Transmission of the Belief in Naga Among Tai Lue People in Upper Mekong Multicultural Sciety

Abstract

The objectives of this qualitative research were to investigate the evidence concerning the background in the belief in nagas of the Tai Lue in the Upper Mekong Cultural Region, to analyze symbolic meanings about nagas and transfer of the belief in artistic works and activities of the Tai Lue, and to explore the relationships among peoples in the region through the thinking process and belief in nagas. The data were collected from documentary research and field investigation by means of participatory and non-participatory observations, unstructured interviews, and in-depth interviews of the Tai Lue in the Tai Autonomous Region, Sipsongpanna, China, and in northern Thailand. The knowledge from the research findings was then transferred to the primary school students in Luang Nua village in Doi Saket district, Chiang Mai province. The study results from the background of the belief revealed that the belief was derived from the snake worshipping cult due to the tropical weather conditions with abundant venomous animals and the agrarian lifestyle dependent on natural water in order to sustain life. The belief was later assimilated with Buddhism, becoming a shared belief in the Mekong Sub-region.

The belief has been created into arts, traditions, and rituals embedded with diverse symbolic meanings that are the wisdom and knowledge of the ethnic group. They consist of Buddhist beliefs of doing good deeds and refraining from doing bad deeds, an expression of indigenous ownership of the ethnic group in the region, implicit artistic wisdom, water-dependent lifestyle, adaptation to the environment, an expression of the ethnic social norms, family and kinship systems, nutrition and sanitation, and the relationships between the Tai Lue and other ethnic groups in the Mekong multicultural society. Conventional knowledge and wisdom transfer was conducted from experiences of adults to children through daily-life activities and social order by participating in community activities. Present knowledge transfer is through formal community network organizations, including temples, schools, municipalities, and learning centers. For the relationship among peoples in the region, it was revealed that they have been related via Buddhist belief with nagas as a sacred animal taking the role of protector of Buddhism. Nagas are a symbolic animal, indicating the assimilation of indigenous, ancestral and Buddhist beliefs. These beliefs were transferred and modified through contacts via the Mekong River, the principal river in the region. In the multicultural society, the belief in nagas reflected that peoples in this region were, in fact, related as siblings because of their shared beliefs and similar cultures.