NEGOTIATING A FLUID COLLECTIVE IDENTITY: A CASE STUDY OF THE YUNNANESE IN BAN HIN TAEK VILLAGE, CHIANG RAI PROVINCE

Abstract

This thesis examines how Yunnanese villagers in the borderland village of Ban Hin Taek, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, negotiate their identity in 21st century Thailand at three different levels: locally among upland ethnic groups, nationally in relation to mainstream national Thais, and transnationally with different Chinese groups. The thesis uses qualitative methods to analyze and interpret various materials and data collected during several field research trips to Ban Hin Taek, with the main one having occurred from March to June of 2016. Fieldwork activities included participant observation, extensive interviewing, and document gathering. The study reveals that village Yunnanese use several strategies to create flexible collective identities for themselves in a complex and multi-tiered socio-political cultural environment in Thailand, working at the local, national, and transnational levels. Yunnanese villagers in Ban Hin Taek adapt themselves to their socio-cultural environments by using a flexible social negotiation strategy, that is often successful but not always perfect, as well as often by maintaining a low profile. They make an adaptable collective identity that is distinct from those of local ethnic groups, Thai society, and transnational Chinese communities. The analysis of their identity construction shows that their complex social interactions and negotiating processes have shaped fluid identities that allow Yunnanese villagers to effectively work in the various socio-cultural settings they encounter. The analysis also helps us understand how their negotiations allow them to survive in the dynamic socio-cultural-political environment, especially by not trying to strongly stand out. The motivations and forms of agency which drive Yunnanese to make their social status in Thai society today prompts them to shape flexible ethnic boundaries and collective identity in local, national and transnational social settings.