CMHomeboy78

Chiang Mai missionaries - some thoughts.

The Rev. Daniel McGilvary and the American Protestant missionaries who followed him shortly after his arrival in 1867 were the first farangs to take up long-term residence in Chiang Mai. Indeed, the mortal remains of the Reverend and Mrs. McGilvary are in the CM Foreign Cemetery to this day.

The missionaries were soon to be joined by British teak-wallahs working for the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation and the Borneo Company. Both these firms established their headquarters in Chiang Mai.

The systematic exploitation of the double-canopy teak forests of Lanna Thai got underway after the British conquest of Upper Burma.

Together, the Americans and the British had an immense influence on the modernization of Chiang Mai in the second half of the 19th century.

As mentioned in previous posts, it was the missionaries who introduced the latest medical and educational practices. Smallpox vaccination, quinine for malaria, schools that welcomed girls, and much more was given to a city that had seen little change in medical care and education since its founding in 1296.

McCormick Hospital, Dara Academy, The Prince Royal's College, and the McKean Institute were all established by missionaries and their supporters among the aristocratic families of Chiang Mai. Notably, Chao Wichayanon, Princess Tipkesorn, Princess Ubonwanna, Prince Mahidol, and Dara Rasami.

As laudable as these efforts were, the primary goal of the mission - the mass-conversion of the populace - was a conspicuous failure.

I have read with considerable interest the accounts of the 19th and early 20th century missionaries to Lanna Thai, and it has always seemed to me that their whole enterprise was misguided. They often seem like hucksters with a nasty animus toward Buddhism. That prejudice almost always betrays a profound ignorance of the religion they so dislike, and are so eager to replace with their own.

What particularly raises their ire are the popular animist practices that so often co-exist with Buddhism. They are everywhere to be seen, and participated in with alacrity by Thais of all classes. Even animism is a religious imperative of sorts, expressed in the belief that all living things have souls, and all life is therefore to be respected. What's wrong with that? If that's the level of understanding they're on, then let them alone. Don't aggressively try to change the religion of a people who have politely but insistently declined conversion since the early 17th century.

If people looked for the similarities in religions, and celebrated them with benevolence and brotherhood, the results would be preferable to the search for differences and the effort to convert people who are already leading a basically decent and moral life as judged by anyone's reckoning.

That's the way I see it, and having expressed it, I will try to confine myself to documented historical facts about Chiang Mai and the farangs who have played such a large part in its modern development.

In my next post I would like to look at the period between 1867 when the farangs came to stay, and 1898 when the Gymkhana Club was founded and our presence and influence here became irrevocably established.

To be continued.....

Unfortunately we live out in the farm lands where there are not many ppl esp kids who would speak any English. As for young Thai men that's not what I have in mind, she's my responsibilty and isn't going to be in any situation where hopping on the back of a motorbike with a boy is an option! CMU might be worth a try if she seems outgoing enough to give it a try, will have to see as I don't know her. Anyone with a teenage daughter here can tell me what thier kid does socially?

My wife and I raised two daughters here.

They were brought up in a traditional manner, while at the same time being educated for careers in the modern world.

They both turned out well; and probably for reasons that have more to do with nature rather than nurture.

Nevertheless, I give a lot of credit to my wife, her deeply-rooted Chiang Mai family, and their circle of friends.

Encourage your young guest to have fun and enjoy what the modern city and countryside has to offer, but also to learn about the history and culture of the Kohn Muang. It goes back a long time and has some valuable lessons for all of us.

As an afterthought... The Gentleman in the Parlour. W.Somerset Maugham. London 1930. Reprinted often.

An account of a journey the author took from Rangoon to Haiphong.

Travelling upriver on the Irrawaddy to Mandalay, on horse through the mountains and forests of the Shan States to the Siamese border fort at Mae Sai. Then on to the railhead in Chiang Mai where he continued the trip by train and boat.

This book can't be too highly recommended. Here he is on the Irrawaddy:

"Then I went to see the great bell at Mingun. Here is a Buddhist convent, and as I stood looking a group of nuns surrounded me. They wore robes the same shape and size as the monks', but instead of the monks' fine yellow of a grimy dun. Little old toothless women, their heads shaven but covered with an inch of thin grey stubble, and their little old faces deeply lined and wrinkled. They held out skinny hands for money and gabbled with bare pale gums. Their dark eyes were alert with covetousness and their smiles were mischievous. They were very old and they had no human ties or affections. They seemed to look upon the world with a humourous cynicism. They had lived through every kind of illusion and held existence in a malicious and laughing contempt. They had no tolerance for the follies of men and no indulgence for their weakness. There was something vaguely frightening in their entire lack of attachment to human things. They had done with love, they had finished with the anguish of separation, death had no terrors for them, they had nothing left now but laughter. They struck the great bell that I might hear its tone; boom, boom, it went, a long low note that travelled in slow reverberations down the river, a solemn sound that seemed to call the soul from its tenement of clay and remind it that though all created things were illusion, in the illusion was also beauty; and the nuns, following the sound, burst into ribald cackles of laughter, hi, hi, hi, that mocked the call of the great bell. Dupes, their laughter said, dupes and fools. Laughter is the only reality."

Your request was for historical fiction... according to Maugham, everything is in the end.

I'm not in CM at the moment but there used to be a shop in the Night Bazaar that did some good quality boards, wood inlay, glass and also marble. Don't know if it's still there but maybe worth a look for some ideas. As an earlier poster said make sure the ratios are correct.

I did look down there, the only place that had any was on the bottom floor of the 3 story building, they were ok but not the quality I'm looking for. I think I will have one made to my specifications, probably marble. Thanks for the response.

Good luck with that.

Try to find someone to post a photo of whatever it is that you finally get.

We're all interested!

Hey guys, I've tried the canvas print shop at the airport mall and the quality is really not that good. I went to the Pattrara Prepress shop but the maximum size they would print is 8x12. Bloom Pro Lab doesn't have a website and only "may" accept bank transfers.

Any other suggestions?

If Pattrara Prepress can't do what you want done, then forget Chiang Mai.

As already noted, Bloom is considered the best in Bangkok, but you might also try: IQ Lab. 9/33-34 Sukhumvit, Soi 63 [Ekamai].

It's a short walk from the BTS Ekamai Station.

Choke Dee.

The best example I know of...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sukhothai+stone&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NF2hU42BPIqQ0QXqzoHQDw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=j-0-9ShblYwNzM%253A%3BvzpOn8Co5UnVRM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bangkoksite.com%252Fnationalmuseum%252FInscription3.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bangkoksite.com%252Fnationalmuseum%252FMuseumInscript.htm%3B200%3B280

What do you mean, that the Sukhothai Stone, attributed to King Ramkhamkaeng, is "historical fiction"?

That view has been expressed by both Thai and Western scholars since the early 1990s. Notably by Michael Wright and Piriya Krairiksh, both of Thammasat University.

The increasing suspicion is based on textual analysis. Some inscription phrases are taken verbatim from the writings of later kings, and others are common to 18th century Thai literature.

Nevertheless, the authenticity of the inscription was, and is, supported by many archaeologists and historians,; David Wyatt and Betty Gosling among them.

Meanwhile, the controversy remains unresolved.

Chess as we know it doesn't seem to be widely played here, and the few ready-made chessboards that I've seen for sale over the years didn't look too special.

Thais have their own version of chess - Makruk - that they play on whatever comes to hand; tiles set in terrazzo tabletops, makeshift wooden boards, etc.

FolkGuitar's idea of a custom-made board makes very good sense. My own preference would be a teak and whitewood inlay. Or you could go with marble of contrasting colours. Both could be done here for a fraction of what you'd pay in most western countries.

The high quality of craftsmanship combined with low prices makes Chiang Mai the place to have things like that done.

http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1971/JSS_059_1i_Kauffmann_StoneMemorialsOfLawa.pdf

http://www-01.sil.org/SILESR/2011/silesr2011-044.pdf

Bedtime Lawa reading!

http://www.sac.or.th/databases/siamrarebooks/main/index.php/component/content/article/44-jss/316-the-lawa-guardian-spirits-of-chiengmai

Excellent sources!

Just skimming the second link confirms what I've often read that the Lawa dialects are related to Mon-Khmer.

The H'tin are a different group from around eastern Nan approx

The Lua are now found mostly south of Chiang around Hot, Om Koi Mae Hong Son.

I am not too sure of the relation of the Burmese Wa to the Chiang Mai Lua (Lawa), maybe someone knows offhand.

Interesting that you should say that the Lawa [Lua] are now found mostly around Hot, Om Koi, and Mae Hong Son.

James McCarthy [surveying and Exploring in Siam. Reprint White Lotus. 1994], a Briton employed by the Siamese Government Surveys between 1881 and 1893, says that during a trip upriver on the Mae Ping near Muang Hawt, he and his party found a group of Lawa villages where the people were engaged in smelting iron, using ore from local deposits.

So I guess they've been in that area for some time now.

The Seal of Tammatari. J.C.Shaw. [DK Books, 1985]. A well-researched novel about life in Ayuthya and the fascinating career of Constantine Phaulcon, the Greek adventurer who became Chief Minister of Siam before losing his life in the Revolution of 1688.

Long out of print but still occasionally to be seen in the used bookstores of Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Worth looking for.

Thanks, Homeboy. I read the Falcon of Siam, which tells the same story, but the author fell short of my expectations. I'll definitely look for this version and appreciate the recommendation. I'll try Dasa Books as recommended below. Wish me luck finding it!

Also to be recommended is : Phaulcon. The Greek First Counsellor at the Court of Siam. By George A Sioris [The Siam Society.1998].

An excellent biography. Not historical fiction as such, but stranger than fiction, as the truth so often is.

Almost any book about Thai history is fiction by definition

Nonsense!

Primary sources abound.

Beginning in the 16th century, Europeans - mostly Portuguese, French, and English - left many first-person accounts of the Ayuthya kingdom.

The 19th century saw that tradition carried on by American missionaries, merchants, and diplomats. The Rattanakosin period in Bangkok produced an abundance of historical information from Thais and westerners alike.

To say that it is all "fiction by definition" is ridiculous.

The Seal of Tammatari. J.C.Shaw. [DK Books, 1985]. A well-researched novel about life in Ayuthya and the fascinating career of Constantine Phaulcon, the Greek adventurer who became Chief Minister of Siam before losing his life in the Revolution of 1688.

Long out of print but still occasionally to be seen in the used bookstores of Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Worth looking for.

Awesome, thanks so much man!

Anytime, bro.

Incidentally, and not to insult your intelligence, things related to fine art printing [ink, paper, etc.] that are supposed to last 100+ years are referred to as "archival", not Giclee.

Giclee is a print from a high-quality ink jet printer, or occasionally the printer itself.

Again, good luck with your work, and welcome to the forum.

You're not in the best of places for high-quality digital printing studios.

About the best in town, near Chang Puak Gate is Pattrara Prepress, 242/2 Maneenoparat Rd., Sri Poom. Tel. 053-210896.

This is the one that most of the design studios use for Hi-res fine art scans and digital [Giclee] prints. Whether or not they print on exotic materials, I don't know. I have my own work printed on 270 gram archival paper which is just about as good as anything I can get in the US. They are efficient and courteous people to deal with as well.

Good luck with what you're working on.

The Cemetery founded in 1898 is looked after by a committee appointed by the British Embassy in BKK who's consul is the custodian,they publish a book De,Mortuis(Of the Dead) which can be purchased from the caretakers house and is an excellent history of Chiangmai and its former residents,the proceeds go to the upkeep of the cemetery which is funded purely by the selling of plots and voluntary contributions.

Of related interest is the story of Queen Victoria's statue as told by Roy Hudson in his preface to the 1980 edition of R.W. Wood's De Mortuis:

"A recent addition to the cemetery has been a monument in memory of Queen Victoria which stood for many years by the gate of the old British Consulate in Chiang Mai. The monument consists of a bronze statue of Queen Victoria on a square column and plinth. An inscribed marble plaque records that the monument was erected by 'British subjects of every race residing in Northern Siam'. The statue was cast in England and consigned by sea to Bangkok. When it became apparent that the ship would not arrive in time for the statue to be brought up [by river in those days] to Chiang Mai in time for the traditional Christmas meeting of the forest companies, a telegram was dispatched requesting that the statue be offloaded in Rangoon. From where it was sent by rail up north, and then transported by various means, including elephants and porters, through the Shan States and over rivers, hills, and the border to arrive in Chiang Mai in time for the unveiling ceremony in December 1903. After the British Consulate was closed in 1978, the statue was moved to its new location at the northern apex of the Chiang Mai Foreign Cemetery".

Long may she remain.

I believe that there are quite a few bones left over or pieces of them. Not sure how they handle them. Might not allow them to be thrown in to the river. seems to me someone said there was a place in some of the temples to store them.

Thanks for bringing up the subject of bones.

I'm aware of the fact that some bones are still there along with the ashes at the end of a Thai cremation.

Your mention that some temples have a place to deposit the bones - what I suppose would be called an "ossuary" in English - is a helpful observation and good to know.

Separating the bones from the ashes would make things much easier for those who are carrying out your last wishes and scattering your remains in a river or elsewhere.

The subject is a bit gruesome to consider, but one that has a certain amount of symbolic importance for many people.

Why don't you ask the local people instead of trying to get information in a farang ghetto where nobody knows their ass from their elbow?

Good point, even if it was peevishly expressed.

I did, as a matter of fact, make inquiries of Thais, but the replies were the predictable extremes of contradiction. Everything from "Hahm det kaht" to "Sa-by mahk... my mee pahn-hah".

The TVCM Forum is, as you say, a "farang ghetto" of sorts, but there are many members who have been here awhile and are quite knowledgeable.

It's often entertaining as well. That's why I posted.

I have seen Thai family's a few day's after a cremation meeting up with the monk and the ashes of the family member that was cremated next to the Ping river to let the ashes wrapped in a white cloth go on a small boat of banana leaves.

This would be my choice as well.

Thanks for that helpful reply.

This may seem like a wacky topic, but I'm quite serious about it.

Ultimately, we all share the same fate; bodily death. whether or not we subsequently reincarnate or continue on in some spiritual form remains to be seen.

The disposal - if that's not too crude a term - of our mortal corpus is a legitimate concern.

My whole adult life has been mostly spent here. A body of artwork created; two daughters raised; and a whole lotta bitchin' between me and my hard-headed Kohn Muang wife.

Nevertheless, I still love it and want to stay on... and it would be visa-free to boot.

The Ping River option sounds best to me; but is it feasible? I've never seen cremations put in the river in all my time here. It's certainly not the Ganges.

Maybe it could be done discreetly. Does anybody know?

Thanks for any information about traditional practices and the current legal aspects of having your ashes cast in the Sri Maenahm Ping.

The consequences of this crackdown will most likely be an increase in the number of foreigners living here illegally.

The marginal characters who reside on 30 day border passes are low on the ladder as it is - just one rung above illegal aliens.

If they lose their grip and slip down to that lower level, perhaps the change would be seen by them to be for the better. That is, if they're oldish and don't want to travel anymore.

Living is cheap, Thais are welcoming, and it's always summertime here.

I remember a few months after arriving in 1978, hearing about two blacks, ex-USAF guys, who had stayed on, living with their Thai families in Saphan Kwai for over ten years... visas? we ain't got no stinkin' visas!

Then there was the farang running a Chiang Mai guesthouse where a tourist was murdered. He didn't do it, but it was found that he had been living here illegally for a long time.

How difficult could that kind of existence be compared to the harried life of a low-level visa-runner?

Chiang Mai once had a very diverse and often reprobate farang presence, until they were crowded out by more law-abiding and less colourful types.

There will always be self-righteous cries of "Out with the scum", but the old rogues were, for the most part, an interesting lot. Albeit not the sort of people to be fully trusted or relied on. They certainly weren't the all-too-common kind of meddling control-freaks that I was always glad to leave behind in my own country.

The traditional easy-going Chiang Mai culture is what I like. Much has been lost but a lot still survives "...like the resonance of a gong" in Paul Bowles words.

The B2S art department in Robinson's at Airport Plaza has small bottles of good quality fabric paint.

If what you're doing doesn't require a large amount of paint, that may be what you're looking for.