From the Mountains to the Mekong

In 2023, the Geography and Map Division (G&M) acquired a map which, even among the nearly 6 million cartographic items in our collection, is unique. Hand-drawn in blue and red ink onto a piece of cloth nearly 4 feet wide and more than 8 feet long, the map – or really two maps, one on each side – was made in the 18^th or 19^th century, presumably in Thailand. Each side shows a different area of Southeast Asia, each including part of Thailand and part of neighboring countries: modern Myanmar on one side, Cambodia and Vietnam on the other. The text is in the Thai language and script. Both maps sport exquisitely illustrated landmarks and landforms, including mountains and rivers, vegetation, temples, cities, and roads.

Much about this map is unknown: there’s no indication of the creator on either side, or of the date of creation. It’s not clear whether the two sides were drawn by the same person, or even at the same time. The maps are stylistically quite different, which could reflect different creators, audiences, or purposes.

The best comparable examples that I’m aware of are 17 maps, also on cotton cloth, which were found in the Thai Grand Palace in Bangkok in 1996. These maps are varied in their size, coverage, and style, but many are large and some show similar regions to those shown on the map in G&M.

The cloth hints at a storied history: lines, small holes, and discoloration reveal where the map has been folded and how it must have been stored. Some sections show damage from insects and moisture, but the map remains almost entirely legible, thanks to the large empty areas in between features.

Some areas of the red side of the map have corrections made with a white pigment. In one case, blue ink showing through from the other side of the map has been masked with the white pigment, possibly to provide a blank space for the label later written in red ink.

This layering of ink and pigment is a clue that the blue map was likely made first. This map covers area along the Thai-Burmese border, which was an area of conflict throughout much of the 18^th century. This side is oriented with west at the top and shows the mountainous terrain between central Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Mountains and mountain passes are noted, along with several Karen villages.

The red side of the map covers a larger geographic area. I could get oriented quickly thanks to the large lake in the middle of it, labeled ทะเลทรา้บ: this is Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The map shows rivers flowing into and out of the lake, which is an important part of the Mekong River drainage system.

Even with my rusty Thai language skills (two years of study in college, but it’s – ahem – been a little while), I can recognize some place names. Near the top of the map is Saigon – today’s Ho Chi Minh City – and Battambang can be seen just below Tonlé Sap. The ornate building to the lower left of the lake is the city-temple-palace complex of Angkor, noted in Thai as พระณคอรลวง (Phra Nakhon Luang).

This recent acquisition joins a small but fascinating collection of Southeast Asian cloth maps at the Library. This large pair of Vietnamese cloth maps depict the 1885 siege of the Đò̂ng Hới Citadel in Quảng Bình Province; one map shows a plan of the citadel while the other situates it within a wider landscape.

This earlier Vietnamese cloth map of Huyen de Nghia Hanh has been heavily annotated in French.

G&M also holds a set of 4 Hmong story cloths, which convey narrative and geographical information through beautiful embroidery. All four maps can be viewed on our website.

Learn More:

• Read about the maps found in the Thai Grand Palace in Royal Siamese maps : war and trade in nineteenth century Thailand
• Learn about the history of mapping this part of the world in Early Mapping of Southeast Asia 
• Explore the Library’s Southeast Asian collections and Southeast Asian rare book and manuscript collections in these research guides
• Read more about the Hmong story cloths in a post on our sister blog, 4 Corners of the World: International Collections at the Library of Congress