New Book: Tai Lands and Thailand: Community and State in Southeast Asia by Andrew Walker (Editor)
by Naw Liang

Mai soong kha!
Well, things are picking up. Maybe it's the weather - London is already heading into autumn - or the idea, subconsciously, that 'school' is about to start that has me researching, reading and writing like crazy. That can only mean good things for All about Shan Studies - more 'talk' creates more debate and, ultimately, better ideas. At the moment, however, my head is firmly buried in a range of books that I have either come across by accident (and should have already known about really) or been informed of by Shan enthusiasts more dedicated than myself. Regardless of how we discover, every find is appreciated.

Before I dive into my pseudo-review, I should mention that I have yet to read the text in question, and my comments here are simply a condensation of more professional reviews - both official (in print or online) and through casual discussion with readers - by 'those in the know'. While it is only my everexpanding list of books to read, it may be some time before I get around to adding my own take on the text in question. Rest assured, I will add those thoughts when possible. My apologies for anyone who mistook my writings for the thoughts of someone who has read each tome in its entirety.

Text on the Tai: Tai Lands and Thailand by Andrew Walker
Posted originally in June 2009 on ANU's RSPAS site called 'New Mandala' (see here), Andrew Walker self-promotes the book, which seeks to highlight ongoing research (over the past six years) regarding 'Modern Tai Community' and a range of other issues dealing with the Tai and their status/existence within modern-day Thailand.

While a full description of the book is provided on an independent website, my shortened take would be that the text helps to unravel a Tai universe that covers a great part of mainland Southeast Asia; in fact, it is much larger than many contend, as shown by the contributors to Tai lands and Thailand. Beyond cultural/influential spread, the book and its chapters focus on the 'commonly perceived meanings' of state and community, a fundamental theory of social/anthropological pursuits the world over. This ideas pits the concept of the modern-day country/nation (artificial and, largely Western, constructs anyway) against indigenous concepts of community as togetherness - state as administrative and commercial versus community as traditional, local knowledge and subsistence living. Central themes that contrast (as stated in the review) the different roles of state (to rule) versus community (to resist) as well as state as modern versus community as traditional also persist.

This book, however, seeks to challenge those preconceptions, using the Tai/Shan as their example. Examples of communities where the (administrative) state engages with the (indigenous/social) community are rife within the Tai and permeate throughout the economic (group - market; and individual - livelihood) and individual (aspirations) aspects of their lives. Furthermore, the contributors aim to challenge (and, in fact, decry) stereotypes shrouding traditional concepts of the village as well as modern perceptions of community (employment, economy and 'development'). While I will have to look further to see for myself, the undertones of anthropology of development are scintillating. I am ready for my copy.

Most of all, the text must be praised for its bravery at taking on standardised theories of community versus state, a debate that will continue to rage (and heat up) as global societies shift and change. And that affects not only Shan living in remote Eastern Shan State, but everyone, everywhere. Walker's book is set to be challenge, inform and encourage thought about and studies on contemporary society in Southeast Asia for years to come.

While it has been some time since I read it (and my memory fades daily), I do hear some similar overtones to Andrew Turton's groundbreaking work Civility and Savagery: Social Identity in Tai States. Although a purely anthropological work, Turton's understanding of mainland Southeast Asia societies is impeccable, just as much as his skill at adeptly challenging current (then?) philosophies about Asian communities and the social identities that live within. Consider it.

Once again, thank you for visiting.

Naw Liang