Introduction

Over the past decades, the concept of ‘community archives’ has moved from a primarily Western narrative into a global discussion. Specifically, the concept has gained traction through scholars in the post-colonial era who began to encourage the archival profession to reconsider the role of archival professionals and think beyond public archival legacies to embrace the stories and heritage of ordinary people, including groups marginalised by their social qualities such as ethnicity, sexuality, religion and gender in the light of decolonisation and social justice.

This chapter, drawn from my doctoral research, explores issues of community archives as they relate to communities in Thailand. Through examples of five different Thai community archives, based on research findings specific to the case studies of Northeast (Isan) communities, I explore narratives of Thai communities in dealing with safeguarding their heritage.

For the purpose of this chapter, community archives are defined as a collection of tangible heritage or an action of self-dedication to preserve the intangible heritage of a community of which community engagement amongst its members in such processes is the most important feature.

Community archives in Thailand

The motivation for the establishment of any Thai community archives is made up of many individuals and it was not possible for me to interview all community members. The motivations of the community as a whole were explored through observation of their participation in communal events, whilst recognising that outward action may be poor evidence for inner motivation. Nevertheless, levels of participation can be seen as indicators of community buy-in to the leaders’ objectives.

Heritage encompasses both tangible and intangible elements and the motivations for preserving each can potentially be different, although the analysis below suggests that the two are so interwoven that separation is unhelpful. Nevertheless, individual motivations are likely to have an influence on the tangible heritage, whilst community motivation appears to be more beneficial to the intangible aspects. These different kinds of motivation in relation to both heritage domains are further described in this chapter.

The following examples of Thai community archives informed my research conclusions. The focus of discussion about community archives in Thailand will only be based on communities within the Northeast or Isan region, where the great majority of people are of Lao ethnicity, and should not be taken as representative of all Thai community archives.