SOCSCI 223 Culture and Society in Southeast Asia

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CULTURE
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AND SOCIETY
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
VISION
A technologicallay-advanced University producing professionals

and competitive leaders for local and national development.
MISSION
To provide quality education responsive to the national and

Global needs focused on generating knowledge and technology
That will improve the lives of the people
CORE VALUES
Excellence Accountability Service
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PREFACE
This learning material provides the guide to students to examine

both the societies and cultures of Southeast Asia. The study examines
the socio-cultural characteristics of Southeast Asian communities and
the role that culture plays in defining contemporary society. It looks at
some of the reasons for treating Southeast Asia as a single ethnographic
region. However, rather than simply trying to look for unities and
commonalities among the region ’ s diverse and complex societies and
cultures, it considers primarily concepts and analytical perspectives that
have generated important debates in the ethnography of the region, and
in anthropology in general, in relation to specific issues and processes.
Such a focus is primarily provided by a consideration of key
ethnographies dealing with a particular country and topic, which also
have a wider comparative significance.
I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface I
Table of Contents II
General Instruction III
CHAPTER 1: GEOGRAPY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA 1
Learning Activities
A. Preparatory Activity 2
B. Content Reading 2
C. Outcomes-based Assessments 8
CHAPTER 2: MAKING A LIVING AND ORGANIZING SOCIETY 10
Learning Activities
CHAPTER 3: INDIGENOUS COMMUNALITIES 23
Learning Activities
CHAPTER 4: TRADITIONAL CULTURE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 38
Learning Activities
CHAPTER 5: THE ENTRY OF THE FOUR “GREAT” TRADITIONS 52

Learning Activities
CCHAPTER 6: ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN MULTIPLE TRADITIONS IN 66
A PARTICULAR COUNTRY
Learning Activities
CHAPTER 7: IN QUEST OF A REGIONAL IDENTITY THROUGH ASEAN 87
Learning Activities
Appendix A 109
II
General Instructions
 Use this learning guide with care
 Do not write, highlight, erase, or tear the pages of this

module.
 In answering act6ivities or exercises, use a separate

sheet of paper or refer to your instructor for further
or other instructions.
 This learning guide must be returned after the end of

the end of the semester.
If this learning guide is lost and found, please return to:
EASTERN SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY
I
CHAPTER 1: GEOGRAPY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
INTRODUCTION
As starting point of the study of the culture and society in Southeast Asia, we need
to realize that geographical background of the region is necessary to be known first before
going further of knowing its cultural and societal background. There are two branches of
geography that we need to consider in our study; the physical geography and human
geography. Physical geography looks at the natural processes of the Earth, such as climate
topography, soil, forest and other physical features of the countries that compose the region
of Southeast Asia. Human geography looks at the impact and behavior of people and how
they relate to the physical world.
Human geography looks at the impact and behavior of people and how they relate
to the physical world. However, it is important to remember that all areas of geography are
interconnected: for example, the way human CO2 emissions affect the climate is part of
both physical and human geography. The main area of geography that looks at the
connection between physical and human geography is called environmental geography.
Human geography concerns the understanding of the dynamics of cultures, societies

and economies, and physical geography concerns the understanding of the dynamics of
landscapes and the environment.
Geography puts this understanding of social and physical processes within the
context of place - recognizing the great differences in cultures, political systems, economies,
landscapes and environment across the world, and exploring the links between them.
Understanding the causes of differences and inequalities between places and social groups
underlie much of the newer developments in human geography.
Geography provides an ideal framework for relating other fields of knowledge. It is

not surprising that those trained as geographers often contribute substantially to the applied
management of resources and environments.
Can you now answer the question, why we need to study first the geography of
Southeast Asia before we go further with our study of the culture and society in the region?
Try to answer this question before you proceed to the next part of this module.
SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
The following are the specific learning outcomes expected to be realized by the
learner after the completion of this module:
1. Describe the geographical features of Southeast Asia in terms of its climate,
topography, soils and forests.
2. Distinguish the differences between the mainland region and the insular region.
3. Determine the impact of the environmental geography of the countries that
comprises Southeast Asia in relation to its location and other geographical
factors.
1. | Culture and Society in Southeast

LEARNING ACTIVITIES
A. Preparatory Activity
Unlock the difficulties by performing this preparatory activity first. Get the understanding of the following mai
1. Geography
2. Continent
3. Climate
4. Topography
5. Region
B. Content Readings
Read the content and acquire further detailed information by accessing the sources provided.

GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
The region between China, India, Australia, and the Pacific Ocean is known as
Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia includes countries with political boundaries creating many
shapes and sizes. The political borders were created through a combination of factors,
including natural features, traditional tribal distinctions, colonial claims, and political
agreements. The realm also has the fourth-most populous country in the world, Indonesia.
Southeast Asia is a region of peninsulas and islands. The only landlocked country is the rural
and remote country of Laos, which borders China, Vietnam, and Thailand. The physical
geography of Southeast Asia includes beaches, bays, inlets, and gulfs. The thousands of
islands and remote places allow refuge for a wide variety of cultural groups and provide
havens for rebellious insurgents, modern-day pirates, and local inhabitants.
Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a sub region of Asia, consisting of the regions
that are geographically south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent and north-west of
Australia. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and
the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by
Australia and the Indian Ocean. The region is the only part of Asia that lies partly within the
Southern Hemisphere, although the majority of it is in the Northern Hemisphere.
A. CLIMATE
The climate in Southeast Asia is mainly tropical–hot and humid all year round with
plentiful rainfall. Northern Vietnam and the Myanmar Himalayas are the only regions in
Southeast Asia that feature a subtropical climate, which has a cold winter with snow. The
majority of Southeast Asia has a wet and dry season caused by seasonal shift in winds or
monsoon. The tropical rain belt causes additional rainfall during the monsoon season. The

rain forest is the second largest on earth (with the Amazon being the largest). An exception
to this type of climate and vegetation is the mountain areas in the northern region, where
high altitudes lead to milder temperatures and drier landscape. Other parts fall out of this
climate because they are desert like.
Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change in the world.
Climate change will have a big effect on agriculture in Southeast Asia such as irrigation
systems will be affected by changes in rainfall and runoff, and subsequently, water quality
and supply. Climate change is also likely to pose a serious threat to the fisheries industry in
Southeast Asia.
B. TOPOGRAPHY
Southeast Asia’s landscape is characterized by three intermingled physical elements:

mountain ranges, plains and plateaus, and water in the form of both shallow seas and
extensive drainage systems. Of these, the rivers probably have been of the greatest
historical and cultural significance; for waterways have decisively shaped forms of
settlement and agriculture, determined fundamental political and economic patterns, and
helped define the nature of Southeast Asians’ worldview and distinctive cultural syncretism.
It also has been of great importance that Southeast Asia, which is the most easily accessible
tropical region in the world, lies strategically astride the sea passage between East Asia and
the Middle Eastern–Mediterranean world.
The physiography of Southeast Asia has been formed to a large extent by the
convergence of three of the Earth’s major crustal units: the Eurasian, Indian-Australian, and
Pacific plates. The land has been subjected to a considerable amount of faulting, folding,
uplifting, and volcanic activity over geologic time, and much of the region is mountainous.
There are marked structural differences between the mainland and insular portions of the
region.

C. SOILS AND FORESTS
Southeast Asia, on balance, has a higher proportion of relatively fertile soils than
most tropical regions, and soil erosion is less severe than elsewhere. Much of the region,
however, is covered by tropical soils that generally are quite poor in nutrients. Often the
profusion of plant life is more related to heat and moisture than to soil quality, even though
these climatic conditions intensify both chemical weathering and the rate of bacterial action
that usually improve soil fertility. Once the vegetation cover is removed, the supply of
humus quickly disappears. In addition, the often heavy rainfall leaches the soils of their
soluble nutrients, hastens erosion, and damages the soil texture. The leaching process in
part results in laterites of reddish clay that contain hydroxides of iron and alumina.
Laterite soils are common in parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and also
occur in the islands of the Sunda Shelf, notably Borneo. The most fertile soils occur in
regions of volcanic activity, where they eject chemically alkaline or neutral. Such soils are
found in parts of Sumatra and much of Java in Indonesia. The alluvial soils of the river valleys
also are highly fertile and are intensively cultivated.
Southeast Asia is home to nearly 15% of the world’s tropical forests. However, the
region is also among the world’s major deforestation hot spots, and ranks among the highest
in terms of severe biodiversity loss, mostly due to the conversion of intact forests into
plantations, such as for palm oil.
Southeast Asia lost about 80 million hectare of forest between 2005 and 2015, and it
is feared that such deforestation could lead to over 40% of Southeast Asia's biodiversity
vanishing by 2100. Human activities such as logging and clear-cutting for food production,
cash crops and agriculture are the main drivers of this forest loss.
Forests of Southeast Asia are known for their high biodiversity, arguably among the
greatest in the world. They have been the subject of much international attention over the
past decades.
The sub-region is a major player in the tropical timber trade. Meranti timber from
the dipterocarp forests and teak from Java, Myanmar and Thailand are among the better-
known tropical timbers of the world. Plantation forestry is widely practiced; the teak
plantations of Java and the rubber plantations of Malaysia are prime examples. Special
management systems for tropical natural forests have been developed in the sub region.
D. MAINLAND AND INSULAR REGIONS
Southeast Asia can be divided into two geographic regions. The mainland portion,
which is connected to India and China, extends south into what has been called the
Indochina Peninsula or Indochina, a name given to the region by France. This mainland
region consists of the countries of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar
(Burma). This region has been influenced historically by India and China. The islands or
insular region to the south and east consist of nations surrounded by water. The countries in
this region include Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, East Timor, and the Philippines.

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a sub region of Asia, consisting of the regions
that are geographically south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent and north-west of
Australia. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and
the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by
Australia and the Indian Ocean. The region is the only part of Asia that lies partly within the
Southern Hemisphere, although the majority of it is in the Northern Hemisphere. In
contemporary definition, Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions.
E. PRESENT-DAY COUNTRIES AND ADJACENT REGIONS
Southeast Asia is composed of eleven countries of impressive diversity in religion,

culture and history: Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is also one of the most
dynamic areas of the world economically, a factor which largely accounts for its growing
international significance.
CAMBODIA - Cambodia is a Southeast Asian nation whose landscape spans low-lying

plains, the Mekong Delta, mountains and Gulf of Thailand coastline. Phnom Penh, its
capital, is home to the art deco Central Market, glittering Royal Palace and the National
Museum's historical and archaeological exhibits. In the countrys northwest are the
ruins of Angkor Wat, a massive stone temple complex built during the Khmer Empire.
THAILAND - It's known for tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins and
ornate temples displaying figures of Buddha. In Bangkok, the capital, an ultramodern
cityscape rises next to quiet canal side communities and the iconic temples of Wat Arun,
Wat Pho and the Emerald Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Kaew). Nearby beach resorts
include bustling Pattaya and fashionable Hua Hin.
BRUNEI - a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by

Malaysia and the South China Sea. It's known for its beaches and bio diverse rainforest,
much of it protected within reserves. The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is home to the
opulent Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque and its 29 golden domes. The capital's
massive Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of Brunei’s ruling sultan.
MAYANMAR (BURMA) - Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation of

more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.
Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the country's largest city, is home to bustling markets,
numerous parks and lakes, and the towering, gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, which contains
Buddhist relics and dates to the 6th century.
TIMOR-LESTE - or East Timor, a Southeast Asian nation occupying half the island of
Timor, is ringed by coral reefs teeming with marine life. Landmarks in the capital, Dili,
speak to the country's struggles for independence from Portugal in 1975 and then
Indonesia in 2002. The iconic 27m-tall Cristo Rei de Dili statue sits on a hilltop high over
the city, with sweeping views of the surrounding bay.
INDONESIA - officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia,

between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with
more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometers, the 14th
largest by land area and 7th in the combined sea and land area.

LAOS - is a Southeast Asian country traversed by the Mekong River and known for
mountainous terrain, French colonial architecture, hill tribe settlements and Buddhist
monasteries. Vientiane, the capital, is the site of the That Luang monument, where a
reliquary reportedly houses the Buddha’s breastbone, plus the Patuxai war memorial
and Talat Sao (Morning Market), a complex jammed with food, clothes and craft stalls.
MALAYSIA - Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay

Peninsula and the island of Borneo. It's known for its beaches, rainforests and mix of
Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultural influences. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is
home to colonial buildings, busy shopping districts such as Bukit Bintang and
skyscrapers such as the iconic, 451m-tall Petronas Twin Towers.
SINGAPORE - an island city-state off southern Malaysia, is a global financial center with
a tropical climate and multicultural population. Its colonial core centers on the Padang,
a cricket field since the 1830s and now flanked by grand buildings such as City Hall, with
its 18 Corinthian columns. In Singapore's circa-1820 Chinatown stands the red-and-gold
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, said to house one of Buddha's teeth.
VIETNAM - is a Southeast Asian country on the South China Sea known for its beaches,
rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling cities. Hanoi, the capital, pays homage to the
nation’s iconic Communist-era leader, Ho Chi Minh, via a huge marble mausoleum. Ho
Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) has French colonial landmarks, plus Vietnamese War
history museums and the Củ Chi tunnels, used by Viet Cong soldiers.
PHILIPPINES - officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in

Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands
that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to
south: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Most countries in the region enjoy national autonomy. Democratic forms of

government and the recognition of human rights are taking root. ASEAN provides a
framework for the integration of commerce, and regional responses to international
concerns.
China has asserted broad claims over the South China Sea, based on its Nine-Dash
Line, and has built artificial islands in an attempt to bolster its claims. China also has asserted
an exclusive economic zone based on the Spratly Islands. The Philippines challenged China in
the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2013, and in Philippines v. China (2016),
the Court ruled in favor of the Philippines and rejected China's claims.
SOURCES:
1. https://www.britannica.com/place/Southeast-Asia
2. https://asiasociety.org/education/introduction-southeast-asia
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia
4. https://www.csis.org/analysis/southeast-asia-2019-four-issues-watch
5. http://ontheworldmap.com/asia/map-of-southeast-asia.html

C. Outcomes-Based Assessments
After reading the content, answer the following questions and perform the suggested activities.
CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Describe the geographical features of Southeast Asia in terms of the

following factors:
a. Climate
b. Topography
c. Soils
d. Forests
2. Distinguish the differences between the mainland region and the insular
region of Southeast Asia by filling-in five (5) characteristics of both regions in
the table below.
Mainland Region Insular Region
3. Determine the impact of the environmental geography of the countries that

comprises Southeast Asia in relation to its location and other geographical
factors on the following aspects of the society of Southeast Asian Countries.

a. Economic aspect
b. Political aspect
c. Social aspect
TRY THIS OUT
1. Draw the political map of Southeast Asia and label the countries comprising
the region. You may also include indications of any physical features found
in the area.
2. Create a geographical profile of the Southeast Asia as a region. Include in

this profile the dominant natural resources found in the area, its means of
livelihood, major products tradition and culture, and other unique or distinct
features.

:
CHAPTER 2 MAKING A LIVING AND ORGANIZING SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
How should society be organized? This motive question will serve as our guide to be
certain of the main focus of this module. We already learned the climate and geography of
the Southeast Asian countries, now it is important to know the culture and history behind
each country. We want to know how the Southeast Asian countries got to what they are
today. We want to know why a wide variety of cultures developed in Southeast Asia.
Throughout time and in every part of the world, people have organized themselves
into groups with common rules of living. A society is the name we give to the organization of
such a group.
Think about the people you see every day. Do you spend each day meeting new
strangers? Or do you see the same family members, classmates, and teachers every day?
Chances are, there is a pattern to your interactions. A group of people sharing a culture is
known as society every society has a society structure, or a pattern of organized
relationships among groups of people within the society. A society may be as small as a
single community or as large as a nation or even a group of similar nations. Smaller groups
work together on particular tasks such as gathering food, protecting the community, and
education. Social structure helps people work together to meet one another’s basic needs.
With this, the making of a living of a group of people could be the most important factor for
us to determine how the society is organized.
The organization of the region of Southeast Asia as social structure could be traced
by knowing its historical background from pre-historic period to the mother time. It could
also be analyzed by tracing the development of their races and ethnicities particularly of
their subsistence strategies and political systems.
1. Trace the historical background of the organization in Southeast Asian as a

societal structure through the available information about prehistoric basis
provided by different sources.
2. Describe the distinctive characteristics of the different cultural groups and
ethnicities of Southeast Asia by recognizing their subsistence strategies and the
development of their political structures and form of institutionalized social
relations.
3. Analyze the how making a living of the people related to the process of the
organization of the society in Southeast Asia.
1.1 | Culture and Society in Southeast

LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Unlock the difficulties by performing this preparatory activity first. Get the understanding of the follow
1. History
2. Prehistoric
3. Society
4. Ethnicities
5. Social Process

B. Content Readings
MAKING A LIVING AND ORGANIZING SOCIETY
A. PREHISTORY
Knowledge of the early prehistory of Southeast Asia has undergone exceptionally

rapid change as a result of archaeological discoveries made since the 1960s, although the
interpretation of these findings has remained the subject of extensive debate. Nevertheless,
it seems clear that the region has been inhabited from the earliest times. Hominid fossil
remains date from approximately 1,500,000 years ago and those of Homo sapiens from
approximately 40,000 years ago. Furthermore, until about 7000 BCE the seas were some 150
feet (50 meters) lower than they are now, and the area west of Makassar Strait consisted of
a web of watered plains that sometimes is called Sundaland. These land connections
perhaps account for the coherence of early human development observed in the Hoabinhian
culture, which lasted from about 13,000 to 5000 or 4000 BCE. The stone tools used by
hunting and gathering societies across Southeast Asia during this period show a remarkable
degree of similarity in design and development. When the sea level rose to approximately its
present level about 6000 BCE, conditions were created for a more variegated environment
and, therefore, for more extensive differentiation in human development. While migration
from outside the region may have taken place, it did not do so in a massive or clearly
punctuated fashion; local evolutionary processes and the circulation of peoples were far
more powerful forces in shaping the region’s cultural landscape.
Paleolithic
Anatomically modern human hunter-gatherer migration into Southeast Asia before

50,000 years ago has been confirmed by the combined fossil record of the region. These
immigrants might have, to a certain extent, merged and reproduced with members of the
archaic population of Homo erectus, as the fossil discoveries in the Tam Pa Ling Cave suggest.
Data analysis of stone tool assemblages and fossil discoveries from Indonesia, Southern
China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and more recently Cambodia and Malaysia has established
Homo erectus migration routes and episodes of presence as early as 120,000 years ago and
even older isolated finds date back to 1.8 million years ago. Java Man (Homo erectus) and
Homo floresiensis attest for a sustained regional presence and isolation, long enough for
notable diversification of the species' specifics.
Ocean drops of up to 120 m (393.70 ft) below the present level during Pleistocene
glacial periods revealed the vast lowlands known as Sundaland, enabling hunter-gatherer
populations to freely access insular Southeast Asia via extensive terrestrial corridors.
Modern human presence in the Niah cave on East Malaysia dates back to 40,000 years BP,
although archaeological documentation of the early settlement period suggests only brief
occupation phases. However, author Charles Higham argues that, despite glacial periods
modern humans were able to cross the sea barrier beyond Java and Timor, who around
45,000 years ago left traces in the Ivane Valley in eastern New Guinea "at an altitude of
2,000 m (6,561.68 ft) exploiting yams and pandanus, hunting, and making stone tools
between 43,000 and 49,000 years ago."

The oldest habitation discovered in the Philippines is located at the Tabon Caves and
dates back to approximately 50,000 years BP. Items there found such as burial jars,
earthenware, jade ornaments and other jewellery, stone tools, animal bones, and human
fossils date back to 47,000 years BP. Unearthed human remains are approximately 24,000
years old.
The descendants of these earliest Homo sapiens immigrants, loosely identified as

"Australo-Melanesians", include the Negritos, Papuans, Indigenous Australians and Hill
Tribes (most of them have Austronesian admixture in modern times). They are associated
with the occupation of caves, rock shelters and isolated upland regions in Vietnam, Thailand
and the Philippines or on remote islands, such as the Andaman Islands and although
displaced from the coasts and plains they are present in all regions for at least 30,000 years.
Neolithic Migrations
The Neolithic was characterized by several migrations into Mainland and Island
Southeast Asia from southern China by Austronesian, Austroasiatic, Kra-Dai, and Hmong-
Mien-speakers.
The most widespread migration event, was the Austronesian expansion, which
began at around 5,500 BP (3500 BC) from Taiwan and coastal southern China. Due to their
early invention of ocean-going outrigger boats and voyaging catamarans, Austronesians
rapidly colonized Island Southeast Asia, before spreading further into Micronesia, Melanesia,
Polynesia, Madagascar, and the Comoros. They dominated the lowlands and coasts of Island
Southeast Asia, intermarrying with the indigenous Negrito and Papuan peoples to varying
degrees, giving rise to modern Islander Southeast Asians, Micronesians, Polynesians,
Melanesians, and Malagasy.
The Austroasiatic migration wave centered around the Mon and the Khmer, who
originate in North-Eastern India arrive around 5000 BP and are identified with the
settlement on the broad riverine floodplains of Burma, Indochina and Malaysia.
Early Agricultural Societies
Territorial principalities in both Insular and Mainland Southeast Asia, characterized

as Agrarian kingdoms had by around 500 BCE developed an economy based on surplus crop
cultivation and moderate coastal trade of domestic natural products. Several states of the
Malayan-Indonesian "thalassian" zone shared these characteristics with Indochinese polities
like the Pyu city-states in the Irrawaddy river valley, Van Lang in the Red River delta and
Funan around the lower Mekong. Văn Lang, founded in the 7th century BCE endured until
258 BCE under the rule of the Hồng Bàng dynasty, as part of the Đông Sơn culture eventually
sustained a dense and organized population that produced an elaborate Bronze Age industry.
Intensive wet-rice cultivation in an ideal climate enabled the farming communities to

produce a regular crop surplus that was used by the ruling elite to raise, command and pay
work forces for public construction and maintenance projects such as canals and
fortifications.
Though millet and rice cultivation was introduced around 2000 BCE, hunting and
gathering remained an important aspect of food provision, in particular in forested and

mountainous inland areas. Many tribal communities of the aboriginal Australo-Melanesian
settlers continued the lifestyle of mixed sustenance until the modern era.
Bronze Age Southeast Asia
Earliest known copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia has been found at
the site of Ban Chiang in North-east Thailand and among the Phung Nguyen culture of
northern Vietnam around 2000 BCE.
The Dong Son culture established a tradition of bronze production and the manufacture of
ever more refined bronze and iron objects, such as plows, axes and sickles with shaft holes,
socked arrow and spearheads and small ornamented items. By about 500 BCE large and
delicately decorated bronze drums of remarkable quality, that weighed more than 70 kg
(150 lb) were produced in the laborious lost-wax casting process. This industry of highly
sophisticated metal processing has been developed locally bare of Chinese or Indian
influence. Historians relate these achievements to the presence of well organized,
centralized and hierarchical communities and a large population.
Pottery Culture
Between 1,000 BCE and 100 CE the Sa Huỳnh culture flourished along the south-central
coast of Vietnam. Ceramic jar burial sites that included grave goods have been discovered at
various sites along the entire territory. Among large, thin-walled, terracotta jars,
ornamented and colorized cooking pots, glass items, jade earrings and metal objects had
been deposited near the rivers and at the coast.
The Buni culture is the name given to another early independent centre of refined pottery
production that has been well documented on the basis of excavated burial gifts, deposited
between 400 BCE and 100 CE in coastal north-western Java. The objects and artifacts of the
Buni tradition are known for their originality and remarkable quality of incised and
geometric decors. Its resemblance to the Sa Huỳnh culture and the fact that it represents the
earliest Indian Roulettes Ware recorded in Southeast Asia are subject of ongoing research.
B. THE PEOPLE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: “RACES” AND ETHNICITIES
The Aslians and Negritos were believed as one of the earliest inhabitant in the
region. They are genetically related to the Papuans in Eastern Indonesia, East Timor and
Australian Aborigines. In modern times, the Javanese are the largest ethnic group in
Southeast Asia, with more than 100 million people, mostly concentrated in Java, Indonesia.
The second largest ethnic group in Southeast Asia is Vietnamese (Kinh people) with around
86 million populations, mainly inhabiting in Vietnam, thus forming a significant minority in
neighboring Cambodia and Laos. The Thais is also a significant ethnic group with around 59
million populations forming the majority in Thailand. In Burma, the Burmese account for
more than two-thirds of the ethnic stock in this country.
Indonesia is clearly dominated by the Javanese and Sundanese ethnic groups, with
hundreds of ethnic minorities inhabited the archipelago, including Madurese, Minangkabau,
Bugis, Balinese, Dayak, Batak and Malays. While Malaysia is split between more than half
Malays and one-quarter Chinese, and also Indian minority in the West Malaysia however
Dayaks make up the majority in Sarawak and Kadazan-dusun makes up the majority in Sabah

which are in the East Malaysia. The Malays are the majority in West Malaysia and Brunei,
while they forming a significant minority in Indonesia, Southern Thailand, East Malaysia and
Singapore. In city-state Singapore, Chinese are the majority, yet the city is a multicultural
melting pot with Malays, Indians and Eurasian also called the island their home.
The Chams forming a significant minority in Central and South Vietnam, also in
Central Cambodia. While the Khmers are the majority in Cambodia, and forming a significant
minority in Southern Vietnam and Thailand. The Hmong people are the minority in Vietnam,
China and Laos.
Within the Philippines, the Tagalog, Visayan (mainly Cebuanos, Warays and
Hiligaynons), Ilocano, Bicolano, Moro (mainly Tausug, Maranao, and Maguindanao) and
Central Luzon (mainly Kapampangan and Pangasinan) groups are significant. The Philippines
is also unique in Southeast Asia, in holding the only Latino founded communities in
Southeast Asia due to its former political union with Mexico during the era of the Viceroyalty
of New Spain and also possessing a Mexican-Spanish based Creole language called
Chavacano. There is also burgeoning American expat population in the Philippines.
C. SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES
Subsistence means to support life. For example, subsistence farming literally means
farming for the purpose of supporting life. It is easy to imagine that different geographical
and cultural areas will create different strategies to support their own way of life. These
various strategies are called subsistence strategies, or methods used to support life. In
Southeast Asia it consists of foraging, swidden agriculture, traditional wet rice cultivation
and mechanized farming.
1. Foraging is the process of gathering food from uncultivated plants or undomesticated

animals. You can think of it as a ''Hunter/Gatherer'' type of lifestyle. A foraging
subsistence strategy requires large amounts of edible plant growth to sustain itself and
plentiful prey to hunt for meat. Foragers need to live a nomadic lifestyle. They must
move constantly to follow the growing season in different geographical regions and the
migration patterns of their animal-based food source. This subsistence strategy only
supports small groups due to the limited food source in each area, the need to
constantly move, and the need to find shelter from the environment. In a foraging
subsistence, people in the same foraging group maintain a bond of sharing equally with
each other.
2. Swidden agriculture or shifting cultivation has been practised in the uplands of
Southeast Asia for centuries and is estimated to support up to 500 million people –
most of whom are poor, natural resource reliant uplanders. Recently, however,
dramatic land-use transformations have generated social, economic and ecological
impacts that have affected the extent, practice and outcomes of swidden in the region.
While certain socio-ecological trends are clear, how these broader land-use changes
impact upon local livelihoods and ecosystem services remains uncertain.
3. Traditional wet rice cultivation is the growing of rice in flooded fields called padi fields
in Indonesia. Its traditional form is found throughout Southeast Asia southern china,
Japan, north and South Korea, Indonesia and many other tropical regions. Originally,
rice is not a water plant. Only after an adaption over thousands of years, sophisticated
wet rice sorts were bred artificially. There are several advantages for wet rice over dry
rice. The annual floods due to the monsoon get an integrated part into the rice

production circle. Many kinds of weeds and crop pests don't drive well in the water.
There is a significant difference between rainfall farming and irrigation farming. 80% of
the world's rice production is based on wet rice farming. The water is not standing but
in a steady, slow flow. For a kilogramm of rice, between 3,000 and 5,000 liters water
are required. If the water flows too slowly, algaes grow and harm the plants; does it
flow too fast, nutrients flush out. Most of the rice sorts in Southeast Asia are wet rice.
Practically most of the rural landscapes are coined by rice paddies. In practice, the
cultivation looks like that: The first step is the seeding into mildly watered soil (here it
becomes evident that rice is not an original wet plant, for the seeds wouldn't grow in
the water. The fields have to be ploughed then, traditionally with water buffalos,
nowadays more and more with tractors. Third, after some weeks, the seedlings have to
be transferred from the plant field into the rice paddies. The growth now depends
much on the irrigation. Problematic is if there is not enough rain or other water supply,
or if there is too much rain who floods the fields. Most of the rice sorts in Southeast
Asia are wet rice. Practically most of the rural landscapes are coined by rice paddies.
4. Mechanized agriculture is the process of using agricultural machinery to mechanize the
work of agriculture, greatly increasing farm worker productivity. In modern times,
powered machinery has replaced many farm jobs formerly carried out by manual
labour or by working animals such as oxen, horses and mules.
Southeast Asia as a region varies widely in its cultures, history, and political
institutions. Due to this variety of regime types and the large variance of theoretically
relevant explanatory factors, Southeast Asia presents political scientists with a “natural
laboratory.” Levels of socioeconomic modernization, paths to state and nation-building,
ethnic heterogeneity, colonial heritage, the structure of governing coalitions and elite
formations, the shape and extent of interest and civil society organizations, as well as
institutional factors like type of government or electoral system all differ widely. This chapter
provides an overview of Southeast Asia’s demographic, cultural, and religious characteristics;
outlines its pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial political development; and argues that
the region’s eleven countries fall into three broad regime categories: Cambodia, Malaysia,
Singapore, and—most recently—Myanmar are examples of “electoral authoritarianism.”
Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand after 2014 are closed autocracies that lack
multiparty elections. Finally, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor- Leste make up the
region’s defective democracies, all stable but suffering from different constellations of
problems, including intermittent mass mobilization, corruption, and incomplete stateness.
D. VARIETIES OF POLITIES
A polity is an identifiable political entity—any group of people who have a collective

identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a
capacity to mobilize resources. A polity is an identifiable political entity—any group of
people who have a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized
social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group
of people organized for governance (such as a corporate board), the government of a
country, or country subdivision.
In geopolitics, a polity can be manifested in different forms such as a state, an

empire, an international organization, a political organization and other identifiable,
resource-manipulating organizational structures. A polity like a state does not need to be a

sovereign unit. The most preeminent polities today are Westphalian states and nation-states,
commonly referred to as nations.
A polity can encapsulates a vast multitude of organizations, many of which form the
fundamental apparatus of contemporary states such as their subordinate civil and local
government authorities. Polities do not need to be in control of any geographic areas, as not
all political entities and governments have controlled the resources of one fixed geographic
area. The historical Steppe Empires originating from the Eurasian Steppe are the most
prominent example of non-sedentary polities. These polities differ from states because of
their lack of a fixed, defined territory. Empires also differ from states in that their territories
are not statically defined or permanently fixed and consequently that their body politic was
also dynamic and fluid. It is useful then to think of a polity as a political community.
A polity can also be defined either as a faction within a larger (usually state) entity,
or at different times as the entity itself. For example, Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan are parts of
their own separate and distinct polity. However, they are also members of the sovereign
state of Iraq which is itself a polity, albeit one which is much less specific and as a result
much less cohesive. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to belong to more than one
polity at a time.
Bands, “Autonomous” Villages, Chiefdoms, States
Bands – Bands have been found primarily among foragers, especially self-sufficient
pedestrian foragers. The total number of people within these societies rarely exceeds a few
dozen. Bands are essentially associations of families living together. They are loosely allied
by marriage, descent, friendship, and common interest. The primary integrating mechanism
for these societies is kinship. Bands are extremely egalitarian--all families are essentially
equal. There is no economic class differentiation. However, there are often clear status
differences based on gender and age.
No band level societies survive today with their traditional form of political
organization intact. However, they did until the last half of the 19th century in out-of-the-
way regions of northern Siberia, the desert and sub-arctic regions of North America and
Greenland, the tropical lowlands of Central and South America, the Australian desert interior
and tropical north, as well as a few isolated areas of Southeast Asia. While it is easy to think
of these people and their traditional way of life in the past as oddities, it is important to keep
in mind that the distant ancestors of all people on earth lived in bands at one time. Before
the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 years ago, it is likely that very few societies had
more complex levels of political integration.
“Autonomous” Villages - The 'village' is a powerful unit of analysis in both a

material and a metaphorical sense. The traditional village 'community' is often paraded as a
paragon of virtue, and the modern village as a corrupted version of the original. Yet the
notion of the traditional village as egalitarian, self-sufficient, autonomous, subsistence-
oriented, corporate, peaceful and moral is often at odds with the historic evidence. As such,
it presents difficulties when the image is used to construct visions of what 'development' is
doing, and should be doing, in rural areas of the developing world. This paper looks at the
evidence from Southeast Asia regarding the origins and structure of village 'communities' in
the region, and examines some of the implications for development.

Chiefdoms - Chiefdoms are similar to bands and tribes in being mostly classless
societies. However, chiefdoms differ in having a more or less permanent, fulltime leader
with real authority to make major decisions for their societies. These leaders are usually
referred to by anthropologists as chiefs. Sometimes there is an advisory council as well, but
there is no bureaucracy of professional administrators. The government is essentially just
the chief.
A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies

usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate
senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a political-ideological
aristocracy relative to the general group.
State – State level political systems first appeared in societies with large-scale
intensive agriculture. They began as chiefdoms and then evolved into more centralized,
authoritarian kingdoms when their populations grew into tens of thousands of people.
While chiefdoms are societies in which everyone is ranked relative to the chief, states are
socially stratified into largely distinct classes in terms of wealth, power, and prestige.
The processes of state formation in the agrarian states of Southeast Asia lend
themselves to fruitful comparative analysis using Eliasian concepts. However, in the difficult
physical environment of a region endowed with plentiful land relative to population, the
control of labor was more important than control of territory, as demonstrated by the cases
of Siam and Java. Moreover, the religious, ceremonial and symbolic significance of kingship
remained very important even when the coercive power of the centre was weak. Courts
made absolutist claims, but their dominance depended on symbolic power and on complex
intrigues and networks of patronage. Elias is useful to analyze these endogenous processes
of state formation. However, the modern states of the region were forged by colonialism,
nationalist movements and the more recent technocratic developmentalist programmes of
authoritarian elites. Rapid economic transformation and industrialization have brought new
classes and new tensions to test the adequacy of state structures, now far removed from the
elite territorial competition of the past.
The pre-nineteenth century “theater” state
In political anthropology, a theatre state is a political state directed towards the

performance of drama and ritual rather than more conventional ends such as warfare and
welfare. Power in a theatre state is exercised through spectacle. The term was coined by
Clifford Geertz in 1980 in reference to political practice in the nineteenth-century Balinese
Negara, but its usage has since expanded. Hunik Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung, for example,
argue that contemporary North Korea is a theatre state. In Geertz's original usage, the
concept of the theatre state contests the notion that precolonial society can be analyzed in
the conventional discourse of Oriental despotism.
Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth-Century Bali is a 1980 book written by

anthropologist Clifford Geertz. Geertz argues that the pre-colonial Balinese state was not a
"hydraulic bureaucracy" nor an oriental despotism, but rather, an organized spectacle. The
noble rulers of the island were less interested in administering the lives of the Balinese than
in dramatizing their rank and hence political superiority through large public rituals and
ceremonies. These cultural processes did not support the state, he argues, but were the
state.

It is perhaps most clear in what was, after all, the master image of political life:
kingship. The whole of the negara - court life, the traditions that organized it, the extractions
that supported it, the privileges that accompanied it - was essentially directed toward
defining what power was; and what power was what kings were. Particular kings came and
went, 'poor passing facts' anonymized in titles, immobilized in ritual, and annihilated in
bonfires. But what they represented, the model-and-copy conception of order, remained
unaltered, at least over the period we know much about. The driving aim of higher politics
was to construct a state by constructing a king. The more consummate the king, the more
exemplary the centre. The more exemplary the centre, the more actual the realm.
Geertz used the Balinese case to develop an abstract model of the Theatre state
applicable to all the South East Asian Indic polities. To succinctly summarize his theory,
"Power served pomp, not pomp power." Other anthropologists have contested the
ahistorical, static nature of the model. They point out that he has depoliticized a political
institution by emphasizing culture while ignoring its material base.
Bureaucracies versus Oligarchies
As system the difference between oligarchy and bureaucracy is that oligarchy is a

government run by only a few, often the wealthy while bureaucracy is structure and
regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government
operations. The signal performances of Southeast Asian countries in attaining economic
growth and political stability are frequently explained by cultural and policy factors. Recent
research suggests, however, that the role of the state is extensive and central to economic
and political goals. The present approach to the comparative evaluation of state capacities
attempts to account for the variations and nuances of the performance of Southeast Asian
states. The structure of political support and available means of social control provide
relatively greater capacity to state elites in Singapore and Malaysia, and less capacity to
state elites in the Philippines and Indonesia; Thailand is an intermediate case.
Democratic States versus Authoritarian States
The word democracy comes from the Greek words ‘demos,’ which refers to the
people, and ‘kratos,’ which means power. Thus, a democratic state is one in which power
emanates from the people. One might say, then, that authoritarianism is the opposite of a
democracy. In an authoritarian regime, all power is concentrated in one person alone, often
referred to as the dictator.
One of the most basic features of a democracy that sets it apart from
authoritarianism is the process by which leaders are chosen. Because a democracy is meant
to uphold the power of the people, leaders are chosen such that they truly represent the
people’s interests. This is done through fair and honest elections, whereby citizens may
collectively express their choice of leaders through the ballot.
In an authoritarian state, such mechanisms are rendered either obsolete or futile.

Dictators want to cling to power, and so the very notion of an election is counter to that
desire. Thus, authoritarian states often do away with elections entirely, taking the choice
away from the people to begin with. In more insidious cases, dictators engage the electoral
process but dishonestly. By rigging the system, while offering their citizens the illusion of

choice, the staged elections only serve to legitimize the dictator’s continued rule, as it
continues to seem as if the dictator enjoys the support of the public.
SOURCES:
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Southeast_Asia
3. http://www.asienreisender.de/rice.html
4. https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/political/pol_2.htm
5. https://study.com/academy/lesson/political-organizations-bands-tribes-chiefdoms-
states.html
6. https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Southeast-Asia
C.Outcomes-Based Assessments
CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Construct a timeline illustrating sequence of the major event that happened

during the prehistoric period in Southeast Asia from Paleolithic period to the
age of Pottery Culture. Make a short explanation bellow on it.
Construct your timeline here:
Write your explanation on the space below:

2. Identify some of the races and ethnicities in Southeast Asia with their location
and any information about them by completing the table below:
Ethnic Group Location Any Information About Them
3. Complete the diagram by indicating the development and advantages of the

way of life of the people living the societies having the kind of subsistence
strategy connecting on it.
Subsistence Strategies Development and Advantages of the Way of Life
Foraging
Swidden
Agriculture
Traditional Wet Rice

Cultivation
Mechanized
Agriculture

4. Define the following concepts by using your own words:
a. Bands
b. State
c. Theater state
d. Oligarchies
e. Authoritarian State
TRY THIS OUT
1. Chose a particular social structure based on subsistence strategy and

establish your imagination that you are living on that certain kind of
society. Write an imaginary diary of what you have experienced in a day.
Try to be specific of the details on your status, family background, event
of happenings and your way of living based on the structure of the
society you have chosen.

CHAPTER 3: INDIGENOUS COMMUNALITIES
INTRODUCTION
According to United Nations (UN), Indigenous communalities, people and nations

are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies
that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the
societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them.
Indigenous people are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of
relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and
political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they
live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous people from around the world share
common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.
The explanation of communal components takes us into the cerebral-spinal

dimension of community, its immanence. We refer to its dynamics, to the underlying and
active energy between and among human beings and of human beings with each and every
one of the elements of nature. It means that when we speak of organization, rules,
communal principles, we are not referring just to the physical space and material existence
of human beings, but to their spiritual existence, to their ethical and ideological code and,
therefore, to their political, social, legal, cultural, economic, and civil behavior.
The essence of the phenomenon is explained under the concept of communality,

which for me defines the immanence of the community. To the extent that communality
defines other key concepts for understanding indigenous reality, it should be understood not
as something in opposition to, but as simply different from Western society. Coming to
understand its elements requires taking into account certain notions: the communal,
collective, complementarily and completeness.
This module will present dominant classifiers of determining the cultural structures
of different cultural group and races in different parts of the region of Southeast Asia. They
will be classified in terms of tracing their origin based on the common Language Tree, their
perspective and over view on gender and sex.
1. Relate the relevant issues related to indigenous people of Southeast Asia.

2. Trace the group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral language
or parental language of different cultural group in Southeast Asia.
3. Determine how language and culture affect the social processes such as cultural diffusion
in the different Southeast Asian indigenous communalities.
4. Contrast aspects of family and kinship from the point of view of gender among cultural
groups and indigenous people of Southeast Asia.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Unlock the difficulties by performing this preparatory activity first. Get the understanding of the following mai
1. Indigenous
2. Language
3. Social Process
4. Social Relations
5. Gender Role

B. Content Readings
INDIGENOUS COMMUNALITIES
A. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Indigenous people are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to
people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political
characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live.
Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples from around the world share common
problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.
The explanation of communal components takes us into the cerebral-spinal dimension of

community, its immanence. We refer to its dynamics, to the underlying and active energy
between and among human beings and of human beings with each and every one of the
elements of nature. It means that when we speak of organization, rules, communal
principles, we are not referring just to the physical space and material existence of human
beings, but to their spiritual existence, to their ethical and ideological code and, therefore,
to their political, social, legal, cultural, economic, and civil behavior.
The essence of the phenomenon is explained under the concept of communality, which
defines the immanence of the community. To the extent that communality defines other
key concepts for understanding indigenous reality, it should be understood not as
something in opposition to, but as simply different from Western society. Coming to
understand its elements requires taking into account certain notions: the communal,
collective, complementarily and completeness.
We are using the term Indigenous People with a meaning that is different from that given in
many dictionaries, or how it is understood by many governments. Over the past decades,
the concept of Indigenous Peoples has evolved beyond the original meaning found in
dictionaries, and it is now well established in international law. That is why we are writing it
with capital initial letters.
It is a foreign term for most of us, and it is often difficult to translate into our own languages.
Some governments in Southeast Asia use names to refer to us collectively - like “ethnic
minorities”, “hill tribes”, “native people”. There are also the names given by outsiders, some
of which are not appreciated by many of us, since they often imply notions of cultural
inferiority, being “primitive” or “backward”. Examples are chuncheat (meaning “ethnicity”,
or literally “national people” in Cambodia) or sakai (literally meaning “slave”) used in
Thailand for some hunter-gatherer groups. We ourselves though prefer to use the names
which our ancestors have given us.
We have our own distinct language, culture, customary laws, and social and political
institutions that are very different from those of the dominant ethno-linguistic groups in our
countries. Self-identification is crucial for us. When we call ourselves Indigenous People we
do not mean to claim to be the only people native to our countries. In most cases we are the

“aboriginal” or “native” people of the lands we live in, and other people have come to settle
there later. But we have also lived side-by-side with other peoples, native to their own lands,
who however do not call themselves Indigenous People. These are usually the dominant
people, who have the economic and political power in our countries.
In some cases, we are forced to leave our lands because of violent conflicts, and to
move to another country, like to Thailand, Vietnam or Laos. In these countries, we are
clearly not the first inhabitants, the original or native people. But we strive to continue with
our way of life and keep our traditions and practices alive and we still remain Indigenous
People.
Most of our people are small in numbers. Some have populations of just a few
thousand or even just a few hundred. While we find an enormous diversity among
Indigenous Peoples, common to us all are the strong cultural attachment to and the
dependence of our livelihoods on land, forests or the sea and the natural resources therein.
Our ways of life, spirituality and identity is very much attached to our territories, and
displacement from our territories does not just imply the loss of livelihood, but of our
identity and therefore is a threat to our very existence as people.
B. COMMON LANGUAGE TREE
There are thousands of spoken languages in the world and most can be traced back
in history to show how they are related to each other. By finding patterns like these,
different languages can be grouped together as members of a language family. When
linguists talk about the historical relationship between languages, they use a tree metaphor.
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common

ancestral language or parental language, called the proto-language of that family. The term
"family" reflects the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes
use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a biological family tree, or in a
subsequent modification, to species in a phylogenetic tree of evolutionary taxonomy.
Linguists therefore describe the daughter languages within a language family as being
genetically related.
The Sino-Tibetan, Austronesians, the Austro-Asiatics and the Tai: Originally one family?

Sino-Tibetan is one of the largest language families in the world, with more than 400
languages, also known as Trans-Himalayan. This includes both the Chinese and the Tibeto-
Burman Language.
Austronesian language are a language family widely spoken throughout Taiwan, Malay
Peninsula, Maritime Southeast Asia, Madagascar and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. There
are also a few speakers in continental Asia. They are spoken by about 386 million people.
Austro–Asiatic Language Family consists of 169 languages spoken in Southeast Asia, in

countries located between China and Indonesia. A few are spoken to the west of this area in
the Nicobar Islands and in India. The austro- part of the name comes from the Latin word
‘south.’

Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages, are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages
include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including Standard Thai or
Siamese, the national language of Thailand; Lao or Laotian, the national language of Laos;
Myanmar's Shan language and Zhuang, a major language in the Southern Chinese province
of Guangxi.
Language patterns in Southeast Asia are highly complex and are rooted in four major
language families: the Sino-Tibetan, Tai, Austro-Asiatic, and Austronesian (Malayo-
Polynesian). Languages derived from the Sino-Tibetan group are found largely in Myanmar,
while forms of the Tai group are spoken in Thailand and Laos. Austro-Asiatic languages are
spoken in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The languages of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the
Philippines are rooted in an Austronesian and Polynesian stock. Despite this broad
generalization, it must be noted that innumerable separate languages as well as dialects are
used in the region. This linguistic diversity is especially conspicuous in fragmented areas
such as the Philippines and Indonesia and in highland and remote areas on the mainland,
and it has been a retarding factor in national integration and development. Notable in this
regard is Myanmar.
Dominant languages do exist in most of the nations. Burmese and Thai are spoken
by large groups of people in Myanmar and Thailand, respectively. Similarly, Khmer is the
primary language in Cambodia, as is Vietnamese in Vietnam. Within the Philippines, Pilipino
(Filipino) and English are the official languages, but Tagalog and Visayan also are important.
Malay and Indonesian are, respectively, the official languages of Malaysia and Indonesia;
these languages are quite similar and are mutually intelligible. Indonesian is a good example
of a true national language and is spoken widely across the archipelago. Thus, unlike in
Myanmar, language actually has been a unifying element in the country.
Numerous languages also have been introduced into the region by immigrant
populations. Perhaps most significant are the variety of dialects spoken by the Chinese
communities in many Southeast Asian countries. The most commonly used are Cantonese,
Hokkien, Hakka, and Teochew, reflecting the southern Chinese coastal origins of many of the
immigrants. The largest concentration of Chinese speakers is in Singapore, where they
constitute the majority population. Concentrations of ethnic Chinese also live in most of the
larger urban areas of the region.
Language and Culture
On a practical level, language has to do with sounds, symbols and gestures that a
community puts in order and associates so that they can communicate. On a deeper level,

language is an expression of who we are as individuals, communities, nations. Culture refers
to dynamic social systems and shared patterns of behavior, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and
values. Culture provides the environment in which languages develop, even as it influences
how they are used and interpreted. For example, in many European cultures a “good day” is
a sunny day, while in many African cultures a “good day” is a rainy day. Different culturally
shared values provide the context for interpreting the term for “good”.
Language and culture are intertwined. A particular language usually points out to a
specific group of people. When you interact with another language, it means that you are
also interacting with the culture that speaks the language. You cannot understand one's
culture without accessing its language directly.
When you learn a new language, it not only involves learning its alphabet, the word
arrangement and the rules of grammar, but also learning about the specific society's
customs and behavior. When learning or teaching a language, it is important that the culture
where the language belongs be referenced, because language is very much ingrained in the
culture.
Origins and Diffusions
Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural trends across locations. Beliefs, practices,
and ideas get shared from person to person, and sometimes even around the world through
this diffusion, as happens with viral videos.
Many cultural practices are spread by a type of cultural diffusion called expansion
diffusion. This is when a trend is spread from its originating place, outward. There are
several forms of this type of diffusion: contagious, hierarchical, and stimulus diffusion.
Contagious diffusion, or when a cultural trend is transmitted from person to person from an
original source to numerous others, similar to a virus. As cultural trends gain in popularity
and draw our attention, profit may become a motive in perpetuating the trend. Another
form of expansion diffusion is hierarchical diffusion, or when a cultural trend is spread from
one segment of society to another, in a pattern. Consider how hip hop culture emerged from
within urban areas, but is now known in all regions of society including suburban and rural
areas, as well. Finally, stimulus diffusion is when a cultural trend spreads, but is changed by
those adopting the idea.
Expansion diffusion and its various forms are not the only way that ideas and
practices are passed along to others. Another way that culture spreads is by relocation
diffusion, when a person migrates from their home and shares their culture with a new
location.
The countries of Southeast Asia have a closely interrelated cultural history, shaped
by the passage of cultures and religions that accompanied the historic trade routes. Caught
between the economic demands of the Roman and Chinese Empires, the countries of
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos came to be increasingly exposed to new
cultures from both east and west, which were to have a long lasting effect on their artistic
traditions. Buddhism spread east from India and left a clear legacy in the art and
architecture of these societies.

Around four thousand years ago people speaking languages belonging to the
Austronesian family (originating in southern China and Taiwan) began to trickle into island
Southeast Asia. Cultural changes began to affect Southeast Asia around two thousand years
ago with influences coming from two directions.
The local cultures in the region are diverse, distinct and vibrantly unique, but the
legacy of the Indian and Chinese traders and soldiers that have crisscrossed the area for
millennia is undeniable. In this post specifically, I will focus on the Indian traders who
imbued the fore bearers of millions of today’s Southeast Asians with the hallmarks of their
cultures: written language, cuisine, dance, architecture, religion. Over the past two millennia,
these all have combined to create a complete package of high culture that has seeped into
today’s popular culture. What’s more, it is the classical culture of southern India that has
been most influential.
Southeast Asia, and the diverse cultures of the hundreds of millions of people that
live there, is a true melting pot of cultures. While the states of classical India did imbue the
Southeast Asian kingdoms with many of its traditions, they were not the only contributors.
As the name Indochina implies, the Han Chinese state also had an impact on the
development of the states to its south, most notably the Dai Viet Empire that rose in the Red
River valley. However, Chinese and Indian traditions contributed mostly to the high culture
of the Southeast Asian states. Oftentimes, the complex cosmologies and exotic ways of
faraway empires had little effect on the peasants that made up the bulk of the populace.
Local traditions and folk customs made up the core of mass culture and despite the
millennia long process of Indian cultural infusion, they still do.
C. KINSHIP AND GENDER
According to the Dictionary of Anthropology, kinship system includes socially

recognized relationships based on supposed as well as actual genealogical ties. These
relationships are the result of social interaction and recognized by society. While Gender is a
term that refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being male or female.
Gender identity is the extent to which one identifies as being either masculine or feminine.
As their relationship, it represents a model of social relations, we made the

assumption that it is in studies of kinship can be found specifics of gender relations. To
confirm this hypothesis, we turned to the work of the famous anthropologist, a
representative of comparative sociology Radcliffe-Brown. According to the observations of
Brown, in a society can be identified quite certain set of actions and interactions of people
who are conditioned by the relations of kinship or marriage, and that in a given society,
these actions and interactions are linked in such a way that we can analytically describe
them as a system. It is a system of kinship, the examination of which will help to understand
the mechanism of some form of social life.
Asia harbors a variety of kinship systems of three principal types: patrilineal,

matrilineal and bilateral. South Asia is predominantly patrilineal, with two important pockets
of matrilineal in the south- west and the north-east of the subcontinent and significantly
bilateral Sri- Lanka. Southeast Asia, is predominantly bilateral, in which both parents are
relevant for reckoning kinship, with a significant presence of matriliny among the
Minangkabau of West Sumatra and the people of Negri Sembilan in Malaysia, as well as

some patrilineal communities. South and Southeast Asia comprise countries from
Afghanistan in the west to the Philippines in the east.
Today, look at and contrast aspects of family and kinship from the point of view of
gender among some populations of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan,
the Philippines and Thailand.
Was the bilateral kinship system the norm before the coming of the Great Traditions?
Bilateral descent is a system of family lineage in which the relatives on the mother's side and
father's side are equally important for emotional ties or for transfer of property or wealth. It
is a family arrangement where descent and inheritance are passed equally through both
parents. Families who use this system trace descent through both parents simultaneously
and recognize multiple ancestors, but unlike with cognatic descent it is not used to form
descent groups.
While bilateral descent is increasingly the norm in Western culture, traditionally it is

only found among relatively few groups in West Africa, India, Australia, Indonesia, Melanesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, and Polynesia. Anthropologists believe that a tribal structure
based on bilateral descent helps members live in extreme environments because it allows
individuals to rely on two sets of families dispersed over a wide area.
Under bilateral descent, every tribe member belongs to two clans, one through the
father (a patriclan) and another through the mother (a matriclan). For example, among the
Himba, clans are led by the eldest male in the clan. Sons live with their father's clan and
when daughters marry they go to live with the clan of their husband. However, inheritance
of wealth does not follow the patriclan but is determined by the matriclan i.e. a son does
not inherit his father's cattle but his maternal uncle's instead. Javanese people, the largest
ethnic group in Indonesia, also adopt a bilateral kinship system.
Does kinship still matter in today’s globalized, increasingly mobile world? Do family
structures continue to influence the varied roles that men and women play in different
cultures? Answering with a resounding ‘yes!', Linda Stone offers a lively introduction to and
working knowledge of kinship. She firmly links these concepts to cross-cultural gender
studies, illuminating the malleable nature of gender roles around the world and over time.
Stone considers current evolutionary research on kinship and gender, and offers new case
studies addressing international adoptions and polygynous marriage. An entirely new
chapter explores the globalization of kinship in the 21st century. The result is a broad and
captivating exploration of anthropological approaches to family and gender.
The Relatively High Position of Women
The 11 countries of Southeast Asia include over 550 million people. Despite great
linguistic and cultural diversity, the region is characterized by the relatively favorable
position of women in comparison with neighboring East or South Asia. This has been
explained by several factors: traditionally, kinship was traced though both maternal and
paternal lines; a daughter was not a financial burden because of the widespread practice of
bride price; a married couple often lived with or near the wife’s parents; women had
prominent roles in indigenous ritual; their labor was essential in agricultural, and they
dominated local markets. Over time, however, the rise of centralized states and the spread

of imported philosophies and religions (Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Islam, and
Christianity) increasingly privileged males and stressed female subordination. Although such
influences were most noticeable among the elite, the strength of local traditions was always
a moderating force.
In the nineteenth century Southeast Asia’s economic resources and strategic

position between India and China led to increasing European involvement. By the 1890s the
entire region except for Siam (Thailand) was under European control. In some areas women
were recruited as cheap wage labor on plantations (tea, sugar, tobacco, rubber) and in
processing factories. At the village level colonial regimes strengthened the male position as
head of the household and “reformed” customary laws that had given women considerable
autonomy. Similar trends can be found in Siam, the only non-colonized country, where legal
codification strengthened patrilineality. These developments encouraged a preference for
sons rather than daughters. Nonetheless, women were still influential in community life, at
times even leading anti-colonial rebellions. Increasing female literacy (especially in the
Philippines) and exposure to Western feminism encouraged elite women to confront issues
of gender inequality.
From the late nineteenth century nationalist movements developed across

Southeast Asia. Male leaders focused on political independence, but educated women were
equally concerned with polygamy, divorce, domestic abuse and the financial responsibilities
of fathers. For the most part, however, politicized women accepted the male argument that
attention to “female” concerns should be delayed until after independence was attained. Yet
despite active involvement in anti-colonial movements, sometimes as fighters, but more
often as strike organizers, journalists, couriers and clandestine agents, women were viewed
as auxiliaries rather than partners. Such attitudes were still evident in the independence
movements that exploded after the surrender of the Japanese, who occupied most of
Southeast Asia between 1942 and 1945.
The end of World War II signaled the demise of European colonialism in Southeast
Asia. Theoretically, the independent states that emerged over the next 15 years were
committed to gender equality, but this has rarely been translated into reality. In recent
years the number of women holding public office has increased, especially in local
government, but only in the Philippines has female representation in national government
risen above 10 per cent. When women do manage to enter the political arena, they often
find themselves marginalized in a male-dominated culture, with real power remaining in
men’s hands. The few individuals who have attained the highest political offices (such as
President in the Philippines and Indonesia) have done so because they are the daughter or
wife of a famous man. They have not become advocates of women’s issues, for this would
risk alienating their male colleagues or the male electorate.
Greater female involvement in politics is impeded by the way candidates are

recruited as well as entrenched attitudes that see women’s primary role as that of wife and
mother. Gender stereotypes that favor males over females are often reinforced in school
textbooks and are sometimes encouraged by religious teachings. For example, Buddhists still
believe that rebirth as a woman rather than a man indicates that less merit was accrued in
past lives. Southeast Asian Islam has traditionally been very tolerant, but over the last 20
years there has been greater stress on “correct” dress (notably head covering) and public
behavior. Although all Southeast Asian countries except Laos and Vietnam have signed the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and have made

advances promoting gender equality, it is difficult to change the preference for sons,
especially in Vietnam with its strong Confucian heritage.
It is not easy to generalize about the economic position of Southeast Asian women
because of the gap in development between Timor Lorosae, Cambodia and Laos (among the
poorest countries in the world), and prosperous Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
Nonetheless, the continuing acceptance of the idea that a woman can generate and control
her own income is still evident, although women receive less pay than men for the same
work and the options for unskilled workers are limited. In poorer countries and
impoverished regions this is apparent in the prevalence of prostitution and the disturbing
trafficking of women. From the mid-1960s, however, as Southeast Asian countries gradually
shifted to export-oriented economies, lower-paid women have become essential to factory
work. In consequence, women have been more active in labor movements. As overseas
domestic workers, they have also been increasingly important to national economies,
remitting large amounts of money to their families. Because of world-wide shortages,
qualified women can find employment abroad in skilled occupations such as nursing.
Obtaining vocational skills and academic qualifications is far more possible than
hitherto as Southeast Asian women gain greater access to education. With the exception of
Cambodia and Laos, the numbers of women progressing to post-secondary training is also
rising, and in Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines there are more female
graduates than males; the rates for Vietnam and Indonesia are almost equal. The expansion
in education has contributed to the blossoming of female-oriented Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) since the 1980s, which have given the knowledge and organization
skills that equip them to argue for issues.
Despite the region’s economic, political and cultural diversity, Southeast Asian
countries generally fare well in measures of human development. The heritage of relatively
favorable gender relations and the resilience and pragmatism of local societies indicate that
Southeast Asian women can look towards a promising future.
“Paradise is to Lie at Mother’s Feet”
The Prophet Muhammad said, “Paradise is at the feet of the mother.” This is
variously interpreted to mean that the mother is responsible for teaching her children their
religious obligations and good behavior that will win them Paradise; or it may mean that we
earn Paradise by serving our mother throughout her life. Either way, it shows the great
esteem, honor and respect that Islam has for mothers. While the fourth Commandment in
the Bible is “Honor thy father and thy mother”, the Bible does not mention the mother
separately as deserving good treatment.
Southeast Asian women are known for their vital economic roles. Besides being
wives and mothers, they have always engaged in income-earning activities. The undertaken
of a wide range of tasks has contributed to their economic independence and a large
measure of autonomy and power. This is true of most Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian and
Filipino women. In societies like the Atjehnese, where men are away from home for much of
the time, women manage both agricultural and family affairs.
In general, women are integral to the peasant economy. Speaking of Malaysia and
Indonesia, Manderson emphasizes that women alone are responsible for establishing and

tending nurseries, transplanting seedlings, weeding, harvesting, and winnowing and
thrashing the paddy. She mentions women’s role in the cultivation of other crops such as
rubber and in the production of copra. Women are almost entirely responsible for the
commercial production of vegetables, for domestic animals and for silviculture. The
Javanese household is a woman's domain, where her control over strategic resources is near
complete. She also takes the decisions in household matters.
Throughout Southeast Asia women are thought to be ‘good with money and
generally superior to men in financial management and business dealings. What a woman
actually gains from these qualities depends upon her resources and the class to which she
belongs. Many women are at least assured of the regular income that is necessary to meet
their families’ needs. About the power and autonomy that they might derive from this, Ann
Stoler observes about a part of Java that while among poor households women's earnings
give them a position of considerable importance within the household, for the wealthier
women their incomes provide a material basis for acquiring social power.
SOURCES:
1. https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/about-us.html
2. https://www.iwgia.org/images/publications//0511_ASEAN_BRIEFING_PAPER_eb.pdf
3. https://www.britannica.com/place/Southeast-Asia/Linguistic-composition
4. https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/language-and-culture/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Southeast_Asia
CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Relate your knowledge on the different significant issues concerning indigenous people
in Southeast Asia. Write your answer on the space provided below.
2. Explain the connecting ideas and relatedness of the following combined concepts. Write
your answer on the space provided.

a. Language and Culture
b. Origin and Diffusion
c. Kinship and Gender
3. Trace the lineage of the common language tree of the given cultural group by
completing the diagram and filling-in the boxes of the parent languages.
a.
Lao
b.
Pearic
c.
Cebuano and Tagalog

d.
Kamarupan North India
4. How language and culture affect the social processes such as cultural diffusion in the
different Southeast Asian indigenous communalities? Write your answer on the space
provided below.
5. Contrast different aspects of family and kinship system from the point of view of gender
by filling-in the table below.
Kinship System Emotional Ties Transfer of Property Position of Women

or Wealth
patrilineal
matrilineal

Kinship System Emotional Ties Transfer of Property Position of Women
or Wealth
TRY THIS
OUT
bilateral
1. “
Y
o
u
annot understand one's culture without accessing its language directly.” c
Expound this statement by constructing an essay. Cite several readings and
articles as support and bases of your essay.
2. Collect and compile at least five issues related to gender equality and
women’s right comprising in a particular Southeast Asian country. Write a
reflection and personal reaction about the issues you have compiled. Try to
relate it on your impression towards the dominant culture of the country
where the issues are happening.
CHAPTER 4: TRADITIONAL CULTURE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
INTRODUCTION

The map of Southeast Asia does not do full justice to the incredible diversity – of
ethnicity, religion, culture and lifestyle – found throughout this region. The region was a key
node on ancient trade routes that spanned the globe, a cultural crossroads frequented by
traders, wandering ascetics, invaders and kingmakers who brought with them new beliefs,
customs and tastes. People here have absorbed centuries worth of outside influences,
combining them with native traditions to make them their own.
Traditional culture is shared experiences that are transferred from generation to

generation. They can exist at the level of a nation or community and can transcend borders.
This module will provide the guide to the learners for them to distinguish the difference
between the concepts of tradition and culture before giving focus on the traditional cultural
structure of Southeast Asia.
Without going too deep into the definitions of both terms, we can tell you that
tradition is used to describe beliefs and behaviors that are passed on from generation to
generation, while culture is used to describe the characteristics of a certain society at a
particular point in time.
To compare culture and tradition further, culture is a more general term that is seen
as a whole and that describes human behavior, as well as character of people who have
been raised with particular cultural beliefs. It is also a body of knowledge that contains art,
language, clothing and, among all else, traditions. At the same time, tradition is a more
specific term used to describe an event/ritual that is often practiced by individuals or a
human behavior on certain occasion. It is also a set of rituals that a group of people practices.
Aside from the none-visible traditional culture which is spiritual beliefs, some of the
tangible culture will also be featured by this module, such as; building, houses, field and
gardens, dress, food practices, and dance of some cultural group in Southeast Asia.
1. Describe the way of living of Southeast Asian counties in terms of the structure
of their houses, similarities in dress in relation to their environmental condition.
2. Analyze the recurring importance of the physical features present in the location
of the different indigenous communalities and ethnic groups in Southeast Asia
to their traditional culture.
3. Appraise the value or quality of the traditional culture in Southeast Asia by
expressing their insight towards a certain cultural practice of a particular cultural
group.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
3.8| Culture and Society in Southeast Asia

Unlock the difficulties by performing this preparatory activity first. Get the understanding
of the following main concepts before you proceed to the next part of this module by
writing your understanding in the space provided after the terms.
1. Culture
6. Cultural Practice
7. Tradition
8. Costume
9. Socio-cultural
B. Content Readings

TRADITIONAL CULTURE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
A. BUILDING AND DRESS CUSTOMS
Traditional houses in Southeast Asia are typically constructed using prefabricated of

ready-made housing components. This construction technique is feasible due mainly to the
geography and climate of the region, namely proximity to the sea and high annual rainfall,
and has been passed down through generations by the local people. However, a shift of
socio-economic pattern from traditional agriculture to monetary-based agriculture and later
to manufacturing industry has changed the Southeast Asian planning pattern and
construction system as the adopted planning laws, building codes and regulations borrowed
from the West have forbidden housing development based on traditional concepts, because
the regulations promote heavy weight construction using bricks and reinforced concrete as
the main materials. This causes an increase in the incidence of flood-prone areas and land
erosions, due to the large number of land clearings and reclamations for housing and
commercial industry, as well as the construction of highways. These issues are often raised
today as problems of uncontrolled development of urban growth as concern for the
environment is not considered. New technology has it possible to apply traditional
construction techniques to urban housing, and further studies are important to ensure its
potential for future uses. This change could promote the potential of using the traditional
system as an alternative construction system towards sustainable urban development in
Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asian architecture, buildings of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos,

Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Most of Southeast
Asia’s great temples were built by the 13th century. The Indian royal temple, which
dominated Southeast Asian culture, typically stood on a terraced plinth, upon which
towered shrines could multiply. Construction was ideally of stone but could be brick
sculpted with stucco. Exteriors displayed carved rhythmic moldings and figures. In about 770
the Javanese Shailendra dynasty began its series of superb stonecut monuments,
culminating in the huge Mahayana Buddhist Borobudur and the Hindu Lara Jonggrang (c.
900–930). About 800 the Cambodian king Jayavarman II built a brick mountain for a temple
group. This plan was furthered when foundations were laid for Angkor, a scheme based on a
grid of reservoirs and canals. Successive kings built more temple mountains there,
culminating in Angkor Wat. Among Southeast Asia’s most impressive sites is the city of
Pagan in Myanmar, with many brick and stucco Buddhist temples and stupas built 1056–
1287. Burmese stupas (e.g., Shwe Dagon Pagoda) typically have a spreading, bell-shaped
base topped by a dome and pointed spire. The many monasteries of Myanmar and Thailand,
like those of Laos and Vietnam, have been repeatedly enlarged and rebuilt. The architecture
of the modified Hinduism of Bali is vigorously fantastical, with gilt paint and colored glass.
Waterways and Houses on Stilt

The old neighborhood of water village with shabby houses on stilts, built of wood
and woven bamboo, Inpawkhon, Inle Lake, Myanmar. River houses on stilts, with longtail
boats, Mangrove forest, Krabi river, Thailand, Southeast Asia. Stilt houses are houses raised
on piles over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a
protection against flooding; they also keep out vermin. The shady space under the house
can be used for work or storage.
Civilizations are known to have developed around water bodies across the world as
it was necessary to meet various everyday requirements such as drinking water, irrigation,
and fishing etc. Even in modern times, cities and population centers have been emerged
near waterbodies with commerce and sustainability become the main advantages. However,
there are communities that live on the water rather than next to it. Known as floating
villages or boat communities, these settlements on the surface of inland water bodies were
developed due to various reasons such as ethnic and occupational in different parts of
Southeast Asia.
1. Tonle Sap, Cambodia - One of the freshwater lakes in Cambodia, Tonle Sap, houses
hundreds of floating villages. The floating village in this region is a result of the size of
the lake which fluctuates in seasons.
2. Mogen, Thailand – Living in boats in the waters surrounding South East Asia, these sea
gipsies, known as Mogens, were first brought to notice after the 2005 tsunami since
none of them was victims of the natural calamity. The nomadic community in habit the
waters off Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, and Borneo.
3. Day-asan – Day-asan Floating Village in Surigao City, Philippines is a fishing village
known for its houses on wooden stilts on the surface water.
4. Ha-Long Bay – Located in Vietnam, the Ha-Long or Halong Bay’s floating village
comprises of four villages where people sustain through fishing and fish cultivation
activities.
5. Yawnghwe – Located on the lake of Inle, the floating village of Yawnghwe has a cluster
of 17 hamlets that has a population of around 70,000 people. The lake of Inle is the
second largest lake in Myanmar featuring an estimated surface area of 116 km2.
6. Ko Panyi – Located in Phang Nga Province of Thailand, Ko Panyi is an Indonesian fishing
village that is built on stilts.
Similarities in Dress

Our traditional attire is influenced from India. Our culture is a part of indosphere.
Our clothings based on India like sari. The shoulder sash in Southeast Asia, selendang of
Malay and sabai of Cambodia and Thailand may have been derived from the Indian garment
called a sari, the end of which is worn over one shoulder, as most Southeast Asia countries
were ruled by Indianized, Hindu or Buddhist kingdoms. The Southeast Asian male garment is
influenced from dhoti (India). Almost all Southeast Asian were influenced from India except
North Vietnam. Before Kinh (Vietnamese) settled in Central and South Vietnam, there was
an indianized kingdom called Champa. Modern Vietnam is a part of Sinosphere which
influenced from China.
The similarities of Southeast Asian traditional clothes is- they all wear chong -kben
which derived from Indian Dhoti, and Sabai which derived from Indian Sari, and wear Sarong
as a skirt. The only different is Thailand has the most advance textile’s pattern and
complicates embroidery work, stylish fashion the most in comparison to other Asian
countries. The cartoon below is Southeast Asian clothing:
Throughout the whole region of Southeast Asia, traditional costumes have remained
strongly represented in their respective countries. Whilst all seem to have some similarities,
there are distinctive differences that single each out. As the region moves into the modern
world and becomes more and more Westernized, it is remarkable that they remain so
strongly represented, but they do. Whilst traditional costumes are worn by both men and
women, it is certainly the women who are more prone to keeping up with tradition and
wearing them. In some parts they are used mainly for ceremonial reasons, but in others they
are worn daily as part of everyday clothing. This is probably no stronger than in Vietnam.
The Recurring Importance of Seas and Rives
Rivers play a central role in the lives of millions of people in Southeast Asia. They
provide fish, fresh water, fertile silt, transportation, recreation, and many other essential
functions. Rivers and their catchments - the lifeblood of the region - are increasingly
threatened by ill-conceived development schemes.

The Mekong Region, as it passes through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia
and Vietnam, the Mekong River bursts with color and life. Sixty million people live in the
lower Mekong Basin and their livelihoods and cultures are intimately connected with the
river’s natural cycles. As one of the world’s most diverse and productive inland fisheries, the
Mekong supplies people with about 80% of their protein needs.
Yet this beautiful, dynamic and thriving river system is under threat and the next
decade is critical for the future of the Mekong. The people living along the banks of the river
and its tributaries see the Mekong as a resource to be nourished and sustained for future
generations. But the region's governments and greedy foreign interests seem intent on
constructing scores of dams on the Mekong mainstream and tributaries. China is building a
cascade of fourteen dams on the Upper Mekong in Yunnan Province, which will have
devastating impacts on downstream communities. Laos, in its bid to become “the battery of
Southeast Asia”, hopes to develop more than sixty dams on Mekong tributaries, and is even
considering nine projects on the mainstream. The dams would mean death by a thousand
cuts to the river's rich fisheries and the people who depend upon them. But there is hope.
The Mekong River is still a thriving ecosystem, and it is not too late to protect it.
People throughout Southeast Asia are facing threats from dams. Vietnam is building
dam cascades on several Mekong tributaries, the impacts of which are being experienced by
ethnic minorities living in Vietnam and by the Cambodian villagers living downstream.
Cambodia is also hoping to build dams on Mekong tributaries and the mainstream. Burma
has plans to construct dams on some of its most beautiful and pristine rivers, including the
Salween River, the region's last major undammed river. In Sarawak, Malaysia, plans are
rushing forward to build as many as 51 dams on the traditional lands of indigenous
communities.
International Rivers is working with a growing movement in the region to challenge

dam plans and promote more sensible options for meeting the region’s energy and
development needs.
The seas of Southeast Asia play an important role in the economy of the surrounding
countries. The region's constantly expanding coastal population and development has made
great demands on marine resources, with growing evidence seen in the further degradation
of the marine environment and continued exploitation of living as well as non-living
resources. Integrated coastal area management has never been considered in the past while
environmental protection measures and policies have largely been at local or national levels.
Implementation of regional study programs less than 10 years ago and ratification of
international as well as regional agreements aimed at protecting the marine environment in
recent times indicate a more enlightened approach to the problem.
Fields and Gardens
Southeast Asia has gardening traditions that date back many thousands of years.
Tropical Southeast Asia is the home of plants such as palms and arums and, of course,
orchids, all used in tropical and subtropical gardens for a lush, jungle look, for vivid colorful
foliage or for exquisite perfumed flowers. The best gardens to see in South East Asia include
many outstanding botanical gardens in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and also those at
large resort hotels which are as well known for their beautiful gardens as for their pristine
beaches.

The climate in Southeast Asia has gifted the region with an abundance of greenery
and bright, tropical flowers, the best of which can be enjoyed in its botanical gardens.
1. Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur's cherished

botanical park is the total tourist package. Found within the Tun Abdul Razak Heritage
Park, the botanical garden consists of a mosaic of different, smaller gardens, each of
them landscaped into postcard-ready perfection.
2. Royal Gardens in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Known as the jumping-off point to the temples
of Angkor Wat, Siem Reap is famous for its bustling night market and its lively bars and
cafes. Tucked within the town center, however, is a pocket of peace and serenity.
3. National Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens, Myanmar. Also known as the Maymyo
Botanical Garden, this 177 hectare park in the city of Pyin U Lwin merges raw and
untouched forest land with man-made botanical gardens and recreational areas.
4. Singapore Botanic Gardens. Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board; photography
by Darren Soh. Singapore Botanic Gardens. Established in 1859, Singapore's Botanic
Gardens stands to date as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only tropical garden to
receive this distinction.
5. Tra Que Vegetable Village, Hoi An, Vietnam. The scenic farming community of Tra Que
spells a different botanical experience for its visitors. Instead of manicured gardens, the
village features a unique learning and culinary expedition into traditional Vietnamese
food and farming.
B. SPIRIT BELIEFS
Spiritual beliefs include the relationship to a superior being and are related to an
existential perspective on life, death, and the nature of reality. Religious beliefs include
practices/rituals such as prayer or meditation and engagement with religious community
members.
The meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various
connotations can be found alongside each other.
Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims

to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the
founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world. The term was used within early
Christianity to refer to a life oriented toward the Holy Spirit and broadened during the Late
Middle Ages to include mental aspects of life.
Sometimes when you find yourself in the true presence of the natural world, you
can’t help but feel a sense immeasurable calm and peace. For some this might be found
when walking your dog on a sunny morning or while hiking through a rainforest in Hawaii, or
maybe while sitting by a roaring mountain river surrounded by towering pine trees above.
For the people of the world practice Animism, this special sense of peace and calm is
attributed to the idea that all non-human things, including plants and animals have a
spiritual essence, and more specifically it is the belief that these things are actually filled
with spirits themselves.
This spiritual belief is thought to be one of the oldest and most commonly used in a
variety of cultures and practices, so Anthropologists and Sociologist take special interest in

this the study of this spiritual practice. Themes of spiritual essence in nature, animals, and
objects are especially prevalent in Asian indigenous cultures.
In Southeast Asia, Malaysia, an indigenous group called the Orang Asli, practice
animism along with some smaller groups within the Asli that practice Islam and Christianity
as well. Semangat is the term used to describe the essence and spirit found in nature.
Therefore, indigenous groups in Mchoose to hunt and harvest only what they need from the
environment, and to honor all of the plants, animals, life tools, and natural occurrences that
allow them to do so.
In modern times, the term both spread to other religious traditions and broadened
to refer to a wider range of experience, including a range of esoteric traditions and religious
traditions. Modern usages tend to refer to a subjective experience of a sacred dimension
and the "deepest values and meanings by which people live", often in a context separate
from organized religious institutions, such as a belief in a supernatural (beyond the known
and observable) realm, personal growth, a quest for an ultimate or sacred meaning, religious
experience, or an encounter with one's own "inner dimension."
In Southeast Asia, diversity is less pronounced since Islam strongly predominates in

Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the southern Philippines, and Catholic Christianity in the
major part of the Philippines. In mainland Southeast Asia, on the other hand, Theravāda
Buddhism is the established religion of all states except Vietnam, where both Mahāyāna
Buddhism and Confucianism predominate. Yet Hindu-Buddhist religion prevails in Bali, and
tribal religions have persisted almost everywhere in the more remote areas. Moreover, the
great religions have been influenced by earlier tribal beliefs. It is the task of the historian to
describe and, if possible, to elucidate the religious developments in order to enable us to
look at the present conditions against their historical background. Spirits are a fundamental
element of Southeast Asian animism, even in its hierarchical variation recently. They are
often seen as the owners and protectors of the land from the village level to larger political
realms whether they are former human beings (or possibly future ones in Buddhist contexts),
or non-human beings.
Despite the varied histories and religions of Southeast Asian societies, a reading of
many historical and ethnographic accounts reveals a common understanding that the world
inhabited by humans was intersected by a spiritual or invisible realm.
C. FOOD PRACTICES
In social science, food practices or foodways are the cultural, social, and economic
practices relating to the production and consumption of food. Foodways often refers to the
intersection of food in culture, traditions, and history. Food practices are here defined as
any activity in which food is involved, ranging from food preparation, gifting food, sharing
meals, or cleaning up, referred to by Symons (1994) as the human food cycle.
More than 3/4 of the Southeast Asia population is agriculture-based. Twice as much
fish is consumed in this region compared to other forms of animal protein, reflecting the
long coastlines and river environments of Southeast Asia. The staple food throughout the
region is rice, which has been cultivated for thousands of years. Rice serves as the basic
staple food for more than half of the world's population today.

Simple daily meals and elaborate feasts characterize all Southeast Asian culinary
cultures. Cooking is economically efficient as people use wok cooking, which requires a low
amount of fuel and makes deep-frying easy. Also, meat and vegetables are typically chopped
into small pieces prior to cooking, which mean that food cooks very quickly. Most food is
cooked by quick blanching or stir-frying and steaming. Southeast Asians are concerned with
nutrition, economy, and ease of preparation as it relates to their food.
Rice is the basis of Southeast Asian food, and in many languages a common greeting
is "Have you eaten yet?" The verb for "to eat" is often the same as the verb "to eat rice".
Rice is used for fuel oil, rice-paper, alcoholic drinks, tea, all manner of foods, cosmetics,
medicines, and magical potions. Typically, a small portion of food is offered to the gods,
ancestral spirits, and other beings during ritual sacrifices at major ceremonies or even
before common, everyday meals. Food can even have an importance in peace relations
between neighboring countries, such as is the case in Thailand and Malaysia. The Muslim
Malays raise pigs for the Thai Buddhists, who in turn raise cattle for Malays. Although
differentiation in culture and religion exist throughout this region, the cooperative food
trading system has helped attain peace and forge alliances between neighboring peoples to
the present day.
Popular meals in Southeast Asia consist of rice, fish, vegetables, fruits, and spices.
Curry, "satay" (spiced or marinated meat on a stick that is barbecued), "sour fish soup",
noodles, and soy products are popular. Flavorings that are common include ginger, pepper,
chili peppers, onions, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, fermented fish paste, turmeric, candlenut,
lemon grass, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, as well as tamarind and lime (for a sour taste).
Coconut milk is often used to bind sharp flavors, while palm sugar is used to balance the
spices. Unique combinations of sweet and sour, or hot and sour, hot and sweet, are
common in various regions. Fish paste and prawn paste is spicy-sour, and is popularly
consumed with green mangoes, fresh fish, or in stews. Fish sauce is used in almost all
Southeast Asian curries as well as in various forms of cooking fish and pork. Popular
vegetables are sweet potatoes, maize, taro, tapioca, legumes, blossoms, and the leaves of
many green plants. Popular fruits are pineapple, coconut, star fruit, jackfruit, papaya,
bananas, rambutan, mangosteen, and the somewhat odorous durian ("king of the fruits",
according to aficionados). Tea and coffee are abundant throughout the region, although the
popular drink with a meal is water
Southeast Asia is a diverse and fascinating cultural crossroads that forms both a
geographic a culinary link between Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Traditional Southeast
Asian recipes incorporate the organizing principals of Chinese cuisine and the complex
flavors derived from Indian herbs and spices. Food can be sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter
all in the same bite. Through modern influences, the area has also embraced certain aspects
of Colonial French cuisine, and to a lesser extent, Spanish and American cooking.
Although the foods of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia, The
Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia share core similarities, there are also significant regional
differences. While Thai food, for example, is often characterized as sweet and spicy,
Vietnamese food is considered light and refreshing and Filipino cuisine is heavy in
comparison.
D. DANCE
Music, dance, and song were originally associated with tribal rituals. From the beginning, the
main characteristic of Southeast Asian music and dance has been a swift rhythm. The slow

and stately dances of the Siamese court were of Indian origin; when they were introduced
into Burma in the 16th century, the Burmese quickened the tempo, but, even with that
modification, the dances were still called Siamese dances to distinguish them from the
native ones. In their oral literature—namely, in folk songs and folktales—the emphasis is on
gaiety and humor. Typically, Southeast Asians do not like an unhappy ending.
Throughout the history of the development of dance in Southeast Asia, there have been
several natural factors, socio-cultural influences, and historical developments that helped
shape the various dance forms and styles in the region. These common regional factors are
the reasons why, despite the variety, there are common threads in ASEAN dances–in form,
in style, in function, and in origin.
Southeast Asian dances are artistic or creative expressions of the people of the region.
Through these dances which were created by the members of the community, the religious
leaders and the royalty, and by outstanding artists of the community, we learn about the
rich cultural heritage, the activities, the characteristics, the beliefs, and the customs and
traditions of our people. Throughout the long history of Southeast Asia, these dances have
been performed by dancers, folk people, court ladies, shamans and stage performers to
express ideas, feelings, aspirations and stories. Many of these dances are part of the life
cycle of the community or society, others are created to entertain or educate an audience.
Dance is so pertinent to societies within Southeast Asia to the extent that there are too
many types and variations to pick from. People are continually choreographing and creating
new dance forms; the artistic scene seems tireless in this aspect and though there is already
a wide array of dances, enthusiasts are still coming out with more.
Another fact about this multitude of dances is that they are not concentrated in the same
country; the prevalence of dance is found in almost every Southeast Asian society. Take
Thailand for an example. When we started our search for a Thai dance, we realised that
Thailand had 4 different regions and each region had its own type of dances (Farang Pai Nai,
2006). Next, each region had different categories of dance, such as folk dances and dance
dramas. Following that, each category had a variety of dance forms and styles.
SOURCES:
1. https://www.britannica.com/art/Southeast-Asian-architecture
2. http://www.inseasia.com/2015/01/southeast-asian-traditional-dress/
3. https://www.internationalrivers.org/programs/southeast-asia
4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00005662
5. http://gardentravelhub.com/garden_guide/east-south-east-asia/
6. https://www.aseantourism.travel/articles/detail/southeast-asia-s-most-dazzling-
gardens

CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Describe the common characteristics of the way of living of three particular

traditional communities in Southeast Asian by filling in the table below. State at
least five characteristics on the following aspects indicated and short
explanation how it is being affected by the environment.
Traditional Structure of Traditional How it is affected

Communities their Houses Cloths by the
environmental
factors
2. Analyze the recurring importance of the following geographical features present

in the location of the different indigenous communalities and ethnic groups in
Southeast Asia to their traditional culture. Write your answer on the space
provided.

a. Seas
b. Rivers
c. Fields
3. Assess the value or quality of the following aspect of traditional culture in

Southeast Asia by expressing your negative and positive impression on it. On the
space provided, explain why you are having that impression.
Aspect of traditional Impression Justification of your

culture impression
Spiritual beliefs
Food practices

Dance
TRY THIS OUT
1. Make an insight paper. The guidelines and instructions are given below.
Description
This is a paper of an informal personal insight towards a notable

cultural practice of particular cultural group of an assigned Southeast
Asian country. This insight paper gives the students taking up SOCSCI 223
– Culture and Society of Southeast Asia, the opportunity to share their
analysis of the societal aspects of the cultural practice chosen. The student
should analyze an aspect of that cultural practice and also include their
feelings and ideas about it.
The descriptive nature of the paper is underlying on the principle

of conducting a cultural insight. Cultural insight refers to all insight
stemming from the context of culture: the ideas, customs and social
behavior of a particular people or society.
This is a chance for the students to take on a more casual tone;

they will adopt the first-person writing style, and give their opinion on the
chosen topic. Simply put, the paper is the student’s opinion on what they
think about the chosen cultural practice. Despite the fact that they base
this paper on their personal opinion, they must take care to back up this
opinion with evidence, such as related studies and knowledge from
experts.
Suggested Steps
The following are the suggested steps of the process in complying this
paper.

1. Gathering Information – develop the overview by acquiring general
information about the culture of the country assigned.
2. Choosing the Focus – identify a specific notable cultural practice
which catches your attention.
3. Brainstorming and outlining – this will be the stage of organizing your
thought and subjective judgment base on your own perspective and
point of view. Note down your points.
4. Putting it into Writings – prepare a basic outline by using your notes
from the brainstorming process. Organize the paper, the basic
organization of a personal essay are as follows:
a. Create a catchy title – The title should embody the main thought
of the insight paper.
b. Use a Reflective Question – a simple question – such as “how
does this subject relate to me and my feelings?” – Helps set the
tone and theme of your essay.
c. Create a Strong Introduction – get straight to the point with a
two or three sentence introduction that states how the subject
relates to you.
d. Focus on a Thesis – quickly introduce a thesis in the introduction
that explains how and why your expectations were met or not
met.
e. Explains Idea in Body – use the body of the essay to explain your
thesis. Provide details on how the subject met or didn’t meet
your expectations and why.
f. Wrap-Up with Conclusion – add a short conclusion that
summarizes your thoughts and feelings on the subject.
Parts of the Insight Paper
I. Introduction (Ask Reflective Question; identify the main theme or

related issues; and introduce thesis statement)
II. Body (Explain your thesis; discuss personal experience with subject
or the background of the cultural practice chosen; and Cite
Resources and experts)
III. Conclusion (Answer the Reflective Question; Describe Your Overall
Response to Subject; and Conclude with Support for Your Thesis
Format:
 Apply white 8 ½ x 11” page;
 Make it a single-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides;
 Indent the 1st word in every paragraph;
 Set Times New Roman or Arial;
 12-points size is acceptable;
 Double space the entire text

CHAPTER 5: THE ENTRY OF THE FOUR “GREAT” TRADITIONS
INTRODUCTION
The origin of little and great traditions is from Robert Redfield, who conducted his
studies in Mexican communities. It was Redfield who talked about little community. For him
little community was a village that had smaller size, self-sufficient and relatively isolated.
Red- field did not mention anything about traditions or great traditions. Singer and Marriott
who were influenced by studies made by Redfield conducted their intensive study in Indian
villages. They elaborated the original model of Redfield in the light of data generated from
India villages. Yogendra Singh has commented upon the construction of little and great
traditions in Indian villages by these two anthropologists.
Influenced by this model (of Robert Redfield), Milton Singer and Mckim Marriott had
conducted some studies on social change in India utilising this conceptual framework. The
basic ideas in this approach are ‘civilisation’, and ‘social organisation of tradition’. It is based
on the evolutionary view that civilisation or the structure of tradition (which consists of both
cultural and social structures) grows in two stages: first, through orthogenetic or indigenous
evolution, and second, through heterogenetic encounters or contacts with other cultures or
civilisations.
The Indian social structure, in a broader way, is stratified into two divisions: (1) the
folks or the unlettered peasantry, and (2) the elites. The folks and peasantry follow the little
tradition, i.e., the village tradition. The second division of elites follows the great tradition.
The great tradition consists of the traditions contained in epics, Puranas, Brahmanas and
other classical sanskritic works. The roles and statuses of Sita and Draupadi constitute the
parts of great tradition. The little tradition, on the other hand, is local tradition of great
tradition tai-lored according to the regional and village conditions.
The great tradition is found clearly in twice-born castes, specially, priests, and ritual
leaders of one kind or other. Some of these corporate groups follow the traits of civilization
and the great tradition. The carriers of little tradition include folk artists, medicine men,
tellers of riddles, proverbs and stories, poets and dancers, etc. Little and great traditions help
to analyze social change in rural India. The nature of this change is basically cultural. There is
a constant interaction between great tradition and little tradition. The interaction between
the two traditions brings about change in rural society.
The great traditions referred by this module are the influential traditions that
became significant factors in the cultural transformations that the Southeast Asian Countries
have undergone. The Chinese, Indian, Islamic traditions, and the Western culture are the
“great” traditions are the great tradition the module are referring to. These are historical
background that needed to be known for us to have a better understanding about the
historical structure of the region of Southeast Asia.

1. Recognize the characteristics and any background of the different influential
great traditions in the cultural transformation the Southeast Asia had.
2. Associate the contributions and influences made by the Chinese, Indian, Islamic
traditions and Western civilizations to the development of the dominant
characteristics of the society and culture in some places of Southeast Asia.
3. Determine the importance of the influences made by the great traditions
entered in Southeast Asia to the present condition of the society and culture of
some places and countries of the region.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Society
2. Social change
3. Social Factors
4. Civilization
5. Rural society

B. Content Readings
THE ENTRY OF THE FOUR “GREAT TRADITIONS”
A. THE CHINESE: VIETNAM, CHINESE ENCLAVES IN SEA
Ancient Chinese Culture is older than 5000 years. Chinese cultural history has
enormous diversity and variety. The sophisticated Chinese civilization was rich in the Arts
and Sciences, elaborate Painting and Printing techniques and delicate pottery and sculpture.
Chinese architectural traditions were much respected all over the world. Chinese language
and literature, philosophy and politics are still reckoned as a strong influence. Chinese
culture managed to retain its unique identity till the advent of Western culture in the mid-
19th century.
Chinese Religion, Philosophy and Politics: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have
left a collective and lasting impression on Chinese culture and tradition. Confucianism
propagated “Ren” (Love) and “Li” (rituals), signifying respect for society and social hierarchy.
Taoism advocated the controversial philosophy of inaction. Buddhism emphasized on the
need to attain self- emancipation through good deeds.
The Three Pillars of Chinese Cultures
Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are called the Three Pillars of traditional
Chinese culture; they have exerted great influence on the thinking of the Chinese people as
well as on almost every aspect in political, economic and cultural life of the country.
Confucianism -Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and ethical

philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious
foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional
Chinese society.
Taoism -In the Chinese language the word tao means "way," indicating a way of thought or
life. There have been several such ways in China's long history, including Confucianism and
Buddhism. In about the 6th century BC, under the influence of ideas credited to a man
named Lao-tzu, Taoism became "the way". like Confucianism, it has influenced every aspect
of Chinese culture. Taoism began as a complex system of philosophical thought that could
be indulged in by only a few individuals. In later centuries it emerged, perhaps under the
influence of Buddhism, as a communal religion. It later evolved as a popular folk religion.
Buddhism – It is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) more than
2,500 years ago in India. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one
of the major world religions. Its practice has historically been most prominent in East and
Southeast Asia, but its influence is growing in the West. Many Buddhist ideas and
philosophies overlap with those of other faiths.

The Colonization of North Vietnam
For over thousands of years, China ruled over Vietnam from 111 B.C. — 980 A.D.
During the period, many Chinese culture wonders influenced the small country of the world.
One of its influence was the classical Chinese writing. In the 10th century, Vietnam adopted
Chinese writing script to create their own language — Chữ-Nôm. It wasn’t until later in the
12th — 13th century the adopted Vietnamese language was systematized as the official
language and part of literature. Vietnam’s culture was greatly influenced by China’s
domination.
The early interaction between the two countries dated back to the 3rd century B.C.
It wasn’t until two centuries late;China began its conquest of colonizing Vietnam. Back then,
Vietnam was not a small country like it is now.
Part of the lower China used to be Vietnam. During the first Chinese conquest in 111
B.C., the Han Dynastyconquered the south and expanded its territorial dominance. The first
Chinese Domination of Vietnam was significance. Emperor Han Wudi successfully conquered
Nanyue(Vietnam) and adjoined it to the Han sovereignty. The purpose of China ruled was to
control Red River Delta, a geographical terrain for trading supplies with other powerful
countries like India and the Roman Empire.
Vietnam was governed leniently by the Chinese with the addition of the Han Dynasty
wanted Vietnam assimilation, a more cohesive and civilized empire. During the conquered
period, Vietnam had to adopt the Chinese writing system, Confucianism, arts, and literature.
A part of the conquered Vietnam lost their native language, culture, and national identity
until the revolt of Trung Sister in 40 A.D.
Chinese Trade and Migration in Southeast Asia
Human migration is a central theme in world and Asian history, but important cases,
among them Chinese who emigrated to other countries between ca. 1000 and 1850 CE, have
been somewhat neglected in the migration literature. Since the mid-19th century, millions of
Chinese migrated temporarily or permanently to other countries, making these migrants and
their descendants a vital presence in the world economy and in the population of many
nations. Today, more than 30 million people of Chinese ancestry or ethnicity live outside of
Greater China, over 20 million of them in Southeast Asia. But this emigration has a much
longer history, the subject of recent scholarly interest that has enriched our knowledge. It
has been said of the maritime trading and fishing peoples of southern China that they made
fields from the sea.
Enterprising and adaptable, Chinese have long sailed to Southeast Asia to trade,
many of them settling permanently. By 1400, Chinese trade networks linked Southeast Asian
trading ports to China and to each other. Chinese settlers eventually became dominant in
the commercial sector in many societies, including most Western colonies, in Southeast Asia.
Increasing numbers of migrants arrived to trade or mine for tin and gold, ushering in a
“Chinese century” in the Southeast Asian economies from around 1700 into the mid-1800s.
Over the centuries some Chinese married local women, serving as cultural brokers between
China and Southeast Asia and fostering hybrid communities. Others maintained their
cultural heritage. After 1850, millions more left China. Chinese immigrants and their
descendants built the foundations for a widespread modern diaspora and transnational

connections. The emigrant flow from China continues, continuing a human behavior –
migration – that has a long history in Asia.
The Chinese and the Manila Galleon Trade
The Manila Galleon Trade lasted for 250 years and ended in 1815 with Mexico’s war
of independence. In terms of longevity alone, plus the trade that it engendered between
Asia, Spanish America and onward to Europe and Africa, it brought in its wake events and
movement of people among the various continents that are still apparent and in place today.
It made Mexico a world city. The Philippines, ostensibly a Spanish colony, was
governed from Mexico which gave it an Asian extension. Population flows between Asia and
Spanish America via Acapulco were, in terms of the times, huge. About 40,000 to 60,000,
maybe 100,000, mostly Chinese and in particular Filipinos, made up that flow. There is an
existing Filipino presence in Louisiana and definitely in Mexico from those times. Some of
the founders of California seem to be of Filipino descent. Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican
revolutionary, was said to have Filipino ancestry.
The migrants came as servants, slaves, sailors, barbers, vendors, harp players,
dancers, scribes, tailors, cobblers, silversmiths and coachmen. Mexico’s Plaza Mayor, known
as the Zocalo, became a place of stalls and shops selling the Asian imports where the city’s
myriad populations mixed in buying and selling. They called it the Parian after the Chinese
district of Manila known as such. Manila’s Chinatown is considered the oldest in the world.
In Mexico, the Parian began in the late 16th century and by the 18th century was a
permanent edifice. Items sold or traded were spices from the Orient, ivory, diamonds,
Chinese porcelain, Indian fabrics, Siamese ebony, rubies and emeralds from India. From the
Philippines, I would guess, ivory religious images, our indigenous fabrics in cotton, indigo and
wooden furniture.
Asian arts found a market in Mexico and beyond. They were eventually emulated
and adapted locally. Thus, Japanese lacquer desks, Chinese wall hangings and Chinese
porcelainwere imitated and reproduced in Mexico. For example, the folding screens called
“biombo” in Spanish were originally from the Japanese word for them “byobu.” Eventually,
these biombos showed images of Mexico City’s best known places.
Mexico became a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan nation in urbanization and

sophistication. At the time of the Manila Galleon, it was one of the richest cities in the world
with leading cultural and intellectual aspects to its urban life. It had a printing press as early
as 1535. Its native costumes had an Oriental influence acknowledging its opening to the
world.
Manila was the gateway to China not only for being the entrepot where Chinese
goods along with those of Japan, India, Southeast Asia were assembled for re-export to the
West, but for its role in mediating information about China. Martin de Radaacquired Chinese
books in Manila in 1575. The first translation of classical Chinese texts into a European
language took place in Manila when MingxinBorojiau was translated into Espejo Rico de
Claro Corazon in 1593 and published in Manila by Juan Cobo who also translated Seneca into
Chinese.

Manila was so widely famed as the galleon trade hub that it attracted predators who
dreamed of or imagined the riches it had. For example, the Dutch East India Company
believed trade could not be maintained without war. It proved it in the Dutch East Indies.
The British East India Company led the way (with the British Navy in complicity) to take
Manila in 1762, using the Seven Years’ War in Europe as an excuse. But when it came to
larger longstanding nations in the East like China and Japan and Thailand, European
colonizers could not project much force. Spain did not, but it was able to run the Manila
Galleon trade for years despite its problems with the Chinese in Manila and the fact that
both sides were breaking the rules along the way. There was an equilibrium between China
and Spain (the Sinic-Spanish global trade) that brought on trade understanding, diplomatic
relations, enduring relationships. Much different from the Anglo-American and Dutch events
in Asia with colonization, trade with colonies, industrialization and gunboat diplomacy, the
opium wars, oppressive demand for cash crops, taking advantage of the chaos in China, and
the weakness of the East Indies.
B. THE INDIAN: CAMBODIA, THAILAND, JAVA, LAOS, AND MYANMAR
Southeast Asia was under Indian influence starting around 290 BC until around the
15th century, when Hindu-Buddhist influence was absorbed by local politics. Kingdoms in
the southeast coast of the Indian Subcontinent had established trade, cultural and political
relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms in Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula,
Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Unlike the Hindu kingdoms within the Indian sub-continent, the Pallava kingdom of
the southeastern coast of the peninsula did not have culture restrictions on crossing the sea.
This led to more exchanges through the sea routes into Southeast Asia. Whereas Buddhism
thrived and became the main religion in many countries of the Southeast Asia, it died off on
the Indian subcontinent.
The peoples of maritime Southeast Asia — present day Malaysia, Indonesia and the
Philippines — are thought to have migrated southwards from southern China sometime
between 2500 and 1500 BC. The influence of the civilization of the subcontinent gradually
became predominant among them, and among the peoples of the Southeast Asian mainland.
Southern Indian traders, adventurers, teachers and priests continued to be the

dominating influence in Southeast Asia until about 1500 CE. Hinduism and Buddhism both
spread to these states from India and for many centuries existed there with mutual
toleration. Eventually the states of the mainland became mainly Buddhist.
Cambodia -The first of these Hinduised states to achieve widespread importance was the
Kingdom of Funan founded in the 1st century CE in what is now Cambodia — according to
legend, after the marriage of a Brahman into the family of the local chief. These local
inhabitants were Khmer people. Funan flourished for some 500 years. It carried on a
prosperous trade with India and China, and its engineers developed an extensive canal
system. An elite practised statecraft, art and science, based on Indian culture. Vassal
kingdoms spread to southern Vietnam in the east and to the Malay Peninsula in the west.
Thailand - Thailand's relationship with India spans over a thousand years and
understandably resulted in an adaptation of Hindu culture to suit the Thai environment.
Evidence of strong religious, cultural and linguistic links abound. The single most significant

cultural contribution of India, for which Thailand is greatly indebted to India, is Buddhism.
Propagated in Thailand in the 3rd century B.C. by Buddhist monks sent by King Asoka, it was
adopted as the state religion of Thailand and has ruled the hearts and minds of Thais ever
since. Presently 58,000,000 Thais, an overwhelming 94% of the total Thai populace adheres
to Buddhism.
Myanmar - At the western end of the South East Asian mainland, Lower Burma was
occupied by the Mon peoples who are thought to have come originally from western China.
In Lower Burma they supplanted an earlier people: the Pyu, of whom little is known except
that they practiced Hinduism. The Mons strongly influenced by their contacts with Indian
traders during the 3rd century B.C adopted Indian literature and art and the Buddhist
religion. The Mins were the earliest known civilization in Southeast Asia. They consisted of
several Mon kingdoms, spreading from Lower Burma into much of Thailand, where they
founded the kingdom of Dvaravati. Their principal settlements in Burma were Thaton and
Pegu. From about the 9th century onwards Tibeto-Burman tribes moved south from the hills
east of Tibet into the Irrawaddy plain. They founded their capital at Pagan in Upper Burma in
the 10th century. They eventually absorbed the Mons, their cities and adopted the Mon
civilization and Buddhism. The Pagan kingdom united all Burma under one rule for 200 years
- from the 11th to 13th centuries. The zenith of its power occurred during the reign of King
Anawratha (1044–1077), who conquered the Mon kingdom of Thaton. King Anawratha built
many of the temples for which Pagan is famous. It is estimated that some 13,000 temples
once existed within the city, which some 5,000 still stand.
The Pillars of Indian Tradition
The core of Indian culture, as shaped by the revered rishis, revolves around the
principle of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - treating the entire world as our own family, which
reflects universality of serene love, altruism, sharing of responsibilities and caring for all
beings. The central theme of Indian cultural development has evolved from the Indian
philosophy of continuity of life and realization of the soul as a manifestation of divine
impulse. Successive refinement of human consciousness by elimination of animal instincts
and evil tendencies of the mind and enlightenment of its inner cores was therefore given
maximum importance by the rishis. The system of shodas samskaras was devised by them
for this purpose.
Guru - spiritual mentor, Gayatri - the Gayatri Mantra, origin of all Vedas, Ganga - the holy
Ganges, Gau (cow) and Geeta are the five fundamental elements which lie at the core of the
development and practices of the Indian culture. It is through these roots that the stout
tree of divine Indian culture had blossomed in the ancient times of yore and has maintained
its 'greenery' age after age despite turbulent fluctuations in people's faith, convictions,
cultural values and modes of living. Implementation of the divine cultural principles
becomes possible in every dimension of life with the support of Guru, Gayatri , Geeta, Gau
and Ganga at the spiritual, philosophical and worldly levels.
The Formation of States in Southeast Asia in Response to Indian example
The first of these Hinduised states to achieve widespread importance was the
Kingdom of Funan founded in the 1st century CE in what is now Cambodia — according to
legend, after the marriage of a Brahman into the family of the local chief. These local

inhabitants were Khmer people. Funan flourished for some 500 years. It carried on a
prosperous trade with India and China, and its engineers developed an extensive canal
system. An elite practised statecraft, art and science, based on Indian culture. Vassal
kingdoms spread to southern Vietnam in the east and to the Malay Peninsula in the west.
In late 6th century CE, dynastic struggles caused the collapse of the Funan Empire. It
was succeeded by another Hindu-Khmer state, Chen-la, which lasted until the 9th century.
Then a Khmer king, Jayavarman II (about 800-850) established a capital at Angkor in central
Cambodia. He founded a cult which identified the king with the Hindu God Shiva – one of the
triad of Hindu gods, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the god symbolizing
destruction and reproduction. The Angkor Empire flourished from the 9th to the early 13th
century. It reached the peak of its fame under Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century,
when its conquests extended into Thailand in the west (where it had conquered the Mon
kingdom of Dwaravati) and into Champa in the east. Its most celebrated memorial is the
great temple of Angkor Wat, built early in the 12th century.
At the western end of the South East Asian mainland, Lower Burma was occupied by
the Mon peoples who are thought to have come originally from western China. In Lower
Burma they supplanted an earlier people: the Pyu, of whom little is known except that they
practised Hinduism. The Mons strongly influenced by their contacts with Indian traders
during the 3rd century B.C adopted Indian literature and art and the Buddhist religion. The
Mins were the earliest known civilization in Southeast Asia.
The Indonesian archipelago saw the rise of Hinduised empires of Sumatra and Java.
In the islands of Southeast Asia the first organized state to achieve fame was the Hindu
Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, with its capital at Palembang in southern Sumatra. Its
commercial pre-eminence was based on command of the sea route from India to China
between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula (later known as the Straits of Malacca). In the 6th
– 7th centuries Srivijaya succeeded Funan as the leading state in Southeast Asia. Its ruler was
the overlord of the Malay Peninsula and western Java as well as Sumatra. Like most of the
early kingdoms of Southeast Asia, Srivijaya was Dravidian in culture and administration, and
Buddhism became firmly entrenched there.
The Malay Peninsula was settled by prehistoric people 80,000 years ago. Another
batch of peoples the deutro Malay migrated from southern China within 10,000 years ago.
Upon arrival in the peninsular some of them mix with the Australoid. This gave the
appearance of the Malays. It was suggested that the visiting ancient Dravidians named the
peoples of Malaysia peninsular and Sumatera as "Malay ur" meant hills and city based on
the geographical terrain of Peninsular Malay and Sumatera.
Thailand's relationship with India spans over a thousand years and understandably
resulted in an adaptation of Hindu culture to suit the Thai environment. Evidence of strong
religious, cultural and linguistic links abound. The single most significant cultural
contribution of India, for which Thailand is greatly indebted to India, is Buddhism.
Propagated in Thailand in the 3rd century B.C. by Buddhist monks sent by King Asoka, it was
adopted as the state religion of Thailand and has ruled the hearts and minds of Thais ever
since. Presently 58,000,000 Thais, an overwhelming 94% of the total Thai populace adheres
to Buddhism.
Southern Indian traders, adventurers, teachers and priests continued to be the

dominating influence in Southeast Asia until about 1500 CE. Hinduism and Buddhism both

spread to these states from India and for many centuries existed there with mutual
toleration. Eventually the states of the mainland became mainly Buddhist.
The Indian and the Manila Galleon Trade
When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, our ancestors were already trading A
Spanish Galleon with China, Japan, Siam, India, Cambodia, Borneo and the Moluccas. The
Spanish government continued trade relations with these countries, and the Manila became
the center of commerce in the East. The Spaniards closed the ports of Manila to all countries
except Mexico. Thus, the Manila–Acapulco Trade, better known as the "Galleon Trade" was
born. The Galleon Trade was a government monopoly. Only two galleons were used: One
sailed from Acapulco to Manila with some 500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120 days
at sea; the other sailed from Manila to Acapulco with some 250,000 pesos worth of goods
spending 90 days at sea.
Manila ranked just below Mexico in urbanization and sophistication. It was not quite
a world city compared to Mexico, being more a regional trading hub where China, India,
Japan and Southeast Asia sent their goods to be consolidated for shipping. Those who ran
the hub and did most of the work were Chinese. They packed the goods (no one could pack
better than them, putting more merchandise in the limited spaces and chests on the galleon
than anyone else could). They came in junks yearly, bringing goods that not only competed
in price but in quality and innovation with the rest of the world. The Chinese served as part
of the galleon crews together with Filipinos and other nationalities (the galleon crews were
mostly East Asian with a sprinkling of various European nationalities). They most probably
clandestinely participated in the galleon trade which no one but Spaniards were allowed to
do. Many Chinese became very wealthy through hard work. Manila was almost a Chinese
city with the huge migration of Chinese due to the Manila Galleon trade as against the few
Spaniards and Filipino natives. So much so that the Spaniards feared them, taxed them, sent
them out to the Parian and eventually, when tensions rose, massacred them. Such
massacres were at their height in the 17th century from suspicion, unease and fear, until the
Spaniards and the Chinese learned to live with each other in the next few centuries.
C. THE ISLAMIC TRADITION: MINDANAO, MALAYSIA, BRUNEI, INDONESIA
Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices common to historically
Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to early
Umayyad period, were predominantly Arab, Byzantine, Persian and Levantine. With the
rapid expansion of the Islamic empires, Muslim culture has influenced and assimilated much
from the Persian, Egyptian, Caucasian, Turkic, Mongol, South Asian, Malay, Somali, Berber,
Indonesian, and Moro cultures. Islamic culture generally includes all the practices which
have developed around the religion of Islam. There are variations in the application of
Islamic beliefs in different cultures and traditions.
The movement of Islam into the countries around the South China Sea started over a
thousand years ago and continues to this day. Most of those who brought Islamic stories and
tales into Southeast Asia were sailors, traders, holy men, and adventurers who found the
religion easy to transport since it required no temples, priests, or congregations for its
worshippers. For a closer look at how Islam has been localized in Southeast Asia, the history
of Islam on the island of Java in the Republic of Indonesia provides a good example. Java
today is home to 59 percent of Indonesia’s population, which is projected to surpass a

quarter of a billion people by the end of the decade. Almost two thirds of Indonesia’s
Muslims live on Java, the island on which Indonesia’s largest cities, including its capital city
of Jakarta, are located.
Although some Islamic traders and sailors came to Java from Arabia, it is clear that the
arrival of Islam can be seen as a continuation of religious and cultural ideas coming from
India in the preceding centuries. Muslims from Arabia, Persia, India, Sumatra, and China all
passed through Java’s coastal cities. Islam was steadily taking hold on the north coast of Java
throughout the heyday of Majapahit, the last great inland Hindu-Buddhist Empire. Majapahit
flourished in the fourteenth century when Java became a focal point for stories moving
throughout the South China Sea between India and China.
The most significant Islamic kingdom to emerge in Southeast Asia at this time was
the sultanate of Melaka, which was founded around 1400 by a local prince who converted to
Islam. Established along the Straits of Melaka on the western Malay Peninsula, the sultanate
became the main entrepot for merchants traveling between India and China, and was noted
for its safe harbor and effective administration. Melaka's influence declined significantly
though after it captured by the Portuguese in 1511, with trade moving to other ports in the
region.
Other important sultanates in Southeast Asia around the time of Melaka's

ascendancy included Aceh in northern Sumatra; Johor on the Malay Peninsula; the port
cities of Demak and Banten on the north coast of Java; the kingdom of Mataram in central
Java; and Ternate and Tidore in what is now Maluku. By the 16th century, Islam had also
spread into the Sulu archipelago, where an important sultanate was established, and the
island of Mindanao, in what is now the Philippines.
Philippines. The Muslim minority population in the Philippines is mostly concentrated on the
southern island of Mindanao and on the Sulu archipelago. Relations between the Muslim
population here and the predominantly Catholic majority in the rest of the country have
been difficult for decades, although periodic efforts to negotiate settlements and
agreements have been occasionally successful.
Malaysia. Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi'i version of Sunni theology and
jurisprudence, while defining Malaysia constitutionally a secular state. Islam was introduced
by traders arriving from Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. It became firmly
established in the 15th century.
Brunei. The culture of Brunei is strongly influenced by Malay cultures and the Islamic religion.
While Standard Malay is the official language of Brunei, languages such as Brunei Malay and
English are more commonly spoken. Islam is the official religion of Brunei and Brunei has
implemented Sharia law since 2014.
Indonesia. Islam in Indonesia is considered to have gradually spread through merchant

activities by Arab Muslim traders, adoption by local rulers and the influence of mysticism
since the 13th century. During the late colonial era, it was adopted as a rallying banner
against colonialism.
D. THE WESTERN TRADITION: PHILIPPINES AND SINGAPORE

Most scholars have approached the structure of Westernization in Southeast Asia as
a process that has developed over stages and varying intensities according to location,
internal receptiveness, and the circumstances in which the encounter took place. One of the
most important mechanisms contributing to the transmission of Western culture to the
region was trade and colonization. In this context, trade consists of the movement, over the
centuries, of peoples, goods, and ideas between the Mediterranean, Bengal, and Southeast
Asian waters. With this in mind, Western interaction with Southeast Asia can be organized
chronologically into four stages.
Scholarship has addressed the concept of Westernization in Southeast Asia indirectly

through alternative themes and interests. That the early histories of Southeast Asia by
colonial officials were actually the history of Westerners in Asia and their perspective on the
region's culture reveals something about the idea of Westernization. As many early accounts
describing this process were involved in the spreading of ideas, technology, or goods, their
assessments tended to reflect their interests and their unfamiliarity with the region as a
whole. One aspect of this approach was to view Southeast Asian history within the
chronological and narrative framework of the West's own history, leading to judgments
proclaiming the region's political, social, and technological levels to be inherently backward.
It was believed that through colonial policies, Southeast Asia under European tutelage would
be emancipated from itself, joining the civilized world by emulating it. Thus, early
assessments by colonial officials saw the process of Westernization as the process through
which traditional cultures could be made modern.
Philippines. The Impacts and Influences of Western Thoughts to Filipinos Western Thoughts
has been a persistent and constant influence across the world in the last few centuries.
Obviously, Filipinos culture has been greatly influenced by the west: our education, music,
show business, lifestyle, and fashion and even on infrastructures. The Impacts and Influences
of Western Thoughts to Filipinos Western Thoughts has been a persistent and constant
influence across the world in the last few centuries. Obviously, Filipinos culture has been
greatly influenced by the west: our education, music, show business, lifestyle, and fashion
and even on infrastructures. Westernization is one of the main reasons why there is loss of
culture in the Philippines. Spain colonized the Philippines from 1565 – 1898. The Spanish
influence on the Filipino culture has been profound, having originated from the Spanish East
Indies. A variety of aspects of the customs and traditions in the Philippines today can be
traced back to these influences.
Singapore is an island city-state located off the coast of Malaysia. It is a very small country,
only measuring 26 km north to south and 50 km east to west, yet it hosts over 5 million
people. This makes it the second most densely populated sovereign state in the world.
Singapore served as a central point of trade between the East and West in the 19th century,
coming under British colonial rule in 1826 until 1963. Today, it is independent of Britain and
Malaysia. However, the influence of its past British governance means that it is one of the
most Westernised countries in Asia. Lifestyles are quite cosmopolitan and English (also
referred to as the adapted ‘Singlish’) is the common language spoken among all ethnicities.
Singapore’s economic positioning as one of the four Asian Dragons of the global economy
has also made it a big expatriate hot spot. There are so many foreigners in Singapore that
only about 60% of the population has citizenship.
SOURCES:
1. https://asiasociety.org/education/islamic-influence-southeast-asian-visual-arts-
literature-and-performance

2. https://southasia.berkeley.edu/islam-southeast-asia
3. https://science.jrank.org/pages/11617/Westernization-Southeast-Asia-Structure-
Westernization-in-Southeast-Asian-History.html
4. https://www.reseau-asie.com/historical-cultural-and-ethnic-diversity/
CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Recognize the characteristics and any background of the four influential

great traditions in the cultural transformation the Southeast Asia had by
filling in the table below.
Great Traditions Time it Cultural Places where

happened Characteristics the influences
co-generated
Chinese
Traditions
Indian Traditions
Islamic Traditions
Western
Traditions

2. Complete the diagram by filling in the boxes with the needed items in
associating the contributions and influences by the great traditions to the
development of the dominant characteristics of the society and culture of
the given places.
a. Chinese Traditions Vietnam
b. Indian Traditions Cambodia
Thailand
Java
Laos
Myanmar
c. Islamic Traditions Mindanao
Malaysia
Brunei
Indonesien
d. Western Traditions Philippines
Singapur

3. Determine the importance of the influences made by the great traditions
entered in Southeast Asia to the present condition of the society and culture
of some places and countries of the region. Write your answer on the space
provided in every item.
a. Chinese Tradition
b. Indian Tradition
c. Islamic Tradition
d. Western Traditions
TRY THIS OUT
1. Search for more information about the different evidences of the influences
made by Chinese, Indian, and Islamic Western culture to some Southeast
Asian countries. Discuss your insight on it in a paper.
2. Write an essay on how some Southeast Asian countries cultural identity
remains distinct and unique despite the many influences brought to the
region by the four great traditions studied.

CHAPTER 6: ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN MULTIPLE TRADITIONS IN A PARTICULAR COUNTRY
INTRODUCTION
Another influential perspective on complex societies has stressed the separation

rather than the interaction between members of different groups. This is the view from
classic theory on "plural societies" (Furnivall, 1947; Smith, 1966), which depicts poly-ethnic
societies as consisting of culturally distinctive groups which were integrated only through the
limited interaction taking place in a particular society and through common political
leadership, usually in the hands of one of the groups. Furnivall and Smith consider the
cultural universes of the constituent groups of the "plural society" as being by and large
discrete and autonomous, largely unmodified by the limited interaction taking place
between the groups in the market-place. The metaphor describing discrete ethnic groups as
"pearls on a necklace", used by a Mauritian "pluralist" of my acquaintance (Hookoomsing,
1986), sums up this position.
Multiple traditions may be conceived of as existing in an area, such as a polity or

"plural society", or as impinging on a person, or both. When Redfield and Marriott spoke of
"little" and "great" traditions with particular reference to India (cf. Marriott, 1955), they
referred to a division of knowledge corresponding to a hierarchical division of labor and
distribution of ritual purity. Redfield and his students saw a mutual interdependence
between the segments, but left it to Dumont (1980) to show how they form a hierarchical
totality of relations. Whereas the "cultural pluralists" in the tradition from Furnivall regard
the constituent groups or segments as being forcefully integrated politically, voluntarily
integrated economically and otherwise autonomous, the views of Redfield, Dumont and the
Rhodes-Livingstone school would regard the role of multiple traditions as something
negotiable and relative. Only the latter perspectives allow us to regard plural societies as
societies.
Southeast Asia is a geographically expansive and populous region characterized by

fascinating social and cultural variation. Particularly striking to the outside observer is the
region’s ethnic and religious diversity. The majority of the countries in this region are home
to dozens of different ethnic groups (and in some cases, hundreds), many with their own
distinct languages, cultures, and styles of dress. Many of these groups have their own
systems of religious belief and practice as well.
Despite Southeast Asia’s rich ethnic and cultural diversity, there are shared values
throughout the region. The module will feature the explanation under the principle of the
theory about the “Nation as Imagined Community” by studying on the cases of re-
interpreting the identity of some Southeast Asian countries such as; Indonesia, Vietnam,
Philippines and Thailand.
1. Identify some of the most influential multiple traditions that occurred in some
Southeast Asian countries.

2. Discuss the process of re-interpreting the identity of the society and culture of
some Southeast Asian countries due to the encounters of multiple traditions
significantly dominating on the area.
3. Analyze the impact and local responses on the different factors from the
encounters within and between traditions of some Southeast Asian countries.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Cultural factors
2. Cultural identity
3. Social identity
4. Cultural models
5. Cultural integration

B.Content Readings
ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN MULTIPLE TRADITIONS IN A PARTICULAR COUNTRY
A. RE-INTERPRETING IDENTITY: THE “NATION AS IMAGINED COMMUNITY”
Benedict Anderson, a scholar of Southeast Asia who transformed the study of

nationalism by positing that nations were “imagined communities” that arose from the
fateful interplay of capitalism and the printing press, died on Saturday night at a hotel in
Batu, Indonesia.
Dr. Anderson’s best-known book, “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin

and Spread of Nationalism,” first published in 1983, began with three paradoxes:
Nationalism is a modern phenomenon, even though many people think of their nations as
ancient and eternal; it is universal (everyone has a nation), even though each nation is
supposedly utterly distinctive; and it is powerful (so much so that people will die for their
countries), even though on close inspection it is hard to define.
Anderson defines the nation as an "imagined political community": imagined

because the members of the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members,
meet them or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their
communion. A nation exists when a significant number of people in a community consider
them (or, in other words imagine them as to form a nation, or behave as if they formed one.
In fact, Anderson says, all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face
contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined. Communities are to be distinguished not by
their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined.
The great sacred communities of the past (Christendom, the Islamic Ummah, the
Middle Kingdom) were imaginable through the medium of a sacred language and written
script.
The birth of the imagined community of the nation can best be seen if we consider
the basic structure of two forms of imagining that first flowered in Europe in the eighteen
century: the novel and the newspaper. For these forms provided the technical means for re-
presenting the kind of imagined community that is the nation.
The newspaper in particular creates and "extraordinary mass ceremony: the almost
simultaneous consumption...". This ceremony is performed in silent privacy, in the lair of the
scull. Yet each communicant is well aware that the ceremony he performs is being replicated
simultaneously by thousands or millions of others of whose existence he is confident, yet of
whose identity he has not the slightest notion. What more vivid figure for the secular,
historically clocked imagined community can be envisioned?
Implications of the concept: The Internet provides new media and new styles in
which communities can be imagined. It is more important to understand these styles of

imagining than to argue for or against the "falsity/genuineness" of communities in
cyberspace. What are the new "ceremonies" in which participants engage? What are the
shared symbolic systems created, recreated and modified in the practices of such
communities? It can be argued that these communities can be more participatory and
democratic because the "medium of imagining" is more flexible and open for intervention
on the part of all members, compared to the newspaper, television, etc. But are they more
participatory, more equal, and more inclusive indeed?
Cultural Identity
Cultural identity is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a

person's self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion,
social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture.
In this way, cultural identity is both characteristic of the individual but also of the culturally
identical group of members sharing the same cultural identity or upbringing.
Cultural (and Ethnic) Identity is a subset of the communication theory of identity

that establishes four "frames of identity" that allow us to view how we build identity. These
frames include the personal frame, enactment of communication frame, relationship frame,
and communal frame. The communal frame refers to the cultural constraints or the sense of
"right" that people live by (which varies by cultural group). Therefore, cultural (and Ethnic)
Identity becomes central to a person’s identity, how they see themselves and how they
relate to the world.
Cultural identities are influenced by several different factors such as ones religion,
ancestry, skin colour, language, class, education, profession, skill, family and political
attitudes. These factors contribute to the development of one's identity.
Since many aspects of a person's cultural identity can be changed, such as

citizenship or influence from outside cultures can change cultural traditions, language is a
main component of cultural identity.
B. THE INDONESIA CASE: ANIMISM, HINDU-BUDDHISM AND ISLAM IN CENTRAL JAVA
Indonesia is a vast archipelago comprising more than 17,000 islands - contains a

population numbering around 255 million people; a number that makes Indonesia the fourth
most populous country in the world. These impressive numbers also imply that significant
cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity can expected to be found within its
boundaries, ranging from the daily Hindu rituals practiced on the island of Bali to the
prevalence of Islamic sharia law in Aceh (Sumatra) or the semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer
lifestyles of the Mentawai people.
Historically the religious majority of Indonesia was Animists. Shortly after the first
century, Hinduism was introduced to Indonesia from India. Two thousand years after the
introduction of Hinduism, Indonesia was introduced to the rest of the major religions (i.e.
Christianity, Judaism, etc.)
Moreover, before a national framework was laid upon them, the various regions
experienced separate political and economic histories which still show in the current

regional dynamics. Indonesia's national motto Bhinekka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity)
refers to the variety in the country's internal composition but also indicates that - despite all
differences in its multicultural society - there is a true sense of unity (Indonesianness) among
the people of Indonesia.
The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long interaction between original
indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is centrally-located along
ancient trading routes between the Far East, South Asia and the Middle East, resulting in
many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity, all strong in the major trading cities.
The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous cultures.
Examples of the fusion of Islam with Hinduism include Javanese Abangan belief, the
fusion of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism in Bodha, and the fusion of Hinduism and
animism in Kaharingan; others could be cited. Balinese dances have stories about ancient
Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms, while Islamic art forms and architecture are present in
Sumatra, especially in the Minangkabau and Aceh regions. Traditional art, music and sport
are combined in a martial art form called PencakSilat.
Many Indonesian combine their beliefs with one of the government-recognized

religions and register under that recognized religion. An estimated 20 million persons [8% of
the population], primarily in Java, Kalimantan, and Papua, practice animism and other types
of traditional belief systems termed "AliranKepercayaan." The government permits the
practice of the traditional belief system of AliranKepercayaan as a cultural manifestation, not
a religion. Isolated hill tribes living in the interiors of the islands of Sulawesi, Seram, or Timor
might express devotion to ancestral spirits through animal sacrifice at home.
The Dayak indigenous religion - Kaharingan, meaning "life" is a form of animism, but
for official purposes, it is categorized as a form of Hinduism. During Ramadan, the Islamic
month of fasting, peasants from Java might emphasize their Islamic faith and affiliation,
whereas in other settings animist practices would dominate. Upon closer examination, it
might be concluded that possibly 80& of the population of Indonesia might be classified as
animist. Animism existed since before Indonesia's earliest history, and has survived overlays
of great religions imported from other regions.
The approximately 65,000 Asmat people of the south-central alluvial swamps of Irian
Jaya Province are descended from a Papuan racial stock. They live in villages with
populations that vary from 35 to 2,000. The Asmat are primarily hunters and gatherers who
subsist by gathering and processing the starchy pulp of the sago palm, and by fishing and
hunting the occasional wild pig, cassowary, grubs, and crocodile. Asmat believe that all
deaths--except those of the very old and very young--come about through acts of
malevolence, either by magic or actual physical force. Their ancestral spirits demand
vengeance for these deaths. These ancestors to whom they feel obligated are represented in
large, spectacular wood carvings of canoes, shields, and in ancestor poles consisting of
human figurines. Until the late twentieth century, the preferred way a young man could
fulfill his obligations to his kin, to his ancestors, and to prove his sexual prowess, was to take
a head of an enemy, and offer the body for cannibalistic consumption by other members of
the village.
Traditionally, most of the scattered ethno-linguistic groups inhabiting the interior of

the vast island of southern Kalimantan have been labeled collectively by outsiders as Dayak.

Religiously, they tend to be either Protestant or Kaharingan, a form of native religious
practice viewed by the government as Hindu, with an estimated 330,000 adherents. Through
its healing performances, Kaharingan serves to mold the scattered agricultural residences
into a community, and it is at times of ritual that these peoples coalesce as a group. There is
no set ritual leader nor is there a fixed ritual presentation. Specific ceremonies may be held
in the home of the sponsor.
Shamanic curing or balian is one of the core features of these ritual practices.
Because this healing practice often occurs as a result of the loss of the soul, which has
resulted in some kind of illness, the focus of the religion is thus on the body. Sickness comes
by offending one of the many spirits inhabiting the earth and fields, usually from a failure to
sacrifice to them. The goal of the balian is to call back the wayward soul and restore the
health of the community through trance, dance, and possession.
Modern recognition of the legitimacy of Kaharingan as a religious practice has been

the culmination of a long history of struggles for autonomy. Since the southern coast of
Kalimantan has long been dominated by the politically and numerically superior Muslim
Banjarese, Christian and Kaharingan adherents of the central interior sought parliamentary
recognition of a Great Dayak territory in 1953. When these efforts failed, a rebellion broke
out in 1956 along religious lines, culminating in the establishment of the new province of
Kalimantan Tengah in May 1957.
The abortive coup of 1965 proved that independence to be fragile. With the unity of
the republic at stake, indigenous religions were viewed as threats and labelled atheistic and,
by implication, communist. Caught in a no-win situation, the Dayak also were told that they
did not have an agama and thus became suspect in the anticommunist fever of the late
1960s. By the early 1970s, negotiations began between Kalimantan Tengah and the national
government over recognition of the indigenous religion of the peoples of the province. But
as late as 1979 they were unable to conform to the requirements laid down by the
Indonesian government: 1) that their belief knew only one God; 2) that a holy book or script
was present; 3) that a special building for religious services was present; and 4) that a set
number of yearly feast-days were ordered. After making changes to conform to these
criteria, in April 1980, the Kaharingan community obtained official recognition by the state
government, not as Indonesia’s sixth religion but as a branch of Hinduism.
One minority group that has been successful in gaining national and international
attention is the Toraja of central Sulawesi, with a population of approximately 650,000. This
group's prominence, beginning in the 1980s, was due largely to the tourist industry, which
was attracted to the region because of its picturesque villages and its spectacular mortuary
rites involving the slaughter of water buffalo.
An important kind of group with which Toraja have close affiliations is the tongkonan
(ancestral house), which contrasts with banua (ordinary house). Tongkonan as social units
consist of a group of people who reckon descent from an original ancestor. The physical
structures of tongkonan are periodically renewed by replacing their distinctively shaped
roofs. This ritual is attended by members of the social group and accompanied by trance-like
dances in which the spirits are asked to visit. A third important kind of affiliation is the
saroan, or village work group. These groups were probably originally agricultural work
groups based in a particular hamlet. Beginning as labor and credit exchanges, saroan have
since evolved into units of cooperation in ritual activities as well. When sacrifices and
funerals take place, these groups exchange meat and other foods.

The flexibility of these affiliations is partly responsible for the intensity of the mortuary
performances. Because there is some ambiguity about one's affiliation (that is, one's claims
to descent are not only based on blood relationships but also on social recognition of the
relationship through public acts), Toraja people may attempt to prove the importance of a
relationship through elaborate contributions to a funeral, which provides an opportunity to
prove not only a person's devotion to a deceased parent, but also a person's claim to a share
of that parent's land. The amount of land an individual inherits from the deceased might
depend on the number of buffalo sacrificed at a parent's funeral. Sometimes people even
pawn land to get buffalo to kill at a funeral so that they can claim the land of the deceased.
Thus, feasting at funerals is highly competitive.
The Toraja have two main kinds of rituals. Those of the east-- known as rites of the
rising sun and the rising smoke--are concerned with planting fertility and abundance.
Following the rice harvest are rituals of the west centering on the setting sun, consisting
primarily of funerals. Both involve the sacrifice of water buffalo, pigs, and chickens as
offerings to the ancestors, and a complex distribution of the meat among the living.
It is difficult to describe the Balinese version of Hinduism in the same doctrinal terms
as Islam and Christianity, since this unique form of religious expression is deeply interwoven
with art and ritual, and is less closely preoccupied with scripture, law, and belief. Balinese
Hinduism lacks the traditional Hindu emphasis on cycles of rebirth and reincarnation, but
instead is concerned with a myriad of local and ancestral spirits. As with kebatinan, these
deities are thought to be capable of harm. This is not really Hinduism, but is rather animism.
Balinese place great emphasis on dramatic and aesthetically satisfying acts of ritual
propitiation of these spirits at temple sites scattered throughout villages and in the
countryside. Each of these temples has a more or less fixed membership; every Balinese
belongs to a temple by virtue of descent, residence, or some mystical revelation of affiliation.
Some temples are associated with the family house compound, others are associated with
rice fields, and still others with key geographic sites. Ritualized states of self-control (or lack
thereof) are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, famous for their
graceful and decorous behavior. One key ceremony at a village temple, for instance, features
a special performance of a dance-drama (a battle between the mythical characters Rangda
the witch and Barong the dragon), in which performers fall into a trance and attempt to stab
themselves with sharp knives.
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian
island of Java. They number approximately 30 million. Although Sundanese religious
practices share some of the Hindu-Buddhist beliefs of their Javanese neighbors -- for
example, the animistic beliefs in spirits and the emphasis on right thinking and self-control
as a way of controlling those spirits -- Sundanese courtly traditions differ from those of the
Javanese. The Sundanese language possesses an elaborate and sophisticated literature
preserved in Indic scripts and in puppet dramas. These dramas use distinctive wooden dolls
(wayanggolek, as contrasted with the wayangkulit of the Javanese and Balinese), but
Sundanese courts have aligned themselves more closely to universalistic tenets of Islam than
have the elite classes of Central Java.
The striking variations in the practice and interpretation of Islam -- in a much less
austere form than that practiced in the Middle East -- in various parts of Indonesia reflect its
complex history, introduced piecemeal by various traders and wandering mystics from India.
These historical processes gave rise to enduring tensions between orthodox Muslims and

more syncretistic, locally based religion. On Java, for instance, this tension was expressed in
a contrast between santri ["white" - Orthodox Muslims] and abangan [people who are
nominally Muslim and who, in fact, are followers of kebatinan, an indigenous blend of native
and Hindu-Buddhist beliefs with Islamic practices sometimes also called kejawen, agama
Jawa, or Javanism. The word is derived from the Javanese abang, which means "red."]
Most Javanese peasants, particularly those in Central Java, resist the universalism of
Islam and its political connotations. They favor a more moderate blend of Islamic practice
with an indigenous Javanism, expressed in household feasts, pilgrimages to local temples
and shrines, and belief in local spirits. For many Javanese peasants, the spiritual world is
richly populated with deities who inhabit people, things, and places, and who are ever ready
to cause misfortune. Believers seek to protect themselves against these harmful spirits by
making offerings, enlisting the aid of a dukun (healer), or through spiritual acts of self-
control and right thinking.
In contrast to the Mecca-oriented philosophy of most santri, there was the current
of kebatinan, which is an amalgam of animism, Hindu-Buddhist, and Islamic -- especially Sufi
-- beliefs. This loosely organized current of thought and practice, was legitimized in the 1945
constitution and, in 1973, when it was recognized as one of the agama. As a body of belief,
kebatinan is administered by the Department of Education and Culture rather than by the
Department of Religious Affairs. President Suharto counted himself as one of its adherents.
Kebatinan is generally characterized as mystical, and some varieties were concerned

with spiritual self-control. Although there were many varieties circulating, kebatinan often
implies pantheistic worship because it encourages sacrifices and devotions to local and
ancestral spirits. These spirits are believed to inhabit natural objects, human beings, artifacts,
and grave sites of important wali (Muslim saints). Illness and other misfortunes are traced to
such spirits, and if sacrifices or pilgrimages fail to placate angry deities, the advice of a dukun
or healer is sought. Kebatinan, while it connotes a turning away from the militant
universalism of orthodox Islam, moves toward a more internalized universalism. In this way,
kebatinan moves toward eliminating the distinction between the universal and the local, the
communal and the individual.
With approximately 62% of the country's population, Java has a population of over
150 million, of whom 97.3 percent are officially Muslim. Only 5-10 percent follow Agami
Islam Santri, with 30 percent following AgamiJawi. The rest are only nominal Muslims, called
abangan, whose religion is based more on animism, mysticism, Javanese Hinduism and
Javanese Buddhism. Thus perhaps as much as 90% of the Population of Java is animist.
Multiculturalism can, likewise, be an asset to Indonesia. True multiculturalism

creates room for people to collaborate and remain tolerant in the midst of disagreement. A
genuine engagement with diversity is a source of social capital, which needs to be taken care
of regardless of place or time.
Many Indonesian Muslims still practice a rather syncretistic mix of beliefs, combining Islam
with other cultural and religious traditions. They are often criticized by Muslim purists for
their eclecticism.

C. THE VIETNAMESE CASE: CHINESE’S HEGEMONY AND LOCAL RESPONSE
The First Chinese Domination of Vietnam
The first Chinese domination is a period in Vietnamese history during which Vietnam
was under Chinese rule from the north. It is the first of four periods of Chinese domination
of Vietnam, the first three of which are almost continuous and referred to as Bắcthuộc
("Northern domination").
In 111 BC, the powerful Chinese Han dynasty conquered the Nam Việt (which in
Chinese translates to "land of the southern barbarians") kingdom during its expansion
southward and incorporated what is now northern Vietnam, together with much of modern
Guangdong and Guangxi, into the expanding Han empire. Vietnamese resistance to Han rule
culminated in the rebellion of the Trưng Sisters, who expelled the Han in 40 AD and briefly
ruled Vietnam until being defeated by the returning Han Chinese army in 43 AD.
During the next several hundred years of Chinese colonization and domination,
Sinification of the newly conquered Nanyue was brought about by a combination of Han
imperial military power, regular settlement and an influx of Han Chinese refugees, officers
and garrisons, merchants, scholars, bureaucrats, fugitives, and prisoners of war. At the same
time, Chinese officials were interested in exploiting the region's natural resources and trade
potential. In addition, Han Chinese officials also seized fertile land conquered from
Vietnamese nobles for newly settled Han Chinese immigrants. Han rule and government
administration brought new influences to the indigenous Vietnamese and the rule of
Vietnam as a Chinese province operated as a frontier outpost of the Han Empire. The Han
dynasty was desperate to extend their control over the fertile Red River Delta, in part as the
geographical terrain served as a convenient supply point and trading post for Han ships
engaged in the growing maritime trade with various South and Southeast Asian Kingdoms as
well as establishing it as a prominent trading post with Ancient India and the Roman Empire.
During the first century of Chinese rule, Vietnam was governed leniently and indirect with no
immediate change in indigenous policies. Initially, the practice of indigenous Vietnamese
was governed at the local level but was ruled out in favor of replacing indigenous
Vietnamese local officials with newly settled Han Chinese officials. Han imperial bureaucrats
generally pursued a policy of peaceful relations with the indigenous population, focusing
their administrative roles in the prefectural headquarters and garrisons, and maintaining
secure river routes for trade. By the first century AD, however, the Han dynasty intensified
its efforts to assimilate its new territories by raising taxes and instituting marriage and land
inheritance reforms aimed at turning Vietnam into a patriarchal society more amenable to
political authority.
The Vietnamese paid heavy tributes and imperial taxes to the Han mandarins to
maintain the local administration and the military. The Chinese vigorously tried to assimilate
the Vietnamese peacefully either through forced sinicization or through brute Chinese
political domination. The Han dynasty sought to assimilate the Vietnamese as the Chinese
wanted to maintain a unified cohesive empire through a "civilizing mission" as what the
Chinese regarded the Vietnamese as uncultured and backward barbarians and regarded
their "Celestial Empire" as the supreme centre of the universe. Under Chinese rule, Han
dynasty officials imposed much of Chinese culture, including Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, and
Confucianism, its imperial examination system, and mandarin bureaucracy. However,
implementation of a foreign administrative system and sinification was not easy as frequent
uprisings and rebellions were indicative of Vietnamese resistance to these changes. Some

Vietnamese welcomed the chance to assimilate as what they considered Chinese culture, to
be a more civilized, advanced and superior culture. Though the Vietnamese incorporated
advanced and technical elements they thought would be beneficial to themselves, the
unwillingness to be dominated by outsiders, the desire to maintain political autonomy and
the drive to regain Vietnamese independence signified Vietnamese resistance and hostility
to Chinese aggression, political domination and imperialism on Vietnamese society. Han
Chinese bureaucrats sought to impose much of Chinese high culture onto the indigenous
Vietnamese including bureaucratic Legalist techniques and Confucian ethics, education, art,
literature, and language. The conquered and subjugated Vietnamese had to adopt the
Chinese foreign writing system, Confucianism, veneration of the Chinese emperor at the
detriment of the loss of their native spoken language, culture, ethnic and national identity.
The Effect of Chinese Domination in Vietnam
How and to what extent have Vietnam’s governance structures been converged
toward or diverged from the Chinese model of political organization and rule? Similarities of
governance structures in Vietnam and China are primarily the result of analogy or the fact
that both regimes have faced comparable challenges first with regard to their respective
national revolutionary struggles and later the establishment and institutional fostering of
communist rule, acted under similar conditions and pursued similar goals which have
resulted in the part convergence of the two countries’ political institutions, structures, and
practices that occurred without the direct exercise of influence. The most prominent
example of chasing analogous objectives certainly refers to the economic reform processes
toward market systems and the integration in global economic structures without touching
the main pillars of the respective political orders. Overall, the convergence of governance
systems in Vietnam and China lies in principles and policy (the value system of reform)
rather than in structures and polity. Vietnam’s learning from China is more a “path
imitation” than “model imitation.”
The culture of Vietnam has undergone changes over the millennia. According to
scholarly sources, the culture of Vietnam originated from Nam Việt, an ancient kingdom of
the Baiyue people in East Asia which shared characteristics of Han Chinese cultures and the
ancient Dong Son Culture, considered one of the most important progenitors of its
indigenous culture, during the Bronze Age. Nam Việt was annexed by China in 111 BC,
leading to the first Chinese domination of Vietnam lasting over a millennium that propelled
Chinese influences onto Vietnamese culture in terms of Confucian ideology, governance, and
the arts.
Following independence from China in the 10th century, successive Vietnamese

imperial dynasties flourished as the country embarked on a southward expansion that
annexed territories of the Champa and Khmer civilizations, which resulted in regional
variances of modern-day Vietnamese culture. During the French colonial period in the mid-
19th century, Vietnamese culture absorbed European influences including architecture,
Catholicism, and the adoption of the Latin alphabet, which created the new ChữQuốcngữ
writing system that replaced the previous Chinese characters and ChữNôm scripts.
During the socialist era, Vietnamese culture was characterized by government-

controlled propaganda, which emphasized the importance of cultural exchanges with fellow
communist nations such as the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. Following the ĐổiMới reforms,
Vietnam has continuously absorbed various influences from Asian, European, and American

cultures. Part of the East Asian cultural sphere, Vietnamese culture has certain characteristic
features including ancestor veneration and worship, respect for community and family
values, and manual labor religious belief. Important cultural symbols include dragons, turtles,
lotuses, and bamboo.
The occupation of Vietnam by China, sometimes referred to as "Bắcthuộc" in

Vietnamese began in 111 BC, and is usually considered to have ended in 938 AD. A fourth,
relatively brief, 20-year punitive invasion by the Ming dynasty, 400 years later, is usually
excluded by historians in discussion of the main, almost continuous, period of Chinese
occupation from 111 BC to 938 AD, as is the brief occupation of northern Vietnam by
Chinese forces at the end of the Second World War.
The four periods of Chinese occupation do not correspond to the modern borders of
Vietnam but to Vietnam as a cultural entity. During the first three Chinese periods of
occupation, Vietnamese society was primarily in the northern part of modern Vietnam. Ten
centuries of Chinese occupation left a substantial demographic footprint, with settlement by
large numbers of ethnic Han-Chinese, while opening up Vietnam for trade. Against this the
second period of Chinese occupation saw almost 500 years of revolt and war, though the
third period (603-939) was more harmonious.
In addition to administration, and making Chinese the language of administration,

the long period of Chinese occupation introduced Chinese techniques of dike construction,
rice cultivation, and animal husbandry. Chinese culture, having been established among the
elite mandarin class, remained the mainstream current among that elite for most of the next
1,000 years (939-1870s) until the loss of independence under French Indochina. This cultural
affiliation to China remained true even when militarily defending Vietnam against attempted
invasion, such as against the Mongol Kublai Khan. The only significant exceptions to this
were the 7 years of the strongly anti-Chinese Hồ dynasty which banned the use of Chinese
(among other actions, triggering the fourth Chinese invasion), but the aftermath of the
expulsion of the Ming saw a rise in vernacular chữnôm literature. Although 1,000 years of
Chinese rule left many traces, the collective memory of the period reinforced Vietnam's
cultural and later political independence.
The nearly 1000-year period of Chinese rule had some profound impacts on
Vietnamese culture, and this was no accident. China was very confident in its belief that it
was the greatest society in the world, and attempted to convert all Vietnamese peoples into
Chinese citizens, a process called sanitization. Sanitization had practical applications as well;
the Chinese governors believed Vietnam was less likely to rebel if the people all thought of
themselves as Chinese and gave up their Vietnamese identity.
To achieve this, Vietnamese customs, traditions, and even clothing and hairstyles
were prohibited by law. The Vietnamese people were forced to dress in Chinese manners,
adhere to Chinese rituals, and learn to read and speak the Chinese language. This process
was both a success and failure. Chinese mannerism and styles became widely (and in some
cases enthusiastically) adopted. China was a cultural epicenter of East Asia, so many
Vietnamese people were already excited to try Chinese things. Plus, as the Chinese came in,
they brought with them the most advanced architectural and building technologies in that
part of the world. Vietnam was able to grow economically and politically largely thanks to
Chinese infrastructure.
When we talk about East Asia, we're usually talking about China. China is a big
nation, and historically was the dominant power in this part of the continent. However, it

wasn't the only culture of East Asia, and it would be a mistake to act like all East Asian
societies are basically Chinese. They're not. In fact, some had to fight long and hard to
secure that fact. One example is Vietnam. Vietnam has had an interesting relationship with
China throughout history. Through various economic, cultural, or military means, China has
exerted a lot of influence onto Vietnam. But Vietnam is not China, and the Vietnamese
people are not Chinese.
D. THE PHILIPPINE CASE: SPANISH COLONIALISM AND LOCAL RESPONSES
The colonial experiences of the Philippines have greatly influenced the preservation
of the nation’s literary cultural heritage and built cultural heritage. Apparently, colonial
experience has defined how heritage is treated and conserved. The colonial legacy has set a
precedent that destroys the old practices, ways of life, structures and edifices to favor the
creation of a new set of world order, thus setting a culture of neglect and disregard for
cultural heritage conservation. Apparently, the politics of memory and the quest for a new
identity has influenced how heritage conservation is defined and perceived. From the time
before the Philippines were discovered by the Europeans and the way the nation was passed
on from one colonizer to another, minimal sense of heritage conservation was developed.
The perception that anything related to the historical past is a sign of antiquity and
underdevelopment has comprised the way present communities perceive development.
Henceforth, cultural heritages are given the least importance unless its relationship with
economic activities has been clearly established. This study connects the implications of the
Philippines’ rich colonial experience to approaches of heritage conservation in the country
and in the end presents a way of how to possibly reverse some of its impact. The study
presents an exploratory and descriptive approach using case studies of heritage districts in
the Philippines that illustrate how a practice of cultural neglect can be converted to culture
of concern and conservation through the development of creative industry and culture
capital.
Spanish Colonization in the Philippines
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan successfully led the European expedition to

Philippines in the service of the King of Spain. On 31 March 1521 at Limasawa Island,
Southern Leyte, as stated in Pigafetta's Primo ViaggioIntorno El Mondo (First Voyage around
the World), Magellan solemnly planted a cross on the summit of a hill overlooking the sea
and claimed for the king of Spain possession of the islands he had seen, naming them
Archipelago of Saint Lazarus. The invasion of Philippines by foreign powers however didn’t
begin in earnest until 1564. After Magellan's voyage, subsequent expeditions were
dispatched to the islands.
Four expeditions were sent: Loaisa (1525), Cabot (1526), Saavedra (1527), Villalobos
(1542), and Legazpi (1564) by Spain. The Legazpi expedition was the most successful as it
resulted in the discovery of the tornaviaje or return trip to Mexico across the Pacific by
Andrés de Urdaneta. This discovery started the Manila galleon trade1, which lasted two and
a half centuries. In 1570, Martín de Goiti having been dispatched by Legazpi to Luzon2,
conquered the Kingdom of Maynila (now Manila). Legazpi then made Maynila the capital of
the Philippines and simplified its spelling to Manila. His expedition also renamed Luzon
Nueva Castilla. Legazpi became the country's first governor-general. The archipelago was

Spain's outpost in the orient and Manila became the capital of the entire Spanish East Indies.
The colony was administered through the Viceroyalty of New Spain (now Mexico) until 1821
when Mexico achieved independence from Spain. After 1821, the colony was governed
directly from Spain.
Spain had three objectives in its policy toward the Philippines, its only colony in Asia:
to acquire a share in the spice trade, to develop contacts with China and Japan in order to
further Christian missionary efforts there, and to convert the Filipinos to Christianity. Only
the third objective was eventually realized, though not completely because of the active
resistance of both the Muslims in the south and the Igorot, the upland tribal peoples in the
north. Philip II, king of Spain explicitly ordered that pacification of the Philippines be
bloodless, to avoid a repetition of Spain's sanguinary conquests in the Americas. Occupation
of the islands was accomplished with relatively little bloodshed, partly because most of the
population (except the Muslims) offered little armed resistance initially. However there have
been several incidents of atrocities committed by the Spanish authorities, one of the most
incredible acts of heinous torture took place in the Fortress of Sebastian Intra Mores in
Manila where there was a dungeon known as the Black Hole. The prison had only two small
apertures, one three feet square in the ceiling, the other a little gated hole in the floor
through which the sea could be seen washing underneath. The Spanish authorities used to
confine state prisoners in the hole to the brimful without food and water and just sufficient
air to prevent them from dying immediately. Physical torture was meted out to the
unmanageable prisoners.
During most of the Spanish colonial period, the Philippine economy depended on
the Galleon Trade which was inaugurated in 1565 between Manila and Acapulco, Mexico.
Trade between Spain and the Philippines was via the Pacific Ocean to Mexico (Manila to
Acapulco), and then across the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to Spain (Veracruz to
Cádiz). Manila became the most important center of trade in Asia between the 17th and
18th centuries. All sorts of products from China, Japan, Brunei, the Moluccas and even India
were sent to Manila to be sold for silver 8-real coins3 which came aboard the galleons
(Spanish ships) from Acapulco (city in Mexico). These goods, including silk, porcelain, spices,
lacquer ware and textile products were then sent to Acapulco and from there to other parts
of New Spain, Peru and Europe. The European population in the archipelago steadily grew
although natives remained the majority. They depended on the Galleon Trade for a living. In
the later years of the 18th century, Governor General Basco introduced economic reforms
that gave the colony its first significant internal source income from the production of
tobacco and other agricultural exports. In this later period, agriculture was finally opened to
the European population, which before was reserved only forthe natives.
During Spain’s 333 year rule in the Philippines, the colonists had to fight off the
Chinese pirates (who lay siege to Manila, the most famous of which was Limahong in 1574),
Dutch forces, Portuguese forces, and indigenous revolts. Moros from western Mindanao and
the Sulu Archipelago also raided the coastal Christian areas of Luzon and the Visayas and
occasionally captured men and women to be sold as slaves. On April 25, 1898, the Spanish–
American War began with declarations of war. On May 1, 1898, the Spanish navy was
decisively defeated in the Battle of Manila Bay by the Asiatic Squadron of the U.S. Navy led
by Commodore George Dewey aboard the USS Olympia. Thereafter Spain lost the ability to
defend Manila and therefore the Philippines.
The Filipino movement against Spanish authorities had both violent and non-violent
proponents. Jose Rizal was the most prominent face of the moderate opposition to the

Spanish rule who advocated political reforms of The Philippines under Spain. Jose Rizal was a
man of incredible intellectual power, with amazing artistic talent as well. He excelled at
anything that he put his mind to - medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture, sociology. In
1882, he traveled to Spain to complete his medical degree. While in Europe, José Rizal
became part of the Propaganda Movement, connecting with other Filipinos who wanted
reform. He also wrote his first novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not/The Social Cancer), a
work that detailed the dark aspects of Spain's colonial rule in the Philippines, with particular
focus on the role of Catholic friars. The book was banned in the Philippines, though copies
were smuggled in. Rizal returned to the Philippines in 1892. Although the reform society he
founded, the Liga Filipino (Philippine League), supported non-violent action, Rizal was still
exiled to Dapitan, on the island of Mindanao. In August 1896, Katipunan, a nationalist
Filipino society founded by Andres Bonifacio, revolted. Though Rizal had no ties to the group,
and disapproved of its violent methods, Rizal was arrested shortly thereafter. After a show
trial, Rizal was convicted of sedition and sentenced to death by firing squad. Rizal's public
execution was carried out in Manila on December 30, 1896, when he was 35 years old. His
execution created more opposition to Spanish rule.
On May 19, 1898, Filipino radical revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the
Philippines from self-exile in Hong Kong aboard an American naval ship and on May 24 took
command of Filipino forces. Filipino forces had liberated much of the country from the
Spanish. On June 12, 1898 Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence
declaring independence from Spain and later established the First Philippine Republic.
Filipino forces then laid siege to Manila, as had American forces. The Americans entered into
a pact with the Spanish governor general in which they agreed to fight a mock battle before
surrendering Manila to the Americans. The Battle of Manila took place on August 13 and
Americans took control of the city. In the Treaty of Paris (1898) ending the Spanish–
American War, the Spanish agreed to sell the Philippines to the United States for $20 million
which was subsequently narrowly ratified by the U.S. Senate. With this action, Spanish rule
in the Philippines formally ended. However the sovereignty status of The Philippines
remained unchanged till 1946, as the void left by Spain was immediately filled with the U.S.A.
The Philippines was illegally ceded to the United States at the Treaty of Paris for US$20
million, together with Cuba and Puerto Rico. A Filipino-American War broke out as the
United States attempted to establish control over the islands. The war lasted for more than
10 years, resulting in the death of more than 600,000 Filipinos. The little-known war has
been described by historians as the "first Vietnam", where US troops first used tactics such
as strategic hamleting and scorched-earth policy to "pacify" the natives.
The United States established an economic system giving the colonizers full rights to
the country's resources. The Spanish feudal system was not dismantled; in fact, through the
system of land registration that favored the upper Filipino classes, tenancy became more
widespread during the US occupation. Native elites, including physicians trained in the
United States, were groomed to manage the economic and political system of the country.
The U.S. also introduced western models of educational and health-care systems which
reinforced elitism and a colonial mentality that persists to this day, mixed with the Spanish
feudal patron-client relationship. Eventually after the second world war, where Filipino
forced fought alongside U.S.A to thwart the Japanese force, Philippine independence came
on July 4, 1946, with the signing of the Treaty of Manila between the governments of the
United States and the Philippines. The treaty provided for the recognition of the
independence of the Republic of the Philippines and the relinquishment of American
sovereignty over the Philippine Islands.

Spanish Influence on Language, Culture, and Philippine History
To administer the Philippines, the Spaniards extended their royal government to the
Filipinos. This highly centralized governmental system was theocratic. There was a union of
Church and State. The Roman Catholic Church was equal to and coterminous with the State.
Therefore, the cross as well as the scepter held sway over the archipelago. While the State
took care of temporal matters, the Church took care of spiritual matters and hence
preoccupied itself with the evangelization and the conversion of the Filipino inhabitants
from their primal religion to Roman Catholicism. The Spanish friars wanted the Philippines to
become the "arsenal of the Faith" in Asia. In the process, the Spanish Catholic missionaries
helped in the implantation of Castilian culture and civilization on Philippine soil. This is
because Spanishness was equated with Catholicism. The two terms were virtually
synonymous with one another. One was not a genuine Spaniard if he was not a faithful
Roman Catholic believer.
The imposition of the Roman Catholic faith upon the Filipino population
permanently influenced the culture and society of the Philippines. This is due to the fact that
the Spanish friars who undertook the immense task of evangelizing the Filipino natives
looked at their missionary work and endeavor as involving more than simple conversion. By
Christianizing the Filipinos, the Spanish Catholic missionaries were in effect remodelling
Filipino culture and society according to the Hispanic standard. They would be Hispanizing
the Filipinos, teaching them the trades, manners, customs, language and habits of the
Spanish people. This influence is evident even in the way we tell time ("alas singko y media"),
in the way we count ("uno, dos, tres"), and in the family names we carry ( De la Cruz, Reyes,
Santos, etcetera).
The Filipino populace embraced Spanish Roman Catholic Christianity almost

unquestioningly. The Spanish authorities congregated the scattered Filipino population into
clustered village settlements, where they could more easily be instructed and Christianized
under a friar’s eye. This policy paved the way for the emergence of the present system of
politico-territorial organization of villages, towns, and provinces. At the same time, the
compact villages which were literally under the bells of the Roman Catholic Church
permitted the regular clergy to wake up the villagers each day summon them to mass, and
subject them to religious indoctrination or cathechismal instruction. This process enabled
the Church to play a central role in the lives of the people because it touched every aspect of
their existence from birth to growth to marriage to adulthood to death. Whether the natives
clearly understood the tenets and dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church is of course
another matter. Some scholars claim that the Spaniards only superficially Christianized the
Filipinos, most of who learned to recite the prayers and chants by rote, without any idea as
to their meaning. Some native inhabitants became only nominal Christians. At any rate,
there is no denying the fact that many Filipinos defended the Catholic faith devotedly.
Through the Church and its zealous missionaries, the Filipinos learned new
techniques and procedures involving the cultivation of agricultural crops introduced from
Mexico, one of Spain’s colonies in the New World. For example, prior to the imposition of
Castilian rule, the Filipinos practiced swiddening or slash-and-burn agriculture. This farming
technique involved clearing a hillside or a patch of land, cutting down the trees, burning the
trunks, the branches and the leaves, removing the rocks, and then planting through the use
of a pointed stick to create a hole on the ground into which seeds were thrown. Then the
farmer simply waited for harvest time to arrive. This situation changed when the
missionaries taught the Filipino natives horticultural techniques requiring intensive

cultivation of land through better irrigation and water management so as to lessen their
dependency on rainfall. In addition to teaching the Filipinos new farming methods and
introducing to them new crops such as maize, avocado, tomato, and cacao, from which the
nutritious drink of chocolate was derived, the Spanish friars taught the rudiments of reading
and writing to the natives, not to mention useful trades such as painting, baking and
locksmithing.
In the course of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, the friars constructed

opulent Baroque-style church edifices. These structures are still found today everywhere
across the country and they symbolize the cultural influence of Spain in Filipino life. The
opulence of these edifices was clearly visible in the ornate facades, paintings, and sculpture,
as well as in the behavioral patterns of the people and in the intricate rituals associated with
Roman Catholic churches. While it is true that the Spaniards exploited labor in the
construction of the imposing Baroque-style sanctuaries for Roman Catholic worship, it is also
true that these same edifices became the means by which Filipino artistic talents and
inclinations were expressed. The carpenters, masons, craftsmen, and artisans were mainly
Filipinos. In this way, the Roman Catholic Church and religion influenced Filipino
architectural and building style, even as the rituals and festivities of the Church influenced
Filipino dances, songs, paintings, and literary writings. Through these influences, the Church
afforded the Filipinos abundant opportunities for both solemn rites and joyous festivities
and celebrations known as "fiestas." The services inside the Catholic churches often spilled
out into the thoroughfare in the form of colorful and pageant-filled religious processions in
which the rich and the poor participated. Dining, drinking, and merrymaking often followed
or accompanied such religious activities. During these feasts, Spanish culinary specialties like
"paella" (a dish consisting of a mixture of rice, chicken and shellfish), "arrozvalenciana"
(glutinous rice and chicken cooked in coconut milk), and "lengua" (sauteed ox-tongue usually
with mushroom sauce) became part of the local table fare. The rites and feasts served to
provide relief from the drudgery of humdrum village existence, to release pent-up social and
economic frustrations, or to foster community spirit and unity.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Spaniards enriched the Filipino languages
through lexicographic studies produced by the friars. Many Spanish words found their way
into the Tagalog and Visayan languages. The Spanish words somehow fitted into the
phonetic patterns of the Filipino languages. These Spanish words like "mesa" (table),
"adobo" (marinated cooked food), and others are commonly used today in the daily
practical transactions of the Filipinos with each other. Ironically, the friars came up with
excellent studies on Filipino culture and languages even as they sought to overthrow this
same culture through their implantation of Spanish civilization.
The influences from Spain have become permanently embedded in Filipino culture.
The Filipino people themselves have internalized them. They cannot be undone anymore.
For good or bad, they have catapulted the Filipinos into the world of Spanish culture, into
the world of Spanish civilization and its products. Nevertheless, it must be said that the
Filipinos did not receive the cultural influences from Spain sitting down. They responded in a
way that demonstrated their capacity to master the new and to balance the new against the
old, in a way that called for their capacity to bring values and principles to bear with a critical
and informed judgment, and in a way that called for them to be able to sift what is essential
from what is trivial. Thus they responded selectively to the novelties the Spaniards brought
with them to the Philippine Islands. The Filipinos accepted only those that fitted their
temperament, such as the "fiesta" that has become one of the most endearing aspects of

life in these islands, and made them blend with their indigenous lifestyle to produce a
precious Philippine cultural heritage.
E. THE THAI CASE: SEVERAL, DISTINCT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN INTERPLAY
Religions in Thailand
Religion in Thailand has a fascinating cultural history that can be seen through the
many sacred sites and temples scattered throughout the country. Excluding the law that
states the King must be Buddhist, there is no official Thailand religion, meaning all Thai
people enjoy religious freedom. However, Buddhism is the most common Thailand religion
with approximately 95% of the population following this Theravada religion. The remaining
population follows the Muslim religion (4.6%), Catholic Christians (0.7%) with the remaining
1% divided between Hindu, Sikh and Jewish religions.
There is no official state religion in the Thai constitution, which guarantees religious
freedom for all Thai citizens, though the king is required by law to be a Theravada Buddhist.
The main religion practiced in Thailand is Buddhism, but there is a strong undercurrent of
Hinduism with a class of brahmins having sacerdotal functions. [2] The large Thai Chinese
population also practices Chinese folk religions, including Taoism. The Chinese religious
movement Yiguandao (Thai: Anuttharatham) spread to Thailand in the 1970s and it has
grown so much in recent decades to come into conflict with Buddhism; in 2009, it was
reported that each year 200,000 Thais convert to the religion.[3][needs update] Many other
people, especially among the Isan ethnic group, practice Tai folk religions. A significant
Muslim population, mostly constituted by Thai Malays, is present especially in the southern
regions.
Buddhism - Thailand's Buddhist population is largely of the Theravada traditional, however

has also adopted Chinese and folk beliefs such as ancestor worship. Buddhism is the
Thailand religion responsible for the majority of the country's spectacular temples, with
Buddhist temples renowned for their tall domes, golden statues, unique architecture and
amazing detail.
Islam - Thailand's Muslim population is scattered throughout the country with the largest
concentration found on the southern peninsula and in Bangkok. Islam is the second largest
Thailand religion and is a multicultural religion comprised of a number of ethnic groups
including Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Hinduism - Hindu population totals in the thousands, yet is less than 1% of the national
population. This Thailand religion is the remaining influence of the Khmer Empire and many
Hindu deities form the namesakes of some of Thailand's most well-known places. Hinduism
also influences the remaining Buddhist population of Thailand with many people also
worshipping Hindu deities such as Shiva, Indra and Ganesh. The main Hindu practices which
remain today include blessings by holy strings, holy water poured from conch shells and
Brahmin rituals.
Judaism - Judaism as a Thailand religion dates all the way back to the 17th Century; however
Jewish communities make up only a very small part of the Thai population. An estimated
1,000 people follow Judaism, the majority of which are said to reside in Chiang Mai,
KohSamui, Phuket and Bangkok.

Christianity - Introduced by European missionaries, Christianity has been a Thailand religion
since the 1550s and has since played an important role in the modernization of the country
yet it represents less than 1% of the national population. Five of Christianity's major
denominations have been recognized in Thailand including The Southern Baptists, The
Church of Christ in Thailand, The Roman Catholic Church, The Evangelical Fellowship of
Thailand and The Seventh-Day Adventists. Despite not being recognized8, missionaries from
the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints have also been active in Thailand for years.
According to official census data over 90% of Thais follow Buddhism. However, the
religious life of the country is more complex than how it is portrayed by such statistics. Of
the large Thai Chinese population, most of those who follow Buddhism have been integrated
into the dominant Theravada tradition, with only a negligible minority having retained
Chinese Buddhism. Otherwise, a large part of the Thai Chinese has retained the practice of
ethnic Chinese religion, including Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Salvationist religions
(such as Yiguandao and the Church of Virtue). Despite being practiced freely, these religions
have no official recognition, and their followers are counted as Theravada Buddhists in
statistical studies. Also, many Thai and Isanpractice their ethnic Tai folk religion.
Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand at 4% to 5% of the

population. Thailand's southernmost provinces — Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and part of
Songkhla and Chumphon — have large populations of Muslims, consisting of both ethnic
Thai and Malay. Christians, mainly Catholics, represent just over 1% of the population. A
small but influential community of Sikhs in Thailand and some Hindus, mostly live in the
country's cities and are engaged in retail commerce. There is also a small Jewish community
in Thailand, dating back to the 17th century.
Theravada Buddhism is the main religion in Thailand and remains a strong element
in Thai culture. It draws on influences from Hinduism and animism, and the official Thai
calendar is based on the Eastern version of the Buddhist Era (BE), 543 years in advance of
the Gregorian (or Western) calendar. More than 94% of the populations identify themselves
as believers of Theravada Buddhism, with around 4.5% following Islam (predominantly Sunni
Muslim in the southern provinces) and less than 1% Christian. There are also small minorities
of Sikhs and Hindus, as well as a Jewish community who established themselves in Thailand
during the 17th century.
SOURCES:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagined_community
2. https://people.ucalgary.ca/~bakardji/community/imagined_communities.html
3. https://www.indonesia-investments.com/culture/item8
4. https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/07/03/essay-multiculturalism.html
5. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-
quarterly/multiculturalism-some-lessons-indonesia
6. https://en.qantara.de/content/syncretism-in-indonesia-where-islam-mixes-with-old-
rituals
7. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/indonesia/religion-animist.htm
8. http://bauzon.ph/leslie/papers/spinfluence.html

C. Outcomes-Based Assessment
CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Fill in the table by identify the most influential multiple traditions that
occurred and its impact to some of the given Southeast Asian countries.
Countries Multiple Traditions General Impact
Indonesien
Vietnam
Philippinen

Thailand
2. In a concise statement discuss the process of re-interpreting the identity of

the society and culture of some Southeast Asian countries due to the
encounters of multiple traditions significantly dominating on the aria. Write
your answer on the space provided below given country.
a. Indonesian
b. Vietnam
c. Philippines
d. Thailand

3. Express your analysis on the impact and local responses to a particular
aspect of the culture and society of a particular country from the encounters
within and between traditions.
a. The impact of the animism, and Hinduism to culture of the Islamic

society in Central Jakarta.
b. The impact of the Chinese domination to the socio-political condition of

Thailand.
c. The impact of the Spanish Colonization to the dominant religious and

socio-cultural belief of the Philippines.
d. The impact of the several distinct religious traditions to the Buddhist

Thai.
TRY THIS OUT
1. Make a list of cultural practices, beliefs, art and other aspects of their
modern culture of some Southeast Asian countries as indication of the
impact of their encounter between multiple traditions that dominated in
their country.
2. Write an essay that focuses on what the Philippines could have been as a
nation if it had not been colonized by Spain. Would our country have been
different?

CHAPTER 7: IN QUEST OF A REGIONAL IDENTITY THROUGH ASEAN
INTRODUCTION
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that

promotes economic, political, and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam. ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined
gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.8 trillion. The group has played a central role in Asian
economic integration, signing six free-trade agreements with other regional economies and
helping spearhead negotiations for what could be the world’s largest free trade pact.
Yet experts say ASEAN’s impact is limited by a lack of strategic vision, diverging
priorities among member states, and weak leadership. The bloc’s biggest challenge, they say,
is developing a unified approach to China, particularly in response to Beijing’s claims in the
South China Sea, which overlap with claims of several ASEAN members.
The future of individual nations in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, truly and
greatly depends upon their ability to work together for the common good. Why is this so?
Some of the fundamental reasons are as follows: First, nations need peaceful
neighborhood to grow economically, socially, culturally, and politically. Just look at countries
at war with their neighbors and it would be obvious how armed conflicts, arms race,
insecurities, and social disorder pull countries back from progress. As in most human
relations, there will always be tensions, conflicts and differences among nations. What is
important is to develop predisposition to peaceful means of settling disputes. We are
fortunate that no one among the ten members of ASEAN has hegemonic ambition, including
Indonesia, our biggest member with a land area and population approximately the same as
the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam combined. Second, communities have the
power to shape and represent collective identities and interests, help nations find common
solutions to problems, prescribe expectations for behavior, and even define common
security threats. Positive interactions and friendship could direct our strengths and
resources to community building rather than permanent power struggle.
We need to turn around the under socialization of Southeast Asian states among
themselves as a result of centuries of colonization and separation by competing foreign
powers. Understanding that we are one people must make inroads into our collective
regional consciousness.
This module provides the learners understand the structure and the importance of
the ASEAN as a regional organization. This will also include the reasons why some of the
Southeast Asian countries joined the ASEAN. For the intention of the module to let the
learners realize how important to establish connection such as international relations
between countries within the region.

1. Trace the historical background of the organization and establishment of ASEAN.
2. Identify the member states of ASEAN by acknowledging their status and
connection to the organization.
3. Articulate the aims of ASEAN as a regional organization after acknowledging the
Blueprints of Community Pillars and functions of the different levels of the
organizational structure of ASEAN.
4. Analyze how ASEAN fosters political, economic and cultural cooperation within
Southeast Asia as a region.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Unlock the difficulties by performing this preparatory activity first. Get the understanding of the following main
1. Human Relations
2. International Relations
3. Economic Integration
4. Free-trade Agreement
5. Regional Consciousness

B. Content Readings
IN QUEST OF A REGIONAL IDENTITY THROUGH ASEAN
A. HISTORY OF ASEAN ESTABLISHMENT
Founding
ASEAN was preceded by an organization formed on 31 July 1961 called the

Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), a group consisting of Thailand, the Philippines, and the
Federation of Malaya. ASEAN itself was created on 8 August 1967, when the foreign
ministers of five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand,
signed the ASEAN Declaration. As set out in the Declaration, the aims and purposes of
ASEAN are to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the
region, to promote regional peace, collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of
common interest, to provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research
facilities, to collaborate for better utilization of agriculture and industry to raise the living
standards of the people, to promote Southeast Asian studies and to maintain close,
beneficial co-operation with existing international organizations with similar aims and
purposes.
The creation of ASEAN was motivated by a common fear of communism. The group
achieved greater cohesion in the mid-1970s following a change in the balance of power after
the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The region's dynamic economic growth during the
1970s strengthened the organization, enabling ASEAN to adopt a unified response to
Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1979. ASEAN's first summit meeting, held in Bali,
Indonesia in 1976, resulted in an agreement on several industrial projects and the signing of
a Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and a Declaration of Concord. The end of the Cold War
allowed ASEAN countries to exercise greater political independence in the region, and in the
1990s ASEAN emerged as a leading voice on regional trade and security issues.
Expansion
In 1984, Brunei became ASEAN's sixth member and on 28 July 1995, Vietnam joined
as the seventh member. Laos and Myanmar (formerly Burma) joined two years later on 23
July 1997. Cambodia was to join at the same time as Laos and Myanmar, but an internal
political struggle delayed its entry. It then joined on 30 April 1999 following the stabilization
of its government.
Nascent Economic Cooperation
In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus composed
of the members of ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea. It intended to counterbalance the
growing US influence in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Asia as a whole.
However, the proposal failed because of strong opposition from the US and Japan. Work for

further integration continued, and the ASEAN Plus Three, consisting of ASEAN, China, Japan
and South Korea, was created in 1997. In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff
(CEPT) scheme was adopted as a schedule for phasing out tariffs to increase the "region's
competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market". This law would
act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), which is an agreement by
member states concerning local manufacturing in ASEAN. It was signed on 28 January 1992
in Singapore. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a revival of the Malaysian proposal, known
as the Chiang Mai Initiative, was put forward in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It called for better
integration of the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three.
Nuclear Free ASEAN
The bloc also focused on peace and stability in the region. On 15 December 1995,
the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty was signed to turn Southeast Asia
into a nuclear-weapon-free zone. The treaty took effect on 28 March 1997 after all but one
of the member states had ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June 2001 after the
Philippines ratified it, effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region. A similar treaty
was signed in 2017; however, Singapore abstained from the vote.
The ASEAN Charter
On 15 December 2008, member states met in Jakarta to launch a charter, signed in

November 2007, to move closer to "an EU-style community". The charter turned ASEAN into
a legal entity and aimed to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 500
million people. President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated: "This is a
momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating, and transforming itself
into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global
affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift". Referring to
climate change and economic upheaval, he concluded: "Southeast Asia is no longer the
bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s".
The financial crisis of 2007–2008 was seen as a threat to the charter's goals, and also
set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in
February 2009. This proposition caused controversy, as the body would not have the power
to impose sanctions or punish countries which violated citizens' rights and would, therefore,
be limited in effectiveness. The body was established later in 2009 as the ASEAN
Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). In November 2012, the
commission adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.
B. ASEAN MEMBER STATES
ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 with five members: Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. It is headquartered in Jakarta. As of 2010, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has 10 member states, one candidate
member state, and one observer state. The 10 States are ― Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 1
Observer – Papua New Guinea.

Also listed are participants of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), an organization
throughout the Asia-Pacific region whose objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation,
and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region. ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) Membership 27 States – Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Canada, China, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of
Korea, Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua
New Guinea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste,
United States, and Vietnam.
The Ten Member State
Brunei Darussalam – As the smallest AMS of about 400,000 people, Brunei Darussalam has
embraced ASEAN fully – from its long-serving Sultan Bolkiah (ASEAN’s longest serving leader)
to its citizens – as the results of the survey on what ASEAN means to ASEAN peoples indicate.
In the essay written by Joyce Teoon Brunei Darussalam, the volume shows that Bruneian
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have benefited from their access to a much
larger regional market. She also indicated the domestic and policy reforms undertaken with
regional initiatives, such as on competition policy and consumer protection. She further
pointed out that ASEAN’s emphasis on SME development initiatives also benefited Brunei’s
SMEs.
Cambodia – ASEAN’s newest member, Cambodia, is also one of ASEAN’s most remarkable
transformations. Chap Sotharith, in his essay in the volume, puts it well: once a failed state
with civil war, genocide, and political turmoil Cambodia has been transformed from a
centrally planned economy into a free market economy and from a battlefield on the verge
of destruction into a country of emerging development that is increasingly becoming
integrated into the regional and global community.
Indonesia – As the largest economy and most populous country in ASEAN, it is not surprising
that Indonesia has greatly impacted the pace of the ASEAN economic integration project.
Nonetheless, the ASEAN integration initiatives have also helped shapes Indonesia’s domestic
policies. This interplay of the design and implementation of ASEAN initiatives and the
domestic policy environments in the AMSs can be considered as at the heart of the essential
characteristic of the ASEAN integration agenda. This is a much more measured (although
criticized as slow) liberalization and integration process against which there is no significant
backlash.
Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic) – ASEANhas also been important in the transition
of the Lao PDR from a relatively closed and planned economy to an open market economy.
Before it became a member of ASEAN in 1997, the Lao PDR had a centrally planned economy
under the ambit of the former Soviet Union in 1975–1986, followed by a transition towards
a market economy in 1986–1997. ASEAN’s admission of the Lao PDR accelerated the process
of warming relations with its ASEAN neighbors and the process of economic liberalization
under AFTA and eventually the AEC. As a small and landlocked country surrounded by four
AMSs and China, the Lao PDR’s economic fortune is necessarily affected by the stability and
economic fortunes of its four ASEAN neighbors and China. As Leebuoapao and Sayasenh in
their essay, the volume points out, ASEAN is the ‘golden opportunity’, the nearest and
biggest market for the Lao PDR both for export and import, in particular Thailand and Viet
Nam. Thus, not surprisingly, the Lao PDR sees ASEAN membership as a safeguard to ensure
peace, security, and economic opportunities for its development.

Malaysia – ASEAN has always held a special place in Malaysia’s foreign and trade policy.
Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry pointed out that the fact that the
ASEAN division is the largest division in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is
testimony to the importance that the ministry accords to ASEAN. ASEAN has been evolving
and Malaysia has been an active partner in this process. However, the conceptualization of
the AEC has happened at a critical juncture in Malaysia’s own development path because
the country’s goals and aspirations find strong resonance with those articulated by the AEC.
Malaysia is an active trading nation that is among the largest importers and exporters of
goods and among the top 30 trading nations of commercial services. The country’s total
trade to gross domestic product ratio is about 200%. Malaysia’s growth, development, and
employment have gained, in no small measure, from trade and foreign direct investment
(FDI). Since trade and investment is the cornerstone of Malaysia’s economic development, it
has adopted a market-oriented foreign trade policy. It is strongly committed to the
liberalization of the economy and has been a strong supporter of the multilateral trading
system.
Myanmar – Myanmar is a recent significant diplomatic success for ASEAN. Instead of

sanctions against Myanmar that many Western countries resorted to, ASEAN engaged and
quietly encouraged the former military rulers of Myanmar over the years to democratize the
country. The ascension of the neo-civilian government under President U the in Sein led to
major and wide-ranging reforms in the country complemented by the lifting of the sanctions
against investments in and trade with Myanmar. The successor civilian government, led by
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Hin Kyaw, is continuing the reform
process. The wide-ranging reforms were shaped partly in the context of ASEAN, especially
the AEC Blueprint 2015, but have been strongly facilitated and supported by major
international multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as
well as by major bilateral donors like Japan. The successful hosting by Myanmar of the
ASEAN Summit in 2014 is an affirmation of the dramatic political, diplomatic, and economic
reforms in the country consistent with the overall regional thrusts of the ASEAN integration
and community building efforts.
Philippines – The Philippines underwent wrenching domestic macroeconomic, trade, and

industrial policy reforms and adjustments under a series of IMF and World Bank
programmers for about 2 decades in the aftermath of the economic crisis in the country in
the early to mid-1980s. No other AMS experienced such wrenching adjustments for so long.
The structural adjustments of the transition economies of Cambodia, the Lao PDR, and Viet
Nam in the latter 1980s and 1990s were largely efficiency enhancing and foreign investment
attracting. In contrast, opening up the Philippine economy with comparatively high wage
costs from long decades of industrial protection and in a fragile macroeconomic
environment proved far more disruptive to the Philippine manufacturing sector and the
overall economy during most of the latter 1980s until the early 2000s. Only in the last
decade or so has the Philippines righted itself macro economically, and its underlying
comparative advantage has shown and become potent. As a result, the mediocre economic
performance of the 1980s through the early 2000s changed to sustained robust growth with
markedly rising foreign investments in recent years. And the contentious debates in the
latter 1980s between protectionism and openness have now been transformed into a
nationally agreed industrial strategy (‘Manufacturing Resurgence Program’): an open
manufacturing sector is a given to compete better in an integrated ASEAN and more open
East Asia.

Singapore - The quintessential globalist, Singapore nonetheless shows us an example where
ASEAN’s goals are in line with an AMS’s national interests; and the country can eventually
gain from what it contributes to regional integration. As a small country lacking natural
resources, Singapore needs ASEAN to foster regional political and security stability. Different
from the CLMV countries, it is concerned more with vulnerability from an unfavorable
external political and security environment.
Thailand – Saowaruj Rattanakhamfu shows the impact of ASEAN on Thailand through the
increased trade, investment, and labor flows. Thailand increased its import sourcing from
ASEAN; the region is now the second-largest import source after China. Thailand also
expanded tremendously its exports to ASEAN; indeed, ASEAN has been Thailand’s largest
export market, replacing the United States, since 2003. Thailand now has a large
merchandise trade surplus vis-à-vis ASEAN. The reduction and eventual elimination of intra-
ASEAN tariffs and ASEAN’s rules of origin facilitated the marked rise in Thailand’s trade with
its ASEAN neighbors.
Vietnam (Viet Nam) – Viet Nam has the enviable achievement of having the highest average
growth rate in ASEAN since the mid-1990s. Indeed, the country has one of the highest
averages growth rates in the world during 1996–2015. This meant a remarkable economic
transformation into a major global exporter of agricultural products such as rice, coffee, and
fish as well as an emerging manufacturing hub in East Asia. The country experienced one of
the sharpest declines in poverty rate in the world, arguably only second to China.
Underpinning this remarkable success story is the positive interplay of aggressive domestic
reform and proactive international economic integration efforts backed by solid human
capital and infrastructure investments. Like the other new members of ASEAN, and indeed
much more so, the sharp rise in foreign trade (with Viet Nam now having the second-highest
trade-to-GDP ratio in ASEAN) and FDI has been central to Viet Nam’s economic dynamism.
C. COMMUNITY PILLARS
The adoption of both the “Declaration of ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II)” and the
“Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by
2015” by ASEAN Heads of States indicate that the member states acknowledge that an
integrated, stable, knowledgeable and caring community will help ASEAN nations to
strengthen their economic competitiveness and attractiveness to investors, in particular
during economic downturn.
The three pillars of the ASEAN Community, namely the ASEAN Political-Security
Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community (ASCC), are the most crucial areas deemed necessary for the progress and
evolution of ASEAN and its peoples. The Blueprints of these three communities have been
carefully formulated to detail specific strategic objectives and actions which intend to
achieve progress and positive development in the respective areas.
Human rights seem to underpin all the three pillars of the ASEAN Community
although they may not be explicitly stated in the objectives, strategies or actions of the
Blueprints. As human rights encompass the principles of non-discrimination, equity, justice
and human dignity, it is therefore logical that human rights are directly or indirectly are
pertinent to the ASEAN Community. For instance, today’s economic advancement depends

heavily on human resources and unless people have equal access to education, training and
capacity building, the country may be deprived of a large pool of creative thinkers and
entrepreneurs. Therefore, although human rights have much fewer mentions in the ASEAN
Economic Community than the other two pillars, nevertheless, human rights are at the heart
of the ASEAN Economic Community. This is indicated by the adoption of “region of equitable
economic development” as one of the four objectives of the ASEAN Economic Community.
Articulated Human Rights in the Blueprints
ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Blueprint – The APSC envisages to draw

ASEAN towards a rules-based Community of shared values and norms; a cohesive, peaceful,
stable and resilient region with shared responsibility for comprehensive security including a
dynamic and outward-looking region in an increasingly integrated and interdependent world.
The full implementation of this Blueprint is expected to bring about prosperity in the region
and protects the interests and wellbeing of ASEAN people. As the APSC Blueprint seeks to
mainly achieve an enhancement in political stability, democracy and good governance
through creating a just, democratic and harmonious environment, human rights are
expectedly apparent in this Blueprint. Respect for the promotion and protection of human
rights and fundamental freedoms is identified in this Blueprint as one of the main elements
in enhancing political development.
As the rule of law embodies human rights, aspects of human rights are more directly
addressed under the first key characteristic which is “A Rules-based Community of shared
values and norms”. Under this key characteristic, the APSC Blueprint lists a number of
specific actions, which are to be undertaken by ASEAN member states to promote and
protect human rights. These actions, among others, are to establish an ASEAN human rights
body; to cooperate closely with efforts of the sectoral bodies in the development of an
ASEAN instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers; to
strengthen interaction between 4 the network of existing human rights mechanisms as well
as other civil society organizations; to cooperate closely with sectoral bodies in the
establishment of an ASEAN commission on the promotion and protection of the rights of
women and children; and to promote education and public awareness on human rights.
The second key characteristic of the APSC, which is “A Cohesive, Peaceful and
Resilient Region with Shared Responsibility for Comprehensive Security”, also involves
important human rights issues. The human rights aspects addressed include trafficking in
persons and counterterrorism. Under combating trans-national crimes and other trans-
boundary challenges, the APSC Blueprint suggests actions such as strengthening criminal
justice responses to trafficking in persons and enhancing cooperation to combat people-
smuggling. In undertaking these tasks, member states are guided to be mindful of the need
to protect victims of trafficking in accordance to the ASEAN Declaration against Trafficking in
Persons Particularly Women and Children. Counter-terrorism entails intensifying efforts by
early ratification and full implementation of the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism.
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint– Despite lacking specific reference to

human rights issues within the text of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint,
there are nevertheless indirect human rights implications. As mentioned earlier, among the
four key characteristics identified in the AEC Blueprint is “a region of equitable economic
development”. Recognizing the importance of equitable economic development for all
peoples, the actions under Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) include human resource

development, information and communication technologies, capacity building, poverty
reduction and improvement in quality of life. In addition, in enhancing the food, agriculture
and forestry trade, the health of the peoples is not forgotten, and in fostering a culture of
competitiveness, consumer protection is strengthened through establishing the ASEAN
Coordinating Committee on Consumer Protection and establishing a network of consumer
protection agencies to facilitate information sharing and exchange.
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint – The ASCC is adopted to realize

a people-oriented, socially responsible ASEAN community with the view of achieving
solidarity, unity and a common identity as well as building a sharing and caring society. The
characteristics envisaged in the ASCC Blueprint are human development; social welfare and
protection; social justice and rights; ensuring environmental sustainability; building the
ASEAN identity; and narrowing the development gap. All these issues, except for building the
ASEAN identity, pertain directly to human rights.
As human rights issues in the ASCC Blueprint are numerous, only those important
human rights issues pertaining to the enhancement of the wellbeing, livelihood and welfare
of the peoples of ASEAN are highlighted.
A major human right element in the ASCC Blueprint is the enhancement of “the well-
being and livelihood of the peoples of ASEAN by providing them with equitable access to
human development opportunities by promoting and investing in education and lifelong
learning, human resource training and capacity building … “(p. 2 ASEAN Socio-cultural
Community Blueprint). This equitable access to human development is in accordance to the
Declaration of the Right to Development adopted by the UN General Assembly on 4
December 1986 while the right to education is enunciated in several human rights
declarations and instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article
26), the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 13), the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 28) and the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Article 10). Three strategic objectives have been
identified to achieve this characteristic of the ASCC Blueprint, namely advancing and
prioritizing education, investing in human resource development and promotion of decent
work.
As regard to social welfare and protection, the ASCC Blueprint envisions to address
fully socioeconomic disparities and poverty by alleviating poverty and eradicating extreme
poverty and hunger. This Blueprint also calls for access to primary healthcare of the
vulnerable groups/ people at risk.
This Blueprint specifically emphasizes the promotion and protection of the rights
and welfare of disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalized groups such as women, children,
the elderly, persons with disabilities and migrant workers. The implementation of the ASEAN
Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers is set forth as
a strategic objective of the ASCC Blueprint to achieve this particular goal.
Promoting corporate social responsibility to ensure sustainable socio-economic

development in ASEAN member states and fostering sustainability of water resources to
ensure equitable accessibility and sufficiency of acceptable quality of water are aspects of
human rights incorporated in the Blueprint.

D. STRUCTURE OF ASEANS
Beginning in 1997, heads of each member state adopted the ASEAN Vision 2020
during the group's 30th anniversary meeting held in Kuala Lumpur. This vision, as a means
for the realization of a single ASEAN community, provides provisions on peace and stability,
a nuclear-free region, closer economic integration, human development, sustainable
development, cultural heritage, being a drug-free region, environment among others. The
vision also aimed to "see an outward-looking ASEAN playing a pivotal role in the
international fora, and advancing ASEAN's common interests". It was formalized and made
comprehensive through the Bali Concord II in 2003. Three major pillars of a single ASEAN
community were established: Political-Security Community (APSC), Economic Community
(AEC) and Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). To fully embody the three pillars as part of the
2015 integration, blueprints for APSC and ASCC were subsequently adopted in 2009 in Cha-
am, Thailand. The ASEAN Community, initially planned to commence by 2020, was
accelerated to begin by 31 December 2015. It was decided during the 12th ASEAN Summit in
Cebu in 2007.
At the 23rd ASEAN Summit on November 2013, leaders decided to develop a post-
2015 Vision and created the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) that consists of ten high-level
representatives from all member states. The Vision was adopted at the 27th Summit on
November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur. The ASEAN community would revise and renew its vision
every ten years to provide a framework for continuous development and further integration.
The terms in the Vision are divided into four subcategories, namely APSC, AEC, ASCC, and
Moving Forward. APSC issues are covered under articles 7 and 8. The former generally states
the overall aspiration of the community aiming for a united, inclusive and resilient
community. It also puts human and environmental security as crucial points. Deepening
engagement with both internal and external parties are also stressed to contribute to
international peace, security and stability. The "Moving Forward" subcategory implies the
acknowledgement of weaknesses of the institution's capacity to process and coordinate
ASEAN work. Strengthening ASEAN Secretariat and other ASEAN organs and bodies is
therefore desired. There is also a call for a higher level of ASEAN institutional presence at the
national, regional and international levels.
AASEAN Summit Presidential Forum
ASEAN Coordinating Council Foreign Ministerial Forum
ASEAN Community Councils Coordinator Pillars Minister Level
AASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies Minister Level
Committee on Permanent Representative ASEAN State’s Ambassador
National Secretariats Administrative Officers
Committees Abroad Forum Outside Southeast Asia
ASEAN Organizational Structure

Functions
ASEAN Summit
1. Comprise the ASEAN Leaders (Head of Member States)
2. Supreme policy-maker in the ASEAN legal Framework
3. Deliberate, provide policy guidance and decide on strategies issues pertaining to the
implementation or achievement of ASEAN’s objectives
4. Instruct the relevant ministers in each of the councils concerned to tell ad hoc inter-
ministerial meetings, discussing important concerning ASEAN and cross sectoral
issues.
5. Address crucial and emergency condition affecting ASEAN Member States
6. Appoint SGASEAN
ASEAN Coordinating Council

1. Comprise the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States
2. A forum held to prepare meetings of the ASEAN Summit
3. Coordinator for implementation of agreement and decisions of ASEAN Summit
4. Coordinate with ASEAN Community Councils to enhance policy synergy and harmony,
efficiency and cooperation among three community councils.
5. Coordinate Community Council’s report to be discussed in ASEAN Summit.
6. Consider the annual report on ASEAN progress delivered by Secretary-General of
ASEAN.
7. Taking decision for appointment and termination of Deputy- Secretaries General of
ASEAN upon the recommendation of the Secretary-General
ASEAN Community Council

1. Comprise the ASEAN Political-Security, economic, and Socio-Cultural Community
Council.
2. Each Community Council shall have under its purview the relevant ASEAN Sectoral
Ministerial Bodies
3. Each member States shall designate its national focal point of each Community
Council.
ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies

1. Shall function in conformity with their respective establish mandates
2. Implement the agreements and decisions of the ASEAN Summit under their
respective purview
3. Strengthen cooperation in their respective fields in supports of ASEAN integration
and community building.
4. Submit reports and recommendation to their respective Community Council.
5. Such as Senior Official Meeting (SOM), Senior Official Meeting on Social Welfare and
development (SOMSWD), ASEAN Committee on Women
Committee on Permanent Representative

1. Shall function in conformity with their respective establish mandates
2. Implement the agreements and decisions of the ASEAN Summit under their
respective purview
3. Strengthen cooperation in their respective fields in supports of ASEAN integration
and community building.
4. Submit reports and recommendation to their respective Community Council.

5. Such as Senior Official Meeting (SOM), Senior Official Meeting on Social Welfare and
development (SOMSWD), ASEAN Committee on Women
National Secretariat –The ASEAN Secretariat is located in Jakarta and supports the day-to-
day workings of ASEAN. Headed by the ASEAN Secretary-General, the Secretariat plays an
important role in drawing up plans of action in collaboration with ASEAN Senior Officials to
implement decisions made at ASEAN’s high level meetings.
One important role of the Secretariat is to facilitate ASEAN cooperation with

external partners. The relevant Directorate for this is the Community Affairs Development
Directorate. Find more information on how non-government organizations can engage with
ASEAN.
Committees Abroad–These committees comprise ASEAN COMMITTEES IN HIRD COUNTRIES

AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS (ACTC).
E. ASEAN REGIONAL IDENTITY
The regional identity of Southeast Asia one that yields the notion of Southeast Asia
as a distinctive region and sets it apart from neighboring regions such as South Asia or
Northeast Asia is not a given and is not preordained. Nor is it based merely on the facts of
geography or shared historical political and cultural features and experiences. These are
important but not sufficient conditions for regional identity. Rather Southeast Asia’s identity
which is the basis of the identity of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a
regional organization is socially and political constructed through interactions amongst its
governments and societies To the extent that it is a contrived but meaningful notion ASEAN
identity is also subject to challenge and change due to changing political strategic and
economic currents in the region and beyond.
An important clarification ASEAN identity is a reflection of Southeast Asian identity

but is not identical to it. Southeast Asia’s regional identity anchors ASEAN’s institutional
identity. ASEAN is not a region. Southeast Asia is ASEAN identity is more recent more
artificial and more dependent on political and strategic forces than Southeast Asia’s regional
identity is more enduring that ASEAN’s although the loss or weakening of ASEAN will
adversely impact on Southeast Asian identity. But the key point here is that one cannot
understand the nature of and prospects for ASEAN identity without considering the wider
context of Southeast Asian identity within which it is nested.
Identity and Community
Identity is a complex and contested notion. In simple terms identity refers to an

actor’s (which may be a person group of persons state or group of states) sense of being
unique or distinctive because of physical and social attributes values and patterns of
behavior Identity is a function of two main factors which are mainly subjective. One is how
an actor sees itself. The second is how others or outsiders see that actor. The two are
related but not identical. A person’s or group’s own sense of being distinctive may be
stronger than the outsider’s perception or recognition of it. For example the sense of ASEAN
identity is arguably stronger inside the grouping than when viewed by outsiders.

Identity is socially constructed combining instrumental logic with habit-forming
socialization norms and institutions. Moreover such identity building is not entirely divorced
from cultural and historical ties but is reinforced by it Simple proximity historical ties and
shared culture are sufficient for identity. Their outcome can be indeterminate proximity can
lead to either war or peace historical memories have been associated with war and cultural
ties do not make nations immune to conflict. One needs a sense of common or collective
identities to build a true community legitimize cooperation nationally and internationally
and reinforce the rationale for collective action.
Like a community, a regional identity can be imagined. Ben Anderson (1991) spoke
of nationalism and the nation-state as ‘imagined communities’. He referred to the role of
print media, colonial administration, and elite socialization in creating a sense of community
amongst disparate and disrupted localities that formed the basis of the nation state. Just as
nations are imagined, so can regions be. Southeast Asia is in many ways an imagined region;
its experience of regional identity building can be likened to a quest for identity. Without
forgetting the influence of historical interactions of its constituent units, Southeast Asia
could not have been conceived except through the imagination of historians (both Western
and indigenous), imperial strategists in the late colonial era, and above all by the elites of
ASEAN Member States. Hence, Singapore’s first Foreign Minister and a founder of ASEAN, S.
Rajaratnam, exhorted ASEAN members to recognize a ‘regional existence’, in addition to
national ones – a kind of existential community. Others, including nationalist leaders, sought
to return Southeast Asia to its pre-colonial ties through a regional organization. Here, the
actions of ASEAN’s founders were purposive and rational. But they were also underpinned
by a sense of history and identity. Its founders were ‘imagining’ themselves to be part of a
collective entity, or a region, by drawing upon a shared historical heritage as well as
identifying common goals in a contemporary setting.
Sources of ASEAN Identity
Southeast Asia, currently a region of 10 nations that comprise ASEAN, displays a

remarkable degree of political, cultural, and economic diversity. Being located at the
crossroads between China and India, and straddling the major sea lanes linking the Pacific
and Indian Oceans, Southeast Asia are also exposed to a constant stream of external
influences. Hence, ideas and identities in currency in Southeast Asia tend to be fluid and
contested. Nonetheless, the growth of a long-term and relatively robust form of regionalism
(ASEAN) has created a sense of regional identity alongside the still distinctive national
identities of Southeast Asian countries (Acharya, 2000; Acharya, 2013).
Within this context, the identity of ASEAN emerged from the five major sources:
nationalism, religion, cultural norms and modes of interaction, a modernist developmental
state orientation and approach, and regionalism.
In the pre-colonial history of Southeast Asia, there is no equivalent of the virulent

and bloody nationalisms that Europe, the birthplace of nationalism, experienced amongst its
states. On the contrary, Southeast Asian nationalisms were the product of anticolonial
struggles, and hence directed against a shared external threat. All Southeast Asian countries
were once part of Western colonial empires, except Thailand, which nonetheless ceded
territory to them and was subjected to significant restraints on its freedom of external
action. Moreover, anti-colonial sentiments were a powerful basis not only behind Southeast
Asian nationalism, but also regionalism. In this sense, nationalism and regionalism in

Southeast Asia were more complimentary than competitive (Acharya, 2000; 2013). The Cold
War polarization of Southeast Asia into pro-Western, pro-Soviet, and non-aligned
orientations was not really over nationalism, but security and domestic politics. Today
nationalism is a source of tension in the region, especially in Thai–Cambodia relations
(where it has fuelled an armed conflict over the border temple of Preah Viehar), and to
varying degrees in Thai–Myanmar, Singapore– Malaysia, Singapore–Indonesia, and
Singapore–Philippines relations. But its impact in destabilizing the region should not be
overstated. A striking feature of Southeast Asia is that despite having been subject to both
external colonialism and the intraregional imperialism of large pre-colonial states such as
Angkor (Cambodia), Ava (Myanmar), Ayutthia (Thailand), Majapahit (Indonesia), Viet Nam
(Dai Viet), and Malacca (Malaysia) there is nothing comparable here to the type of identity
conflicts or ‘history controversies’ that are so salient in Northeast Asia between Japan and
China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (henceforth, Korea), and even China and Korea, or in
South Asia, as between India and Pakistan. Contrary to some pundits who sense a growing
sense of competitive nationalism in Southeast Asia, I believe the milder form of competitive
nationalism, which facilitated and was sustained by the emergence of ASEAN, is unlikely to
give way to a pre-World War European type of nationalism.
Southeast Asia is home to several major religions, Buddhism is the religion of the
majority in Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar; Islam of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei
Darussalam; and Christianity (Catholicism) of the Philippines. While religion is a strong factor
in national identities, it has rarely been a source of major inter-state conflict. Rather, it has
been a factor in domestic separatist movements, ethnic strife, and extremist violence.
Islamic extremism, especially in and out of Indonesia, Malaysia, and southern Philippines, is
often seen as a threat to regional stability. But in general, Southeast Asian Islam is more
moderate and tolerant than that in the Arabian Peninsula. There is little evidence of any
‘clash of civilizations’ in Southeast Asia.
Cultural norms, to the extent they can be isolated from political ones, such as
communitarianism, patron–client mind-sets, are important in the sense that they tend to
modify more universalistic ‘Western’ ideas about economic development and governance,
producing a tendency towards state-led capitalism and dominant-party political systems (in
Malaysia, Singapore), military rule (Thailand), and other forms of ‘illiberal democracy’. Some
of these features are also present in Northeast Asia. The idea of ‘Asian values’, which
actually originated in Southeast Asia, stresses ‘society over the self’, ‘respect for authority’,
value attached to education, and propensity for high savings. But these norms are not
uniformly present in all states and the very idea of ‘Asian values’, a relatively homogenous
and pan-regional phenomenon, is a false construct, given the diversity of religious, political,
and economic approaches in the region.
The developmental state orientation, which stresses a focus on economic growth

over ideology and identity politics and calls for a strong role of the state in anchoring
development, originated from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, and now
prevails throughout Southeast Asia, albeit to differing degrees. It helps to bridge the cultural,
political, and security tensions amongst the Southeast Asian countries and constitutes a
crucial basis for ASEAN.
Despite these aspects of diversity, Southeast Asia has arguably developed a

relatively greater sense of a regional identity than South Asia or Northeast Asia. Indeed, the
very idea of Southeast Asia as a region in itself, distinct from China and India, has much to do
with the role of ASEAN, which expanded from five founding members (Indonesia, Malaysia,

Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines) in 1967 to now 10 nations in 1999 under the idea
of ‘One Southeast Asia’. National and regional identities co-exist and to some extent
complement each other. ASEAN today is building three regional communities, covering
political-security, economic, and socio-cultural affairs. Despite some internal divisions and
constraints imposed by great power presence and influence seeking, ASEAN remains
amongst the most cohesive and dynamic regional groups in Asia and the world today. It is a
key factor mediating the flow of ideas into and out of Southeast Asia and in reshaping the
national identities of Southeast Asian states, making these national identities less
exclusionary and conflictual. The ‘ASEAN Way’, referring to a distinctive mode of interaction,
marked by informality, consensus, non-adversarial bargaining, and a preference for non-
legalistic and non-binding approaches to problem solving (Acharya, 1997), has been an
important source of regional collective identity with a growing relevance for the rest of the
world in a post-Western world.
Some of these five sources of identity in Southeast Asia may be seen to be in tension,
such as nationalism and regionalism, and religion and modernism. But remarkably, ASEAN
nations have found a way to reconcile nationalism with regionalism to the extent that they
exist in tandem and even complement each other. There is a degree of tension between
religion and modernity, especially in Muslim majority societies such as Indonesia, Malaysia,
and Brunei, but this has been managed by a shared commitment in the region to a broadly
capitalist mode of economic development, if not political democracy.
The notion of identity suggests a relational view of a group’s position and role.
Identity building occurs when a given unit, or group of units (the Self) begins to define its
character in relation to others. The identity of ASEAN depends on how its members define
their character and role in regional order in relation to others within and outside the region,
and how they develop a ‘we’ feeling.
As noted already, regional identity is not a cultural given, but something constructed
out of self-conscious social interaction. Unlike rationalist theories of international relations,
such as neorealism and neoliberalism, social theories, such as constructivism, do not treat
identity as a given, or fixed, but as being a constant state of ‘processes. It is through
socialization that states develop collective identities that ameliorate the security dilemma.
Socialization processes may start even when the participating units lack significant structural
commonalities, such as shared cultural heritage, similar political systems, or a common
language. Collective identities are ‘imagined’ during, and as a result of, an actor’s or group of
actors’ interaction within an institutional context. As such, the regional identity of Southeast
Asia goes beyond a simple estimation of the structural similarities and differences amongst
units, also known as the ‘unity in diversity’ approach. It should look not just at what is
common between and amongst its constituent units, but how the countries of the region,
especially the elite engaged in a process of socialization within an institutional context
(ASEAN) and in that processes ‘imagined’ themselves to be part of a distinctive region.
As historians of Southeast Asia remind us, before regionalism in its modern,

institutional sense made its mark on the area east of India and south of China, ‘region-wide’
patterns of inter-state relations and a degree of interaction and interdependence did exist
amongst the political units inhabiting what we call Southeast Asia today. Any serious study
of Southeast Asia’s international relations and its claim to be a region must therefore begin
with a historical framework that includes the inter-state system during the pre-colonial
period.’ This is not to say that ancient Southeast Asians had imagined themselves to be part

of a region. That sense of identity developed much later, with the emergence of Southeast
Asian regionalism. Hence, so much of the focus of the book is on ASEAN.
Southeast Asian elites could see in the end of colonialism both an imperative and
opportunity for reconstituting lost regional linkages and identities. The history of the
international politics of Southeast Asia before and after 1967 offers plenty of evidence to
support the existence of deliberate efforts to construct a regional ‘identity’. They include the
early days of the Asian Relations meetings in New Delhi, when delegates from Southeast
Asia rejected associated too closely with the Indian and Chinese regional frameworks. The
Declaration of ASEAN Concord, am important document of Southeast Asian regionalism
signed by ASEAN’s five original members in 1976, stated clearly that ‘Member states shall
vigorously develop an awareness of regional identity and exert all efforts to create a strong
ASEAN community.’ There is little question that a quest for regional identity played a causal
part, as it had done in explaining ASEAN’s rejection, about two decades earlier, of the
membership application of Sri Lanka on the ground that it was not sufficiently ‘Southeast
Asian’.
Later, there was the deliberate inclusion of ‘identity’ in ASEAN’s founding document,
and the deliberations over, and further to, the carrying out of ‘One Southeast Asia’, despite
the international censure of ASEAN’s courting of Burma as part of this effort.The need for
regional identity was forcefully reaffirmed in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and
the adoption of the ASEAN Community framework in 2003. The 10th general principle of the
Bali Concord II, adopted in 2003, proclaimed that ‘ASEAN shall continue to foster a
community of caring societies and promote a common regional identity.’ Amongst the goals
listed by the ASEAN Charter adopted in 2008: to promote an ASEAN identity through the
fostering of greater awareness of the diverse culture and heritage of the region’ (ASEAN
Charter, 2007). ASEAN has since consistently stressed the slogan of ‘One Vision, One Identity,
One Community’, in a good deal of its official statements and documents (ASEAN, 2015: 17).
SOURCES:
1. https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/history/
2. https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/association-southeast-asian-
nations-asean/
3. https://www.asean2019.go.th/en/infographic/3-pillars-of-asean-community/
4. https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview/
5. https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/asean-formation-and-
functioning/
1.2 | Culture and Society in Southeast Asia

CHALLENGE YOUR SELF
1. Trace the historical background of the organization and establishment of ASEAN by

providing basic information on the significant event that happened on the dates given
in the following items. Write your answer on the space provided.
a. July 13, 1961
b. August 8, 1967
c. January 28, 1992
d. December 15, 1995
e. March 28, 1997
2. State the status and connection to the ASEAN of the given state members given by the
following items. Write your answer on the pace provided.
a. Indonesia

b. Cambodia
c. Laos
d. Myanmar
e. Malaysia
f. Singapore
g. Philippines
h. Vietnam
i. Thailand

j. Brunei Darussalam
3. Articulate the aims of ASEAN as a regional organization after acknowledging the

Blueprints of Community Pillars and functions of the different levels of the
organizational structure of ASEAN by completing the two sets of tables below.
a. Community Pillars
Community Pillars Blueprints/Characteristics The Aims of ASEAN

realized
ASEAN Political-
Security Community
(APSC)
Community ASEAN
Economic (AEC)
ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community (ASCC)
b. Structure of ASEAN
Levels of the Structure Functions The Aims of ASEAN

of ASEAN realized
ASEAN Summit

ASEAN Coordinating
Council
ASEAN Community
Councils
ASEAN Sectoral
Ministerial Bodies
Committee on Permanent
Representative
National Secretariats

Committees Abroad
4. Analyze how ASEAN fosters political, economic and cultural cooperation within
Southeast Asia as a region by giving your general impression on the five major sources
of ASEAN Identity. Write your answer on the space provided.
a. Nationalism
b. Religion
c. Cultural norms and modes of interaction
d. Modernist developmental state orientation and approach
e. Regionalism
TRY THIS OUT
1. Create a mini-documentary. Here are the guidelines below.
Description
This mini-documentary is a short-form documentary, no longer than two minutes,

highlighting resent social issues comprising in the Philippines and it should be showing real-
life situation. The format should be a feature length documentary, but it will tell a simpler

story in a shorter time span. The documentary should focus on a singular story of an issue
which is related or parallel to any social issue affecting other Southeast Asian Countries.
Key Steps
1. Tell a story you care about – Start with a subject that excites you. Make a documentary
you're passionate about and makes sense to YOU. There will be plenty of people who
don’t “get” your idea. But if YOU get it, that’s what counts.
2. Research – Learn everything you can about your documentary subject. Sometimes the
story lines are obvious, sometimes not. Do a lot of digging and follow leads. This is where
you put on your reporter hat. Gather facts and search for leads on interesting characters
and story lines. The gems of your story are sometimes buried deep out of sight.
3. Make a Plan – Create an outline. Think about HOW you’re going to tell your story. What’s
the structure? The style? Is there existing footage or photos that help tell your story or
will everything needed to be shot brand new? Who is your primary character(s)? What are
you core story points? What are the elements of your story that are compelling and/or
make you “tingle” with intrigue? How can you create that intrigue for your audience? Is
there some existing situation you can film or do you need to create the moment?
4. Create a Shot List – This is a list of the footage and interviews you’ll need to make your
movie. Think of it as your list of “ingredients”. Depending on the complexity of your
project, you may or may not need to create a budget.
5. Start Shooting – Keep in mind HOW your movie will be viewed because that can dictate
your shooting and storytelling style. Make sure when you're shooting an event to capture
a variety of angles including close-ups, medium shots and wide shots. Click here for a list
of low-budget documentary filmmaking gear.
6. Write a Script – Once all of the footage is shot and you’ve gathered the various
production elements, time to start organizing it into a script. Pinpoint the most compelling
elements of your story and start crafting "mini-scenes" around those events. Remember,
a script isn't necessarily what's spoken or a voice-over. A script describes what the
audience is seeing AND hearing.
7. Begin Editing – The process is like putting together a great big puzzle! First you'll need to
choose your video editing computer and video editing software. Once you're all set with
equipment, you'll start putting down your clips of footage one right after the other in a
sequence. The art with editing is to create a "roller coaster" ride of emotion, some parts
fast, some part slow to create a dynamic viewing experience.
8. Check Legal and Copyright Issues – Even though this is near the end of the list, it should
actually be something you keep in mind from the very beginning and throughout the
ENTIRE filmmaking process.
9. Showcasing the Output – Now that you’ve done all the work making your documentary,
you want people to see it, right? Never before have there been so many options for
filmmakers to showcase their work. Submit first the soft copy of the output for critiquing
and checking. Once it’s approved by the instructor, upload it on the social media
particularly in Facebook. The reaction, interaction and comments of the uploaded output
should be considered in the process of the assessment.

APPENDIX A
Rubric for the outcome-based assessments
Criteria Very good = 95 Good = 85 Fair = 75 Poor = 65

COMPLETION All of the Most of the Some of the Student did not
assigned work assigned work assigned work turn in
is complete is complete is complete assignment
TIMELINESS Homework was Homework was Homework was Homework was
received on the 1 day late 2 days late 3 or more days
due date late
ACCURACY All of the Most of the Some of the Little to none of
answers are answers are answers are the answers
correct correct correct are correct
CONTENT Writing is clear Writing is Writing is Writing is not
ORGANIZATION and thoughts understandabl organized, but understandable
are presented in e, but thoughts thoughts are or organized
sequence and are not not clear
organized organized
.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL DEVELOPERS
EDUARDO S. LINGAN
FATIMA M. SUYOT
CLARINIL ANN A. CABIL
MA. ZARAH MAE R.
BERTOS LANCE XAVIER A.
GAZO
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL REVIEWERS AND VALIDATORS
DR. VIRGILIO P. RAPADA

ERMALYN B. CLEMENTE
ROLANDO R. CODILAN
1.
Quality Policy
ountability and service as we move towards exceeding stakeholders
“De-kalidad nga edukasyon, kinabuhi nga mainuswagon.”
.
. .

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A technologicallay-advanced University producing professionals

To provide quality education responsive to the national and

Excellence Accountability Service

This learning material provides the guide to students to examine

CHAPTER 5: THE ENTRY OF THE FOUR “GREAT” TRADITIONS 52

 Use this learning guide with care

 Do not write, highlight, erase, or tear the pages of this

 In answering act6ivities or exercises, use a separate

 This learning guide must be returned after the end of

If this learning guide is lost and found, please return to:

EASTERN SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY

Human geography concerns the understanding of the dynamics of cultures, societies

Geography provides an ideal framework for relating other fields of knowledge. It is

SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. | Culture and Society in Southeast

2. | Culture and Society in Southeast

3. | Culture and Society in Southeast

Southeast Asia’s landscape is characterized by three intermingled physical elements:

4. | Culture and Society in Southeast

D. MAINLAND AND INSULAR REGIONS

5. | Culture and Society in Southeast

E. PRESENT-DAY COUNTRIES AND ADJACENT REGIONS

Southeast Asia is composed of eleven countries of impressive diversity in religion,

CAMBODIA - Cambodia is a Southeast Asian nation whose landscape spans low-lying

BRUNEI - a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by

MAYANMAR (BURMA) - Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation of

INDONESIA - officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia,

6. | Culture and Society in Southeast

MALAYSIA - Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay

PHILIPPINES - officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in

Most countries in the region enjoy national autonomy. Democratic forms of

7. | Culture and Society in Southeast

CHALLENGE YOUR SELF

1. Describe the geographical features of Southeast Asia in terms of the

Mainland Region Insular Region

3. Determine the impact of the environmental geography of the countries that

8. | Culture and Society in Southeast

TRY THIS OUT

2. Create a geographical profile of the Southeast Asia as a region. Include in

9. | Culture and Society in Southeast

SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Trace the historical background of the organization in Southeast Asian as a

1.1 | Culture and Society in Southeast

1.0 | Culture and Society in Southeast

MAKING A LIVING AND ORGANIZING SOCIETY

Knowledge of the early prehistory of Southeast Asia has undergone exceptionally

Anatomically modern human hunter-gatherer migration into Southeast Asia before

1.2 | Culture and Society in Southeast

The descendants of these earliest Homo sapiens immigrants, loosely identified as

Early Agricultural Societies

Territorial principalities in both Insular and Mainland Southeast Asia, characterized

Intensive wet-rice cultivation in an ideal climate enabled the farming communities to

1.3 | Culture and Society in Southeast

Bronze Age Southeast Asia

B. THE PEOPLE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: “RACES” AND ETHNICITIES

1.4 | Culture and Society in Southeast

1. Foraging is the process of gathering food from uncultivated plants or undomesticated

1.5 | Culture and Society in Southeast

A polity is an identifiable political entity—any group of people who have a collective

In geopolitics, a polity can be manifested in different forms such as a state, an

1.6 | Culture and Society in Southeast

Bands, “Autonomous” Villages, Chiefdoms, States

“Autonomous” Villages - The 'village' is a powerful unit of analysis in both a