Nicola Tannenbaum
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Lehigh University
I have been conducting anthropological research in Maehongson Province of northwestern Thailand since the summer of 1977; my research focuses on Shan, a Tai minority group, who lives in both Thailand and Burma. Unlike more recent immigrants and refugees from Burma, most of the people in my community are long-term residents of Thailand and are Thai citizens. Much has changed in the last 30 years as this formerly isolated province has become increasingly integrated into the Thai nation through the extension of government services including education, the expansion of the Thai economy, and improvements in infrastructure making it more accessible for Thai businesses and tourists, both Thai and international. The larger international context also affects this province whose western edge forms the border with Burma. In the last 20 years, there has been a large influx of Shan refugees into Maehongson as well as other regions of Thailand.
In this paper I explore the relationship between food production, consumption, and ethnic identity for the Shan in Maehongson Province and how these aspects have changed over time. I further discuss the ways in which local cuisines within Thailand have become markers of regional identities, and the roles that local food production and marketing play in the cultural production of regional, ethnic, and national identities.
(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))