The Circle Kings

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

A holy middle, and rings going out from it.

The old kings in Asia ran their countries that shape. Have a go. Draw once and it copies itself right round.

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

The bloke next door wants your patch, so he's your enemy. The bloke past him has the same problem, so he's your mate.

Tap any kingdom to put it in the middle.

A kingdom was like a servo light on a dark highway. Bright out the front, dim by the road.

Drive far enough and the next one's brighter.

Kings fought over people, not land. Plenty of land. Not many people.

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, right down to the village head man.

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

Little kings shouted the big king rice, elephants and blokes 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 the word: muck with him, you muck with me.

Your go. Two kings, ten baskets a year.

The glow came from the bloke, not the chair.

When a strong king died, his little kings had a look round. Some stayed. Some shot through.

In the 1800s the Poms and the French turned up with rulers and pencils.

Siam drew borders quick smart so nobody pinched more.

Bangkok called 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's got provinces, districts and elections.

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

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

Tap a village.