Books published by Silkworm Books / Trasvin Publications LP

Offers a selection of essays that demonstrates the study of Buddhism, a concern with detailed accuracy in philological and textual specifics can be combined with wider philosophical and sociological issues. This book includes essays that are divided into three parts: Pali Literature, The Theory and Practice of Not-Self, and Buddhism and Society.

Media reports of dehumanizing practices such as slavery, abduction, child prostitution, and torture, along with shocking statistics, form the basis of public knowledge. With sensitivity and candor, this book addresses the reality of human trafficking in Thailand, dissecting studies, presenting facts, and dismissing stereotypes.

Provides a critical look at how notions of the family are negotiated amidst worries over the family's disintegration in the face of globalizing trends

Offers the first English translation of four different versions of the Chronicle of Moeng Lu

Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant provides the first-ever account of Than Shwe's journey from postal clerk to dictator, analyzing his rise through the ranks of the army, his training in psychological warfare, his belief in astrology, his elimination of rivals and his ruthless suppression of dissent.

Intended for modern students, inside or outside the classroom, this book presents an introductory sketch of Pali using both European and South Asian grammatical categories. It presents Pali in the traditional terms of English grammar, derived from the classical tradition, and discusses and reflects upon those categories.

In the green pastures of the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary in northern Thailand, traumatized elephants can recover and begin to enjoy life. This book describes the liberation of two street elephants and their journey to the Elephant Nature Park.

Capturing the vanishing memory of ancient rituals, recited texts, and places imbued with echoes of the past, this book recounts the lived texture of human experience in the Mekong River valley. It features the history of those areas fused with legends and lore of the tutelary spirits of the region known as the naga.

Jim Wageman is an award-winning former art director and designer at leading illustrated-book publishers and former director of graphic design at New York¿s Museum of Modern Art. William Chapman is interim dean of the School of Architecture, University of Hawai¿i at Manoa.

Harry Aveling is professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics at Monash University.

Harry Aveling is professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics at Monash University. Keith Foulcher, honorary associate at the University of Sydney, writes on Indonesian literary and cultural history. Brian Russell Roberts is associate professor of English at Brigham Young University.

Hans-Bernd Zollner, of Hamburg University, specializes in the political culture of Myanmar and other Theravada Buddhist countries. Rodion Ebbighausen is a journalist and project manager at Deutsche Welle.

The research presented in this volume analyzes the impact of ethnic change and religious traditions on local, national, and regional identities. Case studies include the Bru population in Laos/Vietnam, hill tribe populations without citizenship in northern Thailand, the Lua also in northern Thailand, the Pakistani community in Penang, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Leke religious movement in Thailand/Myanmar, political Islam in Indonesia, Sufi Muslims in Thailand, pluralism in Penang, the Preah Vihear dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, and hero cult worship in Lan Na. Historians and social anthropologists variously tackle these issues of identity and integration within the kaleidoscope of ethnicities, religions, languages, and cultures that make up Southeast Asia.

French anthropologist Jacques Dournes lived in Vietnam for 25 years, from 1946 to 1970, studying the culture of the Jarai and other highland ethnic groups. He became a renowned ethnographer and the Jarai people became his lifelong passion.In part 1 of this study, Andrew Hardy explores Dournes's challenging monograph Potao, une théorie de pouvoir chez les Indochinois jorai and his views on the role of the highlanders in ancient Champa. In part 2, Dournes speaks animatedly with the author about the Jarai, his feelings about culture and economics, his understanding of Vietnam's history, and his personal experience of living in the Central Highlands. The French transcript of the interview is presented in the appendix.

A collection of photos that documents how the Mekong's seasonal flood pulse shapes daily life in economic, social, and cultural matters ranging from transport and festivals to fish trap design.

Since the 1960s, the hybrid popular music called luk thung has embodied the aspirations, frustrations, and sorrows of ThailandΓÇÖs working class. Global scholarship, however, has been slow in examining this seminal genre. In this pioneering book, ethnomusicologist James Mitchell explores the many facets of luk thung through ethnographic research with singers, songwriters, fans, and other professionals. The groundbreaking final chapter refutes the widespread opinion that luk thung is an apolitical genre by examining its role in recent political turmoil and tracing currents of protest and sociopolitical commentary back to the musicΓÇÖs origins.The book includes links to many songs online so that readers can hear for themselves the music that came to express the triumphs and hardships of everyday working Thais.

Sazigyo are fine, tablet-woven Burmese tapes used to bind the palm-leaf manuscripts of an earlier era. This book elucidates the religious and social context of sazigyo and describes in detail the weaves, texts, designs, and images.

Analyzing Thailand's retail structure in the light of its entire distribution system, the author examines how changes have affected not only horizontal, competitive relationships between modern and traditional retailers, but also vertical relationships with manufacturers and wholesalers.

Argues that the hybridity between traditional Buddhist beliefs and elements from other religions is indicative of the health and wealth of Buddhism

Showcases the path-breaking research that a new generation of Thai scholars is conducting on the country's sexual cultures

Thailand is often called the "Land of Smiles", a nickname, which sounds pleasant and mysterious. This is a work on Thai society.

Pridi Banomyong (1900-83) was one of the greatest figures in twentieth-century Thailand. This title contains nineteen selections from Pridi's writings, speeches, and interviews which focus on his personal background and his active political career from 1932 to 1949. It also includes a fresh translation of the "outline economic plan" of 1932.

When British diplomats Captain William Couperus McLeod and Dr David Richardson set out on their missions to the Tai states, their aim was trade and friendship. This travelogue describes their journeys and diplomatic exchanges.

Offers an account of Thailand's diplomatic, military, and economic history between 1938 and 1948.

Boonlua Debhayasuwan was born into a noble Siamese family in 1911 and not only witnessed but participated in the great events of her century. Boonlua became one of the first Thai women to earn a university degree. As an official in the Ministry of Education, she worked to improve education and represent Thailand at international conferences.

Cambodia's long-time opposition leader and former finance minister is committed to establishing democracy in his homeland. He is currently in exile in France to avoid a 12-year prison sentence brought on politically motivated charges, and he is banned from contesting the forthcoming elections. This title recounts his early years in Cambodia.

A rare and nuanced glimpse into the country and people of Laos as they stand at the crossroads of change