Search the FAQ Archives

faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives

soc.culture.thai Culture FAQ

(MultiPage )
Archive-name: thai/culture
Soc-culture-thai-archive-name: culture
Version: $Id: culture,v 2.2 1996/10/31 07:50:03 trin Exp trin $

The "soc.culture.thai Frequently Asked Questions" periodic postings are
divided into 6 parts plus an index. Requests for inclusion, correction
or update can be made by posting a public message or follow-up to this

The current release of these FAQs can be fetched by anonymous FTP from
rtfm.mit.edu (or its mirror sites) under directories:

The current copy of the FAQs can be viewed by appropriate tools at the URLs


History and Culture

 * History and Culture
  C.1)  An introduction to Thai history and culture
  C.2)  Bangkok's full name
  C.3)  Buddhism and Thai culture
  C.4)  Thai buddhism information
  C.5)  Traditional Thai calendar system
  C.6)  Use of "Khun"
  C.7)  Thai Cuisine



This part provides information on the social sciences fields including
history, culture, etc aspects.

Subject: C.1) An introduction to Thai history and culture Thai History/Culture at a Glance. -------------------------------- No one really knows when and where the Thai civilization originated. If the current popular theory, that the Thai people have been here in their present location from the very beginning, is correct then the Thai civilization is a very ancient one, as is attested by the various recently unearthed artifacts. The bronze artifacts at Ban Chiang, a small village in Northeastern Thailand for example, have been dated to be as much as 1,000 years older than those of Mesopotamia. Written record of the Thai people started in the 13th Century A.D. when King Ramkamhaeng of Sukhothai Kingdom invented Thai alphabets by an adaptation from Pali, the language used in Buddhist Scriptures. Some scholars, however, contend that a similar script had already been in use in the area long before the supposed invention. Sukhothai's power gradually eroded and was superseded by the Southern principality centering at Sri Ayudhaya. Under the Sri Ayudhaya Kingdom, the Thai people had strengthen their identity both as a unique group of people and as a nation through language, art, culture, trades and warfares with neighboring countries. In 1782, after Sri Ayudhaya was demolished for the second time by the invading Burmese, the capital was relocated briefly at Thonburi and then to Bangkok, where it has survived and prospered up to the present. With the central capital established and the Kingdom's boundary secured from warfare, art, architecture, and culture once again flourish. Trades and contacts with the West also increased dramatically during this period. Thailand's long acquaintance with the West together with her shrewdness in diplomatic maneuvering and her strength had contributed to her being the only country in South/Southeast Asia to have preserved independence through the Colonial Era. Despite her relative small size, Thailand is very diversified. There are many ethnic groups within the country. But in general, there are four major dialects (and hence subcultures) within Thailand: the Central, the North, the Northeast and the South. Thai language in particular is very rich, unique, subtle and poetic. It is no wonder that poem has been an integral part of the Thai culture. Varieties of Thai poems are as many and as tasty as Thai foods. Buddhism has flourished in this area for a long time, as is evidenced by the findings about the Suwannaphumi and the Srivijaya Kingdoms. By the time of the Sukhothai Era, the Thai people had already accepted Theravada Buddhism as their national religion, though sometimes mixed with Hinduistic and animistic beliefs. In the deep South, however, Islam has been the dominant religion. There are roughly 96% Buddhists and 4% Muslims in the Kingdom of Thailand. There has never been an incident of religious or ethnic clash in Thailand, an indication of high toleration among her diversified people. There are about 10% ethnic Chinese in the Kingdom -- The result of years of migration to escape poverty and famines from mainland China. Inter-marriage, similarity in religious beliefs and high toleration on both sides have all contributed to the peaceful co-existence of the Chinese and the mainstream Thais, so much so that both sides seem to completely forget about their differences. It is safe to assume that the second and later generation Chinese think and act like Thais and that they love Thailand and are proud to be Thais. The traditional Thai ways of life have also been modified to some extent by those of the Chinese, especially in the urban area. Absolute Monarchy system was abolished by a bloodless coup d'etat in 1932 and a Constitution Monarchy form of government was established. Since then, Thailand has been struggling with the Western ideal of democracy and economy; many coup d'etats had alternated with elected civilian governments. The past 60 years have seen the Thai people tried to reshape their country to survive and to be respected in the world community. Through all this, the ancient ways of life have still largely been preserved as is attested by: the famous Thai smiles, the serene Buddhist monks walking their alms rounds in early morning, the water-throwing festival in April, the respect for the elderly, the graceful Thai manner, Thai classical music and dances, etc. Let's hope that Thailand will continue to be unique in her evolution path so that she can faithfully do her parts in enhancing lives on this planet earth.
Subject: C.2) Full name of Bangkok According to the Committee for Rattanakosin Bicentennial Celebration to Commemorate the Rattanakosin Bicentennial who author the book, Phra^ma^haa+ka'sad' nay-phra^bOO-rom-chak'krii-wong- kab'pra'chaa-chon-, or THE CHAKRI MONARCHS AND THE THAI PEOPLE: A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP, the English title as given by the authors themselves, after King Rama I, took throne on April 6, 1782, his first task was to find the new site for the capital city. He didn't not want to continue using Thon-bu'rii- as the capital citing the fact that as the wall of the city was on jaaw"phra^yaa- River which could be hard to defend in time of war. Besides, Thon-bu'rii- was in the bottom of the River's curve and the land on its bank eroded. The palace itself was constrainted by two wats: wat^a'run- and wat^thaay^ta'laad'. He believed the other side of the River was better as the city would be situated on the top of the curve. The River itself could serve as a natural kuu-muang- on the western side. On the eastern side, a kuu-muang- (man-made water reservoir created to protect the enemy) could be easily dug. The site was at the time occupied by the Chinese who then were relocated to the new site between Kloong-wat^saam+plUm" and Kloong-wat^sam+pheng-. On Sunday of the sixth month, khUn"sip'kam" (the 10th day of the rising moon period), at 15 minutes after midnight, the City's pillar was erected. The date is translated to the western calendar as April 21, 1782. The new city was named by King Rama I as: "...Krung-theb^ma"haa+na"kOOn- bOO-wOOn-rat"ta'na"ko-sin+ ma"hin+tha"raa-yut^tha^yaa- ma"haa+di'lok'pob^ nob^rat^ta'na^raat"cha^thaa-nii-buu-rii-rom- u'dom-raat"cha^ni^weet^ma"haa+sa'thaan+ a'mOOn-maan-a'wa^taan-sa'thid' sak'ka'thad"ti'ya"wid^sa'nu^kam-pra'sit'..." King Rama IV (Kung Mongkut) had the term bOO-wOON- changed to a'mOOn- as the name now appears. King Rama I ordered a canal to be dug connecting to the River at Baang-lam-phuu- on the northern side and at wat^saam+plUm" on the southern side. Then wall was built along the canal inner side for more than 7 kilometers. Along this wall, there were 14 forts. Within this wall, the Grand Palace was constructed. There were many halls and a wat, wat^phra^sii+rad"ta'na^saad'sa'daa-raam- (wat phra^kAAw"). The palace was cosmologically designed to be the center of the new city. From the name one could see the term a'yut^tha^yaa- which was from, as was that of krung-sii-a'yud^tha^yaa-, the former capital, the legendary a'yoo-tha^yaa- where the Rama was born, as appeared in the Ramayana (or Raam-ma"kian- ...its Thai version). The canal is actually two klongs attached to each other in the inland at pOOm^phra^kaan- (phra^kaan- Fort). The northern one is klOOng-baang-lam-phuu- and the southern one is klOOng-ong'aang'. (ibid, pp. 20-27) Speaking about the cosmology of Thai kingship, Tambiah, a Harvard anthropologist, writes a book in which the term "galactic polity" is used to typify the nature of Thai kingship. The king was concieved as the reincarnation of Naa-raay- or Phra^raam- whose duty was to get rid of the evils. The god stays at the top of phra^su'mee-ru". No wonder, the roof of the palace halls often are in mountain-liked shape (with its pointy top). The throns where the king sits is typically characterized by legendary domains, namely oceans (naa-kaa-...big snake), forest (singha...big lion) and sky (krut".. or garuda as called by Indonesian...the half-man-half-bird being). The su'mee-ru" is surrounded by seven oceans, the Himmapan, and high up in the sky. These mythical animals also appears in the royal river procession (kra'buan-pa"yu^ha'yaad^traa-). Thai kingship is regarded as tham-ma^raa-chaa- as compared to thee-wa^raa- chaa- of Khmer. However, architects of the kingship have not been reluctant to add elements that draw the institution closer to the thee-wa^raa-chaa-. For those who are not familiar with these terms, please note that the former one is referred to the system that the king is to balance between being the warrior and the religious figure. The latter is closer to the Brahminism as the king belong to ka'sat' caste and the Brahm belong the the Brahm caste. The ambition to compromise between the warrior (who kills, and hungers for power) and the religious being (who does not kill and less attached to the worldly materials) is not an easy job. The attempt is seen in symbolic form. The King could be regarded as phra^buddha'chaaw"luang+ (King Rama V). At the end of Sukhothai period, the kings leaned toward the notion of tham-ma^raa-chaa-. One of the kings even had his named representing the idea, e.g. phra^tham-ma^raa-chaa-li"thay-. Tambiah argues that unlike thee-wa^raa-chaa-, the tham-ma^raa-chaa- tends to be weak and will finally lost the interest in conquering the world.
Subject: C.4) Thai buddhism information Partial list of Buddhism monasteries in the United States is available for anonymous FTP from: ftp://ftp.nectec.or.th/soc.culture.thai/SCTinfo/ The list is maintained by Sorrayut Ratanapojnard (asia@minerva.cis.yale.edu). List of meditation center in Thailand from the DharmaNet International is available for anonymous ftp from sunsite.unc.edu in directory /pub/academic/religious_studies/Buddhism/DEFA/Theravada/ as file thai_94.zip and also from ftp://ftp.nectec.or.th:/pub/mirrors/dharma/Theravada/
Subject: C.5) Traditional Thai Calendar System PROLOGUE: This writing came out of a need to understand Thai calendar to explain to a foreigner. I must state that I am not an expert in this matter but it turns out that many Thais that I asked did not know much about their own traditional calendar system either. So this writing may be more beneficial to a Thai than to a foreigner. This material is intended only to introduce the traditional Thai calendar concept to readers. There are many other aspects of temporal information used in Thai language. Many other time keeping terms such as "Moang", "Yam", "Toom", "Tee", or short- term time keeping such as "Yok" (based on coconut water clock) are not covered here because I am not qualified to discuss them in linguistics terms. Please help correct any errors you find, especially in the spellings of Thai and Pali/Sanskrit words. Rom Hiranpruk Department of Computer Science Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University August 1993 THAI CALENDAR SYSTEM ==================== Rom Hiranpruk compiled and translated from: 1. Siam Almanac 2529, Siam Bann Ltd., Bangkok, 1986. 2. Kloy Songbandhit, One Hundred Year Calendar, Silpabannakarn Publishing, 1960. 3. So Sethaputra, New Model Thai-English Dictionary, So Sethaputra Press, 1965. 4. Royal Academy, Thai Dictionary, Aksorncharoentasana Press, 1988. THAI NAGASATRA (Thai Year Names) There are twelve Year Names in Thai: Chuad (Rat), Chalu (Bull), Khal (Tiger), Toa (Hare), Maroang (Big Snake), Maseng (Little Snake), Mamia (Horse), Mamaae (Goat), Wog (Monkey), Raga (Rooster), Jau (Dog), Goon (Pig). These names cover twelve-year cycle but can be extended to cover one-hundred-and-twenty-year cycle by adding a counter suffix after the name: ek (one), to (two), tri (three), jatawa (four), benja (five), cho (six), satawa (seven), attha (eight), noppa (nine), samriti (ten). Then add the word Sok (year). For example, Pi Chuad To Sok is the second Chuad year in the 120-year cycle. THAI CHANTARAKATI CALENDAR (Lunar Calendar) Chantarakati is the way to keep dates by using the Moon's orbital cycle around the Earth. Each cycle is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes. Chantarakati month is therefore 30 days or 29 days alternately for the whole year. Each month begins on Wan Kuen Nueng Kham (first day of the waxing moon). Wan Kuen Sib Ha Kham (day of the full moon) is the middle of the month. Wan Dub is last day of the month which is either Wan Ram 15 Kham or Wan Ram 14 Kham depending on whether that month has 30 or 29 days. Because each month is 30 or 29 days long, the Lunar-year days will be shorter by about 12 days than the actual time the Earth circles the Sun. To be synchronous with the seasonal changes, every two or three years another month is added to Duen Pad (the Eighth month) and called Duen Pad Lung (the latter Eighth month). Such year with two Duen Pads is called ATHIKAMAS. The Chantarakati months are named from one to twelve: ai (one), yi (two), sam (three), si (four), ha (five), hok (six), jed (seven), pad (eight), kao (nine), sib (ten), sib-ed (eleven), sib-song (twelve). The first month on Prokatimas year (ordinary year) falls in November but in Athikamas year (year with two Duen Pad's) it falls in December. Chantarakati date is stated by the moon-position/lunar-month- name/year-name, for example: Kuen Sib Kham/Duen Sib-ed/Pi Mamia Cho Sok which is 7th October B.E. 2497. If the day is not provided, finding the day in this dating system requires a calendar table. Furthermore, to compensate for the still missing days, every 4 or 5 years another day is added to Duen Jed (the Seventh Month) to make it a 30-day month. This added day is called ATHIKAWARA and cannot occur on Athikamas year. THAI CALENDAR TERMINOLOGY SURIYAKATI: The date system based on solar year which is currently the international date system based on Gregorian Calendar with January 1st as the first day of year. Thailand adopted the solar calendar officially during the reign of King Rama V in B.E. 2431 using April 1 as the first day of year. In B.E. 2483 the government of Field Marshall Pibulsongkram changed the first day of year to January 1, therefore B.E. 2431 and B.E. 2483 are shorter than usual. WAN DUB: Last day of a lunar month which is Wan Ram Sib-ha (15) Kham, or Wan Ram Sib-si (14) kham depending on whether that lunar month has 30 or 29 days. WAN PHEN: Day of the full moon. WAN PHRA: Buddhist holy day which falls on the 8th, 15th, 23rd, and 29th or 30th day of the lunar month. This is a day of special observance of the Sela and contemplation of Dhamma for Buddhists. Wan Phra occurs 4 times a month on: Wan Kuen Pad (8) Kham, Wan Kuen Sib-ha (15) Kham (Full moon), Wan Ram Pad Kham, and Wan Dub (last day of the lunar month). WAN GHONE: Day that monks shave which is one day before each Wan Phra. WAN UBOSOTH: Day of the full moon and last day of the lunar month (Wan Phen and Wan Dub) when monks recite Phra Patimokha and Buddhists laypeople observe Ubosoth Sela (the 8 precepts). SONGKRAN: The day when the sun enters Aries; reckoned according to the Old Indian Solar Calendar to fall on April 13 through 15. WARA: Day of the week named by counting Sunday as 1, Monday as 2, and so on. KANG KUEN: (KUEN) The waxing moon; the period from new moon to full moon. KANG RAM: (RAM) The waning moon; the period from full moon to new moon. PROKATIMAS: Ordinary month, ie. not the extra month (second Duen Pad). Year with Prokatimas has just 12 months. PROKATIWARA: Ordinary day, ie. not the extra day added to Duen Jed. Year with Prokatiwara has 29 days in Duen Jed. PROKATISURATIN: Ordianary February with 28 days. ATHIKAMAS: Extra lunar month added as the second Duen Pad to keep lunar year in synchrony with the solar year. Lunar year with Athikamas has 13 months and occur every 2 or 3 years. ATHIKAWARA: Extra day added to Duen Jed to compensate for the missing hours each year. Lunar year with Athikawara has 30 days in Duen Jed and occur every 4 or 5 years (not in Athikamas year). ATHIKASURATIN: February with 29 days to compensate for the missing hours each year in solar year. Year with Athikasuratin (leap year) occurs every 4 years, except in the last year of the A.D. century that is not divisible by 400, ie. A.D. 2000 would be an Athikasuratin year but A.D.2100 is not. BUDDHIST ERA (B.E.): The year of the passing of Lord Buddha is counted as B.E. 1. Therefore the new year is Wan Ram nueng Kham, Duen hok, the day AFTER Visakapuja Day. King Rama V changed the new year day to April 1 starting after March 31, 2431. Later the new year was changed to January 1 starting after December 31, 2483. ANNO DOMINI (A.D.): The year of the birth of Jesus Christ is counted as A.D. 1. (A.D. is B.E. minus 543) MAHASAKARAJ: A solar calendar that began in the victory year in the reign of an Indian king in the SAKA dynasty. The new year is the day the Sun enter Aries, called Songkran. (Mahasakaraj is B.E. minus 621) JULASAKARAJ: A lunar calendar started by a Burmese king. The new year is on Kuen Nueng Kham, Duen Ha. But the year count is still at Songkran as in Mahasakaraj. (Julasakaraj is B.E. minus 1181) RATANAKOSINSOK: A solar calendar decreed by King Rama V, counting the first year of establishing Bangkok as the Capital as R.S. 1. April 1, is the new year day starting after March 31, 2431. This calendar was abolished by King Rama VI. (Ratanakosinsok is B.E. minus 2324) WESTERN CALENDAR: A solar year is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45.68 seconds. This is the time it takes for the Earth to circle the Sun. This calendar system keeps the season in step with the months. There are two major western calendar developments. JULIAN CALENDAR: Julius Caesar improved the older lunar calendar which has gone three months out of step with the actual season. Julius Caesar decreed a year with 365 days and every 4 years a day is added to February to make it 30 days. This system began in B.E. 497. The new year is on January 1. Each month has alternately 31 and 30 days except February with 29 days. Roman Emperor Augustus further adapted the Egyptian lunar calendar to the Julian calendar and reduce February to 28 days. The removed day is added to the month now called "August" to make it 31 days instead of 30 days. Although Julian calendar is practical, it is not accurate enough with 365.2 days a year. The errors will accumulate to about 1 day every 128 years. GREGORIAN CALENDAR: In B.E. 2125, Pope Gregory 33rd of Rome improved upon the Julian calendar the rule to provide for leap year every four years except at the of the century A.D. that is not divisible by 400. This means that A.D. such as 1600, and 2000 are leap years where 1700 and 2100 is not. This system is a lot more accurate with each year averaging 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds which is only about 23 seconds off per year. It takes 3,323 years to be off by 1 day. Gregorian calendar was used from October 5, B.E. 2125 onward. The date was compensated for past errors to be October 15, B.E. 2125. It is the current internationally accepted calendar system.
Subject: C.6) Use of "Khun" From: Samart Srijumnong <ssg9328@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> [...] To me, the word [Khun] could be used in both informal and formal discourse. The term itself does not serve as a device to hint any gesture of attitude, positive or negative about the person addressed to, either. I used this honorific with you for at least one reason. I have not yet known you in details. I don't know if you are older or younger than me. I don't know you social status, nor your education. I don't know what kind of job you have and in what position. All these unknown conditions about you makes it easy for me to use the honorific term. It is safe for me as a speaker. If I am having a direct conversation with someone who I have known for some time, e.g. Khun Tawit, I would not address him as Khun either. Now I am using Khun with his name as a third person referring to by this very discussion. It also depends. If this discussion is of an academic one, I would not need to have any honorific for him. I could simply go ahead referring to him by just his name (first and last in Thai materials). The term Khun is originally a title given to anyone by the court. The person with Khun title will be entitled to hoard land up to a certain rai (500?) Later this usage has changed. It is now given to single woman who is entitled by the court as in the level equivalent to that of Khun Ying+ (probably equivalent as that of Lady of the English Court) except that Khun Ying+ is used with a woman who is married. Khun is used with anybody but if the person is known to have other kind of title, e.g. aa-jaan (a teacher), mOO+ (a doctor), aa-sia' (an affluent and powerful ethnic Chinese merchant), muad' (a police or military man of captain level), such title could be used instead to show a bit specific reference to the person. Many Thais like to use sibling term to call others, e.g. Phii (older brother or sister). Strangely enough, however, nOOng^ (younger brother or sister) is not often used except in the North, it is used with a waiter (or waitress). When the context of kinship arises, to use Khun as an honorific seems to give a hint that the speaker likes to keep distance between him and the intended hearer. I remember my sister, who normally called her husband with phrase like phOO"ai"tung+ (father of Tung, their son), used Khun when they began some fight. Hence, using Khun does not always suggests close relationship. Please note that the above description is of my own interpretation. I have not consulted any linguistic authority which might suggest different connotations for the word. Nonetheless, I believe my usage of the term more or less shares with other Thais. I may be wrong. Anyone?
Subject: C.7) Thai Cuisine Joy Aswalap (joy@nwg.nectec.or.th) maintains a collection of Thai Recipes on a web server. This page can be accessed at the URL: http://www.nectec.or.th/users/joy/SCTrecipes/ The first two paragraphs of the web page start as.... As one's culture can be seen through a window of one's kitchen. Thai cuisine is clearly an inseparable part of Thai culture. The following not only describes common Thai recipes and cooking by Thai natives but also proudly shows Thai culture and heritage. These recipes are taken from Soc.Culture.Thai's Archives. I hope you enjoy these luscious recipes and cultural tidbits as much as I do. _Happy_Thai_Cooking_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Acknowledgements The original soc.culture.thai FAQ was proposed, put together and initially maintained by Thanachart Numnonda (thanon@ccu1.auckland.ac.nz). Sincere gratitudes for valuable contributions from: Joy Aswalap (joy@cc1.unt.edu) for passing on C.5 and maintaining C.7; Rom Hirunpruk (rom@ipied.tu.ac.th) for C.5; Samart Srijumnong (ssg9328@ucx.cso.uiuc.edu) for C.1, C.2 and C.6; Tawit Chitsomboon (fstawit@marge.lerc.nasa.gov) for C.1 and C.3; and Trin Tantsetthi (trin@nwg.nectec.or.th) for C.4.

User Contributions:




[ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ]

Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer:

Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:12 PM