War Slaves and Cultural Transformations: How Ayutthaya’s Captured Artisans and Performers Transformed Burmese Society
In 1936, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab travelled to Burma on something of a cultural mission. A decade earlier, Damrong had come to learn of historical communities in Mandalay, the royal capital of Burma, inhabited by descendants of Ayutthayan war slaves, and of Burmese performing arts traditions inspired by Siamese artists. His explorations and interviews revealed fascinating cultural linkages between the two countries. In a private letter, Damrong observed that the obvious commonalities between Thai and Burmese artistic practices could not be a coincidence born from the adoption and adaption of ancient Indian culture. Rather, he argued that the two kingdoms must have borrowed from each other. “Even nowadays,” Damrong wrote, “the Burmese still have a widespread esteem for various Thai styles, which they call Yo-dayan (that is, Ayutthayan). This was apparent to me in many ways while I was traveling in Burma.”
My talk will follow Prince Damrong’s insight. We will examine artistic and performance traditions in Burma/Myanmar that demonstrate the deep lasting impact of Ayutthaya’s artisan slaves on Burmese culture.
About the speaker
Bryce Beemer has been an Assistant Professor of History at Duke Kunshan University (DKU) where he teaches courses on Southeast Asian and World History. He studies cultural exchange in the context of long-distance slavery and warfare in Southeast Asia, Northeast India, and coastal Bengal and at work on his first monograph, Creole Kingdoms in Southeast Asia. His research was supported by the Fulbright (DDRA), the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the Mellon Foundation, and other private foundations. In 2014, Dr. Beemer’s PhD research received the World History Association’s best dissertation award, and his article “Southeast Asian slavery and slave-gathering warfare as a vector for cultural transmission: The case of Burma and Thailand” received research awards from the American Historical Association and the Burma Studies Foundation. Prior to joining DKU, Prof. Beemer was an SSRC Transregional Research Fellow for InterAsian Contexts and Connections.
When
Thursday, 20 February 2025 at 19:00
Where
Admission
Members and Students (to undergraduate level) — Free of charge
Non-Members — THB 300
For more information, please contact
To book your place, please contact Khun Pinthip at 02 661 6470-3 ext 203 or pinthip@thesiamsociety.org
More upcoming lectures
-
Serving the Kingdom and Fandom: The Reinvention and Hybridisation of the Ramakien in Thai Internet LiteratureLecturesThursday, 27 February 2025 at 19:00
-
Bombs, Baccy and Buddhism: The First World War Diary of Sergeant Kleuap KaysornLecturesThursday, 6 March 2025 at 19:00
-
Capitalist Colonial: Thai Migrant Workers in Israeli AgricultureLecturesThursday, 13 March 2025 at 19:00