“Yet neglect and the pressures of modern development have eroded both the tradition and the sites. If they disappear, we will lose touch with a time when cultures and people were not divided by today’s national boundaries but were linked by religion and ethnic ties across vast areas.”

The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage is delighted to share with you today the twenty-first article from “Heritage Matters”, a monthly series aimed at identifying the challenges and opportunities of cultural heritage conservation published by The Siam Society in the Bangkok Post.

For this month’s Heritage Matters, Ajarn Suddan Wisudthiluck makes the case for a collaborative effort to revive the tangible and intangible heritage connected to the sacred routes of Tamnan Phra Chao Liap Loke – a Buddhist literary work that has been passed down for over 500 years. 

Chronicling the influence of Buddhism in the region, the legend corresponds to sacred sites of the Buddha’s relics while detailing the culture and traditions of various ethnic groups, acting as a historical record of the formation of local towns and cities. With new connectivity routes and the rapid expansion of cities, this cultural heritage and pilgrimage routes that once connected peoples across the modern-day borders of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and China are in danger of disappearing.

The full article can be read here.

Suddan Wisudthiluck is associate professor at the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University.