This essay suggests that one reason for the success of Theravāda Buddhism in early Southeast Asia was its appeal to women. The maternal metaphor, a prominent theme in Buddhist texts, was both familiar and relevant to the lives of all females, regardless of their social standing. Translated into a local environment, the interaction between motherhood and merit-making provided new opportunities for lay women to display their piety and strengthened their links with the monkhood.

The seizure of the Sta. Catarina took place off the east coast of Singapore in 1603 and was popularised by the Dutch lawyer and humanist Hugo Grotius. Based on Dutch and Portuguese sources, the article revisits the incident to critique Grotius' account and provide a snapshot of Portuguese trade and diplomacy in Asia at the time.

Most of the stories we know about the Vietnamese goddess Liêu Hanh derive from Doàn thi Diêm's story Vân Cát Thân Nũ Truyên. This article analyses the story, arguing that in fact it is a piece of fiction which reflects the author's views, experiences and aspirations for greater freedom for women.

This article examines the institutional matrix associated with logging and forest pioneering in a district on Sumatra. It draws together theoretical approaches to develop a framework for analysing the operation of competing forms of institutional power and control. The article argues that the governance of local natural resources and the current epidemic of ‘illegal logging’ can be understood in terms of the particular institutional or socio-political structures found in remote forested areas.

Based on surviving local records, this essay argues that after 1943 Japanese policy towards Islam underwent far-reaching changes when the faith, religious elites and religious edifices were incorporated into the Japanese propaganda machinery for the purpose of winning a war in which neither Islam nor Malay-Muslims had any vested interest.

The leader-follower relationship among the KMT Yunnanese Chinese in northern Thailand is analyzed through the application of patron-client theories. It is argued that the relationship has been embedded in a particular socio-cultural context, which incorporates both Han Chinese culture and the native ethos of long-distance caravan trade, and that it is characterised by both instrumental and emotional forms.