Folk history, culture at risk unless officials learn from Mahakan Fort fiasco: academics

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

 

FOLK HISTORY and culture will never be safe in this land, unless authorities realise the value of unofficial heritage and “intangible” cultural traditions, according to an academic speaking after the last of the houses in Bangkok’s historic Mahakan Fort Community was torn down.

 

As the last remaining residents of the long-time community moved out and their antique wooden houses were dismantled last Wednesday, they faced housing insecurity and the separation from generations of friendships as they were scattered around the capital.

 

This was a bitter ending for the two-decade-long campaign by Mahakan Fort Community members intent on keeping intact their 200-year-old community, and preserving a lively part of Bangkok’s folk history from land expropriation by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

 

The empty land now left behind as the bulldozers withdraw will be redeveloped by BMA as a public park as per the Rattanakosin Island redevelopment masterplan, which was drafted 20 years ago. But planning and cultural experts said there are important lessons to be learnt from what some still see as a tragic mistake by the city administration

 

 

The tragic disbanding of the historical community was an affirmation of the authorities’ lack of regard for, and acceptance of, the value of local people’s history and culture, said the head of the Architecture Department at Silpakorn University, Supitcha Tovivich.

 

“Bangkok has just lost one of its last links to its roots, and if the authorities still hold on to their mindset of sterilising the ‘mess’ – in their eyes – from official historical sites, many more valuable and culturally rich communities across Bangkok may suffer a similar fate as Mahakan Fort Community,” Supitcha said.

 

She cautioned that the communities on Rattanakosin Island, the heart of Bangkok’s old town, are very likely the next to be affected by the old town’s redevelopment plan.

 

The eviction of Mahakan Fort Community and the creation of a public park at Mahakan Fort were part of a project to conserve and renovate the old city wall and fortification, which itself was one of 20 projects within the official Rattanakosin Island redevelopment masterplan.

 

The masterplan’s major projects included the renovation of the areas around Wat Thepthidaram Temple and Wat Ratchanatdaram Temple, The Golden Mountain public park project, and the renovation of land along Klong Rop Krung Canal. Some of these projects have already begun. “From this old town redevelopment plan, we can see that the authorities only cherish the value of official and touchable historic sites,” Supitcha said.

 

“They do not know how to manage the informalities of the local people’s livelihood, even though these informal ways of life and folk cultures make the city lively and also attract tourists from around the world to travel far just to experience this charm”.

 

Therefore, she urged, academics and civil society need to work harder in order to create awareness among the official agencies and help them realise the value of these folk histories and examples of intangible heritage.

 

As for the forced relocation of Mahakan Fort Community members, Pornthep Buranaburidet, former deputy leader of the community, said that most of the residents, including himself, have temporarily moved to the Kanlayanamitr Community in Bang Sue District, while others are for now staying at the homes of relatives.

 

He said that many displaced community members were not intending to stay long in their temporary shelters. They have a plan to get a joint loan from the Community Organisations Development Institute to purchase a plot of land in the Sai Song neighbourhood in Taling Chan District from a private owner, he said.

 

Their hope, he said, is to re-establish their Mahakan Fort Community so they could continue their way of life there.

 

“We will use the wood from our old houses to rebuild wooden houses in the same style and organise the new community similarly to our old home,” Pornthep said with pride.

 

“We chose to purchase the land from a private owner even though the land price is not cheap and none of community member is rich, because we do not want to be on the authorities’ land and live with the risk of expropriation ever again,” he said defiantly

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30344146

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-04-29

2 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Folk history, culture at risk unless officials learn from Mahakan Fort fiasco: academics

so where is the Ministry of Culture in all this ? not even a word from them; maybe 'fiasco' and Ministry of Culture should be mentioned in the same breath

11 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

so where is the Ministry of Culture in all this ? not even a word from them; maybe 'fiasco' and Ministry of Culture should be mentioned in the same breath

It was the Ministry of Culture that was involved in the theft of the plaque.  They should be renamed the Ministry of Urban Vandalism. 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

sterilising

It is just part of a process to make Bangkok that much less interesting and more expensive.    Sterile = ฿ Some of the old Chinatown buildings are going away too.

Selfies wearing jong kraben on social media is the solution.

Get in the big pink doll to reconcile the situation. 

 

Pinkies at the ready. 

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

It is just part of a process to make Bangkok that much less interesting and more expensive.    Sterile = ฿ Some of the old Chinatown buildings are going away too.

You are spot on. This urban renewal to prettify Bangkok according to the new generation destroys charming, mature and historic neighborhoods where poorer people have lived for generations. slowly bit by bit destroying Bangkok's soul.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_renewal

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Folk history, culture at risk unless officials learn from Mahakan Fort fiasco

The officials have learned:

 

this particular one lost his hat, though 

Money and profit are king in Thailand.

4 hours ago, YetAnother said:

Folk history, culture at risk

No way! It just transformed into a modern version. Now I wait impatiently for the song about this subject by the country’s new cultural superstars, the Tourette-Rappers of “Prayuth & the Pacemakers.”

Edited April 29, 20188 yr by Lupatria

45 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

The officials have learned:

 

this particular one lost his hat, though 

Surely you jest?  However, your color co-ordination is impeccable. The dtua dtalok himself would be proud.

29 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

Surely you jest?  However, your color co-ordination is impeccable. The dtua dtalok himself would be proud.

... as would the Grand Poobah

Cultural awareness is an insignificant part of the education system in Thailand. From my experience, as a teacher, very few students are cogniscant of their rich history - of the various kingdoms and dynasties, of how past events have affected the present, the origin of problems in the south, of the hierarchical structure of society - hi so, lo so and an emerging more socially aware middle class I choose to call the SO SO. Unless action is taken soon Thailand will become an insignificant backwater in South East Asia. Unless, of course, the so so use their numbers to reverse this trend.

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Culture at risk unless officials learn from Mahakan Fort fiasco

Mahakan Fort will remain but the existing surrounding village culture is lost forever. I doubt the new parklands will last long.

A replacement culture will emerge when a new breed of encroachers move in under cover of darkness with the aid of a few crooked land administrators. Just like Doi Suthep.