Creating a Community History through the rituals and beliefs of Laos immigrants in Northeast Thailand

บทคัดย่อ

To understand local history and collective memories, there is needs to study and understand the complexity of social relations, which are various components and concepts because the structure of the local communities arisen from linkage in various dimensions. The ideas to understand phenomenon of local history are required to link information from various branches of science, whether it is the collective memories, creating of legend and community historical monument. These ideas are as follows.

1) On the concept of creating a legend (Myth-legend), it was created to satisfy the imagination and spirit of individuals and community groups in each period. Most legends are the creation of a story or narrative of the sacred images and narratives, including of clan leaders to infl uence communities (community leader), warrior/heroes to protect the earth, or stories about the supernatural. It is also including of god, ghost, angel, or tree nymphs, which are involved in the beings of the community. The data comes from the myth is a story that will make social and cultural understanding of the people in the past. It is including of ability to understand the collective culture of ethnic groups that have similar social and cultural. A legendary hero in Chaiyaphum and Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand has been infl uenced by similar ideas that have been created with supernatural or miraculous in battle or combat. The Legend of shooting with a gun that can’t kill the serpent. The serpent was a special person who can’t be shot and the gun can not kill him. There must be the efforts of the subfamily in Laos to kill the hero with a spear in the stabbing of an anal plug up. Therefore, the system of thoughts, believes, and history to convey the life of the community are associated with the creation of collective memories shared through the telling of the legend by using the symbols to link from the past to future generations and to create its own identity (Self-construct), and a sense of pride and unity in the community for the sake of unity. In this study, the use of an images and beliefs about the legendary creator of Pho Phraya Lae Chaiyaphum is a visual representation of a group of community leaders with prestige and infl uence to the community, plus getting the promotion form central government. When those important people died, their stories of a handful of states are acting as the legendary hero of the areas that future generations get to know. The courage is a martyr to the nation and fi ghting against an opponent to protect and to maintain that city.

2) The concept of collective memories of the community will be transferred out to meet the intent of relevant parties, whether inside government organizations or communities. The major objective of creation of collective memories is trying to create a unique community, join forces to create a healing unity for the social peace. This can be seen from the format of the annual ceremony of sacrifi ce and the story through the people in each period. From Ben Anderson’s work about the creation of imagined community, he wrote a critique on the public concept of creating a community that the state can control and manage according to their wills. If you compare it to create collective memories in the Thai state, we will see a phenomenon similar to Ben Anderson’s story in the history of heroes, heroines in Thai history that made Thai people “remember and forget” the story of the past.

3) The concept of monument was used to create the legendary city or community with characteristics of public appearance or spiritual bond that is the center of the community. But the history on monument building was pre-determined by state plan and policies of national unity. This is the representatives of the monument or sanctuary has to be associated with the central state in nature, as the successor of state policy.