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ID:
131769
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article provides a detailed account of the process of invention of a nationalist tradition for Brunei, the most tradition-conscious nation in Southeast Asia. It shows how Brunei's nationalist tradition emerged at the interface of colonial records, indigenous oral and written sources, ethnographic fieldwork, and anthropological theories. For this purpose the article traces the history of anthropological research in northern Borneo from its colonial beginnings to its postcolonial role in nation-building and shows how anthropology and anthropologists have - sometimes unknowingly, sometimes deliberately - played an active role in the shaping of Negara Brunei Darussalam.
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| 2 |
ID:
131767
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Sociocultural boundaries come in many forms, and crucially, are responsive to power and constantly in flux. This article focuses on the production of space and unmarked sociocultural boundaries linked to spirit mediums in a historically contested area of northeastern Thailand who are possessed by the spirits of Phaya Narin Songkhram - a key 'Lao' military leader of Chao Anou's famous Vientiane revolt against Siam between 1826-28 - and those of his subordinates. Spirit mediums linked to ethnic 'Thai' leaders are also found to the south of this area. Through channeling and performing these historical persons, spirit mediums keep alive and reproduce group memories with space-making implications. This article also shows how the mediums' positioning has shifted over time and varies in relation to contemporary power relations, altering the sociocultural boundaries between ethnic Lao and Thai.
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| 3 |
ID:
131768
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article presents an ethnographic investigation of displaced Karen in a border area of northern Thailand, and in particular, the reasons for their enthusiasm for the wrist-tying ceremony. It examines the way in which Karen ethno-nationalists have both influenced this cultural practice and appropriated it. This study argues that Karen nationalist intellectuals invented and reinvented the tradition of wrist-tying by borrowing structure and content from the use of soul-calling for healing and other purposes. The invented tradition is persuasive and efficacious because of its continuities and ties with existing cultural practices. Ordinary Karen participants utilise vernacular elements of the wrist-tying rite - such as sensory experiences through the handling of ritual objects - to assure a well-balanced life and spiritual security.
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| 4 |
ID:
124270
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2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
A narrative sponsored by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen posits the prime minister as the reincarnation of sixteenth-century king Sdech Kân, a commoner who toppled the king at the time and ascended the throne. Whilst reincarnation narratives have wider Southeast Asian resonances, the reinvention of Sdech Kân is central to the redrawing of boundaries of power between a politically weakened monarchy and the Cambodian People's Party-led government. This article traces the meanings of reincarnating Sdech Kân in the contemporary Cambodian context, and what consequences this has for contemporary bids for political legitimacy.
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| 5 |
ID:
124271
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| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article details the development of Indonesian national art theatre in Makassar, South Sulawesi from the 1950s to the present. It argues that through a commitment to modernity and modern aesthetics strong bonds to the idea of the nation were formed by Makassar theatre workers. Furthermore, in charting the relationship between local Makassar theatre and national trends often pioneered in Jakarta, I argue that beginning in the New Order and continuing to the present, through several formal and stylistic changes, the deployment of local cultural elements in modern Indonesian national theatre has deepened. Yet this development represents both a renewed pride in local identity and a continuing commitment to the national community.
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| 6 |
ID:
131765
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In a rapidly modernising Cambodia, dance parties that accompany large temple celebrations and weddings have become violent arenas where young men fight with fists and knives beyond police control. In 2010, this led to a ban on dance parties during the Pchu? Bi?? celebration. This paper concerns an ad hoc bribe to lift the ban that was collected in the manner of a meritorious temple offering. I suggest that the flexible parameters of Buddhist merit-making in this ritualised context both reconfigured the bribe and palpably brought expectations of moral conduct into the energetically charged dancing arena - but only momentarily.
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| 7 |
ID:
131766
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article focuses on the growth of spirit cults in Cambodia since the end of the Democratic Kampuchea regime through an examination of the most common type of tutelary spirit, neak ta, in Kompong Tralach in Kep Province. The role of neak ta is discussed in relation to Buddhism through their representation in local legends and myths, as reported by villagers and monks, and as the focus of rituals and ceremonies, including some conducted in a Buddhist temple, Wat Kompong Tralach. This provides ethnographic data showing that during and following the destruction of Buddhism under the Khmer Rouge, and the resulting loss of monks and knowledgeable lay Buddhist specialists, Cambodians turned increasingly to older traditions such as the belief in the power and efficacy of neak ta to help fill a void. This examination of the enduring place and growing importance of beliefs such as the neak ta cult within Khmer cosmology and religious practice following decades of war and recovery deepens our understanding of the reconstruction of Buddhism in Cambodia.
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