Working Group Participants: Ms. Saengchan Traikasem, Mr. Xueli Chen, Ms. Panida Thonthong, Mr. Tashi Tobgay
Background
Gallery : Ton Kaew Monastery
The Ton Kaew museum is located on the grounds of the Ton Kaew Monastery—a monastery which serves as the social and cultural centre for a group of ethnic Yong who migrated from Muang Yong in Burma to present-day Lamphun circa 200 years ago. The museum (also called the Tai Yong Folk museum) has two exhibition buildings. The first building exhibits religious objects, e.g., wooden Buddha images, clay amulets, scripture chests, lacquer ware, wooden food trays, wickerwork, tobacco pipes, old photos, and swords. Other items in the museum are related to weaving, which has been a daily activity of the Tai Yong community from the past and is locally regarded as an important attribute of ethnic Yong identity.
The second building is an old wooden structure that was formerly the monks’ residential quarters. The display in the second building includes monks’ status fans and amulets of famous Lamphun lineages. The site is also used for holding life-lengthening ceremonies.
Besides the museum, the temple is also a weaving learning center, the office of a weaving group of senior weavers, a community learning center and a cultural center focusing on ethnic Yong culture. The temple provides a public space for the old and the young to learn and exchange experiences with one another. Moreover, the monastery established the Yong Village Project to preserve and transmit Tai Yong history and cultural identity to younger generations.
The monastery has recently completed a new museum building that will house the weaving cooperative and a permanent exhibit about Yong weaving, culture and lifeways.
Working Group Project
On the first day of fieldwork, the working group’s task was to learn about the background and role of the museum in the community and identify challenges faced by the museum. According to the Abbot and other local residents who attended the first meeting, the core role of the museum was to preserve and transmit knowledge and cultural practices of the ethnic Yong. The Abbot is particularly concerned about the transmission of Yong culture and language to the next generation, as many young people no longer speak Yong or identify as ethnic Yong. With regards to challenges, the museum caretakers require further training in cataloging and basic conservation skills. There is also the issue of overdependence on the leadership and support of the temple Abbot for all aspects of the museum’s management.
Through their inventory of ICH on the second day of fieldwork, the museum group learned that the ethnic Yong of Ton Kaew are the bearers of a rich intangible cultural heritage, including Buddhist ceremonies (i.e. the “seup chata” life-lengthening ceremony), oral histories and ritual practices (“thevabut luang” ancestor cults) dances (“fawn lep” fingernail dance), handicrafts (banana leaf offerings, weaving). Through consultation with members of the Ton Kaew community, including the Abbot, the Vice President of the Centre for Cultural Integration (Mr. Manu), and a group of senior local residents, the museum working group selected weaving as the element of ICH for their final project.
The working group undertook research and documentation (photographs, audio interviews, fieldnotes) on the life histories of the members of the weaving group, including the Abbot and the textile pattern designer. The working group also undertook research on the development of the “yok dok” pattern, as well as the old textile factories of Lamphun, as these were places where many Yong weavers worked and learned new weaving skills and patterns.
One cultural rights issue that emerged during the course of the project was the question of origin and ownership of the “yok dok” pattern. Based on the working groups’ interviews and review of secondary resources, the “yok dok” pattern that is produced by the Ton Kaew weavers was introduced in the northern region in the early 1900s by Chao Dara Rasami—a daughter of the last ruling lineage of the Chiang Mai court and consort of King Rama V. During the early 1900s, noble lineages of Lamphun learned the “yok dok” pattern at the palace of Chao Dara Rasami, and subsequently, the weaving factories of Lamphun run by local nobility adopted the yok dok pattern. Interviews with the weavers found that they did not have a sense of ownership about the use and production of “yok dok” pattern.
Moreover, while the “yok dok” pattern may have originated elsewhere, they nonetheless considered it a part of their heritage and Yong identity because the weaving skill required to create these textiles was something they learned from their Yong ancestors. A different perspective on ownership of the “yok dok” came from the former owner of a silk textile factory, who said she believed that “yok dok” should be recognized as a Lamphun weaving pattern. She also noted that the cultural meaning and value of these textiles had changed, since in the past these textiles were worn only on formal and special occasions, whereas now they were worn more frequently for a wide range of events.
Project Outputs
(Museum Plan and Recommendations for Safeguarding ICH)
One output of the final project was an exhibit plan for the new textile museum, which will include photographs and English-language content on the life histories of the weavers, the weaving process, and a new museum shop featuring locally produced textiles. In order to foster local participation, the plan recommended that local residents and students be involved in the design and set-up of the museum exhibit. For instance, students could undertake an inventory and research on the monastery’s textile collection which will be displayed in the new museum. Students and residents could also be involved in the cleaning and conservation of textiles (under the guidance of an expert in textile conservation), and invited to design the exhibit and museum shop displays (using appropriate, locally available materials).
In terms of recommendations for educational and outreach activities to support transmission, the group suggested that the new textile museum should be linked to classroom activities focusing on the history and practice of weaving (i.e. weaving as mathematics). Students could also be involved in designing new products made of the yok dok textiles, and invited to enter weaving competitions demonstrating weaving skills (to foster interest in learning weaving among youth). It was also recommended that students produce a newsletter of activities at Ton Kaew monastery, including museum activities.
In terms of outreach, the working group suggested that Ton Kaew monastery develop a website with information about Ton Kaew and ethnic Yong history, the history and development of Yong weaving, and ongoing community activities. An English language brochure about the museum should be developed for tourists. The website could also be used to develop a photo archive.
With regards to networking, it was recommended that the Ton Kaew weavers promote their textiles through national and international exhibitions, through participation in contests, and through active participation in regional and national textile networks. It was further suggested that the Ton Kaew museum seek to establish linkages with regional higher academic institutions as well as national museums.
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