The Circle Kings

Mandala is an old word from India. It means circle.

A holy middle, and rings going out from it.

Old kings in Asia ran their countries in that shape. Draw one. It copies itself all the way around.

Kautilya wrote it down in India about 2,000 years ago.

Your neighbor wants your land, so he's your enemy. The fella past him has the same problem, so he's your friend.

Tap any kingdom to put it in the middle.

A kingdom was like a porch light. Bright up close, dim out by the road.

Walk far enough and the next king's light is brighter.

Kings fought over people, not land. Land was plenty. Folks were scarce.

Some towns sat between two lights and paid both kings. In Thai that's a town under two skies.

Big kings had little kings. Little kings had littler ones, all the way down to the village head man.

Same shape at every size. Tap a small one to go inside.

Little kings sent big kings rice, elephants and men to fight. That's tribute.

Malay sultans sent Siam a tree of gold and a tree of silver every three years. So did Chiang Mai.

The big king sent back a title and his word: mess with him, you mess with me.

Your turn. Two kings, ten baskets a year.

The shine came from the man, not the chair.

When a strong king died, his little kings looked around. Some stayed. Some left.

In the 1800s the British and the French showed up with rulers and ink.

Siam drew borders fast so nobody would take more.

Bangkok named its new provinces monthon. Same old word as mandala.

Chiang Mai had lords for 600 years. The last one died in 1939.

Today northern Thailand has provinces, districts and elections.

But ask a grandma who to see when the ditch floods. She'll say the head man, then the kamnan, then the big house in town. Thai folks call it ban yai.

The old circles still run under the new map, like an old game on a new computer.

Tap a village.