History
of Thailand's culture
Now
for a bit of history to complete the bird's eye view of Thailand's
culture. A thousand or more years ago, most of Thailand apart
from the southern area in the Malay Peninsula, was under the
domination of the hinduiz ed Mon-speaking people of Dvaravati
(457-657 A.D.) and the Khmer or Cambodian Empires (957-1257 AD);
while the Malay Peninsula was under the suzerainty of Srivijaya,
the hinduized Sumatran Empire (657-1157 A.D.). During these
times the Thai, as a race, emigrated gradually from their home
in Southern China into the Indo-Chinese Peninsula.
During
these times many off-shoots of the migrated by slow degrees into the Indo-Chinese
Peninsula. One of the western off-shoots became the Shans of
Burma. On the other side of the Peninsula many of the Thai
tribes come into Tongking, including the Laos of the Lao State
who settled down in the Mekhong basin. Further west of the Lao
State in a northernly direction were the northern Thai of Chiang
Sen which was on the north border of Thailand. There is no doubt
that the words Shan-san, the name of Nan-Chao Kingdom and Chiang
Sen may be identified as one and the same work. All these Thai
tribes established themselves in the Peninsula in many small
independent states of principalities which engaged in s trifes
and warfare not only among themselves but also with the
neighbouring tribes (1117-1547 A.D.). Further South particularly
in the now central area of Thailand the land was within the
empire of the Mon (Dvaravati Kingdom), a race ethnologically
akin to the Khmer, who subsequently became included in the
Empire of the Khmer. By this time the Northern Thai of Chiang
Sen had gone further south and founded a city of Chieng-mai,
which means "new city", and succeeded in taking away
the northern remnants of the decaying Mon empire. The frontier
of the Northern Thai now touched the border of the Khmer Empire
in the Northern parts or Central Thailand which was called Siam
or Palized into Samadesa. There is no doubt that the Thai
had been befor e that time already in the land of the Mon and
The Khmer Empire but they were only a minority and formed
themselves into semi-independent states under the suzerainty of
these empires. Traditionally these Thai who settled in Central
Thailand or Siam were called Thai Noi or Lesser Thai in contrast
to Thai Yai or Major Thai who are the Shans of Burma.
Traditionally the Thai Noi or Lesser Thai came from the north of
Thailand. It was therefore presumed that they were the Northern
Thai of with the
Laos or the Thai of Mekhong basin partly mixed; but to me the so-called
Thai Noi or Lesser Thai had in their melting pot in no less
degree the Thai Yai or Major Thai i.e. the Shan too.
By
this time, in about 1257 A.D., one of the Thai princes within
the Khmer-Empire Khan Sri Indradit, a name of Sunskrit origin
bestowed by the Khmer King, with the help of his able son named
Khun Ram Kamhang, or popularly known in legends as Ph ra Ruang,
succeeded in making himself independent of the Khmer and
establishing Sukhothai as his capital. Khun Ram Kamhang
succeeded him as King of Sukhothai and enlarged his territory
further south into the Malay Peninsula and further west to
Mataban, t he Mon country, in present Lower Burma. This
Sukhothai Kingdom lasted nearly two centuries (1257-1438 A.D.)
when it became a vassal state to King U-thong the founder of the
City of Ayuthia in the lower part of the Menam Valley, which was
subsequently mer ged into the Kingdom of Ayuthia (1438 A.D.).
During this Ayuthia period Cambodia, the remnant of the Khmer
Empire, became in turn a vassal state to Ayuthia. Ayuthia
herself as the capital of Thailand in the course of history,
gave place to Bangkok or Kr ung Thep as called by the Thai which
was founded in 1782 A.D. and has since remained the capital of in its modern name of today.
In
former days there were constant raids and wars of conquest among
the neighbours. The conquered people were removed wholesale from
their old homes as prisoners of war and domiciled in various
localities within the victorious lands. There ca me too every
now and then emigrants from neighbouring countries due to
accidents of history. These intermixed with the natives of their
adopted land, became assimilated after a few generations into
one whole. Such was the case with Thailand and the neig hbouring
countries as well. The ethnic elements of the race in Thailand
are more mixed especially in the central and southern areas,
while in others they are purer in mixture. The cultures of
Thailand are therefore, due to the above facts, formed into o ne
unity, but with their regional diversities in differrent
proportions where alien elements are predominant or otherwise.
Of
aforementioned the central areas the most progressive and this
influences other areas or retarded cultural development rapidly
through convenience of
The
cultures of Thailand as expressed in her religion,, and customs reveal a unity in a general sense
with her. neighbours, the Cambodians, th e Mons, the Burmese and
partly the Malays, but with varied characteristics. It can be
said that the cultures of the above races ar a homogeneous whole
with local diversities and details thrown in. To study one
nation's cultures, is to study them as a wh ole. Fundamentally,
the culture of Thailand may be summed up in one word, religion.
For everything, arts and literature, social system, habits and
customs is developed and clustered around her religion. It is in
quite recent times only that there have been some changes in the
culture due to western influence. Thai culture tends to become
secular in the progressive parts of the country; but to the
people as a whole. religous culture is still a living force.
To
conclude, the culture of Thailand is midway between the two
great cultural systems of Asia, China on the one side and India
on the other. Chinese culture did not penetrate further west
beyond Annam; nor did Indian culture go further north th an the
Indo-Chinese Peninsula. They came to a halt at one another's
bulwarks and did not penetrate further. The Annamites, though
ethnologically Indonesians, were domiciled in China far back in
historical times as one tribe of the Yueh or Viet, and abso rbed
much of Chinese culture. When they came down to the Indo-Chinese
Peninsula, the met the Chams who were highly hinduized people,
the Khmers or the Cambodians. Naturally Chinese culture could
not penetrate further for it met an opponent of equal forc e.
Due to the nature of the country and to other facts peculiar to
the north of the Peninsula, Chinese culture did not penetrate
far for lack of easy communications. Whatever Chinese cultures
the Thai brought from Southern China, they adapted to their
needs suitable to their tropical surroundings, developing them
independently by using the old materials. In their way of life
the Thai and the Chinese can mix very well but not with the
Indians, even thouyh they have imbibed Indian culture
appreciably. The one drawback of the Thai is the climatic
conditions of the country. Living in the tropics where food is
in abundance and the weather fair, they have become lethargic.
But a taste for the arts has been developed by the leisured and
elite classes, he nce the arts as developed by the Thai though
mostly inspired directly or indirectly by India, are uniquely
their own.
suited their tastes and temperaments very well, so they readily
a dopted it. Accustomed to living in isolated groups in their
mountainous districts of the North their political conception
and consciousness were confined to their village and city only.
But when they became masters of Central Thailand where there was
on e vast plain, they adapted Indian culture. Being still virile
race and with genius they evolved these cultures again as
peculiar of their own. Different from Thailand is Burma. Though
Burma is a neighbour of India, she did not take much of India
cultur e, especially Hinduism. They adopted only Buddhism tinged
weakly with Hinduism. Judging by the physical features of the
Thai or Siamese in Central Thailand they differ in stature and
colour from their brothers in the north. They become shorter and
dark er gradually south ward and there is no doubt that they
mixed immensely with the Mon-Khmer and Austronesian families.
They lost physically but gained intellectually through fusion of
new blood. Thailand therefore formed the meeting place of the
two grea t cultural systems which came to a halt and fused into
a new one with double layers of culture. |
