Travel like the wind : Suchart Choolee
On the southern borderlands of Isan, the steady, rhythmic beat of a loom breathes life into the passage of time. In a small village near Prasat Ban Phluang in Surin province, an elderly woman sits, toiling under the sun. With a skill honed over a lifetime, she spins gleaming golden silk fibers into individual threads. The wrinkles on her face and the look in her eyes tell a story longer than words, as if every breath she takes is a continuation of the spirit of the cloth, passed down from her ancestors.
Not far away, a young man of a new generation touches his pencil to paper. He is sketching a “Phayanak” (Naga) design that will be woven into the next bolt of silk. He is not just a weaver, but an artist, a preserver of heritage. He absorbs inspiration from his own roots. His initial Naga design was modeled on the graceful yet powerful Nagas that adorn various parts of the stone sanctuary—a symbol of protection according to ancient beliefs
This is where the young man discovered the heart of the story. He realized the “difference” was not between two sanctuaries, but within this single one: the difference between a “symbol” and a “story.” The Naga is a static, awe-inspiring symbol of protection, but the image of Krishna is a story of protection—dynamic, vibrant, and full of compassion.
The young man returned to his paper. He sketched a new silk pattern, naming it “Naga Govardhana.” This time, the lines of the Naga were no longer just a static frame or symbol. He had infused them with the spirit of Krishna’s story. The Naga’s body was drawn to arch, embrace, and entwine, as if forming a shelter, becoming lines that tangibly express “protection,” just as Krishna used an entire mountain to shield his followers.
Ultimately, the “thread” of Surin silk is not merely about copying patterns from the past, but about weaving the stories from ancient ruins back to life. Each thread spun by the elderly woman awaits not just the old patterns of her ancestors, but also the imagination of a new generation who journey to “read” and “interpret” the breath of the stone, to weave it into a living, growing heritage that will continue to tell the story of this land, endlessly.
To understand this region, it is necessary to distinguish between the words “Khom” and “Khmer.”
Khom (ขอม) is a term used by the Thai and people of the Chao Phraya basin to refer to the groups and kingdoms that spoke Mon-Khmer languages and practiced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, centered around the city of Angkor in the past. The term is thus often used to reference the ancient civilization that built the stone sanctuaries in the lands of Thailand and Cambodia.
Khmer (ขะแมร์ or เขมร) is the term the people of Cambodia use to refer to their own ethnicity and nationality today.
Therefore, it can be said that the people of the “Khom” civilization are the ancestors of the modern-day “Khmer” people. Prasat Mueang Tam is a cultural heritage of the Khom people, but it is located on Thai soil, reflecting a culture that was once unified before the demarcation of modern nation-state borders separated its people.
From the silk thread spun by the elderly woman, to the Naga design on Suchart’s paper, and finally to the thousand-year-old stone carvings at Prasat Mueang Tam—all of this forms an invisible yet palpable cultural thread. It is the story of a shared root among the people of Southeast Asia, with religion, beliefs, and art as a common inheritance.
Sadly, today, these historical and cultural threads are often overshadowed by political conflicts and ethnic prejudices. People debate over the “ownership” of heritage, forgetting that we were once part of a great, shared civilization. The differences we see today may just be a later-constructed veneer, but the essence of its artistic spirit and wisdom still flows, connecting us all.
My’s journey, therefore, is not just tourism; it is a pilgrimage to find and reaffirm that, though we may be different today, we all drink from the same cultural wellspring. This return to understanding the past may be a path to resolving present-day conflicts and allowing us to see our “neighbors” once again as “siblings,” bound by a long and enduring connection.
Sources and References
Fine Arts Department. (2017). Guide to Stone Sanctuaries in Thailand. Office of Archaeology, Fine Arts Department.
Phanom Rung Historical Park. Information on Prasat Ban Phluang. (Retrieved from the park’s website and publications).
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre (Public Organization). Database entry for the word “Khom”.
Historical and archaeological articles on Khom-Khmer civilization by scholars such as Prof. Dr. M.R. Suriyavudh Suksavasti, Prof. Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri.
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