PROTECTING URBAN MEMORY

A fourth-generation caretaker's effort to save the Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine highlights the broader struggle against gentrification

- STORY: THANA BOONLERT

Penprapa Ployseesuay did not know her husband's family had been the guardians of the Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine until they married in 1997. She quit her factory job in Nakhon Pathom and relocated to Bangkok to start a family. Despite the departure of her husband, she has been unwavering in her caretaking duties.

A big change came in June 2020 when the Property Management of Chulalongkorn University (PMCU) issued an eviction order. Despite its long history, the Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine is located on PMCU land, which has been managing financial districts including Siam and Sam Yan, spanning over 385 rai. While community residents have moved out, the fourth-generation caretaker is standing her ground.

"Can't we co-exist?" she asked through voice-over narration.

Her oral history was recounted in a performance titled Before Memory Fades Away on April 20, which marked the birthday of Mazu, or Chao Mae Thapthim, the sea goddess that dates to over a century ago. Artist Wasitpon Tangsathapornpan, who played Penprapa, fell down and hugged a picture of the deity. An image of Penprapa and the shrine, which were surrounded on all sides by construction, appeared on the screen.

"The script is based on her autobiographical book Where The Divine Faces Eviction: Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine's Struggle," he said at the end of his performance. It was published by Sam Yan Press, a publishing house founded by Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal and his colleagues at Chulalongkorn University to document her life until the end of 2022. The event was part of an exhibition titled "A Trip Down Memory Lane" at Museum Siam.