Michel Tranet, a Cambodian PhD researcher who was a pioneer in collecting protohistoric and historic artefacts around Cambodia, a specialist in Surin culture and Lopburi archaeological research, shares here with us his insights on a heated — sometimes leading to plainly irrational statements — topic: Thailand and Cambodia, their shared history, when they emerged as distinct states, and why it is still so difficult to assess the past.
We share here some insights from this important study:
“According to the analysis, it is also known that the Siamese or San are Thai, like the Thais in Burma, and called by their names in Assam, which was both racial and linguistic in the early stages of history. This nation had not yet formed a state since its own clan was divided. It is also known that from the 12th and 13th centuries onwards, Assam’s role became increasingly active until the formation of a constitution, its independence on the former Khmer territory after the merger in which Khmer people celebrate Khmer traditions and customs.”
“Sukhothai Thaniwas the first state of Thailand to be officially established in the 13th century. […] Historian George Coèdes describes Thai culture in Sukhothai as a time when the Thai people adopted Khmer infrastructure as the first newly constituted state, following the Khmerization of the Thai people. The Khmer authority that ruled the region, Teng Lumpong, the former governor of Sukhothai province, was overthrown that time, causing it to become isolated from the Khmer motherland. Due to the loss of Sukhothai, the state of Sukhothai has been able to overtake the Khmers as a major force in our Southeast Asian region as a result of regional topographical changes.”
“Thailand is the youngest country on our Southeast Asian peninsula. This is a real historical process and an actual historical event — not a coincidence. As a result, Thailand was founded on Khmer civilization, which is unquestionably thousands of years older than Thai-Lao culture.”
“The inscriptions in the central and southern regions of Thailand are now inscribed in the Mon language along with the Khmer inscriptions. The first inscriptions, written in the Mon language, were short and probably dated to the 7th-8th centuries A.D.”
“According to Thai history books, the territory of Lopburi or Lavo was first occupied by King Suryavarman I (1002−1050), who reigned in Angkor by armed forces in the 11th century. Some historians also say that due to the expansion of the territory of the Khmer king, and in this region, there are some art and architecture of Khmer temples. But when we study and analyze some of the inscriptions as the case K.707 etc. we will find that the above assertion does not seem to match the historical events that took place in the long past, as Khmer power began to dominate this important transit area since pre-Angkorian and Angkorian times. […] In fact, despite the presence of the Mon people living there, who were ethnic brothers with the Khmers, we have ample evidence that the area was within the borders of the Phnom [Funan, ADB] and Chenla kingdoms.” […] In the final analysis, we may state that the establishment of a true Khmer political, economic, and cultural infrastructure led to the creation of the first Kingdom of Thailand, which was founded at Sukhothai.
To appease the Thai-Cambodian frictions over a complex history, the author quotes in his conclusion a document issued by the Embassy of Thailand in Phnom Penh in 2014:
“The historical sketch given above was provided to give a sense of the centuries-long connection between Thai and Khmer history and culture. Our two modern-day nations have not only been geographically contiguous for centuries, but we share many cultural affinities, the most important of which is our Buddhist religion. Buddhism has been the glue that has held our societies together for centuries, through sorrow and triumph, peace and war. Historically, Buddhism has also been the bridge which has bound our societies together. It can also be a bridge to a peaceful future as both Thai and Khmer societies take the teachings of Buddha to heart and truly embrace peace, love, mutual understanding and tolerance in non-violent polities.”
ADB Input: About the “Fragrant-Haired Lady”
Among many other archaeological structures, the author mentions Prang Nang Phom Hom, situated in Khok Khli district, Lopburi province of modern Thailand, where fragments of a statue of a lady dressed in Khmer garments were discovered in 1987. The Thai name of this tower (prang), ปราสาทนางผมหอม, refers to a female character popular in Isan, Lao, Thai, and Khmer folktales, a girl with fragrant hair who lived in the elephant realm.
The Isan-Lao folktale of Nang Phom Hom (นางผมหอม) is about a girl whose father is the king of elephants and who is later turned into a monkey by a ghost before she and her family are finally able to live happily ever after. As with most ancient folktales there are many versions told across the region with the same overall plot, but different details. The story is well known. It has been shown on TV, told in books, and is a popular production for theater groups, especially mor lam musical troupes. And, of course, there’s a line of “Nang Phom Hom” hair care products. Although it’s not one of the “formal” ones found in the Pali Canon, some people consider the Nang Phom Hom legend to be a Jataka tale, meaning that it’s a story about one of the many pre-enlightenment lifetimes of the Bodhisatta, the being who eventually became the current Buddha. The prince, Tarangsit, is the Bodhisatta in the story. Nang Phom Hom is an earlier birth of the Buddha’s wife, Yasodhara and their son Sila and daughter Chada are earlier births respectively of Rahula, the Buddha’s son, and Uppalavanna, one of the Buddha’s top female disciples. Several stupas and caves in Thailand and Laos claim an association with Nang Phom Hom. Probably the most famous of these is Tham Erawan cave, high up a mountain on the border of Loei and Nong Bua Lamphu provinces. Locals believe this was Nang Phom Hom’s home while she lived in the elephant realm. The Nang Phom Hom poem at Wat Nong Wang in Khon Kaen city says the story happened in Phu Luang District, Loei province.
As for the temple in the Lopburi area, contemporary Thai touristic guides date it to the period of “Jayavarman VII (15 – 17th century of the Buddhist era)”, while Michel Tranet more aptly identifies it as “Baphuon style, 11th century before the reign of King Suryavarman I:
Interestingly, we have in Cambodia, in Takeo province, ប្រាសាទនាងសក់ក្រអូប (Prasat Neang Sork Kraob) [or ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាយ៉ង Prasat Phnom Bayong], “Temple of the Maiden with Fragrant Hair“, built in the 7th century [between 615 and 635 by King Bhavarman II. Which establishes that the figure of the girl with a fragrant mane was revered in Southern Cambodia some four centuries before the erection of the eponym prang in Lopburi.
Author of more than sixty books on archaeology and Ancient Khmer civilization research, Dr. Michel Tranetបណ្ឌិត មីសែល ត្រាណេ (b.1954, Phnom Penh) served as a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in the 1990s, ultimately resigning to protest the lack of involvement of Cambodian authorities in fighting art pieces trafficking and illegal excavations.
After his PhD thesis at Universite de Caen, France (“L’origine de la culture et de la religiosité khmères : Les religions chtoniennes du Cambodge”, dir. Doris Bensimon), he taught at Norton University, Phnom Penh, and was a scientific advisor to the National Museum of Cambodia (NMC) At the start of the 21st century, he projected to create a private Museum of Ancient Khmer (and ethnic minorities) Art, gathering some 400 artworks and donating several of them to the NMC.
As an archaeologist specializing in prehistoric and protohistoric sites, he led numerous excavations in Cambodia and Thailand.
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សិលាចារឹកមន្ទីរពេទ្យព្រះបាទជយវរ្ម័នទី៧ [Inscriptions of King Jayavarman VII’s Hospitals], Phnom Penh, 2015.
Histoire du Cambodge: La culture des tambours de bronze chinois au Cambodge, Phnom-Penh [in Khmer], 2015.
ស្នាព្រះហស្ថអតីតព្រះមហាក្សត្រខ្មែរក្នុងការបង្រួបបង្រួមជាតិ [Works of the Former Khmer Kings towards National Unification], Phnom Penh, 2017.
របត់នៃសង្គមខ្មែរក្រោយសម័យអង្គរ [The Turn of Post-Angkorian Khmer Society], Phnom Penh, 2017.
មត៌កវប្បធម៌ឥណ្ឌូ-ខ្មែរ (ភាគ៦) កម្រងរឿងព្រេងនិទានបុរាណខ្មែរ [Indo-Khmer Cultural Heritage, Part 6: Collection of Khmer Ancient Legends], Phnom Penh, 2017.
ក្បួនសិល្បៈស្ថាបត្យកម្មនៃអតីតព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា (ភាគ១) [Architectural Art Rules of the Ancient Kingdom of Cambodia, Part 1], Phnom Penh, 2017.
Les groupes des monuments de Sambaur-Prei-Kuk à la capitale royale Içanapurī, Phnom-Penh [in Khmer], 2017.
រូបិយវត្ថុនៅអង្គរបុរីនិងនិមត្ថរូបភាព [Currency in Angkor Borey and Imagination], Phnom Penh, 2017.
រឿងរាមកេរ្តិ៍ខ្មែរ [The Story of Khmer Reamker], Phnom Penh, 2017.
ការពិនិត្យឡើងវិញនូវភូមិសាស្ត្រជាប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រនៃព្រះរាជា-ណាចក្រកម្ពុជានា សម័យហ្វូណននិងចេនឡា ពីស.វ.ទី១ ដល់ទី៩ [A Review of the Historical Geography of the Kingdom of Cambodia during the Funan and Chenla period from the 1st to the 9th century], Phnom Penh, 2017.
ប្រទេសលាវ អតីតដែនដីខ្មែរ [Laos, a Former Khmer Territory], Phnom Penh, 2018.