During our course on trans-border studies, we had the opportunity to visit Wat Kutao in Chiang Mai, where the Shan’s New Year festival was taking place. Organized by the Shan Literature and Cultural Committee, this event provided us with a chance to engage in participant observation. The Shan people are a sub-group of the Tai ethnic group in Southeast Asia, predominantly residing in Myanmar’s Shan State. However, due to ongoing civil unrest in Burma, the Shan often find themselves displaced and forced to seek refuge in neighboring Thailand. Unfortunately, they are not granted official refugee status there and frequently work as undocumented laborers (source: wiki).
Some of the Shan people I interviewed migrated to the Thai-Burmese border in Weing Heng (close to Golden Triangle) about 20 years ago. From there, some have settled in Chiang Mai. In terms of language and geography, their culture shares many similarities with the Lanna culture of Chiang Mai city. It is estimated that Shan migrants make up approximately one-sixth of the total population of Chiang Mai province, which is around 150,000 people in a city with a population of one million. To learn more about the Shan people in Chiang Mai, we were given various tasks.
My friend Molika was assigned to observe the concert and stage performance, with a focus on understanding the expression of identity. This included interviewing the audience about various aspects of the Shan concert and how Shan identity is portrayed on stage.
Faey was in charge of the exhibition, which involved examining what history was being showcased, how the audience perceived it, and what the organizers intended to display.
Suan’s responsibility was to interview 3-4 audience members in order to gain insights into their personal backgrounds. The goal was to understand their thoughts on living and working in Thailand, their perspectives on Shan new year festivities here, the differences between celebrating the new year here and in their home country, and their journeys to attend the new year festivities.
I personally took care of managing the space within the temple, including providing food, goods, and Shan products that were sold during the festival. This included observing and interviewing people and vendors. According to our plan, we gathered at the Wat Kutao gate around 7:30 PM on December 14, 2012. Although Shan people may celebrate this festival separately in other places, this particular location drew the largest population of Shan people in Chiang Mai. The area in front of the gate was moderately crowded at that time, with few people wearing traditional clothing due to it being the last day of the celebration.
Most festival attendees were young, typically aged 20 to 40, and often came with their friends, partners, or colleagues who were also migrant workers in industries like factories, construction, or plantations. We bought our tickets at an indoor entrance and observed several Thai police officers there to ensure security. Moreover, people wearing belts had to take them off as a precaution against possible misuse as weapons.
Inside the pagoda in Shan style, I noticed numerous shops surrounding the guard. There were designated areas for an exhibition, modern Shan singers’ performances, and traditional performances. My task was to observe shop owners and sellers, so I primarily focused on the various types of shops, with the majority being Shan food. Following that were shops selling traditional clothing. Additionally, there were shops offering CDs and entertainment games. Lastly, there was a single shop dedicated to traditional medicine, cosmetics, and dry food.
The owner of this shop, along with his wife and two small children, caught my attention. Together with my friend Chai Thong acting as translator, I discovered that he is currently 44 years old and was born and raised in Weingheng, a village on the Thailand border. His entire family holds Thai citizenship. Despite the distance they have to travel, they only sell these items once a year for the New Year festival in Chiang Mai. In addition to being a driver by profession, the owner also works as a farmer alongside his wife. They dedicate most of their time at home and on their farm, taking care of their 5 children.
On average, he can earn a monthly total of 16,000 Baht. Out of this amount, his wife contributes 5,000 Baht. The purpose behind selling these items is to acquire more advantages and ensure their durability. These products were imported from Shan State. During my stay there, I noticed that the majority of his customers were women who came to his store for traditional beauty products. Interestingly enough, while conversing with a young Shan woman in her twenties, I learned that she and her group of 20 friends who work as textile factory ironing workers in CM also utilize this particular type of cosmetic on a daily basis.
Approximately only 10 people use Thai cosmetic products, but despite not wearing traditional clothing, she still appears nice and friendly. The high price of traditional custom, which is around 1,400 Baht/each, prevents her from purchasing it. Only 6 to 7 of her friends wear it. During my visit to a shop that sells traditional clothing, I met another friendly shop owner named ___. She is 54 years old and her family moved to Pang Long, Weing Heng about 20 years ago due to the conflict in Shan State, Burma.
In the past, she made a living selling noodles or working as a temporary contract worker. It was a challenging time for her as she struggled financially to provide for her children,” she said. Around 10 years ago, after her husband passed away and left behind their two daughters, she started her own business. Together with her daughters, they design and create clothes by hand. This meticulous work takes time and attention to detail resulting in relatively expensive prices starting at a minimum of 1,000 Baht per product.
Occasionally they collaborate with other workers for specific details or decorations on their products. The average monthly income for the three family members from this business is approximately 30,000 Baht.
She operates a permanent shop in Pang Long, where approximately half of the Shan population is engaged in the same business as her. However, this particular shop was just temporary for the festival. The majority of her loyal customers are Shan people, with occasional patrons including Akha individuals, Chinese, and Thai. Typically, a Shan woman who visits her shop frequently purchases one cloth per year. During a conversation with her, I had the pleasure of meeting a fascinating individual who hails from the United States but has been residing in Chiang Mai for two years. At 73 years old, she volunteers as an English teacher for the Best Friend Library organization that serves the Shan community. Additionally, this festival marked her inaugural participation. Around 9 p.m., I started feeling very hungry, so we decided to head over to a food court and try some Shan cuisine. Most of the dishes offered were traditional Shan fare, with only a few incorporating Thai elements. The food court was managed by a Shan man who worked as a cook while his wife served as the food vendor. They did not have a fixed restaurant but instead frequented different night markets throughout the city each week to conduct their business. Their customers primarily consisted of Shan individuals, many of whom worked as construction laborers in and around Chiang Mai. On nights like these, they could earn up to 1000 Bath in total. Currently, they are residing in Chiang Mai.
Their children are studying and having Thai citizenship. He has moved here for about 28 years and already has Thai citizenship. Relevant to Shan traditions and culture, CD shops also made me fascinated by. There were about 6 CD shops in total. The shop shown in the picture is the biggest one. CD products of this shop vary from traditional Shan music, contemporary Shan music, Burmese music to Thai music, Thai movies, and Hollywood movies with Thai subtitles. The other 5 shops predominantly displayed a variety of Shan songs and documentary films about conflicts in Shan State.
In general, customers in Chiang Mai tend to choose modern Shan songs that are sung in the Shan language and often revolve around themes of love. Despite being able to speak Burmese or Thai, many of these customers still have a strong preference for listening to songs in the Shan language. This suggests that Shan people in Chiang Mai maintain a strong connection with their Shan origins in Burma. This connection is evident in the commodities they consume, which often come from Burma and showcase Shan symbolic culture. Additionally, their interests and concerns align with those of Shan people in Burma, as evidenced by their consumption of media such as CDs, VCDs, and documentaries about conflicts between the Shan and Burmese armies. These media sources are not easily accessible to them in their home country, further strengthening their sense of pride in their Shan identity while residing in Chiang Mai. Furthermore, the Thai media policy supports the dissemination of Shan mass media programs, including radio programs, to the Shan population in Chiang Mai. This offers them a platform for negotiation with their army in Burma and facilitates connections with international organizations, enabling them to seek support from these entities.
Technique questions: when, where, how, why, what? Eg: Exhibition: What? Representation of Shan: the past, presence absent because of politics, past-map territory, heroes in the sense of knowledge, royal, political people, culture, housing, food, clothes (21 Tai rares…), text book to represent language, old politic books. When?… Where? At temples?… How? Absence + presense Why? Need to organize this exhibition: they want to use different flatform to show culture to audience, youth, others including Thai people… (they have others in their mind) => afraid of Shan culture is going to be lost.
Who invests the money… The Shan education and culture audience: young, new interactive. The absence of Burmese… In 1958, after ten years of the Banlong agreement between the Army Government and the rebel group of Shan insurgency, the Burmese State broke their promise. The policy of divide and rule allowed Buddhism to be used as a tool to govern Shan state without convincing them to submit to the rule; therefore, they remain independent. They joined hands in the Balong agreement to fight British colonialism. The imagined audience is interested in topic 3: concerts: 1.
Stage: The space arrangement includes traditional singers, the Shan letter, the Thai flag, and the Shan State flag/script. Activities at the festival include traditional dance/art and performances of modern songs by singers from Burma, both Shan and from Chiang Mai. On the first day of the festival, the Thai authority opened the ceremony and sent a message to the audience. On New Year’s Eve, they celebrated Shan customs. The DJ, who is part of the organizing team, continuously emphasizes a specific message. The audience’s reaction and interviews reveal support for certain individuals, with photos taken on mobile phones and mention of specific phone brands, highlighting modernity. The event engages all senses: sight, sound, and smell. In the public sphere, participants discuss various topics including politics. The event serves as a transnational public sphere where commodities celebrate migrants challenging state boundaries, representing their power. The public sphere involves multiple actors with different interests, including brokers and the Thai State.
