From the Sacred to the Ruler: Politics in the Monuments of Northeastern Governors, 1950s–1980s

Abstract

This study aims to examine the statues of Isan city leaders which serve as public monuments, constructed between the 1960s and the 1980s, beginning with the creation of the monument to Phaya Phakdi Chumphon (Lae) in Chaiyaphum Province as a political tool. This research seeks to reveal the traditional sacred meaning of Isan city leaders as ancestors, which has been integrated with a new system of symbols through the gestures, hand-held items, and inscriptions depicted by or found on the monuments. The study concludes that the monuments of Isan city leaders were redefined with meanings that correspond to the context of their time. One such meaning is the representation of a good ruler and the display of loyalty to the Thai state during the Cold War era.