An Illustrated Eco-History Of Mekong River Basin
An Illustrated Eco-History Of Mekong River Basin
By Tomoya Akimichi
An Illustrated Eco-history of the Mekong River Basin is a broad-ranging study of the interactions transforming people's livelihoods and their environment in this rapidly developing yet ecologically-diverse region. Encompassing scientific material on climate, health and habitat through to social studies on the large number of ethnic groups, the new findings presented here from specialists in a plurality of disciplines reflect the drastic changes of recent times, concomitant with various impulses toward modernization, economic globalization, and sixty years of rapid population growth. Local relationships with the environment have been incessantly restructured and transformed amidst these political and economic upheavals, revealing unique linkages between certain determinants of change. Over sixty international researchers collaborated (specializing in agricultural science, natural resources, ecological science, human ecology, geography, history and anthropology) bringing vitality and depth to the treatment of these complex issues. The book vividly and succinctly reveals an array of interesting and serious issues in the Mekong River basin, and serves as an indispensable guide to the historical ecology of the region.
Paperback
Bangkok 2009
White Lotus
211 pages, Illus. in col., 1 map, 210 x 295 mm
ISBN 9789744801494
The Great Mosque Of Banda Aceh
The Great Mosque Of Banda Aceh by Wilhelmina Bouwsema-Raap
Its History, Architecture And Relationship To The Development Of Islam In Sumatra
This book presents the complete history of the iconic monument of Aceh, Sumatra, a crucial symbol of Acehnese identity. We follow the Great Mosque (Masjid Beit ur-Rahmari) from its first incarnation four centuries ago, during Aceh's Golden Age, through to the local response to colonialism in the 19th century, and the political struggles of recent decades. Aceh became a prominent center for Islamic learning and literature in the 16th century. A new and unique style of Islamic architecture arose during Aceh's Golden Age, under the rule of Sultan Iskandar Muda. In the 19th century, colonial influence resulted in a Christian style replacing the older tradition. However, over time, this was transformed by the Acehnese into one of the most beautiful Islamic hypostyle mosques in the country.
In August 2005, Aceh signed a peace agreement ending the long and violent struggle for independence from the Republic. Now Aceh is flourishing again, as in the 15th and 16th centuries. Bouwsema-Raap's reconstruction of the history of the mosque's different phases takes us from Aceh's position as the most powerful and wealthy state in the region and an international center of trade and Islamic learning, via the Dutch-Colonial period with its territorial aggression and curious cultural policies, up through the first half-century of independent Indonesia, with the long-overdue return of decision-making power over the mosque to the Acehnese themselves.
"In a world struggling with the collapse of rich histories and cultures into politicized fundamentalist stereotypes, and in the space where the disciplines of Southeast Asian Studies and Southeast Asian art history intersect, this book makes a welcome and important contribution." Astri Wright, Professor of Southeast Asian Art History, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.
Paperback
Bangkok 2009
White Lotus
128 pages, illus.
ISBN 9789744801432
