The Spectre of Comparisons

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The Spectre of Comparisons

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The Spectre of Comparisons Nationalism, Southeast Asia, and the World

• UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

BENEDICT ANDERSON

LIBRARY

VERSO London • New York

First published by Verso 1991\ •od-stalls, on street corners. and in the buildings that snarled in each of their skulls. And Pcsindo too sprang up in the barren. limestone soil of our village. Ry now, Is knew the society she was entering. She had l()und a circle of acquaintances fltr wider than the circle of her brothers, sisters and parents. She now occupied a defined position in that society: as a woman. as a typist in a grcc t J I . I . ccnsus ol 19KO ts sttll more . e t W llC 1 census dcfiniti) . f " .. ened mto essentialized J10liti .. l •. l. . . ( ns o ha\c hard. II . c.t rt:.t Jtlcs throuoh lh ,· .. I· · .. d ocatwn of economic and !I . '-' .. . "' lll to L Ill organmng the ·f . '6 o lC! ucnel!ls and I he C\]1 , ·t. . . t: Its.- 01 such catenories n I . " cc dtlons ol such hen. · "' · one las proven more · . ongmally devised a centu , . " . . . ll1lpm Iant than the ethnic. • .. . f}det\llldpre-we!Jare""' t .... , t l1e flows ofHntnlgnnts fml1 1.1.1' o monttOI dtsdamlulh . · ' ll! crcnt parts ofF . , A· · of large new immigrations in the 19'0· I . . • -li.!Opc .. ltcrthcshuttingolr th·.tn k s to t 11e revolution in , -, .s, . 10\\c\.et · these • · l1ccame. · l,"tt cgones ._. . . commumcatmns. th. h· .•. 1.. 1lZdtJOns even at the nation·tll, . I 1'1 . . c dst.:s ot electoral mobi' eve· 1e powcriLI ·J k. .. categorization and entitlement ,. . l mtcJ oc ·mg dlects of census . po lites can be seen fr I I.. gence of such recent Am'(.. . . . , om t lC po lttcaJ cmere tc.:dn 111lamJIH..(s ·ts th, . . A Stan-American constituenc)' ·f· "', t ISJXIlliC \Ute. and the . . . , . . pet l,tps even Ill the ·I. ·t ·- I r , . Into ethmcJty Ill the case of" Blacks." c l l OJ" e tston of race

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Tim; kind of late twentieth-ccntur' r . .. . . . . census and its voung cou ,· tl , . ) po lllldl tdcnttltcatlon. in which the sm K 1andom-s·u11 pJ, . . . bourhood and the home in ., ,, . t: Slll\ey replace the neighwn, Is not onlv ol "row· . . · but enables us io sec mor' . " ·!.· . . : "' mg po 1tltcal unportancc. t: c 1td! \I 11 .. I Thus staned Rmtl s sen. . , .. , 1. ue were rephl,lS o ,tLd · . and a very htg 11 · ·k s· '' 1946 when Amenca .. . . I .·. . ·\1-hid out Luneta ,u . , mce . . . I d . .tIns become customary tor focal pomt ol tolay' we ' .. . ·1 .. , ·ond IlK epen ence, 1 ' · · • !!ranted the Phi 1!pp111eS l s sec_ 't the lhwn hour the martyrs , . .1 . ·tt th 1s monument ' the cabmel to s HJ\\ up' · . . .. · . · Manila's harbour 1 . .·•· ·. ·l . . death lor a bttcl ltl! m,t .•. . ·d s·tlute Somethmc: qmte . . I , ... 1 l'ire oil a manv-gunnc ·' . . • 1ths hter 'tl the Mamla stnndv. e,tven t1e m:c,tstol . . , "' :. . II·. .. I, will t·tke place some !11l)l . ' ' similar. II on a sma t:l ;.,c,t e. · ' . . . . \ndrcs Bonifacio. who, . I , S,. md Filipino, the revo 1ul!on,u y r . momtment tot 1e, t:u . , ·.1, .. S) 1-.tt' so tvpical. ti\ 111nldosoHcls .. l ' · · • alas. wa:, executcl1 a gt ' ·.II I t .. l the morning one will observe, ., . . . 1t lunel'l ll a et tt d But II nne wans • ' . . . .· , rrnnv or them dresse . . , . . . 11 . l ·s a wide array tl 1 pi 1gun1s. ' .. . . ' Ill ltom ,t sll

Ill I' S p L C T R l' 0 I· CUM p '\ R IS 0 N S

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.. ·.· ·otled tl1e Pantheon for the reinterment · ·tt cou 1Li t1 e rccommtssi • ·'R . . . P The change of ownerRevolutJOn ·· . . . . I d' ,. 't', ... Voltmre and ousseau. . ol such natlon,t tvmt tes dS . .· . II' 1 b' this bhrinn advertisement . . . . t' on-state was signa l:ll ) ' "' slllp !rom dynast to .n't I . . I . . L I Patrie Rcconnaissantc. lt . . d ,. 4 . Grand'> ! omme.1 ( . added to Its tac.;a \: . • u.\ . . !828. 1d 1830. and then agam . 1 ·I'; s stat us between dl · . . I. . . nte\nnk great-nephew. Not ull reverted bnel y to re lgwu. . I I x70 nder Napo eons rnou ' . bet ween I 1\) I am u . . . . . ble \eg·tl victorv over Samte . R . 1'\ISS'll1le Wll1 d s 1cl ( J the 1880s did La Patne ecom '· . ·' l I , P· . theon even though it is a reli.. ·tlw·ws eludcc t 1e an • d • tl 'xplanation shoul Genevieve. But aura 1M:.' '· · . .. .. . . . l C e wonders why. pMt o 1 1e c. . . on . : h tl , Mount Rushmore Nauunal able tounst . tl . ·ompanson wit 1e · . come from re!lcctmg on. 1e . Tl ' T . ·, spi quite logically trom the celebrated subtitle of S ·h f (I /( ll (I lVattO!lS. vvhtch Disraeli h·ld ! r ·J ' .· . _I. I. Deepening industria I capit·tii·s·nl h· d t . 'I pu J Is .l o years ea rlicr. ' ' d Jy t 1en Cf>'l t • l . I . . small territori· 1J st·tte -sn . II .. • ;;:, et lin a stngle. wrv ' • ' • ld e1 11 we cxdt J I 1 1 · New York · b' ·d " . · . · It e ream· than Pcnnsvh ani a and com llle .. two nations .. that how· , • . . . to any putative ethnic or ··r . .' , . ever. Ill no way corresponded . . Ie tgJOus communities Wh ·n F. l . I . arnvcd m Manchester in 184-, , d , . . . . ·: .t.: l 1\.'t nc l Lngels work in chss Gc J- 'St I b"'g,m his studies oi the condition or the "' '· · (tge. ep1ensonh·d "'d•lf. . . ita I alre'id)' h·td . ... . : ( prcce e( 11111 · l he worlds textile l·ap1 ' ' " I dl vvav statton The 1 , ·. world-histori .. 1 · .. · • • . · tKOlllOilVL' had be!!un its . . l'd ll1Isslon of transportmg millions of rural viii· "... . , . slums, a InlSSI')I.l . I1a. 1 t J · tl , .1 ·, mto urban ' ' ·SC'li'Cel)' ' · I'ess. epoc ing ship had perf()[m l ., I _Mn l.tt \v 1Ich the transatlantic saile( overt le precedmg three centuries 1.:: Onl\'. . . ·· • " mmonty the press

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I 0. 'V!ichael \Varner. l'lw Lel!ers of tire Re 1//h/ .. p

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'ewun America (C·rmh .· l . '1 I ". ubi" llflo!t ond the Puhlic .\';;itn,· il'1 1" • ' l;nivcrsi{- p.,,, I')" "' ., . uence slwngly Slll!gesls the untcn· \S dllt 11 !Olll whrd1 h ·I · · r Duchess and Duke of Bclhmont \"!. . . . . c 1," to Jc' rcscut:d lw Mum ntacu!l' . . ·. . ' . . un .ng IS l. )lil. as II were Sf)irin. II . I' .-·I . . . lllSlols that ( hns! and the i\nnstl, . ., . , . II J . . : · . lei. ) · C\1 rs 1 I\'PL' llc 1 t ll lCro :HJQcsls to I ·r l B,. . . . Ilcllllsband.roJnhimon·IJ1ilnrirl·l·tn•t J. l ,,. . "') ' - E> ( o. er US,tl ern: "That can never be." said Ladv Berti"· ";\ l:iglttcent/i-( ••

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. . . '· liUIIStlhwillnc'\'"rh". r· I more t Iwn ,SLX \\Cek.s from London h.. . .-. - l". . o !1: ll' lh..'\\?r cuuld h._.. alh,__'ll! r . , ( 11:\ dul\\ so Jt J TLI .. J, gt: at somc!hrngmight be done: ifthL:rew··-. . . , . -. . _c."·' L111 a "A railr ,. d'" .. -1- · . . uc " 1,ul"'"d lo H lor exam pi,·· .. t d . ext: ,tuned 1 ancretL \VI!h a look of horro- .. .. - . l. No, I suppose there can never be '.. . . I. ; \ '.rrho.Jd to Jerusalem' .. one, u)lllmued f .ady Herth.: in ,J lllU'>ing lOll!.;_" l'hl'Jl' i.s nu traffic ..

1111. Sl'l·< IRI. 01

COMP•\IUSONS LON(i-DIST;\ NIT N \TIO:\,\f IS.\1

,· . ,. . hose IJaiTO\V cells where the rude forewould return to end thur m l ,,· , . nee of industrial life radically . h I I ·t hy How the nove ex pene . . fathers oft e I1llows:c Fun1pc 1Aie'Jl.\4 (of which arc 111 the United Kingdom}: Af'rka I.JX: Asia Ui62.6'4 (of "hich 1,170.000 arc in Malaysia): Midd lc East 1.317, 141. nwstly in the (iulf stale's: Latin /\mcri..:a and the Carihbt'an957,:Uo (ofwluch 7.\tUSO arc in ()uyana and Trinidad!: Nclrth America 7::'0.500 (ofwhidt 500.000 arc in the Unncd States}: and the Pacilic 954,109 (of\vh1ch X.\9.340 arc in Fiji) Professor :\1yron Weiner kindly inl(mns m.: that although this table counts Snuth Asians ahro:td. the majur ar.:as of emigration hav.: long been insid.: the present borders of India. He also bdi.:ws th.: ilgures tn he lno conservative: li'r example. the recent liS c.:nsus shows th.: Indian 1wpulallon 111 Amcnca to be dose lo 900.1lOtL Most likely. in his .:stimat.:. the tru.: totall()r Indians Iiling overseas i.s between eleven and twelve millic>n. "lntrodLKtion: Thc:nH:s in the Studv ol'thc: Snuth Asian Diaspnra:· m Colm ( 'Iarke, Ccri Peach. and Stcv en Vcrtm.:c .:ds.. Su11th . ( )rerscas. Migrution and l:'rhnicilr (( ·amhridg.:. Mass.: Harvard Un1ver:l'da I I Ralllflrl and to date the bcgmtungs o . . ' . ' :Vkn \ Buddhist Association Ill Rangoon ll1 zations. ( l·or example. the 1\Hindtng of_ the tntmnalbt movement.) ( ·r Brian 1-!arnson, 1 . 'k th' onset of the >Ill mc:sc ' I'J0( "nrtcn taken to 111.1! c · . , . illan I'J54L pp. 236 7. Sollllwasl .1sia. A Shun f!i,luiT I London. S;·t/Jtlrah l'agaakan Kehangsaan lndonesw 13. For example, Lintong Muha . : I fthc l'Jth century. the peoples k'· l951)wntcs: ltllthccmo .. (Jakarta: Puslaka Ra .J! ol th, [) 1 ·I1 1. 1 Abu Hani!ith. lltles o(ll Rcrollltion (S. I , ,. !\ •. , c u c .tnguagc and western "'ns. . . · ·· }IJowed my father's Soetomo turns to th.: r.:asons he became a student in the STOVIA. Here he describes the biller conllict between his father and grandfather on the subject of his future. His grandfather desperately wanted Soetomo to become a high o!Tit..:ial. He used to urge the boy to refuse if his father tried to send him to medical school. His father, overwhelmed by the frustrations and humiliations of native ortlciallife. would have none of it for his son. Soetomo gives us two reasons why he f()llowed his father"s wishes and, somewhat surprisingly, tells us at what age each reason took effect. At the age of eight. he was childishly impressed by the white uniti.mns of the STOVIA students, which seemed much grander than the black garments worn by government officials. The second reason "happened'" when he was about thirteen: /\t that timc my father was an Assistant Wedana in Glodok. and once it so happlklore has it that wh.:n the lightning attcmplcd to strike the magically powerful Ki Agcng Sl:la, lhc sage seized it and tied it t!rmly to a nc:nrby tree. The sobbing lightning was only released when it promised never to strike a desccntLII1t or its captor. These descendants I he people: or Java would be idcntilicd by the !caws or rhc poicmn-trec worn on their hats. 1{> this day. some Javanese villagers wear these leaves if they arc our in the open in thundery weather. 7K. Soctonw. 1\cnung-f.:ct!f/llgan, p. 66. Note again, what is impressive to Soctomo is the con' iction 111 the wnrds. i.e. the wumd more than the meaning. 7'1. Ibid .. pp. 1>(, X. 1\0. Hpymg. seem,; to have entered the langw1ge i'rom Javanese yuitc n:cenlly. For llhtancc. it is not louml in this sense in Wclfridus Jo,;cph Saharija l'oerwadarminta\ standard A">111111.< Cnn1111 Ballastakaan l'erguruan Kementcrian P P dan K., !954). This view is supported. I think. by the or· the pas,;agc in the text immediately he/ore Soctomn\ "change of nature ... Sec below. pp. 97 9" X9. Imitation 1vas. and is. a central tcrol of traditional Javanese pedagogy, whether in dance

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01 ll). Thl' nng- ost l'ltiJ•r , ·k I I dc;sccndant (lurmwn). On this theme.ensecltKJ'.(i ,\ ·,'\ ' , c gcs I he hc·tu as tru1.1 his ( 1 unm; and Its Srmholic urt could not phty it pcrrcctly. this w;1s taken as a conrirming omen ot impending disaslcr. .. II.>. Sodomo said or his pany. l'arindra, thai it "makes the best cllort to woo them (the upper pnmrlj so I hal their dedication to th.: land and the people could be accdcratcd to their own darm«, that is. the danna or a true accordmg to thcu· anstocraltc hlood. rakcn from Soclomo 's address Io Parindra ·, opening congress. December 25. 1935, titkd "Bckcrdja tkngantiada mcngcnal huahnja ... and cited in Schcn:r, .. Harmony:· p. 235. . 114·. In A:,. 111111 g-l\m 1111 g11 n. p. :w. Sodomonotcs that his grandllttlu:r. ht!tcrly dtsappomlcd the lwv wa, not eoine. to .:nkr the native administration. rcLJUcsted that at the very least he keep a Icnm. p. 19.,, n. _6) lllenttons the appearance' or a mnvcnH:nt. not long artcr the bmh ut' Budi l'tomo. called Jawa Dwtpa (Dipo). which advocated I he abolition of kronw (as ii were. dmmJ. lhe roughly contemporaneous Smninisimmcnwnt also resnluteh rdused lcl usc· kru ,; to ofll111 cJaldom. Sec Harry J. Benda and Lance Castles. 'The Samin Mnn:mcnt." fhidrugc ,;,, i1.;\ ·t· IS . ' . '' scl van Kunstc·n en 1 · ' ' · ' 'am , ucncc:s) 11110 I· 1 11 · · · . then scm lo Surakarla J( 1 r h. S ... . l.tc ll' lex! prepared 111 Lc·idcn. 1 . 1• ) · OU.tclpocra and Ius attics an 11 .· • · . .. ·· cx 1x:nsc lkhP'Il ! --s,.. 1 . plllllcc1111 lla1a1 1a . . . · · ' '- .. p. gl)_ Tl1 . 1.· 1 •. . . . . ' Vc!Sion. appcannn in I(Jur voltllll.. . . . . .. ot 1u subsl.tnl!ltl Romani/ed " cs St.\t} \C.tts htcr c n·1'r' I I . I I I' · . · .• · ' " 19!::> 15 cdilion· vt·z .-,. 1. 11 c-,111 . . late Y 1:11 the• makri;tl in the . ... ·' ' ' I //Ill ec 1 1 ·tr 1 . I I· I' I. . 1976 77). · · ' LJ.tll .tllt}aJa ( \ogyakana: l 1.1'. lndnnesia.

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exceptions, it has been neglected by both western and modern Javanese scholars. 1 Where not ignored, it has been mined primarily for the coptous inrormation it provides on Javanese artistic and religious traditions. But the text also marks an important milestone in the historical development of Javanese political culture. . 1r the .)'era! ( 'emhini can be said to have a story, it amounts to the following: after the bloody sack in 1625 of the rrosperous Islamic, East Javanese kingdom of Giri by the armies of Sultan Agung of the Central Javanese kingdom of Mataram, the three children of the vanquished ruler (two male. one female) arc l(m:cd to Ike j()r their Jives. Hunted by the spies ofMataram, thcv arc separated: the elder son . .laycngrcsmi (later known as Sch escapes to the west. while the younger son and the daughter (.lavcngsari and Rancangkapti) try to elude their pursuers to the southeast. describes their adventurous wanderings in a vain search to be reunited. They arc. however, lin ked by the odd figure of Cebolang. who first appears attached to the small retinue of Amongraga and ends up Rancangkapti. Ccbolang is described as the only child of a revered sage ltvm.g on Mount Sokayasa, who, however. disowns the youth on account of hts inveterate gambling. thieving, and adulteries. Forced to survive by his wi.ts, Cebolang earns his bread as a wandering musician, dancer. and what for want or a better word I shall call conjuror. The that its leading characters are fugitives or outcasts permanently 011 the move means that the mise m sch1e ol'thc Cen!hini is very dilTerenl from that usuallv associated with traditional Javanese literature. There arc no episodes ot; battlefields or in royal courts and capitals. The ruler of is merely an ominous. gloomy presence oiT stage. For the most part, the texts scttings.arc a series of villages and rural Islamic schools (pesantrhz). while the characters, male and female, arc kyai (traditional Islamic men of learning). swllri (their students), headmen, traders, professional musicians, sinQers. dancers, rrostitutcs, and ordinary villagers. The settings, and the cnc:mntcrs that take place in them. provide opportunities for the hugely elaborate or many traditional aspects of Javanese rural life folk

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rhc most substantial mining. of the Cenlllini's vast resources is in Thcodoor Gautier Thomas l'i!'cautrs encyclopedic work on the traditional pcrtI .. J' . . . . ', symbolized by th.c popular suuf.ttt ·h . . ·I . I ' llllll.lOI d It) pf !he \lorsl kmd in Arhch ... . ' s tm s. '' lCt c t JC poet n· sun , .. . ,. .• 1 . . . ( T!1' " A, ·/!ChnelcjLctden: Brill llJOI] · t:l\ds ,., h· . . .. · Tl, 1 .. . ' . aco s, al tcr VIstlmg Bali in the carlv I KilO. •h. ' .. , --- . lc 'l.!IJHongucd physlcwn .lulll!s dr, "d l'k s, \ sc1 vcd mam thnrc 11 , 'f ""c up 1 e women and comment. 1. "() . k , '. ct ornwnccs h1 voune bo\·s m, 1· II ' ct · nc nows tint thev ·tr' b . ' ·· · · ." en rom a strata or Balinese ·oct· , 1 . . . . . · '. ' c o;s. am1II >s to see ·J • ' c ) pw 11cmw theu· /, ·. ' , ('I · . ' · C1ancctodanccwiththcsechild·· . . . ''/'m '( , .. I' . . . c lc.' postures: one ts sull mnrc rCI'Oited , ., , ' ,, c llllCS d tCI CXL'rl'lSI!H! for h \ . . . , ' . die compelled. Ul!nly c\haustcd thounl !I . . . . ' l lll s 1!1 .lf" rpendt) "Oh sto m 1 )( kang Jl'il.\fht 1 . . p ... enough . . please no t· k, . ow ... ow .. , please stop" (' I ,. . . . . . . . " c It out , . /({ I 1111 IS {/f(/-{{f({ I I I .Ill' I . lndeed, he so loses contnl 0 f'h· . If' l : ' wtgena )({e ad/wiJ 1111'1\). c m1se t lathe rnvolu 11· ··1 . .· the mattress. Cebohng fe"ls "t ·I '" l dii) lllmates tkeporu/i) on ' "· 0UC1CCi (IWI'CI/)" j to bring the ordeal to 'I qt. ., d , . . (/,11/(/ anc speeds up his thrusts uc er en . (Contrast thi. , tl C•l I· . . . ' that his partner slow dowJ1 \''l1en I . . II' b . s \ ' . ' ' . .\7 early mormng . , . , The Ccnthini's elisions have .. I , I .. t" ·m·tgone misexual .

d{"ted bv her (i.e. after intercourse the c c,\

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has markedly increased). The kingdom ofJajar is mentioned nnly lllli.'\.\ in the very first stanza, and its "mighty sovereign .. disappears 1\x good after the eleventh. Gone arc all the actors. i.'Onjurors. musicians. artisans. tradesmen. puppeteers, and rowdy villagers who crowd the Cuuhini's pages. C!atholoco and Dermagandhul pursue their wanderings utterly alone. Stage-lit in this way. Java appears as a surreal terrain on which the only landmarks arc opium dens. grottoes. mountains, and pesantn;11. An imagined. tWI an idealized. landscape. But none of this would. in itself. make the Suluk Gatlw/oco a candidate '"classic." What renders the poem exemplary is first hinted at \vhen the reader learns, in canto 2, stanza 8. that. after four years of meditation upside dm\11 in a banyan tree, the young hero "gained the 1mhru and the skill/ To best his fellow-man in words I Unschooled in rhetoric. he knew I The \aried arb of argument. Not studying to write I He knew all literary arts. "·1' Ft)r it is the Suluk\ angry. subversive exploitation of "all literary arts" that siW\\s its author as among the desperate last of Old Java's literary professionals. Take, for example, the opening lines: ''The tale to be related here I Concerns a kingdom celebrated I Both far and wide. called .lajar. and I Its mighty sovereign, in war I Valiant, invincible I His royal appellation was I Mahraja Suksma Wiscsa I I Great was the King's authorit; I Submissi\c \\ere the outer lands.·qq The stanza. by itself. is a standard traditional n..:c n:frain I From dropping lurds. ("heck f(>r Yvt:t:n CJatholoco and • .. g c d Is the tact that canto .;; .1. . .. -, _ wIlere 1lls adversaries call G· t]·10·J , . .., s dllZ,ls )I\ and )9, . · d oco and h1s mother,. · r'· . . , .. IJet In), and the hero repll.,, . k. j . prg s d:ss-holes (si!it!; t:S ll1 InC, IS COfllJJ) · ' j . s· we arc told . •·t·ncnc ·• II y, clear ., and .. , · . bl·· 1 .se(. 111. · mom, whose clnn''l ·. . ' ''" t.:J•. Js. The effect · .. ., . . . . SUlld c 101 llll)ntlmstruction. "'4 , Ill e,tc 11 Cdse, IS savagely to rub th, , .· . smoothgrainofthenr>III"f1 , .· . • . e IAJitlcn wordsagarnst the , . e uous smgmg VOice-') Tl , , , J', . . comes precisely from th, I . le ldJ power of the le\t . . e woum It slashes open h , 1 , , 1- . ProfessiOnal skill of th". k. I . k . . e \\et.:n Ol m and content. . IS lllC l11d es one I hmk )f. , ]" . . . ettmg on the rim of a precipice. ( d so llaly ballcnna pirou!

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EPILOGUE Not long ''tfter tl1·e composJtron · · · of th. 5' I k , accelerate in coloni·tl J, ,. . . t: • u u < Ga!lwloco, change began to . . . ' d\a, spuJ red above all hv th, J,, • . .. • Ism Ill Europe (even in b· ·k " . . et ot mdustrial. ac Wdld Holland) ., l J I , . commumcations. In the earlv 187(). I , : I c I lc revolution in . . s. I le monopolrsl! . C l . . was 1lqUJdated under j)ressur· t'J·b "I . . . . c u tJvatron System eo I Cld Jcformcrs. 1 . . Interests in the Netherhrlds I . I . dllt powerful business ' ·- n ovc1 t1e rubble .. , 1 f . chants, lawyers, phvsicians 'In I , . ·I .. Cdllll wrt cs of planters. mcre CIVIl sen 1 ·r1 suez Canal hastened the· ., '. .( nt:w-stv , . . s. le opening of the rr while the ext, , . t' munication kept them in •. f " 1.:11:-i!on o telegraphic comunprecc( en ted lv close l ) 'I .· I I ]ocal press began to appear in the I R'-(). .' l uc 1 l 1 w nwtropole. A . . . co s. l omuwted ·nJ 11.. t l1 . [) soon With rncre·tsing Eur· .·. Ch. ' s ) . utc 11men but '' dSid n , mese, '·111d 11 a t IVC · · · parttctpation-'t• In the

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. ·k . , . s· 53. Quoted from . p.d(111lOSOt: OlJO. . mg. I960), L pp. 22 \· ·md R. I+ .-,. .' .

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I A ' . . . . ' I I W/1.\(/.\/i;/11-/)jilll'(/ ( Yogyak 'IrlT Hi' I r Pa!ok IIv· k ' l . Ul no --1. pp. 66 7. The other quot'ltions in til.," . . '' Illig. (.lakf th.: Throne Calamity will strike. the omens Sixtc.:n monstrous apparitions: stars, earth. sky shall lose their cours.: Misfortune shall spr.:ad evernvherc Pitch-hlaek the thundcre/m!(l shaJJLJ·" . \v· II. Il Kali's fatal contlagration. ll dZC Strange signs slwll he observed throuf!hout The land, the Chao Phraya shall boil Red as the heart's-blood or a hird Madness shall seize the Earth's wide hi'Cflowing Fl'c. l'h7), pp. 41\4 5: "((is doubtful whether TiJai Human Rdw 1

i;

. .. · d SOUsclv with Lao;;, and he himself had ;;pent part of his childhood related to (ien. l'huumi Nosavan. the Pentagon's perennial rightist-militarist candidate f(,r

strongn1an in Vicntian12. 21 There had never been a national plan in !he Phibun era. Siam·s six-war First National Development Plan was developed under Sarit and formally inaugurated in 1961. On this plan. and the degree to which it abjectly lilllowed the recommendations o!'tih: lntcrnatllHJal Bank t(,r de Ia Thai/mule contnnpomine Recon>lruction and Development. sec Pierre Fisti0. (Pans: Armand Colin. l\l67). pp. 334 5. Bul cr. Thak. "The Sari! Regime:· pp . .127 an argument thai Sarit did not allow himself to be wholly guided hv illlcrnationaltcdmtH;rats. 22. While Phibun had been a virtual dictawr in the late 1930s and carl) 1940s. during his second long term as Prime Minister. 194)) 1957. he \\as in a much weaker position. The coup group of I Y47 had brought him back as a Sr Rcconsl ruction and Development t the ot the \\,nld B, 111 k on.IJ'lOposcd Io.tn t

7.0

U,J

17.X 15.1

1\.')

I :'.11 1-U

/'JM

/1)()7

/'J(J8

fl)()ndopme/11 in Thailand (Bangkok: Sompong Press. 1975), p. 249. note' lhal bctwcen 1967 and 1'!71 the number or vehicles rcgiskred in Bangkok rose by 15 percent (road surfaces increased hy I percent). In 1973. with over :120.!100 vchidcs registered. Siam\ capilal contained more than half of the national total.

157

predicament ( Dep, r . . . . en( mg on the Circumstances OJ • I . . . now being vented , .. . '' le d mwgme this pan, . on students c) ., . . . ' C hmese.) In the event in 197'i C)6 I' . . , ( mmulusts, lorergners, or · 1. • - 1 , 01 reasons to be di., .. It 1 Ica Ized students- - b . , ." . , SlUssel Je ow, the rad, . ' our successes who , , , , i . . successto be the nnin t·t. 't ,. I . . to spJt on that o l1Js pantcked '! 1 , . S l . . ' t IJc explanation of why Tll'ln)• oftl , , ' 1 ger. uc L I thmk. is ' Je Sdmc people \Vho sin ... ·I mass demonstrations of Octob,. Jl'71 . I . e y supported I he er 7 • we comed th c• II: ''t lllll . to dictatorship · t I1rec years later.

· , ·'ii · · Se.: ' , c'" ·c .. S , on1porn San-'ch· . . , 1i "Tl. T 11 1. .'.oil/hcwt Asian A/lain /'}7(J 1s· '.· l,u " ' · Rising o! lhe l'hoc•ni\ I · . .. ·, , ., , . · ·: · ' .mg.tpoJc: fnstlltlle nfSn 1 .. . . . · ,\/, 1• lh A.. r o!Icc saal about JOO sttulc·Jlls I'· l.' I , . ut 1c.. 1st ..\stan Si Lldlcs. I 'i7t>l. 1'1' 11,! ' b h 1 ' ' · · I om l nne I h· 1., · (' · · ' -· . om s, c ulh, guns and olher wcallOIJs 111' "I , I I, "'"' '.'llslructu>n Sch'.'''l. ;,rmed II it!•• t 1. · .. .tlc let vcstcnh1) 1 p 1 n lnt of the Nalir their future ltwlilwod. hut accused the Supreme Command of' embezzling over ii.OOO.OOO,OOO huht (=' S-+oo.ooo.ooo, oi'rh..:ir US -supplied severance: pay charges that Supreme ( ·ommand ( 'hicf of St,rn· ( ;,•neral Kri,wgsak Chomanan hastily denied. Tlw !Vatio11. June 1'> and 21. 1975. The• NSCTstron!!h supponed the guards demands. and. curiously enough. developed close working wirh sontc I them. 1>7. One must imagine the shock experienced in such circles when, on January" I '!75. the otllcial residence of the governor of Nakh,m Si Thammarat. Khbi v\;r, bumc·d to the ground by an angry crowd of ahout 3.000 pcopk. The f'O\Wnor. wide-ly su,;pec·tcd of C!liTllption and incompetence in the handling of relief surplics l(>r I he \ Ktinb of rcccnr ,,,,ere llodrng. had lo llcc secretly to Bangkok. Bo11gkok Post . .lan. 23 and 24. 1975.

16:.?

1111· SI'I:CIRL 01· COMPARISOr-;S Wi1HDR.\W/\L SY\tPTO\tS

Siam. mainly because the country escaped direct colonial control, the situation has been. until recently. almost exactly the reverse. 6 x The heroes in Thai children's schoolbooks have not been journalists. union leaders. teachers. and politicians who spent years in colonial jails, but above all the "'great kings" of the ruling house. In fact, until 197:\, it would be bard to imagine a single Thai children's hero who had ewr been inside a prison. The prevailing rhetoric had typically been conservative. conformist, and royalist. It was the Left that was always on the defensive. anxious to dciCnd its nationalist credentials against charges of being "'Chinese." ""Vietnamese:· "un-Thai," and ··anti monarchy" (this last a clear sign of a successful identification of royal and nationalist symbols). It would even be fair to say that until the repressions of October 6, the taboo on criticism of monarchy as an institution or the monarch as a person was accepted even by those firmly on the Lcft. 69 To be sure, the capable monarchs of the nineteenth century. above all Rama IV and Rama V. did. in some sense, "'save" Siam from conquest and colonization by adroit concessions to, and manoeuvres between, the European imperialist powers. But one must not forget the other side of this coin: that the ""saving" Siam made these rulers simultaneously the most powerful and the most dependent sovereigns in Thai history. For if. in the course of the nineteenth century. the Europeans threatened Siam, they also completely eliminated the menace of her traditional foes --the Burmese. Khmers, Vietnamese, and Malays. Thai armies did not light a serious engagement with am·onc liJr almost one hundred years (roughly 1840 1940).7° The old enemies were too weak. the new ones too strong. This externally generated and maintained security enabled the rulers to concentrate, in a quite unrrecedentcd way, on the consolidation their domestic power. To a very considerable degree. however. even this consolidation was only made possible by royal reliance on European advisers. technology, capitaL and weaponry. 71

or

M\. I ,ay this in 'J1He of the material assembled in Flood's fine "Thai Left Wing." Flood ably shows the real dement or continuity on the Thai Ld't, hut also. possibly inadvertently, hovv opprc"cd and marginal it was until quite n:ccntly. (J'i. This •·•'•J .· J. I' . "' lllOil I , I II uttw, openly hnked '· eo ogy. n all the·e w· · · 1 was brought directlv into th' 1111. j. cl: . . s ·dys, tJen. the Sangha ', . • . c ' st o the pohtreal l"rav. St: t,u we have considered only the trans len . . . , .. , . momc cultural tradition B , . Fl· llldllon oJ clements Ill the hege. ut. ds ood has hclpe j t ·h occurring among the tnditr.()l1 . , ' o s ow, change was also . ' s opponents Stud 'nt-, f · ircular were profoundly· . 1•1., ·t ·d b. ·· '. e s dnt mtcllcctuals in par. - " ec e Y the Vretrn W· . Tl stamina with which the Vietr1· . 'm dl. Je courage and . dmese restsicd the ·\ , .· , · Increasing admiration M· . b.· I ' Juggernaut aroused · 11g1t students J. j . Europe and the Unit"d St·tt,, . I l - \\ lo. ldt gone to study m '" · ' cs In t 1e ·tttcr l9f 0· participated in, the antiwar movement I' Cl . . ) .s ml1uenced by. and lll full spate. and interwrtr· . II ,· n lllld, the ( ultural Revolution was ' ond Y I 1e prestrg, f M ·r bureaucratic ide·ts W'ls ·tt .t. . . I c e o ao se-lung's anti'· '· ' r s zenrt 1 In Snm ·1 . ·If 1 presence was genenting ser·. , I , ' I se . t Je huge American ' . wus socm problems rampant prostitution. 87. On November l\J 1974 . ,. . I' . ' . • rmed tlw l1er l 0 1. , . . 1 . ) pe,"·lllls who had come 10 I'· k k P css 'emands lor land rel(mn s b . >.tng .,, · de1 en dm s carp· 1 ... · · · om. .non . ·Suks·mwu1 "TI lC I'>ll(1dhtsl · l\1onkhd -.. , (• IC< tclauly. thrs move amused . .. -d . ·' ' · .... I . . . . ,1 1.111 r reaction Ill the "m 'I' .. ,.. . . . . 1... Hlacedly lllsrstcd that the S·nwln h· I. I . I ' ' Cl .uc dnd ng_hl-\1111_1! f'I"Cs.·.s. 1\ hich D"·· '-•·. . ' "'' dl d wavs 1ecnabovcl1 lt··. l I cccmcl II. the "radH:al'' monk Ph .. M 1 . . . o Ills dlll '](lLJ[d rcmalll so On Federation of Thai Buddhists to f11"011l,ll l' 'aiHl .lad K hongsuk annnunc.:d the l(nmation ;,f .I B d II ·. 1 tl , S· . ' . o c t emocratuatwn 1 and oncntation u lllst c, l!Ca!iontowardssocial servic• J>· I ,. . ' lc .• of D 'C 10 p 1 · . c. lac lillllfliiir a monk. There is .... JUst like I\ hen \\C ktll a lish lo makr: a stew to 11_1 the alms howl ora monk and g·linJJlLt ·11 . _cen,unly dcmcnl m i.;dlmg the fish. hut vic Jllacc it KI-A'/·' c gtcakrmenr··K·v···· . . . 1 . . . ta lommunit !IIIIi '"'!'(Bangkok· 1\II 'II. . . c.cs s tr,ms atronls ol Kitti Wuuh,,·, · .-1 .• .. · 1 11L ldmnw l·oun htt . u; spr 1co 1 llc vociferous Jln>lests· r which. sec below ·n \J4i I , .1 Ill lc scuctlvc u/tra-rrg:hl-wing f ;hirtv-stx. Mst or h". works had ctthcr >cl·cnlsu . t.ll." lll.''Illio;l oi' .lit's name was puhlid) . . .·. 1974 lmccc even ' ' · . . _ .. · · only in manuscnpl lorm ptl. """ """ < ":::,::"' ""'''" l' 1. 1976; and /i . j· . .. . . 1 IIO'i Tl ·.' ., ' . II .r Sino-Thai (with an ambiguous mixture of contempt and awe). more recently it has been applied. with less contempt and more awe. to rising Thai-Thai tycoons.

I !'\ 1\1 o ll E R '\

s1\

JIN

J\1

(andthepowerorb·,· j . . ·. , ., . - . . lg illl uslllt!l and commercial co nJ '.. , . . . n:::- omet.tks) With a IlL'\\. .tUid of legtl!macv. This· . . . ,. . . , Is d led 1 dnd valuabl, 'I .. 'l I be concluded that most of 111 ''I I . . . l c:lll thus provisionally 'II" . e cc Je ons of the bourn, .. , I' 1111 wnam: bankers of B·l k0 k l :::-COiste . rom the multi· to I 1e ambiti) · · . 11 · 'ng . . j.)I"OVII1Cial (O\.VllS -h'JVC de ,·d j ] J t liS. Sl\ld entrepreneurs of the . , ' u e( t wt t 1e p·1rli-lm, 1. . . . . I stnts them best· ·md th· t tl . llat ' ' en dly system Is the system ' ' d 1CV now have the C mr j . t l1ey can maintain this svstem . u· : . . II . t It ence to believe that . I J dllbt d enemies Th '' ' . ll1 t 1e militarv and in th, ,· ·Tb . . ·· esc enemies still exist e bcr 1977 have been tlg1l'al sources on the "Moros" arc I'G. Go\\mg . .1/usliml·//ipinos lfaitugcand flmLon (()uezon ('ity New Day. 1979): ('esar :\dih Manti . .11111/illl.\ 111 !he Philippines (Quezon City: University of the Philippin,'s Press. 1973 ). hi,; Cwrlt'll/f!O!"rd l 'nt\Crsitv l're.,;s, l9RO). Important monographs on two of the major cl hno-linguisti..: groups within the i'viPr People arc Thomas Kiefer, "/he Timsug: I io!eJ/i c and l.a11· in a Philippine Jfu.,fim .\"u,·ictt· ( Nl'l\ York: Holi, Rinehart & Winston. 197::'): and Rcynaldo ( 'lcmciia I let . .l!agi/l(laJ/ao. /8()(1 /.1'.\S The (im·er o/ Datu C!o of" Huaran (Ithaca. 1\Y: Cornell ( !niversity. Soulhc:tsl •\sia l'rogr.1n1 Data Paper 1W. 32. I'J7J ). 10. The standard work is llora..:io de Ia Costa. 'fire Jc.'llit., in tire l'IJi/ippi"e'. ISS! rM· (Cambridge. Mt'incs lll.tder Anwrt0 ' I 'I' . ' {' ·\ 111 •\rbor: lln!vcrstly o vote "'. · .' · ... ,. ·., . n 1e Ordeal of the I' II IJ'f'IIILI. : I , . . II . , . "lng /Jclll'clden dollars. Pn1bahly the high pril'l'. and the "Indian-hunter" mentality oft he troops dispatched, accounts lor the savagen of tilt• Americans. The killed to wounded ratio among Filipinos wa;-; 5 to 1. At least 20,000 di,•d in action, and a further 2110.000 from war-n·Jated J:uninc :md pestilen,·e. General Smtth. assignc:d tn pacit\ recalcitrant Samar. told his men: "I want no pri.stmcrs. I wish ynu to and burn: th..: lllOI'l' you burn and kill the hc!lcr it will please me ... Samar was to he turned into "a ho11lin!,! wilderness ... To the Fairfield, Maine, Joumal, Sergeant lh>ward Mchtrlanc of the -1.\rd lnlillltr) \\rot,•: "On Thursday. M ard1 29, [ 1900] eighteen of my company kt!il'tl scwnty-fiw niggcr hoJ,,mcn and ten of the nigger gunners ... When we llnd one that is not dead. we haw h.ty_,tate m:d the :Hurcos Rcgim · . .. . , Sltllld a per Nt>. -16. I 977): and E rncsto :'vi. Valencia. "Philir)pin. l· I R,. · -r . . c "'!11' clormtroml97"t 0 19XO·S·0 Ill 1emano R1vcnt ct a/ .. eds F, 1 1.. . . · · l 1'e. Process and Real!lv ... F 1 · . · ·· 'lit a 1.'111 and ( ''f"la/illlt · r1 . PI ·;· . · oumatlon tor Nationalist Stuli·· 19vo . . . Ill It ltlf!J'IIIu' Vicc-l'rcsidcnt oiTto Manila to inlnn Marcos I hal "we love your adherence 10 democratic principle and to I he democratic process." CIA Dirc;.:tor Casey. 111 an earlier incarnation as chairman or the l:xporl Import Bank, had pushed through the bank'' hu-gest-ever l(,rcign loan (:];1>44JHIOJl00)to finance a splashy nuclear power project in Central LU,(Otl. (The project remam;, uncompleted though the intcn:st on the loan accounts l(n about IO per cent of the Philippines' annual debt payments.) Marcos got $iW million under the table from contractor Wcstinglwusc, which simultaneously raised its cstimatcs 400 per cent. Sec U!!l!:ill),[ l1 ilh a f)fctator. pp. 307 '!.and 265.



whether frontallv to Ae new fiJrces. The issue of . • e qumo tegune or trv ·ub ·t· . II . mternal equilibr' .... , . . ' - s s I 1 . 1 cd .. Man'"" in rhe II !pp!nes (Quezon Ctty: U niversitv of tl Ph T . .' p 1 ,, d\ lc, . ·" JC 11ppmcs, Third World Studies Center. 191\4). o



c [)· .

1111

SJ>H'TRI: 01

l OMP,\RISONS