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This
article is about an ethnic group of people living in South East Asia (SEA).
These people are the farmers who invented the fighting fish. They earnestly
developed the Bettas caught from the rice field into the captive aquarium
show fish today that spread all over the world. The tropical climate
zone of SEA, is one of the most perfect ecosystem and complex bio-diversity
of the world. One of the oldest human civilization was found here call “Dông Son
culture”(North Vietnam). The casting of
bronze began in Southeast Asia first and
with the Chinese second, not vice versa.
From
the interview with an old player, Dr. Yont Musik (Department of Fisheries, Kasetsart University Bangkok), has inferred
that the existence captive short fin fighter (game bred fighter) should
first began around 1887. He also commented that the bred and use of
fighting fish for fighting as a game should began prior to this year. Some
sources said that it should began in 13 AD or Sukhothai
Kingdom. This article does not want to pin down the beginning year of
the bred and use of fighting fish as a game, but to describe an ethnic
group called “Tai” who moved from south of china and migrated down to
North-east India, North Burma, North Vietnam, Laos and the people who found
their place in the most fertilized area call Chao playa basin which
is the story of Plakat Thai begin.
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Indian
missionaries 2000 years ago first arrived calls SEA (before an existence of
boundary countries Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand
and Malaysia)
“Suvannapumi” which means “the golden
land”. It already occupied and comprised by multi - ethnic groups.
Indian missionary visitors called the people they met “Naga” or
snake people. These people were half naked and tattoo their full body.
The
pre-historic Iron Age native people are a rice growing society. “Ban Chiang” is an archeological
site located in north - east of Thailand.(Nong
Han district, Udon Thani Province). UNESCO world heritage since 1992, found a lot of harvester instruments. Some iron tools
have rice
husk impressed and the
painting of rice fields showed on the edge
of clay pot. The other pre-historic
paintings in the cave from the various part of Thailand showed the rice field with cows and the
rice field with many hands
indicated the co-working in the rice field. So there are rice growers wet
land people already there before the influences of Indian civilization. To
be a rice growing society they have to be the well settlement society,
working by group and consistently help each other and well organized
society.
From
many historical sources above show that the pre-historic people in SEA
learn to adapted themselves from the gift of nature. To live in the
fertilized riverside there were no reason at all to move to other place
except they were intruded by an outsiders that seeking for the perfect
land. The new comers that moved from the north to mixed up with the
primitive native people call “Tai” An ethnic group that flee from the war.
Historian believed that the mixture between primitive native people and Tai
race slowly mixed up. The Ban Chiang civilization were slowly replaced by
the Tai culture that more systematically powerful. However they have one
thing in common they are peaceful farmers.
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The
people of Thailand are comprised of many SEA race and other nationalities,
Burma Chinese, Vietnamese, Khmer and Indian etc. The country shaped by
south border connected to Malaysia,
southeast to Cambodia,
East to Laos, and North
to Laos and Burma and western full bound with Burma. The
name “Thailand”
in fact very recent used in 1939 by the nationalist activity in that period
of time. The literally meaning of Thailand
is “land of the Tai race”, for the cultural meaning Thailand
means “the land of freedom”, So “Plakat Thai” fighting fish from the Tai
race shall also be applied.
Now
“Siam”,
where used along side with a term “Tai” come from? Jit
Pumisak the Thais famous linguist and archaeology
(1930 – 1966) using Comparative Historical Linguistics approach asserted
that in the beginning “Siam”
a term refers to any wet land or basin land, people who lives in this
ecology in SEA are call “Siam”.
So in this sense of the term, the people who called “Siam” are
comprised from many races or ethnic groups. (In the historic period of time
there is no such boundary border called country, the people just call
themselves where they live). The groups of people move and find the
fertilized good earth to live and grow the rice, marriage spread their
village made up themselves by relative kinship. So Siam means
the area of fertilized wetland which perfectly good for growing rice and
“Tai” is a term that the people live in this area name themselves. The
major ethnic group live in Siam or wet land is Tai that flee from the
warfare moved from Southern of China passing North Vietnam Laos Burma and
came across to final settlement closed to the sea (Siam gulf) that they can
not go further anymore. Ayutthaya the old historic city of Thailand is
situated at the basin of the meeting point of many rivers, one of the most
fertilized land in SEA and they still call themselves “Siam”.
Tai
race is one of the very large ancient unique ethnic groups. A pioneer
researcher, an American missionary William Clifton Dodd on his book “The
Thai Race: The Elder Brother of the Chinese”, 1909 insisted that Tai race
is one of the biggest and oldest races in the world, a branch of Mongol
older than Chinese and Hebrew. “Tai”
people who spread all over from South China, Burma, Thai, Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam and Malaysia. There are many Tai race branches varied by geographic,
language and cultural practice.
·
Tai Ahom Tai Khamti, Tai Phakae Tai Ai-Ton
(Assam, India and North of Burma),
·
Tai Mao, Tai Dehong or Taikhong(Salween river) Tai Nue
Khong, Tai Yai or Shan
(mainly in Burma)
·
Tai Noi, Tai Yon or Kon Muang, Tai Khuen, Tai Dam or Black Tai, Tai Khao
or White Tai, Tai Daeng or Red Tai (mainly live
in South China, North Vietnam, Laos and Thailand)
On
using linguistic approach, anthropologist researchers found that Tai race
also called “Chan”, “Assam”, “Siem”, “Siam” In Chinese language called
“san” which referred to Tai ethnic groups that live in the riverside delta
area growing rice and other agriculture job. This style of living, Tai village,
we still can see everywhere in the North of Vietnam live closed to the
river. Now we come to the conclusion that the term “Tai” and “Siam” come
closed side by side and referring one term to another term. “Siam” is the
wet land that many ethnic groups in SEA come to set up theirs home, growing
rice and they call themselves “Tai” the people who love freedom and peace,
that move down to settlement at the wet land closed to the sea that can go
no further. So the deepest root of “Siamese fighting fish” or “Plakat Thai”
is the co-treasure of SEA people, that its spiritual root of fighting fish
goes deeper and prior than the first existing of Plakat Thai itself. That
it resided in theirs blood no matter where they live in the world.
The
result of genomic analyses studied, Assistant Prof. Dr. Andres Bendesky and his research fellow (2021) “Genomic
analyses reveal betta fish were domesticated more than 1,000 years ago the
genes that changed in the process.”
(https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.29.442030)
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