Mountain People in the Muang: Creation and Governance of a Tai Polity in Northern Laos(<Special Issue> Upland Peoples in the Making of History in Northern Continental Southeast Asia)

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This paper traces the history of Luang Namtha, an intermontane valley basin innorthern Laos, based on the narratives of non-Tai ethnic groups that collectivelyconstitute a majority in the region. The narratives demonstrate the possibility ofalternative histories of muang polities, which are a core part of our understandingof Tai social and political organization. These narratives describe a central role formountain people in the muang, including the formation, population, and developmentof what appears to be a Tai polity. This analysis suggests the need to open upour understanding of "traditional" Tai political spaces to accommodate an expandedhistorical agency for upland groups conventionally circumscribed within their ownupland setting. This paper argues that the first step towards a more nuanced understandingof muang is recognizing them as cosmopolitan areas in which many sourcesof power, innovation, and transformation intersect.
2013-04-30