Southern Society & Culture

[GWR]

Thai-icizing the Malays: A Local Response to an Environmental Crisis - Saroja Dorairajoo, National University of Singapore:-
http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~rnishii/South_Thai/working_paper/dorairajoo001.html
A way of Negotiating with the other within the self: Muslim's acknowledgement of Buddhist ancestors in Southern Thailand - Nishii Ryoko:-
http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~rnishii/South_Thai/working_paper/nishii001.html
Celestial Discourse: Female Spirit Mediums Channel
Gendered Communication in Modernizing Southern Thailand - Marlane Guelden:-
http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~rnishii/South_Thai/working_paper/guelden001.html
Dual Ethnic Minorities and the Local Reworking of Citizenship at the Thailand-Malaysian Border - Alexander Horstmann:-
http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~rnishii/South_Thai/working_paper/horstmann002.html
Associated Photogallery:-
http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~rnishii/South_Thai/gallery.html

[GWR]

Six-Time Winner of Bullfighting Matches (Bull-on-Bull) at places as far apart as Sathing Phra & Na Muang in Songkhla Province. I see prime specimans like this being led out to graze every day; almost in the downtown in some cases. And I live in a street full on people crazy about going to these fights & betting. Must go myself one day!:-

http://tinypic.com/m96hvl.jpg

[GWR]

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/polis/research/pdf/wp3mccargo.pdf

Southern Thai Politics: A Preliminary Overview
Professor Duncan McCargo
POLIS Working Paper No. 3
February 2004
University of Leeds

A study of southern bullfighting by Akhom Detthongkham published in 2000 (as part of the same TRF research project as the volume by Sarup and Sumi) provoked a furore. Akhom argued that the “backstage matadors” who orchestrated the fights – in Thailand, fights are between two bulls, rather than contests between a bull and a matador – would stop at nothing to win, even going so far as to poison opponent’s bulls the night before a big fight.

Akhom described Southerners as gifted speakers who were not especially friendly or outgoing: rather, they were strong-headed, frequently involved in heated arguments, straightforward and usually spoke without consideration for the feelings of others (Akhom 2000: 56). He sought to present bullfighting as a metaphor for the character of southern people, a suggestion which
provoked anger among Democrat politicians and their supporters: his research wasassumed to suggest that southerners were totally unprincipled in the pursuit of their goals. The issue became front page news for a few days (see Kilen Pralongchoeng, “Nak chon wua”, Thai Rath, 7 August 2000). Matichon quoted the president of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Chamber of Commerce as saying that Akhom’s research was flawed, and would have a negative impact on southerners, who were really generous and caring. He suggested that Akhom might have been motivated by some sort of political disappointment or frustration (Matichon, 7 August 2000).

In a study of no confidence debates in Thailand, Savitri Gadavanij has suggested that the verbal sparring of these debates has analogies with the style of nang talung, a form of southern shadow play (Savitri 2002: 236). In nang talung, a character known as ai theng plays the role of jester, raising controversial issues and taboo topics. She suggests that southern politicians:
such as Chuan Leekpai, Trairong Suwannakiri and Suthep Thueksuban share
certain common characteristics. They are usually skilful performers. They bear
characteristics of southerners, portrayed in the character of ai theng, cynical, argumentative, having excellent command of language and a witty way withwords. (Savitri 2002: 237) While Chuan is a master of subtlety and innuendo – parliament’s “honey-coated
razor” – Trairong and Suthep use a distinctive southern-accented thong daeng style,“ar gumentative, loud and direct” (Savitri 2002: 238). The southern contingent of MPs includes many of parliament’s best performers, reflecting a political culture that emphasises public speaking skills, and prizes a certain mode of masculinity in its leaders. At the same time, Chuan himself clearly manifested a different mode of masculinity from either Trairong and Suthep – both of whom have very different modes of speaking – so illustrating the limitations of culturalist generalisations. Though interesting in themselves, Savitri’s interpretations have only limited explanatory power.

[GWR]

Talking of 'Shadowplay' Puppets, quite an interesting article & webpage here on this dying artform. Performances happen in my own soi on occasion:-

Translated From:

Discoveries about the Performance of Nang Talung

(Southern Thai Shadow Puppet Theater)

by Thawon Anusiri, Prince of Songkla University-Pattani

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Thai/Sikaeo/papere.htm

Nang Thalung -
Southern Thai Shadow Puppet Theatre


http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Thai/Sikaeo/

[GWR]

Some thoughts on Nang-Thalung & Pop Culture from the Groves of Academe:-

Popular Culture and “Traditional Performance”:

Conflicts and Challenges in Contemporary Nang Talung.

Dr. Paul Dowsey-Magog

Charles Sturt University, Australia

Presented at a Prince of Songkhla University conference in 2002


http://mis-pattani.pn.psu.ac.th/registra/grade/temp/speech/dowsey%20paper/PaperDrPaulDowsey.html