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Lost in literature: the political and

religious consequences of
Suvarnabhumi [Part II]
P H A C H A R A P H O R N P H A N O M V A N - 2 6 O C T, 2 0 1 8

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In this second part I will explain how Suvarnabhumi politicises history and archaeology.
Suvarnabhumi draws its support within national history by representing religious identity
as static. Claims to Suvarnabhumi is somewhat like a sports competition among national
historians in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and other countries across Southeast Asia.

Claims of affiliation with Suvarnabhumi mostly

RELATED correlates with Buddhist and/or Hindu modern
communities. Endless research has gone into
labelling where and what exactly is
Suvarnabhumi. There is value to oral history
and local narratives, and as a field researcher, I
am always fascinated by the stories of how a
particular village or shrine is related to
Suvarnabhumi in the Jataka and Asoka eras. On
the one hand, it empowers the local
community to develop a local and oral history
that supports decentralising the regional
discourse. On the hand, it obstructs any further
investigations into the more dynamic social
identity of the region-spirit worship and how
Lost in literature: why we need
different religious traditions amalgamated into
to stop the quest for
their modern forms. Religious identity is more
Suvarnabhumi [Part 1]
complicated than the Hindu/Buddhist tradition
The idea of finding the El Dorado of Asia is a
reflected in historical narratives, which have
continuing obsession.
also shaped analysis of material culture.
Therefore, the price we pay for our focus on
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religion and culture beyond simplified
narratives of religious history.

The key issue is the misuse of contemporary religious categories. We have forgotten the
fluidity of interactive spaces and the common lives of those living and producing in a space
between the realms of the idea and cultural material. Regardless of its historical accuracy,
Suvarnabhumi has been adopted into national history-building for most nations that are
predominantly Buddhist. It has even become a historical ‘period’ of its own. Thai history
makes reference to the Suvarnabhumi age, or “proto-history”, which marks the beginning of
interaction with Buddhism and with India. A time when the golden riches of Thailand
attracted traders from Rome, India, and China, launching a glorious age of trade and
growth that was subsequently followed by Indianisation.

Figure 1 Depiction of Sona and Uttara in Myanmar. The central pagoda depicts the boat that carried them to Suvarnabhumi.

Heritage, Pseudo-history and Folklore

Suvarnabhumi is important because it represents a deeper sacred identity among modern
Buddhists in Southeasts Asia. Despite the absence of any mention of Suvarnabhumi in the
edicts of the Indian emperor Ashoka (4th century BCE), Southeast Asian Buddhists believe
that the Buddha’s missionaries (Sona and Uttara along with their entourage) arrived in
Southeast Asia during the time to Ashoka. Suvarnabhumi creates a sacred landscape for
the modern Buddhist nations. As a result of the contesting claims over Suvarnabhumi,
historians and archaeologists have come under scrutiny for both politicising and
commercialising popular religion.

Suvarnabhumi related objects from Dhammadhatto’s collection in Wat Plibplee

Pseudo-history are attempts to distort or misrepresent historical records. Some of these

works are easy to recognise, while others disguise themselves in non-peer-reviewed
academic work. Suvarnabhumi as pseudo-history is popularised among amulet retailers and
right wing Buddhists in Thailand. From the 1970s to late 1980s, a local controversy
emerged when a monk named Dhammadhatto at Sommanas Ravavaravihara Temple
proclaimed that he discovered thousands of inscription tablets.

Dhammadhatto declared that these tablets predate the dates ascribed to rise of states in
Southeast Asian chronology, and that the inscriptions prove Thai writing systems existed in
the first millennium CE. The tablets link Thailand to Suvarnabhumi and claimed that the
ancient city of Kubua in Ratchaburi province, which is accepted by scholars as belonging to
the Dvaravati culture (fifth to tenth century CE), was actually the royal city of
Suvarnabhumi. Dhammadhatto gained the support of some local academics, including the
Cambridge educated M.C. Chanchirayuwat Ratchani, a famous Thai historian who publishes
both in English and Thai. Chanchirayuwat Ratchani would subsequently publish materials
from Dhammadhatto collections as part of his study in Thai Imageries of Suwanbhumi
(1987).

Proponents of these sources established that there are colonial conspiracies to downplay
the significance of Thai people and history, and that western educated elites were part of
this scheme in order to smuggle and sell Thai artefacts. Many non-peer-reviewed popular
history books were subsequently published and released to the public. It had a simple
nationalistic and decolonial attitude that the Thai and Buddhist public would find intriguing.
These are some of the claims put forward by this pseudo-history:

1. Thailand is Suvarnabhumi
2. Thai language is as old as Mesopotamian languages
3. Buddhism reached Thailand during the time of the Buddha, and the city changed its
name from Muang Thorng (Gold City) to Suvannaphum with the advent of Buddhism.

The book’s contents play out like a bad Indiana Jones extended episode, without the aliens
or evil cults. Desperate to establish some authority over national history, the government
declared the  entire room of objects as forgeries without investigation into who, what, and
why someone would finance such materials. The perfect declaration to keep conspiracy
theories happy and thriving. Currently the objects have been divided into two portions,
with a room stored at Sommanat Varamahavihara and another stored at Plibplee Temple in
Petchaburi.

Suvarnabhumi related objects and inscriptions kept at Sommanat Temple.

Despite the government’s declaration, Dhammadhatto’s version of Suvarnabhumi continues

to be popular among a subset group of the Buddhist right wing in Thailand. The narratives
that links antiquities to Suvarnabhumi have also been adopted by antique dealers to
bolster the supernatural powress and sacredness of antiquities. Prices for both real and
forged antiques go up when its sacred.

Dhammadhatto’s book also gave birth to claims by amateur historians that the Buddha is
belongs to the Tai ethnic race. Ratchaburi province have adopted the story as a lore to
promote Kubua city as Suvarnabhumi, with festivities and performances held to celebrate
the story of kings and princes described in Dhammadhatto’s book. While academics in
archaeology and history can laugh at these pseudo-historical publications and media
outlets, the social phenomenon should not be entirely trivialised. It reflects a deeper social
disconnection between academics and the general public, as well as distrust towards the
literati.

Suvarnabhumi related object in Dhammadhatto collection at Wat Plibplee

The contents of Dhammadhatto’s Suvarnabhumi appeals to the public because it offers a

decolonised, albeit pseudo-historical, view of local identity and their status as Buddhists.
His book borrows content from local folklores, stories, chronicles, and whatever academic
publications in Thai accessible to the general public. Dhammadhatto possess a good
knowledge of various historical sources, but this only serves to bolster the position of his
books and publication that follows his theories for the untrained audience. During the
height of the debate, some key sites in Ratchaburi were vandalised to create evidence for
the theory. To date, many amateur and pseudo-historians still seek to support the theory
that somehow Southeast Asia was a “golden land” of wealth and glory. For policy makers,
reverie of a glorious past is as necessary.

Dhammadhatto’s book appeals to the public because it integrates actual historical sources
with elements of religion and folklore:

Thai people, as we know, have existed since the time of Kassapa Buddha. We had a city
named, ‘Muang Phaen’ and call ourselves, “Lawa-Thai”. [Note: This ties Thai identity to
the Austro-Asiatic population who were early migrants into Southeast Asia] The ruler
name was “Khun Paen Muang Fah” and “Nang Duang Kwan Kai”, they worshiped Mae
Phosop [Rice Goddess] and celebrates the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. About 8,000
years ago, we changed the name of the city to “Muang Man” and “Maung Paen”. It
wasn’t until the reign of Khun Sue Thai Fah and Nang Thai Ngam (6,800 years ago) that
the first Thai alphabet was invented from the textile patterns designed by Nang Thai
Ngam. Their eldest son Khun Laek Thai invented Thai numbers, while the second son,
Khun Khom Thi Fah invented the Khom Alphabet [Ancient Khmer Alphabets] and the
law.

Debates over Dhammadhatto’s objects emerged during the eve of Thai nationalism in the
1980s and 1990s, when students started protesting over looted Thai artefacts in foreign
museums. A greater part of the book spent time attacking George Coedès as a colonialist
who looked down on Thais, and portrayed him in a similar manner to the Thai academics
who are considered members of a corrupt elite who trade in artefacts stolen from local
sites.

This sense of distrust permeates to the modern discourse, in which locals do not
necessarily see archaeologists as beneficial for the local community. Appealing to the
sanctity of local folklore and stories such as Suvarnabhumi, gives local communities
prowess over intellectual pursuits which are neither accessible nor empowering towards
the communities. Folklore and stories cannot be taken from the site, and connects
community identity to history. Thus, Suvarnabhumi is both locally and nationally
empowering for regional identity politics. Whether presented as pseudo-history or history,
it has become a literary device to empower local identity, all the while, illicit trades and grey
markets of looted and forged items continues to prosper.

Different communities with archaeological heritage construct their own narrative as

Suvarnabhumi to connect with Buddhism and Ashoka. Identity drawn from a deeper past,
allows modern inhabitants to establish a sense of communal pride and define their
inhibiting space as sacred. For many communities in Southeast Asia, connections history
interplays with political power and significance. We only need to look at the amount of sites
affiliated to historical kings like Naresuan and Taksin in Thailand, and how the ceremonial
aspects of these sites draw both power and sanctity to these locations. These places would
have otherwise been disregarded without legends that create national significance.In
Myanmar, temples in Mon state still venerate sculptures of Sona and Uttara. Their tale give
significance to both Mon identity and landscape.

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Perspectives on the Past

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PHACHARAPHORN PHANOMVAN

Phacharaphorn Phanomvan is a DPhil student in Economic History at the University of Oxford.

She specialises in pre-15th century CE Asian economies, and urbanisation. She holds a masters
in global economic history from the London School of Economics and a masters in Southeast
Asian Studies from Chulalongkorn University. @phacharaphornp

This post is edited by Perspectives on the Past (PoP), a student-led research and
reading group based at the University of Sydney and Oxford University.

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Australian National University (ANU) since
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do not represent the institutional position(s)
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