The Blue Yearning: Portuguese Tiles and Siamese Twins

by Rasha Sekulovich (Thailand)

A leap into the unknown Thailand

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The Portuguese are known for their historical journeys of discoveries and cross-cultural influences that brought Asia closer to Europe. Having introduced tea at their royal court during the colonial domination of Sri Lanka, bringing their own pastries and desserts to Thailand and beyond, mastering the art of fearless navigation - they've been constantly embracing foreign influences while offering their own. Tracing the origin of these influences takes us on a journey without definite certainty or final conclusions, while the only certainty that remains is the beauty tat gives birth to diversity and enrich different cultures through continuous adoption and adaptation. The famous blue Portuguese tiles - os azulejos (literally "blue tiles") - remain enigmatic as much as they are resplendent under the Atlantic sun. Where have the journey of the azulejos really started? Did the Portuguese get enchanted by the "china blue" and have they brought the blue porcelain back home from China - or have they inherited them from the Moors who dominated their country for hundreds of years only to pass them on to other nations? What local connections are to be discovered in Thailand after the centuries of Portuguese trading with the Siam and other kingdoms in the region? What are the roots of that "blue yearning" that complements the spirit of Portuguese melancholy so deeply enshrined in their music, food, nostalgic feelings for the past days of glory and discoveries that transformed the world? How can we crack the enigma of these invisible and less known routes that bind Portugal and Thailand together and live on through contemporary respect and recognition between the two cultures? What inspired traditionally territorial Thais to open up and allow in those Portuguese influences? How did the Portuguese find the key to the Siamese hearts and left a permanent mark in their daily habits and more refined culture? What binds the two cultures together and what makes them distinctive to the right degree so to enable and inspire mutual trade-offs? Is there a way to trace the right path in the labyrinth of the two intertwined cultures leading to the very heart of the maze and away from its enchanting spell? Or is that secret better left to the mysterious legends and assumptions based on the lore and anecdotes passed from one generation to the other? Seeking the answers to these and other related questions will be at the core of my exploratory journey bringing closer the two cultures - Portuguese, on one hand, and Thai on the other. At the same time, these questions are part of my intimate quest for answers, having lived in Thailand for more than a decade now and having been revisiting Portugal on countless occasions. Looking for answers would extend the quest to deciphering the mystery of "saudade" - the word encapsulating different meanings of yearning, nostalgia, melancholy - that binds the two cultures together. What contemporary meaning the ancient poem "To sail on is necessary, to live it is not...." brings into completing that puzzle? And what gifts will surface and get materialized, to be shared with curious minds who find the purpose of their lives in perpetual quest for mysteries and discoveries? Gifts to be shared without spoiling the beauty of the secrets that prompts us to keep on searching for the deep blue yearning that triggers new realizations and self-discoveries...