The primary goal of peasants everywhere is survival. Yet the requirements of survival differ dramatically from one place to another. These distinct settings demand different strategies from peasants in different places. For the Lua peasants of Doi Phu Ka, Nan, the strategy of survival and their political project is framed within the politics of location. The assertions of their exclusive rights to territory are multi-vocally expressed through every day forms of resistance, including their agricultural production and ritual performances. Their legitimate claims are based upon their status as the “indigenous”, their continuing residence on Doi Phu Kha, and the linkage between ethnic identity and local landscape. But for the Karen peasants of Mae Wang, Chiang Mai, currents of ethnicity and environmentalism are promoted by transforming their cultural capital into symbolic power in their struggle for control not only over forestland but also over symbolic value and its use in the construction of collective identity.
ISBN: 974-672-267-4
Publication date : January 2008
Price : 250 Baht / 10 US$
- THEME
- Ethnic Politics | Resource Governance