Table Of ContentWoman between Two Kingdoms
Woman between
Two Kingdoms
Dara Rasami and the Making of Modern Thailand
•
Leslie Castro-Woodhouse
Southeast Asia Program Publications
an imprint of Cornell University Press
Ithaca and London
Southeast Asia Program Publications Editorial Board
Mahinder Kingra Chiara Formichi
(ex officio) Tamara Loos
Thak Chaloemtiarana Andrew Willford
Segments of chapter 4 have been excerpted from “A Very ‘Modern’ Matron:
Phra Rachaya Dara Rasami as Promoter and Preserver of Lan Na Culture
in Early Twentieth-Century Siam,” in Women, Gender and Art in Asia, c. 1500–1900,
ed. Melia Belli Bose (London: Ashgate, 2016), pp. 91–121. Copyright © 2016.
Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University
The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
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covered by the license, please contact Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East
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First published 2020 by Cornell University Press
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Castro-Woodhouse, Leslie, 1968– author.
Title: Woman between two kingdoms: Dara Rasami and the making of modern
Thailand / Leslie Castro-Woodhouse.
Description: Ithaca [New York]: Cornell University Press, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020029372 (print) | LCCN 2020029373 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781501755507 (paperback) | ISBN 9781501755514 (epub) |
ISBN 9781501755521 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Sex role—Political aspects—Thailand—History—19th century.
| Sex role—Political aspects—Thailand—History—20th century. | Polygyny—
Thailand—History—19th century. | Polygyny—Thailand—History—20th
century. | Ethnicity—Thailand—History—19th century. | Ethnicity—Thailand—
History—20th century.
Classification: LCC HQ1075.5.T5 C37 2020 (print) | LCC HQ1075.5.T5 (ebook) |
DDC 305.309593—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020029372
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020029373
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1
Introducing Lan Na, Siam, and the Inland Constellation 1
Chapter 2
Dara Rasami’s Career in the Siamese Royal Palace 32
Chapter 3
Performing Identity and Ethnicity in the Siamese Court 69
Chapter 4
Inventing Lan Na Tradition and Dara Rasami’s Legacy 107
Chapter 5
Intertwined Fates: Monarchy, Women’s Bodies, and the Thai State 127
Notes 135
Selected Bibliography 161
Acknowledgments
This book is a product of more than a decade of research, thinking, and writing,
which would not have been possible without the support of a host of people
and institutions. There are a number of people to whom I owe special thanks
for their collegial and moral support over the years. First and foremost, I would
like to thank my former academic advisers, Peter Zinoman and Penny Edwards,
without whose advice, feedback, and support I might never have successfully
navigated the circuitous process that ultimately allowed me to complete the re-
search that formed the basis of this book.
I also owe a debt of deep gratitude to a host of colleagues around the world
who were instrumental in helping me move this project from dissertation to
book. Firstly I owe thanks to Katherine Bowie for her unflagging support of
my research, as well as Thongchai Winichakul for both his personal support
of my work and for connecting me with Warunee Osatharom, my longtime
mentor at Thammasat University’s Thai Khadi Institute, to whom I also owe
a great debt of gratitude. Among my Thai colleagues, I particularly appreciate
the support and feedback I’ve received from Wongsak and Chanida na Chiang
Mai, Ratana (Jaeng) Pakdeekul, Plai-Auw Thongsuwat, Aroonrut Wichien-
kieow, Ratanaporn Sethakul, Phichet Tanthinamchai, Jirachat Santayot, and
Kreuk Akornchinaret of Chiang Mai. From Bangkok (and beyond), I have
Ake (Thweep) Rittinapakorn, Lupt Utama, Supatra Chowchuvech, Pat Chi-
raprawati, and Narisa Chakrabongse to thank for their kind assistance, encour-
agement, and collegiality.
Among my Western colleagues whose friendship and feedback have also been
invaluable to my work: Taylor Easum, Rebecca Hall, Julia Cassaniti, Bonnie
Brereton, Kanjana Hubik Thepboriruk, Joel Sawat Selway, Andrew Turton,
Volker Grabowsky, and Hillary Disch. My deepest thanks for sharing so gener-
ously from your own experience and research on Lan Na/northern Thai culture
and history.
Lastly, I thank the friends and family who have provided such tremendous
emotional and moral support over the lengthy time it took to turn this research
into a readable book—the last five years of which saw me through a career
ix
