Background

A large number of manuscripts in the Mon language are kept in the temples of the Thai- Mon community who lives in the provinces surrounding Bangkok. The Thai Mon community has lived in Siam/Thailand since the nineteenth century, and so differ from recent migrants from Burma. Today, the Mon language in Thailand is disappearing, and very few in the Thai Mon community are literate in the Mon language anymore. These manuscripts have lingered for decades and are in danger of disappearing. Among the collections are many texts which do not exist in Burma, where the majority of Mon people live today.

SEA Junction, in collaboration with the Endangered Archives Programme presented Recalling a Trans-local Past: Thailand’s Mon-language Manuscripts at SEA Junction, suite 407-8, 4th Floor, BACC on 15 February 2025 from 5.00-6.30 pm, the program was in English. This talk was led by Patrick McCormick, researcher who has been working on translating and preserving these scripts. He covered the background of the Thai Mon people and provided insights on how the Mon came to have so many villages and temples in Central Thailand, only to be largely assimilated into mainstream Thai culture. Through the generous support of the Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library, Patrick and his team have been able to take digital photographs of approximately 2000 manuscripts and put them online for the scholarly community, and also for the Mon community of Burma. This talk featured some translation work and the research process in preserving these manuscripts in the form of digitization. Through visuals, Patrick discussed some of the texts, which include religious teachings and works of literature, history, astrology, and medical treatment from the Mon culture and the digitization process. He also shared some challenges in researching this fading language and his experiences from his time in the field.

Speaker Bio

Patrick McCormick is a writer and academic researcher who has studied some of the languages and histories of Burma, where he lived for sixteen years before moving to Thailand. He has focused much of his time researching the Mon language and the writing of Mon history. He has received funding from the Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library to undertake the project on which his talk is based.

Photo Credit: SEA Junction’s Team