The Journal of the Siam Society
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The Journal of the Siam Society Volume 104 2016 jss104.indb 1 proof4/14/2016 5:13:12 PM Cover: The catafalque of Phra Phetracha’s funerary procession, 26 December 1704, as drawn by an unknown contemporary artist. Courtesy of the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Dresden State Art Collections). Photography by Maria Aranda Alonso. Special thanks to Dr Petra Kuhlmann-Hodick and Dr Cordula Bischoff . Honorary editor: Chris Baker Editor: Paul Bromberg Advisors: Tej Bunnag, Michael Smithies, Kim W. Atkinson © The Siam Society, 2016 ISSN 0857-7099 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission 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 by Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited 65/16 Chaiyapruk Rod, Taling Chan, Bangkok 10170, Thailand Tel. (662) 422-9000 • Fax (662) 433-2742, 434-1385 E-mail: [email protected] • http://www.amarin.com jss104.indb ii proof4/14/2016 5:13:31 PM Journal of the Siam Society Volume 104 2016 Contents A The Tai Original Diaspora Grant Evans ............................................................................................................. 1 Kra-Dai and the Proto-History of South China and Vietnam James R. Chamberlain........................................................................................... 27 Two Scrolls Depicting Phra Phetracha’s Funeral Procession in 1704 and the Riddle of their Creation Barend J. Terwiel ................................................................................................... 77 Disappointing Gifts: Dialectics of Gift Exchange in Early Modern European-East Asian Diplomatic Practice Andrew Turton ...................................................................................................... 93 The Recreation of the Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Door Panels of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha Weeraya Juntradee .............................................................................................. 111 Treatise on Smallpox Vaccination Dan Beach Bradley, translated by Quentin (Trais) Pearson ............................... 129 Contending Identities: Islam and Ethnicity in Old Bangkok Edward Van Roy ................................................................................................. 151 Building the Next Generation of Thai-Chinese: The Role of Chinese-Sponsored Schools in Hat Yai Robert L. Cummings, Jr. ..................................................................................... 185 The Lahu-speaking Peoples of the Yunnan-Indochina Borderlands: A Threefold Religious Heritage and its Consequent Syncretisms Anthony R. Walker .............................................................................................. 211 The Sittan of Monè (Mäng Nai): Shan Principality and Nyaungyan Burma, 1633-1763 Ken Kirigaya ....................................................................................................... 251 Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 104, 2016 jss104.indb iii proof4/14/2016 5:13:32 PM Narai’s Daughter: Women and Ayutthaya’s Court Intrigues Bhawan Ruangsilp .............................................................................................. 275 On Lovemaking Prince Thammathibet, tr. Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit ........................ 291 R A Embodied Nation: Sport, Masculinity, and the Making of Modern Laos by Simon Creak Reviewed by Martin Stuart-Fox ......................................................................... 295 R The Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha: The Mahānipāta of the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā translated by Naomi Appleton and Sarah Shaw Reviewed by Justin Thomas McDaniel .............................................................. 301 The Wheel-Turner and his House: Kingship in a Buddhist Ecumene by Geok Yian Goh Reviewed by Donald M. Stadtner ....................................................................... 305 Water and Light, by George Groslier, translated by Pedro Rodríguez, edited by Kent Davis Reviewed by Lia Genovese ................................................................................ 312 A History of the Thai-Chinese by Jeff ery Sng and Pimpraphai Bisalputra Reviewed by Wasana Wongsurawat ................................................................... 316 Forging Islamic Power and Place: The Legacy of Shaykh Da’ud bin ‘Abd Allah al-Fatani in Mecca and Southeast Asia by Francis R. Bradley Reviewed by Patrick Jory ................................................................................... 318 The Lost Territories: Thailand’s History of National Humiliation by Shane Strate Reviewed by James A. Warren ........................................................................... 321 Buddhist Art of Myanmar edited by Sylvia Fraser-Lu and Donald M. Stadtner Reviewed by John N. Miksic .............................................................................. 325 The Siamese Trail of Ho Chi Minh by Teddy Spha Palasthira Reviewed by Tony Waters .................................................................................. 327 Siege of the Spirits: Community and Polity in Bangkok, by Michael Herzfeld Reviewed by Chris Baker ................................................................................... 330 From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls: New Approaches to the Study of Asian Manuscript Traditions edited by Justin Thomas McDaniel and Lynn Ransom Reviewed by Chris Baker ................................................................................... 333 Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 104, 2016 jss104.indb iv proof4/14/2016 5:13:32 PM A Sarong for Clio: Essays on the Intellectual and Cultural History of Thailand – Inspired by Craig J. Reynolds, edited by Maurizio Peleggi Reviewed by Wasana Wongsurawat ................................................................... 335 Contributors to this Volume .................................................................................... 339 Notes for Contributors ............................................................................................. 343 Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 104, 2016 jss104.indb v proof4/14/2016 5:13:33 PM jss104.indb vi proof4/14/2016 5:13:33 PM Th e Tai Original Diaspora Grant Evans1 Introduction Some twenty-fi ve years ago, the issue of the deep origins of the Tai was a hot topic of academic debate. Now it has disappeared. The preoccupations of Tai or Thai Studies have signifi cantly changed over time. Here I want to return to a discussion of where the Tai came from and when did they fi rst move out into the world. In a recent article (Evans 2014), I have shown that the Tai did not come from Nan Chao, yet Nan Chao played an important role in their story. Here I will look further at the role of the Tai in the making of Southeast Asia from the perspective of what I have called ‘areal anthropology’, which is an attempt to break out of nationalist conceptions of what, for example, the Lao are. In a review of Wolters (Evans 2002), I used the term ‘culture area.’ The problem with that term is that is has the same problems as the word ‘culture’, only writ large. The problem is boundaries: how do you draw a boundary around a culture? That is a preoccupation of most who talk about cultures. Areal anthropology can be thought of as analogous to area linguistics, which talks about the formation of languages in relation to other languages. Areal anthropology means talking about the formation of a culture in relation to other cultures, not talking about boundaries but about the shared relationships between adjacent groups of people, and the degree to which there are no clear boundaries. It is not possible to say ‘This is Thai culture, this is Lao culture,’ although there are certain elements which are more strongly emphasised in one group as against another. Areal anthropology explores the many shared elements of culture which spread across diff erent ethnic groups, such as the evolution of mythologies. There is no such thing as an original, pure Tai culture, though the idea of some such thing has been very strong, both in Thailand and Laos. On the issue of the origins of the Thai or Tai, the historical linguists set the running 1 Keynote speech at the 12th International Conference on Thai Studies, Sydnay, 24 April 2014. Grant Evans died in Vientiane on 16 September 2014. The text of the speech was retrieved from Grant’s computer by Keomany Somvandy and Jim Chamberlain. This text had no introduction. Phil Hirsch provided an audio recording of the speech as delivered in Sydney. The introduction to this article is an edited transcription from this recording. The remainder of the article comes from the written text, with the addition of one short paragraph (the fi rst following the subheading: The Tai diaspora in Vietnamese records) based on the spoken version; the movement of one paragraph; and the deletion of one sentence (for repetition). Grant’s speech in Sydney followed the written text, although greatly condensed, but without the fi nal section on “Everyday Migration.” For help in reconstructing the references and citations, thanks go to Li Tana, Charles Holcombe, Nitnoi Faming, Simon Creak,