Pioneers of the plantation economy

The characteristic mobility of highland populations in Southeast Asia relied to a large extent on their particular adaption to an ecological environment: swidden cultivation of tubers on mountain slopes. This ecology corresponded to cosmologies in which potency was limitless, or at least had no fixed and delimited precinct (as did the rice paddies and Buddhist realms in the valleys). Military state building, modern transport, and new crops and agricultural technologies have effectively ended swidden cultivation. In this article, I follow the pioneers of the plantation economy in the Wa State of Myanmar, who dispossess local populations of their land and employ them as plantation labour. The limits of growth and potency they encounter are (a) in the natural environment and (b) in the resistance of local populations. Yet, even though there are such limits, the potency to which these pioneers aspire is still limitless. It is however channelled through a new economy of life, epitomised in the plantation, nourished in excessive feasting, and maintained by the kinship dynamics of capture and care. La mobilité caractéristique des populations des hautes terres d’Asie du Sud-Est repose en grande partie sur leur adaptation particulière à un environnement écologique: la culture des tubercules sur abattis-brûlis dans les régions de montagne. Cette écologie correspondait à des cosmologies dans lesquelles la puissance était illimitée, ou du moins n’avait pas de périmètre fixe et délimité (comme les rizières et les royaumes bouddhistes dans les vallées). La construction de l’État militaire, les transports modernes et les nouvelles cultures et technologies agricoles ont effectivement mis fin à la culture sur brûlis. Dans cet article, je suis les pionniers de l’économie de plantation dans l’État Wa du Myanmar, qui dépouillent les populations locales de leurs terres et les emploient comme main-d’oeuvre dans les plantations. Les limites de la croissance et de la puissance qu’ils rencontrent sont a) dans l’environnement naturel et b) dans la résistance des populations locales. Pourtant, même si ces limites existent, la puissance à laquelle ces pionniers aspirent est toujours sans limite. Elle est cependant canalisée par une nouvelle économie de la vie, incarnée par la plantation, nourri en festins excessifs et entretenue par la dynamique de parenté de la capture et des soins. A classic origin story told and retold among the Wa of China and Myanmar is about their flight from Keng Tung: in the long-ago past, the Wa ruled over the Shan in the great city of Keng Tung.11 This article is based on 18 months of fieldwork in the Wa hills of Myanmar and China during four fieldtrips between June 2014 and November 2017. The names of smaller places and ordinary people have been anonymised, following anthropological convention. But they were tricked by the Shan, who came with an army of elephants and expelled them from the city. Those who went ahead broke plantain leaves along their path so that those coming behind would find the way. But plantains grow back very fast, and the latecomers got lost and had to stay in the plains: the Wa pioneers entered the mountains where they are until today, and the others are the ‘left-behind Wa’, the Wa Git, or the ‘Hill Thai’, Tai Loi. From then on, every time a new Sawbwa was installed in Keng Tung, some left-behind Wa were feasted at the palace and then ritually expelled (Enriquez 1918: 33; Mangrai 1981: 230). Today, the Shan of Kengtung recognise their Burmese overlords and have no Sawbwa anymore, but the Tai Loi, the descendants of the Wa, still play an important part in the rituals of Songkran, the Thai New Year Festival, specifically by carrying and playing drums. Even though the rituals imply mutual interdependence, it is clear that the Tai Loi subordinate themselves to the Tai Khuen, the Shan majority group in today’s Keng Tung, thus annually repeating the humiliation of their expulsion centuries ago (Karlsson 2013). Yet, about 100 km to the North of Keng Tung, in Pang Hsang, the capital of the Wa State, we can observe an inversion of the ritual of expulsion. Each year at the Songkran of Pang Hsang, Wa rulers receive gifts from local Shan villagers. Similar to the Shan princes of the past, representatives of the Wa central authorities sit in elevated thrones, while the Shan villagers squat in front of them. During the rituals, the Shan villagers pay their honours to the Wa, deliver presents to them, including fruits, sweets and sticky rice, and in turn receive red envelopes with money from the Wa officials. Most of the leaders of the Wa State are from villages in the hills to the North of Pang Hsang and can easily be distinguished from their Shan subordinates: dark-skinned and in army fatigues, followed by an entourage of soldiers, no one would mistake them for a Shan villager. The core leaders of the Wa State are relatives and associates of Tax Pang, also known by his Chinese name Bao Youxiang. Tax Pang, and his brothers Tax Rang and Tax Jiet, were born in the village of Taoh Mie in the 1940s and 50s. When they were children, neighbouring armies had just started to move into the Wa hills, and as teenagers they still took part in raids and headhunting rituals. They rose through the ranks of the guerrilla armies of the Communist Party of Burma during the 1970s and 80s, founded the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in 1989, and have been presiding over its de-facto state since. Like Tax Pang and his brothers, most members of the central committee and politburo of the Wa State are veterans of the Communist Party of Burma. All of them have accumulated substantial personal wealth and is and most construction in the Wa State is for by the The in an important in the of this but in the they started to into including and as as in and Myanmar they for one villagers and Chinese about the wealth of the Wa for one had so in his that it got and had to be of in the for just people would or Wa villagers who have in the army or at the of a that a can Chinese of In the of one Wa I have and in one of Pang large a from that is to be one rice of Chinese The of the Wa State have effectively the story of the expulsion from the and have the During the 1970s and 80s, they with the Communist Party of Wa entered the of Pang Hsang, and of their Shan the Wa have a de state the of and the core leaders of this state are through kinship and Most of them have in villages at the Chinese In their they they have the and then have also to the villages in the hills, where they had They started as that The of the back to in the Communist Party of Burma. Even though the of Wa leaders rose through the ranks of the army and have they still themselves by a that They have been pioneers in but I to on the plantation that they have in the Wa their from the of the Wa State have in new of and The and they have on the new technologies of transport, and that in the Wa hills were for The also which took during the but until the The plantation economy a of it in and is very But even it is an part of the de of the Wa State, least it is a core of the state and its to and thus a core between the of the Wa State and ordinary villagers as as with and have been the of the plantation economy on of potency and the among the In the past, the ecology of swidden cultivation and in the of Southeast Asia was by and that and Even though there have been between the of the and the hills one classic is between the potency of the and delimited in the in the and ritual in in the there are clear and in we as the of it was in the of the and delimited in the fixed and of the This of of potency is part of a of between the and the of Southeast in of their as as kinship The pioneers of the plantation economy in the Wa State have these on their they over the The that and others have to the between and highland Southeast Asia have been for a that had been by modern and In it the between highland and ecology as as those modern technologies are a that also on in the to his on The of But to the between highland and the of modern The and technologies of the plantation a that and that and The of the Wa State, for on from and for they on of to populations so as to dispossess and In the Wa State, these be from the by the In this article, I the of and that the for the plantation economy in the technologies of transport, and have to local that are a from the between and The pioneers of the plantation economy have but have a new of that is on the capture of local populations and their into a plantation as as the and of the populations. This as as and by of I an economy that on the capture and of life, be it or life, as as the technologies of capture and I an of is to a economy of in his of and in the specifically on the of the a to the of life, a or a of and are to to I as of a anthropological the of the and that to to the by and for to the of kinship and a to as as pay to the and of of in the and that part in the plantation such of life, and encounter their to the of that are in particular that the of that are in and The of this article is to the of the of in the Wa hills and the that on of potency in highland Southeast Asia that of I also on the new limits potency that the limits of growth in a of Southeast Asia The Wa of Southeast China and Myanmar have been until the most Wa in villages of the Even though Chinese and had entered the Wa hills most of the people in the central Wa hills the of state and cultivation the of local into the and the of in the no Wa In the Wa lost their the of the on the of the Wa followed local who were by armies the the the and the the of the the Communist Party of Burma their in the Wa hills, and with Chinese the and The the of villages and including a of and a of In the the the though the armies still relied on the that on the Chinese of the for and During the of of the Communist Party of a group of Wa rose through the ranks and of them Tax Pang and Tax and members of the politburo of the in the most of their Tax Pang and Tax had been to Chinese the they had entered the in the they had time from their with and Shan The in the during the 1970s and was that of the and was by But the from China started to the of the and the army of the had to find of local and were the of at through the of the and also by transports to the Thai Army of the started to with local and representatives of armies in the came from a village of Wa from in who had the Communist in the and the Loi The leaders of the brothers Tax and Tax and their and his important in Chinese and Wa as as in China and in and the the that came to be the The Tax and Tax Pang, a the Burmese of the and the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in and their have then substantial personal some of this wealth came from and in the and of But the Wa have with substantial in as as a of in the Wa State and in the had been in the Wa hills for at least a Wa with some In the of in the and most of the for was for this did from the in the and in the of were by some that had from the and armies in the and with the and The at the and but also got in the and large to in the 1989, the as one of the in Burma. most of the it maintained with the Burmese which it then the most group in the the some of the that had to his army at the Thai and about people from the Wa hills at the Chinese to this new The is effectively by the from who also the the of the the part in but in smaller with some of the the of the of the the Wa important in and in the their the Wa State, is local to some local in the Wa in villages of the of Wa leaders in and in their villages or they had the to of them with that in to the smaller of ordinary In Taoh the village of the of the Wa Tax Pang, and with and paddies into the the Those are by large of and The that the have are to the in where and have the local have over China In some this to new of and for been to land for In agricultural is at by land at the village in the Wa State there is land for the majority of the are still agricultural in the In a de state by an the of local populations for the of by the at and the in the Wa State still some swidden cultivation and relied on for The of in particular the of local populations into the by local in of and as as the and for the new plantation had been the swidden and the of rice Even though the had these were the of the in the state of at the of the a for the of in the and rice in there were no rice it was the as in the the of and is no that the in most of this clear limits to agricultural in the with a of rice paddies and have been into the hills of the of as a of and of on land local swidden cultivation. in this were part of the by the of Taoh Mie I did were by the in the Wa In the have been Pang Hsang and Taoh Mie and the of the of the have been and can be easily by large for as as and the modern technologies of are even to ordinary people in the Wa State, and people During the 1970s and 80s, the in a but even the relied on Chinese on the Chinese the were and a was in the the the Chinese been into most of the neighbouring of the Wa Even though on the Wa State is part of the of Myanmar, the of the Wa State is that of China and China to these in and are the new technologies of to particular such as and and All these are in the and of the Wa the on the in the on the Chinese of the The technologies of transport, and that the were over the of in the Wa hills, and have between and these technologies are of the of that the capture and of of the of this economy and can be for of But technologies and for and for The is most we it with the of in the about the between highland and in this part of the the of kinship that and the of that and the of are in the of and those on the of a and of this was in the past, it is ecology and be as to a of the was of a of in those for had that of an based on was by the of the and specifically the is based on of carrying and the at including ecology and into a of for which is very clear that his of with the of modern some of these in to the Wa and for such did the of and of them, and the which these of were of or or and or the new that have in the Wa the 1970s in and the plantation in in the I at the local of these technologies and the new they technologies of transport, and entered into with specifically with local can be in the at the the large of to be This was by the of local village through with the of the on of on and on are en and in of the and and are by large and them on are to for and to the on the plantations. In the Wa State, as in Southeast and and land to of 2013). The new of the plantation are based on technologies of kinship that in and the Wa villagers armies and the of and local some villagers into of the and others went to the to the Thai During the of the in Wa from China went the new and in the by the Communist Party of Burma. Even though most of these village followed some local these were by This in the the new of the a large part of the Wa the over in the about villagers to the new at the Thai the the also in the to along the new and that were at the of the in the village of for were to the at the Thai in the of them their in the new villages in the but others in or at the of who is from also the capital Pang Hsang, and and in During the entourage of this in his in Pang Hsang and in about with their most of them relatives or from the village to on the of this in as part of the villagers have to by his personal wealth and his in the the between and the villagers of is In the of this new of the state also a new of the following of a that the kinship have Wa to a of which a between and the of one are the of the It is important to that is from the that was at the of and about the of and in Southeast In the there is a the and thus of between of and This was in the of between and in of as as of the in of such as and In the of the are the of this and there is for to themselves from others this is the such were The kinship in and in for and a through which an for and for ecological that in the of modern technologies of transport, and Even though is still today, is important as a core it was in the their to and pay to the of the that the for a and the for a who had to be for are is important or they can some with a villagers thus their to the or to the of a are The on the of the stay in the and as and on plantations. The that and is a of capture and it on the new in the and the of on their but it also and the of four and the of for the of capture and care. capture and have been important in Wa with the of the plantation the and of these have very They are the that the village with the through an and an of I have in those personal dynamics of capture and are that into army is on the of personal of and in army and on the of the of villagers and the of with the of This of capture is by the of that the and of army their that are in such grow to of their and even in their The of capture and army with the in their but between the army as a and local specifically it to the of the such as in with local have villagers to their and for the of or on an even and the of villages (as they have in the following the of the at the Thai of local populations is by some of for the for are with in as even with local and some in The in local in the Wa State the of local the of members and some for and with the can this villagers have been to their new plantations. In the of villagers receive some to for and and during the in the are a of rice In villagers have to in the plantations. are by local and village even though such are from and the of they are still in of of and are by and from the plantation core in which of capture and have from kinship is the In the of feasting, and specifically the that at the of the the of potency can be most important and rituals in Wa villages were by large The economy corresponded to of ritual which are with the ecology and have been in Southeast and others have that were a of and through which the of was as a of of and or of of these a clear between and that a in the in which can be and of feasting, and a in the with clear between and and between it in the potency and were to and in in the be through and or on Wa to the in this In the past, important for were village the construction of as as headhunting and a smaller the of and as as rituals, and were by and In these rituals it was important to in with and Most of these rituals are still at village and are by But there are also and by the of the The members of the Wa and and to as and part of such they and Even these are the for the of the and of the In for a was for the of the of the Wa Tax to local there were and of in the capital Pang Hsang by from China and also in their In for I a by a of the politburo of the United Wa State in his the were and of including relatives and from and as as associates from It is to the of in so and so one is that they can are in the of be also an of between members of the who for and Yet, people between the and of and to as a from the of The of at Tax the at as as the of their children, the wealth in their and the of their this new of In the of no one had the to and no the was in it was by the of the by every Today, there are between the and the specifically in to technologies transport, and of and over in most this is a and are by the But for a the and they the of The of the Wa State thus play a in the new economy of their to potency were in an they are on of the and by and plantations. Even their also encounter The limits to the potency of every are by the of the economy of that the the and of capture and care. people are part of those of capture and as but also as Even though they on with some of their relatives and they encounter there is in the Wa State today, land is and to is Most villagers have very and for The in have accumulated of have and have they have to the new technologies of transport, and They still themselves by their that by the ordinary of of the past, which and But even their encounter limits in the of including and hills are for for Even though the of local populations been and ordinary at the on the and the of they which they technologies of and have the ecological which potency and I have in particular transport, and agricultural The on the of modern to the that a including in the Wa economy of to the of modern transport, and technologies such as swidden cultivation also to even though the In in the had to and of today’s to be the of potency in the did encounter in the and in in the specifically in the and in the potency of the of potency their limits in the of told about the in which people the land in the in the people just until they got and then in swidden But today, people as and as as they are at they would is the new that the on but and the on their specifically on rice and rice no and and to the between agricultural and the the that an that is in the Wa State is still by the though at least the majority of plantation and But there are and on The technologies of for clear of and land least in and to the Even in the of the in the large are and and people are and on a The encounter on an in these with the of the some members of the is an and in they have and of their including in the that they at their with the of the for in the of can be to the mountain and in this and in the resistance of local populations. it that the have and the of the Wa State have from to from swidden cultivation to rice from to and from to But it is a mistake to that these of the plantation have the of the The of and kinship that the of about and relied on particular the of modern technologies of transport, and these technologies as that technologies that are to local can the of a new economy of This thus to the of the of and their the for the cultivation of and The of life, also the and for the for this article was by and I for the at and was in the at the of the for Southeast in to and for the and to the for their The article also from the of even though I did of their for about I we to

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