Download The Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand By Heidi

Book Review
Enlightened Ways: The Many Streams of
Buddhist Art in Thailand
By Heidi Tan with contributions from other scholars
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2012
267 pages
ISBN 9789810746285
Price: US$35.26
H
eidi Tan, Alan Chong and the Asian Civilisations
Museum are to be commended for the publication of
this handsome exhibition catalogue, Enlightened Ways: The
Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand. The exhibition
presents Thai religious art from a perspective that reflects and
furthers current scholarship in Buddhist studies (see Robert
H. Scharf, ‘On the Allure of Buddhist
Relics’, Representations 66 (1999):
75-99, and Ashley Thompson, ‘In the
Absence of the Buddha: “Aniconism”
and the Contentions of Buddhist Art
History’, in The Companion to Asian
Art, eds. Rebecca M. Brown and
Deborah S. Hutton, Oxford, 2011,
pp. 398-420). The colonial paradigm
that Buddhist texts are the arbiters of
‘pure’ Buddhism, and that other beliefs
and practices are corruptions of the
original truth, is adjusted to provide a
more equable approach to doctrine and
practice.
There are six essays in the
volume, plus an extensive catalogue
section. Tan’s article sets the stage
for the exhibition and the catalogue
by examining the ‘aesthetic achievement of Thai Buddhist
art’ in relationship with other cultures (p. 8). The exhibition
seeks to break down the traditional hierarchy of fine and
decorative art – a non-existent dichotomy in Thailand – as well
as to demonstrate the complex interactions between various
strands of Buddhism and Brahmanism. The presence of the
latter has resulted in a prominent place for deities, such as the
elephant-headed Ganesha, and Brahmins in Thai religious and
ceremonial practices. In addition to following a chronological
and cultural approach that looks at early developments,
Dvaravati, Srivijaya, Lopburi, Sukhothai, Lan Na, Ayutthaya
and the Ratanakosin period, Tan includes separate sections on
Brahmanical material, merit making and ritual art, and amulets
and popular Buddhism. She further addresses the syncretism,
hybridity and globalization that are occurring in Thai Buddhism
and the impact that these can have upon contemporary religious
practices.
Two major aspects of Thai Buddhism – rupakaya, the
Buddha’s body and his relics and representations of him, and
dhammakaya, the teachings of the Buddha – are the subject of
Peter Skilling’s essay. Despite this clear structure, the article is
rather scattered, briefly mentioning many different aspects of
Thai artistic production and touching upon scholarly debates.
For instance, Skilling argues against calling the mass-produced
terracotta tablets ‘votive tablets’, a picky point given that the
term ‘votive’ has come to have a broad significance beyond
Greco-Roman and Christian terminology. He also touches
upon Dvaravati imagery, the variety, functions, materials,
posture, and histories of Buddha images, the role of painting,
the presence of Mahayana Buddhism, and the function of
Brahmanical elements. It is under the rubric of the Buddha’s
teachings as a source of blessing and power that Skilling
discusses manuscripts, the practices of meditating on corpses
and paying homage, and what sponsors say in their donative
records. He concludes with an emphasis
on the materiality of the objects used
in religious activity, with that property
emerging from and contributing to
spiritual depth.
John Listopad contextualizes
representations of the walking Buddha
that became popular in Thailand
from around 1400 and examines the
four textual sources that inspired the
production of such imagery. He briefly
explains the revised, later dating of
Sukhothai art, where walking Buddhas
were so significant, and connects the
images of the walking Buddha to the
cult of the Buddha’s footprint.
Particularly useful is Amara
Srisuchat’s article, which brings
together information about the different
terms for images of the Buddha, ranging from epithets that
appear in the Pali canon and Sanskrit scriptures to popular
terms that have endured over time and across regions. Many
sources feed into the development of the name of an image,
including its posture, provenance and materials, as well as
the endowments of the Buddha. This facet of Buddha images
has not been extensively studied, but it is important because it
illuminates Thai conceptions of Buddhism, the Buddha, and
images thereof, as well as providing valuable information about
religious practices.
Justin McDaniel’s article on amulets is a clear summary of
the materials, categories and types available, as well as the roles
that amulets play socially and economically. Portable protective
amulets and images are part of Southeast Asian religious
practice generally, and there is evidence that such objects have
been employed since early times. The ranking of amulets was
started by the royal family in the 19th century, but all parts of
society participate in collecting these objects, and the study of
amulets is a major endeavour in Thailand, resulting in numerous
publications and catalogues about them. McDaniel defends
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amulet production against charges of the commercialization
of Buddhism, and demonstrates that they do not produce
extensive direct profits. Indirect profits are shared with local
and international communities through charitable endeavours.
McDaniel argues too that amulets create communities by
providing opportunities for social interaction both in person and
through the internet.
In the Salak Yom festival in the northern Thai province of
Lamphun, monks and novices are presented with trees laden
with gifts through a lottery system in order to generate merit
for deceased individuals. The origins of this festival lie in
ancestor worship and Brahmanical practices that have merged
with Buddhist activities. In her essay, Alexandra Denes focuses
on the festival as practised by the Yong minority, where it once
was a rite of passage for young women. She argues that the tree
itself is multivalent, referencing Buddhist, Brahmanical, and
animist concepts. Although the Salak Yom declined in the mid20th century, it has now been revived as a communal meritmaking festivity without links to courtship or marriage. While
this piece is of great interest, its specificity to a small group of
people in northern Thailand sits a little uncomfortably with the
general approach of the other essays and the catalogue. More
explanation of why this example was singled out would have
been useful in integrating it better.
The catalogue is divided into sections, beginning with a
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chronological and cultural approach to Thai art history, followed
by an examination of Brahmanical elements. Materials, ranging
from tablets and ceramics to ritual furnishings, manuscripts and
paintings, and textiles that are used in merit-making activities
form the third section; the fourth part includes amulets and other
protective objects. As this structure makes clear, the purpose
of the exhibition was not only to examine the categories of
Thai art history afresh, but also to make viewers aware of
other aspects of artistic production and religious practice. The
division of the catalogue into historical/cultural, brahmanical,
merit-making, and protective sections, however, accentuates the
separation of decorative and fine arts and between traditional
art history and the actual practice of Buddhism that Heidi Tan
and Alan Chong intended to overcome at the outset. It would
have been interesting to see whether the latter three sections
could have been successfully integrated into the first, both
in the exhibition and the catalogue. This is a minor quibble,
however, as there have been few attempts to look at Thai art
history in an integrated fashion. This is an important exhibition,
with stunning and rarely seen objects, many from regional
and national museums in Thailand, and the catalogue will be a
valuable source of information for many years to come.
Alexandra Green, Henry Ginsburg Curator for Southeast Asia, The
British Museum.