The Thai Lao – Thailand's largest unrecognized transboundary national ethnicity. Issue 4 (15th April 2019)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- The Thai Lao – Thailand's largest unrecognized transboundary national ethnicity. Issue 4 (15th April 2019)
- Main Title:
- The Thai Lao – Thailand's largest unrecognized transboundary national ethnicity
- Authors:
- Draper, John
Garzoli, John
Kamnuansilpa, Peerasit
Lefferts, Leedom
Mitchell, James
Songkünnatham, Peera - Abstract:
- Abstract: In 1900, the Lao ethnonym, and thus the Lao, 'officially' disappeared from Siam. However, Lao culture and identity persisted at local, regional, and national levels. As Keyes (1967) discovered, 'a Northeast Thailand‐based ethno‐regionalism' emerged post‐World War II. This regionalism, which we re‐term 'Thai Lao' and specify to the majority ethnic community, exists in a contested relationship with both 'Thai' and 'Lao' identity. The survival of the Lao ethnic community's cultural identity occurred despite the best efforts of the Royal Thai Government (RTG) to eradicate aspects of Lao culture. These aspects included Lao language, religion, and history, using the school system, the Lao Buddhist Sangha, and the bureaucracy. Beginning in the 1990s, buoyed by a multitude of factors, the Lao ethnic community reappeared as the 'Thai Lao' or 'Lao Isan'. This reappearance was noted in the RTG's Thailand 2011 Country Report (RTG 2011) to the UN Committee responsible for the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination . For nearly four decades now, 'Laoism' has recurred in Thai academia, the media, the public sphere, popular traditions, and even Lao apocalyptic millenarianism. Following Smith (1986, 1991, 1999), this article utilizes a historical ethno‐symbolist approach to analyse this recurrence.
- Is Part Of:
- Nations and nationalism. Volume 25:Issue 4(2019)
- Journal:
- Nations and nationalism
- Issue:
- Volume 25:Issue 4(2019)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 25, Issue 4 (2019)
- Year:
- 2019
- Volume:
- 25
- Issue:
- 4
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2019-0025-0004-0000
- Page Start:
- 1131
- Page End:
- 1152
- Publication Date:
- 2019-04-15
- Subjects:
- ethnie -- ethno‐symbolism -- Isan -- Lao -- Thai Lao -- Thailand
Nationalism
320 - Journal URLs:
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1469-8129 ↗
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1111/nana.12523 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1354-5078
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 6033.595000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 11659.xml