A true love story between a Shan prince and a Thai princess, as related by a dark horse presenter, almost completely stole the show on this first day of the 3 day International Conference on Shan Studies (ICSS) yesterday.
According to the researcher Prateep Chailee from Chiangmai, the marriage between Sao Phromlue of Kengtung, 24, and Sao Thippawan of Lampang, 19, in 1922, had taken place amid the not too cordial relations between the Shan States’ British overlords and Siam, as Thailand was known then. The prince’s nuptials to her were one of the reasons he was barred from becoming the ruling prince, he said.
Sao Phromlue died in Chiangmai in 1956. His lifelong companion Sao Thippawan, greatly respected by the people of Kengtung, lived until 1989. She was 86 when she passed away. Her funeral attracted one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Chiangmai.
The seminar has been divided into 9 panels: Shan in Thailand, Shan in Thailand, Shan communities, Shan Administrative system, Religious and beliefs, Art, Myth and Buddhism, Scripts and texts, Wisdom and Local knowledge and Papers in Thai and Shan.
Sao Noan Oo of Lawksawk also drew a large audience by her presentation of the administrative system under Shan ruling princes yesterday.
Today’s attractions include King Naresuan and Sao Kham Kai Noi: The Shan connection, Preservation and Continuation of Lik-Luang among the Shan communities of Northern Thailand by Jotika Khur-yearn and Kate Crosby and King Thohanbwa and the Origins of Magyizi Script by Sinead Ward.
The conference will wind up with art performances by the Shan community at noon tomorrow.
For more information, please visit www.vas.chula.ac.th, www.chula.ac.th or www.shanland.org. Readers may also call SHAN members at the conference: Saengchuen aka Sein Kyi – 081 111 9701 and Peunkham- 081 784 6290.
