ANCESTOR CLOTH AND OFFERINGS TO THE LORD BUDDHA MON TEXTILES OF MYANMAR AND THAILAND
Speaker: Professor Piriya Krairiksh
The Mons are a minority people who live in the eastern delta region of Burma and in west central Thailand. They settled in Southeast Asia more than a millennium ago and prior to the arrival of the Khmer and Burmese. Their language is an Austro-Asiatic branch of Mon-Khmer.
In 7th to 9th centuries the Mons spread over the lowlands between India and the Chao Phya river (in present-day Thailand), establishing the kingdoms of Dvaravati, Thaton, Pegu and Martaban. They adopted Theravada Buddhism and their kingdoms served as channels for Indian culture to pass through to southeast Asia.
From the 11th to 18th century the principal feature of Mon history was the continual battles with the Burmese. Due to these wars with the Burmese, the Mons moved back and forth across the border with Siam. Textiles are a very important aspect of the surviving culture of the Mons.
This paper presents new research undertaken by the Thai Khadi Research Institute, Thammasat University, which received a grant from the James H. W. Thompson Foundation to support this project. A team of researchers have been studying existing Mon communities in Burma and Thailand. They visited villages to learn about production and patterns of Mon textiles. Museums and monasteries were visited to view old cloth wrappers for religious manuscripts, wall hanging and traditional dress. Oral history about cotton production and weaving was recorded from elderly members of the community. Researchers found that textiles are highly valued by the Mons, who give them as offerings to the Lord Buddha. The kalok or ancestors’ clothes are handed down from generation to generation as evidence of family lines. In the past, the length of a man’s sarong would vary according to his economic and social status. |
