Rite of Passage or Ethnic Festival?Shan Buddhist novice ordinations in northern Thailand
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16766314 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nancy Eberhardt (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 51-63 |
| Publication date | 2009-05-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary Buddhism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1463-9947 • E-ISSN: 1476-7953 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14639940902968913 |
| OpenAlex | W2054242124 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 5 |
Buddhist novice ordinations have long been an important focus of ritual activity in rural Shan communities. In recent years, large numbers of Shan have been moving into urban areas of northern Thailand, notably the city of Chiang Mai. Many of these are cross-border migrants fleeing unstable conditions in Burma. Others are long-term residents of Thailand's rural border provinces pursuing educational and economic opportunities. With the new concentrations of Shan in Chiang Mai, novice ordinations are becoming an important annual event in the city, but their structure and format deviate from the older rural form in critical ways. This article describes some of the key differences in these ordination rituals as well as the larger context of shifting ethnic relationships that make these changes significant. Versions of this article were presented as papers at the Conference on Shan Buddhism and Culture at SOAS, University of London, December 2007 and at the International Burma Studies Conference at Northern Illinois University, October 2008; it has profited from the comments of participants at both those conferences. I thank Steve Cohn for comments on this most recent incarnation. Notes 1. From a 1990 brochure for Holiday Inn Mae Hong Son. 2. That is, the presence of large numbers of migrants has created a new workforce that can be harnessed to the expanding ambitions of local Shan landowners, fuelling their aims of social mobility. 3. In some ways, this is simply a continuation of a longstanding process in Thailand whereby the sangha provides a vehicle for poor boys to pursue an education. Decades ago, when the temples in a quickly developing Bangkok were depleted of local men and boys, upcountry lads moved in to fill the gap. Now something similar is happening in Mae Hong Son, with the Shan State functioning as the hinterland for Mae Hong Son province temples. 4. Her own home in the village is one of the more upscale ones, built in the modern urban style common throughout northern Thailand. Notice that there is no need to build a model ‘Shan temple’ because there are still plenty of these in use. 5. Because these ceremonies are so rich, and so important to Shan of all backgrounds, there is much more that could be said than space permits. Here I will restrict my remarks to their significance for understanding contemporary issues of Shan identity. For additional information about ordination ceremonies, see the descriptions in Eberhardt (Citation2006), Ferguson (Citation2008), Keyes (Citation1986), Spiro (Citation1970), Tambiah (Citation1970) and Tannenbaum (Citation1995). 6. The other is Wat Pa Pao. See Amporn Jirratikorn (Citation2008) for more on the relationship between these two temples and for a nuanced account of the Shan in Chiang Mai. 7. This is another example, perhaps, of the kind of ‘ritual inflation’ that often occurs in traditional settings during the early years of economic development, before the full logic of a more market-oriented mindset begins to deter people. Some segments of the Shan population, however, have already adopted a more critical view. Consider this excerpt taken from the web site of the pro-nationalist Shan Herald Agency News (www.shanland.org) on 17 March 2007: Shan novitiation ceremonies in Thailand March and April are the months when Shans, wherever they are, squander their hard-earned fortune to turn their sons, nephews, grandsons and grandnephews into novice monks. A straightforward, simple and cheaper way is just to buy a set of yellow robes, the uniform for monks, and ask the abbot of a monastery to accept your ward into the religious fold. Outrageously, that is not the Shan way. Shans, no matter how poor they are, love pomp and ceremony and will spend all they have and all they can borrow to dress their sons in colorful princely attire and organize a fitting festival for him before surrendering him to the abbot. After this critical introduction, however, the web site went on to list the dates and venues of upcoming Paui Sang Long ceremonies throughout northern Thailand, apparently resigned to the unflagging interest of their readership in these events. 8. The repetition of these chants at each household is also considered good practice for the boys. 9. During Wat Pa Pao's ordination ceremony, the further step was taken of having the boys visit and pay respect to local government officials, in addition to prominent abbots
Archaeology · Buddhism · Chiang mai · Ethnic group · Ethnology · Geography · Ordination · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Cambodian History and Society · Gender Studies · History · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Ecology
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |