The secret of the name Siam
wisanu bualoy / Shutterstock.com – Statue of King Taksin the great of Thailand, who established Thonburi as the new capital city of Thailand at court of king Taksin in Tak Province, Thailand.
A few years ago I made a translation of an article in Hot Hua Hin Magazine about Sukhothai. Last week, the article was rightly repeated for the second time, as it provides interesting information about this ancient kingdom, which is considered the basis of present-day Thailand.
In the introduction I called Sukhothai the first capital of the kingdom of Siam, but that was not a good translation of the "Siamese Kingdom of Sukhothai", as stated in the original article. In a reaction to the recent publication, Petervz pointed out to me that Sukhothai was not the capital of Siam, but of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
So I shouldn't have used the word Siamese and after a first little research I agreed with him. On a Wikipedia page I read that the words Siam, Siamese and Siamese only came into use in the heyday of the Ayutthaya Kingdom when there was a lot of trade with China and European countries.
It didn't sit well with me and I started an in-depth, but very unscientific research into the name Siam, its origin and its meaning. As a scientist I would have said an in-depth literature search, but I limited myself to browsing several websites on the Internet. That's what this article is about.
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First conclusion
My first observation is that the word Siam can be interpreted in three ways (and perhaps more):
- An ethnic group from China
- A geographical indication
- A kingdom
I will explain each of these three.
ethnic population group
The Thai originated as an ethnic group in the province of Yunnan in southwest China, but there are also indications that the group came from elsewhere in China. Anyway, since the 10th century this population group has been moving from China into what is now Thailand. In Thailand, the Thai mixed with the Khmers, the Mons and other peoples.
The origin of the name Siam is not exactly traceable. It could be from Pali, but I think Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, "dark") or Mon (rhmañña, "stranger"), is more plausible. Chinese archives would show that Siam is derived from Xiānluó, an old (small) kingdom north of Sukhothai. Then there is another possibility that Siam was called Xian in Chinese, which would mean something like “dark strangers”. Also be concerned, because it is known that China considers all peoples outside China at that time, and perhaps still, as barbaric aliens. And then there is a third, but less probable statement on a French Wikipedia page, that Siam is a corruption of a Khmer word.
Geographical indication
The Thais from China moved through the northeast of what is now Thailand to the Chao Phraya basin and settled there more or less permanently. Little is known about how this happened and how that group developed further before the thirteenth century. When Sukhothai and later Ayutthaya emerge, that area is first called Siam by the Portuguese and later also by merchants from other countries. So not as a country, but as a geographical area.
Remember, the historiography hardly comes from Sukhothai or Ayutthaya, for the chronicles and records, if any, were all destroyed at the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767. The history has been traced mainly by foreign merchants, supplemented with data from surrounding countries. When Siam is mentioned, it is difficult to impossible to determine how large that area is and where the borders lie. Very broadly one could say that it concerns Central Thailand with the major powers Burma in the west and Cambodia in the east. Especially north of Sukhothai there were numerous kingdoms, which not only fought each other for power, but were also regularly conquered and reconquered by larger powers such as Sukhothai, Ayutthaya or Burma.
Ayutthaya
Jeremiah van Vliet
As director of the VOC trade office in Ayutthaya, Van Vliet wrote four books between 1636 and 1640, which today form a valuable contribution to the historiography of Thailand in the early 17th century. The 'Description of the Kingdom of Siam …' is - as far as is known - the first detailed description of Ayutthaya as a larger Asian capital and trading city.
Van Vliet also wrote about Sukhothai and the time before the thirteenth century, constantly using the words Siam, Siamese and Siamese. As proof of this, I quote him (in English) when he speaks of King Ramk'amheng of Sukhothai:
“The alphabet of King Ramk'amheng was adopted throughout Siam including the Cluongmai dominions. The glory of Sukhothai was mainly due to one man, King Ramk'amheng; had his successors been warriors like him, the Siamese Kingdom of Sukhothai might have endured until the present time.”
This, in my opinion, shows that at that time Siam was not a country, but an area in which that kingdom was located.
The Kingdom of Siam
I will keep it short about Siam as a country. When General Taksin fought back against the Burmese and conquered Ayutthaya, he proclaimed himself King of Siam. On December 28, 1767, he was crowned King of Siam in his new capital Thonburi. It is generally known that Siam changed territory many times after that.
Finally
I have tried to explain the name, origin and meaning of the name Siam on the basis of several websites, and this link has helped me a lot: archive.org/stream/historyofsiam
Whether it is reliable may well be questioned, but so are many books about the development of Thailand, which often contradict each other about dates, names of kings and battles that would have taken place.
About this blogger
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Bert Gringhuis (1945), born and raised in Almelo in the beautiful Twente. Later lived for many years in Amsterdam and Alkmaar, working in export for various companies. I first came to Thailand in 1980 and immediately fell in love with the country. Been back many times since then and moved to Thailand after my (early) retirement as a widower. I have been living there for 22 years now with my somewhat younger Thai lady Poopae.
My first experiences in Thailand as a kind of newsletter sent to family, friends and acquaintances, which later appeared under the name Gringo on Thailandblog. Many, many articles followed those first stories and that has grown into an almost daily hobby.
In the Netherlands still an avid footballer and football referee, but the years are starting to tell and in Thailand still avid, but the pool billiards is really of inferior quality, ha ha!
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With the designation SIAM I see many similarities with “Holland”. Where did those ships come from in the 17th and 18th centuries: Right, that strip behind the North Sea dunes = Holland. The Zeelanders came to the “West”, but hardly to Asia. The Netherlands.. has only existed since 1815. De Ruijter cs has NEVER fought for the Netherlands, but only for Holland.
So I can very well imagine that in the 17th century the people there spoke about the land of the Free people, so NOT subject to the Khmer or Burmese empire. That this then became the name of their area is understandable. And without specifying the exact boundaries of an empire, IF that was even possible. Also during the Republic, many “German” military commanders were in the service of the State (confederation of Los Zand under the dominance of Holland). The formation of and understanding of nation states only started after Napoleon.
A few years ago, when I was standing at the bus station in Nanning – China, I heard people speaking a language that was very similar to Thai. Just about like German with Dutch. Just the descendants of people who haven't moved south
Yes Harry, in the south of Yunnan province lives a large group of Thai speakers called the Dai. Some of them came to northern Thailand in the last 200 years and live in different villages in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Phayao. In Thailand they are called Thai Lue. My son in a 'half' Thai Lue. He understands his mother's language but does not speak it. I only know this in the Thai Lue language: Peun hak too I love you….o yes and heung for home….
A nice and clear article, Gringo! I would like to add something, which should not be taken as criticism.
We have both written about Chit (Jit) Phumisak from a different angle. He was first and foremost a linguist, and second a revolutionary. During his imprisonment from 1958 to 1965 he wrote the book 'The origin of the word Siam, Thai, Lao and Khmer and the characteristics of these communities'. From that I get the following:
In Thai, Siam is สยาม or Sàyǎam. Chit says that we should not look for the origin of the word in foreign languages such as Sanskrit, Khmer or Mon. He thinks it is a real Thai word and looks for the origin in the meaning of the word ลุ่มน้ำ lôemnáam which means 'river delta, water hole' and thus refers to the living conditions of the population at that time. (So that looks like 'Holland' which means wood-forest land or the Netherlands). So it originally had little to do with nationality, origin ('race') or language, that only came later. He further writes that at first it was mainly foreigners who used the word 'Siam'.
The population itself used the word 'Thai'. Rob V. wrote about this earlier: the 'Thai' were the 'free people', mostly city dwellers, literate and living around the court, while the rest of the population were serfs and slaves and did not (yet) deserve the name 'Thai'.
That book by จิตร (Chit) must be a good book, various (Western) historians quote it in their source references. I don't know any better than that กษณะทางสังคมของชื่อชนชาติ (Khwaam pen maa khǒng khwam Sàyaam: Thai, Lao láe Khǒm láe láksànà thaangǎngk hom khǒng chûu chonchâat) or “Etymology of the terms Siam, Thai, Lao, and Khmer, and the social characteristics of nationalities” has so far not been published in English or Dutch. Too bad, otherwise it would have been on my bookshelf already.
Come on, Rob V. If you try hard you can read the book in a few years, though, his language is very dignified with a lot of Khmer words.
Great contribution. My compliments. However, a comment. You talk about Cambodia, which was then called the KMER empire.
Not right, it's Khmer
Yes, and in Thai it is เขมร with the pronunciation khàměen, so low, rising tone. The language and culture is also referred to as ขอม khǒhm. Thai culture is largely a Khmer culture, which the Thais adopted when they conquered the Khmer Empire (which covered much of what is now Thailand) from about a thousand years ago. It is said that in the Ayutthaya empire (1335-1767) a lot of Khmer was spoken.
The phonetic jump from LUMNAM to SAYAM seems very big to me. Is the L —> S jump more prevalent in Thai language development?
The relationship of SHAN (Taiyai) with SAYAAM (Tainoy) is also close, while the Shan are certainly not delta dwellers.
I also refer to WF Hermans' bon mot: the etymology of Holland – Holtland is actually quoted by wood sellers…
Alex,
I don't believe the Shan, perhaps a much more original 'Thai' group, were ever classified as 'Siam' or sayaam.
It is also not entirely clear to me what Chit means by the connection between 'siam' and 'loem' (pit) name (water). He uses the word แปล plae which means more 'translated'. I don't know how that works etymologically and linguistically. I trust Chit's expertise.
My comment was not about a possible. political coherence but etymological affinity. The CAPITALS had to refer to the verdict.
Some skepticism in the etymology, even among recognized figures, can do no harm.
The English still call us 'Dutch' or German! Ridiculous!
There is another theory about the origin of the word 'sayaam, siam'. In Khmer, Cambodian', 'sayaam' means something like 'robbers from the jungle'. Those heroic Thais from southern China defeated the Khmer and conquered that empire. They were thieves!
Indeed, Sanskrit is obvious. The letter A (siamA) can be neglected.
Sanskrit always adds the A sound after a consonant. After all the ages you can read exactly what we say in Sanskrit.
Interesting story Gringo,
Perhaps to clarify: Sukhothai was a Siamese kingdom, but the city was not the capital of the Kingdom of Siam. The Siamese are a population group that now, along with other groups, are part of the Kingdom of Thailand. However, at the time of the Siamese Kingdom of Sukhothai, present-day Thailand consisted of several Siamese Kingdoms, including the Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya.
I find it interesting to learn that Van Vliet wrote in the 17th century about King Ramkhamhaeng, who by then had already died hundreds of years ago.