[Tlc] Re: Historian wants country called 'Siam'

[Hjorleifur Jonsson]

I was interested to read that "Siam was coined during Rama IV's period."
Checking Baker and Pasuk's History of Thailand, it appears that sometime
in the 11th-14th centuries, this was a Chinese reference to the Central
Thai domains (Ayutthya etc). Yao (Mien) people across northern Thailand
refer to Bangkok as Syem-law, and I assume that their cartographic
biases draw on Chinese references (the Yao mostly came from Guangxi and
thereabouts). They call Thailand Thai-te, which is essentially a
translation of muang/prathet thai. Because my experiences in Thailand
have mostly been confined to the north of the country, I view Siam as a
very Bangkok-centered reference, and not something that will transcend
current nationalist, racialized (and religious and linguistic) biases.
If the country is dominated by Bangkok then the move to "Siam" is just a
plain acknowledgement of that. 

 

Warmly,

 

Leif

 

Hjorleifur Jonsson

Associate Professor of Anthropology, SHESC

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA

tel: main office 480-965-6213, fax: 480-965-7671

direct line: 480-965-7837

email: hjonsson at asu.edu

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