The Journal of the Siam Society Patrons of the Siam Society Patron His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Vice-Patrons Her Majesty Queen Sirikit His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarinda Honorary President Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarinda Honorary Vice-Presidents Mom Kobkaew Abhakara na Ayudhya His Serene Highness Prince Subhadradis Diskul Council of the Siam Society, 1998-2000 President Bilaibhan Sampatisiri Vice-Presidents Prof. Krisada Arunwongse John Reid Khunying Niramol Suriyasat Leader, Natural History Section Dr. Weerachai Nanakorn Honorary Secretary Monita Singhakowin Honorary Treasurer Robert Siedell Honorary Librarian Michael Wright Honorary Editor, JSS Dr. Ronald D. Renard Honorary Editor, NHB Dr. Warren Y. Brockelman Members of Council Dr. Woraphat Arthayukti Navarat Laekhakula Fran9ois Lagirarde Paul G. Russell ·Peter Skilling Vara-Poj Snidvongs Chaisak Suwansirikul · John K. Withrington Albert Parav i W ongchirachai The Journal oft he Siam Society Volume 87, Parts 1 & 2 1999 Honorary Editor Ronald D. Renard Editorial Assistant Achara Sangruji Advisory Committee Prapod Assavavirulhakam (Chulalongkom University, Thailand) Oskar von Hiniiber (University ofFreiburg, Germany) Sunait Chutintharanon (Chulalongkom University, Thailand) Pirya K.rairiksh (Thammasat University, Thailand) David K. Wyatt (Cornell University, USA) Charles Higham (Otago University, New Zealand) John Guy (Victoria and Albert Museum, UK) Charles Keyes (University of Washington, USA) Dhirawat na Phombejera (Chulalongkom University, Thailand) Nandana Chutiwongs (Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, The Netherlands) Phasook Indrawooth (Silpakom University, Thailand) Louise Cort (Smithsonian Institution, USA) H. Leedom Lefferts (Drew University, USA) Claude Jacques (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, France) Editorial Board Kanitha Kasin-ubol Euaypom Kerdchouay Fran9ois Lagirarde Albert Paravi Wongchirachai Martin Perenchio Peter Skilling © The Siam Society 1999 ISSN 0857-7099 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the Siam Society. The Journal of the Siam Society is a forum for original research and analysis. Opinions expressed in the Journal are those of the authors. They do not represent the views or policies of the Siam Society. Printed byAmarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited 65/16 Chaiyapruk Road, Taling Chan; Bangkok 10170, Thailand. Tel. (662) 882-1010. Fax (662) 433-2742,434-1385 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.amarin.co.th The Journal of the Siam Society Volume 87, Parts 1 & 2 1999 CONTENTS COVER: The article by Napat Sirisambhand and Alec Gordon tells that this mural, at Wat Chong Nonsi, depicts women mahouts. ABSTRACTS VII A TRIBUTE TO HIS MAJESTY KING BHUMIBOL ADULY ADEJ on the completion of his sixth cycle ix Photograph of His Majesty Visiting the Society xi Thai Poetic Tribute: Boromorachasianwat, by Dr. Saksi Yaemnadda Excerpts on "Self-Reliance Theory of Development" from Concepts and Theories of His Majesty the King's Initiatives. Bangkok: Royal Projects Development Board, the United Nations Development Programme & the Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation, 1997. xm OBITUARY XVII EDITORIAL XIX ARTICLES Napat Sirisambhand Alec Gordon Thai Women in late-Ayutthaya Style Paintings. Keith Branigan Colin Merrony The Gardens of the Royal Palace at Ayutthaya. 17 Ian Hodges Time in Transition: King Narai and the Luang Prasoet Chronicle of Ayutthaya. 33 Volker Grabowsky Forced Resettlement Campaigns in Northern Thailand during the Early Bangkok Period. 45 Ronald D. Renard The Image of Chiang Mai: the Making of a Beautiful City. 87 Hjorleifur Jonsson. Moving House: Migration and the Place of the Household on the Thai Periphery. 99 Journal oft he Siam Society 87.1 & 2 (1999) vi Contents NOTES Michael Smithies Notes on an Article by Rui d' Avila Louirdo. 119 Michel Lorrillard Response to a Question Asking the Meaning of Vientiane (Vieng Can). 120 Ronald D. Renard On Wat Sa Bua Kaeo. 121 REVIEWS Waldon Bello, Shea Cunningham and Li Kheng Poh A Siamese Tragedy: Development and Disintegration in Modern Thailand Michael Smithies 123 Charles Higham and Rachanie Thosarat Prehistoric Thailand-From Early Settlement to Sukhothai Ian Glover 125 Craig A. Lockard Dance ofL ife: Popular Music and Politics in Southeast Asia Terry E. Miller 127 Michael Vickery Society, Economics, and Politics in Pre-Angkor Cambodia: the 7'h and B'h Centuries David Chandler 129 Penny Van Esterik Women ofS outheast Asia Nicola Tannenbaum 130 Hiromu Honda and Noriki Shimazu The Beauty ofF ired Clay: Ceramics from Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand PeterM.Ahn 131 John Guy Woven Cargoes: Indian Textiles in the East John Villiers 137 Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing In the Realm oft he Diamond Queen Ronald D. Renard 139 IN BRIEF 141 OTHER TITLES RECEIVED 144 NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS 145 BACK ISSUES 147 PUBLICATIONS 148 CONTENTS OF JSS VOLUME 86, PARTS 1 8r 2 (1998) 151 Journal oft he Siam Society 87.1 & 2 (1999) vii ABSTRACTS Thai Women in Late Ayutthaya Style Paintings NAPAT SIRISAMBHAND Chulalongkorn University Social Resarch Institute ALEc GoRDON Chulalongkorn University Social Resarch Institute Women's work as shown in murals of the Ayutthayan era is discussed. Murals in central Thailand from about 1660 to the late-eighteenth century were examined. Major findings show that women engaged in many activities including some, such as being a mahout, that are no longer considered "women's work". Such depictions indicate that gender relations in Ayutthayan period were not as clear-cut as many might have thought. Also shown are pictures of violence against women and latter attempts, both at monasteries themselves and in academic studies of the murals, to cover them up. The Gardens of the Royal Palace at Ayutthaya KEITH BRANIGAN Department ofA rchaeology and Prehistory at the University ofS heffield CoLIN MERRONY Department ofA rchaeology and Prehistory at the University ofS heffield The results of a geophysical survey of the garden areas of the Royal Pal~ce at Ayutthaya are described and an interpretation is offered, combining the geophysical evidence with accounts from contemporary sources. It is suggested that in addition to an area of parkland with ponds and mature trees, enclosures, perhaps for fruit trees, can be identified. Two areas provided with small pavilions, paths, flower beds, fountains and water courses are also proposed. Time in Transition: King Narai and the Luang Prasoet Chronicle of Ayutthaya IAN HoDGES Military History Section oft he Australian War Memorial In 1681 King N arai ordered his Chief Royal Astrologer to write a history of Siam. The astrologer followed N arai' s instructions closely and produced a history of the kingdom unlike any that had been written before. Journal oft he Siam Society 87.1 & 2 (1999) viii In this issue The Luang Prasoet Chronicle is widely recognised as the first Thai dynastic history. Although this distinction belongs to an earlier work, no other text influenced later histories to the extent that the Luang Prasoet Chronicle did. Its appearance on the Thai literary scene was the result ofNarai's own background and interests. This article outlines Narai's role in shaping the Luang Prasoet Chronicle and traces the text's influence on later phongsawadan histories. Forced Resettlement Campaigns in Northern. Thailand During the Early Bangkok Period VoLKER GRABOWSKY Westftilische Wilhelms-Universitiit Munster Forced resettlements of conquered populations constituted an important aspect of traditional warfare in underpopulated pre-colonial Southeast Asia where the control of manpower in general counted more than the conquest of land. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the ruling elite of Chiang Mai and other Northern Thai principalities implemented the strategy of deporting significant populations from adjacent Tai-inhabited areas in eastern Burma and southern China in order to rebuild the shattered society and economy of their respective polities. This paper reconstructs the different stages of the forced resettlement campaigns, examines the rationale and discusses their impact on state and society in Thailand's upper north, the historical region ofLan Na. The Image of Chiang Mai: the Making of a Beautiful City RONALD D. RENARD The image of Chiang Mai as a land of beauty developed only in the twentieth century. When Bangkok took political control of northern Thailand. As this occurred the people of Chiang Mai stopped writing their history and largely accepted a history written by Bangkok authorities with the purpose of protecting Thailand from colonization. Many local customs and practices have also been changed in accord with national-level preferences. This has seriously impeded the study of Chiang Mai's history. Moving House: Migration and the Place of the Household on the Thai Periphery HJORLEIFUR JONSSON Arizona State University This article examines social and ritual dynamics among upland ethnic minorities on the Thai periphery. Taking the case of a migration of Mien from the late-nineteenth century, it shows how population movements were involved in structuring relations among chiefs and commoners on the fringe of lowland kingdoms, and how political economic factors related to the shifting prominence of households and villages. The case reveals how migration and leadership have been reinterpreted in the context of national integration. Contemporary processes have undermined the previous prominence of the household in local social life, but an examination ofhousehold interiors suggests that photo-displays, like story-telling, can convey politics that assert household autonomy in spite of contemporary marginalization. Journal oft he Siam Society 87.1 & 2 (1999) EDITORIAL With this issue, I take over editing the Journal using new tools. It is appropriate that the articles of the Siam Society from the able hands of Ian in the Journal reflect this. Glover. Only time will tell if the Society's The cover article by Napat Sirisambhand Council made the correct decision in asking me and Alec Gordon explores what mural paintings to be his successor. I hope that those who from the A yutthayan period (ca. 1300 to 17 67) appreciated his erudite selection of contributions tell about gender roles of that time. The cover will grant me sufficient grace for whatever picture shows a woman atop an elephant in the failings they find in Volume 87. mahout's position; just outside of camera range This, the 1999 volume, honors the 72"d are two other such figures. The article contends, anniversary of the birth of King Bhumibol although some traditionalist scholars might hold Adulyadej, the Honorary Patron of the Siam different interpretations, that the murals prove Society. In his recognition, we publish a tribute that women's roles were different at that time in both Thai and English. The Thai tribute, than many today believe. Nevertheless, there Boromarachasiarawat, (In Honor of His are other traditional mural paintings of women Majesty) was written in the classical chan poetic mahouts, such as the picture preceding the style by Dr. Saksi Yaemnadda, who, as his editorial. Although this picture from Wat Phumin many students at the Faculty of Arts, Chula in Nan Province was probably drawn in the longkom University will attest, has mastered early-nineteenth century (and thus after the this challenging genre. Using alliteration, Ayutthayan Period) this picture provides internal rhyme, the use of "dead" (kham tai) evidence supporting the thesis proposed in this and "live" (kham pen) syllables, and other article. The authors also point to a kind of reverse techniques according to a strict regimen, Dr. "cover up" by recent observers of the murals Saksi extols His Majesty's long reign and who found aspects of them distasteful. productive life as exemplifying the four qualities In another innovative look at Ayutthayan of an enlightened monarch. Dr. Saksi enlivens life, Keith Branigan and Colin Merrony use his tribute with various references including scientific techniques new to Thai studies to study one, Philai, that just might be to President the gardens of the Ayutthayan palaces. The Bilaibhan Sampatisiri. integrate their findings with contemporary The remainder of the tribute to His Majesty descriptions of the royal palace in the includes pictures of some of his visits to the seventeenth century. Society and excerpts from an article on his "New Ian Hodge explores the most authoritative Theory" which emphasizes self-reliance, of the traditional Thai histories, the Luang initiative, and sustainability. The implications Prasoet Chronicle. Hodge examines how the of this approach extend far beyond the self Chronicle deals with one of the best known but sufficiency His Majesty wants to bring to small least understood of the Ayutthayan rulers, King farmers in the country's rural areas. Narai. In doing so, Hodge makes this important The articles in this issue represent both chronicle much more accessible and under innovative approaches to traditional subjects and standable to all scholars and better known to the exploration of new ideas and concepts. Much those who cannot read Thai. new scholarship on Thailand's culture is being Volker Grabowsky uses his exhaustive undertaken by younger scholars and by others knowledge of the literature of Lan Na (the Journal oft he Siam Society 87 .I & 2 ( 1999)