The Cultural Reproduction of Yi Peng Tradition in Chiang Mai

Abstract

This research aims to study the cultural reproduction of Yi Peng tradition. The paper relies on the concepts of cultural reproduction, capital, representation and post-modern consumption. By using historical method, the documents used in the study include historical record, folklore, and literature  as a primary source, as well as texts, researches and books as a secondary source. The article reveals that the tradition was closely associated with local history, agricultural way of life, Buddhism and belief in spirits. According to the cultural processes during the process of creating a nation-state, and the tourism promotion in accordance with the National Economic and Social Development Plan, Yi Peng tradition has been commodified for tourism industry and became alienated, inconsistent, and hostile to the local community. The article proposes that It is necessary to construct alternative imagination about the Yi Peng tradition from local participant against dominant imagination.