Talk:Culture of Thailand

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I've started adding bits and bobs which ought to be covered somewhere. Very stream-of-consciousness at the moment, but we can do some tidying later. Markalexander100 05:23, 19 May 2004 (UTC)

I started a description of Thai marriage ceremonies. Largely completed the Buddhist portions of the procedure, I'll add the family component soon. --Clay Collier 09:08, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

This article is very short and does not really reflect much on the Thai culture at all... Being a Thai myself, I found that a lot more could have been written. Besides, rather than saying that the culture is based on bhuddism and bhramic influences, then repeating this over and over, a lot more could be written. Actually, Thai culture is distinctie to bhramic and indian culture, very... The ceremonies, the house, the architechs, the food, the clothing, etc. Everything is very different. I looked at the article on Singaporean culture and got very dissappointed in this article. Thailand has its own culture, not a mixture of many culture like singapore. Yet, the article about it is very short and inaccurate. If you have been to Thailand before, you should know how Thailand is not just a bhuddist country. It has a lot more to that. Literature itself is very dissappointing in particular. Ramakien is not the only literature we have. We have a lot more than that, mostly original too. For example, Khoon Chang Khoon Phan, a story about two men and a woman in the Ayutthaya era, which has little to no referrence to India or Khmer. I demand a better article that this... This applies to other articles as well.

Then try writing one. Markyour words 17:37, 9 March 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Thai nicknames

I think the use of Thai nicknames belongs here--if not in a separate article; I'll add a little here to get things started. Feel free to improve. --nhrenton

Thai nicknames are already mentioned at Thai names. I've made a 'good faith' effort to expand it a little, re HM's nicknames, plus the use of honorifics with nicknames. I wish someone with actual knowledge (and sources) would expand it properly. Pawyilee 13:59, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Myth in the Culture of Thailand

I replaced my Blackface in Thailan with this topic. Myth is important to the culture of any land and, with regard to Southeast Asia, Anthropology Professor Charles F. Keyes advises,

"In recognition of the deep-seated meaning of certain traditions for the peoples of the societies of mainland Southeast Asia, the rulers of these societies have incorporated some indigenous symbols into the national cultures that they have worked to construct in the postcolonial period. [1], p. 285.

So, I boldly start this new topic, to eventually move it to the main article when it is whipped into shape, or to a stub of its own.

Rochana and Sangthong

I invite readers to see an illustration taken from Fascinating Folktales of Thailand here. [[1]] It illustrates a scene from a folk tale about Rochana (TH: รจนา) and Sangthong (TH: สังข์ทอง), depicted here in his guise as Jao Ngo Pa (TH: เจ้าเงนะป่า).

  • Sangthong (TH: สังข์ทอง), means Golden Conch. Travellers between Central Asia and India found fossilized conch shells atop the Himalayas. Once it became know that conchs live only in the sea, some figured out that there was only two ways for conchs to get so high: either the mountains lifted them up from the sea, which meant they were incredibly old; or conchs could fly. Incredibly old mountains are incredibly boring, but flying conchs…! Either way, the conch became an extraordinary symbol in Brahman traditions. <citation needed>
  • Sangthong, like Superman, arrives from the heavens, not a space capsule but in a conch shell, His foster parents aren't a farm couple but ogres, in Thai called Yak (TH: ยักษ์). A green giant with fearsome teeth, a yak caricatures a ruler at the time Brahman civilizing influences reached Southeast Asia.<citation needed> Some were fairly decent, but Sangthong's squeezed people dry, then tossed their skin aside. His mother forbids Sangthong entry in the dining room, so of course he sneaks in first chance he gets. He finds a black skin and puts it on. He takes it right back off again to finish growing up; but, when he eventually runs away, he does so in that black skin.
  • The skin has a power of its own and turns Sangthong into Jao Ngo (TH: เจ้าเงนะ), a ngo pa (TH: เงนะป่า). This is the usual romanization of the Thai, but to an English speaker it sounds more like "Ngaw Bah!" Ngaw, pronounced as if choking on it means Rambutan; from a supposed resemblance to wooly hair. The most common of many words meaning jungle is Bah! It also means the wilds, wild, and crazy.

Jao (TH: เจ้า) means lord in a wide range of usages, from supreme Lord of the Universe, to Lord of a country, to house-lord (head of household), down to sarcastically implying someone (who) does not know his place. This Jao Ngo is a buffoon with a fascination for red flowers. He also loves to dance a wild jig.

  • Rochana is a porcelain-white princess who refuses to talk to men. Desperate to marry off his seventh and last daughter, her father sends embassies to seven countries to seek seven suitors. Six suitors come, but she refuses them all. Her exasperated parents decide to hold a lumwong [Th: ลำวง) and award their daughter to the best performer. It is customary to award a favored performer a lei (TH: พวงมาลัย | puangmalai) of fresh flowers. Nowadays, audience members buy paper or plastic leis, and favored performers return to vendors for cash. This time the lei is to be exchanged for the daughter, and for this purpose, Rochana is given a puangmalai or lei of red flowers.

Villagers think it would be great fun to have Jao Ngo attend the affair, and lure him from the jungle with a red flower. When he hears the wild music, he breaks into a wild jig, and of course is the best dancer there. Rochana, disgusted by the whole affair, tosses her lei into the crowd. As it is red, Jao Ngo snatches it from the air. The king and queen are horrified, and set a series of challenges for Jao Ngo that would daunt even a Hercules. Jao Ngo prevails, Rochana falls in love with him, and so they marry. Jao Ngo then reveals his splendid body of gold by removing his disguise (TH: สังข์ทองถอดรูป | Sangthong taut roop, a Thai aphorism for revealing one's true self). Now it Rochana's turn to be horrified--she fell in love with a body of black.

  • Rochana in other contexts means writer, author, or poet, but here is simply her name. (Any resemblance to Sappho should be ignored.)] The tale of Rochana and Sangthong/Jao-Ngo is wildly popular in Thailand and appears in every possible medium. Traditional shadow puppet shows are quite popular, as are children's cartoons on television and in comic books. The couple also appear in musicals and the like. Restaurants featuring "soul food" from Thailand's extreme south advertise the fact with an inky-black, two-dimensional cutout with a red flower in the ear, depicting Jao Ngo. Pawyilee 17:57, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thai New Year

Hi, It will be nice if this page includes information on Thai's New Year. 59.149.74.206 06:37, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Done — WiseKwai 09:06, 5 October 2007 (UTC)