The return of the Galon king : history, law, and rebellion in colonial Burma / Maitrii Aung-Thwin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aung-Thwin, Maitrii.

Series:

Research in international studies. Southeast Asia series ; no. 124.

Ohio University research in international studies. Southeast Asia series ; no. 124

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

San, Hsaya.

History.

Anti-imperialist movements.

Burma--History--Peasant Uprising, 1930.

Burma.

Anti-imperialist movements--Burma--History--20th century.

San, Hsaya--Trials, litigation, etc.

San.

Burma--Trials, litigation, etc--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

xx, 247 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, [2011]

Summary:

In late 1930, on a secluded mountain overlooking the rural paddy fields of British Burma, a peasant leader named Saya San crowned himself King and inaugurated a series of uprisings that would later erupt into one of the largest anti-colonial rebellions in Southeast Asian history. Considered an imposter by the British, a hero by nationalists, and a prophet-king by area-studies specialists, Saya San came to embody traditional Southeast Asia's encounter with European colonialism in his attempt to resurrect the lost throne of Burma.The Return of the Galon King analyzes the legal origins of the Saya San story and reconsiders the facts upon which the basic narrative and interpretations of the rebellion are based. Aung-Thwin reveals how counter-insurgency law produced and criminalized Burmese culture, contributing to the way peasant resistance was recorded in the archives and understood by Southeast Asian scholars.This interdisciplinary study reveals how colonial anthropologists, lawyers, and scholar-administrators produced interpretations of Burmese culture that influenced contemporary notions of Southeast Asian resistance and protest. It provides a fascinating case study of how history is treated by the law, how history emerges in legal decisions, and how the authority of the past is used to validate legal findings.

Contents:

Textualizing rebellion : remembering kings and an ethnology of revolt

Legislating rebellion : ethnology and the formation of counter-insurgency law

Adjudicating rebellion : the trial of Saya San and the authentication of the narrative

Codifying rebellion : the origins and causes of the Burma rebellion

Interpreting rebellion : binary structures and colonial remains

Sanctifying rebellion : colonial discourses, religion, and millenarian movements

Remembering rebellion : museums, monks, and the military.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780896802766

0896802760

9780896804708

0896804704

OCLC:

495780028