Conférence à l’Université Paris Cité dans le cadre du séminaire « Parcours Sociétés et Territoire ».
The Mahout State: Elephants and the Vietnamese Empire, 1802-1885
Bradley Camp Davis (Eastern Connecticut State University)
Discutants : Ken Daimaru (CRCAO) et Emmanuel Poisson (IFRAE)
Date et heure : mercredi 11 décembre, 14:30-16:30
Lieu : Université Paris Cité. UFR LCAO Bât. Grands Moulins. Salle 481C
Résumé :
Based on extensive research in materials from the Nguyễn 阮 imperial state, including the 硃本朝阮 and the 欽定大南會典事例, this presentation considers how Vietnam’s last empire attempted to claim control over and manage both captive and non-captive elephants throughout Vietnam as well as how elephants pushed back against those claims. As well as a general history of elephants in Vietnam, including Vietnam’s connection to Southeast Asian and South Asian mahout traditions, this presentation will also explain specific cases of human-elephant conflict related to agriculture, the medical treatment of elephants, and the deployment of elephants for war and labor. In all these cases, the Vietnamese empire styled itself a “Mahout State,” albeit one with a reach that often exceeded its grasp.
