[XGoFivk7]

Origin of Thais as Kmer?!! That's pretty original! I don't quite remember any history book clearly saying that. I know that for a couple of centuries the Kingdom of Cambodia dominated the region, but as the origin of the Thai people? Definitely, there are people of Kmer and Mon origins in Thailand, but they certainly aren't the majority (in the geographical region of what is now Thailand), nor have they been the rulers. The picture is much more complex than that.

There is this larger group of people not only restricted to the location of Thailand called the "Tai". These include the Shan people of Burma, the Lao, ethnic groups in North Vietnam, and Southern Yunnan. They all share a similar language stock and many common cultural identities. They all share this famous legend about Khun Borom. Historians have pointed to these people as the "origin" of present day Thailand, ...if... you want to talk about "origin".

However, the more I read history, the more I'm convinced that we modern day people have been pretty much brainwashed by the pretty recently invented concept of nation-state in our definition of an identity. I would say that Thailand as a nation only happened when we changed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy in 1932. Before that we were a Kingdom, ruled by a King, whose subjects have always included various groups of people. And that concept of Kingdom did not include the concept of national geographic boundaries, it was rather based on the power of influence. If the King's power included the people of Lao and Malaysian, then they were part of the Thai Kingdom. It was because of the colonial powers of England and France that gave shape to those countries as seperate states, and who have defined our borders.

Thailand is much more 'multi-cultural' than would appear. In our bloods are a mix of races: Tai, Mon, Kmer, Lao, Chinese, even muslim Malay, and now increasingly farang. These peoples have coexisted in peace (and in war, periodically) in the land of what is now called Thailand for several centuries. I find it fascinating to read accounts of established foreign quarters in Ayudhya. These included Portuguese, French, British, Chinese, Japanese, oh, and don't forget the very influential muslim Persians, the origin of the Bunnag family. During the time of Sukhotai, there were Kmer influence, yes, but there was also Chinese, Mon, Burmese and Lao influences.

I would like to see nations relinquish the very divisive concept of nation-state and see ourselves as diverse cultures coexisting together within boundaries that are defined for adminstrative purposes that wouldn't be used as excuses for war. The world is getting increasingly smaller, isn't it? Hasn't it reached the point where killing our neighbors is actually killing ourselves? Look at the example of US and Iraq, does anyone sincerely see US more powerful because it went to war with Iraq?

I think I'm one of the few who seem to identify with Siam as synonymous with Thailand. I was living as a young girl in the middle east in the early 70s, and when we mentioned Thailand, they didn't know where that was, but they knew about the famous Queen of Siam and of course, our Siamese cats.

I don't mind the name of Siam, if it can help re-identify the Thai people as belonging to a multicultural mix of people.