Kula people (Asia)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2021) |
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Cambodia, Thailand | |
Languages | |
Burmese, Shan, Pa'O, Mon, Khmer, Thai, Isan | |
Religion | |
Theravada Buddhism, Animism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Bamar, Shan, Pa'O, Mon, Jingpo |
The Kula people (
Terminology
The term Kula appears to be referring to a variety of
Kula also refers to miners in the Chanthaburi and Pailin provinces who are believed to be of Burmese descent. At the end of the 19th century, it was discovered that the Mon had also immigrated to the area, further muddying the definition. Cambodians sometimes refer to them as "the jungle people," as the jungle in the region originally stretched from Dawei to Mawlamyine.
During the 19th century, the residents of
"In the streets, Burman people walk around, wearing silk turbans in the elegant Burman fashion, their hair styled in cylindrical buns resembling crowns. The men stroll around smoking enormous cigars, while the women, tightly wrapped in their multicoloured silk sarongs, walk in lines, carrying large baskets of flowers to the pagoda altars."
Languages
The Kula people speak Burmese, Shan, Pa'O and Mon as first languages. Many also speak Khmer or Thai as second languages.
History
Journey in Thailand
Kula merchants traded in Isan and along the banks of the
Kula merchants travelled in caravans, some of which consisted of 100 or more people who rode in ox carts and on horses and
As travelling merchants, the Kula played a major role in providing communities in Isan with essential goods, skills and information. They aided the spread of skills such as ironwork and goldsmithing in rural communities and spread information from town to town. As the regional economy advanced and began to prosper, the Kula faced competition from Chinese and Indian merchants as well as individual Thai. Paved roads and railways were built, linking Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, making goods more easily available to remote regions also contributed to the decline of Kula trading. When the Bowring Treaty ended, it sealed the demise of Kula merchant-caravans in Thailand. Small caravans of Kula still continued to travel to Thailand into the 20th century and many Kula descendants living in northern Thailand still practice their nomadic tradition of trading throughout Isan, though they sell pottery and artificial flowers now.
Kula would sometimes settle in a community once they married, while others returned to Cambodia once the trading era was over. Many Kula traditions and customs have disappeared over the generations through assimilation with local Thai and Lao communities.
Journey in Cambodia
Because of the large Kula population being centred in a small area, the residents sought to set up their own state. Another wave of migrants arrived from Burma in the late 19th century and early 20th century. On the Cambodian side of the Thai-Cambodia border, Lung Musu discovered, in 1890, a sapphire field in Pailin. Lung returned to Yangon, Burma where he showed the sapphire to the local Shan community. The local merchants organized an expedition first to survey the land and then to recruit Shan families from Laikha, Mok Mai and Meng Nai to settle the area. They constructed a Buddhist temple and a monastic order to take control of the mine. More Shan continued to flock to the area and built Wat Phnom Yat.
The Kula who lived in Pailin worked in the mines and also in the new business of heating. During the French Indochina period, a French gem merchant conducted experiments with the Pailin stones, which showed their efficacy in heat retention. The local French maintained a good relationship with the Kula, and as such many Kula travelled to France to study, returning to Cambodia afterwards.
During that time, Pailin's economy grew and the livelihood of the Kula people grew with it. In the 1960s, Pailin became a tourist destination, jolting the Kula people into the modern-day, forcing their culture to change. For example, Kula traditionally kept their hair long and braided, and the men wore sarongs but with increased knowledge of the outside world, many Kula cut their hair cut and started wearing trousers.
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge rule struck the Kula people hard. Pailin became a Khmer Rouge stronghold for 30 years, while the Kula people were forced to become soldiers on the border of Lao. Some fled to Thailand while the rest were put to hard labour in the mines. This era is known as the time when the Kula culture was lost.[10]
Culture
Many Kula traditions have roots in the
Clothing and cultural dress
The Kula style of dress is similar to that of people in Pailin, including the traditional umbrella. Kula used to be referred to as "Burmese Cambodian" or "Khmer Shan" but are no longer called either of those.[11]
The majority of travelling merchants were male and dressed differently from the locals. Most of their attire was described as similar to the clothing of Burma,
Sue Taek Bung shirts are collared shirts, made from a single piece of cloth buttoned in the front. Most shirts were black, dark blue and white in colour. The
Women wear calf-length longyi in solid colours, flower prints or patterns. They are often red-based with stripes or small checks, similar to Mon styles. Royal women wore a long dress called a thin-dai, which was decorated with many threads. Blouses were highly ornamented with silver and were colourful. Women tie a shawl over their shoulders and wear hair bands with flowers in them. Like the men, women carry umbrellas made from bamboo and wear slippers called hnyat-phanat made of velvet or leather. Women pierced their ears and wore kajorn, or earrings, made from silver. Kajorn were worn in pairs, while regular earrings were worn only on the left earlobe. All of these clothes were exchanged for bright colored clothing during celebrations. The clothing is very similar to what is worn by the Shan in Burma.[12]
Cuisine
In Pailin, there are a few different kinds of foods. Kula cuisine is distinct from
Moreover, Kula merchants ate plain rice and would always carry kitchenware and utensils made from brass along with them on their travels. They mostly made and prepared their own meals and would eat among themselves because they had strict rules regarding proper food. Kula do not eat meat from cows, ox or water buffalo. Their restraint from these meat products was based upon the fact that the animal provided labour and was also the main part of their trade. They would only make meals from animals who were still fresh and died of known causes.
They would also not eat frogs or fish that were found dead rather than killed for their meat. Vegetables were common in Kula diet, and were consumed in many varieties. The Kula were experts in plant lore from their reliance on the natural resources that were available during their travels. Tea was often consumed in place of water and was a regular staple at their homes and during their travel. Alcohol consumption was forbidden because Kula merchants practised magic to protect them on their journeys and alcohol was believed to prevent this.
Architecture
The houses in Pailin are built from wood panels, 8 cm (3.1 in) to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide, and include a wide door. In the middle of houses, there are shrines to
Further reading
- Guideline for Conservation, Revitalization and Development of the Identity and Customs of the Kula Ethnic Group in Northeast Thailand (2009)
- The Central Position of the Shan/Tai as 'Knowledge Brokers' in the Cambodia.
- Decentering Colonial Cartography.
- Minority Ethnics in Cambodia (2009)
- Folk dance of Cambodia (1965)
- Field report Pailin (2008–2009)
- Why the Kula wept: A Report on the Trade activities of The Kula in Isa at the end of 19th century by Junko Koizum.
References
- ^ Grabowsky, Volker; Cornelio, Jayeel (2019). "Shaping Alternative Identities in Southeast Asia: Generations, Transnationalism, and Violence". HAL Open Science. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
Yet while the Kula gem migrants were undoubdtedly refugees from late 19th century troubles plaguing the Shan States and upper Burma
- ^ Koizumi, Junko (1990). "Why the Kula Wept: A Report on the Trade Activities of the Kula in Isan at the End of the 19th Century" (PDF). Southeast Asians Studies. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
Who the Kula/ Tongsoo were is still an unanswered question.
- ^ Grabowsky, Volker; Cornelio, Jayeel (2019). "Shaping Alternative Identities in Southeast Asia: Generations, Transnationalism, and Violence". HAL Open Science. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
During the early 1880s, most of the minors working in Pailin were Birmans known as Koulahs (Kulas)
- ^ Grabowsky, Volker; Cornelio, Jayeel (2019). "Shaping Alternative Identities in Southeast Asia: Generations, Transnationalism, and Violence". HAL Open Science. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
The study by Natasha Pairaudeau (Cambdrige University) of Kula or Shan gem minors
- ^ Pairaudeau, Natasha (August 2021). "Researching a Shan gem mining community in Cambodia". Archives of economic life in South and Southeast Asia. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
For nearly a century it was a gem mining centre run by migrant Shan prospectors and Burmese traders who first discovered rich sources of ruby and sapphire here in the 1870s. They were known locally as Kola (Kula, Colah, Coulah, Cola) -- a derivation of the Burmese word for 'foreigner'.
- ^ Koizumi, Junko (1990). "Why the Kula Wept: A Report on the Trade Activities of the Kula in Isan at the End of the 19th Century" (PDF). Southeast Asians Studies. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Grabowsky, Volker; Cornelio, Jayeel (2019). "Shaping Alternative Identities in Southeast Asia: Generations, Transnationalism, and Violence". HAL Open Science. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Lunet de Lajonquière, Étienne (1910). Le Tour du monde : nouveau journal des voyages (in French). Hachette. p. 412.
- ^ Lunet de Lajonquière, Étienne (1910). Le Tour du monde : nouveau journal des voyages (in French). Hachette. p. 416.
- ^ Ben Kiernan, The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979. Page 300
- ^ http://www.huso.buu.ac.th/sociology/boondoem/kula/introduction.html[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Traditional Costume in Myanmar". Travel blog. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-07.