Ethnic Identity and Buddhist Tradition: An Analysis on Ethnic Shan Festivals in Thailand

The concept of “Buddhism Without Borders ” in this paper will be interpreted as when Buddhist people from one country migrate to another Buddhist country and still carry on their Buddhist tradition. Interestingly, the time and the place in carrying on the Buddhist tradition is also used as the time and place to express the ethnic identity in the context of the country they migrate into. Today, there is a huge influx of migrant laborers from the neighboring countries, particularly from Myanmar, coming to work in Thailand. Shan people from the Shan State, Myanmar, is one of the ethnic groups from Myanmar who crosses border in the north of Thailand to work in Chiangmai province. Interestingly, the Shan people uses certain Buddhist temples in Chiangmai to carry on their Buddhist Shan festivals in the same tradition as they do in Shan State, Myanmar. Buddhist Thai temples in Chiangmai have thus become the venue in transmitting Buddhist Shan tradition as well as the “cultural contact zone ” for social gathering and expressing Shan ethnic identity in the context of Thailand. This paper illustrates how Shan Buddhist festivals have been “transplanted ” to be performed in Thailand. The Shan festivals of poy awk-waa (welcoming the Buddha descending from heaven to earth) is selected as a case study to portray how Buddhist Shan festivals have become re-territorialized and how Shan ethnic identity is expressed through various means, e.g., costumes, food, performances, etc. in these festivals in the context of Thailand