A community of flood memories living with(in) the riverine landscape in ayutthaya

1. Introduction 1.1 A flood of memory Intersecting the Parallels by the US-based Thai artist, Pimprae Hiranprueck, is a tribute to the nostalgic idea of ‘home’ in Thailand. By projecting photographs of ‘significant moments’ of her Thai family, such as graduations and weddings, onto her bedroom walls and purposefully imposing herself into these projections, Hiranprueck recreates ‘substitute memories’ of her far-away home (Hiranprueck, 2013: 9-10). I was struck by the photograph Flood of Memory (Figure 1.1). A flood is one of those ‘significant moments’ the artist wanted to remember, as her family clearly does. Embedded in this work is an important idea: floods are important events to the Thai people. They are remembered whether or not the person recalling the event was physically present to experience it. Figure 1.1: Flood of Memory by Pimprae Hiranprueck (reproduced with permission from the artist). Huyssen (1995: 2-3) asserts that the past must be articulated for it to become memory. Hence, memory is essentially a communicative practice. In this case, the memories of a particular flood are being circulated through images and art. Photographs of the flood are sent to the artist and uploaded on social media platforms (Hiranprueck, 2013). She, in turn, appropriates those images in her work. Memories are also subjected to creative metamorphosis; they can be re-contextualized and reinterpreted, and some aspects forgotten. The artist’s family had intended to share their (quite possibly harrowing) experiences of the flood with her. However, this flood is one of the many floods in Hiranprueck’s memory of the idyllic floodplain landscape she calls home (Hiranprueck, 2013). Through the circulation and metamorphosis of memories, the flood – now in the past - remains relevant and ‘alive’ at both the individual and collective levels (Erll, 2012). At the core of this thesis is the belief that it is pertinent to keep past floods ‘alive’, especially for especially for riverine cities, such as Ayutthaya, in central Thailand. Memories of past floods matter in this city as they act as conduits for the transfer of local knowledge about floods, and are pertinent references for the development of coping mechanisms (de Vries, 2011; McEwen & O. Jones, 2012). Furthermore, as memories and mnemonic forms have affective and bodily dimensions: they can (re)evoke emotions, influence actions and decisions (Malkki, 1997; Kearns et al, 2010). This thesis develops a conceptual framework of an active archive, in and through which flood memories are constantly articulated and practiced by various actors in the present, in anticipation of future floods. By engaging in what I call ‘ethnographic walking’, I will reveal how past floods are very much alive – materially, performatively and discursively – in the unfolding of the everyday, lived landscapes of Ayutthaya. 1.2 Objectives, questions and contributions of the thesis Ten years ago, in an essay contemplating the temporality of environmental disasters, Bankoff (2004: 36) posed an important question: In the end, what is more important to influencing human behaviour in disaster situations: what actually happened or what is remembered to have taken place? Bankoff (2004) alludes to two important distinctions in temporality seldom addressed in environmental hazards literature. By understanding ‘what actually happened’, both physical and social scientists often situate their works within chronological time – time is assumed to be linear and progressive. The former have studied how flood events are more frequent and/or intense in certain regions over time (see, Konrad, 2003; Kundzewicz, 2005), and the latter have studied how vulnerabilities evolve with time (see, Cutter, 1996; Mustafa, 2005; Cutter & Finch, 2008). Often neglected, however, is the idea that time can also be a social and subjective experience - ‘what is remembered to have taken place’. Social time is a fluid concept and is experienced differentially by individuals and groups (Crang & Travlou, 2001; Dodgson, 2008). With social time, our everyday realities are temporal collages in which the rigid boundaries of ‘past’, ‘present’ and ‘future’ break down (Edensor, 2005). The act of remembering – memory – lies at the heart of this temporal collage. In the course of this research, I placed myself, and was generously welcomed, into the temporal collages of different groups of people in Ayutthaya. Memories of past floods in Ayutthaya (re)shape these temporal collages constantly and these collages at times intersect and/or conflict. The first objective of this thesis is to approach memory as a concept beyond the processes and encasement of the mind (Casey, 2000; Pallasmaa, 2009; Krause et al, 2012). Conceiving daily realities as temporal collages is only possible as memory is entangled with the activities and materialities of the landscape, and associated with a repertoire of actions and movements. By showing how flood memories are enfolded in the everyday lives of people in Ayutthaya – especially through storytelling, image collection and circulation, and engagements with more-than-human actors - this thesis aims to further develop the idea of an active archive where flood memories are constantly lived, experienced and felt. This idea places the thesis in dialogue with the conceptual developments of more-than-representational (MTR) geographies. It addresses a key critique in MTR scholarship that ‘memory seems to remain underplayed in relation to its close cousins: imagination, emotion and affect’ (O. Jones & Garde-Hansen, 2012: 8). Furthermore, the emphasis on the everyday, banal forms of remembering is also a departure from the ‘stencil-like’ nature of memory studies, which have been entrenched at the scale of the nation (Erll, 2011). I strongly believe that what is remembered and the processes of remembering affect how various actors in a community perceive and respond to future flood risks in their day-to-day lives. Thus, the second objective of this thesis is to examine how lived memories within the active archive can be productive and inspire long-term vernacular flood adaptations and actions beyond large-scale, techno-centric ‘levee projects’. In other words, the thesis will draw connections between memory and the development of small-scale, egalitarian flood resilience in Ayutthaya. In this way, the thesis is also pitched as a timely response to the recent calls for understanding local responses to flood hazards and prioritizing actions at a local scale (see Few, 2003). By doing so, I argue for the need to move beyond hazard-centric and reactive approaches in flood management, and towards one that incorporates floods and rivers into the daily workings of the landscape. Thirdly, while there has been recent interest in the relationships between floods and memory (see Kempe, 2007; McEwen & O. Jones, 2012; Krause et al, 20121), this connection has remained at the peripheries of environmental hazards literature. Furthermore, the body of work has largely focused on countryside villages around Western Europe. Although monsoonal Southeast Asia is one of the most flood-prone regions in the world (Torti, 2012), the role of memory in flood management has remained largely under-researched. Hence, by grounding the research on central Thailand, where flooding impacts are projected to intensify with climatic changes (see Vastila et al, 2010), this thesis is also designed to supplement this obvious empirical gap in the literature. With these three objectives in mind, I pose these three questions: 1. Can flood memories be simultaneously individual and collective? Do memories of past floods unite or divide the people in Ayutthaya? 2. How are past floods articulated and enacted as memories by different groups of people in the lived landscapes of Ayutthaya? 3. How are flood memories and mnemonic forms productive? How they inspire local solutions and adaptations to future floods? 1.3 Organization of the thesis To answer the above questions and meet the aforementioned objectives, this thesis is divided into six chapters. The first chapter – this introduction – sets the tone of the thesis and also includes a background about rivers and floods in Ayutthaya. Chapter Two reviews the various positions of memory in geography. It also situates this thesis The publications by Krause et al (2012) and McEwen & Jones (2012) stem from the ‘Sustainable Flood Memories’ project in the UK (see: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/myesrc/grants/ES.I003576.2/read). The on-going research project is ‘evaluating the extent to which communities that have a history of past flood events are more resilient to future floods than communities with no previous history of flooding, or no shared memories of flooding’ (McEwen et al, 2012: 254). within the broader developments of more-than-representational geographies and proposes a conceptual framework to approach the research questions. Next, I discuss the key methodology – ethnographic walking - and related methods employed during field research in Chapter Three. Additionally, this chapter reflects on the methodological concerns which have surfaced in the field. Chapter Four and Five are empirical chapters. By contemplating the possibility of a ‘community of flood memories’, Chapter Four interrogates the simultaneously individual and collective nature of flood memories in Ayutthaya. It will also map the various mnemonic practices and flood-related objects, exploring the idea of an active archive. Chapter Five considers how memories, mnemonic forms and representations are ‘put to work’ in anticipation of future floods. Lastly, Chapter Six concludes the thesis by outlining the key findings. 1.4 Background 1.4.1 Rivers and Floods in Thailand You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses and liveable acreage. Occasionally, the river floods these places. ‘Floods’ is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering. Remembering where it used to be. All water has a perfect memory and it is forever trying to get back to where it was. Morrison (1995), The Site of Memory, pp. 99. Rivers are mobile entities – they flow, they deposit and erode, they rise and fall. Floods are part of this process of mobility, and for countries like Thailand, they are seasonal phenomenon. During May to October, the northeast migration of warm and moist air from the Indian Ocean results in a period of high precipitation, and consequently high river discharge (Wood & Ziegler, 2008). The coincidence of the monsoon period with tropical depression storms often results in large flood events (Wood & Ziegler, 2008; Lim et al, 2012). While the latter can be disruptive to lives and livelihoods, large portions of the population – those involve in various agrarian sectors – depend on the seasonal floods for the renewal of fertile alluvial sediments and sufficient irrigation for their crops (Sornprapai, 1994; Sophonpanic, 2012). Thus, many have adapted their lifestyles to the flux of the river discharge. Festivals are planned around the monsoonal calendar and centred on rivers2, and seemingly ubiquitous stilt houses and floating houses have come to define Thai vernacular architecture. The mobile nature of rivers was also important to old cities like Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai. Complicated networks of canals (khlong) criss-crossed these cities, providing irrigation and transport (Figure 1.2). At different points in time, the waterbased Siamese cities of Bangkok and Ayutthaya were known by Europeans as the ‘Venice of the East’ (see Leonowens, 1980: 11; Garnier, 2004). With the khlongs, the flood pulse of the rivers was incorporated into the blueprints of these old cities. While large floods occasionally caused prolonged inundations, the khlongs were able to distribute the floodwaters (Garnier, 2004). However, most canals were reclaimed during the Siamese modernization process in the late 19th to early 20th century, making way for roads and buildings (King, 2008); and concrete-and-steel buildings largely replaced stilt and floating houses. Along with this process came the implicit modernist urge to assert command over nature (Kaika, 2006; also see Cosgrove & Petts, 1990). The mobile nature of the rivers was no longer perceived to be desirable; major rivers, including the Chao Phraya, were dammed and channelized. Eventually, the water-based cities disappeared, and along with this, the memory of ‘living with(in) the temporalities and agencies of rivers’ (O. Jones et al, 2012: 85). One of Thailand’s most famous festivals is Songkran in April, in celebration of the end of the dry season and welcomes the ‘renewal’ of the wet season. A B Figure 1.2 (A): A map of Ayutthaya by Francois Valentijn, published in AD1724. Note the Khlongs within the city and the impression that it is an island surrounded by rivers. (Source: http://www.ayutthaya-history.com/Geo_Map_ValentijnI.html). Figure 1.2 (B): A section of the map of Bangkok from AD1917, published by The Imperial Japanese Government Railways. Again, note the multiple canals that ran across the cityscape. (Source: http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok-masstransit-map-1917map.html) Yet, as Toni Morrison writes, the river remembers. By anthropomorphizing rivers, Morrison provides us with a metaphor to (re)perceive the mobile nature of rivers. She reminds us that floods are not abnormalities in a riverine environment. Despite the sluice gates and large-scale flood-mitigation structures, flooding is still common in various parts of riverine Thailand. The concretization of the cities and alterations made to rivers caused changes in flow regimes – floods are now more severe as flow rates and inundation periods increase (King, 2008; Lebel et al, 2009). Contemporary responses to floods have become largely reactive. Sandbag and mud walls are often hastily constructed around neighbourhoods, and makeshift concrete walls are erected belatedly around individual houses following announcements of possible floods. Unfortunately, the short-sightedness of these reactive measures prolonged and politicized floods in Thailand. In order to keep floodwaters from inundating a particular neighbourhood or city prioritized to be of economic importance, the pre-emptive floodwalls divert waters elsewhere, worsening the deluge in those places (Lebel et al, 2011; Dalpino, 2012). The governmental decision to keep the Bangkok Metropolitan Area dry at the expense of surrounding provinces during the 2011 flood is an example of such short-sighted flood management policies. Such policies are often coupled with nationalistic discourse – in 2011, politicians beseeched the Thais outside the BMA to understand the nation’s need for their ‘sacrifice’3. Ayutthaya, a province north of Bangkok was one of those, to use the vernacular term, ‘sacrificed’. Figure 1.3: Concrete walls and sandbags hastily placed in front of a house following announcements of an impending flood (Source:http://expatteacherinthailand.blogspot.sg/201 1/10/flood-preparation.html). 1.4.2 Ayutthaya: the city surrounded by rivers Ayutthaya, the city, is the capital city of Ayutthaya province . It lies about 75 kilometres north of Bangkok (Figure 1.4A), and is a relatively small city around 15 square kilometres, with a population size of about 76,000 (National Statistical Office of Then-Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra thanked residents of provinces north of Bangkok for their ‘sacrifice’: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/world/asia/31iht-thailand31.html?_r=2& and also called for ‘cooperation and sacrifice’: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/thailand-s-floods-couldlast-6-weeks-1.1124536 The name ‘Ayutthaya’ can mean the city, the district or the province. It can also mean the ancient Siamese kingdom. To avoid confusion, unless otherwise stated, this thesis addresses issues within Ayutthaya the city. Thailand, 2013). The city is built alongside the ruins of the old Siamese kingdom Ayutthaya, which was abandoned after the Burmese sacked the city in 1767 AD. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, large sections of Ayutthaya fall under the jurisdiction of the Historical Parks Office (see Figure 1.4B). The built landscape of the city is a haphazard, but beautiful, pastiche of the old and new. Crumbling ruins of forgotten temples and huge Reclining Buddhas are common sights within various ‘urban villages’5 of low-rise residential houses. At times, these houses are also mom-and-pop shops, eateries or guesthouses. Based on my interactions with the people in three of these villages, I learnt that these villages are often not economically or socially segregated. It is common to see makeshift wooden and zinc-roofed houses alongside large concrete houses; and university lecturers live alongside and interact closely and amicably with odd-job labourers. Ayutthaya is a city, but the residential areas within the city are constantly referred to as baan – villages. 10 B A Fig. 1.4. (A): A map of Thailand. Ayutthaya is located in central Thailand. Ayutthaya province (highlighted in orange) is north of Bangkok (highlighted in pink), and the capital city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is 75 km from the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. (B): The city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, also known as Ayutthaya or ‘the island’ (khok). The city is surrounded by three waterways – two main rivers, the Chao Phraya River and the Pasak River, and a minor tributary of the Lopburi River, Khlong Muang. The green areas in the center and south-west of the city are historical parks and green spaces. The yellow areas are mostly residential and commercial areas with mixed land uses. Note that the remnants of the old irrigation canals and moats pepper the landscape of the city. 11 Surrounded by three rivers – Pasak, Chao Phraya and Khlong Muang – Ayutthaya is colloquially known as ‘the island’ [khok]. The rivers used to be the main highways of transport around the province, boats were the primary vehicles and it was important to make offerings to the boat deity, Mae Ya Nang, and river spirits (Harrington, 2004). While this is no longer the case, the lives of the people in the city are still closely related to the rivers. These relationships are often mundane and taken for granted. For example, the names of several villages in Ayutthaya are associated with boats – Baan Samphao Lom [Sunken Junk Village]. It is also not uncommon to walk by someone mending fishing nets or see children playing along the concretized riverbanks and swimming in the rivers. Fig. 1.5. Two girls are chatting and eating in front of a canal leading to the Pasak River (above). A retired fisherman mends his fishing net in his front yard, next to an old irrigation canal (below). (Photographs taken by the author) 12 Floods are considered nondescript, annual occurrences for some communities on the island. Several riverside villages are flooded 0.3cm-0.5cm annually during the wet season (site observation, April 2014). During the wet season of 2011, however, an unusually high amount of rain coupled with ineffective water management policies resulted in a two-month long inundation of the entire city. Areas along the rivers, and the western parts of the city experienced the worst deluge (site observation, 9-10 April 2014). Water levels at certain low-lying areas reached the depth of 1.9m to 2.1m. While some were displaced, many chose to remain behind, living on their roofs or on the second storeys of their homes. Most – especially those who depended on tourism and/or engaged in ad-hoc work - had no income during this period and had to rely on aid and food rations. Many in Ayutthaya – like other flooded parts of Thailand - claimed that this was the worst flood in living memory (See The Straits Times, 10 November 2014). While I did not initially plan to focus specifically on memories of the 2011 flood, it was the flood that all participants constantly referred to. Thus, in response to this, the flood memories I write about are memories of the 2011 flood. Before moving on to the empirical matter, I will develop the conceptual lenses with which I understand flood memories in Ayutthaya in the next chapter. 13 [...]...B A Fig 1.4 (A) : A map of Thailand Ayutthaya is located in central Thailand Ayutthaya province (highlighted in orange) is north of Bangkok (highlighted in pink), and the capital city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is 75 km from the Bangkok Metropolitan Area (B): The city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, also known as Ayutthaya or the island’ (khok) The city is surrounded by three waterways – two main rivers,... – two main rivers, the Chao Phraya River and the Pasak River, and a minor tributary of the Lopburi River, Khlong Muang The green areas in the center and south-west of the city are historical parks and green spaces The yellow areas are mostly residential and commercial areas with mixed land uses Note that the remnants of the old irrigation canals and moats pepper the landscape of the city 11 Surrounded... to the rivers These relationships are often mundane and taken for granted For example, the names of several villages in Ayutthaya are associated with boats – Baan Samphao Lom [Sunken Junk Village] It is also not uncommon to walk by someone mending fishing nets or see children playing along the concretized riverbanks and swimming in the rivers Fig 1.5 Two girls are chatting and eating in front of a canal... – Pasak, Chao Phraya and Khlong Muang – Ayutthaya is colloquially known as the island’ [khok] The rivers used to be the main highways of transport around the province, boats were the primary vehicles and it was important to make offerings to the boat deity, Mae Ya Nang, and river spirits (Harrington, 2004) While this is no longer the case, the lives of the people in the city are still closely related... remain behind, living on their roofs or on the second storeys of their homes Most – especially those who depended on tourism and/or engaged in ad-hoc work - had no income during this period and had to rely on aid and food rations Many in Ayutthaya – like other flooded parts of Thailand - claimed that this was the worst flood in living memory (See The Straits Times, 10 November 2014) While I did not initially... While I did not initially plan to focus specifically on memories of the 2011 flood, it was the flood that all participants constantly referred to Thus, in response to this, the flood memories I write about are memories of the 2011 flood Before moving on to the empirical matter, I will develop the conceptual lenses with which I understand flood memories in Ayutthaya in the next chapter 13 ... season of 2011, however, an unusually high amount of rain coupled with ineffective water management policies resulted in a two-month long inundation of the entire city Areas along the rivers, and the western parts of the city experienced the worst deluge (site observation, 9-10 April 2014) Water levels at certain low-lying areas reached the depth of 1.9m to 2.1m While some were displaced, many chose... canal leading to the Pasak River (above) A retired fisherman mends his fishing net in his front yard, next to an old irrigation canal (below) (Photographs taken by the author) 12 Floods are considered nondescript, annual occurrences for some communities on the island Several riverside villages are flooded 0.3cm-0.5cm annually during the wet season (site observation, 9 April 2014) During the wet season . 11 A B Fig. 1.4. (A) : A map of Thailand. Ayutthaya is located in central Thailand. Ayutthaya province (highlighted in orange) is north of Bangkok (highlighted in pink), and the capital city. divide the people in Ayutthaya? 2. How are past floods articulated and enacted as memories by different groups of people in the lived landscapes of Ayutthaya? 3. How are flood memories and mnemonic. capital city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is 75 km from the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. (B): The city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, also known as Ayutthaya or the island’ (khok). The city is surrounded