Celestial Axe: On the Politics of Naming
CSEAS Newsletter 76 (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University) Spring/Summer 2018, pp.15-25
11 Pages Posted: 24 Sep 2018
Date Written: August 29, 2018
Abstract
Why do leaders change the names they want people to call them? What does it mean to change the name of a political operation or an “event”? Is the rose by any other name still a rose? Rather than discussing the impacts that have been brought about by changing names which has been widely examined elsewhere, this keynote address is an attempt to argue that the politics of naming is earthshaking precisely because of the power embodied within the name itself. It begins with a brief survey of the academic landscape on naming and a touch on the term “celestial axe” born from the womb of Thai law in history. Recent research on southern Thailand-presently plagued with violence- about a government labor project; a peace process operation; and exorcism ritual locally practiced will then be used to illustrate how changes in names engender political reality in terms of the state and its governability. The power of naming itself will then be analyzed using ancient wisdoms which include: the Bible’s narrative of exorcism, the Qur’an’s creation story, and Confucius’ teaching. This paper ends with a story of resistance as a critique of the seemingly omnipotent politics of naming.
Keywords: naming, necronominalism, Southern Thailand conflict, resistance
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