Origin
This article arose from a part of the project called “The impacts and pressures from modernization and capitalism toward the traditional boat racing of Nan province, Thailand”. The major objective of this article was to emphasize the crucial of historical understanding. Then, it aimed to identify the problem situating from modernization and capitalist tourism policy. The boat racing of Nan province was applied as a case study. Mixed methodological research combining documentary and qualitative research were adopted before content analysis was used. The document research included reports of local government of
Current Problems
The study found that the boat racing has long been existed in Nan province for over 200 years. However, the intensive promotion of the state government allowed the racing became increasingly popular among locals residents and tourists during the last decade. Normally, the boat racing took place every year during September and October. However, this tradition became recently known as a critical situation. It involved large number of people, organizations, and various kind of illegal and immoral activities such as gambling, conflicts, and alcohol consuming. The current tourist policy of state government as well as local municipality changed goal of the boat-racing from a more expressive symbolic function to a materialism. As a result, poor villages were vanished from the race. Merely monopolized outside entrepreneurs could take the winner place.
This situation did not merely employ conflicted among involving actors but destroying spiritual cooperative network of local villages. The next interrogation, the project is to challenge that will not able to be part of Thai creative economy unless more considerations about the connection between the “Core and Green Cultural Creative” becomes the major concern of the present involving actors. [1] Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences, Naresuan University , Thailand
How Tourist Policy Involving the Race?
Originally, many local people were happy from participation in the racing activities. They consider the race as the crucial social event that brought cooperative feeling among various groups of local community. They were also proud to be a part of cultural preservation. For the local people, thus, boat racing was a symbol of spiritual empowerment as well as traditional way of showing their greatest respect to their ancestors.
However, the current tourism policy based on modernization and capitalism brings massive social changes to the traditional value and systematic thinking of local villagers. The ignorance of state tourism policy towards traditional belief has influencing the lifestyle of local people in many ways. Furthermore, the impacts and pressures from the “tourism boat racing policy” gradually decreased traditional boat racing of Nan province. These include poor planning public consciousness, massive introducing numerous tourists to local areas without systematic planning, and the ignorance roles of small local boats. Without well preparation for involving actors and organizations, the racing brings more negative side effects than a good one.
Boat Racing in Nan Province
History repeats itself!
Over 800 years ago, Nan province was the greatness and a freedom state. It had at least 64 kings to rule. There was the common law offering ways to govern the Nan state call “Arnajuctlakkum”. Arnajuctlakkum consisted of the encouragement local people to practice agriculture or to plant. It also gave right to the king to rule the state with a good care of the people at all time. There was a strong belief that the happiness of the people would lead to fully plant supplied. Moreover, its peaceful and tranquil land could help them to prevent civil war and hostilities from another state of vicinity. According to this law, the king thus had an honor to help the people in Nan State Nan ’s citizens, on the other hand, also had a duty to support the state’s strength by growing good crops. Therefore, it is the relationship between the law, the king’s role, and the people’s duty that brought Nan became a peaceful and happiness state for centuries.
In Nan state, there was a strong belief in naga. This belief had supported the day-to-day living of the local people. To bring more rainfall to the plantation, the people had to worship and showed their respect to the naga at all time. To do this, they built image of naga on several places such as on the front of the temple and a racing boat. There was a strong belief that the naga had a supernatural power which could give rainfall for a period of time. This led to the increase of rice product and wealth. For this reason, Nan people could serve their kind and their state. By this, the worship of naga at all forms is thus crucial. Moreover, the naka also represented the peaceful and tranquil land.
The Features of Naga Racing Boat 
The features of naga racing boat presented a unique style with highly-stylized carved. Naga serpents affixed not only to the front of the boat, but the back as well. When the boat floated on the water, it looks like a naga is swimming with joyfulness. Because of this belief, boat racing is not merely sport, but a symbol of showing the greatest respect to naga.
Boat Racing
The history of Nan Traditional Boat racing was recorded in ancient mural painted on temple walls known as the legend of the “Tai-lah & Ta-Tong Boats”. In oral history, there was a belief that the boat racing had emerged since the period of the “Unknown King”. That king ordered people to make a boat from a very big tree named “Goldden-Takien” and the big boats name “The Tai-lah & Ta-Tong Boats”. The boats which built with this unique design used the whole trunk of the tree in a slim. From head to tail of the boat was called “Hau-oh” and “Hang-Wan”. This feature was known as a naga structure. (the legend of Nan Tradition Boat racing: 8)
After they built Tai-lah & Ta-Tong Boats, these people used them as the model to build the next boats for racing. Historically, the race day was on Tan khauy Sa Lark Day, or a local kathin ceremony. This ceremony allowed local people to make merit by preparing food and offering necessary items to the monks in the temple.
Today, some old boats-racing in Nan province could date back for more than 200 years. These ancient boats are yearly exhibited on Nan ’s Tradition Boat racing. They are the symbol of historical cherish and civilization. Considering this traditional value, the boat racing represents identity of local people as well as spirit of the city.
Naga Structure of Traditional Boat-Racing
In fact, the Nan tradition Boat racing and the Nan River is usually an edifice. Numerous symbols were practiced during the racing. Without realizing this spiritual existence, state tourism policy destroys the hart of the ceremony. By this, the boat racing of Nan province is merely the remaining of tourist attraction. Each boat racing involved large number of boats and attracted thousands of crowds. During the last decade, this situation was getting worst. For instance, golden boat–racing in tradition of Nan province was changed from a more impressive symbolic function to a serious competition between the winners and losers. Furthermore, some rower teams from remote villages have been harassing and becoming nervous during the boat-racing. The poor villages, on the other hand, feel embarrass because of unable to employ expensive coaches. These villagers do not wish to complete the race. However, they have not much choice. Avoid participation in the race refers to no spirit, no money, and no cooperation with state policy. Therefore, boat racing is becoming the emotional obstruction among local poor.
Apart from the above frustration, conflicts emerged from gambling and alcohol consuming. Although some non-government organizations had launched campaigns of “no alcohol during boat racing”, and “no gambling”; the campaigns seem to be unsuccessful. Losing the race is not only meant the lost of face of involving terms, but also the lost of lump sum of money.
Racing for a Better Society?
The boat racing in Nan province has three types. Each type has a design based on the characteristics of the boat. The first type has 25-30 rowers. It is considered as the small boat racing type. Second type is the boats with 35-40 rowers. It is the middle type boat racing. The third type is the boats with 48-58 rowers. This is called the large type boat racing. Today, there are 52, 50 and 40 of the boat racings in Nan province.
The oldest boat racing is the big size boat. The most popular boat racing named “saw tua talor boat”. It had been building in 1816 or 194 years ago. The “saw tua boonreang” boat had been built since 1837 or 173 years ago. The “kumdang dhawee boat” is another big size boat which had been built since 1847 or 163 years ago. These big boat racing are considered antiques boat racings of Nan province.
Recently, “saw tua talor boat” was presented to the public and be able to compete the traditional boat racing of the Nan River
This alteration led to the most talk of the town after the race. Furthermore, the involving actors had criticized and compared the original of Naga-head prow and Naga-tail stern piece. These people preferred the unique local culture style. They said the traditional style made them proud and inspired them with honor. Thus, the perpetuation of the style became the intrusion of the unique culture of Nan . This also led the conflicts among involving actors every racing.
There is a strong belief among local people that the custom of holding mock battle race between the Naga-boat of neighboring villages in Nan province need to be sustained. By this, more budget for boat racing management need to be spent every year. In addition, the estimation of total budget that spent during the racing in 2008 was over eight millions bath. Moreover, there was at least one to eight hundreds thousands was spent per village for the boat racing.
By applying qualitative methods, the researcher found that the expenses started from the preparation for the boat of each village. For the first type boat, most of the expense was paid for the renovation of a boat (49%), 37% for the team rowers, and 14% for food and foodstuff. For the second type boat, most of the expense or about 92% was spent for food and foodstuff. The third type boat was the smallest one. Therefore, less money was spent for food and foodstuff (32%) and the renovation of the boat (16%).
Moreover, some villages or about 17% of all involving community had spent more money for importing expensive professional coaches from outside. To increase the chance of winning, lump sum of money was spent for the coaches’ wages. This study found that over nine hundred thousands baths was gave to these import coaches. Ironically, the most expensive coaches’ wages was nearly one hundred thousands baths per village while the cheapest coaches’ wages was around thirty thousands baths per village.
Therefore, it could be said that among all traditional events, the boat racing in Nan was one of the most expensive investment as well as the most popular ceremonies. This, was not only because it involved large number of people, organizations; but so too various kinds of illegal and immoral activities. These included gambling, conflicts of interest, and alcohol consuming. Worst still, the activities brought the greatest social impact towards daily life of local people. These included debt, poverty and conflicts. Nonetheless, the ceremony had never been systematically investigated in terms of its socio-cultural impact towards community life. Moreover, the fact of how could the ceremony brings “creative economy” to the life of local people remained questioning.
Considering the above situation, the researcher applied qualitative method for her investigation. Forty- four key informants represented social actors involving boat racing from various groups was interviewed. These included local villagers, government officers, and tourists. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participant observations were applied during the boat racing.
The study found that the critical situation of boat racing in Nan from came from the strong values of modernization and capitalism emerging of the government policy both direct and indirect ways. Goals of the boat-racing of Nan was thus had been changed from a more impressive symbolic function to an aggressive material reward for the winners. Various organizations were involved the event. These included the local government, national tourist authority, outside entrepreneurs, and massive tourists.
Traditionally, competition was the mean not an end for all types of boat racing. It aimed to bring about individual spirit, increasing skills of group management, and developing class consciousness among local people which were mostly local farmers. Therefore, the boat racing was a community symbol represented the strong sense of individual pride, group capacity and community power.
Lack of this consideration, the involving actors aimed to win the competition by using various techniques. These included 1) building a smaller head and tail of the Great Naga to enable the boats to move faster in the water, 2) hiring expensive professional coaches from outside community to increase the rowers’ chance of winning, and 3) increasing investment for boat racing management. Today, over eight millions bath per year was spent for this event.
Although local people in Nan disagreed with the situation, the state government and outside entrepreneurs had more power to control over local villagers’ demand. As a result, poor villages which did not have sufficient money to join the event were vanished from the race. This critical situation did not merely employed conflicted among involving actors but destroying spiritual cooperative network and local culture of villages in Nan province.
Discussion and Conclusion
The change of boat racing in Nan province is thus an example of how development policy could destroy the strength of local community. The policy bias created not only conflict and critical situation to the traditional boat racing of Nan province, but also provided long term impact to the development sphere. Using the case of boat racing in Nan revealed the fact that each traditional culture had played crucial role in the community life. The ignorance of local strength and its historical development could bring disaster to the future development. This study exhibited the crystal example of how the small misunderstanding of state tourism policy could lead to the lost of community spirit. In this case, the custom to hold mock battle race between the Naga-boat of neighboring villages in Nan province decreased social network among neighbors as well as the unity of community.
Historically, each boat racing created the social mechanism for happiness. Many people were thrilled for participation in the racing. Power of local community came not merely before the event but during and after the racing as well. The rowers’ teams were not the competitors but neighboring villagers who doing their best to row the boat in order to warship the naga. This way, the rowers became the same team. They were enjoyed their game. During the game, these people were crapping, cheering, dancing and exciting for participation. By this, both elites and vulnerable villagers could equally took part in the game. Although some were vanquish or vanquished, they were satisfied with the result of the competing. They also fulfilled their compassionate emotion to their team rowers and their neighboring villages.
In contrast, the people and the team rowers are aggressively to complete their neighbors. The reward of winner is not much. However, the investment for gambling could bring the lost of fortune of involving teams. In sum, the traditional boat racing of Nan province is changed from a more impressive symbolic function to a serious competition about winners and losers. The impacts of this alteration are enormous. These are not merely the individual’s lost, but the groups’ as well. Today, the unique nature of the Great Naga boat racing in Nan province is vanished. The change in the boat’s shape is destroying the spiritual of the boat as well as the sense of belonging. Furthermore, the major objective of boat designation is to win the race. It is not designed in order to be harmonious with the nature and supernatural belief. As one villager stated that:
Thus, it could be said that the unique nature of Great Naga boat racing has been connecting many people together. These involve the internal sense of individual spirit as well as the external community’s one. By this, naga becomes the symbol which bringing people to happiness and joyfulness. The most common basic concept about the racing is thus related to the coercive power among local villagers not the state’s power of control.
Today, more and more people in Nan disagree about the current situation. Some may support the idea of winners and losers. But many people oppose it. Nonetheless, those who support the change have more power than those who oppose it. Considering this condition, the rule set for the absolute competition remains found. In deed, poor people in small villages don’t have money to joy the race. Within Thailand
In conclusion, the impacts and pressures from modernization and capitalism toward boat racing are enormous. Changing the meanings of Boat Racing in Nan Province and their implications for extremely capitalist tourism may obstruct Thailand Nan Province
Applying the case of boat racing in Nan province exhibits a good example of how Thailand
To solve this problem, it is thus crucial to emphasize the root of such conflicts and so too the critical situation emerged from local activities. Understand the boat racing of Nan province, helps identifying the factors that obstructing Thailand from a peaceful society. Therefore, the current racing emerging in Nan is not the boat but the local people who are now racing for their better society.
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