Kings of the Mountains: Mayréna, Missionaries, and French Colonial Divisions in 1880s Indochina

Itinerario

Volumn 25, Issue 3-4, 2001, Pages 185-217

  Daughton, James P ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 84868397864     PISSN: 01651153     EISSN: 20412827     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0165115300015047     Document Type: Article

References (127)

1. see Truong Buu Lam, Colonialism Experienced: Vietnamese Writings on Colonialism, 1900–1931 (Ann Arbor 2000)
2. ‘Chapter One: The Colonial Administrative Reality’, 8–38.
3. A number of studies of the region reflect this usage. (M. l'Abbé) Pierre Dourisboure, Les Sauvages Ba-Hnars, Souvenird'un missionnaire (Paris 1875)
4. le Marquis Barthéleacute;my, Au Pays Moï(Paris 1904)
5. Henri Maître, Les Jungles Moï(Paris 1912)
6. for usage in French administrative documents and newspaper articles, see those collected in Jean Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle: Marie Ier, Roi des Sedangs (1888–1890)’, Bulletin des Amisdu Vieux Hué, 1 (January 1927) 107–128.
7. For the purposes of this article, the most useful of the works on Mayréna is Marquet's ‘Marie Ier, Roi des Sédangs’, as it reproduces a wide array of documents from government and missionary archives in Indochina and France that the author collected in the 1920s. Many of these archives have since been lost. A more romantic take on the Mayréna legend, published the same year as Marquet's, is Maurice Soulié, Marie Ier, Roi des Sédangs, 1888–1890 (Paris 1927).
8. Both of these texts were reviewed by Marcel Ner in Bulletin de I'Ecole Française d'Extrème Orient XXVII (1927) 308–350 in an article long and detailed enough to be considered a study in its own right.
9. The only English-language source solely dedicated to Mayréna is Gerald Hickey, Kingdom in the Morning Mist: Mayréna in the Highlands of Vietnam (Philadelphia 1988). Hickey's clear account is based exclusively on these and other published French sources, and provides excellent detail of the events.
10. Mayréna complained of severe fever at the time he became king, and his letters at times were nearly incomprehensible. See for example the rambling notes in CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11890: Letter from Mayréna à M. le Gouverneur-Général. Kon-Jeri-Krong, 25 July 1888.
11. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 39.
12. Mayréna's army never received the uniforms because the king never paid for them. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11894: Dossier Mayréna (12): Letter from M. Liébard à Père Guerlach. Haiphong, 23 January 1889.
13. Soulié claims that older Parisians in boulevard cafes still reminisced about Mayréna's exploits in the 1920s. Marie Ier, Roi des Sédangs, 5. And his legend lived on in Indochina for decades after his mysterious death in 1890: in the 1920s, the three studies appeared, and as late as 1967, Mayréna's antics even made their way into André Malraux's Anti-mémoires. Gerald Hickey provides a useful essay on printed sources dealing with the King of the Sedangs.
14. Kingdom in the Morning Mist, xxi-xxix.
15. The bite of a poisonous snake was the official cause of death, though other possibilities abounded. Marquet suggested that rumors that Mayréna was killed in a duel seemed unfounded, but he did not rule out suicide by poisoning, as Mayréna's body had no sign of a bite. See ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siecle’, 101–105.
16. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11897: Dossier Mayréna (15): Letter from the Consulat de France à Singapore to M. le Gouverneur-Général de l'lndochine, no. 145. Singapore, 24 November 1890.
17. On the role of republican ideology in French colonial expansion, see Raymond Betts, Assimilation and Association in French Colonial Theory, 1890–1914 (New York 1961)
18. Alice Conklin, A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895–1930 (Stanford 1997) esp. 1–10.
19. This is especially true of the three main French sources on Mayréna, Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’; Soulié, Marie Ier: Roi des Sédangsr, and Ner's review. As Hickey's book relies heavily on these documents, he too examines in detail the relationship between Mayréna and the French colonial government. Hickey, however, also makes connections between Mayréna and the general position of the central highlands in Vietnamese history.
20. Patrick Tuck provides partial reproductions of a number of useful documents, as well as a handy historical overview: French Catholic Missionaries and the Politics of Imperialism in Vietnam, 1857–1914: A Documentary Survey (Liverpool 1987) 237–238; 241–247.
21. David Marr, Vietnamese Anticolonialism, 1885–1925 (Berkeley 1971) 47.
22. Vietnamese Anticolonialism., 54–55.
23. A useful discussion of the ‘Siamese Question’ and its relation to Mayréna is in Hickey, Kingdom in the Morning Mist, ch. 4.
24. Marquet, ‘Un aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 9.
25. In 1887, a French administrator investigated Mayréna's home on suspicion of arms trafficking, found and impounded a number of weapons, but never - for reasons that remain unclear - brought charges against him. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 18–19.
26. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11883: Letter from le Directeur de l'lnterieur, Cochinchine Francaise, to M. le Gouverneur-Général, no. 19. Saigon (reçu), 15 June 1885. Emphasis in the original.
27. Ner, review, 326.
28. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11890: Letter from the Cabinet Lieutenant-Gouverneur de Cochinchine Française to M. le Gouverneur-Général de l'lndochine, no. 9. Saigon, 7 January 1888.
29. For protection, Mayréna brought along 21 rifles, 4 revolvers, and 2,500 cartridges - an arsenal he thought rather too light for conquest. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 25–26.
30. Letter from Lemire to Mayréna, no. 728. Qui Nhon, 15 April 1888, reproduced in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 27–29.
31. The letter of 24 March 1888 is reproduced in Marquet, ‘Un aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 25.
32. The First missionaries to try to proselytise in the highlands were captured in 1842 and sentenced to death by Vietnamese mandarins. Dourisboure, Les Sauvages Ba-Hnars, 3. In 1852 the Vicariate of East Cochinchina established a mission at Kon Trang.
33. See Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries, 237–240.
34. Jean Marquet, ‘Un aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 31
35. for a complete discussion of French expeditions in the highlands, see Gerald Hickey, Sons of the Mountains: Ethnohistory of the Vietnamese Central Highlands to 1954 (New Haven 1982) 207–259.
36. The Pavie Mission was a sixteen-year expedition that explored the Mekong River and surrounding lands. Le Capitaine Cupet, Mission Pavie, Indo-Chine 1879–1895. Géographie et voyages, Vol. III: Voyages au Laos et chez les sauvages du sud-est de I'lndo-Chine (Paris 1900) 329.
37. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 30.
38. The task of securing treaties had not been asked of Mayrena by the French government; he simply signed agreements which would later require official ratification by the French government. See the letter from Governor-General Richaud to Emile Jamais, Undersecretary for the Colonies (Hanoi, 14 December 1888)
39. reproduced in Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries, 241–242.
40. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 34.
41. Lemire in 1888, in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 111. Both Navelle, who travelled in the region in 1884, and Père Vialleton, the superior of the Mission at Kontum, discussed the benefits of such alliances.
42. Archives de la Société des Missions-Etrangères de Paris (ASME): 751 (Cochinchine Orientate), v. 2 (1887–1900); Folder 1889; Doc. 110: Letter from Marie I to Mgr Van Camelbeke, no. 939. Paris, 9 March 1889.
43. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11890: Letter from Mayréna to M. le Gouverneur-Général, 15 May 1888
44. Letter from Mayréna to M. le Gouverneur-Général. Kon-Jeri-Krong, 25 June 1888.
45. Hickey, Kingdom in the Morning Mist, 93.
46. ‘Lettres de l'Annam’, Le Temps, 28 August 1888.
47. Mayréna was extremely busy during his first month in office, signing more treaties and decrees. For a full discussion, see Hickey, Kingdom in the Morning Mist, 99–104, and 106–107.
48. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11892: Dossier Mayréna (10): Letter from the Résident de France à Qui Nhon to M. le Gouverneur de l'lndo-Chine, Saigon, no. 865. Qui Nhon, 20 Sept. 1888.
49. Marie I to Monsieur le Directeur du Courrier d'Haiphong (Qui Nhon, 8 October 1888) reproduced in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 44–45.
50. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 45; Marquet was able to see Guerlach's copy of the Courrier d'Haiphong at the archives of the Mission of Kontum.
51. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 46.
52. ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’., 46.
53. This prediction ended up being remarkably accurate. In Mayréna's letter to Monsieur le Président de la République Française (Haiphong, 4 November 1888)
54. in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 50.
55. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 46.
56. For example, Ner rejects Marquet's assertion that Lemire was blinded by anti-clericalism; see Ner, review, 329–330.
57. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 70–71.
58. Letter from Governor-General Richaud to Emile Jamais, Undersecretary for the colonies (Hanoi, 14 December 1888)
59. reprinted in Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries, 241–242.
60. ASME: 751, v. 2; Folder 1889; Doc. 113: Letter from Guerlach to M. Pean. Kon-Jori-Krong, 9 April 1889.
61. Letter form Rheinart to Mgr Van Camelbeke (Hué, 27 November 1888) reprinted in Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries, 242.
62. CAOM:Indo:GGI: 11894:Extrait de la lettre de Mgr Van Camelbeke en date du 25 Décem-bre 1888 (à Qui Nhon).
63. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11894: Extrait de la lettre de Mgr Van Camelbeke en date du 5 Décem-bre 1888 (à Qui Nhon).
64. Letter from Mgr Van Camelbeke to Resident General Rheinart (1 December 1888) reprinted in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 72.
65. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11894: Letter from Guerlach to the Résident-Général Rheinart. Hanoi, 28 December 1888.
66. ASME: 751, v. 2; Folder 1888; Doc. 109: Résident-Général en Annam et au Tonkin à Monseigneur Van Camelbeke à Qui Nhon, no. 86G. Hanoi, 27 December 1888.
67. Letter from Rheinart to Guerlach reprinted in J.-B. Guerlach, ‘L'Oeuvre Néfaste’: Les Missionnaires en Indo-Chine (Saigon, Imprimerie Commerciale, 1906) 147–148.
68. ASME: 751, v. 2; Folder 1888; Doc. 109.
69. Mayréna in his letter to the editor, Courrier d'Haiphong, 8 October 1888, reproduced in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 49.
70. ‘Lettres de l'Annam’, Le Temps, 28 August 1888.
71. ‘Chez les Sédangs’, Courrier d'Haiphong (27 December 1888)
72. reprinted in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 62–63.
73. ‘Chez les Sédangs’, Courrier d'Haiphong (3 January 1889)
74. reprinted in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 66–67.
75. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 68–69.
76. ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’., 69.
77. Hickey, Sons of the Mountains, 236.
78. ‘Lettre d'Annam’ (letter from Guerlach, 29June 1889) in Courrier d'Haiphong (25 July 1889) reprinted in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 117–120.
79. ‘La Nouvelle Confédération des Bahnars-Rongaos-Sédangs’, by X.X.X. in Courrier d'Haiphong (8 Augustus 1889)
80. reprinted in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 110–111.
81. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 112.
82. ‘Boite aux lettres’, letter from Guerlach, 7 October 1889 in Courrier d'Haiphong (7 November 1889)
83. reprinted in Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 121–122.
84. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11894: Report from the Vice-Résident de France à Qui Nhon to M. le Résident-Général, Hué. Qui Nhon, 6 May 1889.
85. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11894: Report from the Vice-Résident de France à Qui Nhon, 6 May 1889.
86. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11894: Report from the Vice-Résident de France à Qui Nhon, 6 May 1889.
87. Van Camelbeke, quoted in Ner, review, 332.
88. ASME: 751: v. 2: Folder 1889: Doc. 115: Letter from Guerlach to ‘Bien cher et Vénéré Père’. Mission des Sauvages, Kron-Jori-Krong, 21 June 1889.
89. ASME: 751: v. 2: Folder 1889: Doc. 115.
90. Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries, 245–246.
91. The original quote was in English. Marquet, ‘Un Aventurier du XIXe Siècle’, 112.
92. On this general subject, Tuck is indispensable: French Catholic Missionaries, 20–80
93. on Catholic collaboration in the ‘Francis Gamier Affair’ see Mark W. McLeod, The Vietnamese Response to French Invasion, 1862–1874 (New York 1991) ch. 6.
94. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 11624: Rapport de Mgr Puginier sur les meurtres de missionnaires français et de Chrétiens, et sur les pillages et incendies de chrétientes par des mandarins au Tonkin: Report from Puginier, Vic. Apostolique du Tonkin Occidental, to M. le Général de Division, Commandant en chef, le Corps expéditionnaire du Tonkin. Hanoi, 27 March 1884.
95. ASME: 759: Cochinchine Occidentale, 1888–1898; v. 2; Folder 1890: Doc. 367: Compte-Rendu, 1 September 1890.
96. ASME: 757: Folder 1901: Doc. 87: Compte-rendu, 1900–1901 from the Vicariat Apostolique de Cochinchine Occidentale. Saigon, 1 October 1901.
97. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 22548: A.S. d'une communication de Mgr Marcou relatif au recense-ment de la population de Ninh Binh, et des Chrétientés en particulier. 1904–05: Letter from Mgr Marcou, V.A. du Tonkin Maritime, to Résident-Supérieur. Phat Diem, 16 December 1904.
98. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 22555: Enquête dur l'affaire de Banam (Cambodge): le père Pianet compromis dans une affaire d'assassinat, Avril-Mai 1891: Letter from the Résident-Supérieur au Cambodge à M. le Gouverneur-Général de l'lndochina, Hanoi, no. 25. Phnôm-Penh, 15 May 1891.
99. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 22555: Letter from Dr Hanh au Résident-Supérieur of Cambodia. Phnom Penh, 24 May 1891.
100. Tuck, French Catholic Missionaries, 166.
101. French Catholic Missionaries., 206–208.
102. CAOM: Indo: GGI: 9234: Affaire du Père Magat, 1889
103. Letter from M. Hector, Résident Supérieur en Annam à Monsieur le Gouverneur Général de l'lndo-Chine, Saigon, no. 614. Hué, 21 Août 1889; another case in 1896 resulted in a similar exchange of letters.
104. See CAOM: Indo: GGI: 9800: Difficultés survenues entre MM Duranton et Guillet et la mission du Tonkin méridional.
105. ASME: 787: Lettres de M. Guerlach: Missions des Sauvages Bahnar - Sedang, District de Notre Dame de Lourdes, Pelei Maria, 29 Janvier 1893, à Mr l'Abbé Cauvigny, Curé, Fontenay-le-Vicomte, par Mennacy (Seine-et-Oise).
106. For more on de Rhodes' work on missionary methods of ‘inculturation’, see Peter C. Phan, Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998): 75–81.
107. ASME: 787, 9; emphasis in original.
108. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 13.
109. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 35.
110. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 36; emphasis in the original.
111. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 38. In the manuscript, an editor as deleted these lines with a blue pen; as much of the letter was later published in Missions Catholiques, the editor was like a superior at the Missions Etrangères who wanted to clear out contentious material.
112. ASME: 787, 61, 64.
113. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 120; the anti-Masonic rant was marked for deletion.
114. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 157, 164.
115. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 199.
116. Mission and Catechesis: Alexandre de Rhodes and Inculturation in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam, 190, 191–193.
117. ASME: 785: Vie du Père Jean Baptiste Pierre Marie Guerlach des Missions-Etrangères de Paris, Provicaire de la Mission des Sauvages au Vicariat de la Cochinchine Orientale, 1858–1912. Par l'abbé Cauvigny, curé de campagne. Deux cahiers, 25June 1913 to 12 September 1914. Notebook I: 6. According to another biography, Guerlach was an ambulance worker in 1870
118. see (no author), Le Père Guerlach, Provicaire Apostolique, Supérieur de la Mission de Kontum (Sauvages Bahnars) (1858–1912) (Quinhon 1912) 2.
119. ASME: 786: Lettres du Père Guerlach. Letter to his parents, 15 December 1874.
120. ASME: 787, 40.
121. Letter to his parents, 41–43.
122. Letter to his parents, 44–46.
123. ASME: 787, 200–201; emphasis is Guerlach's.
124. Letter to his parents, 202.
125. For example, ‘the battle that our soldiers fight in Africa is a holy war, as our compatriots destroy the empire of the devil, fetishism, and human sacrifices’. ASME: 787, 200.
126. ASME: 787, 200.
127. Réné Remond, ‘La Fille ainée de l'Eglise’ in: Pierre Nora ed., Les lieux de mémoire III: Les Frances, 3. De I'Archive à I'emblème (Paris 1992) 540–581.