Transethnic networks and mon identity ies in sangkhlaburi, thailand

1 Chapter 1: Introduction I had just crossed the wooden bridge and was looking for a spot to station my bicycle. It was about one o'clock in the afternoon, and as I locked my bicycle, I was mulling over my plans for the remainder of the day. Finding lunch was the most important task at hand at this moment. As I looked to my left, the friendly aunty smiled at me as she said, as she always did, “Mangeura-ow” ('Hello' in Mon). I responded, “Mangeura-ow”. Then she repeated in Burmese, “Minglaba shin” ('Hello'). I responded, “Minglaba kamya” (the male equivalent). The motorbike taxi driver who normally awaits customers at the end of the bridge greeted me, “Beh thwa maleh” (“Where are you going?” in Burmese). I pointed over to the raan aahaan mon (“Mon restaurant”, written in Thai), where the portly, dignified owner smiled at me and, in his usual playful tone, greeted me: “Basaaaaaaaaaaamaleh” (“What will you eaaaaaat?” in Burmese). He then suggested pat grapow ('fried basil', a very popular Thai dish prepared with pork), which was one of the better items available at his restaurant. I accepted his suggestion, which I washed down with a glass of ice water. After lunch, I cycled up the hill to the barber shop, as it had been a long time since my last hair cut. The barber was not there and when I enquired about his whereabouts, his neighbour responded, “Kao mai yuu. Paya thwa deh.” (“He is not here,” in Thai, followed by, “He went to the pagoda,” in Burmese). This was a typical day during my stay in the Mon village of Wangka, a few hundred metres from the Thai border town of Sangkhlaburi. As the use of different languages might suggest, Burmese and Thai influences remain strong in this community. The population of Wangka includes Mons who have lived in Thailand for several generations along with those who have migrated from Myanmar more 2 recently. In Myanmar, Mons make-up one of the country's largest ethnic minority groups. For most Mons, recent history has been marred by a violent élite led nationalist struggle for independence coupled with Myanmar's struggling economy which has led many to seek a better life in Thailand. Many Mons residing in Myanmar and Thailand have become monolingual speakers of their respective country's national language (Foster 1973, South 2003). Sangkhlaburi, Thailand is one of a few areas in Thailand where the Mon language is actively promoted and where Mon nationalist organisations are allowed to operate. A small number of Mons, typically university-educated in Myanmar1, work in these organisations which function under the auspices of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), a nationalist political party which claims to represent Mons in their fight for self-determination. These aspiring nationalists live alongside Mon-speaking villagers, of whom many have lost interest in issues of Mon nationalism. At the same time, Sangkhlaburi is at the crossroads of many different peoples, including locals and travellers. This local dynamism leads to social networks and patron-client ties which go beyond ethnic backgrounds. It is in this context that this research has sought to understand the nature of and reproduction of the nationalist Mon ethnic identity. Specifically, this thesis has sought to answer how networks which transcend ethnic and geographical boundaries simultaneously produce and contest the Mon nationalist ethnic identity. Put another way, how has the dynamic setting of Sangkhlaburi influenced the development of the Mon nationalist movement? 1.1 Theoretical Discussion: Ethnicity and Nationalism Early 20th century anthropologists such as Malinowski and Evans-Pritchard, 1 Based on conversations, the most common alma mater is Mawlamyaing University in Mawlamyaing in the part of Mon State under the Myanmar government's control. Graduates from Rangoon University in Yangon were also common. 3 conducted research on a “tribe” or a group of “natives”, wherein they understood ethnicity as primordial, i.e., a person was born into a particular culture which defined his/her identity and determined his/her world views. Malinowski (1922: 19, original emphasis), for instance, sought to understand “the native's point of view[...]... to maintain a distinct identity In a later essay, Smithies (1986) became more optimistic about the survival of Mon ethnic identity, owing to the rise of Mon élites in Thailand, and their relative lack of antagonism from Thais Both Smithies and Foster, despite writing during the active Mon conflict for independence in Burma, did not seem to reference the issue of ethnic nationalism, instead focusing... Through these interviews, I sought to understand their motivations for coming to Sangkhlaburi to work, their knowledge and perceptions of the Mon nationalist movement and Mons in general, including culture and history In addition, I conducted nine interviews and one focus group with Mons involved in nationalist organisations (n= 19 informants) I asked them questions about Mon identity (for instance, what... however, and of little interest to those not focusing on Mon language studies Smithies (1972) and Foster (1973) were the first anthropologists to have published detailed ethnographic research on Mons in Thailand Both focused their work on Mon villages near Bangkok in central Thailand They sought to understand how Mons distinguish themselves from Thais, with the conclusion that they are rapidly assimilating... distinctive and influential in precolonial Southeast Asia” and its “golden age[ was] a source of inspiration and legitimacy” According to these historians, the first significant turning point in Mon history occurred in AD 1057 with the Burman King Anawratha's conquest of the Mon city of Thaton (presently a quiet town in Mon State, Myanmar) As I will elaborate in chapter 3, this conquest is understood and. .. the Pyu- and then, in turn, 'civilised' the Mons Aung-Thwin laments that Mon primacy in history is taken as an unexamined assumption This assumption has roots in the colonial era, as Aung-Thwin suggests it was in the interest in British colonial rulers to drive a wedge between the powerful Burmans and the potential rival groups, including Mons 'The' Mon, then potentially allies for Great Britain to help... groups in the area – most notably the Mon and Karen armed forces Until the 1990s, the Karen and Mon armies competed with each other and with the Burmese/Myanmar state for control of the Three Pagodas Pass checkpoint (South 2003) In the 21st century, Myanmar and Thailand have been able to maintain peaceful control over the checkpoint, although the border remains contested, fluid and prone to occasional insurrections,... the flourishing domestic tourism industry Such a setting has proven particularly rich for research as it has allowed insightful observations of how transethnic links simultaneously produce, consume, undermine and contest Mon ethnic nationalism 1.4 Mon Studies: A literature review The Mons have generally been studied in three ways: in terms of their history, in terms of their politics and in terms of... idea of Mon culture existed (for instance, Mon language, styles of clothing, etc.), people did not identify with Mon ethnicity In other words, being Mon was more about how a person lived and did not reflect any sort of primordial loyalty Instead, loyalties were first and foremost to individual patronsélites who offered protection and other forms of assistance Assuming this, conquering “the Mons” was... in the context of Mon nationalist armed conflict and Thailand' s inundation with refugees, including Mons, who originated in neighbouring striferidden countries, particularly Myanmar Ashley South's (2003) work on Mon nationalism is undoubtedly the most substantial work written within the last decade related to Mon nationalism In his work, he has conducted a detailed analysis of the Mon nationalist movement,... Guillon 1999, South 2003) and educated Mons (IMNA 2004, Mon Unity League n.d., personal communication) is that Mon history began in the 6th century AD with the founding of the Dvaravati Kingdom in what is now the western part of Thailand, and the Hongsawatoi Kingdom in present-day southern Myanmar More important is their assertion that Mons were the earliest Buddhists in Southeast Asia and had developed the ... idealised version of Mon identity- including literacy in Mon and interest in Mon nationalist- are dismissed as not “real Mons” As such, the Mon nationalist identity is largely defined against two others-... polities and the ethnic identity/ ies of those contained within the polities Finally, the Mons represent a liminal position within Thai discourse; whilst Thais recognise Mon historical influence and. .. certainly is no longer a powerful or influential language Apart from those living in areas of Mon State in Myanmar, and a few places in Thailand, mainly Sangkhlaburi, large portions of Mons are monolingual