Working Group Participants: Ms. Umaporn Boopachai, Mr. Visoth Chhay, Ms. Thi Anh Duong, Mr. Chorten Tshering, Ms. Benjawan Phonprasoet
Background
Gallery : Pratupa Monastery
Pratupa temple is located in Pratupa Subdistrict, Muang District, Lamphun Province. It was built in 1758 by a group of Yong who escaped from the war during the period of Burmese occupation of Lanna. When the war ended, it was the period of King Kawila’s restoration of Lanna during the late 18th- end 19th century. Many ethnic Tai Yong were forcibly resettled from Muang Yong in Burma to Lamphun in that period. One group of Tai Yong came with a monk name Kru Ba Lek who was highly respected so they invited him to be the abbot of Pratupa temple. Then they planted many mango trees around the temple and village using the seeds from foodstuffs that they had carried on their journey.
This act of planting was a way of commemorating the village which they left behind. Tai Yong in Lamphun mostly named their new villages using the same names as the villages which they left. When the mango trees had grown, the resettled villagers called their new village Pratupa-muang, which means mango forest. Nowadays, some of these early mango trees still remain in the north of temple, which is now located in front of the Pratupa school.
Pratupa temple has magnificent Tai Yong architecture. A building where the monks assemble for rites (ubosod) was built in 1878 and recently restored in 1984—it represents a classic Tai Yong style. It was constructed using an old technique where bricks are laid with thick clay. It enshrines an ancient image of a Buddha. A teakwood scripture hall (hor trai) was built by Tai Yong craftsmen in 1894. It is a two-storey building and has 24 pillars. The second floor is a place for keeping Lanna palm leaf scriptures, which are kept in nine scripture chests. Each scripture chest is differently elaborated with a graceful golden flower painting. These palm leaf scriptures have already been registered, cataloged and converted into microfilm from Chiang Mai University in 1992.
At present, these two heritage buildings also serve as learning centers for members of the community to trace their history. The structures are not only a place for religious ritual but also an area for exhibiting Tai Yong life through old photographs and Lanna scriptures in temporary exhibits.
Working Group Project
On the first day of fieldwork, the working group sought to learn more about the role of the monastery in the community and challenges faced by the monastery. First, the Pratupa monastery case differs from the other Field School sites in that there is no actual museum structure or building. Rather, given its key role in the cultural and religious life of the community, the monastery operates as an eco-museum, in that it is the center of educational activities and performances which reflect and transmit ethnic Tai Yong identity.
In their inventory of intangible cultural heritage, the working group identified the following elements of ICH: Yong language, handicraft skills (i.e. linked to Salak Yorm ritual); Khao Kalong recital performance; musical forms; Yong dance, calligraphy; monastic way of life; ethnic foods; traditional medicines; and traditional games. In consultation with the temple abbot and assistant abbot, the working group chose the element of the Salak Yorm festival for their project. This was because the annual Salak Yorm festival can be regarded as an encapsulation of Tai Yong history and identity in that it is linked to many domains of ICH, such as handicrafts (bamboo working, knotting), Buddhist religious belief and practice (particularly alms offering and merit-making), khao kalong recital, knowledge related to the production and meaning of Salak Yorm offerings, and Yong identity expressed through food.
In terms of cultural rights issues, the working group did not encounter any restrictions regarding the sharing of knowledge or handicraft skill involved in the Salak Yorm. Nevertheless, the group made sure to seek permission and consent of all persons interviewed, to show respect to local beliefs and practices, and to encourage a participatory research and documentation approach.
Following the inventory and identification of Salak Yorm as the element ICH, the working group undertook research and documentation of many aspects of the Salak Yorm festival. The group took photographs of many handicraft forms involved in the ritual, as well as audio and video recordings. The group also took notes and made sketches of ritual objects (i.e. different forms of Salak tree). The group also undertook a range of interviews with monks, senior members of the community, workmen involved in Salak construction, women involved in cooking and handicrafts, teachers, students, store owners, herbalists, and the Head of the Community Cultural Council.
The working group found that the monastery was already sponsoring and organizing a range of educational and outreach activities aimed at protecting and transmitting intangible cultural heritage linked to the Salak Yorm festival. The school near the monastery was hosting a range of activities, including music, dance, religious teaching, and teaching of Salak handicrafts. In the households around the monastery, older generations continued to transmit ICH to the younger generation by teaching handicrafts and Yong language. The monastery was also host to many on-site demonstrations and performances, such as cooking, dance, language and ethnic Yong costumes on special occasions. All of these activities occurred in the period of preparation for big local festivals, such as the Salak Yorm festival held in September/October.
As explained by the Abbot and Assistant Abbot, the Salak Yorm festival is distinctive to the Northern region of Thailand, and is a festival found widely among the region’s ethnic Yong populations. It takes place every year around the end of September/early October, and the ritual centers on the giving of alms offerings to monks in the form tall colorful “trees” made of dyed bamboo topped by an umbrella. In the past, and to some extent today, these offerings were dedicated to deceased family members. Moreover, historically, the Salak Yorm offering was prepared by one household as part of a daughter’s coming of age prior to marriage. In recent decades, however, this ritual practice began to disappear as it had become too costly for individual families. In order to keep the practice alive, the preparation and production of a Salak Yorm offering was adapted into a community merit-making activity, as can be found today. Furthermore, in order to support the ritual tradition, the municipal office provided funding (15,000 THB) to villages that collaborated to produce a Salak Yorm offering for the annual provincial festival held at Wat Phra Thaat Hariphunchai.
In their research on transmission and promotion activities, the working group found that the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and crafts associated with Salak Yorm was currently taking place in the monastery, at school and at the household level. The working group also found that the monastery had established a website (www.pratupa.com) which featured information and a photo archive about the Salak Yorm festival. In terms of networking, the monastery had good relations with a range of local and regional institutions, including the Cultural Council of Pratupa Community, local schools, the Thailand Research Foundation, Chiang Mai University, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, other monasteries, and the Central Office of Buddhist Affairs. For example, it was found that a group of local experts and monks had carried out research on local heritage and history with financial support from the Thailand Research Foundation.
Project Outputs
(Museum Plan and Recommendations for Safeguarding ICH)
In terms of recommendations, the working group suggested that the Pratupa monastery establish a Community Museum and Cultural Centre in collaboration with the local community, whose primary purpose would be to conserve, document, interpret and transmit local culture and heritage to the next generation. The group felt that such a museum space was necessary in light of the rapid changes in society and the threat of loss of both material and intangible cultural heritage. This space would enable the development of a system for documenting, archiving and celebrating ICH, and would serve as a place for communicating ICH to the community and visitors. It was also recommended that it would be imperative that the museum operate in a democratic and inclusive way, in order to create a bond between the monastery museum and the community so as to promote community cohesion and involvement.
In terms of materials and approaches, it was recommended that the museum use “appropriate museology” (i.e. available spaces, materials, resources, local voices) because of limited budget, resources and expertise. Nevertheless, this would entail some training in appropriate museology.
The museum space could operate as a “hub” encouraging visitors to discover the local area more fully (i.e. explore aspects of ICH, monasteries, healers, agricultural practices, food and drink). In this way, visitors would gain a better understanding of local life and culture. Such a museum space could attract cultural tourists and have a positive impact on the local economy. For instance, this could have implications for the production and sale of local craft products, ensuring the continuation of ICH as well as benefiting the local economy.
It was also recommended that the museum be actively involved in research on both ICH and material culture. Much remains to be discovered and understood about local intangible heritage, and this information also needs to be documented, archived, and disseminated to a wider audience.
In terms of educational activities, it was recommended that the museum development could be used to interpret not just the Salak Yorm but also other forms of ICH (i.e. traditional medicine, children’s games). It was also suggested that through museum research, a textbook on traditional knowledge could be produced, which could be used for both formal and informal education. The museum could serve as a space for educational outreach activities within the community, as well as a site for the community to meet. It would also serve as a base for, and support for monastic teaching, as well as for teaching handicrafts to schoolchildren.
Regarding recommended themes for interpretation, the group suggested that the museum could offer an introduction to the community and the museum, including a focus on the Salak Yorm festival (meaning and process of production). The Salak Yorm could then be used as an overarching theme as a way to address other forms of ICH, such as handicrafts. For example, an exhibit could feature types of Salak, as well as the meaning and process of production of the Salak offerings.
The museum could also feature traditional costumes, dance, music, medicine, games, Yong language and ethnic recipes.
In terms of networking and communication, the museum would develop a system for providing press releases to the media, and could also produce other forms of communication, including leaflets and handbooks. It was also suggested that the museum be promoted on the web, and by developing an English language website to attract cultural tourists. Museum development would have to include a means of communicating with the local population, i.e. a newsletter or the local PA system.
It was also suggested that the museum develop new partnerships, particularly for funding and professional advice (museum, marketing, fundraising, training, archives, library development). It would also be important for the museum to strengthen its existing relationships with the Social Research Institute, as well as Chiang Mai University, Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, the Central Office of Buddhist Affairs, and the Thailand Research Foundation.
Regarding the community museum and ICH research, it was suggested that the museum could act as a focus for research on skills and traditional knowledge, serving as a documentation centre for researchers. The museum could also display examples of handicrafts, and the process of producing these handicrafts as well as their meaning could be a starting point for further research. The museum could also serve as a storehouse for material culture and resource for researchers interested in such collections and handicraft practices.
In conclusion, the working group noted that the Pratupa monastery has a number of core strengths, including: knowledge, skills and commitment on the part of the abbot and assistant abbot; involvement and commitment of the local community and local school; and a variety of ICH knowledge and skills. These can all be harnessed in the development of the proposed community museum for the purpose of safeguarding ICH.
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