INTERPRETATION OF THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE AND HERITAGE VALUES OF “MAE KOONG BOK VILLAGE”, TAMBON SANKLANG, SAN PATONG DISTRICT, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

Abstract

Mae Koong Bok culural landscape sets around a rural village known as ‘Ban Mae Koong Bok’ situated in Tambon1 Sanklang (ตำบลสันกลาง), San Patong district (อำเภอสันป่าตอง) around 20 kilometers south of City of Chiang Mai in Chiangmai – Lamphun Basin which was once the principle region of “Lan Na” (ล้านนา) Kingdom.

Although oral history suggested that the present village was found by ethnic “Tai Lue” immigrants around 17th century, preliminary archaeological study suggests that it could have been found as early as in 15th century. Not to mention that there are still descendants of the indigenous “Lua” who predated any other ethnic dwellers in this region, as far back as before 9th century, still living in this area.

With the above mentioned characteristics of Mae Koong Bok cultural landscape, through the use of “Cutural Mapping” technique by following the “Common Rules of Local Dinstinctiveness” guideline, the reseasrcher managed to piece together available historical and cultural data in order 1 A Thai governmental administrative unit represents a cluster of villages or sub district. 102 SUTHIPARITHAT Vol.30 No.93 January - March 2016 to draw up an assumption of historical timeline which help to understand, in certain extent, how Mae Koong Bok dwellers’ activities have shaped this cultural landscape into what it looks like today.

Basing on the historical evidences and cultural heritages mapped during the research, the result of this research came to conclusion that the cultural landscape of Mae Koong Bok village could have been possibly originally created as a simple dwelling area of the indigenous “Lua” people then shaped into a defensive military outpost by the later arrival settlers such as the Mon and the Yone. And after series of centuries of wars, it eventually became a sanctuary for “Lue” immigrants who also engulfed the former dwellers and cultures into theirs resulting in an ethnic diversified community with intermingling of the Lua, the Yone, the Lue and the Tai races.