Kingdom of Illusions

I was browsing through a book store in Chiang Mai a few months back and came across a book entitled ‘The Kingdom of Illusions’. It was a book about Thailand and the title stuck a chord with me and I immediately wished that I had thought of that. You see, Thailand, for all intensive purposes and on many levels, is a kingdom of illusions. There is a very high value placed on appearance and one must be conscious of their appearance. This value is reflected in dress, behavior and other aspects of life. In my classes my students often spend more time than their American counterparts adding what I would call finishing touches on their project. The result is something that is often more visually appealing than what their American counterparts might produce. However, often times the quality of the assignment doesn’t mirror the level of quality of the appearance of the project. Some of the most beautiful projects I’ve received are significantly lacking in substance. While the value of appearance is one to be encouraged, it shouldn’t overshadow substance.

Thailand is in the process of recovering from several prolonged years of political confrontation which resulted in a coup and the ensuing political ramifications of that. A constitution has been reinstated and elections are scheduled for December 23 after which a new parliament will be installed. Recently, the Election Commission released a set of rules and regulations for the campaigns leading up to the election. They hope to stamp out the widespread vote buying and other underhanded methods of obtaining votes which is far too common in Thailand. They hope that these rigorous standards will ensure a fair and free election. Several days ago, the last of the candidates registered with the EC and following the closure of the registration they took all of the candidates to Wat Phra Kaew, one of the most sacred and famous temples in Thailand, and had them swear in front of Buddha image that they would follow these rules. The Bangkok Post published a political cartoon the following day which I feel captures my sentiments. It shows the candidates in a boxing arena with a statue of the Buddha in one corner with a politician seated in front of it while whispering out of the corner of his mouth to his followers behind him who are engaged in a tremendous fight to also promise to abide by these rules. The Election Commission and the current government (as well as the candidates themselves) are trying to create this illusion that the election is going to be democratic and fair. I can’t help but think that the lessons and values (related to appearance and substance) which my students have at this age are not much different from those of the politicians. Of course I realize that politicians project images and it is rare to find a politician who consists of much more than an image, but I can’t help but wonder what messages these public ceremonies are sending to the people watching them. I can’t imagine that anyone took them seriously. To those who have already been taught that image trumps substance this only reinforces that message. To those who have lost faith in the government and the candidates this only confirms their fears. And to those who hoped for something different this time around this only shows them that the while the government has changed the substance has remained.

King's Fashion Trends

Those of you who have been to Thailand know that there are two uberubiquitous sights in Thailand - 7/10 and in recent years the King's Yellow shirt. Many people started to wear the yellow shirts several years ago in honor of the King's 60th Anniversary on the throne which was celebrated in June of 2006. The shirts sported a emblem designed specially for this celebration representing the many aspects of the monarchy. Once the anniversary celebrations were complete, people continued to wear their yellow shirts. Politicians are always sporting one when they make public appearances and the news anchors always have some splash of yellow if not the shirt during their broadcasts. Teachers and other government employees are asked to wear them every Monday and many wear them multiple days throughout the week. To continue honoring the King and his 80th birthday (which is on December 5th), a new logo was designed for the 80th birthday celebrations and people bought even more yellow shirts with the new logo. After nearly a year of wearing a fairly plain yellow shirt with a symbol, many companies began offering more stylized shirt with other designs and patterns in order to spice it up a bit. Nonetheless, there is still an abundance of yellow on every shirt (only now there is a little bit of flair). Over the course of the past year and a half or so I've collected roughly six different versions of the yellow shirt (both 60th anniversary and 80th birthday shirts). Anyway, the point here is that people have become accustomed to wearing these yellow shirts as a external representation of their affection and support for the King.

The King was admitted to the hospital about four weeks ago and upon his admission to the hospital swarms of people flocked to the hospital to sign a guest book set up in the hospital and offer their moral support for the King. Buses and water taxis offered free rides for people going to the hospitals and many international monarchs and diplomats expressed their wishes for a speedy recovery. For nearly three weeks there was a steady flow of people in and out of the hospital. He left the hospital last week. His departure became nothing short of a large celebration and procession. Thousands of people came to the hospital to see him off and it the entire journey home - from the moment he walked out the hospital doors to the moment his car entered the palace grounds - was filmed and broadcast on all channels. After paying respects at statues of his parents in the lobby of the hospital he got in his car. The entire hospital ground was covered with people sporting their yellow shirts. The entire route from hospital to palace was lined with more people. What was interesting (and what has become a little absurd lately) was the countries response to his attire. The day the king left the hospital, he wore a pink collarless shirt and a pink blazer. I've been told that an astrologer reportedly told the king to wear the color typically associated with baby girls and bubble gum because it also symbolizes Mars and would help him gain strength. This sparked an almost fanatic rush by the countries loyal royalists to purchase pink shirts and show their support. Stores reported that their stocks of pink shirts were gone within hours of the kings appearance on TV. Manufacturers promised to increase production and retailers promised to increase their stocks of pink shirts. Several days later, the king returned to the hospital to pay a visit to his older sister who is also in the hospital. This time he was wearing a green blazer with a pink shirt, as green can reportedly bring success for someone like the king, who was born on a Monday. The rush to buy pink shirts was short-lived as people now sought out green shirts. Vendors immediately ordered more green shirts and people headed out to buy them. No more than two days after his appearance in a green shirt, he returned to the hospital for another visit this time wearing a blue shirt. You can guess what happened next. Anyway, I find this to be highly indicative of the typical Thai response to the monarchy. There is a tremendous amount of respect for the king and for the most part that respect is deserved. But much of this respect and admiration is blind and very few understand the relationship which the king has with the country and so many express their (somewhat blind) love by imitating him and expressing this love externally (by wearing the yellow shirt etc.). I've had many people who while claiming to love the king are unable to explain why. And it's not that they can't find the words or reasons, it's that it's not something to be questioned or thought about but simply done. It's a very complex relationship - one which has many different facets and intricacies and one which has been developed for 61 years. What this most recent trip to the hospital and the ensuing fashion trends does indicate though is that there will be a significant amount of change (which will be fiercely resisted) when the king dies. But until then, people will continue to wear these yellow shirts and follow his every move.

Royal Barge Procession

A few weeks ago I was witness to an old Thai tradition steeped in culture, religion and Thailand's monarchy. The ceremony took place on a Monday in Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River and was broadcast throughout the country on all the TV stations. It was held in the afternoon and I actually canceled class so that my students and I could watch. The Royal Barge Procession is a old tradition with its roots tracing back nearly 700 years. As with many early cities and civilizations, Thailand's early cities were located along major rivers. It is speculated that the Royal Barge Procession originated during the Ayutthaya period during the 14th century. It has been held since then, but the ceremony has always been sporadically held. In 1932, as the absolute monarchy became a constitutional monarchy the Royal Barge Procession began a period of decline as monarchical power also declined and it wasn't until 1957 that a Royal Barge Procession was held. The tradition has been successfully revived, in large part due to the popularity of the current king. Since the late 18th century, the ceremony has been associated with the Royal Kathin Ceremony procession. The Kathin Ceremony is the presentation of robes and making of merit in tribute to and support of the monasteries under royal patronage. Over the past 60 years there have been 16 sailings of the Royal Barges, with most occurring on special occasions. This year's sailing was done in celebration of the king's 80th birthday while last year's was held in honor of the kings 60th year on the throne. The procession includes numerous boats with this year's total reaching 52 unique boats and the boats were manned by more than 2,000 oarsmen. The barges usually move down the Chao Phraya River from the Wasukri Royal Landing Place past the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), the Grand Palace and arrives at Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn.

The barges are themselves works of art and are recognized as such. In Bangkok, they are housed and restored in the Royal Barge Museum. Joey and I were able to venture over there while he was in town and caught a close up look at the boats. They were stunning. Here are a few pictures (sadly not my own) of some of the boats.

This first boat is The Royal Barge Suphannahonse and was built in 1911. The bow of the boat was built to resemble a mythical swan, or Hongsa, and is adorned with gold lacquer and glass jewels, with a crystalline ball and tassle dangling from her mouth. It was carved from a single trunk of teakwood and is 46 m long. When the members of the Royal family participate in the sailing, they will sit on board this boat. This year's ceremony didn't feature the King (who was in the hospital) but his son, the crown prince.

The Royal Barge Anantanagaraj was built in 1914 and the w is carved into the 7-headed Nagaraj, the mystical snake-like creature, in gold lacquer and glass jewels.

The Royal Barge Narai Song Suban H.M. Rama IX is the only barge built during the reign of the current king. It was built in 1994 and built in cooperation by the Royal Thai Navy and the Thai Department of Fine Arts and was built to honor His Majesty during his 50th anniversary celebrations in 1996.

This an aerial view of what the procession would like as it makes its way down the river. The whole procession stretches about two kilometers down the river.

Finally, a picture of the Royal boat landing at the pier at Wat Arun.

Take care and I'll be back soon with more!

Ryan

Pictures from Laos and Phu Kradung

I've finally gotten my pictures edited and up on the internet. I'm using a different website to host the pictures this time. I'm keeping everything within Google and hopefully that cuts down on the amount of work I have to do (more importantly it means I only have to label the photos once).

So here are the highlight pictures from my semester break trip. Enjoy!