Remembering Wat Jong Awk
Amphoe Fang, Thailand

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Note: Many thanks to Tinya Wollweber for providing the photos (there are six in all) of some Shan murals painted on the walls of Wat Jong Awk, which was sadly destroyed by an electrical fire in 2005. Without the photos, these great works would have been lost forever.
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Mai soong kha!

Welcome back! After a wonderful Songkran, it is time for another update. This time, however, I am indebted to fellow Shan enthusiast Tinya for the topic - Shan Buddhist temple murals and the loss of Wat Jong Awk in Fang, Thailand. Although I have me Tinya only once - to discuss Shan- and other Burma/Myanmar-related issues on the steps of SOAS - we (mostly him) have been actively emailing information, insight and other things Shan for the past six months or so. I am constantly surprised by his wealth of information and energy for the Shan cause. Let's hope he continues to 'send interesting tidbits' like this my way to be shared with everyone.

Amphoe Fang: a lesser crossroads to Shan State
I have been to and through Fang many times, but am not familiar with the town; I tend to make my way straight to Ban Thaton, where one can scale the steps of Wat Thaton and gaze out over the Mae Kok river at the old chalet. It is only 2km down river from the Burmese border and the Shan State, but was, until the late 19th century, a major transit spot on the Thai-Burma border. As a result of its close proximity, it has always been a useful spot for me, though 'officially' no journeys upriver into Burma are allowed. (I may expand on this later.)

Amphoe Fang is a very important area of Northern Thailand for Shan enthusiasts and researchers, mainly for its closeness to the Shan State (as mentioned above). More interestingly, although it lies on a less travelled route between the two countries, which can be advantegous for some, Fang is rich in Shan history, culture, language and people, deeply and to a less diluted extent than in other, sometimes larger areas, such as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Song or even Mae Sai. Furthermore, its proximity to the Shan State and the relative ease (though sporadic and dangerous) of movement by people between the two countries is also an interesting factor. That said, recurring insurgency - between any number of groups including the Burmese army, the pro-SPDC United Wa State Army (UWSA), numerous Shan insurgent groups and, if action spills over into Thailand, Thai forces - make it a less-than-safe place to be or travel through at times. And, with the addition of rampant and grave human rights abuses and citizenship issues (for ethnic and often illegal Shan immigrants to Thailand), the area's security is less than the best.

But, I am getting off topic.

Wat Jong Awk and its murals
The photo of a Buddhist mural above - one of many Tinya has passed on to me - was taken at Wat Jong Awk in Fang in 2003. Tinya mentioned that the wat was destroyed in 2005 due to an electrical fire, and I was unable to find out any more information on Wat Jong Awk despite talking with an Akha friend in Thaton and a Thai researcher in Chiang Mai. Regardless, the temple and its artwork are no more. This is truly a shame as the photos are wonderful records of this Shan temple's amazing artwork: a pure assertion of core Buddhist values expressed in definitive Shan style. While they, in common with most Buddhist murals, tell us a story - which one I am not expert enough to decipher - and celebrate Buddhism and the belief in it, I am more fascinated by the intrinsic Shan-ness of them. The style is distinctly Shan: vibrant colours, which are emphasised by the extensive use of dark colours, including black; the definitively Shan clothing, such as men in turbans; and, most obviously, Buddhist precepts written in Shan. I will try to include the other photos at a later date as I believe that they illustrate Shan religious artwork very well, particularly in comparison to those in neighbouring Thai temples.

*For further information on Buddhist murals in Northern Thailand, including Shan, please visit this article by John P. Ferguson and Christina B. Johannsen. The article, though dated (1973), provides an excellent overview of Buddhist murals in Northern Thailand. It is also the only scholarly work that I was able to uncover despite some searching.

Once again, many thanks to Tinya for the photos. I hope that everyone has enjoyed this post and will, if possible, comment or criticize my views on the religious murals from Wat Jong Awk (Have you visited it? Any more photos? What do you know of Shan religious art? Is my evaluation on the right track?) and Shan religious art in general. Your thoughts are always appreciated.

Gyan ma chan tha ba seh,

Naw Liang