Ancient beliefs still rule in Southeast Asia

Ancient beliefs still rule in Southeast Asia

Michael Vatikiotis, The Straits Times, Asia News Network/Singapore

People have grown accustomed in Southeast Asia to very
concrete notions of time and place. Modernity and development
have shunted to the margins indigenous traditions that view
places as inhabited by spirits and those that govern time in
accordance with the moon, stars and soothsayer's whim.

So when Myanmar's military leaders decided to shift the
capital from Yangon some 300km north to a place in the hills
called Pyinmana, no modern logic could be summoned to explain the
move. Singapore's official reaction was that the move was
"puzzling".

Perhaps there isn't a modern explanation. Down through
Southeast Asia's history, rulers have moved their seats of
government to make symbolic statements at the start of new
dynasties and to propitiate the spirits. In Myanmarese history,
several cities including Pagan, Ava, Pegu and Mandalay have at
some time or other served as the country's capital.

The people to this day recall the humiliating removal of the
last Myanmarese king from his palace in Mandalay. The British
packed King Thibaw off on a steamer to India in 1885 and moved
the capital to Rangoon, now called Yangon.

The nature of medieval warfare was such that the pinnacle of
conquest involved the sacking of the defeated enemy's capital,
defined as a spiritual center in the Hindu-Buddhist cosmology by
which rulers ruled their kingdoms.

Thus, Thailand's ancient capital was at Ayudhya along the Chao
Phraya River. The Myanmarese sacked the city of golden spires in
1767 and a new Thai capital was established at Thonburi, near
present-day Bangkok. The current Chakri dynasty thought it best
to move the capital across the river to Bangkok.

All this is to suggest that the Myanmar military junta's
paranoia about the physical location of its capital has deep
cultural and historical roots. The move to Pyinmana is probably
less about facilitating strategic access to the center of the
country and more about a military leader who considers himself a
great ruler, deserving a new capital.

Who knows what the soothsayers and toadies have whispered to
him about the best way to shore up his power. Wasn't the former
military strongman Ne Win prone to sudden changes in the traffic
flow or the denomination of bank notes simply to ensure
continuing good fortune?

But it would be unfair to consider the Myanmar people as the
only ones in the region who consider geography a sacred
commodity. Thailand's monarchy in modern times has continued to
practice ritual forms of geomancy to ensure the kingdom's
security. The royal household maintains palaces in every corner
of the kingdom and still conducts a Hindu ploughing ceremony in
the heart of Bangkok to ensure a good rice crop.

Who knows what the city spirits will make of the proposal to
move Thailand's Parliament to the outer bounds of the city?

In Indonesia, former president Soeharto used to quietly
conduct Javanese spiritual ceremonies to ensure the longevity of
his rule. One of these involved a mythical nail in the earth that
needed hammering back in every time the republic endured an
unsettled period.

Indonesia's newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
is no slouch when it comes to respect for old ways. Close friends
say that he regularly hears his dreams interpreted by his wife,
and is said to avoid making major decisions without first
checking whether the timing is auspicious.

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra may have built
his image on the basis of a modern CEO style of leadership but,
under pressure from his critics, the mercurial politician has
recently taken refuge in cosmology.

"Right now Mercury...is in a corner perfectly aligned with my
star. Mercury is no good, so if it's not good, I am going to
request not to speak. I'll just wait until next year to talk," he
told the media on his return from the APEC summit in Busan.

Cosmologically silenced prime ministers and uprooted capitals
suggest that traditional notions of time and place remain
embedded in the region's culture despite all the trappings of
modernity. And as we have seen lately, such notions tend to
become most pronounced when the leadership is under strain.

The writer is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies.