A Historical Divide
source : The Nation
BY SUBHATRA BHUMIPRABHAS
THAI historical figures Queen Suriyothai and Phra Supankanlaya are popular legends whose heroic deeds rival the courage of Joan of Arc. But at a recent meeting of Thai and Burmese historians, there was no common ground about the historical accuracy of these tales. A respected Thai film director spent six years conducting research into the life of an Ayutthaya queen and is making an epic movie about her. A local businesswoman claims to have been visited in her dreams by another Ayutthaya heroine and subsequently commissioned research into the life of that princess.
Both these heroines - Queen Suriyothai and Phra (or Princess) Supankanlaya - have recently been introduced to the Thai public as historical characters, brave and defiant defenders of their country. Queen Suriyothai is said to have been killed on the field of battle during the short-lived Burmese siege of Ayutthaya in early 1549. Princess Supankanlaya was married off to King Bayinnaung of Burma in 1571 in exchange for the release of her brother, Prince Naresuan, whom the Burmese king had been holding as a hostage to ensure their father's good behaviour. She is later thought to have been murdered either by her husband or by his successor, King Nandabayin.
Yet when Thai historians came to face to face with their Burmese counterparts at a rare meeting in Bangkok recently, they failed to reach a consensus on the fate of these two women. While explaining that there was no mention in Burma's written history of either Queen Suriyothai or Phra Supankanlaya, the Burmese delegates did, however, note that there are references in their literature and folklore to the presence in Burma of an unnamed princess of Ayutthaya.
Entitled "From Fact to Fiction: A History of Thai-Myanmar Relations in Cultural Context", the seminar was organised to discuss how the history of both countries has been represented, particularly in movies, plays, novels and other fiction.
The Burmese delegates also spoke about a home-grown heroine of their own: Queen Suphayar Lat, wife of the last king of Burma. After the British took complete control of Burma in 1885/6 , Suphayar Lat, her husband and many courtiers were sent into exile in British India. She too was the subject of a historical movie which was screened at the recent seminar.
Although the exploits of her brothers Naresuan and Ekathosarot (both of whom became kings of Ayutthaya) are glorified in official histories of the period, Phra Supankanlaya gets scant attention (the first written reference to her occurring in a history written by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab). Why then has her name and legend been bandied around so much in the last few years?
One night in 1995, Dr Nalinee Paiboon, owner of a Bangkok-based cosmetic company, claims to have had a dream in which she was visited by Phra Supankanlaya who told her of the suffering she had had to endure as a "war bride", living far from her own people in the midst of an alien culture. Nalinee subsequently funded research into the life of this forgotten princess by Chulalongkorn University's Thai Studies Centre.
Dr Myo Tnant Tyn, a Burmese historian who attended the seminar, said that several Burmese chronicles mention a princess from Ayutthaya who was one of King Bayinnaung queens. He wasn't however able to recall this woman's name.
"But her name wasn't Supankanlaya. No one knows what happened to her. She disappeared from our literature later on and we don't know why. But we didn't kill her."
Also attending the seminar was Myint Way, a native of Pegu who now lives in exile in Thailand. He remembered a legend about a Thai princess who was the beloved wife of King Bayinnaung. "Elderly people in my hometown in Kawa district like to tell stories about her," he said.
The legend told to Myint Way was that King Bayinnaung, taking pity on his homesick Thai wife, ordered a new village built for her in the Pegu area and populated it with Ayutthaya war captives. "We call this village Yodia [a corruption of 'Ayutthaya']. King Bayinnaung tried to create an environment which would make his Thai wife feel like she was living in her homeland."
However, this legend doesn't describe the eventual fate of this princess.
"Our history books say that Phra [Prince] Naresuan was taken as a hostage to Hongsawadee [the kingdom of which Pegu was the capital]," said Sen Hurng, a Burmese woman living in Bangkok, "and that his sister was later sent to be a wife of the king of Burma after which Naresuan was released and returned to Ayutthaya."
According to Sen Hurng, the Shans remember Naresuan as a hero because he helped them repel an invasion launched by the Burmese. She said that while Shan folklore and history also mention Naresuan's sister, they don't indicate what happened to her after her marriage to King Bayinnaung.
Also attending the seminar was award-winning film director MC Chatrichalerm Yugala, better known as Than Mui. At the gathering he screened an excerpt from Suriyothai, a movie on a grand scale which he is making about the life of this queen. It is due for release in mid 2001.
Although Thai historical sources disagree on the details of Queen Suriyothai's demise (some say it was her daughter who was killed on the battlefield; others say both women perished), Than Mui says that as a result of the extensive research he conducted, he is convinced that his portrayal of her in the movie is accurate.
The Burmese historians present at the seminar said Queen Suriyothai is not mentioned in either the history or the popular fiction of their country.
Regardless of the veracity of the legends which have grown up around Phra Supankanlaya and Queen Suriyothai, many Thais acclaim the two as heroines and victims of war. And Burmese history also has its share of controversy. Participants at the Bangkok seminar also got the rare opportunity to see Never Shall We Be Enslaved, a popular Burmese film which mentions Suppayar Lat, last queen of that country. And while she has often been portrayed as over-emotional and supremely arrogant, this woman had at least one thing in common with Queen Suriyothai and Phra Supankanlaya: a determination to defend her country's independence.
"But Queen Suppayar Lat didn't have an opportunity to show her love for her motherland like Queen Suriyothai did," said Tatkatho Phone Naing (aka Khin Maung Tint), who wrote the novel on which the movie was based.
"All human beings have black and white parts in their life," he added.
According to the Burmese historians present at the seminar, the dark side of Queen Suppayar Lat was her immaturity and jealousy.
"She eliminated other consorts of King Thibaw because she loved her husband so very much," said one historian.
On November 28, 1885, British forces took control of the city of Mandalay and the royal palace. The following day, the king, queen and many of their courtiers were packed off to British India. Queen Suppayar Lat lived to be an old woman. After her death, her remains were returned to Burma for funeral rites.
"From Fact to Fiction: A History of Thai-Myanmar Relations in Cultural Context" was organised by the Institute of Asian Studies and the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. It was held at the university from November 27 to 29.