Highlanders, intervention and adaptation: a case study of a Mong N'jua (Mong Ntsuab) village of Pattana

Abstract

In this study of a Mong N'jua (Moob Ntsuab) community in North Thailand the stereotype of the Hmong as opium growers and pioneer swiddeners who are supposed to pose a threat to the state is called into question. Contemporary changes including population growth, pressure on land based resources and traditional farming systems combined with government administrative, military and development intervention have had a considerable impact on their lives that are far more significant. The community, Pattana was chosen because it is located at a low elevation in hilly country close to the provincial capital of Nan. It is totally integrated into the lowland administrative structure and given the resettlement objectives of a government preoccupied with the eradication of opium and widespread concern for the highland environment, Pattana may well provide a glimpse into the future of highlanders in Thailand. The research findings argue that the Hmong are not particularly rebellious and show a marked preference for avoiding trouble. Messianism is not a structural characteristic of their culture and has only occurred as a consequence of contact with outsiders. Confrontation leading to violence is the exception rather than the rule. When faced with the challenge presented by close and sustained contact with the Thai world, the Hmong of Pattana did not feel they had to sacrifice their own identity but made considerable efforts to accommodate Thai expectations. They consider themselves to be both Hmong villagers and Thai citizens. Those engaged in development activities have always made much of ethnicity. The ethno-linguistic differences of highlanders as distinct from lowlanders is often cited to explain the lack of achievement. On closer examination however, it is the attitude, the lack of a good cultural understanding and poor organization on the part of administrators that better account for shortfalls. The highly bureaucratic approach to development work in response to international demand (opium eradication) rarely takes into account regional and communal differences, misunderstandings are endemic and project delivery systems are too inflexible. Government intervention in the highlands designed to address problems associated with shifting cultivation, opium production and the threat to national security posed by the presence of ethnic minorities is misdirected. The intimidating and authoritarian nature of the bureaucratic system and political structure are long overdue for review. Rural development strategies should not be designed in a vacuum or in isolation from those whom this effort most concerns. The development orientation of the country as a whole needs to be placed under serious scrutiny.