Obituary: Adrian Cowell (1934-2011)
By Naw Liang(in London, UK and Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Mai soong kha. 

Despite the dating of this post, it has been too long between my contributions to All about Shan Studies. My apologies. 

This is particularly bad as there has been a deluge of Shan-related information – mostly and thankfully available through the internet – since last autumn when the seeds of change were planted in Burma/Myanmar. While this blog has never had a political agenda, the palpable opening up of Burma/Myanmar to the world, and the world’s measured acceptance and embrace of it has been groundbreaking – not only (and most importantly) for local people, but also for followers, academics and enthusiasts of Burma/Myanmar and its diverse cultural background, including the Shan. For these reasons, I have decided to dedicate more time to keeping up with the happenings in the Shan and greater Burma arena to truly live up to the All about Shan Studies agenda – to spread information and interest on the Shan worldwide. 

That said, this post feels somewhat disjointed for a number of reasons. While my pledge above is entirely positive, the first post to follow this agenda is not. The passing of an important figure for the spreading of Shan insights, the anthro-docu-enthusiast filmmaker Adrian Cowell in October 2011, is a wholly sad event, a major loss to the decimation of unique Shan insights by a true ethnographic giant. If any solace can be taken from this loss, however, it is that his passing in late 2011 will help to highlight and share his incredible work with not only the next generation of Shan enthusiasts, but also allow locals in Shan State to view his documentaries and see a little bit of a past life that has sadly all but faded away.

While ‘enjoy’ might not be the right sentiment, I do hope that the following post helps those of you new to Cowell’s work to marvel at its brilliance, whilst also allowing those of you versed in his productions to revisit and enjoy them all over again.

I guess ‘enjoy’ was the right word after all.

Adrian Cowell – Asia enthusiast, documentary filmmaker, video-anthropologist, opium investigator and Shan State enthusiast

I was first introduced to Cowell’s work during my studies at SOAS via a little known, but riveting film called ‘Raid into Tibet’ (see here). Shot by Cowell, filmmaker Chris Menges (The Killing Fields) and George Patterson in 1964 is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind film that documents the Tibetan resistance movement following a revolt against China in 1959 (I urge anyone who can to watch this video).

Born in China in 1934, Cowell only returned to Asia in 1955-56 with a group of fellow students overland from London to Singapore via the Ledo Road (also known as the Stilwell Road) in northern Burma/Myanmar. Travseing the Kachin and Shan States and then into Thailand, this experience peaked a close relationship with the Shan State that included long periods with several armed insurgent groups such as the Shan National and Shan State armies. Burma/Myanmar, in particular the Shan State, had gotten under his skin and would remain a constant itch for nearly 40 years. 

The Shan State and ‘The Heroin Wars’ 

After learning of Cowell’s passing, I revisited his ground-breaking 1990s television series entitled The Heroin Wars (available through Bluefrog Films (see here), which I initially came across during research into indigenous development in the Shan State. While only tangentially related to my work, the series provided a wonderful historical video insight into 1960s Shan State and the growing conundrum surrounding heroin production. The series, snippets of which can be viewed online (see Part I, Part II and Part III), is a pure example of Cowell’s prowess at not only achieving unprecedented access to, but also capturing 1960s Shan State life (albeit linked to heroin) without contaminating the view. I have yet to find films that either document concerns about heroin in the region or provide such a clear view of 1960s Shan State; anyone with access to such films/videos, please get in touch.

Cowell’s time in and around Kengtung in eastern Shan State, much spent with the Shan National Army, for several months in the mid-1960s helped create The Opium Trail, a television documentary that was aired by PBS in 1966. This was followed by the much acclaimed The Opium Warlords (shot by Menges and produced in 1972) and The Opium Kings (aired in 1997 on PBS and including an extensive interview with Cowell) following subsequent returns to the Shan State, including a sixteen month stint with the Shan State Army (SSA) where the team were trapped in Burma/Myanmar during heavy fighting between the Tatmadaw (Burmese army) and the SSA in Shan State. It is deeply regrettable that there are no online sources to view either of these remarkable films. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Despite not being publically available or easy to obtain at least), Cowell’s vivid videographies not only recorded the real, on-the-ground life of 1960s Shan State and the heroin trade, but also showcased his expertise at narrating the opaque opium trade throughout the Golden Triangle: in particular, how the drug trade had created and fed the never-ending cycle of chaos within eastern Burma/Myanmar. Cowell was also brazen by documenting the complicity of the Burmese army (security, support, profiteering, production) in the drug trade and how their involvement encouraged rather than hindered lawlessness in Shan State.

Cowell’s contact with the Shan State seemed to end in the mid-1970s when he took up indigenous issues in South America, particularly the Amazon basin, to bring attention to environmental and cultural destruction through the five film series entitled The Decade of Destruction.

However, in the 1990s, Cowell revisited opium in Southeast Asia and Shan State through The Heroin Wars, his last major documentary, and a number of other opium-related productions, following the impact of the drug trade in heroin from Shan State to Hong Kong and beyond, even as far as presenting his findings to the White House. 

Despite the waning of his focus on Shan State in his later years, the catalogue of ground-breaking films, concentrated on the opium trade, is invaluable. It is hoped that Cowell's work will become more available to a wider audience soon as it would be a terrible waste otherwise. For now, although of limited consolation, Cowell's library of authentic and unimposing documentary filmmaking of the Shan State is a wonderful example of a man who understood, sympathised with and care about the Shan State and its people.

He will be sorely missed. 

Jom li kha,

Naw Liang 

*I have used several sources for this article, particularly Bertil Lintner’s excellent obituary in the October 18, 2011 Asia times (see here).