“Sivid Phukha” Self and Historical Context in the Autobiography of Maha Sila Viravong
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Abstract
This article examines the autobiographical writings of Maha Sila Viravong, a renowned writer, researcher, and poet from Laos, specifically focusing on his work titled Sivid Phukha My Life Autobiography, Buddhist Prediction and Poems from the ‘40s, published in 2004. The study applies Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson's concept of multiple representations of the writer's self in autobiographical writing as a framework. It reveals that Maha Sila chooses to recount memories and experiences to portray a consistent self-image amidst the political conflicts that shaped his life and work. Sivid Phukha portrays Maha Sila's self in four distinct forms: historical self, narrating self, narrated self, and ideological self. Of particular significance is Maha Sila's ideological self, which presents him as a product of the Lao cultural community in northeastern Siam. This self-awareness informed his resistance against Thai hegemony and his dedication to the revitalization of Lao culture. These portrayals encapsulate Maha Sila's roles and status during the writing of his autobiography in the 1960s and 1970s.
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