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1+1 National Library National Library Bibliuthèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Ac~uisitions and Direction des acquisitions el Bibliographie Services Branch des services bibliog'aphiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa. Ontario Ottawa (Ontario) K1A ON4 K1A ON4 NOTICE AVIS The quality of this microform is La qualité de cette microforme heavily dependent upon the dépend grandement de la qualité quality of the original thesis de la thèse soumise au submitted for microfilming. microfilmage. Nous avons tout Every effort has been made to fait pour assurer une qualité ensure the highest quality of supérieure de reproduction. reproduction possible. If pages are missing, contact the S'il manque des pages, veuillez university which granted the communiquer avec l'université degree. qui a conféré le grade. Some pages may have indistinct La qualité d'impression de print especially if the original certaines pages peut laisser à . pages were typed with a poor désirer, surtout si les pages typewriter ribbon or if the originales ont été university sent us an inferior dactylographiées à l'aide d'un photocopy. ruban usé ou si l'université nous a fait parvenir une photocopie de qualité inférieure. Reproduction in full or in part of La reproduction, même partielle, this microform is governed by de cette m!croforme est soumise the Canadian Copyright Act, à la Loi canadienne sur le droit R.S.C. 1970, c. C-30, and d'auteur, SRC 1970, c. C-30, et subsequent amendments. ses amE:!ndements subséquents. Canada '. THE POUTICS OF SPACE AND FORM: Cultural Idioms of Resistance and Re-membering inCambodia Monique Skidmore Department of Anthropology and Department of Social Stuàies of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal. January, 1995. A Thesis submitted ta the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts (Medical Anthropology). © Monique Skidmore, 1995. • National Ubrary Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographie ServiCDS Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa. Ontario Ottawa (Ontario) K1A 0N4 K1A ON4 THE AUTH01\. RAS GRANTED AN L'AUTEUR A ACCORDE UNE LICENCE IRREVOCABLE NON-EXCLUSIVE IRREVOCABLE ET NON EXCLUSIVE LICENCE ALLOWING THE NATIONAL PERMETTANT A LA BffiLIOTHEQUE LffiRARY OF CANADA Tü NATIONALE DU CANADA DE REPRODUCE, LOAN, DISTRmUTE OR REPRODUIRE, PRETER, DISTRmUER SELL COPIES OF mS/HER THESIS BY OU VENDRE DES COPIES DE SA ANY MEANS AND IN ANY FORM OR THESE DE QUELQUE MA..NIERE ET FORMAT, MAKING TmS THESIS SOUS QUELQUE FORME QUE CE SOIT AVAILABLE TO INTERESTED POUR METTRE DES EXEMPLAIRES DE PERSONS. CETTE THESE A LA DISPOSITION DES PERSONNf INTERESSEES. THE AUTHOR RETAINS OWNERSffiP L'AUTEUR CONSERVE LA PROPRIETE OF THE COPYRIGHT IN mS/HER DU DROIT D'AUTEUR QUI PROTEGE THESIS. NEITHER THE THESIS NOR SA THESE. NI LA THESE NI DES SUBSTANTIAL EXTRACTS FROM IT EXTRAlTS SUBSTANTIELS DE CELLE· MAY BE PRINTED OR OTHERWlSE CI NE DOIVENT Er.œ IMPRIMES OU REPRODUCED WITHOUT mS/HER AUTREMENT REPRODUITS SANS SON PERMISSION. AUTORISATION. ISBN 0-612-05427-6 Canada l • Abstract The subject of this paper is of cultures of terror, and more specifically of the possibility of resistance in a context of extreme fear. The focus is upon ways in which survivors of the Pol Pot regime devise strategies of embodied resistanœ, and rebuild notions such as identity and bodily integrity, within a Buddhist framework, to the dominant discourse of terror in contemporary Cambodian society. The paper problematizes the concept of "order" and questions its validity as a dominant paradigm in anthropology. Further, in searching for new ways of theorizing and writing about resistance and terror, it suggests that a more power conscious analysis of popular religion and ritual may prove enlightening. • A theoretical framework is derived from a review of anthropological studies of terror and political violence. Of particular interest is the concept of "spaces of resistance" and the notions of "spaces of violence" and "bodily resistance" which it invokes. From within this framework the Dhammayietra, or peace walk, is considered as an embodied symbol of resistance and empowerment. It is hypothesized that the Dhammayietra may provide a way in which, through the symbolic "washing-away" of Khmer Rouge memories; through the creation of new collective memories; and through the reclaiming of a physical manifestation (Angkor Wat) of the Buddhist-centered world view, sorne Cambodians may be able, at least in part, to Emerge from the sensorially numb space which they created in order to survive the bodily, intellectual, and emotional assault upon their persons, • culture, and religions by the Khmer Rouge. Il • Résumé Ce travail parle de culture de la terreur, et surtcmt des possibilités de résistance dans un contexte de crainte extrême. Il se centre sur les survivants du régime de Pol Pot et sur la manière dont ils mettent un place des stratégies de résistance incarnées et reconstruisent des notions comme celles d'identité' et d'intégrité corporelle, dans un contexte bouddhique et au sein de la société combodgienne contemporaine ou règne un discours dominé par la terreur. Ce travail veut rendre problématique le concept d"'ordre" et met en question sa validité comme paradigme dominant en anthropologie. De plus, en cherchant de nouvelles façons de théoriser et décrire la résistance et la terreur, il propose une analyse de la religion populaire et des rituels qui soir davantage sensible aux rapports de pouvoir. Notre structure théorique est dérivée d'une revue des études anthropologiques concernant la terreur et la violence politique. Nous en avons surtout retenu les notions d"'espace de résistance" et de "résistance incarnée". Dans se contexte, le Dhammayietra ("promenade pour la paix") est considéré comme un symbole incarné de résistance et de prise de pouvoir. • On fait l'hypothèse que le Dhammayietra agit de diverses manières: en éliminant symboliqu2ument les souvenirs reliés à la période des Khmer Rouges, en les remplaçant par une nouvelle mémoire collective et revendiquant la possession de ce qu'on peut considérer comme une incarnation physique (Angkor Wat) de la vision du monde bouddhique. JI est possible que certains cambodgiens trouveront par ce biais le moyen d'émerger de l'espace sensoriellement engourdi qu'ils ont créé pour être capables de survivre aux aggressions corporelles, intellectuelles et émotionnelles portèes sur leur corp, leur culture et leur religion par les Khmer Rouges. • iii • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My graduate studies to this point have been largely funded by my husband, Colin Rieger, and also by three Teaching Assistantships and three Differentiai Fec Waivers awarded to me by the Department of Anthropology, McCill University. 1 would like to thank those involved for the opportunity to study relat!vely worry-free throughout this time. 1 am pleased to acknowledge the help of my supervisor, Ellen Corin, whose generous guidance and time are most appreciated. Ellen's comments were always kind, positive and detailed, and 1 am very thankful for the analytical methodology she has taught me en route. 1 am very grateful to Jerome Rousseau, not only for his enthusiastic and knowedgeable comments, but also for giving his time to discuss the • myriad of details whieh crop up when one is considering an ethnographie area for fieldwork. 1 am also very thankful for the wise comments provided by Allan Young, am.. for the medieal anthropology 1 have learned from him. 1 would like to thank Rose-Marie Stano for her creative efforts at finding funding, and Eric Cagnon of the Cambodia Canada Development Program for kindly giving me access to recent media and NCO information about Cambodia, particularly the CPR literature. Finally 1 would like to acknowledge the support of Colin, Lesley, and my parents. It never fails to surprise me that these four people are always around - through thick, thin, and theses. • iv • CONTENTS ABSTRACT ACKNO\-VLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS l'i i CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............. .............. 1 CHAPTER 2: TERROR AND RESISTANCE IN THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL LITERATURE ................,-'" 2.1 Terror and the Destruction of Life Worlds ............ .. 8 a. Mechanisms by which Life Worlds are Destroyed . 8 • b. Breaking Down Bodily Boundaries and Configurations .11 c. Responding to Terror: Plugging the Hales in Reality 12 d. Eschatology: The Destruction of Life Worlds 13 2.2 The Spaüalization of Power through Violence 14 a. Physical and Symbolic Space: Individual and Collective Spaces of Resistance .............................. 16 2.3 The Politics of Form: Cultural Idioms of Resistance 19 a. Creating Counter Discourses ........... 19 b. Historical and Religious Idioms of Resistance . 20 c. Remembering and Re-membering ................. 23 CHAPTER 3: A THEORETICAL FRAME .................... .. 24 • v • CHAPTER 4: THE CULTURE OF TERROR IN CAMBODIA . .27 4.1 The Setting 27 4.2 An Historical Overview 29 =-::---- 4.3 A Culture of Terror . 32 a. The "New People" and "Year Zero" Khmer Rouge Ideology 32 b. The Destruction of Community, Family, Tndividal, and Psychologicallntegrity ...................... ... 33 c. The Refugee Camps: Sanctuaries or Spaces of Violence? .. 38 d. Vietnamese Occupation, the UN, and the Present Situation 39 CHAPTER 5: RESISTANCE IN CAMBODIA: THE DHAMMAYIETRA . 42 5.1 Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia ................ .. 42 a. Collective Ritual and Individual
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