A political archaeology of Theravada Buddhism: Unearthing the emotions of changing funerary practices in northern Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Bowie
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
Theravada Buddhism ◽  
Funerary Practices ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Political Archaeology ◽  
Thai Government

As the central Thai government expanded into the northern region during the early decades of the twentieth century, thousands of northern monks created a movement spearheaded by the famous monk, Khruba Srivichai (1878–1939). Even after Srivichai's multiple arrests and the disrobing of some 1,000 of his disciples in 1936, tensions continued. Oral histories reveal underlying differences in religious interpretations; one was outrage at the construction of funerary chedis on temple grounds. To understand why northerners found this practice sacrilegious, this essay undertakes an ideological archaeology into the ‘space of dissension’ of differing central and northern Thai funerary practices.

scholarly journals Popular Medicine and Empirics in Greece, 1900–1950: An Oral History Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 492-513
Author(s):  
Violetta Hionidou
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Oral History ◽  
The State ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
The West ◽  
Western Literature ◽  
Popular Medicine ◽  
Folklore Studies ◽  
History Approach

Western literature has focused on medical plurality but also on the pervasive existence of quacks who managed to survive from at least the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Focal points of their practices have been their efforts at enrichment and their extensive advertising. In Greece, empirical, untrained healers in the first half of the twentieth century do not fit in with this picture. They did not ask for payment, although they did accept ‘gifts’; they did not advertise their practice; and they had fixed places of residence. Licensed physicians did not undertake a concerted attack against them, as happened in the West against the quacks, and neither did the state. In this paper, it is argued that both the protection offered by their localities to resident popular healers and the healers’ lack of demand for monetary payment were jointly responsible for the lack of prosecutions of popular healers. Moreover, the linking of popular medicine with ancient traditions, as put forward by influential folklore studies, also reduced the likelihood of an aggressive discourse against the popular healers. Although the Greek situation in the early twentieth century contrasts with the historiography on quacks, it is much more in line with that on wise women and cunning-folk. It is thus the identification of these groups of healers in Greece and elsewhere, mostly through the use of oral histories but also through folklore studies, that reveals a different story from that of the aggressive discourse of medical men against quacks.

Camp Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Fenno ◽  
Karen Brunso ◽  
Jessica Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
The Self ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Tribal School ◽  
Camp Life

Oral histories concerning the clan camps of the early and mid-twentieth century are still abundant today, but it is feared much of this important history will be lost within a generation. Tribal schools realize the importance of teaching this recent history as it was during these times that Seminole families were still entirely self-sufficient, growing and hunting the majority of their subsistence base. The self-sufficiency ethos is a key part of cultural identity and one that helps define who the Seminole people are. As the authors explain, the research undertaken by the THPO to document these reservation-era camps is driven by a community need to actively manage and preserve this information for future generations of Tribal members. The importance of this work is driven home if you are lucky enough to witness a Tribal school group visiting a historic camp; armed with maps and plans showing where houses and gardens were located students can immerse themselves in their own history. Archaeology adds to this story by providing not only the means to capture a picture of the camp that can be combined with oral histories but also to provide a tangible tool by which students can actively participate in the learning process.

NATURAL RADIONUCLIDES IN AGRICULTURAL PLANTS FROM NORTHERN THAILAND

2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 397-399
Author(s):  
R Kritsananuwat ◽  
C Kranrod ◽  
S Chanyotha ◽  
T Ploykrathok ◽  
P Sriploy
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Natural Radionuclides ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Gamma Ray Spectrometry ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Activity Concentrations ◽  
Plant Samples ◽  
Spectrometry Technique ◽  
Agricultural Plants

Abstract Thailand is predominantly an agricultural country. The Northern Region occupies the second largest cultivated land area in the country. To establish baseline data for future environmental monitoring, seventy-nine plant samples including vegetables, fruits and tobaccos and their relevant soils were collected from the major plantation zones of Northern Thailand. Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in the samples were determined using gamma-ray spectrometry technique. The median activity concentrations of 226Ra and 228Ra in the soil samples were higher than worldwide value, while as those of 40K were comparable with worldwide value. There was a large variation and non-uniform distribution in the soil samples. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K in the plant samples varied widely within plants and between species and were very low compared to their relevant soils. A decreasing trend of their activity concentration has been observed in the order leaf > stem > rhizome/root (as found in galangal); and leaf > stalk/stem (as found in lemongrass).

scholarly journals Acanthosaura aurantiacrista (Squamata: Agamidae), a new long horn lizard from northern Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poramad Trivalairat ◽  
Kirati Kunya ◽  
Lawan Chanhome ◽  
Montri Sumontha ◽  
Taksa Vasaruchapong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Strong Support ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Pairwise Distance ◽  
Length Ratio ◽  
Western Region ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Northern Thailand

In Thailand, five species of Acanthosaura have been recorded so far, including Acanthosaura armata from the southern region, A. cardamomensis from the eastern region, A. crucigera from the western region, A. lepidogaster from the northern region and A. phuketensis from the Phuket Island and south-western region. However, comprehensive studies of diversity patterns and distribution of Acanthosaura are still lacking in some areas and need further information for designating areas of special conservation importance and nature protection planning in Thailand. Acanthosaura aurantiacrista is a new species of long-horned lizard of the genus Acanthosaura from northern Thailand. It is distinguished from all other species of Acanthosaura by a dagger-like nuchal spine with yellowish-orange colouration in females, bright yellow colouration in males and a combination of other morphological characters: a greater tail length to snout-vent length ratio; a larger postorbital spine, nuchal spine, dorsal spine and occipital spine compared to its head length; a smaller diastema to snout-vent length ratio; a greater number of subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger and fourth toe; and a larger gular pouch than other Acanthosaura species. Analysis of mitochondrial ND2 gene sequences revealed a sister clade between the A. aurantiacrista lineage and the A. crucigera lineage with a 100% probability of divergence, according to Bayesian analysis and strong support value for Maximum Likelihood analysis. The pairwise distance ranged from 13.8-15.0% between A. aurantiacrista and A. cardamomensis, 10.9-14.5% between A. aurantiacrista and A. crucigera and 0-1.2% amongst A. aurantiacrista populations. The discovery of this lizard increases the known endemic herpetological diversity and underscores the importance of conservation in the mountain rainforest region of northern Thailand.

scholarly journals A new species and a new record of Curcuma subgen. Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) from Northern Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Surapon Saensouk ◽  
Thawatphong Boonma ◽  
Piyaporn Saensouk
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Record ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
The Past ◽  
Flora Of Thailand ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Thunbergia Laurifolia ◽  
Crotalaria Spectabilis

Abstract. Saensouk S, Boonma T, Saensouk P. 2021. A new species and a new record of Curcuma subgen. Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) from Northern Thailand. Biodiversitas 22: 3617-3626. Recent fieldwork to study the species diversity of the Zingiberaceae family in Thailand and preparing a revision of the Curcuma genus for the Flora of Thailand, an undescribed species of Curcuma uses as traditional medicinal for more than two decades well known in the Thai vernacular name “Rang-Jued” was found, this vernacular name is also used to call the other two medicinal plants belonging to different families which are Thunbergia laurifolia Lindl. (Acanthaceae), and Crotalaria spectabilis Roth (Fabaceae), thus some villagers are named Curcuma rangjued as “Rang-Jued-Khamin” to communicate specifically identify species in order to use correct species for each utilization. While Thunbergia laurifolia was called "Rang-Jued-Thao", which "Thao" means "vine" refers to its habit and Crotalaria spectabilis was called "Rang-Jued-Ton" which "Ton" means "stem" refers to its erect stems. After comparing this undescribed species of Curcuma with its allies species, we found that this species did not match with any existing taxa, thus described with detailed illustrations, photographs, summaries for its distribution, ecology in the name of Curcuma rangjued Saensouk & Boonma and followed by a new record of C. cordata Wall. for Thailand which in the past has been determined as a synonym of C. petiolata Roxb. but now it is back to a recognized name once again. Both species in this study were found distributed in the northern region of Thailand and belong to Curcuma subgenus Curcuma, their description along with ecology, phenology, and a revised key to 28 species of Curcuma subgenus Curcuma in Thailand are also present for facilitating identification.

Partition Studies: Prospects and Pitfalls

2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joya Chatterji
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
The South ◽  
The Subject

Partition, unquestionably a pivotal event of the South Asian twentieth century, has become a subject of great significance in its own right.1Studies of partition began with a profound reexamination of why it happened;2they gathered momentum as scholars looked at the provincial and local roots of the drive to divide India;3and the subject took a big step forward when oral histories revealed how women and men experienced the traumas of its bloody upheavals, the violence of “the burning plains of the Punjab” becoming a metaphor for partition itself.4

Losing the Waterways: The Displacement of Khmer Communities from the Freshwater Rivers of the Mekong Delta, 1945–2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 500-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
PHILIP TAYLOR
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Ecological Adaptation ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Tidal Rivers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Indochina War

AbstractIn the latter half of the twentieth century thousands of Khmer people were displaced from their homes along the freshwater rivers of Vietnam's Mekong delta. Their pattern of settlement along freshwater tidal rivers was an ecological adaptation unique in the Khmer-speaking world, of which only vestiges remain. Drawing upon oral histories and ethnographic observations of O Mon, a district in the central Mekong delta, this paper reconstructs a picture of the traditional river-based livelihoods, social structure and religious life of Khmers in this region in the 1940s. It describes how these Khmers were driven from their villages early in the First Indochina War. Experiencing ongoing dislocations in subsequent periods of war and peace, most have been prevented from returning to their former homes or reclaiming their land. Relying on testimony by elderly Khmers, who witnessed the disintegration of their riverside communities, the account challenges existing depictions of the ecology and history of the Mekong delta, offering new insights into the complexity of the Indochina wars and the severity of their consequences.

Network governance and the contemporary opium problem in northern Thailand

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-374
Author(s):  
Patamawadee Jongruck
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Community Development ◽  
Thai Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the current approach that the Thai Government has employed to manage “wicked problems,” using the case of opium in northern Thailand, and analyzing how the network governance approach can contribute to sustainable upland community development. Design/methodology/approach A case study was employed for this research. The data collection was based upon a qualitative research approach, namely in-depth interviews, participatory observation and document research, were all conducted. Findings The study found that the strategy of the Thai Government to manage the opium problem in the upland periphery has changed over time. The recent approach could be illustrated as a form of network governance albeit solely within the governmental realm, which was found to be different from the network governance stratagem currently defined in the dominant literature. This paper suggests that in order to achieve a sustainable solution for upland community development, the mode of network governance should shift toward self-governing networks. In other words, non-state stakeholders should be actively engaged in the network and empowered to manage their problems for sustainable upland community development. Originality/value This paper contributes to the current corpus of network governance literature by introducing an empirical case study from Thailand. In terms of policy implication, this paper provides policy suggestions for governments, especially in Asia, who are actively seeking to resolve “wicked problems” and achieving sustainable community development.

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