Maya Dania
School of Social Innovation, Mae Fah Luang University
The 2024 flood in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai Province, witnessed an unprecedented volume of mud deposition, marking a deviation from typical flooding characteristics. This article undertakes an ontological examination of mud’s agency, drawing on Edward S. Casey’s eco-phenomenology and Latour’s Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to articulate the emergent properties of mud as a “marker of place” and an archive of ecological genealogy.
Employing Casey and Latour in concert provides a comprehensive framework for understanding mud as both ontologically significant and agentive. Edward S. Casey’s eco-phenomenology emphasizes the concept of “place” as a dynamic gathering of histories, materialities, and lived experiences, where materials like mud are not passive but participate in the creation and memory of place (Casey, 1997). This view situates mud as a bearer of the locality’s ecological and cultural narratives, grounding it as a material archive. Latour’s Actor-Network Theory complements this by extending agency to non-human entities, proposing that all actants within a network, whether human or non-human material, actively shape outcomes (Latour, 2005). Thus, while Casey’s framework reveals mud as a substance rich with “place-memory,” Latour illuminates its role as an “actant” that exerts influence, reshaping social and ecological relationships within Mae Sai. Together, they redefine “mud” not as inert matter but as an active participant, ontologically, in the socio-ecological processes that continuously reconstitute the landscape.
The 2024 Mae Sai Flood and the Distinctive Ontology of Mud
In September 2024, Mae Sai, situated at the Mekong River’s tributaries along the Thai-Myanmar border, encountered a flood whose character diverged sharply from prior inundations. This event began in the pre-dawn hours of September 10, driven by relentless monsoon rains compounded by the residual effects of Typhoon Yagi sweeping through Myanmar. The accumulated waters from upstream surged with unprecedented force, crossing borders and tributaries, laden not only with water but with dense, tenacious sediment. By midday, the rivers had breached their banks, and an overwhelming torrent spread through Mae Sai’s streets, homes, and fields, fundamentally transforming its landscape.
Rather than transitory water flows, which typically recede and leave few lasting traces, the September 2024 flood deposited an unyielding layer of mud, a material residue that reconfigured the very substance of place. This flood differed in kind, not merely in degree, from previous years. The mud, a complex mixture of cross-border sediment, agricultural runoff, soil disrupted by deforestation, and debris from mining, took hold of Mae Sai with an imposing presence. In key areas such as Koh Sai, Tham Pha Chom, and the Sailom Joy Market, it amassed to depths reaching two meters, far exceeding any ordinary sedimentation. The mud did not simply cover roads and homes; it embedded itself within Mae Sai’s foundations, entangling itself with the town’s very structures. The mud was not passive residue; it was an active, transformative force, a “re-making” of the landscape that entangled the town in an unparalleled struggle for the village and town restoration.
Ontology, the branch of philosophy dedicated to exploring the nature of being and existence, traditionally seeks to define the essence of entities, determining what it means for something “to be.” As Heidegger posits, ontology concerns itself with the “fundamental structures of being” (Heidegger, 1927), moving beyond simple categorization to uncover the relational and experiential dimensions of entities. This approach sees being as a phenomenon revealed through interactions rather than as a fixed essence. Similarly, for Edward S. Casey, ontology is a “gathering” of place, an accumulation of histories, materialities, and experiences that define a locale beyond mere physical presence (Casey, 1997). This perspective aligns with Merleau-Ponty’s assertion that ontology is inseparable from phenomenology; being is lived and perceived within a network of interrelations (Merleau-Ponty, 1945).
In the context of the 2024 Mae Sai flood, mud emerges as more than a passive matter. Learned by eco-phenomenology, this mud transcends reductionist notions of substance to become an entity infused with relational agency, carrying both the memory and transformative power of place. This mud embodies complex interactions, blending sediment from Mekong tributaries, organic debris from deforested regions, and silt from agricultural runoff, positioning it as an “ontological intermediary” that connects natural processes and human impacts. Here, mud challenges its conventional role as a mere byproduct, asserting itself as a participant in the flood’s narrative, a dynamic element that embodies both ecological and cultural histories within the landscape.
Casey’s Eco-phenomenology: Mud as a Material Marker of Place
Edward S. Casey’s eco-phenomenology provides a profound lens through which to understand mud as a substance that transcends mere physicality, emerging instead as an entity that embodies and archives the specificities of place. For Casey, materials like mud are not neutral; they are ontologically significant because they “gather” histories, memories, and experiences inherent to their locale, contributing actively to the construction of what he terms “place” (Casey, 1997). Place, in Casey’s philosophy, is not simply a static location but a lived and storied accumulation of interactions, both human and non-human, that together constitute its essence. In this view, mud becomes what Casey might describe as a “material marker of place,” an entity that does not merely occupy space but actively participates in defining it.
In the context of Mae Sai, this mud represents more than the residue of floodwaters; it embodies Chiang Rai’s layered ecological and socio-political history. According to Casey (1993), mud in this capacity becomes a form of “storied matter,” holding within its strata the traces of upstream deforestation, cross-border sediment flows, and infrastructural incursions into the Mekong River basin. This mud thus “remembers” both the ecological networks that shaped it and the anthropogenic activities that contributed to its existence in Mae Sai. Far from being an incidental byproduct of flooding, it is, in Casey’s terms, a material archive, a substance that carries within its composition the embedded memories of place and the imprint of forces that define the region’s identity and experience.
Mud as an Ontological Actant: Insights from Latour’s Actor-Network Theory
Within the theoretical landscape of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), mud emerges not as passive residue but as an “actant,” endowed with agency within the entangled network of human and non-human entities that co-constitute the Mae Sai flood event. Bruno Latour’s ANT framework reconfigures traditional notions of agency, suggesting that agency is not the exclusive property of human actors but is distributed across all entities in a network, each exerting influence in its way (Latour, 2005). In this view, the mud flowing across borders from Myanmar and watershed networks within the Mekong tributary system, carries within it histories of deforestation, land use, and regional environmental practices. These sediment flows do not simply deposit themselves upon Mae Sai; rather, they actively reconfigure landscapes, challenge human plans, and alter community dynamics, underscoring Latour’s assertion that agency is inherently relational.
This mud, in overwhelming both the physical landscape and local infrastructure, exemplifies what Latour (2005) describes as a “quasi-object,” an entity that defies fixed categories, blurring the lines between natural and constructed environments. As a quasi-object, mud forces a reconsideration of agency within ecological networks, compelling recognition of the active role those non-human materials play in shaping socio-environmental outcomes. Here, the mud in Mae Sai acts within a transnational network of ecological, economic, and socio-political interactions, bearing traces of upstream deforestation, cross-border regulatory gaps, and agricultural and mining impacts. This sediment thus manifests as a multi-origin, cross-disciplinary agent whose presence signifies the convergence of divergent forces and exposes latent tensions within environmental governance. Its agency is evident in its persistence, its resistance to human efforts at removal, its disruption of land usability, and its capacity to destabilize the livelihoods and routines of those within its reach, highlighting the fundamentally interwoven nature of human and environmental actors in shaping the character of a place.
An Ethical Reminder in the Sedimented Landscape
The mud settling across Mae Sai is not just a residue; it is an artifact of consequence, a repository of choices that stretches beyond the bounds of the village. It arrives here as a question in material form, one that silently implicates all who have touched the Mekong basin. This mud does not simply bear witness; it demands accountability. It is the gathered memory of far-off logging, intensive farming, and the heavy steps of industry upstream. Here, in Mae Sai’s streets and fields, it lays bare the collective imprint of actions that transcend national borders, insisting on a recognition that our environmental impact is as transboundary as the rivers that carry it.
This mud does not passively settle. It embodies the tensions of the Anthropocene, a dense, layered reminder that in a world of interwoven ecologies, the divisions we place on maps hold little meaning. The mud’s presence here in Mae Sai stands as a social fact, a palpable reality that underscores how profoundly our lives intersect with the land and how fragile our separations are. It is an ethical agent in its own right, pressing us to see that environmental governance is a shared responsibility, one that spans across borders, whether acknowledged or not.
To speak of mud, then, is to recognize a landscape that is not static ground but a living record. Mae Sai’s mud carries an entangled memory, a layered account of forces, histories, and choices. This mud does not simply lie beneath us; it insists on our awareness, reminding us that within each layer, we encounter the imprints of actions, intentions, and mistakes. In Mae Sai, mud is both archive and actor, a sedimented reminder that landscapes hold us accountable, bearing witness to the deep, often unseen connections that shape our world.
Acknowledgment
Thanks to Dr. Yuki Miyake, the head of the Disaster Resilience and Environmental Sustainability (DRES) Program, School of Social Innovation, Mae Fah Luang University, for supervising this article. A special thanks also goes to Dr. Suebsakun Kidnukorn and Mr. Somkiat for sharing the information about the 2024 flooding situation in Chiang Rai.
References
Casey, E. S. (1993). Getting back into place: Toward a renewed understanding of the place-world. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Casey, E. S. (1997). The fate of place: A philosophical history. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Heidegger, M. (1927). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row.
Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945). Phenomenology of perception (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
