article

Political periphery, cosmological center: the reproduction of Rmeet sociocosmic order and the Laos-Thailand border

Centering the margin : agency and narrative in Southeast Asian borderlands4Published In 2006 • Pages: 65-82

By: Sprenger, Guido.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Living in Laos near the border with Thailand, the Rmeet have a widely-told creation myth predating the origins of both nations. This essay discusses the continuing relevance of this myth in justifying both their minority status within Laos and cyclical labor migration to Thailand. Wages and commercial proceeds obtained from these external relations are essential for the maintenance of Rmeet peoples’ internal socio-cosmic order, including paying bride price and purchasing religious items.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Mythology
Inter-ethnic relations
Form and rules of government
Labor supply and employment
Mode of marriage
Sacred objects and places
Buying and selling
Forest products
Family relationships
Medium of exchange
Cult of the dead
Prayers and sacrifices
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Rmeet
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southeast Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Anthropologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem ; 2018
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
2000-2002
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1937-2002
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Takheung, Luang Namtha, Laos
NotesAdditional notes
Guido Sprenger
Includes bibliographical references (p. )
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Lamet (Laotian people)