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By Benjamin Malcolm
Theology as much as entomology abounds in the Museum of World Insects
and Natural Wonders in Chiang Mai. "All about the museum",
signage by curator Manop Rattanarithikul exhorts guests to explore
their inner world as well as the biological imperative of our threatened
planet.
"The car kills many people and will kill many more. Pollution
is a danger. The hungry mosquito takes a tiny drop of blood. The
crook takes the nation's treasures. Which one is better?" posits
one hand-lettered placard on the first floor.
Manop and his wife, Dr. Rampat, have dedicated their lives to this
riddle and many others. In the process they have come to share their
visions in the privately-funded Museum of World Insects and Natural
Wonders, tucked away on a quiet street in Chiang Mai. Filled to
overflowing with all manner of insect display, the museum also boasts
a first-rate collection of naturally-carved wood and stone, coins,
postage stamps and other rare objects and eccentricities.
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To call this only an insect museum would be an injustice - in truth,
it is a museum of the couple's vision, dedicated to the preservation
of the natural world and directed toward leading a moral, thoughtful
life.
Manop's passion comes across loud and clear, especially when one
gets the chance to sit down and talk to him. In his mosquito-embossed
shirt and spectacles, he is one part scholar and one part firebrand,
yearning to challenge those who enter the doors of his house to
explore the world and its wonders. The museum was birthed not only
from the couple's work, but also from his desire for Thailand's
future generations to know the importance of the natural world and
to get away from their "slavery to scientific technology."
"If the children cannot see the parents, they won't know them.
It's the same for nature. If they never see it, they'll never know
their parent," he said.
The museum has attracted many people and some of them have even
offered money for its contents.
"I could sell it, but I don't want to," Manop said. "I
want to keep it for Chiang Mai … for Thailand."
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Manop finds all manner of creative expression to voice his concern
over the planet and for Thailand. On the first floor, there are
a series of paintings he has finished (covering environmental and
political concerns) and a fascinating collection of naturally-carved
rocks and wood, either chewed into shape by insects or carved slowly
over time by wind and weather.
Visitors to the museum feel as if they are entering a forest when
they step inside the entrance, as greenery, various abandoned nests
and teakwood pieces greet them at the doorway. A gigantic hornet's
nest sits amidst all, innately threatening and yet empty. Stones
on display in an adjoining room have taken on all manner of shapes,
including a puppy, a chicken and egg, a potato and even a whirlpool.
Manop provides a "follow the numbers" trail around the
museum, carefully marking out each and every feature.
The exhibition remains topical. One sign, addressed to George W.
Bush and Saddam Hussein, states: "Both of you are God's creatures
like the mosquito. The mosquito's taking blood is necessary for
their survival. No blood is needed for seeking greed. This is the
difference between an insect and civilized people."
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There is all manner of display, but it is most definitely the insects
that hold sway here. On the second floor, under glass cases, row
upon row of carefully identified beetle, butterfly, walking stick,
moth and others are lined up for the visitor's pleasure. There are
so many, according to Manop, that the museum has to rotate every
so often to keep the exhibits fresh. Near these, another sign points
out that, true to the nature of the enterprise, almost all specimens
were collected post-mortem, rocks and shells from construction sites
or other disturbed environments.
Manop explains where his habit of collecting began. In 1936, he
was due to have his photograph taken with his grandmother in Chiang
Mai, but kept crying when the two travelled to the photographer's
shop. Eventually, after several failed trips, they were walking
home and spotted a bunch of vultures circling above Chiang Mai Gate.
Manop, who was three years old at the time, spotted a grayish-white
rock on the ground. His grandmother told him it was a vulture's
egg and told him he could keep it if he agreed to behave and have
his picture taken with her.
The result, hanging on the far end of one of the shelves upstairs,
is a black-and-white photograph of a 90-year-old woman affectionately
holding onto her grandson, a well-behaved boy with a peculiar "vulture's
egg" shaped bulge in his pocket.
Manop's future was assured in 1950 when he met and started to work
for Lt. Commander Deed Thurman, the Malarial Control Advisor at
the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai. Thurman paid Manop 12 Baht a day
to catch mosquitoes for research, thus beginning a process that
continues to this day. The museum was officially opened to the greater
public in 2000, although the collection spans a lifetime of travel
and research.
The central theme of this research is, of course, the mosquito.
There is a plethora of information about the life and habits of
this creature, presented in Manop's unusual style and sense of humour.
Parts of the museum explore mosquito structure, diseases carried
by the insect and the creature's life cycle. Dr. Rampat is finishing
up her extensive fieldwork and will publish the definitive identification
keys for the 420 species of mosquito in Thailand.
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One room's pictures and passages detail the dangers of the mosquito
(only 44 out of the 420 are disease carriers). Hanging over all
of these is a nine-point "statement by Thailand's mosquitoes,"
written by Manop, which begs forgiveness for the natural hunger
of the mosquitoes and insists that they are, after all, part of
the natural order and do provide benefit in the form of transmitting
immunity in certain cases.
The sixth point of this statement revisits the theme that is honoured
throughout the museum, part and parcel of the Museum of World Insects
and Natural Wonders.
"We give thanks to God, to Mr. Manop and Dr. Rampa Rattanarithikul
that they understand us and wish to help bring attention to preserve
all God's creatures while doing no harm and making no impact upon
the original environment."
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