{"id":22632,"date":"2023-05-13T01:31:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T17:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=22632"},"modified":"2024-04-17T15:51:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T07:51:13","slug":"mon-heritage-revival-verochod-punthongs-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2023\/05\/mon-heritage-revival-verochod-punthongs-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mon Heritage Revival: Verochod Punthong’s Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Verochod Punthong promotes Mon culture in Thailand through his museum, research, and a historical book to revive Mon heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Nutcha Hunsanimitkul<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than 30 years, Verochod Punthong has been trying to let more people learn the history and culture of Mon, an ethnic minority in Thailand that contributes to the history of Southeast Asian countries but has been neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mon was welcomed by the Thai Monarchy to emigrate and settle down around the central part of Thailand for 200 years. Its customs have been embedded in Thai culture which can be seen in Buddhism, traditional musical instruments, housing style, and even the world-famous cuisine of Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMon brings us these proud cultures. Food like Khao Chae and Karyasand, or musical instruments such as Peepat Mon and Korng Mon are Mon cultures that most native Thai can be related to. But when it comes to Mon history, they barely recognize it,\u201d the half-Thai-half-Mon says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Verochod was doing the traditional Mon dessert, Karyasand.
(Photo courtesy of Verochod Punthong)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Punthong, 86, is now running the Chompoo Wek Temple Local Museum (\u0e1e\u0e34\u0e1e\u0e34\u0e18\u0e20\u0e31\u0e13\u0e11\u0e4c\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e49\u0e19\u0e1a\u0e49\u0e32\u0e19\u0e27\u0e31\u0e14\u0e0a\u0e21\u0e20\u0e39\u0e40\u0e27\u0e01) with the hope to shed light on the Mon culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Interior of the Chompoo Wek Temple Local Musuem.
(Photo courtesy of Verochod Punthong)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThai historical scholars and Sukhothai University advised me to build the museum and display all Mon folk equipment including cooking tools, clothing, and Buddha statues I found in the temple so it would not be lost and people can come to learn about it,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believes those artifacts are messages from the past to young generations to appreciate their origin more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA few bricks from religious architectural ruins can tell us much information about the ages of Mon heritage and its strong relation with Buddhism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll artifacts tell who we are and where we are from. I believe this museum can promote a realization of Mon history and pass down these precious memories to the next generation,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Visitors checking out the artifcats inside the Chompoo Wek Temple Local Musuem.
(Photo courtesy of Verochod Punthong)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The first call for his own origin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restoring the worn-out Chompoo Wek Temple in Central Thailand about 20 years ago was the first calling for Punthong to trace his roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy brother was the abbot of the temple at that time. It was really old and unstable that the monks could not live there. It was not about what I was supposed to do but it was a must, otherwise, it would collapse, \u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired from his job as an engineer, he devoted all his time supervising the restoration of the temple. He became more appreciative of the Mon culture and hoped more people would also know more about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMon is a treasure of our community.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sharing some sweet memories of his dating life, Punthong reminds his close bond with Mon culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI rowed a wherry along the river to meet my wife when we were young. She also loves to cook Kang Matand, a Mon traditional dish, for our family, \u201d he says with a smile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transportation by a wherry and a connecting livelihood with the river is one of the Mon cultures that is hardly seen in Thailand now.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through years of extensive research about Mon history, Punthong has gathered a great amount of evidence that Mon is more than a root of Thai culture but the main force fighting for Thailand in various wars throughout the history of Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe scale of the Thai army was really small at the time. Mon people joined the Thai military and helped fight against enemies. Without them, Thailand would not have come this far. It is sad to see these memories of the Mon getting lost in our generation,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last gift for the youth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The local museum has attracted local schools and tourists from different parts of Thailand to learn about Mon. It also collaborated with the Department of Tourism of Thailand as a tourist attraction spot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Opening Ceremony of Chompoo Wek Temple Local Musuem.
(Photo courtesy of Verochod Punthong)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI gave tours and narrations of the museum to school students and Thai-Mon communities coming from other regions of Thailand. We gained quite satisfied feedback from the public,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Verochod Punthong giving a museum tour to the visitors.
(Photo courtesy of Verochod Punthong)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Verochod Punthong giving museum tours to students from local schools.
(Photo courtesy of Verochod Punthong)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it is important for them to see the value of ourselves and appreciate it more. It brings self-pride to them. But I am too old now,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning 86 years old this year,  Punthong\u2019s children remind him to take care of his health. He no longer tells the many interesting stories about the Mon and walks around with students now. Without his presence, many of the activities in the museum are now suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have more than enough volunteers to help organize the activity but none of them have the insight into Mon history, \u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worrying about fake information that devalues Mon history and fewer local children are keen on their own culture, the half-Thai-half-Mon has been devoting his time to writing a Mon historical book, which he regards as \u201cthe last gift about the Mon for the younger generation\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe people will not repeat mistakes and will become better people by learning history. I hope my book will bring pride to Mon people, \u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Charmaine Choi
Sub-edited by Esme Lam<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Verochod Punthong promotes Mon culture in Thailand through his museum, research, and a historical book to revive Mon heritage. By Nutcha Hunsanimitkul For more than 30 years, Verochod Punthong has been trying to let more people learn the history and culture of Mon, an ethnic minority in Thailand that contributes to the history of Southeast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":22635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2183,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-may-2023","category-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22632"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22801,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22632\/revisions\/22801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}