Pride is a common thread that runs through Thai culture. I’ve seen the pride of ethnicity, culture, food, and nature in a handful of interactions this past week. In the Hmong village, the village leader spoke of his community with great love and conviction. He praised their ability to peacefully coexist within a religiously diverse space, their sustainable agricultural practices that pave the way for other hill tribes, and the impenetrable bond that allows the youth to study in the city but then feel moved to return. Shamefully, I must admit that when I was walking around the village I felt impressed but also very sure I wouldn’t want to reside there. HOWEVER, I also came to the realization that the people in this community CHOOSE to live here.
This situation reminds me of a book I read last semester called “The Art of Being Ungoverned”. The book discusses the hill tribes residing in the mountains of Southeast Asia and challenges the narrative that they are the “forgotten” ones who were skipped by modernity and civilization. Instead, the author recounts the agricultural practices, choice of crops, and reliance on spoken languages to actively resist the state and it’s imposed practices. Basically, the communities living on the periphery actively chose to resist “civilization” because the conditions under state law (poverty, indentured servitude, disease, pollution) hindered their freedom and decreased their quality of life. They have the option to live in the cities and in “modernity” but choose not to. THIS is why the immense pride voiced by the Hmong village leader cries not for our pity of their perhaps antiquated technologies and way of life but of praise to their ability to lively freely.
(This may have been a tangent)
I also found myself thinking that I wouldn’t want to live in the Hmong village while we were there. I was so impressed by it, and I wanted to say I want to live like that, but realistically I know I wouldn’t be able to. I think the pride they have in their home and culture is amazing, and I loved learning through them because there’s a misconception about villages in the mountains where we think that they are so different from us. That was not the case at all with this village; they go into town, some go to college, they aren’t that much different from us. I thought it was really cool too how a lot of them leave, but they come back eventually.
Kellin,
I agree that the Hmong village had an immense amount of pride in their community. It was as if they felt lucky to live there and felt bad for the people who lived in the city with all the technology and stresses of city life. It was also very interesting to see their farm areas and how advanced they were in contrast to their housing and other parts of their community, it really shows that they also take a huge amount of pride in their food which seems to be the culture of Thailand.
Kellin, you’re last line, (This may have been a tangent.) made me hoot. how can it be a tangent when you’re writing it? A tangent from what, the surrounding white space? Funny, also, because you did an excellent job shaping your thoughts around a focus, in a very non tangential way. “He praised their ability to peacefully coexist within a religiously diverse space, their sustainable agricultural practices that pave the way for other hill tribes, and the impenetrable bond that allows the youth to study in the city but then feel moved to return.” is one of your smokin hot lines. Let’s discuss the Amish in light of your fine points.