New Mandala

One of the most fascinating transformations that has occurred recently in the uplands of southeast Asia is the rapid adoption of rubber in the border districts of north-western Laos. In many upland regions, tree crops are seen as a desirable alternative by state agencies seeking to “stabilise” shifting cultivation systems. In north-western Laos rapidly improving [...]

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Some of New Mandala readers and contributors may be familiar with an article by Grant Evans entitled “Transformation of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, PRC” and included in the book Where China meets Southeast Asia (ISEAS, 2000). In that article, Evans referred to various tourist projects planned to be carried out in Jinghong, the capital of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous [...]

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For those interested in the relationship between national culture and “local” expressions of identity, here is an interesting image from Muang Hai in southern China. This young girl (whose family are the proud owners of an 800 year old tea tree) wore her family heirlooms as she served a delightfully rustic lunch of Puer Tea, chicken and vegetables. [...]

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A few days ago I posted several images of Sipsongpanna, taken during my recent (brief) visit there. My selection of images was intended to raise questions about Sipsongpanna’s cultural characteristics. I deliberately chose Han Chinese and modernist images to serve as a contrast with common representations of Sipsongpanna as a site of trans-border “Tainess” (representations that [...]

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Apologies for my longer than expected New Mandala absence. I have been travelling in Yunnan, with most of my time spent in Sipsongpanna. I had hoped to be making posts from the road, but in the few spare moments I grabbed I never seemed to find an internet cafe with anything more than the most sluggish [...]

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The following photographs are designed to give a general overview of the dances at a Jingpo Manau.  These images are provided to help contextualise future posts that will examine specific elements of the festivities.�
Manau festivals are commonly held over multiple days and involve large-scale formation dancing.  It is, therefore, helpful to have at least some idea of the [...]

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My next posts in the “Yunnan Fringe” series will provide information and analysis on a Manau festival that was held in far western Yunnan, within sight of Burma, in March 2007.  Some of these posts will focus on what goes on around the periphery of a Manau, in the areas where most people never point their cameras or focus [...]

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Over the past year, Andrew and I have utilised all manner of content in our mission to provide anecdote, analysis and new perspectives on mainland Southeast Asia.  Today that effort moves in a slightly new direction as I begin experimenting with the possible integration of material captured by New Mandala’s newly acquired video capabilities.�
To re-activate the [...]

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For those New Mandala readers who have expressed an interest in the murals at the Dai-Jingpo cultural park in Jie Gao, just outside Ruili, Yunnan, I have now posted more examples of the artwork.  Viewed in the context of the previous post, these examples may give readers a fuller basis for commenting on these interesting murals.  Unfortunately, none [...]

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