Rajaraja
of the Chola dynasty in the lOth century in commemoration of
his victories over the Chalukyas, Pandyas and the kings of Ceylon.
Such also is the Siva Nateswara temple in Chidambaram built by
the leper-king Svetavarna (the 'white one') on being cured of his
leprosy. In some cases the clue to the origin of a temple is found
in the records kept in the temples themselves. But when it is written-as
it is in the Sri Paclmanabha or reclining Vishnu temple in
Trivanclrum-that the temple was founded" on the ninety-fifth day
of Kali yuga" (or the final era in the Hindu conception of time
without known beginning or end) then we are non-plussed. One
can only presume in such cases that a certain 'vigraha' or devine
image w·as discovered, that it possessed, acquired, or was invested
with a profound sanctity, that a shrine was built over it and that
this shrine mushroomed into a great temple according to the reputation
of this image, the faith of its devotees and the power of its
patrons.
For undoubtedly the temples of South India, as of much of
Indian art, were blessed with royal patronage. Among the earliest
of these royal patrons were the Pallavas-600-750 a.d. who held sway
over the Eastern Decean while the Chalukyas ruled over Western
Decean. The best-known work of Pallava art is the seven pagodas
of Mammalapuram near Madras built by the rulers Mahendravarman
and Narasimhavarman. These are named after the five Pandavasthe
heroes of the Mahabharata-and are dedicated to different deities.
Though this art is similar to the more northern art of Sanchi and
Amaravati still one sees here the beginnings of the gopuram-or
elaborate doorways-and the decorative wall-friezes that were so vital
a part of later South India art. These features developed under the
Cbalukyas and the Cholas whose empire extended along the east
coast up to Burma, King Rajendra Chola defeating the Burmese
Kingdom of Pegu. Their art is still austere and stately as is seen

'i:EMPLES OF SOUTH INDIA
in the magnificent Rajarajeshwara temple in Tanjore and some of
the Kanchipuram monuments. The Pandyas in the 11th century
established their capital at Madura which soon became the centre
of south Indian architecture. However most of the Pandyan monuments,
like many of those of the pre-seventh century period, were
destroyed by Muslim invaders. Under the Vijayanagar kings-1500-
1650-temple art reached its height, especially under the illustrious
kings Krishnadevaraya and Achutaraya. While being increasingly
ornate it was at the same time elegant and courtly. The ornamentation
and ornateness reached its extreme under the Nayyak dynasty of
Madura, whose presiding deity was Siva for Sivaism was gaining in
the South whereas that of the Vijayanagar kings had been Vishnu.
The most striking example of Nayyak art is the Meenakshi temple
in Madura built by Tirumala Nayyak who held sway over all South
India in the seventeenth century, and was the last of the great
Hindu kings. This massive temple with its nine towering gopurams,
its immense pillared mandapams or halls and pavilions, its corridor
within corridor (one of which is entirely lined with Siva Lingams
from the most sacred sites of the country) and its elaborate and intricate
carving is truly an amazing piece of architecture. The
sculpture here is profuse and varied, ranging from mediocre to
superb. There is one exquisite piece of work depicting Vishnu
giving Uma or Parvathi in marriage to Siva. The tender gravity on
the face of the bridegroon, the benign expression of Vishnu and the
tremulous rapture on Uma's face, half-tearful, half-smiling, all this
is unforgettably and immortally conveyed in this piece of sculpture.
The Hoysalas, who ruled from the 12th to the 13th century
in what is now Mysore State, also made a distinctive contribution
to the architecture of South India. Though simple in construction,
as compared to the later southern temples, the Hoysala temples are
extremely rich in decoration and full of charming ingenuity. A
marked feature of many of these temples is their star pattern. Noted
among them are the temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathpur,
most of which are dedicated to Krishna. In the temple of Chenna
Kesava in Belur is an intricately carved pillar that can. revolve on its
axis. An enormous Ganesha, the Elephant God, in the temple at
il5

116 Parva ti 1'hampi
Halebid and the colossal 60-feet high Gomateswara statue in Sravm1a
Belgola are other outstanding examples of Hoysala genius.
The basic structure of a South-Indian temple is simple. There
is an outer rectangular walled-in enclosure with the entrance in the
east. Most temples have two gopuras or gateways-one in the east,
one in the south-but they may have more. The gopura must be at
least twice as high as it is broad while the northern gopura in the
Meenakshi temple is eleven storeys high. There is usually another
inner enclosure which houses the main shrine and which devotees
encircle three or more times, the number being uneven. At the
entrance to this is the Balipidha or stone altar for offerings. And
behind this is the Dwajasthambha or flag-pole. Each temple or
group of temples has its own flag which is only used on special accasions.
The Dwajasthambha is llenerally plated in brass, copper
or gold and is a landmark for devout pilgrims. Beyond this flagpole
is a Garuda or Hanuman if it is a temple to Vishnu and a Nandi, or
recumbent bull, the vehicle of Siva, if it is a Siva temple. (The fine
Hanuman image in a temple at Bangalore is supposed to shed actual
tears on the birthday of the lord Rama, just as on the' figure of Christ
in a certain Church the palms and feet are supposed to bleed on a
particular day. One of the most noted of the Nandi bulls is the one
in the Lepakshi. temple in Andhra which is carved with infinite care
out of one solid rock and is 15 feet high and 27 feet long.) The
walls of the inner enclosure are often fitted with myriads of lamps,
all of which are only lighted at festivals. The Sri Padmanabha
temple in Trivandrum has one hundred thousand of these lamps,
all of which are lighted together only once in six years in a .ceremony
known as "laksha deepam". The outer and inner enclosures
contain the offices, store-rooms and record rooms of the temples, as
well as rooms for the preparation of the various 'poojas' or ceremonies
and the temple kitchens or Madapalli where vast quantities
of food are prepared daily, offered in token to the deity and then
distributed to the temple employees and the poor. Along these
courtyards too the temple-elephants, decked out in all splendour
and bearing vigrahas, parade on special occasions~

TEMPLES OF SOUTH INDIA 117
The inner enclosure houses the shrine itself and is distinguished
for the carvings on its walls, ceiling, doorways, columns and cornices,
for the intricate workmanship on its rnandapams and for its
exquisitely slender pillars that are a hallmark of southern temples.
Whole legends are often carved into or painted on the walls. The
carvings range the whole gamut of Hindu lore-gods and goddesses,
men and monkeys, birds and serpents, dwarfs and demons. Dwarapalakas
or door-guardians, Bhaktas in attitudes of devotion or offering,
Gandharvas and other celestial beings all are portrayed. Generally
the carvings depiet stories from the ancient epics: often they
depict the ten incarnations of Vishnu; sometimes they are life-size
sculptures of patron-kings and their spouses; occasionally they are
dynamic likenesses of dancers and musicians-the various mudras
or hand-gestures of the art of Bharat Natyam or the various Yoga
asanas or postures are also shown. All the ingenuity and skilful
cunning of the artists is given full play in these temples. For instance
there is a cluster of seven pillars in the temple at Suchindram-a
sort of masculine counterpart of the Kanya Kumari templeeach
one of which on being struck sounds the seven separate notes
of the Indian musical scale. Or again, in all the vast edifice of the
Madnra Meenakshi temple, there is only one spot, a foot square,
from where the two domes of the two sanctnm sanctorums are simultaneously
visible. The amazing feature is that the scnlptor or sculptors
remain, as is often the case, completely unknown, completely
annonymmts. Apart from these carvings there are also inscriptions
on the pillars, either containing passages from the Vedas or Upanishads,
or narrating the origin and history of the temple or naming
the kings and ministers who patronized the temple and the endowments
they made to it. Some of these inscriptions are in the
Brahmi script dating back to the time of Asoka.
The Mandapams are balls or pavilions for worshippers and
there may be one or more depending on the size and strncture of
each temple. The main mandapam is situated opposite the main
shrine. Tha massive mandapam in front of the reclining Vishnu,
eyt:retc:;hini acro::;s thrE!e roo!TI$ of tl;Je Trivapdn,tm temple, is J;lll,'lde qf

118 Parvati Thampi
one solid piece of granite.
also boasts of a thousand-column mandapam.
This temple, like the one in Srirangam,
To the south of the inner enclosure there is invariably a
shrine to Ganesha, the Elephant-God who overcomes all obstacles.
(The Meenakshi temple contains 108 Ganeshas ). To the north is
usually a shrine to Subramanian the valiant son of Siva-Parvathi or
to one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Opposite this is a shrine to
Parvathi, or in a Vishnu temple, to Lakshmi his consort, the Goddess
of Fortune. There is a! ways a Siva lingam and in a Siva temple
there is also a Nateswara, the Lord of dance, or Siva in human
form.
In the centre generally facing the East is the main or presiding
deity in a quadrangular shrine. This is the 'Garbhagraha',
the holy of holies, and it is always lamp-lit. In a Siva temple the
Siva lingam, a monolithic conical 'stone, is the object of worship.
But in other temples, especially in Tamilnad, the presiding deity
is generally shown in all his, or her, grandeur, with all the attributes
and accessories popular associated with him. However, as in some
Buddhist sculpture merely the foot print of the Buddha or the wheel
of Dhrama is worshipped, so also in some shrines just one simple
and typical aspect of the deity is depicted. In some temples to
Parvathi, (known also as Meenakshi, Devi, Kali, Durga or Chamunda
as in Mysore where she is the patron goddess), such as the
very potent Devi temple of Chotanikara in Cochin, the goddess is
shown in both her predominant aspects-the benign and the terrible.
Most images are made of stone, some of bronze or an alloy of
metals able to with-stand the ablutions of centuries; some, especially
in Tamil areas, are made of a very fine variety of gold known as
'aparanji' and some of a black, indestructible substance the exact
composition of which is not known now. The image is generally
covered in silks and precious ornaments, donated by worshippers.
There is a legend that the diamond nose-ring on the radiant image
in the shore temple at Kanya Kumari so dazzled the crew of a passing
ship that it c~l .U!ed. the shiJ,J to be shl;l.ttel,'ed a~ainf!t ~he rocks~

Shri Chaumundi Temple Gopuram, Mysore.

The Chaumundi Bull, Mysore. This magnificently carved monolith is of black granite and is situated on the
Cbaumundi Hill, Mrsore, on the war up to the temple of Chaumundi.

TEMPLES OF SOUTH INDIA 119
Consequently the eastern gateway of the temple facing the ocean is
never opened except on one day in the year when the image is taken
for immersion in the sea. Actually the main image is made fixed
and immovable by an architectural process known as 'ashtabandham'
(or eight-fold binding), and is known as the 'modava' or stationary
image. A replica of, or substitute for it known as the 'utsava' image
is the one that is taken around on ceremonies and processions.
These replicas or substitutary images show some of the finest craftmanship
in India. Made of bronze or an alloy of copper, brass,
white lead, gold and silver these statues of Lakshmi, Parvathi, or
Nataraj among others are exquisitely wrought. The long nose-ridge,
slime hips and very slender limbs of the female figures are in marked
contrast to their nothern counterparts. Unlike the enshrined
'modava' deity these images are displayed in the corridors and passages
of the temple for all to see and admire.
The main structural material of a South Indian temple is
layer upon layer of great, concrete slabs resting on monolithic
columns and definitely suggesting a pre-Aryan influence. However
the earliest dated monument of this kind in South India is the small
lovely Malagette Sivalaya temple at Badami, dating 625 a.d.
Most of the South Indian temples have their own temple tanks,
some of which are as famous as the temple itself. The holy Siva
Ganga tank in a Tanjore temple, the temple tank in Chidambaram
by bathing in which the leper-king Svetavarra was cured and the
tank in Madura which is supposed to contain the seed of Siva and
cleanse one of all sins-these are some of the better known ones. A
banyan tree is also very often a feature of a temple compound, probably
because of its vast, many-rooted and sheltering nature. In
the Chotanikkara temple the trunk of such a tree is crowded with
iron-nail-heads which are struck into the tree by sick or sorrowing
pilgrims with their foreheads or the bare palms of their hands, such
being the intensity of their faith. Some temples have their own
rest-houses or 'sathrams' too, which probably take the place of
cavews fqr sa~es and ~il~rims found :r~ear t~e 11,10fl;) anqi~nt t()m~le~,

120 Parvati Thampi
There is one such cavern beside the temple of Alagarkovil near
Madura where the great Jaini scholar and teacher Ajjanandi spent
many years in prayer and meditation.
No two southern temples are exactly alike. They vary
according to the whims and abilities of their builders and the supposed
nature and attitudes of the deities they enshrine. The
descriptions, symbols and legends concerning the various deities are
diffuse, varied and often interchangeable, for ultimately it must be
borne in mind that they are hut manifestations or facets of the one
Supreme Being, the Eternal Spirit. The temples vary too in the
requirements of cleanliness and the rules of orthodoxy. In the
Krishna temple of Guruvayoor-that Mecca of Kerala's Hindus-such
are the strictures on physical cleanliness that any impurity within
the temple walls-be it even the urine of an infant-sets in motion
a vast purification process. They vary also in size from the stupendous
structures at Tanjore and Madura to the little kovils dotting
the south Indian countryside which consist of one tiny unadorned
shrine and are maintained by one family or one community. They
vary in structure from the more square, sprawling temples of Kerala
to the soaring, many-tiered edifices of Madras State with their many
pillars and immense corridors. In fact the longest corridor in the
world is the corridor in the Rama temple of Rameswaram. Finally
they vary according to the wealth and tastes of their donors and
patrons, who were usually of royal blood.
Each temple or group of temples had its own patrons who
maintained or renovated the temple, contributed generously to ihe
temple coffers, regulated its functions or appointed its functionaries
and in general enhanced its reputation. Under their auspices the
temple was the centre of cultural life where the arts of music, astrology,
astronomy, sculpture and dance flourished. The classical form
of dancing, known as Bharat Natyam, originated in these temples,
and music is an essential feature of these temples even today. Some
temples like the great Supramanya temple in Palani have the best
Qrcrel'!tras ~n Soutt1 India, while tpe p:~o:?t farpo1,1s composers wer~

inspired by religious themes.
TE~lPLES OJ? SOUTH INDIA i2t
The great Thyagaraja composed
hundreds of lovely Telugu songs mainly in praise of Rama; the Tamil
composer Dikshitar sang movingly of Subramanyan and the Malayalee
ruler Swathi Thirunal composed chiefly in praise of Padmanabha
or Vishnu, the patron God of Travancore. Even the
Trimurthi or Holy Trinity of Hinduism are each associated with a
particular musical instrument: the Veena, an ancient seven-stringed
musical instrument, is associated with Brahma, the Creator, through
his consort Saraswathi; the flute is always associated with Krishna,
an incarnation of Vishnu the Preserver, and the Damura with Siva
the Destroyer. Apart from being the hub of artistic and cultural
life the temple premises were the scene of lengthy and profound
philosphic discussions, attracting intellectuals from distant parts of
the country. Indeed the life of a village or a town centred in and
around the temple. Here, in its courtyards, merchants displayed
their wares, and still do, sadhus meditated, beggars begged, teachers
taught, soldiers were recruited and kings, diplomats and generals
held political and military parleys.
For, especially since the opening of the temples to all Hindus
regardless of caste, the south Indian temple is the very centre of
the average Hindu family's existence-the solace of the bereaved,
the haven of the lonely, the recreation of the bored. Its functions
and festivals are the milestones of their year; its music and bells
chiming over the neighbourhood at precise intervals are the landmarks
of their day. Yet-for Hinduism is a tolerant religion-there
is no air of compulsion or dogmatism about temple-going. One need
not go to a temple every Sunday or every Friday or indeed on any
other day. One need never even go at all and can still remain, and
be accepted as, a perfectly good Hindu. Ultimately and above all,
these temples are but the receptacles, the expression, of a profound
faith that is as overwhelming as it is ageless.

(SA TUN)
I

Introduction:
''THE NEGRITO OF PENINSULAR THAILAND"
by
c!John g..c, rRranclt
Public Health Division
U.S. Opera.tions Mission to Thailand
Where the Tenassadm Cordillera passes the Isthmus of Kra
and extends through the Kau Ban Tat Mountain range towards the
Thai-Malay frontier, dwell small bands of primitive nomadic pygmoid
negroes representing without doubt the last surviving groups of the
indigenous population of this area. That they once enjoyed a far
greater and wider distribution seems well recorded in early writings.
However, such contributions must be considered with some reservation
since descriptive terminology of these people, as we shall shortly
see, has been rather confusing and some such records have tended
to mislead, rather than clarify the situation for subsequent investigators.
The Chinese pilgrim, I-Tsing, when returning to China from
India, recorded the people of Pula Condore as negritos and stated
that many negrito slaves existed in South China at the end of the
VIIth century A.D. Ancient Chinese chronicles also record the
people of Fu-Naro (Cambodia) as negritos.
A skull found in Minh-Cam Cave, Annam, has been identified
as negri to and M. Abadie in 1924 wrote that the Ho- Nhi of Tong
King have negrito hair, skin color, etc.
Dr. Jean Brengues chaims about 20% of the Chong of Porr
people of Trat and Chantaburi Provinces, on the Cambodian border,
show curly negritoid type hair. The Chongs seem similar to the
groups called Kui and Samrae in Cambodia and there is specnlation
that aboriginal negrito groups have been absorbed by other primitives
who now display many of their physical cbaracteri:stics.

l24
John H. Brandt
Through persecution, enforced assimilation and warfare, the
pygmies have been driven to the most inaccessable mountainous
jungle regions of the peninsula. Annandale in 1902 called the Hami
Negrito of Pattani Province a subject race of the Malays and
Siamese and it was indeed only very recently that the aborigines
attained any protective status at all. Negri to bands ceased to exist in
the Malayan border state of Perlis, adjoining Sa tun Province, before
the turn of the century and the Paya Semang (Low Country Negrito)
formerly of South Kedah and the upper Krian River had also
become extinct. In 1878 the Straits Branch Journal reported negrito
slaves in the keep of Rajah Muda of Singorra (Songkhla). Negritos
were shot, enslaved, exploited and delegated a sub-human status in
most jungle areas.
Whether the negrito was a! ways the shy retmng jungle
dweller he is today or whether circumstances have altered his psychology
is interesting from the standpoint of some old records. A
book entitled "The Adventures of John Smith in Malaya: 1600-1605"
described the escapades of an employee of the Dutch East India
Company who acted as an advisor to the Malayan Queen of Pattani.
He reportedly conducted campaigns against the Malays of Perak and
employed within his military corps, Semang (Negri to) bowmen.
That the Negrito of that day possessed powerful bows and metal
tipped poisoned arrows is an established fact but their use as professional
fighters seem in strange contrast to their present non-aggressive
character. Other historical literature refers to Negritos armed
with bows that appeared :in Siamese legions marching against Malaya
in the 1700's, yet warfare is a strange concept to the Negrito of
recent years.
One Negri to woman of the Pattalung-Trung Negri to band
related to the explorer I.H.N. Evans that the Negri to had originated
in Langkawa (The old name for Ceylon) when it was burned and
that their curly hair was due to singeing by :fire bringing to mind
tales of the Ramayana. Other Tonga believe they originated from
the Apes called Bawaij and Teiok. In the Ramayana, it may be
recalled, when Sita, the wife of Rama, was kidnapped by Ravan(l

'i'HE NEUHi'l'O OF PENINSULAH 'I'HAlLANn 1

126 john I-I. Brandt
It appears that in both areas large size Negroid people have
developed dwarfed versions of themselves which breed true to type.
The theory, alternate to that which would identify the Negrito as an
archaic remnant type, is that his nomadic life in an unfavorable
environment bas been brought about by natural biological selection
producing in the course of time a pygmoid type of being.
Dr. Ashley Montagu extends the area of the "Semang" into
East Sumatra and "negrito typei:l" have been reported among primitives
of Borneo, but what degree of relationship exists with the
known Negrito of the Malay Peninsula, the Aetas and Anclaman
Islanders is still largely unknown. The entire question of the origin
of pygmies and their relationship to the normal sized humans is still
open to speculation and further study.
Much of what is known of the Negri to must be credited to the
early explorers of the area primarily the two Austrians, Father Paul
Schebesta who spent the year 1924-1925 traversing the Malayan-Thai
jungles in quest of material for his numerous publications on the
Negrito and to Dr. Prof. Hugo Bernatzik who visited the Pattalung­
Trang bands in 1924. Mr. I.H.N. Evans has prepared the most
extensive and valuable compilations of known data on the Negrito in
his major publication of 1937, as well as earlier works, and did much
to correct erroneous reports by early visitors. Mssrs. Skeat and
Blagden did much early research for Cambridge in 1899 published in
their two volumes, "The Pagan Races of the Malay Pennisula ''. To
De Morgan and De ]a Croix in 1380 and especially Nelson Annandale
and Herbert C. Robinson who conducted an expedition into the
Malay States (Siam) in 1901-1902 for the University of Edinburgh
and University College, London, we can thank what is known of the
early Negrito cultures of the Ulu Pattani of South Thailand. Dr.
Rudolph Martin of the University of Zurich contributed much to
know physical anthropology of the aboriginal people of the area.
Although much controversy over the authenticity of the works of
Vaughan-Stevens of the Rudolf Virchow Stiftung of Berlin exists,
he must nevertheless also be credited with many valuable observations
on the peninsula during his expeditions of the 1890's.

THE NEGHITO OF PENINSULAR THAILAND 127
His late Siamese Majesty King Chulalongkorn took great
interest in his aboriginal subjects and visited the Negrito of Pattalung-Trang
in 1907. He took a Negrito youth from Nawong,
named Kanang, with him to Bangkok The King published an
illustrated book entitled ''Bot Lakara Rueng Ngoh Paa" dealing
with the Negrito and through his observations contributed much to
the early knowledge of these people.
Since the war some limited interest has centered about
the Negrito, particularly the Malayan bands, largely as a result
of the Malayan Communist Emergency. Most anthropologists have
experienced dif-ficulty not only in locating these nomadic bands but
once located found that these lllusive little people would disappear
again before work could begin, necessitating another laborious
search. The Negrito is shy and retiring and bands are composed
of small numbers of individuals. His fear of persecution and
exploitation have caused him to wish as little contact with
outsiders as possible and have led him to withdraw to virtually
inaccessable areas. Evans noted that the Nawong ( Pattalung)
Negrito were unfriendly but that the Chong (Trang) Negrito were
more receptive while Bernatzik wrote that the Negrito flee when
a photographer appears. Such experiences continne to plague
researchers till this day.
Finally it must be pointed out that much contradictory
printed material exists on the Negrito. Equally well orientated
and trained field workers have presented conflicting information
in the past. Some of this can be attributed to the confusing terminology
used in identification of the various bands which, while
uniformly Negrito, may have quite different cultural characteristics.
Early explorers also seem to have had difficulty in differentiating at
times the Negri to from the Senoi (Sakai) or other aboriginal
Malays.
This manuscript will to some extent unfortunately perpetuate
some of the confusion since to do precise justice to the culture of
each group, several separate papers or separate chapters would have
to be devoted to the characteristics of each band. In South Thailand

johil H. Elt'andt
there appears to be three distinct bands with perhaps border mighi.­
tions into Thailand of two more groups at times. Each group
presents distinct differences i.e. subcultures with a culture, yet are
reasonably uniform in an overall sense. The following will then
deal with all the groups as a composite with individual distinctions
pointed out where such variances exist.
Reports of the various ethnographers who have visited the
Negrito are herewith incorporated along with my own observations
made during 1960-1961. Informants for additional data included
Chief Mamoo of the Naratiwat Band, Chief Dam of the Ampur
Padangstar, Yala Band and Klom and Kai of the Pattalung Negrito
who resided for three months with Dr. Don Leuschel of Songkhla
undergoing linguistic studies and Gamnan Sawing of Tambon
Makree, Kau Chaison, Pattalung.
Identification, Distribution and Population :
In order to properly identify the subject it will be necessary
to examine the confusing terminology enveloping the names of the
various bands and indeed the entire group itself. Several different
names are in common usage for the entire Negrito population as a
whole as well as different band names, with numerous divergent
spellings, for one and the same group.
The Negrito is commonly called "Sakai" in South Thailand
after the name originally given the Malayan aborigines now generally
identified as Senoi. That the Senoi are of different ethnic stock is
quite evident to even a casual observer but early explorers seem to
have bestowed the name "Sakai" on all aboriginal forest dwellers.
Some peripheral Senoi groups who have interbred extensively, in
some cases, with Negritos such as the Lanoh, do add an element of
justified confusion.
The term "Sakai'' was thought by Grunwedel to be derived
from Sanskrit and Skeat believes it to be a subservient term used
by Malays to mean "follower, retainer or dependent". The term is
somewhat derogatory and the Naratiwat Negrito objected to being
called "Sakai", Yet Chief Dam of the Yala band claimed Sakai
was the only name by which they knew themselves.

THE NEGRITO OF PENlNSULAl\ THAILAND 129
The Negrito in actuality calls himself Moni, Monik, Menik,
or some similar derivation of this word, which means "The People"
after the pattern of most primitives. The Thai, in addition, have
bestowed upon him the unglamoroLts title of Ngoh or Ngoh Paa.
The "Ngoh" is the Thai word for the fruit "Rambutan'', which has
curly spines on it's surface reminiscent of the Negrito's wooly hair.
The Negrito who understands Thai is usually embarrassed by this
term and prefers to call himself "Khon Paa", the forest people.
The Negritos were formerly divided into two major subdivisions
called "Pangan and Semang". The first term meaning wild,
omnivorous, uncircumcized, was used to designate the Eastern
bands of the Peninsula. The more widely used term "Semang",
for the Western Negrito, still currently in use as an all inclusive
term for the Negri to, is of more obscure origin. In Lanoh (Sabub'n),
the word "sema'' means man, while the Semai-Senoi call the Temiar
( Temer-Senoi ), "Sema", with a nasal "a". Either term could have
been corrupted by Malayan into the present "Semang''.
With this confusion surrounding terminology for the entire
group I feel it safe to call the pygmoid Negro; "Negri to", in order to
strip him of the multitudinous derogatory and misleading names
with which he has been b1.1rdened, with further breakdown into
band names, if known, or into the geographic location in which the
band is found.
The Negrito can be divided into seven principal bands
although various break-downs exist with several names in many
cases for each group. Names were often bestowed upon bands in
the past conforming with the name of a nearby stream or mountain.
These bands may now reside in a completely different locality
creating considerable confusion.
l. The Negri to of Pattalung-Trang, Thailand, called Tonga,
Mos and Chong Negrito, which inhabit the Kau Ban Tat Range
dividing Trang and Pattalung Provinces.
2. The Jahai, also called Mengo, Tiong, Mawas and Belubn,
which range the headwaters of the Perak River in Northern Perak

130 John H. Brandt
and Kelantan, Malaya, and along the Bala River, a tributary of the
Pergau. Tbey extend over tbe border in a few small groups into
Nar~tiwat Province, Thailand and perhaps south Yala Province.
3. The Kensiu, also called Kenseu, Kensieu, of Northeast
Kedah, Malaya, which overlap into Yala Province, Thailand.
4. The Kintak, or Kenta (including Kenta-Bogn) of the
Kedah-Perak border area in North Malaya. This band abo overlaps
into tbe Betong, Yala Province of South Thailand.
5. The Menri, also called Menriq or Menrik, of Kelantan,
along the Lebir River and in Serao region of N. Pahang. This
group also inhabits border areas and could conceivably penetrate
into Tbailand a! though this is not confirmed.
6. The Batok, also called Batek, Bateq, Kleb Temo and Nogn,
lives at the headwaters of the Chiku-Krau and in the border area of
Kelantan and Pahang.
7. Lanoh or Sabub'n. This mixed group of Negrito nncl
Temlar-Senoi live on the Perak River and some of its tributaries
toward the Piah River in Northern Perak.
Earlier reports identified a quite distinct cultural group called
the Hami Negrito of the Ulu Pattani in what is presently Yala
Province but this group seems to now be extinct and has not been
recorded since before the turn of the century. The Negrito called,
"Paya'', of the west coast of Malaya also seem now to be extinct.
The Pattalung-Trang Negri to, whom I will arbitrarily call
Tonga, range through dense jungle of the Kau Ban Tat Range.
Within recent years the main body seem to have lived on the Trang
side though Pattalung is now the primary centre of residence.
Early visitors found them living at Nawong and in the vicinity of
the Ga-Chong falls near the Pattalung-Trang road. They were at
that time living at Kuan Mai Dam, Kau Rawn and Kau Mam Tow,
in what was then Yong Star District. Early reports also placed
them in Krabi and Surathani but this seems in error and no
confirmation of their having extended into these areas within
historic times exists.

1:ii
Warrington Smyth reported 400 Negritos living near Chaiya
in Surathani and others placed them near Tung Song in Naiwrt!
Srithamarat but: these also remained unconfirmed with no Imowri
Negritos in either area at present. One Neg:i'itb at the tiriie claimeci
to have been to Nakorn Srithamarat to see the Wat Phra Sri
Mahatat. Skeats reported Negritos near the inland sea of Songkh1a
on the basis of abandoned Negri to wind screens he saw. Although
no Negritos live near the sea now, within recent years Ncgritos,
usually men, came to Rattapoom Distirict, Songkhla, to barter.
Extensive jungle extends north to Pattalung and south into Satun
through which the bands could have wandered. Hempelabn, a
Negrito informant, claimed that within his grandparents time,
Tonga Negritos from Pattalung wandered into Kedah State, Malaya,
to rendezvons with Negrito there.
The principal band of Tonga Negrito now reside in Kan
Chaison District, Pattalung. One semi-sedentary group under
Chiefs Sang and Wai-Dam with 5 men, 5 women and 4 children, is
settled several kilometers from the village of Lujangla, Tam bon
Tamot, Kau Chaison District, Paltalung. Another band of some
20 individuals moves about on the east slope of the Kau Ban Tat.
The band occassionally enters Thai villages on the edge ot the
jungle to trade honey, rattan and animal skins. A Negrito informant
from Trang, now completely acculturated, claimed he came
from the vicinity of a village called Lam Tu which was two days
walk from the Ga-Chong Falls. Negritos lived at Ga-Chong until
about 10 years ago and worked on the development of the track into
the falls but moved away because of increased acccssability of the
vicinity and consequently more visitors.
South of the main Tonga bands near the village of Ban Doan,
Tambon Tung Nui, Hve the last surviving Negritos in Sa tun Province.
The group had thirteen individuals within the last ten years but is
now reduced to one family group consisting of a man and his wife
and child. They quite regularly enter the village for barter or to
beg for food. The villagers claimed not to know where the Negrito
lived but they ranged in the Dong-Chiiok Chang forest between

John H. Brandt
Satun and Songkhla. They often camped in a cave near Tung Nu1
and are quite wary and shy of strangers. The few items of material
culture which I obtained from them indicate a close relationship
with the Tonga. Although little is known of the now extinct Perlis
Negrito, the possible past relationship with this once adjacent group
mnst also be considered.
In 1930 the total population estimate for the Tonga was 100
individuals. There has been some inter-marriage with Thais but
the group still is probably well under the quoted figure.
The Tonga wears clothing, ragged though it may be, usually
begged from Thais and Evans who studied them, while headquartered
in Lampan, reported over 30 years ago that even then the
Tonga were more addicted 10 clothing than the Negrito of Perak.
During his visit, Ai-Kleng was the Chief but was domineered by a
woman called Ai-Kom. He obtained from them blowpipes, quivers,
monkey bone necklaces, poison tubes, jews harps, pandanus baskets,
and fire making equipment. Most of the same material goods are
still manufactured to-day although matches have largely replaced
the fire-making tools.
Most of the men speak southern dialect Thai and have
adopted the characteristic" Wai '• greeting of the Thai. In addition
to Trang, some adventurous individuals of this group have lived and
workeddn Haadyai and even Bukhet where they constituted quite a
curosity.
To the southwest, following the Malayan border, the next most
significant groups in Thailand are the bands living within the Districts
of Padangstar and Betong in Yala Province. One band visited in 1960,
camped near the village of Tamtaln, Padangstar, had 10 men, 6
women and 6 children. Chief Dam and a Thai speaking Negrito
informant, Ai-luk, said the total band bad 63 people. The entire
group had lived in the vicinity of the Tan-to Falls but had, for expediency,
broken into two bands. The group is rapidly becoming
sedentary as is the other band located near Kilo 30, Betong District.
There did not seem to be extensive contact between the bands. The

THE NEGRITO 0!•' )'gNINSULAR THAILAND 133
Yala group ap11ear to be Kensiu and make the classical Kensiu hair
combs. It is also likely that Kintak Negrito wander into Beton
from adjoining Kedah.
g
In 1901-1902 Annandale and Robinson reported a group called
Hami or Suku living near what he called Marbek, in jalor ( Yala)
and near Ban Kassot consisting of 4 men and a woman. They said
their band consisted of 20 people and differed from the "Moni" i.e.
other Negri to, of Rahman District. Mikluchlo-Maclay had reported
them in the late 1800's and the Rajah of Yala reported them "common"
near Biserat. They reportedly collected jungle goods for the
Malays and Hami graves were reported in Tanjong Luar. More
men than women were reported in the group which significantly has
been obvious among other Negrito groups I have visited.
Further west some bands of what appear to be Jahai Negrito
have established themselves on the Thai side of the border in Naratiwat
Province. A settlement of 23 Negritos under Chief Mamoo
live on the upper Bongaw River at the base of Angae Mountain in
Rangae District, Narutiwat. The band formerly ranged into I

134 John H. Brandt
at over 3,000 with considerable confusion as to the status of intermixed
peripheral groups. The difficulty of a head count in the deep
jungle areas inhabited by the Ncgrito would make an accurate
sut'vey extremely difficult.
Physical Characteristies:
The peninsular Negrito possess typieally Negrotoid characteristics
and is a classical pygmoicl. He falls well within the pygmy
height range of 150 ems and averages about 1,496 mm for males and
1,408 for females. Twenty males measured near Grik, Malaya,
avetaged 1,528 mm. and two females were 1,427 mm. and 1,458 mm.
The Tonga reportedly averages slightly smaller than the Malay
Negrito. Annandale and Robinson report measurements o-f 1,529
mm., 1,511 mm. and 1,482 mm. for three male Hami Negri to measured
in the Ulu Pattani and 1,476 mm. for one woman of the same group.
This compares with a recmded average of 1,492 mm. for the male
Andaman Island Negrito, 1,460 mm. for the Philippine Acta and
1,452 mm. for the African Bambuti Pygmy. Some individual Negrit:os
may appear quite tall but question of pure racial stock always
exists and the groups as a whole -falls well within the above limits.
The hair of the Negrito is Ulotrichi, or wooly, compared to
the Cymotrichi, wavy .. haired Senoi. Some individuals have hair
curled in a mop while in others it forms irregular spirals. The late
P.D.R. Williams-Hunt however claimed of 100 hair samples taken
in August-September 1951 only three formed what he considered a
true curl which completely spiraled upon itselt. The Negrito nevertheless
does present a wooly headed appearance characteritically
negro. The hair is a rather lusterless black and in some groups
is shaved off entirely or with a very small shock left at the front.
Females often have fairly long hair presenting a frizzling shaggy
appearanc~. There is very little body hair although some males
have a slight mustache and some hair on their legs.
The skin color is dark chocolate in adults but never glossy
black as among some negro groups. Children are lighter and get
progressively darker. Various types of dermatomycosis seem qnite

THE NEGI\ITO OF PEN!NSUijAil THAILAND 135
common. The typical Negrito is brachycephalic and many have a
protruding forehead. Supercilliary ridges are not usually heavy.
There is a slight prognathism in some individuals.
The face is flat and round with deep set eyes and a broad
deeply saddled nose. There is no epicanthic fold. The restless
nature of the Negrito's eyes has been apparent to many observers
and has been likened to a "wild animal look". The ears are small
and the chin is often weak in structure. The legs are often rather
short in proportion to the torso and there is frequently a wide
Reparation between the hallux and second toe. The Negrito walks
with a peculiar motion, lifting the feet high off the ground as if
stepping over invisible obstacles. This is perhaps characteristic of
jungle walking where a shuffling gate would be a decided handicap.
Language:
The Negrito present an interesting subject for further study
from a linguistic standpoint insofar as they seem to speak an adoptey
language. Both Negrito and Senoi speak a Mon-Annamese or
Man-Khmer language which was widely spoken throughout Southeast
Asia by both highly advanced cultures as well as numerous
primitive tribal groups before invasion of the area by northern
ethnic groups, such as the Thai and Burmese, speaking a different
language. Why the Negrito, which are ethnically unrelated to
people which would be expected to speak a Man-Khmer language,
do so, is not fully understood. There is still considerable question
as to which racial group Mon-Khmer languages belong since it is
spoken by Mongoloids but also some wild tribes of Non-Mongoloid
ong111. That it is not the original native language of the Negrito
seems quite certain. The Negrito use monosyllabic root words and
a method of composition of prefixes as in Man-Khmer. The Negrito
language has many words which will however never be traced to a
Mon-Khmer or a Malayan origin and appear to be the remnants of
the original language. Many such characteristic words have a
peculiar Bn, Dn or Gn ending. The language spoken by the Negri to
has a very explosive quality about it and normal conversation of a

136 .l ohn H. Brandt
very pleasant nature sounds as if the speakers would come to blows
at any moment. In this way it is very reminiscent of some of the
tribal languages of the Central New Guinea Highlands.
The language of the Negri to is in many respects quite similar
to the Senoi languages of Malaya and in phonology, syntax, structure
and much vocabulary duplicates one another. Whether the Negrito
copied the language o-f the Senoi or of an earlier Mon-Khmer
speaking invading group remains to be uncovered.
The Negrito language has remained quite uniform throughout
the area largely because of the nomadic nature of it's speakers.
Through constant, though perhaps infrequent, contact by wandering
bands the language was never allowed to become rigid and
remains mutually intelligible to most of the speakers even though
widely separated.
Even the Tonga Negrito of Pattalung-Trang, though long
cut off from the main Negri to groups in Malaya, speak a language
not dissimilar to the others. Strangely however, among the Tonga
many Malayan loan words have crept into the language. This would
well be expected among the Malayan Negrito but the Tonga have
been long separated from Malayan speakers. The Malayan
speaking population of Trang and Pattalung are mainly fishing
peoples of the coastal area and not the jungle now inhabited by the
Negrito. Whether the Negrito were originally lowland dwellers
as some early explorers indicated and had some contact with Malay
speaking people before the Thai invasion of the Peninsula remains
for speculation. Though it is generally believed that population
pressure indicated a push from north to south it seems interesting
to consider the possibility that the Tonga may have reversed the
arrangement and immigrated in times past -from south to north
accounting for the Malayan linguistic influence. A corallary can
be found in the south to north immigration of the Lawa in north
Thailand.
The Tonga use Malayan numerals to count to four, beyond
which point most Negrito either become confused or employ the
word "many". Strangely Malayan words for common nouns in

'hm NEGl\1'1'0 01" l'ENiNSllLAU THAILAND 137
language are also used as in the Negri to words for fish, buffalo, stone,
duck, elephant, banana, shirt etc. Thai words with some variation
have been adopted by the Tonga for items not native to their culture
i.e. door and bedroom, bathing sarong ( Packoma) which they call by
the Thai word for blanket and oddly also words of apparent Thai
origin for moustache, belly, toe, wrist and forefinger. Whether the
informants resorted to Thai words in a moment of desperation to
identify some object or item w bile having still other terms for such
body parts remains to be confirmed.
Malayan is the lingua franca of most border Negri to and only
few can speak a smattering of southern dialect Thai. Among the
Tonga, Thai is more widely spoken.
The language appears to be in a process of decay with more
and more frequent contact in recent years. The Negrito recognize
a unity in their languages and some, such as the Kenta-Bogn and
Kensiu, speak the same dialect and are cognizant of a common
ancestry though now separated.
The Negri to languages have been divided by Schebesta and
Blagden into a Menra and Meni classification depending on the
pronunciation and character of the dialects Meni is the northeastern
grouping and Menra that which is spoken in the center and southeast
of the Negrito distribution area.
Food, llunting, Growing, Gathering:
Though nomadic, the Negrito is more uniform in his wanderings
than is commonly assumed. His movements are not erratic and
he moves within a defined area. Some writers have indicated that
the Negrito moves his camps as often as every three days. It is
however more common that he will remain in an area till the availability
of food is depleted and then move, unless some factor such as
unwanted visitors, a tiger, a death or a natural phenomenon interpreted
as a rnagico-mystical matter, necessitates or justifies an earlier
move. He will, for example, camp in the vicinity of a Durian tree
till the fruit is gone.
The lean-to, windscreen, is thrown up by the women usually
with a raised bamboo sleeping or sitting platform and a cooking fire

iss
John H. Srandt
adjacent to it. These windscreen bush shelters may be arranged fri
a crude ellipsoidal circle and at times are arranged in a close parallel
row forming a tunnel-like arrangement with the upper edges almost
joining such as a long hnt withont a roof pole. Within this shelter
are bung the meager possessions of the owner such as blowpipes,
dart containers, baskets and cooking paraphenalia. Coconut shells
are used as bowls, rattan scrapers are made, a small wooden cudgel
nsed for a mortar may be present and the ever useful knife. Leaves
serve as plates and vegetables and rice are cooked in bambool:i. These
are stoppered and held at an angle over the fire to simmer. Meats
are skewered and roasted over open flame. Leaves also serve to
drink from pools and water is drunk directly from storage bamboos,
Small mammals are gutted and buried in ashes to be baked with the
skin still on. Prepared in this fashion they retain all the natural
juices and are quite palatable although a bit revolting in appearance
when first exhumed from the ashes. Food not eaten is saved till the
next day and mothers often save small amounts of food in the bamboos
so the children may have a cold snack the following morning.
There does not appear, among any of the bands in a natural state,
to be a real organized effort to perserve food. Meals are not segregated
and the families usually eat as a group.
The female members of the band gather edible roots, frni ts
etc, while men hunt birds and small mammals or fish.
In the not too distant past, when the Negrito used the long
bow and poisoned arrows to hunt big game, dogs were used extensively
as hunting aides. Now that the blowgun is usei! for hunting,
the dog has become a rather useless camp scavenger. Dogs and cats
are however not generally eaten.
The Negrito is not particular what he eats and a wide variety
of things are consumed. Turtles and frogs as well as mollnsks,
termites and various insect larvae are considered edible. Snakes
are however not generally eaten as among some adjacent primitive
groups. Most small mammals and birds are eaten and big animals
when available, although cnrrently few big animals appear to be
hunted.

·i'HE NEGHJ'l'O 0!·~ PENINSULAlt 1'HAII.ANIJ
Certain very special tabus about food do exist Depending
on the band, during pregnancy, some groups will avoid eating the
monitor lizard, gibbon, bamboo rats or Argus pheasant Some bands
believe chicken meat to be tabu after birth of a child. 'the Tonga
reportedly will not eat elephant, bear, wild pig, deer or rhino but
eat all species of monkey. In some bands children may not eflt
game killed with a bow or a gun. The Kintak do not eat elephartt
or bear because they believe they are reincarnated people. None
of the Negrito will eat tiger meat.
Negritos are grandually learning rudimentary farming from
the Senoi or the jungle villages of the Thai and Malay. Many bands
now clear a jungle area and plant a crop. Plantings in some cases
include corn, tapioca or rice. This "ladang '' is then used as a
center point for their wanderings to which the group returns from
time to time. Many Negrito also work occasionally for Thai and
Malayans during rice planting and harvesting and there learn the
fundamentals of crude fanning.
With the introduction of guns, hunting is becoming more
successful with the result of more rapid depletion of wildlife. The
mtmerous stories of Negrito killing elephant by driving poisoned
splinter into their foot soles or killing rhino embedded in mudholes
has been written off by qualified observers as Malayan fables. That
the Negrito formerly armed with the long bow and now with a gun
could bring down a Saladang or more likely a Sambar is entirely
possible.
Mate1·ial Cultm·e and Decorative A1·ts:
It may be said, generally speaking, that the Negrito never
developed to the stone age but remained solely within the" Bamboo
Age" with iron having been introduced to them at a later period.
His docorative arts are limited to incised designs on bamboo, basket
weaving and decoration of the few talismen that he makes. Among
some groups even the bamboo decoration of blowpipes, quivers,
combs etc. is missing with the aesthetic arts virtually non-existant.
It is implied, with good cause, that the Negrito himself invented

Uu
.John Ii. Bi'andt
none of these art styles but rather adopted them from the Senoi anci
then furthered them to suit his own tastes. The line ornamentation
is supposedly derived from the Semai-Senoi and the dot design from
the Ple-Senoi. That he is a poor craftsman is not to be indicated
since his bamboo art often outshines those of adjoining tribcf: who
perhaps first developed the technique.
The dwellings of the Negrito are uniform throughout the
area with a crude windscreen of bamboo and thatch hastily thrown
up. A slightly raised split bamboo platform suffice for a bed and
the shelters are abandoned without any feeling of attachment.
Because he is nomadic, the Negri to is also limited in the quantity
and nature of his material goods which must be small, light, durable
and few in number in order to be carried along on each trek The
Negrito at times makes use of caves as temporary dwelling areas.
King Chulalongkorn and Skeat both reported cave dwelling among
the Tonga. Although Skeat reported green leaves heaped upon n
sleeping platform, so located at Ban Tun, Schebesta questions it as
he never saw Negritos use leaves for bedding. Caves are at best
used only temporarily. Skeat reported that the Negrito do not like
to live in raised houses as the Malays but both the Yala and Naratiwat
Negrito bands now have built such semi--permanent structures.
Contrary to old reports, no Negrito, except, children go naked.
Women as a rule are bare-breasted but modesty dictates that both
sexes be covered in other manners. Men now usually wear a short
knee length sarong of woven cotton or a breech cloth o:f :-;imilar
material. Even at the turn of the century many Negrito were clothed
in ragged trousers and shirts begged from Thais or Malays. Tbe
Naratiwat Negrito today dons turbans as well as sarongs and the
women on special occasions even wear the "baju '' blouse. Even
with commercial clothing, articles of native manufacture are also
worn. Characteristic of this is the short fringed apron worn by
women. This is made of the black string like rhizomorph of a rock
fungus of the genus Agaricus and Polyporus. These aprons are
often worn under the sarong or if worn alone are accompanied by a
breech-cloth. In addition to the aprons, belts, head bands and

THE NEGBI'l'O 0~' PENINSULAII THAILAND
bracelets are also made of these rhizomorphs. The rhizomorph apron
uses no string foundations but rather is plaited in long bands. The
early Hami Negrito were reported to have tied foot long strings over
a cord with a clove hitch to form a fringe.
Cloth is made from pounded atocarpus bark and is quite sofl
and flexible. A fine bark cloth is made from the leached bark o{
the Ipoh tree from which the potent dart poison is also obtained.
Ordinarily atocarpus head bands are not worn as among the Senoi
except by some closely adjacent groups especially the Menri in the
east. The style is obviously copied. Negritos generally seem to
prefer rhizomorph or palm fibre head bands, sometimes decorated
with small flowers of which they are quite fond.
Men often wear rattan belts though this style bas also been
adopted by Batok Negrito women who wear rattcn girdles with
magical patterns. In the belt are tucked knives and the dart quiver
as well as tobacco pouches etc.
Among personal adornment must be considered pamtmg,
tattooing, tooth filing, perforation of the nasal septul11, cicatrization
and the wearing of decorative devices as necklaces, earrings etc.
Of the body decorations, Schebesta felt that most were copied from
the Senoi. Tooth filing among the Kensiu and Kenta and nose
boring for wearing a nose quill is reported from Perak but seems
much more distinctly Senoi rather than pure Negrito. Cicatrization
does not seem to be practiced. Tattooing among the dark skinned
Negri to is also rare and when done seems to follow copied Senoi
style. Face painting, often for magical reasons, is more common,
with dots and lines, as among the Senoi, frequently employed. One
Kensiu Negri to woman I observed in Yala Province had her forehead
painted solid orange. Bernatzik reported the Tonga men painted
black stripes and spots on their faces when they prepared for a dance.
Blackening of the feet with charcoal was reported by Vaughan­
Stevens as an effective charm against disease. In Narati wat the
Jahai Negrito have begun painting their faces white and applying
lipstick in imitation of the Malayan women,

142 John H. Bl'andt
Men do not generally bore the ear lobes as women do. For
women in most Negrito bands this is done as children. Among the
Tonga it is reported however that ear lobes are not pierced till the
woman is an adult. Among the Harni, unmarried girls had distorted
ears and wore earrings but married women did not. Ear lobe
decorations are at times sweet grass or rolled leaves.
Necklaces of small joints of bamboo, seeds and animal teeth
as well as monkey bones, which have magical significance, are made
and worn by the Negrito. Styles vary from band to band. Coin
necklaces are also worn. Necklaces made of 17th Century Dutch
coins have been reported among them and the young son of the
Kensiu Chief of the Padangstar, Yala band wore a huge neck piece
of Chinese coins during my visit.
One of the outstanding art forms of the Negri to which appears
also to be copied from the Senoi but developed to a higher degree
by the Negrito, are the beautiful incised bamboo women's combs.
Cut from a great split tube of bamboo, the combs have from a dozen
to over twenty teeth. The Kensiu make combs often with two
characteristic horns on the top and several bands of geometric
patterns across the broad body of the comb above the teeth. The
combs are not reported among the Tonga or the Menri.
Extensive study has been made of the supposed magical
properties of the women's combs. Vaughan-Stevens felt that the
magical significance had been lost to the Negrito of the West
Coast while among the Eastern bands the designs are supposed
to ward off illness. Negrito of Kedah and Perak supposedly do
not wear the combs for magical purposes and the Kensiu Chief,
Dam, told me the combs made by his band were for decorative
purposes only. Among the other bands the comb acts as a talisman
to keep a way the "ghostly winds" which bring disease. Vaughan­
Stevens claimed design of the fifth panel in an eight panel comb
protected the wearer from disease but in a six panel comb the
fourth panel is the significant one causing some contradiction. In
some instances the uppermost panel carries the power called "was"
which deflects the wind bearing disease. Women with different

THE NEGH!TO OF VENINSULAH THAILAND 143
designs on their combs will protect one another if clustered close
together and have reciprocal protection. More than one comb is
often worn. Women are supposed to wear the combs at birth and
for seven days thereafter. There are special tabus and restrictions
concerning wearing of the comb following a death or during thunder
showers. The combs are buried with the woman when she dies.
Birth bamboos with magical designs called "Tabong" are
also worn concealed by the women. Custom prescribes that a
strange man may not see the birth bamboos. The Birth Bamboos are
suppoHed to keep the "soul bird" of the expected child.
Some bands also make a talisman called a "Peni tab" which
is a decorated burial staff and is stuck in the belt of the deceased
before burial.
A painted stick with yellow and black or red stripes called
a "Tangkel" is often set on a new grave to ward off tigers, through
it's magical properties.
The plaited bags and carrying baskets of the Negrito are
quite well made and women seem skillful in their manufacture.
The Yala Negrito also made small tobacco hags of plaited palm
1 eaf. Skeat also reported that the " Pang an " carried tobacco in
decorated bamboo tubes.
The Negrito make a number of musical instruments varying
with the bands. Which are of their own design and which are
copied is hard to say. They do not seem to have made a drum. One
skin clnun I collected in Naratiwat from the Jahai is of obvious
Malayan design. Prof. Bernatzik claimed that during a dance of
the Tonga which he attended that Malayan skin drums were 1.tsecl
and beaten by the women.
The Negri to do make a 2 string bamboo guitar or Zither much
like the Senoi instrument as well as a bamboo jews harp and bamboo
joints of different lengths used as stampers.
Both nose and mouth flutes are reported but the mouth flnte
:>eems more characteristically Negrito.

144
John II. Brandt
Henry Balfour in his report on a collection of musical instruments
from the Siamese Malay States and Perak reports a
wooden clapper from Rahman District ( Yala ), made by joining two
sticks with two moveable cross members allowing the main sticks
to be snapped together. This was reported as being of Negrito
origin. He also reported a split bamboo clapper from J arum, Raman
District.
Weapons:
The classical weapon of tbe Negrito everywhere has always
been the long bow. Why the Negrito of Thailand and Malaya
should uniformly have given up this apparently superior weapon is
a major puzzle. The blowgun, now the standard hunting instrument
of all the bands, was not adopted from the Senoi till the middle of
the nineteenth century. De la Croix described bows with a 6-7 foot
length among the Negrito's in Pattani in 1880. The bows were not
ornamented and were usually constructed of hard wood although an
aberrant type of bamboo bow is also known from the area. Both the
Hami and Tonga claimed to have given up the bow in the middle
1800's and at the time of early contacts still knew bow to make bows
although the practice has long been discontinued.
The Negrito still have their own words for bow and arrow
which are called respectively '' Chanu" and "Bila" among the
Tonga. The arrows, also undecorated, were tipped with a beaten
iron head. These were usually poisoned and with it the Negrito in
the past could conceivably have been able to kill the larger animals
of the jungle. 'Strangely, though his arrows had flight feathers to
control the flight of the shaft he never seems to have mastered the
significance of them. Arrows were often fletcbed with the feather
vane pointing in the wrong direction and clipped so close that for
practical purposes the feathering was useless. It may be that the
Negrito considered the feathering to be of magical value and
employed feathers of particular species for this purpose.
In any case, with the adoption of the blow gun, hunting
methods changed and pursuit no longer required hunting dogs and

'i'H li: NEtlHJTO OF PENINSULA H '1'1-IA lLANll
was now limited largely to small mammals, birc\s and especially
monkeys.
The Negrito blowgun is a beautifully made object varying in
length from 5' 7" in the Sa tun specimen to 8' 4" in the Jahai blowgun
from Narati wat. Kensiu blowguns average 6 feet. It is constructed
of an inner bore composed of 2 sections of bamboo fitted together
and covered at the joint with a viece of tightly taped leaf. The
outer tube also is made of two joints except among the bands
fortunate enough to obtain bamboo of the species, wrayi, which has
long nodeless joints long enough to make a blowpipe. A mouth
piece called "Ako" is fitted to the end piece. The mouth piece
may be annular or rottnclecl depending on the band and characteristically
Negrito is the custom of building up the mouth piece of
hardened pitch. The muzzle is similarly often coated with pitch to
prevent splitting. At the joints a ring of rattan is placed to insure
a tight grip. The Naratiwat Jahai now use live rubber for this
purpose. The outer covering is usually profusrely decorated with
incised designs especially at the breech and muzzle ends often
interspersed with rings of stripes encircling the tube. Hung up in
the roof of the windscreen with the ends plugged securely with plant
down to keep out insects and dirt, and constantly exposed to smoke
and oily hands, the blowguns take on a deep beautiful brown sheen.
The weapon is the sole domain of the man and woman and children
under 12 do not usually handle It.
The blowguns of the Negri to from Sa tun and Tonga of Trang­
Pattahmg are not decorated. The mouthpiece is quite small and
the tube of cruder construction than the Kensiu blowguns I collected.
The rattan lashings at the joints were covered with pitch. The Rami
Negri to were reported to have a decorated blowpipe seven feet long
with an annular mouth piece but make a quiver of a fashion quite
identical to the Tonga and Satun group. The quiver among the
latter is a wide mouth section of bamboo roughly one foot long
without a cover, undecorated, and bound with rattan lashings with
which the quiver is tied around tbe waist when in use. The inside
contains a series of individual bamboo or cane . sections slightly
14f.i

John 1-i. Brandt
shorter than the container and tied together with string. In each
of these is placed a poisoned dart. The quiver of the Hami was
similar in design but had a bone charm added to it in the fashion of
the Senoi. The Ulna of a white Gibbon is particularly desirable for
this purpose.
The quiver of the Kensiu and Jnhai in Yala and Naratiwat
are quite different in design. The quiver is also of bamboo but long
and narrow often only 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and some 16
inches long. The bamboo node forms the bottom of the tube. The
outside, as the blowgun, is profusely decorated with geometric designs
and in some cases recognizable objects as leaves, flowers, insects,
centipedes etc. The quiver does not have a belt loop and is
normally carried tucked into the waist band, breech cloth or sarong.
The tube may have a fitted cover, as in one atypical Jahni
quiver I obtained, or have a small woven bag containing plant
down to act as an air seal when the dart is placed in the breech,
jammed into the top of the container. Leaves are also often employed
to close up the end of the quiver. There are no 'individual
tubes ins-ide for the darts.
The decoration of the quiver is quite significant and act as
magical attractants to game and to prevent animals from becoming
frightened of the hunter. Without proper designs on the quiver,
and in most cases on the blowpipe as well, the hunters efforts would
prove fruitless. These decorations offer direct contrast to the
designs of the women's combs which act as repellants whereas these
designs are quite definite attractants.
The dart is about the length of a foot sole or a forearm which
are often used as measuring guides by the maker. The shaft is
made of a splint of the rib of Bertam Palm ( Evgeissona) leaves
sharpened to a needle like point. A short distance from the tip the
shaft 1s deeply notched so the poisoned head will break off in the
wound. The butt end is fitted with a small conical cap the approximate
diameter of the blowgun bore. When ready to shoot, the
hunter inserts the dart and places behind it a small wad of plant
down of fluffy flocculence of such plants as caryota or particular

'hiE NEGRI'l'O Ofo' PENINSULAR THAILAND
species of rattan as calamus to insure as l-ittle loss of air as possible;
With an explosive puff into the mouth-piece, which is held tightly
cupped to the lips, the dart is propelled on its way. Blowgun range
is probably within the limits of 50 meters but shots of up to 80 meters
have been reported. Much would of course depehd on the lung
power of the individual.
'.
Without the poisoing oJ the darts the weapons would be of
course eomparati vely inoffensive and ineffectual. The poisoning of
the darts is then the factor which has made the weapons of the
Negri to and Senoi of so much interest.
Although some two dozen ingredients have been reported in
use as dart poison, including scorpion, snake und centipede venom
as well as commercial arsenic, the main' substance is the sap from
the lpoh tree ( Antiaris toxicaria) and in the other case from a Iiana
or creeper (Strychnos sp.) or a combination of the two. The poison
is known as "Dawk" by the Negri to and in some dialects "Dawk
Santiang '' is the c:reeper poison and "Dawk Kokeung" is the
toxin of the Ipoh tree.
The poison of the lpoh tree is collected by slash-ing the trunk
and catching the sap drippings in a small bamboo receptacle. The
fresh sap uncooked, is painted, on a small wooden paddle or spatula
and held over a fire to dry. It turns, upon exposure to heat, from a
milky gray to a deep chocolate brown. At this stage it is quite hard
and brittle but can be softened again by warming over a flame. The
dart points are spiraled through the poison on the paddle and when
coated are placed next to the fire to dry. The poison from the
creeper, Strychnos, must be cooked before it is effective. Ordinarily
the poisons are not mixed and are used separately although the
Tonga combine them adding to the brew chicken gall and bird fat
to increase it's potency. The Batok also r~portedly combine the
two along with other plant materials considered by them to be a
toxic.
The poison is best when fresh but retains it's strength for a
considerable period. Darts are repoisoned at regular intervals. The
strength of mixtures apparently varies and darts with highly potent

1.18 .fohn H. BrMdt
poison are marked with a painted stripe or other characteristic
marking on the butt end. In this way the hunter can employ the
proper dart to be used to bring down the quarry he has sighted.
Ipoh poison under microscopic examination shows antiarin
crystals. Antiarin is a heart poison stopping the hearts of wounded
mammals in diastole. Cold blooded vertebrates' hearts ::;top in
systole. If the poison is fresh, animals the size of monkeys usually
die within 2-5 minutes. A wounded monkey can be observed for
this period by the hunter on the ground before it looses it's control
and crashes to earth. Birds die more slowly and often elude the
hunters by flying away and dying out of sight. Experimentation
showed that Antiaris killed monkeys and pigeons but not chickens.
The chicken is of course well known for it's apparent resistance to
normally lethal doses of many toxins. The Negrito believe the
chicken is immune because it "eats earth" and this is indeed considered
by some to be of use as an antidote. However, my Kensui
informant, Chief Dam, vehemently denied that this was effective.
Other reported antidotes for Ipoh poison are chewing Ophioxylon
serpentinum, Andira horsfieldi, roots of Hernindra sonora, crab fat,
salt and Malayan black maize. The effectiveness of these in view
of the fulminant qualities of the toxin is questionable.
The poison is apparently not lethal if taken internally and
some tribes reportedly use Ipoh as a medicant. The Negrito normally
cut out the meat adjoining the area penetrated by the dart.
After accidentally puncturing my finger with a poisoned dart I
made an incision causing it to bleed and felt for some tirne a slight
tingling in the area. That the poisoned darts could kill a man is
generally coneeded and there are reports of Communist 'Terrorists
having been so killed by aborigines during the Malayan Emergency.
The late antropologist Pat Noone was reported to have been
murdered by Temiar-Senoi with poisoned dart in Northern Malaya
during World War II.
Other than knives and spears with bamboo blades reported
by explorers in the nineteenth century, the Hami Negrito were
observed armed with wooden clubs made from a tree limb. All

THE NgG!liTO OF l'ENJNSULAH THAILAND 149
of these seem to now no longer be representative of the material
culture of the Negrito.
Social Customs :
The Negri to bands have a rather loose democratic casteless,
leadership with no powerful chieftains except in unusual cases
where a person has been appointed to such a state of eminence by
a government officer. Ordinarily the oldest men exercise control
of the group and it's action. Elders usually act as group spokesmen.
Among the Kensiu, most young men would politely refuse to answer
my question till the Chief appeared although the queries were of a
very elementary nature. Purchases of material items from the
Negrito are frequently handled by the Chief who does the negotiating
after brief consulation with the owner. Each group will also
often have young men as natural leaders and occassionally a
vociferous women will have a bearing on the dicussions of a group.
Among the Tonga an alert Negrito woman named Ai-San was
recognized by the Thai as the group leader where in actuality she
was only an extrovert personality with domineering characteristics.
Ordinarily wives of chieftains have no more voice in band affairs
than women of less status.
The Negrito is ordinarily monogamous and although neither
polyandry or polygamy appear to be prohibited they do not seem to
be the rule. The Hami, it is known were not exogamus, since the
father-in-law of the Chief lived in the same camp.
Young men choose their own brides and, depending on the
band, must ordinarily pay a token bride price. This may take the
form of a payment of cloth, tobacco, a knife etc. Among the Batok
an iron pan is reported as a customary bride price. Among the
Tonga, the young man gives his bride-to-be trophies of the hunt and
pays the bride's family a silver Thai coin or in some cases, a piece
of red cloth.
Love magic, to attract members of the opposite sex, is recognized
and practiced by some bands. Flowers of a variety identified
as Salamonia aphylla, called "cenwei" by the Negrito, are

150 John H. Brandt
collected, dried, and mixed with oil. It is important that the female
of this species, which grows on the ground, and the male blossom
which grows in a tree, be found together to insure potency of the
magic. The mixture is then placed on the forehead and breast of
the chosen person. The would be lover ordinarily employs a younger
member of his or her own sex to apply the magic oil to the sleeping
victim. No other action is taken after these steps have been put in
operation but love supposedly ensues in due course.
There seems to be no recognized wedding ceremony but the
young couple among some groups retire to a separate shelter in the
forest near the main band. Fidelity is generally recognized but
divorce is a rather simple matter. Most couples of middle age have
had more than one marriage partner before settling down with a
final mate.
Anti-conception and anti--abortion medicinals are known and
practiced. Although cognizant of the physical aspects of conception,
the Negri to believe the soul or spirit of a child is brought by a bird
called Til-Tal-Tapab. Among the Malays a similar spirit bird called
Teti-Tinga-Anak is reported. Some bands believe the Argus pheasant
brings the soul of a male and a bird called "Chimoi" brings the
souls of women. The "Chimoi" is reported to be green by some
groups and the Batok indeed believe their souls to be green as the
bird. If a woman eats a bird with eggs she will bear twins.
The idea of soul birds appears to be eopied from the Senoi
and was reportedly first adopted by the Negrito in Kelantan. The
western Negri to bands believe more in a" Hala" or "Cenoi" which
act as protective spirits for some individuals and have strong tabus.
Some ethnologists consider this to be perhaps the more original
Negrito concept.
Delivery is usually in a squatted position and the placenta
among the Jahai is buried beneath the fire. The umbilical cord is
not knotted. Children are frequently named after the tree, flower,
fruit, river or mountain near which they were born. Many Negrito
now have adopted Malayan names as well and keep a Negrito name
for use within the group. Two chieftains among the Tonga and

THE NEt;H!TO 0~' PENINSULAR THAILAND 151
Kensui in Thailand bear the name "Da1n" wb 1 '
. . c h means bl ac k
111
·
Th f\1.
Among the Menri, the navel cord in dried and placed in a
small pouch which the child wears about it's neck or wrist. After
n poriod it is then buried near a fire.
Dancing and singing among the Negri to seems, as so much of
their culture, to also be copied from the Senoi. Ordinarily, only
the women dance, making rythmic movements with body, arm and
hand movements, although De Morgan reported both sexes dancing
together in Kedah. There is a minimum of place movement in most
Negrito dances.
Another unusual exception is the dancing described by Prof.
Bernntzik among the Tonga. He described and photographed Negrito
men dancing in a fashion most unlike other know11 dances of the
peninsular groups. By the light of the full moon his dancers jumped
about "like devils from the jungle" in a fashiOI1 reminiscent to him
of African dancers. The men wore banana leaves about their heads
and had their faces painted with black dots and stripes Women
reportedly beat skin drums and clapped hands to the rhythm of the
dance, while the men screamed, beat their heels, moved stiff-legged
and jumped actively about. Oddly however, Bematzik's photographs
of the dance shows men beating the drums with no woman evident.
Music in most conventional dances is supplied by bamboo
stampers in the fashion of the Senoi. The Negrito in Naratiwat
have adopted the Malay sldn drum and metal gong and could give
me rencli tions of both Negri to and Malayan songs utilizing these
alien instruments. Rhythmic hand clapping is characteristic accompaniment.
Schebesta feels that outside of Bernatzik's report on the
Tonga dancers that most, if not all, N egrito dances are copied from
the Senoi. This seems also true of the songs which now include
a repetoir of Malayan verses as well.
Burial practices vary considerably with bodies rarely thrown
in rivers, more rarely left to lay on the ground while the band flees,
or placed in trees. They are normally buried however.

152 John H. Brandt
King Chulalongkorn reported that among the Tonga the body
is only buried very superficially and that the people then fled the
area in fear of ghosts and tigers which fed on the bodies. Among
the Kensiu the bodies are wrapped in cloth and layed in a shallow
grave on their left side with legs pulled tightly up in a crouch.
Among the Kenta the body reportedly lies on the right side. The
head points towards the west or less commonly the northwest.
The Kensiu mourn in the area for seven days after which it
is believed the ghost has left the area. Among the eastern bands
there does not seem to be fear of visiting grave sites.
The Jahai and Lanoh bury corpses straight with arms next to
the body. Williams-Hunt describes a Lanoh burial where the body
was placed with the legs drawn up and laid on it's right side. The
head is oriented toward the west. Although there is no agitated
crying at the grave, death wailing lasts for five days. A windscreen
is built over the grave. During the mourning period, singing, dancing
and wearing of decorative combs is tabu. As among some western
bands, food and water are left at the grave and a death meal
and death dance are held. After this ceremony no one visits the
grave again.
Powerful shamans are frequently given special burials. Many
of the eastem bands place the body of a shaman in a tree. Some
shamans, possessing Were-tiger abilities, are placed in trees by the
Jahai or are buried in a seated position with the head above ground.
The Kensiu bury such a personage in a conventional manner but
watch the grave for 3 days and 3 nights and place food offerings on it.
Religion, Shamanism 1\'Iagic :
A life after death is believed in by the Negri to but not usually
in reincarnation. However, King Cl1ltlalongkorn reported that the
Tonga believe in a soul called "ya" which awaits reincarnation after
death. If not reincarnated in six months it becomes a ghost. This
belief has not been recognized, except for the Kensitt belief about
reincarnation in bear and elephant, among other groups, although a
soul called variously ''Rob" and " Badi" is supposedly a soul born
of animals but which can possess man.

'I'HE Ng(, fHTO Pi>NlNSULAil THAILAND
"Souls'' have various appearances and among the Lanoh,
looks human. Among the Tonga however, a "soul's" face shines
like a glowworm. The Kensiu also believe it can only be seen
against a light like a shadow. Other groups report the ''soul" as
blood red and the size of a seed.
The Negri to concept of " heaven" lies to the west and the
departing soul reaches there through various means. The Tonga
heaven lies in the western sky. The "soul" climbs a Nipa Palm
and then springs over a water (stream) into a heaven called "Kat­
But". The " soul " is tiny at this stage and is described as small
like a thread w bich grows on entering '' Kot-But ". Most Negri to
believe that heaven has no tiger or elephant and that it is cool with
no thunder, lightning or sickness. There are no children born in
heaven but children will be reunited with deceased parents. It is a
land of shadows.
The Negri to of North Kedah reportedly believe in three
heavens. The highest heaven has fruit trees which bear all year.
The second heaven has fruit trees as well but these are guarded by
an ape who throws prickly fruit at would-be interlopers. The third
heaven, of questionable beneficence, supposedly contains only low
hanging clouds which carry illness.
The Lanoh believe souls of male and female live apart in
separate heavens with the men's spirits living in the east and the
women's spirits living in the west. The spirits do nothing but play
and decorate their hair with flowers. The Tonga believe ghosts do
not eat but that they do wear clothing.
The principal diety of the Negrito is the thunder god called
" Kagai '' by the Tonga, Kaei by the Kensiu and Karai by some of
the Malayan bands. Kagai is a diety that does not grow old but
rejuvenates himself like the moon. The Tonga believe him to look
like a Negrito although he is credited with creating man, plants,
animals etc. Among the Lanoh, Kagai, has the appearance of a
Siamang ( Symphalangtts syndactylus) and at times has long white
hair with an oily sheen.
i53

154 John EL Brandt
Kagai punishes transgressions by throwing lightning and
creating thunder. Negrito are extremely frightened by thunder
storms and hide w·ith eyes and ears covered. Kagai's wrath may be
incurred by numerous tabu violations as wearing a hair comb during
a thunderstorm, drawing water in a fire blackened vessel or laughing
at butterflies. Certain butterflies are especially dangerous, particularly
black ones and are never to be molested. Among some groups,
certain flowers may not be worn during a storm. If Kagai's wrath is
lo be expiated a blood offering or sacrifice must be made. This
peculiarly Negrito custom was :first reported among the Eastern bands
but is apparently practiced by all the groups. A typical blood offering
takes place dur-ing a thunderstorm when frequently a woman will
cut her shin bone and scrape some blood into a bamboo receptacle
containing a small amount of water. Although all in a camp are technically
required to make a blood offcri ng to Kagai it usually suffice~
if one person goes through the process. Women often tnke this
action before men. Children do not participate. A little of this
blood and water mixture is poured on the ground with the words
"go to earth" and the remainder tossed to the sky with the expression"
go to the sun". The offering to the ground is to pacify Manoij,
the wife of Kagai. That thrown to the sky is for Kagai himself who
lives in the heavens. The procedure varies from band to band but
is essentially simi] ar in purpose.
The Tonga also worship an ancestor figure called "Moltek"
who also lives in the sky- usually in the sun. Moltek is black in
color. King Chulalongkorn also mentions a female goddess, which
is honored by the Tonga, who governs good and evil.
The Shaman among the Negrito is called a ''Hala" who acts
as an intermediary between man and the gods. The illness caused
by angry spirits can be cured by the Hala through exorcism of the
ghosts. He does not ordinarly make use of medicines but relys on
a magic quartz crystal called a " Cebu ''. A small " Hala" within
the group often acts as an herb doctor and cures minor illnesses
with concoctions of roots, leaves, herbs etc.

1'Hil NEGftiTO OF PENINSULA!t THAILAND 155
A man may become a Hala several ways. Most commonly
through encountering a tiger which transmits it's magical powers
to the man, through dreams, through inheritance from the father
nnd through possession of the '' Cebu" stone. A trained Hala al
ways undertakes the further instruction of the novice. Only me11
normally become Halas,
There is lack of shamanistic ritual among the Negrito, Much
of that which is practiced seems borrowed from the Seno, but developed
along special patterns to suit the psyche of the Negrito.
Many Negritos fear what is called" Hot Rain". This sprinkling
of rain from an apparently cloudless sky, while the sun is
shining, reportedly brings fevers and illnesses. The Negrito of the
Lcnggong area fear the shadow of the hawk. Special tabus are attache(]
to certain flowers while the plant Licnla kunsteri is held by
the Negri to to have special properties. The Tonga consider certain
monln'y honm; to be a cure for illness. Most Negritos, as well as
Senni, place magical powers in monkey bones and attach them to
various charms, dart quivers etc. Numerous food tabus exist which
have already been described in a previous section.
The religious and magical beliefs for a group as primitive as
the Negri to is extremely complicated and varies from band to band.
What is adopted belief and what is a part of the original Negrito
heritage is often difficnlt to ascertain.
Summary and conclusion:
The Negrito are the last remammg remnants of a once
widespread primitive type. They bear a relationship to other
pygmoid people and this article points out pertinent information
on their history, background and physical characteristics. Much
of the material culture, religious beliefs and magico-mystical
concepts of the Negrito have been adopted from the Senoi aborigines
as have many of their social c~stoms. . The language of the
Negrito presents a puzzle as well smce th1s also appears ~o. he
adopted although bearing many words perhaps from the ongmal
language. Their traditional weapons and decorative arts ~ave
been discarded within historic times to adopt those of the Sen01.

15G
John H. Brandt
Their distribution is spotty with some seven separate groups
inhabiting areas of the peninsula where Thailand and Malaya join.
Though the Negri to population is small within Thailand, one group,
the Tonga, are indigenous only within Thailand while three more
groups overlap the border from Malaya.
Research work among the Negrito is difficult because of the
shy retiring nature of the people and because of his habits. Since
the Communist Emergency, many of the aborigines have settled
nearer to roads and police posts for protection, becoming within
recent years semi-sedentary. With increased contact, consequent
changes in culture are inevitable. Much remains to be learned of
the Negri to. Two known groups have already become extinct since
the turn of the century. Aborigines in jungle areas have proven
indispensable to the survival of terrorists in the deep forests of
Malaya and have ~:~erved the same purpose in such campaigns as
Vietnam and Laos. Knowing the jungle, as we would a city street,
the aborigines can be a valuable asset to the government in the
impenetrable border areas and warrant and deserve further attention.
Selected Bibliography and Reference List:
1. Annandale, N. & Robinson, H.; 190i~; Fa~:~eiculi Malayensis,
Part I, II, Liverpool.
2. Balfour, Henry; 1904; Fasciculi Malayensis, Part II,
Liverpool.
g, Bernatzik, H,A.; 1928; Die Geister c1er Gelben RltHter,
Munich.
4. Cole, F.C.; 1945 The People of Malaysia, New York.
5. Cooper, ].M.; Anclamese-Sernang-Eta Cultural Relations;
Primitive Man; Vol. XIII, No.2, 1940.
6. Evans, I.I-I.N.; 1927; Papers on the Ethnology and
Archaeology of the Malay Peninsula, Cambridge.
7. Evans, I.H.N. ; 1925; An Ethnological Expedition into
South Siam; Jour. F.M.S. Museum, Vol. XII.
8. Evans, I.FI.N.; Some Beliefs of the Lenggong Negrito;
Jour. F. Malay States Museum, Vol. XII.

TH!dling-Vienna,
( 2 volumes).
24. Schehesta, Father P.; 1928; Gesselschaft und Familie bei
dem Semang auf Malakka; Anthropos XXIII.

158 John H. Brandt
25. Scbebesta, Father P.; 1928; Jenseitsglaube der Semang
auf Malakka; Festschrift P.W. Schmidt, Modling-Vienna.
26. Schebesta, Father P.; 1928; Das Weib bei den Semang
Negrito auf Malakka; Der Neue Pflug, H 8/9.
27. Schebesta, Father P.; 1928; Auffassung Uber Eigentum
nnd Eigentumsrecht bei dcm Semang auf Malakka; Neue
Ordnung, Vienna.
28. Schebesta, Father P .; 1929; The Decorative Art of the
Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula: Jour. Royal Asiatic
Society.
29. Schebesta,Fatber P.; ReligiOse Auschauungen der Semang
Uber die Orang-Hidap (die Unsterblichen ); Arch. f.
Religionwissenschaft XXIV I-13/4.
:10. Skeat, W.W. & Blagden, C.O.; 1906; Pagan Races of the
l\!Ialay Peninsula; MacMillan Co, London ( 2 volumes).
31. Stiglmayr, E.; 1955; Schamanismus der Negrito Siidost­
Asiens II; Wiener Volkerlwndliche Mittlg. 3, jg. No. 1.
32. Vaughan-Stevens, H.; 1894; Materialien zur Kenntnis
der Wilden Stamme auf der Halbinsei Malakka; Heraus
gegeben von A. Grlinwedel, Verofftlg. aus d. Museum f.
Volkerkunde, Berlin.
38. Williams-Hunt, P.D.R.; A Lanoh Negrito Funeral near
Lenggong, Perak; Fed. Museum Jour., Vol. I, II, new
series 1954-55, Museum Dept., Malaya.
34. Williams-Hunt, P.D.R.; 1952; An Introduction to the
Malayan Aborigines; Gov. Press, Kuala Lumpttr, Malaya.

I. :IJ,. lJL n:.
PHOTO PLATE I: Figure I is a Jahai
Negri to dart quiver with woven stopper
containing plant down. Figures II, III,
IV are Kensiu Negrito blowguns show·
ing different types of mouth pieces.
PHOTO PLATE If: Kensiu Negrito hair
combs from Yala Province. Figure III
shows the horned variety.

~':"~
. ~;
!
PHOTO PLATE III: Woven baskets utilizing a twilling technique made by l(ensiu
Negrito of Yal1 Province. Figure I is a packing and storage basket and figures II
and III are tobacco pouches.
PHOTO PLATE IV: Figure I is a Jahai Negrito dart quiver. Figure II is the
spatula upon which lpoh poison is smeared preparatory to poisoning the dart tips.
Figure III is a dart made of Bertam Palm rib.

PHOTO PLATE V: Traditional Negrito windscreen living shelter. Kensiu Negrito
camp Padangstar District, Yala Province, South Thailand.
PHOTO PLATE VI: Semi-permanent type of house constructed by Jahai Negrito of
Rengae District, Nara ti wa t Province, South Thailand.

PHOTO PLATE VII: A Kensiu Negrito
man from Yala Province, South Thailand.
Note typical negroid features.
PHOTO PLATE VIII: A Semai-Senoi man
from the Jelai Kechi! River of Pahang.
Malaya. Compare this "Austronesian"
type with Plate VII. Some Senoi have
strikingly Veddoid-Dravidian character·
istics. Note more mongoloid eye, hair,
blowgun and quiver type. He wears a
bark headband.

PHOTO PLATE IX: The author with four
Kensiu Negritos in the Ulu Pattani of Yala
Province, South Thailand. Chief Dam
·stands to the left.
PHOTO PLATE X: A Jahai Negrito woman
of Rengae District, Naratiwat Province,
South Thailand. Her face is painted
white with heavy applications of mascara
and lipstick following local Malayan
style. She wears the Malayan "Baju ''
blouse.

I. II..
PLATE I: Figure I and II. Decorative patterns of dart
.quivers from Jabai Negrito of Naratiwat Province,
South Thailand. Quiver I is 17 inches long and 1~ inches
wide. Quiver II is 15 inches long.

I.
li..
PLATE II: Figure I and II. Decorative patterns on bamboo
dart quivers of Kensiu Negrito from Yala Province, South_
Thailand. Both quivers are 16 inches long.

I. 11..
PLATE III: Figures I, II and III. Incised decorations on blowguns found
among the Kensiu Negrito of Yala Province, South Thailand. Figure III
shows the wooden mouthpiece and manner of attachment to the main barrel.

. -, ,
,.._
. - .,
~
-: - : ....
- - ·-
r n m
PLATE IV: Figures L II and III. Incised decorative patterns found on the outer
barrel of Jahai Negrito blowguns from Naratiwat Province, South Thailand.
Patterns are spaced at intervals from breech to muzzle with blank areas
between ..
,I

n r n~·~hr r·~o n n0 n n
1.
,;
2.
PLATe V: Figure I and II. Decorative in~Jilill'l4 j:lP.tterns of
Kensju Negrito women's combs from Yala .~l;'.Qyipce, South
Thailand. Combs without the characteristid 'li~rris bear the
same patterns.

Jr.
PLATE VI: Figure I is a bamboo blowpipe from Satun Province
showing method of mouthpiece construction followed by Tonga
Negrito. Figure II shows a Kensiu Negrito blowpipe from Yala
Province for comparison. Both mouthpieces are built up of
hardened pitch on a wooden base.

THAI TRADITIONAL SALUTATION
by
q>h,r;a .Anuman CR..ajadhon
1. 1~lte " Wai ''
The Thai sign of salutation or mutual recognition is to raise
both hands, joined palm to palm, lightly touching the body somewhere
between the faee and chest. The higher the hands are raised,
the greater is the respect and courtesy conveyed. The person who
is inferior in age or rank in the Thai social scale of precedence
initiates such a movement of the hands and the person receiving the
salutation immediately reciprocates. This formality is not strictly
adhered to by individuals who are on intimate terms. The Thai
salutation may be rendered while sitting, standing, walking or even
lying in bed during an illneRs. In rendering a salution while standing,
to a most respected person who is sitting, one will stoop or
bend the head at the same time. When taking leave, the departing
person will offer a salute in the same manner, followed in turn by a
corresponding salute of the other person. Such a salutation is called
a "wai" OH~) in Thai; and is often seen in Thai society.
The raising of the hands to cc wai ", and the lowering of the
hands to a normal position after the "wai '' are never done with a
sharp movement but rather in a more or less graceful manner as in
slow motion. The upper part of the arms remain close to the sides
of the body, without the elbows extended. The hands, joined palm
to palm, are not held far .out from the body in an erect position, but
bent slightly inward.
The Thai "wai" in its indealized form may be often seen on
the stage in the Thai classical dramatic performance, the "lakorn ''
(n~?l1). Here one is able to observe the artistic movements of the
hands of an actor or an actress, who, before performing the "wai",
will place his or her hands, joined palm to palm, with the finger tips

160 Phya Anurnan Hajadhon
draw slightly to each other, so as to form a conventional shape of a
"budding lotus" (u•~pJ) ail usually offered in worship t.o a monk or
to a Buddha image. The bands in such position are called in Thai
"phanorn men" ('VHJlJ~'1l), literally meaning to make the hands like
a budding lotus. One will sometime notice such a " wai " among
the cultured Thai, in conformity more or less with this idealized
movement.
Thai etiquette implicitly requires that a junior in age or rank
initi;lte a "wai" as a sign of respect to a senior, accompanied at the
same time with a slight bow.
Also, as a mark of respect the junior,
while in conversation with a senior of great age or rank, will place
his ''budding lotus'' hands to his chest when sitting or standing,
and every now and then, as circumstances demand, when the ~enior
is explaining sol11ething to the junior, raiHe his hands as a respectful
acknowledgement of what the senior is saying.
A person sitting
on a chair before a high personage bends his bead a little and holds
his hands in a "budding lotus" shape somewhere at or below
the chest.
Or instead of having the hands posed in a "huclcling
.lotus'' l:lhape, the fingers may be clasped or the hands held one upon
the other and rounded like a Chinese "wai" in the kowtowing
fashion, or like a worshipful attitude of a Christian in adoration. If
a person squats on the floor before a great personage, such as the King
or Queen, in the Thai traditional fashion with the appropriate posture
called "nang phab phiab " ( J~wui'WUu ), that is, sideways with
the lower limbs folded backward and inward, he must recline slightly
sideways with the hands in a "budding lotus" shape resting on the
floor as a support. A person will slightly raise his hands in such
a posture every now and then, in the same manner as previously
described. When a person is receiving anything from a senior, he
will raise his hands as a " wai" to the giver as a polite gesture of
thanks before or after receiving it as circumstances demand. When
one is asking someone's pardon or favour, one usually makes such a
" wai" too.

THAI TRAUJTIONAL SALU'J'ATlON 161
During a Buddhist sermon, or while a chapter of monks is
reciting ritual texts from the Buddhist Holy Scriptures, one will
notice that both the monks and the lay members assume a solemn
atti l ude of meekness and obei:;ance to the sacredness of the ceremony
with hands raised all the time in a "budding lotus'' shape. If
the eeremony oecupies a comparatively long time, the raising of
hands in such an attitude will be somewhat tiresome and quite an
ordeal for the inexperienced. This can be overcome partly if one's
arms are held close to the sides of the body as a sort of rest or
support.
Psychologically, if a person receiving a "wai" from a junior,
is egoistieally conscious of his superiority, be will return the "wai''
with the hands raised to a position not higher than the chest. H,
by virtue of his great age or rank, he is not obliged to make a "wai"
in return, he may merely raise his right hand side-wise and with a
nod, or nod only, as a favorable recognition or approval. This is
called" rap wai" (1'u'l11~). In Thai this literally means "receiving
a wai". In most cases a superior person seldom condescends to perform
a "wai" first when meeting or greeting a person of inferiority.
Normally a senior will return the "wai" of a child with a nod or
other appropriate gestures only, as a sign of approval or goodwill.
Of course there is an exception, if the child is a prince or an
honourable member of a high dignitary's family. As noblesse oblige,
a high personage will initiate a greeting to an inferior by extending
his or her outstretched hand in a Western style hand-shake instead
of a " wai ". The inferior one after a hand-shake will sometimes
make a " wai '' also, as if the hand-shake is incomplete without a
"wai" as an expression of respect.
Buddhist monks by virtue of their holy yellow robes, will not
return the obeisance of a "wai" to a layman however old or great in
rank, not even to the king. This is not, in Thai etiquette, presumption
on the part of the monks. The appropriate way for a monk to
respond in such a situation is by a gesture of acknowledgement
either by speech or a facial expression of good will. At least he
should assume a serene face as befitting a monic

l62
Phya Anuttlatt l~ajadhon
Traditionally, when country folk or any other simple people
meet someone whom they consider a great personage, such as the
King or Queen, a high prince or princess, a prelate, or a dignitary
of importance, who commands the highest respect, they will instinctively
sit down on their haunches, with the hnnds raised in u "budcling
lotus" shape, as u sign of great respect. Not until the high
personage has passed or departed will they assume a normal position.
While passing a Buddhist temple, a devout person will make a "wai"
before it as an act of reverence.
To write something on a subject such as the "wai" which is
intimately known more or less by everybody who is Thai, is metaphorically
like drawing a picture of a dog or a horse, which is u
well-known animal, rather than drawing a picture of a mythological
animal which is real only in imagination. Any shortcomings of
description in delineating the former, even in certnin unimportant
details, may instantly be detected even by a boy, hut not with a
description of the latter. What has been written here, therefore, is
perhaps incomplete, because there are variances, in differing degrees,
among the people of different classes of Hocicty in different localities
and 'social surroundings of the country. The best thing to do
for a person interested in such a study is to observe in real life how
it is done; the description which has.been written here is a generalization
which serves as an outline and a guide only.
The Thai manner of salutation is similar to that of most races
on the mainland of South-east Asia. Fundamentally they are all the
same.
The difference lies in the details peculiar to a race due to
many c.ultural factors. The Hindus and the Chinese have not only
their own forms of "wai ", which are allied to the Thai "wai ", but
also other symbols of respect which pertain to their cultures and
which will he reviewed in a succeeding chapter. No doubt the
"wai" in its origin is ancient and world wide, and may be found
among many races in one form or another. It was originally perhaps
a form of submission based upon the stronger over the weaker ones.
Through the process of time it has developed into the mere form of
salutation of the present day.

Tll.\1 TllAiliTIOML SALVI'ATION
16a
In pre-modern days, a Thai would not greet a foreigner with
a "wai ", nor would a foreigner "wai" to a Thai. This was due
probably to reluctance on either side through misunderstanding or
other rcasom;. ·whenever a W csterner, or a "farang" as he is called,
adopted the Thai form of greeting, us an expression of good-will
and friendlines~, there would often he joking remarks such as
"farangs know how to wai too''. On the other hand a farang would
seldom greet a Thai, though his equal, with a" wai ",for what reason
one can only conjectnre. Happily such a thing is now of the
past, as people now understand each other more closely and sympathetically.
To most of the Thai, the "wai '' is preferred to hand shaking
for the reason that, the "shaking of one's own hands" is hygienically
better than the shaking of other people's hands. A firm cordial
hand-clasp sometimes gives the Tbai a somewhat painful sensation,
if the hand which is clasped is a sizeable, big one, compared to the
slim hand of the Thai, particularly a woman. Confronted, sometimes
with a large number of in eli viduals which requires an endless process
of hand-shaking, it is sometimes a trying experience though not an
impossibility. In sucb a dilemma, if tbe function is not of a formal
nature, the Thai has recourse to another kind of "wai" by raising
the bands to a " wai" in the "budding lotus" position and slowly
turning in a sweeping manner to all the persons present, thus making
a "wai" to all of them. One will observe such n "wai" at a boxing
ring, when a pugilist makes a sweeping motion of "wai" to the
audience, before a boxing rna tch begins.
In making a "w ai" in the traditional style to the King or the
Queen, one has to kneel down with the body erect and the haunches
resting on the heels. The hands are raised, joined palm to palm in
a "budding lotus" shape, to a position a little below the chest, and
then instantly raised to one's forehead with a bending upward of
the face. This is done once only at an informal occasiori, but at a
formal royal ceremony, it is always .done three time.

164 Phya Anuman f~ajadhon
2. The " Iirap "
Allied to the "wai" as a sign of respect is the ''!nap'' (tmu)
or the kneeling clown and bowing to the floor in reverence. In fact,
the " wai '' is part of the "krap ". One kneels in an erect position
with the haunches resting on the heels. The hands in the shape of
a" budding lotus" are held just below the chest, and then raised to
the forehead in a" wai". Successively the palm of the right hand
is placed on the floor in front of the right knee, followed by the left
hand which is placed about a foot in front of the left knee. The
right hand is then moved up parallel to the left hand, but with an
ample space between the two hands.
The forehead it; bowed until
it touches the floor at the space between the index fingers of the
two hands and then raised to the former position and repeated three
times. This process of movcmen t should not be clone in a hurried
manner, but with a comparatively graceful slow motion, avoiding
the raising of one's haunches when bowing in a seesaw-like fashion.
Such a style of "krap" is seldom seen nowadays particularly in
Bangkok, but still survives, I am told, among the folk in up-country
Central Tbailand.
Another style of "krap '' generally clone is to part the hands
from a "budding lotus" while kneeling, depositing the palms of
both hands at the same time on the floor instead of depositing them
one at a time as in the afore-said description.
The rest of all the
movements is the same. Sometimes a small stand with a cushion is
provided for the purpose, but the process of movements of the "krap''
is identical, save one obvious minor difference in the bow. In the
former one has to bow low to touch the floor, but in the latter the
bow is comparatively less. There is not much difference in the
movement process of the "krap" between a man and a woman, save
that in the kneeling position, a woman rests her haunches on her
soles instead of resting tbem on the beels as a man does.
The "krap" as described is called in technical language,
" b h c]' " ( -I " .t
enc anga-pra 1t !U\)JllHfliJ~:::~'YJ! ), a Thai-ized Pali word meaning
"a revered salutation with the five members of the body organs",
i.e. the forehead, the two palms of the hands, and the two knees

TflAI THAD!TfOi'\AL SALUTATION
touching the lloor. Such a salu ation is called "pancha pranam" in
Sanskrit. A complete prostration as expressed by devout people
in India and elsewhere does not enter into the Thai social scheme
of worship.
Originally the "h:rap" was meant fiS a sign of profound
worship to the "Triple Gems" of Buddhism, i.e. the Buddha, his
Law and his Brotherhood of monks only. l-Ienee the "krap" is expressed
thrice in repetition. Later on such an expression of
reverence was extended through a misconception in certain cases,
to other highly respected persons or other sacred symbols as well.
Now we come to another kind of" krap ''called "Mop krap"
( 'r!lJ'illJmllJ) in Thai. ''Mop" means to sit in a crouched position.
A person in the act of paying high respect to certain persons, such
as the King and the Queen, a high ranking prince or princess, one's
revered parents, teacher or mentor, kneels before the revered person
with raiserl hands to his or her breast in the sha11e of a "budding
lotus", and instantly lowers the hands, still in the described shape.
on the Ooor and bows with the forehead resting on the "budding
lotus" hands at the thumbs. The movement is done once only, not
thrice as one sometimes sees, which is due to a false analogy of
paying a homage to the "Triple Gems" of the Buddhist religion.
There is anotl1er style of "mop krap ". A person sits in
a crouched position, but inclined slightly side-wise either on his
right or left hand with the lower limbs drawn slightly inward. He
then raises the hands, joined palm to palm, in the shape of a "budcling
lotus", resting the elbows as supports on the :floor, and bows
reverently until the forehead touches the thumbs of the "budding
lotus ".
These two allied styles of "mop krap" were originally a mannerism
peculiar at the royal court and practiced by the royal pages
and attendants, when in the presence of the King, the Queen or
other members of the royal family on an informal occasion only. It
was later adopted by outsiders when they wished to express highest
regards to a prelate or other respected person. Obviously these two
1G5

166 Phya Anurnan Rajaclhon
::Jtyles of paying respect are adaptations of the aforesaid Bnddh1st
salutation of "benchanga-pradit" as performed to the "Triple Gems''.
Parenthethically, sons or daughters when meeting their parents
after a long absence or saying a good-bye, place their hands in the
shape of a "budding lotus" at the feet of their parents and bow in
the" mop krap" fashion in an affectionate and reverential manner.
If the parents are stand·ing, the children will place their" budding
lotns" hands on the parents' breasts and bow. As an extention,
this mode of expression may be used by a pupil or ~tudent towards
his or her teacher as an affectionate mark of the highest respect
equaling the parents. A girl !Student may not apply this mnrk of
respect to a monk even if he is her teacher.
When the corpse of one's psrent is to be removed from home
to a'' wat" or monastery for religions rites and disposal, the children
of the cleceased will make a "mop krap'' as a final act of filial duty
to their parent. H such an act is amiss, it is :1
popular and superstitious
belief that the corpse will be unduly heavy for itt~ bE>arerA. Once
the children of the deceased have filially clone the "mop krap", the
bearers will feel, in their imagination of co11nw, at ease carrying the
cumbersome burden of the corpse.
vVhat has been described of the "mop krap" salutation shows
it to be a personal and an informal one. If it is done ceremoniously
one has to offer a fresh flower, a wax taper, and three incense sticks.
Having lit the wax taper and incense stieks and placed them with
the flower on an nppropriate place at the altar where a Bucldba image
stands prominently with articles of offering, one can then make a
movement of "mop krap ". By an analogy this mny be extended to
tbe king if one knows before hand that the king will pass by. As
to royal offerings there is a special gold tray containing such articles
of offerings and divided into a major or a minor gold tray according
to the importance of the oceasion, about which we need not go into
details. H.R.H. Prince Darnrong Rajanubhnp has written a monograph
on royal offerings which may be consulted by any interested
person.
When attending a Thai cremafion a person will place a

TIIAT THADITIONAL SALUTATION
167
tnper, ~1n incense stick and a flower at the cof:c .u 1 n a s a ] as t fi ma 1 ac t
of respect tn the deceased, and then lights a piece of wood for the
funeral pyre. Nowadays the flower, instead of a fresh one, has
degenerated into a flower made of wood shavings which stands also
for the chip of wood for lighting the funeral pyre.
The paying of a
final act of respect to the dead and the cremating of the corpse blend
completPly into one as may have frequently been seen.
In ceremonial "mop !nap" on special occasions, such as,
when a person is going to enter the monkhood; when a newly married
couple is paying formal respect after the wedding ceremony to the
parents or other highly respected persons; when one is apologizing
to someone whose reputation one has slandered or injured; the first
step is to prepare a salver containing, in groups of five, sir.eable big
incense sticks and wax tapers, arranged in two rows with the wax
tapers placed above the incense sticks and tied artistically with
rihhon B n t hnt h Pnrk A hanana leaf c.up with a sizeable flower or
a bunch nf flowers plnced nbove the wax tapers, and covered by a
conic cover also made with banana leaf.
Such a set of flowers,
incense.~ stickR and wax tapers is called in Thai" dawk mai dhup dian
phne" ( ~>Yf>ltl '[{J~ Ut~nutt 'I'll -·-flowers on rafts of incense sticks and wax
taperR ). One plnces the salver, a-fter taking off the conic cover,
in front of the person to whom one wishes to express eeremonial
resped. One then hands the salver of offerings with both hands
to the approprinte person, who eeremoniously receives and places
it in front of him or her. One performs the movement of "mop
krap" ~mrl fiOlemnly addresses the person concerned in formal
lanr;u:Jge. giving the reason for paying such respect. The person
concerned says something appropriate to the occasion. One makes
nnother "mop kntp "; and then takes leave, bringing back with one
the sal vcr.
I may add here that in Thai common parlance "krap" is
called "krap wai" i.e., the '' 1 ;:rap " fln d t I 1e " wat . '' com b. me ,d..
In
an extension of meaning, " 1 uap " means '' t o as I { a I nnuness · .J of" in
polite and intimate terms o£ speech. A conventional term of address
to tbe royal family is" krap thoon" (fmlJ~t'l), literally to inform or

168 Phyn Anuman Rajaclhon
tell with a" krap ",to an official as one's superior who is not a me~ber
of the royal family, and to a dignitary it is" krap rian" (m1Ul~uu)
which has the same meaning, the different worcls hearing relation
only to the ranks of the persons addressed.
It is not out of place here to sny something on the propriety
or manners of the Thai as traditionally observed. The Thai deems
his head to be sacred; probably because the head is the seat of an
individual '' khwan" ('ll'ri:)j), that is, one's vital spirit which gives
strength and health to the individual owner. The "khwan" is very
sensitive and when subjected to any undecorous behaviour it will
feel injured and leave the body, its abode, to stray somewhere in a
forest, and will return only to its abode after a more or less ceremonial
cajolery. During the time before the "khwan ''returns, its
owner will suffer a weakening of his "clignifiecl :-;plendour" (cr~mrr) ' "'
followed by bad luck and ill-health.
With such an idea, handed down from one generation to
another from a remote period of time, the sacredness of the head
lies deeply in popular mind. The bending low of one's head to a
person or thing in the form of a bow as a sign of obeisance or as a
respectful attitude has survived to the present day. A Thai will
not suffer anyone to pat his head, unless on very intimate terms. H
the hand that touches the head is that of woman, though his dearest
one, the man will instantly lose his" dignified splendour", for a
woman's hand is sensitively adverse to the" khwan ". A conservative
person will frown distastefully if he sees a young man allowing
his sacred head to be touched by his young wife, or lying his head
on the wife's lap. A man will not pass under a clothes line, where
women's clothing is hung to dry. Woe to man's" dignified splendour'',
if his sacred head is touched by a woman's clothing. All his sacred
endowments and powers appertaining to magical arts will be weakened
or gone.
When sitting, standing or passing before a high personage,
or elder or any other persons of equal standing, one should assume
an attit\lde of meekness by stooping or bending down one's head or

THAI TRADITIONAL SALUTATION 169
body so that it is not on a level or above the head of the personage.
If a high personage is sitting on a rug or mat in the Thai traditional
style, he should be approached on the knees or in a crawling position.
If the personage is sitting on a chair, one should stoop low when
passing. This attitude applies equally to a personage who is walking.
If one is to speak with the personage, the first thing to do is to
"mop krap" and repeat it when departing. Here is then the reason
for assuming the attitude of a crouched position or for reclining
slightly side-wise as mentioned.
I may add here that the placing of one's hands in a" budding
lotus" position or " wai" is never higher than the forehead. In the
ordinary way of life, a" wai" in such a manner is done mostly by a
prisoner, who is asking for quarter or relief, or a beggar asking for
alms. Acting in such a manner, is called idiomatically "to raised
the hands (in worship) overwhelming the bead, as'' pret '' ( 11h~ a
class of hungry ghosts) asking for a share of "boon" (or merit as
accruing) to be ritually transferred to him, thus relieving him of his
intense hungriness, for a "pret" has a mouth only as wide as a
needle's eye.

BOO'K REVIEWS
Burma Research Society, Fiftieth Anniversary Publications No, 2.
Selections of articles from the Journal of the Burma Research Society
(History and Literature). Rangoon, 1960.
There is special merit in the publication of an anniversary
volume which reproduces the outstanding articles from the journal
of a learned society. The files of these journals are often not easily
accessible to students abroad or, when accessible, are frequently
incomplete. This becomes especially unfortunate in the case of the
journals of learned societies in Southeast Asia since in recent years
this area has come to attract increasing attention in Europe and
America. In 1954 the Siam Society undertook a 50th anniversary
publication in two volumes, which were followed by a series of
volumes each devoted to articles related to a given subject.
The year 1960 was the 50th anniversary of another distinguished
learned society in Southeast Asia. The Burma Research Society
has consequent! y undertaken to publish a series of anniversary
volumes incorporating outstanding articles which have appeared in
its Journal over the past half century. The present volume is the
second of the series and is devoted to contributions on the history
and literature of Burma. The selections are most gratifying and
include the names of such well known figure::; in Burmese studies as
J, S. Furnivall, D. G. E. Hall, G. H. Luce, Pe Muang Tin, and Maurice
Collis whose popular histories and delightful fantasies have done so
much Lo arouse interest among Western readers in the colorful and
vibrant life of Southeast Asia.
Early European intercourse with Burma occupies a large
position in the volume. Attention is draw at once to John L.
Christian's interesting article on the little known subject of Denmark's
activities in Burma and the Nicobar Islands in the 17th and
18th centuries. Furnivall recounts early Portuguese contacts
through the adventurous travels of Duarte Barbosa, while Hall
describes on the basis of material from the Batavia Daghregister s

172 nooK Imvmws
Dutch relations with Arakan and Burma. Hall was one of the first
scholars to make extensive use of this invaluable source for the history
of Southeast Asia in the 17th century, a source which was later
exploited so effectively by T. Volker in his two absorbing studies
of the Dutch East India Company's trade in Far Eastern ceramics.
Muang Kaung has further contributed to the subject of European
intercourse through two articles on Christian missionary activities
in Burma. Collis, in collaboration with San Shwe Bu, bas also
touched on Burma's foreign relations by a study of early coinage in
an article entitled "Arakan's Place in the Civilization of the Bay."
Under this somewhat misleading title, however, we discover, together
with Collis' article on a 16th century Arakanese poem, that fertile
source of historical elrama which later inspired his memorable account
of the adventures of Friar Manrique in Arabm, The Land of the
Great Image.
A different aspect of early -foreign contacts with Burma, or more
properly with Southeast Asia, is presented in Luce's erucli te analysis
of the many references to this area in early Chinese sources. This
ambitious undertaking originally constituted Parts II and III of
volume XIV of the Journal, and with its lavish reproduction of the
Chinese ideographs used in the transliteration of Southeast Asian
place and personal names and cited for the purpose of interpreting
obscure passages of the original texts, this lengthy article is the
outstanding contribution to the anniversary volume. Luce provides
not only a valuable guide to the scattered and often ambiguous references
to Southeast Asia found in the various dynastic histories
and other Chinese writings, but he collates this data with material
from the works of early Greek, Roman and Arabic writers and assesses
the various interpretations of these sources by modern orientalists.
In additions to Chinese references to Burma itself, the reader
will find a wealth of information on the early movements of the Thai
peoples into Southeast Asia, and the history of Campa, Fu-nan,
Dvaravati, Kambujadda, and such shadowy kingdoms as P'an-p'an
and Tambralinga. The study also throws much light on the early
trade routes used by the Chinese and Arabs.

BOOK HEVTEWS 173
Luce contributed a nnmber of otber articles of note to this
volume. His stucly on the ancient Pyu of Burma also makes full use
of Chinese sources, and his heavily documented article on early
economic life in Burma contains a mine of philological information
pertaining to the names of flora and fauna and the terms employed
for the products, customs and economic pursuits of the early Burmese.
Economic matters of a much Inter age are discussed by Furnivall in
his history of the revenue system in Tenasserim.
Art and archaeology are treated rather sparingly in this
volume, but the two illustrated articles by Luce on the greater and
lesser temples of Pagan are especially rewarding. Burmese literature,
on the other hand, receives substantial treatment. Pe Muang
offers a translation o{ a 12th century inscription from the Shwegugyi
Pagoda at Pagan, together with a study of women and one of Buddhism
as revealed in the Pagan inscriptions. He also has a short
essay on the Burmese novel. Literature is further discussed in the
translation of some Burmese proverbs by Po Byu, and the contribution
of]. A. Stewart on the Burmese drama. Finally, the article by
C. A. Cuttriss on early newspapers will undoubtedly awaken the
nostalgia of Old Burma Hands with its references to such English
language publications as the Pegn Ga::ette, the Akyab Commercial News
and the Moulmein Advertiser.
('Jha.rles 9\felson c.~pinks

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
A. 0 o,; €
272. Aniruddha in verse, 'EJ'fJHl'llfll'l:l'WVl concorded by Dr. I-Ir.id
,
RUB~riddhi, & annotated by Dr. Dhanit Yiipo, Sivaporn Press
Bangkok, B.E. 2503. 136 pages.
"\ 0 o.J r(
273. Samudraghosa. in verse, ~j.JV]j , L'Jmf'll'fHJVl concorded by Miss
Kulasabya ChiinrmJr

17il
HECENT STA\flo:SE I'UBI.TCATTO'\S
vererl in Usa's chambers by her father; a fight ensues; the father is
vanquished bnt forgiven. Samnrlraghosa also has to fight a number
of competitors for the hand of his lady love and of course wins
over them.
The affinity ends here as n!Ho the story of Anirucldha. The
other story however goes on to the ncf]uisition of a magical sword
by the hero with which he is enabled to fly through the air and see
the sights and supernatural animals of the wildernesses of the
Himalayas. Here the author of this part of the story-Prince Paramanujit
gives full rein to his romantic imagination of a supernatural
world in which elephants of aristocratic breeds and other wonderful
deni:;:ens of the forest are brought on to the stage. It may he meni"ioned
here in passing that such a world of wild fnuna has been
I
preserved pictorially in the murals of the Repository of Wat Po,
over which the author ruled as chief abbot at the time of the third
reign restoration and it must have been his initiative whieh brought
these interesting murals into being. It has only just occured to the
reviewer that if these murals could have been reproduced ancl thus
kept an undying record of the poet's fertile inwgination in this
volume it would be a happy decoration to an already artistic volume
of Siamese romance of olden days.
Having given a summary of the plots of the rnmnnces, it is
now time to turn to the more prosaic problem of their origins. Did
they have anything in common? The romance of Anirnrldlw was
written by Sri Praj according to tradition which need not be questioned.
The story seems to have existed and referred to dnring the
later periods of Ayudhya and when King Rama I effeeted his extensive
reconstruction he wrote out a text for the dance-drama whieh
followed the old story in outline but changed the name of the
hero to Unamt. The Ayudhya version of Anirudclha, however,
has been traced to such an old origin Sanskrit Vishnu Pnruna.
Although it seems a far cry from even Ayudhya to that venerable
Bible of the Hindus, yet the names correspond in a remarkable
manner. The hero in the Purana and in the Ayudhya romance was
Aniruddha and has been modified in the Bangkok period to Unarut;

HI\CEN'J' SIA~!RSE PURLICATIONS
177
the heroine was Usa, dauahter of Bala l\" 1 "ng of Q • • 1
,., · , v011!pura Ill t 1e
Ayudhya romance who in the I)urunn was Usa, daughter of Bana,
King of Sonitapma; whilst in Unarut she is Usa daughter of Billa,
King of Ratna. The confidante in the Purana was Citralekha; in
the Ayudhya work Bicitralekha; and Subhalaksh in Unarut. The
state of the hero was Dvaraka in the Purana; Dvaravati in the
Ayudhya romance and NaroiJa in Unarut.
The differences are not difficult to explain. The literary world
of Ayuclhya was not only chronologieally nearer to the traditions of
India but might have had more relationship therewith than we are
able to imagine. By the time of the first reign of Bangkok very few
literary connections survive and the know ledge of the Sanskrit classics
were practically nil.
Turning now to authorship. As had been pointed out above,
the author of Aniruddha was Sri Praj, a young and brilliant poet of
the Court of King Narai of Ayudhya ( 1656-1688 ). He misused the
King's favour and was sent away to Nakon Sri Dbarmaraj, where
again he! misused the governor's protection and was put to death by
the latter.
The aut.hon;hip of the latter poem was remarkable in that it
was three men who contributed to the work, one after an other. It
is recorded in the latter part of the poem, the one written by Prince
Parnmanujit, that at first King Nadii instructed the Court Preceptor
to write it as a text for the shadow-play. In the initial section the
Preceptor indicated his division of the whole story into four parts
( p. 19 ); but only wrote almost to the end of the second where he
left off in the middle of the tale. It has been surmised that he might
have been taken ill and died. I\.ing Narai himself took up the task
and continued the story a little but again left off for no given reason.
His diction, it should be noted, was not at all inferior to that of the
professional poet. It was not till the third reign of the Chalui
dynasty of Bangkok that the story was resumed under circumstances
which should be of interest to reproduce in translation, thus:-
" Invited by younger brother, Kromami.ln Kraisaravijit and
Pra Sombatibal to resume the poem which had been left
unfinished for ages,

1'78 HF.CENT tilMIESl\ l'UOL!CA1JONS
"I set out to accede to their wishes. They however died
soon after.
''The work remained in abeyance for some two years for my
spirits were low with bereavement and my enthusiasm left.
"Then cousin Krom Wongsa implored for a resumption.
"Finally, ashamed to admit the lack of Siamese poetic inspiration,
I summoned energy and wrote the work to its conclusion
.. 0 0 • for the glory of our gracious sovereign
" ..... and finished it in the year of the cock, Chulasakaraj
1211, on Sunday the fifth of the waxing moon of Karttika
..... "
This story of Prince Paramanujit differs in one respect from
the writings of the Ayudhya poets in that it has been drawn, according
to Dr. Yii{Jo, from the Pannlisa Jat.aka. His diction is, as usual,
full of beauty and rhythmic sonance though not absolutely correct
in the light of the rules of prosody. A comparison of the texts of
Ayudhya with the Pa'iiniisa ]atalw may be found in appendix 8
( pp. 276 etsqq ). It was a happy thought of the editor to include
reproductions of the murals of Wat Dusit depicting the story of
Samuclraghosa, as also the biographies of the authors of Samudraghosa,
the first one of which by Dr. YU:{lo hao been very well written.
The cremation last April of the remains of His late Highness
Prince Vivadhanajai was the occasion for the publication of a number
of memorial volumes, some of which were purely technical and
others of more general interest. All tending to preserve for posterity
records of his accomplishments. It is proposed here to give more
attention to the ones dealing with more general aspects than to the
technical treatises which are given nevertheless short mention.
"""' .;
274. Biography of Prince Vivndh, 'v'l1~ll:r~rJ~ '\"lj~f'JjfJ~fJL 'lltl Ym
u' "'"' "' t
fl~flL!"llflf'JnJU ":lftl sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, Government
Lottery Press, Bangkok, B.E. 2504. 93 p.
After a short preface Mr. Sunthorn Hongsladarom contributes
a well summed up eulogy of the deceased as being a good listener
who never failed to give every attention to what is said to him; a

In:CENT SIA~IESE PUBLICATIONS 179
good speaker whose sensible and humorous touches are appreciated
both at home and abroad; a fair minded man of forbearance who faced
all situations without flinching before adversity; and a modest and
contended man of simple habits. The biography itself has been
written by M.R. Kukrit Pramoj, his colleague at one time in the
Ministry. It is, as may be expected, written with sympathy and
understanding, revealing to the reader the clever son of an able
father, who was one of the most trusted of King Chulalongkorn's
ministers and incidentally a Minister of Finance like Prince
Vivadhana himself. The deceased 1i ved in childhood with his aunt
and sister in the inner palace and was thus familiar with the King
and his Court. It has been said that the boy was so clever that at
an early age he was able to memorise the lengthy Pali title of the
King and was rewarded with a neck pendant usually given to the
King's children of the highest rank. He was then sent to be educated
in England at an early age, finally went up to Cambridge University
where he got second class honours in the Tripos of History and
received his B.A. degree. He then entered the service of the Government
in the Ministry of Finance, in which after a brilliant career as
Director General in turn of each of the more important departments,
such as the Revenues, the Customs, Excise finally becoming Comptroller-General
and then Under-Secretary. The deceased became
Minister of Finance when there was no longer any objection to
members of the Royal Family being given a portfolio in the Cabinet.
He was also sent abroad on several occasions notably to represent
Siam at meetings for the conclusion of peace at the end of the
Second World War. Prince Vivadhana was the originator of the
Bank of Thailand and also Governor of the International Monetary
Fund in which work he was constantly connected. Another piece
of work was the United Nations Korea Rehabilitation which kept
him in that country for a short time. Prince Vivadbana's final
position in the state was as a Privy Councillor.
The biography is followed by texts of the Royal Proclamation
raising him to tb e rank of Pra-Ol)cao, of a shorter biography, of notes
on his work in various capacities in the Ministry of Finance and in
the International Monetary Fund.

180 llECENT SJMIESE PUBLICATJONS
"' .t

181
The third book contains passages from speeches by the Prime
Minister touching on finance and economics; lectures on Finance
Law at the University as noticed in the above ( 277 ); and an interesting
precis by the deceased of the scheme of national economic
development.
""' "' li) ,(
279. Vivadhanajni Memento, r:Jf'JnlfJ ~jftJl'W~rrn , sponsored by the
Bank of Thailand, Siva{Jorn Press, Bangkok, 2504. 436 p.
This bulky volume consists of an intimate eulogy of the late
Prince, who was the Bank's first Governor and promoter from the
outset ( 1942-46 ). It deals chiefly with his life and work ( pp. 48-128)
which should be read by all who are interested in the financial
history of Siam. It also contains an interesting and clear-worded
memorandum Ly the late Prince on the establishment of a central
bank in this country ( pp. 1-71 ), giving a draft of the law then
proposed to be issued with an explanatory note on the draft, a
memorandum on the n('ed to compel banks to establish and maintain
reserves in the central Bank and an unfinished memorandum in
English on establishing the Bank. Further memoranda herein are
one on the Control of Exchange ( pp. 75-92 ), on the Control of Credit
( pp. 93-1:11 ), on the Control of Commercial Banks ( 135-174) on
stability of the value of the hnht ( 176 275) and on Currency
( 276-end ).
As all this informative material, generally couched in the
simplest language in the style peculiar to this writer, is yet highly
technical, it is not proposed to comment at any length in this nonprofessional
journal of ours, beyond giving the above summaries.

ACCE"SSIONS TO THE SIAM SOCIETY LIBRARY
from /January 1961 to /June 1961
Books
Anwnr, Chairil
Anuman Rajaclhon,
Phya
Banerjee, Gauranga
Nath
Biihler, G,
!I
Rinyon, Laurence
Rosch, F.D.K.
Bernnt?.ik, f-T up;o
Adolf
"
Lebar, Frank M.
Boas, Frmn
Blofeld, John
Coomaraswamy,
Ananda K.
,
"
Congress for the
Cui ture Freedom
Congress for Cultural
Freedom
Cole, Alan B., Editor
Diskul, M.C.
Subhadradis
Indonesian Poems.
Life and Ritual in Old Siam ( 1960 ).
Hellenism in Ancient India ( 1920).
Indian Paleography. Plated & Transliterntion
Tables ( 19!19 ).
Indian Paleography ( 1959 ).
Painting in the Far East ( 1959 ).
The Golden Germ ( 19fi0).
Akha und Mean ( 1947 ).
Akha und Meau.
Indonesia, Vol. I & TI.
Primitive Art.
People of the Sun ( 1960 ).
The Dance of Siva.
The Arts & Crafts of India & Ceylon (1913).
The Transformation of Nature in Art (1953).
Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom
( 1953 ).
Cultural Freedom in Asia ( 1956 ).
A Scientist with Perry in Japan.
G~1ide to Ancient Monuments in Lopburi.

Hll
Dhanapnltt, D.E.
( Sel. & Com.)
I-I.H. Prince Dhani
Nivat, Kromamun
Bidyalabh
Embree, John F.
Dotson, Lillian Otn
Goetz, Hermann
Goswami, A, Editor
Gordon, Wilhelm
Friedrich
Hackin, Ria
Koh~ad, Abmrtd Ali
ACCESSTOIIS TO TIIJI. SJA\1 SOCIETY LllllL\IiY
: The Story of Sinhalese Painting.
Seato Lectures
Bibliography of the Peoples ~mel Cultures
of Mainlnnd Southeast Asia ( 1 0fi0)
India
Indian Terracotta Art ( 19.'i9)
Thailand ( 1941)
Legennes et CoutumeB Afglmnes
Hooykaas-Van
Leeuwen Boomkarnp, : Ritual Purification of a Balinese Temple
Jacoba ( 1961)
Ministry of
Informations and
Broadcastin~;
Isherwood,
Chistopher and
others
I\ak, Ram Chandra
Kunst, Jaap
" "
Von Koenigswald,
G.H.H.
Kahin, George
MeTurnan Editor
Kern, H.
I\oen tjaraningra t,
RT\1.
Indian Drama
Vedanta for tbe Western World
Ancient Monuments of Kashmir
Supplement to the Third Edition of Ethnomusicology
The Cultural Background nf Indonesian
Music ( 1949)
Meeting Prehistoric l\if:-~n
Government and Politics of Southeast Asia
I-Iistoire du Bouddhisme dans L'Inde
A preliminary Description of the Javanese
f\insbip Systerq .

ACCJ.:SSlONS TO THE Sl·\\1 SOCIETY LlllRAHY 185
Keene, Donald
Launay, Adrien
Martini, Fran

186 ACCES~ION:> TO TilE Sl.'\!1! :;ocn:n Llll!L\In
l~andhawa, MS.
Van Resandt,
W. Wijnaendts
Renou, Louis
Filliozat, Jean
Risenfeld, Alphonse
Schildler, Bruno
Editor
Smith, Vincent A.
Solheim, II,
Wilhelm G.
Society of the Divine
Word (Publisher)
Soper, A.C. Editor
Salmony, Alfred
Speyer, J.S. Editor
Textor, Robert B.
Te-Kun, Cheng
Movius, Jr. Hallam L.
de Terra, Hellmut
and others
Troger, Ernest
Tung, Bui Quang
Tulachandra,
Translator
Thapar, D. R.
Wulff, K
Wales, H. G.
Quaritch
Young, Oliver
Gordon
Zimmer, Heinrich
"
Basohli l)ainting
De Gezaghebbers der Oost-lndische Compagnie
op hare Buiten Comptoiren in Azie.
L'Incle Classique, Manuel des Etudes In·
diennes.
The Megalithic Culture of Malanesia.
Asia Major, Vol. I, II.
A Hi:story of Fine Art in India and Ceylon.
Asian Perspective:;, Vol. II.
Folk lore Studies.
Artibus Asiae, Vol. XXIII, 2.
La Sculpture an Siam.
A vadanar;ataka.
From Peasant to Pedicab Driver.
Archaeology in China, Vol. I.
Research on Early Man in Burma.
Ban-Pae-Lungar.
Le SoulEwement des Soeur Tru'ng.
: Prisna.
: Icons in Bronze.
: Sang Hyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya.
: The Making of Greater India.
: The Hilltribes of Northern Thailand.
: Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and
Civilization.
: The Arts of Indian Asia.

AC:C:8SSIONS TO Tllt;: SlAM SOCIETY LlllRAHY 187
Periodicals
American Museum of Natural History, Bulletin of the, Vol. 119,
Arts. 3-4, 1960; Vol.l20, Arts. 1-2, 1960; Vol121, Arts. 1-2,1960.
Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
for the Year 1959.
Archiv Orientalni, 28/3, 28/4, 1960.
Arkiv for Zoologi, Andra Serien, Band 12, Hafte 5-6, 1961; Band 13,
Hafte 1961.
Artibus Asiae, Vol XXIII/1, 1959.
Asian Perspectives, Vol, II, No.2, 1958.
Asian Studies, the Journal of. Vol. XX, Nos. 1-2, 1960-1961.
Asiatique Journal, Tome CCXLVIII, Fasc Nos. 1-2, 1960.
Baessler- Archive, Neue Folge Band VIII, Heft 2, 1960.
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Annals of the, Vol. XL,
Pts. 1-4, 1960.
Bibliography of Scientific Publications of South and South East Asia,
Vol. 6, Nos. 11-12, 1960; Vol. 7, Nos. 1-2, 4-5, 1960-1961.
Bonner Geographische Abhandlungen Heft 28, 1960.
Breviora, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Nos. 127-132, 132-137,
1960-1961.
Chesapeake Science, Vol 1, No. 2, 1960.
Cultural News from India, Vol. 2, Nos. 1-3, 1961.
Dansk Botanisk, Arkiv, Bind 19, Nr. 2. 1960.
East and West, New Series,Vol. 11, No.4, 1960; Vol.12, No.1, 1961.
Eastern Horizon, Vol. 1, Nos. 6/7, 1961.
Encounter, Vol. XVI, No. 2, 1961.
Five Booklets (Presented by H.E. Mons. M. Shafie ).
Florida State Museum, Director's Report 1959-60.
France-Asie, Nouvelle Serie, Tome XVII, No. 165, 1960.
Hawaiian Academy of Science, 35th Annual Meeting, 1959-1960,
Proceeding of the.
Health B1.1lletin, (Thai), Vol. 6, 1960.

l!l8
Hitotsubashi journal of Economics, Vol. 1, No. l, 1960.
Indian Archaeology, 1959-60, A Review.
Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Bulletin, Tome.
XXXVI, Nos. 8, 23-24, 26, 28-30, 3337, 88, 45, 47, 1960.
Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Memoires, ze
Serie, Fasces. 59-64, 1960-1961.
Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Memoires,
Memoire No. 146, 1960.
Jahrbuch Des Museum fUr Vi.ilkerkunde zu Leipzig. Band XVIII,
1961.
Japaneses journal of Ethnology, the Vol. 25, No.5. 1960.
Kombujasuriya, 33° Annee, Nos. 1-8. 1961.
Librarian of Congress for the Fiscal Year Ending ] nne :·lO, 19GO.
Annual Report of the.
Maha Bodhi, The, Vol. 68, Nos. 9, 11-12; Vol. 69, Nos. 1-4, 1961.
March of India, the, Vol. 12, No. 11, 1960; Vol, 13, Nos. 1-2, :1-5,
196.
Marg, Vol. XIII, No.4 1960.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bulletin, January 19()1.
Microentomology, Vol. 24, No. 3, 1961.
Mie Medical Journal, Vol. X, No. 3, 1960.
Mitteilung aus dem Staatlichen Museum Hir Naturkundc in Stuttgart,
Nr. 374-378, 1960.
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Bullel"in du, ze Serie, Tome
32, No. 5, 1960.
Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, Bulletin of
the, Vol. 123, Nos. 6-9, 1960; Vol. 124, 1960; Vol. 125, No. 1
1961.
Mnseum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bulletin, Vol. LVIII, Nos. 515 &
314, 1960.
Muslim World, The, Vol. LI, Nos. 1··2, 1960--61.
Nature Unci Volk, Vol. 90, Heft 10-12; Vol. 91, Meft 1-4, 1\:Jol.
Nytt Magasine for Zoologi, Vol. 9. 1960.

ACC:ESS!ONS 'J'O SlAM SOClETY LlBRAnY
189
Oriental Art, New Series, Vol. VI, No. 4, 1960; VII, No. 1,
1961.
Pacific Science, Vol. XV, Nos. 1-2, 1961; Vol. XVI, No.2, 1961.
Raffles Museum State of Singapore, No. 26, February, 1961.
Research Department of the Toyo Bunko, (the Oriental Library)
Memoirs of the, No. 19, 1960.
Research Information Bulletin, No. 6, 1960.
Revue Horticole de !'Algerie, No.7, Juillet, 1960.
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London,
Bulletin of the, Vol. XXIV, Pt. 1, 1961.
Siriraj Hospital Gazette, (Thai), 12th Year, Vol. 12, Nos. 11-12;
13th Year, Vol. 13, Nos. 5-6 1961.
Southeast Asia Accessions List, March, No. 26, 1961.
Southeast Asian History, Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1960.
Stanford Ichthyological Bulletin, Vol. 7, No.4, 1960.
Stuttgarter Beitrage Zur Naturkunde aus dem Staatlichen Museum
fUr Naturkunde in Stuttgart, Nr. 31-38, 1960.
Sumer, A Journal of Archaeology and History in Iraq, Vol. XVI,
Nos. 1 & 2, 1960.
T'Oung Pao Archives, Vol. XL VII, Livr. 8-fi, 1959.
Tamil Culture, Vol. IX, No. 1, 1961.
Toyo Gakuho, the, Vol. XLII, Nos. 3-4, 1959; Vol. XLIII, No. 1,
1960.
Tropical Abstracts, Vol. XV, No. 12, 1960; Vol. XVI, Nos. 2-3, 1961.
United States National Museum, Annual Report for the Year
Ended June, 1960.
United States National Museum Bulletin 220-221, 223, 1960.
United States National Museum, Proceedings of the, Vol. 112, Nos.
3437, 8445-3449, 1960; Vol. 113, Nos. 3450-3452, 1961.
University of California Publications in Entomology, Vol. 16, Nos.
7-8, 1960; Vol. 17, Nos. 2-8, 1961.
University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 61, No. 6,
1961; Vol. Vol. 67, 1961.
Viking Fund Publications in Onthropology, No. 29, 1960.

OBITUARY
Mr. Charles Martin Anderson
Siam Society Council Member-1950
It is with sincere regret that the Siam Society must record the
passing of Mr. Charles Martin Anderson, former member of the
Council, whose sudden and untimely death occured on July 31, 1961
in India, the result of an automobile accident. He is survived by
his wife and two daughters residing in England.
An officer in the British Foreign Service, Mr. Anderson was born
on July 1, 1918 in England. He was appointed a Probationer
Vice-Consul in Bangkok in October, 1939. After serving in a
number of posts he returned to Thailand in March, 1949, as First
Secretary and was Charge d'Affaires, a.i. of the British Embassy
during 1949 and 1950. He was appointed a member of the United
Kingdom's delegation to the United Nations in June, 1951 and lived
in New York until1953 when he was appointed to Luxembourg. He
was transfered to the British Foreign Office in 1956 and promoted to
Counsellor. In 1959 he was seconded to the office of the High
Commission of the United Kingdom at New Delhi. Following the
State visit of Her Majesty the Queen of England to India in 1961,
Mr. Anderson was made Commander of the Victorian Order.
Mr. Anderson was greatly interested in the Thai language which
he spoke and wrote with ability. He was elected a member of the
Siam Society in 1949 and a member of the Council in 1950.

OBITUARY
Mr. Charles Martin Anderson
Siam Society Council Member-1950
It is with sincere regret that the Siam Society must record the
passing of Mr. Charles Martin Anderson, former member of the
Council, whose sudden and untimely death occured on July 31, 1961
in India, the result of an automobile accident. He is survived by
his wife and two daughters residing in England.
An officer in the British Foreign Service, Mr. Anderson was born
on July 1, 1918 in England. He was appointed a Probationer
Vice-Consul in Bangkok in October, 1939. After serving in a
number of posts he returned to Thailand in March, 1949, as First
Secretary and was Charge d'Affaires, a.i. of the British Embassy
during 1949 and 1950. He was appointed a member of the United
Kingdom's delegation to the United Nations in June, 1951 and lived
in New York until1953 when he was appointed to Luxembourg. He
was transfered to the British Foreign Office in 1956 and promoted to
Counsellor. In 1959 he was seconded to the office of the High
Commission of the United Kingdom at New Delhi. Following the
State visit of Her Majesty the Queen of England to India in 1961,
Mr. Anderson was made Commander of the Victorian Order.
Mr. Anderson was greatly interested in the Thai language which
he spoke and wrote with ability. He was elected a member of the
Siam Society in 1949 and a member of the Council in 1950.

SECOND ANNUAL REPORT
THE SIAM SOCIETY RESEARCH CENTER
Year:
1st. October 1960
BOth. Septem
b
er 1961
1. Establishment of The Siam Society Research Oenter.
The Research Center became established upon notification of
the President of the Siam Society to the Treasurer of the Ford
Foundation in New York City, N.Y. by letter dated September
30, 1959.
2. Program of activities of the Research Oenter.
A program of proposed activities of the Research Center as
basis of operation is contained in the memorandum attached to the
letter of the President of the Siam Society to the Director International
Training and Research Program dated 13th October 1958.
3. Budget. U.S. $ 25.000.- for 3 years.
The Research Center operates under a grant of the Ford
Foundation of TJ.S. $ 25.000.-payable in 3 annual instalments.
The first Annual Report dated 13th. October 1960 together
with the Statement of Accounts were published in the Journal of
the Siam Society Vol. XLVIII Part 2, November 1960.
The first instalment was received in November 1959 and the
second instalment in November 1960. Application for the third and
last instalment of U.S. $ 8.000-was submitted ,with this second
annual report. Also for the second year of operations the administration
of funds received was the responsibility of the Hon. Treasurer
of the Siam Society, who obtained authorization of spending from
the Committee of the Siam Society Research Center.
Also for the second financial year of the Research Center, the
Hon. Treasurer has prepared a Financial Statement, duly audited,
for consideration by the Ford Foundation. From the statement it
appears that the funds of the second instalment have almost been
spent entirely.

192 SF.CONTl ANNUAL REPORT
The breakdown of the approved Budget for one year is:
Salaries:
Director
Librarian/ office manager
Research fellowship-Research
Library acquisitions
General Operating Expenses
Second instalment received
U.S.$
3,000.-
1,200.-
2,200.-
1,000.-
1,000.-
u.s. $ 8,500.-
For comparison with the actual figures spent, reference is
made to the attached financial statement of the Hon. Treasurer of
the Siam Society and which andited statement is sent to the Ford
Foundation.
4. Standing Committee.
The Research Center is governed by a standing Committee of
which the members have hen elected by the Council of the Siam
Society and which Committee per 30th September 1961 was composed
of the following members:
Committee:
H.H. Prince Prem Purachatra
H.S.H. Prince Ajavadis Diskul
H.E. Monsieur Ebbe Munck
Mr. Kenneth Joseph MacCormac
Mr. V.F. Hemmingsen
Dr. Lauriston Sharp ( Cornell)
Mr. ].J. Boeles, Director
Chairman
Deputy Chairman
Member
Member
Member/Han. Treasurer
Member in absence
Secretary, non-member
The Committee also during the second year of operations has
held meetings regnlarly and at least once a month. In total during
that period, 11 meetings were held and proper minutes, approved by
the Committee, are being kept in the minnte book of the Research
Center. Moreover the Chairman of the Research Center Committee
reports once a month to the Council of the Siam Society on the
activities of the Center. All Committee members residing in
Thailand and the Director of the Center, are also members of the
Council of The Siam Society.

5. Personnel.
~I·:

HJ1
SECOND ANNUAL ItgJ>OH'I'
the many essential books which were not in the Library or had
disappeared. Last year's statement is once more. emphasised here
that it is essential to aim at a library containing the basic material
with reference to Thailand and neighbouring countries. The books
of which this material consists, are the tools without which no proper
scientific research in Thailand will be possible for those scholars and
students who will use the Research Center.
In accordance with established procedure the total budget
allocation of US $ 1.000.- was spent on library acquisitions.
The new acquisitions are published in the Journal of the Siam
Society: the latest list appears in ].S.S. Vol. XLIX Part 1. (July 1961 ).
The Center continued to supe1·vise the steady flow of Exchange
publications with some 84 learned institutions.
8. International distl·ibutiou of tile Society's Imblications.
In the past financial year special efforts have been made to
increase the sale of the Society's publications outside Thailand. It
was therefore particttlarly gratifying to see that onr agent in the
Hague remitted US$ 500. -for sales of reprint publications during
the first half of 1961. As these reprint volumes have been presented
to us by courtesy U.S.I.S. Manila, the proceeds can be used to
:finance further publications. Further interest from abroad-mainly
from America-was evidenced by 16 institLttions taking out subscriptions
to our publications.
9. Research Projects.
During the second year the following research project were
further developed :
a. Thai-Danish Prehistoric Expedition.
During the period under review a field expedition operated
in the Kweh Noi and K weh Yaay area of the province of Kanchanaburi
as per plans outlined in our previous report. The first phase
of this prehistoric expedition proved a great sLtccess. A preliminary
report was published by the leader of the expedition Dr. E. Nielsen
in J.S.S. Vol. XLIX Part 1. I uly 1961. A larger group of Thai and

SI•:CONIJ ANNUAL HIWOHT 11!5
Danish and Dutch scientists has now started since lsL November
the second phase of the experli tion and substantial excavations are
on the way. This time it will be possible to give training into field
methods at the sites to a scheduled number of 50 students and undergraduates
from the Fine Arts University. It is hoped that after this
second season it will be possible to establish a complete chronology
of the prehistory of Thailand. The value of such conclusions also
for neighbouring countries in South East Asia will be great. For
this scientific effort funds for an equivalent of U.S. $ 60.000.- have
been raised almost entirely in Denmark with U.S.$ 4.000.- from the
funds received from the Ford Foundation. This expedition was
organised within the first year of operation of the Research Center,
as mentioned in the first annual report (J.S.S. Vol. XLVIII Part 2
P· 97).
b. Training in Chiengmai of students in Northern Thai
Epigraphy.
This program was carried out successfully during one year
and in which period 3 students were trained in Northern Thai
epigraphy by our member Nai Kraisri Nimmanhaemin in Chiengmai.
e. Library proJect.
In the report on our activities over the first year it was mentioned
that plans were made to build a new library and Research
Center on the premises but that finance was lacking. It is therefore
gratifying now to be able to report that building has been constmcted
in the mean time. The building offers a fl.o01·space of 400
m2 and is constructed to house a library of 15.000 books and periodicals.
The total cost when ready will be Baht 880.000.- or some
US $ 44.000.-. This effort has been made possible by substantial
contributions from the Society's own funds, from the Siam Cement
Co. in kind, by generous donations of Danish commercial concerns
in Bangkok, from the Asia Foundation as well as by individual donations
by members of the Society headed by our Patron ELM. The
King. The ceremonial inauguration of the new building will be
held in the middle of january 1962 in the presence of Their Majesties
The King and Queen and The King and Queen of Denmark.

196 SECOND ANNUAL HI•:I'OH'I'
On the occasion of the opening of the new library the Siam
Society will present an exhibition of modern Thai paintings and
sculptures by young Thai artists in order to stimulate this creative
work.
The new Research Center has adequate facilities for scholars
and students to study.
There is also a display area for showing tribal dresses and
other artefacts from the hill tribes of Northern Thailand.
It should be noted that no money from the Ford Foundation
funds was used for this building, neither for the inventory.
d. Research into the Western cartography on Thailand.
During the year under review several 17th and 18th century
European maps on Siam have been purchased through the good
efforts in Europe by our corresponding member Mr. John Black.
Moreover photocopies of older maps including one from Ptolomaeus
have also been received. It is the intention of the Center to arrive
ultimately at an inventory of all sources on European maps on Siam.
e. Research into tbe Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand.
This project was started in the second year of operatiom.
The object is, in the first place, to try to obtain dresses and clothing
and other artefacts of the material culture of the fast changing hill
tribes in Northern Thailand. We have started 20 years too late.
The Research Center has been fortunate to find Mr. Kraisri Niinmanhaemin
in Chiengmai prepared to organh:e purchase of this
material and to put his invaluable personal knowledge at the disvasal
of the Center. As a result the Research Center has now
1:eceived in total 9 shipments of artefacts comprising of complete
suits of clothing of man, wife and child of some 8 different tribes of
Northern Thailand. Also household and other utensils have been
acquired and even hard-to get weaving looms. The acute importance
of the study or the hill tribes has become very clear most recently.
For acquisitions for this project the Center paid Baht 30.000.-· of
which Baht 15.000.- was contributed by the Asia Foundation. Mr.
Gordon Young, · socio-economist on hill tribes for USOM gave a

SI\C:ONll ANNUAL REPllRT 197
most valuable lecture for the Siam Society with slides, for a capacity
audience. At the same time the Center gave an exhibition for
members of the acquired hill tribes dresses which was well arranged
and was kept on display for 2 weeks.
Mr. Gordon Young's treatise on the Hill Tribes of Northern
Thailand with pictures is now being printed for publication by the
Siam Society, also through U.S.LS. Manila and by courtesy of USOM.
This project will be continued in the third year if funds permit.
f. Research Project re: A critical Pali Dictionary.
As a result of the recent visit of Prof. L.L. Hammerich from
Copenhagen a new research project for the Center has been approved
by the Committee·
Coordination of Philological Research work in Pali studies
in Thailand, specifically in contribution to:
A Critical Pali Dictionary (Appeared: Vol. I and Vol. IT
fasc. I).
A long term publication by the Royal Danish Academy of
Sciences and Letters in Copenhagen and compiled and edited by an
International body of Pali scholars. The main sponsor of this project
is UNESCO.
The official assistance has been secured in principle by Pali
scholars from both Buddhist universities in Bangkok, who have
displayed great interest in this dictionary and which publication is
considered by the learned monks of importance for the understanding
also 0£ present-day Buddhism.
It has been agreed to coordinate the scientific work in Siam
through the Director General of the Religious Affairs Department.
It is fortunate that the Department already has set up a committee
of P~ili scholars for this very purpose.
For translation of Thai communications to Copenhagen into
English, the cooperation has been obtained of Dr. Klaus Wenk,
Thai scholar and presently residing in Thailand. It is hoped that
the financing of Dr. Wenk's work could be arranged from abroad,
as the funds of the Research Center for that specific purpose are
not available.

198 SEr.OND ANNUAL RE.PORT
For the work of this project a budget allocation is proposed
of Baht 6.150.- ( ca US$ 300.-) to be spent in Thailand. It is
proposed that the Siam Society Research Center offers to become
one of the sponsors for the second volume at US$ 800.- ( allocatrrl
above) to be spent in Thailand.
For research in Thailand two specific Buddhist texts have
been selected. Buddhist countries like Burma and Ceylon have
received different texts.
10. Other activities.
More contacts were established with the Universities as a
result of the participation as observer of the Director in the Seminar
on Cultural Anthropology in Bangkok organised by the Association
of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning, in October 1960.
At the request of the Dean of Faculty of the Faculty of Political
Science of the Chulalongkorn University, the Director gave a lecture
for under-graduates on the snbject of: Athropological Vmage
Studies in Thailand. The lecture with bibliography will be printed
by the University together with the papers of the other lecturers in
this training course which were held in February and March 1961.
It should be mentioned here that the Research Center was
visited in October l960 by Mr. John Scott Everton and Mr. Doak
Barnett of the Ford Foundation, New York The work of the
Research Center after one year of operations was discussed
thoroughly. Both gentlemen were received also by His Highness
Prince Dhani Nivat, President of the Siam Society. In March this
year the Center mailed two complete Ieatherbound sets of the Siam
Society's publications ( 18 in total) as presentation to the Ford
Foundation in New York.
At the end of the second period and after almost 2 years of
continuous service a leave of 6 weeks with salary was granted to the
Director who availed himself of a special opportunity to go to Europe
as inaugural guest of S.A.S. in connection with the work of the
Center. In Europe a number of learned institutions and musea of
Oriental art were visited. A report was submitted to the Committee
after the Director's return to Bangkok on October J.st.

11. Policy for the third year.
SF.r.OND ANNUAL RF.POI\T 199
In the new premises of the Researcl1 Center there will he
more opportunity to develop activities because more facilities have
now become available to scholars and students in the form of books
and ethnographic materials. It may be said that the work of the
Center developed successfully along the lines of policy which were
set for the second year and which should also be pursued further
{or the third and last year of the present grant i.e. :
1. Further rehabilitation of the Library.
2. Further improvement of the international distribution of
sales of the Society's publications, inclnding the Journal
S.S. and the Natural History Bulletin.
3. Broadening of contacts with learned institutions and with
scholars in the same field abroad.
4. Development of Research Projects.
12. Conclusion.
During the second year of operations the Research Center
has made great efforts to strengthen the organisation not only of the
Center but also of the internal routine matterfl of the Society itself.
This kind of work fails to show spectacular results, hut it may be
an indication of the greater activities by the fact that in this period
under review more than 100 new members joined the Society; the
total now exceeding 700. Also the financial position of the Society
has never been as strong as it is now and this is one of the main
reasons why it has been found justified to build this new library
through its own efforts.
In this respect it may be observed that the impetus which the
Ford Foundation has given us in the form of a grant of U.S.$ 25,000.­
for 3 years, has shown results after the second year of operation and
which can be expressed in money. With this encouragement of the
Ford Foundation it has been found justified in Denmark to invest in
Siam through the Research Center a sum of U.S.$ 60,000.- for the
archaeological Expedition. Furthermore as a result of the same
encouragement of the Ford Foundation it has become possible to

200 SECOND ANNUAL III•:POHT
raise outside that Foundation a sum of U.S. 44,000.- as investment
in building a new library and Research Center. This makes a total
of U.S. $ 104,000.-, raised from private sources within 2 years. Or
in other words for every dollar which the Ford Foundation has invested
in the Siam Society, four dollars have been received from
other sources.
This is only what the fignres show in terms of money. .It is
hard to describe the delight of the scholars from abroad who more
and more come to use the Research Center as a place where they
can work and where books are available as well as information
regarding the sources of research material, often so difficult to
ascertain. It is also apparent in the increasing number of requests
for information the Center receives from abroad. As a result of
these increased and manifold activities the position of the Director
has now become that of a full time job.
It is hoped that the Ford Foundation after consideration of
these conclusions may be found prepared to negotiate for a new
grant after the termination of the third period ending ultimo
September 1962.
It would show that the Ford Foundation has confidence in
the Siam Society Research Center as a GROWING INSTITUTION.
Encl. 1 Financial Statement
Bangkok, 9th. November 1961
J.J. Boeles
Director
The Siam Society
Research Center.

TilE SiAM SOCIETY RESEARCH OENi'ER
Financial Statement for the period 1st October 1960-30tb September 1961
INCOME
Grant from Ford Foundation US$ 8,500.00
Interest received . . . . . . . . .
Surplus brought forward from previoujl year .
Salaries:
EXPENDITURE
Bht 178,075.00
413.41
"
4,170.93
"
Bht 182,659.34
Director ( incl. tax )
60,000.00
Librarian ( incl. tax )
30,000.00 90,000.00
Clerk's assistance 7,800.00 Bht 97,800.00
Research:
Epigraphy studies, Chiengmai . . . . . . . .
Hill tribe studies, Northern Thailand 31,260.00
less contribution from Asia Foundation 15,000.00
Archaeological Expedition
Administrative Expenses :
Stationery etc.
Postage and delivery . .
Misc. expenses . . . .
Purchase of books for library
Cash on hand .
Bank deposit . . . . . .
Examined and found to agree with the books and vouchers.
Bangkok, November 12, 1961.
CjJhra c.Banijya c8ara CVides
Honorary Auditor.
7,000.00
16,260.00
26,012.69
977.00
1,267.21
590.00
3,300.00
6,919.19
, 49,272.69
"
"
2,834.81
22,533.25
10,219.19
"
Bht 182,659.34
The Siam Society Research Center
C"\1.9. ~Hemmingsen
Hon. Treasurer
Bangkok, October lOth, 1961