Research Notes and Comments: Sambran (The White Python): The Kha (Lao Theung) Revolt of 1936–39

The art of not being legible: Invented writing systems as technologies of resistance in mainland Southeast Asia

“…Though Kommadam was to proclaimed himself alternatively 'King of the Khom' or 'Sky God of the Khom', he was by no means one of a kind. At the turn of the century, the Boloven plateau hosted multiple short-lived revolts by self-styled messiahs that were referred to as Phou Mi Boun, literally 'men with merit'; in 1902 Kommadam was merely one among more than 100 such competing holy men (Gunn 1988, Ileto 1992. The majority of these micro-movements either fizzled out or were defeated militarily, but Kommadam and a handful of others would rally their followers to lead a unified revolt of the southern highland groups that lasted several decades.…”

“…Kommadam's reputation for immortality remained intact until French authorities were determined to put an end, once and for all, to the "Kommadam question". In 1936 he was killed in a raid on the Boloven plateau, staged through an anachronistic combination of aerial bombardments and elephant brigades (Gunn 1988). Use of the script ended after Kommadam's demise, and French forces allegedly destroyed all surviving manuscripts that they could get their hands on.…”

The Saint with Indra's Sword: Khruubaa Srivichai and Buddhist Millenarianism in Northern Thailand

“…He was proficient in Pali, and had “prior experience of the study of Buddhist texts” (Gunn 1990: 110; see also Gunn 1985; BT 14 Jan. 1902; 23 May 1902). One of Ong Keo's supporters, Kommadan, claimed to be the “bodhisattva in the form of a future Buddha” as late as 1933–1935 (Gunn 1990: 123–25 for fuller listings of messianic revolts, and see p. 102; see also Baird 2013; Gay 2002; Gunn 1988). The French colonial regime in Cambodia was so concerned with millenarianism that it regulated travel by monks and monitored them for seditious activities (Harris 2005: 131–35; Chandler 1996: 64–75; Hansen 2007).…”