Before Southeast Asia: Passages and Terrains

Summary

Introduction

When the term “Southeast Asia” was first used, many at that time were surprised and intrigued by the idea that this part of the world had been recognized as a region. After all, the “region” is a geographic and spatial concept; and Southeast Asia was, in reality, a very diverse set of lands. In using the phrase “passages and terrains” in my title, I will try to capture the tremendous range of connections (passages) and landscapes (terrains) that make up this region. Indeed, this range makes it challenging to imagine Southeast Asia as a region. On one hand, we see all the highlands and lowlands from the various great rivers of mainland Southeast Asia. On the other, the Malay archipelago with thousands of islands which were recognized as some kind of geographical unit but never quite able to draw themselves together into a political unit. To understand Southeast Asia today, we have to reimagine what it meant.

Furthermore, why did it take us so long to identify the region of Southeast Asia? This is where historians come into the picture. For though geographers would work it out spatially, historians had long thought that there was not that much to tell about this region. It certainly took dozens of historians to get the ball rolling and to ask fundamental questions about the region as a whole. What is it all about? What is this region? Why was it not recognized as a region in the past? The last question was the most intriguing one. Immediately historians, particularly those outside the region, had their imaginations stirred by the concept of Southeast Asia as a region. Initially they had little to go on because one of the reasons why Southeast Asia was not earlier recognized as a region was because there was not a great deal of literature (books, official records, documents) on it. So at the very beginning, historians had to work with linguists, archaeologists, anthropologists who were equally curious about this thing called “Southeast Asia” and what it could possibly mean.

In the midst of all that, the historian was quick to ask the question: Who are the people? What is the capacity of these people to do something and to make something of this tremendous variety of terrains and passages?