Trans-space/cultural Network of the Mahouts under the Thailand’s Tourism Industry Context

Abstract

This article aims to study that how under the context of Thailand's tourism industry which elephants are used as tourism’s products related to the mahout’s trans-space/cultural network. The study used the data from the Socio-economic profile of Thai mahouts in Thai tourism industry research project. The samples were the Burmese mahouts and the Kouy mahout’s network in Chonburi province.

The study indicated that the tourism industry of Thailand with came with the modernity has created a new network of mahouts that are different from the traditional mahout network. In the tradition period, the mahout network will be a network of local mahouts. It is a “closed network” within the group such as a clan or an ethnic group. However, the new generation of mahouts or postmodern networks is an “opened network” that is not limited to the local level among the clan or ethnic group. It is the trans-space / cross-cultural network, it is open to foreign mahout groups also. The new mahout groups while inherited from the traditional mahout ancestors became a group of people who had the life as nomad people in the modern world by abandoned their homeland go to the route of the elephant camp business in the tourist cities, to survive their life  along with protecting the mahout identity.