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| Thai culture is known as a
blended one. As long as some 2000 years ago, when
the Thais and the Chinese were neighbours, the
Thais began to absorb the influence of Chinese
culture as is evidenced by the similarity of a
large number of words in the two languages, especially
the cardinal numbers from one to ninety-nine and
the strong feelings for family ties that the two
people shared. Centuries later as the Thais gradually
moved southwards to the area that is now Thailand,
Indian culture together with Buddhism and Brahmanism
began to spread all over this country. This formed
another basic foundation of Thai culture. |
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Two Thai
girls: one dressed in modern style (left) and
the other in typical Thai style (right). |
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| For example, the "wai",
or the way of Thai greeting had been adopted from
Indian culture. Mon-Khmer culture began to have
an influence on Thai lifestyle at the end of the
Ayutthaya period. And in the early Rattanakosin
period some 200 years ago, Chinese culture again
came into Thailand with Chinese immigrants. |
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The Grand
Palace |
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That is not all for our background.
There are also Western influences on many aspects
of the Thai way of life, and they have assumed
an increasingly greater role since the mid-19th
century.
The Europeans began contact with the Siamese in
1511 when the Portuguese sent Duarle Fernandez
as the first envoy to Ayutthaya. But Western culture
did not start to have much impact on Thai culture
until the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868) as
he made attempts to modernize the country by adopting
some Western customs so that Thailand (known as
Siam at that time) could survive from imperialism.
After the end of World War II in 1945, Western
influences became more obvious in the following
aspects. |
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| Concrete
Aspects |
| Eating
Culture |
| In the old days, Thai people
ate with their bare hands. And there was no specific
time to have meals. When P. Pibulsonggram became
the third Prime Minister of Thailand (1938-1944),
he launched a campaign to make Thais consume not
more than four meals a day. At this time also
Thai people started to use a spoon and fork as
a tool for eating food. The reasons behind this
campaign were to show civilization and to prevent
germs existing on the hand from getting into the
body. |
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P. Pibulsonggram |
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| Nowadays, not only the
way of eating, but the choice of food also has
changed. Namphrik-plathu, a traditional Thai dish
is replaced with salad and soup for some city
inhabitants. Moreover, most teenagers prefer chips
to Thai desserts because of the value of modernization.
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Namphrik-plathu
or fried mackerel with shrimp
paste dip, a traditional Thai dish, and barbecue,
a popular dish of today |
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| Language |
| The Thai vocabulary
contains large numbers of words of Western origin.
Those words arrived with traders, sailors, missionaries,
films and publications. It has become a fashion
for Thais to use English words in their conversations
despite the availability of Thai equivalents.
People believe that this is a way to show modernization
and their high level of education. Several words
have been adopted and adapted until hey sound
like Thai words. For example, the English word
"number" has become "ber"
in Thai. The Thais just do away with its first
syllable. Similarly, "tutor", the verb,
has become "tu" and "racing"
has become "sing". |
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| Dress |
| Part of P. Pibulsonggram's
cultural reform campaign required that Thai women
should wear their hair long and have their breasts
properly covered. Even wrapping the chest with
a piece of cloth was not allowed, since it was
considered uncivilized. Phasin* was strongly
promoted to be women's costume instead of chong-kraben**.
It was recommended that Thais should wear shoes
as well. This campaign stimulated Thais to pay
attention to fashion. Nowadays, the government
is promoting Thai silk and other kinds of native
fabrics in order to promote Thai culture. |
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Thai woman's
clothing in the reign
of King Rama V (1868-1910)
which was influenced by the
Western, compared with the
ancient style of clothing |
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| Top |
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| Education |
| Formerly, monasteries
were the only venues of education. Buddhist monks
took on a teacher's role.The content of the study
mainly dealt with reading, writing, astrology
and herbal treatment. Most pupils were boys because
at that time Thai parents did not see any benefits
of letting their daughters learn to read and write.
They thought that their daughters would soon have
to get married and stay home, doing household
chores and raising their children. It was not
until the early 20th century that, due to the
influence of the Western world, Thai women began
to be treated equally as men, and were encouraged
to receive education. The first school of Thailand
whose name is unknown was set up in the Grand
Palace in 1877 to educate noblemen's children.
And the first school for general people, established
in 1884 was Wat Mahannoppharam school in Bangkok. |
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| Greeting |
| Thais use "wai"
as a way to greet each other. It is done by placing
two palms together in front of the chest. At present,
handshake is frequently used, especially in business
circles. However, most Thais still "wai"
each other and say "sawatdi", (meaning
hello) at the same time. When answering phone
calls, "sawatdi" is supposed to be used,
but at present most people say "hello"
instead. |
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| Marriage |
| The Thai-style wedding ceremony
is still practised widely in Thailand. What have
changed are the costumes of brides and grooms.
Western wedding gowns and suits are very popular
in wedding banquets nowadays. However, during
the merit making ritual which is held in the day
time, the couples prefer traditional Thai costumes
which are suitable for the atmosphere. |
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Above: The bride and groom
in the Western-style costumes
Below : Thai-style wedding ceremony
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| Abstract Aspects |
| Sexual
Status |
It was acceptable for Thai
men in the past to have several wives at the same
time while women were never expected to have more
than one husband in their lives. Even though a
woman became a widow because of the death of her
husband, it was difficult for her to be accepted
when she got married again. Weakness and the lack
of leadership were perceived as the qualities
of all women.
The adoption of Western value that emphasizes
on sexual equality has resulted in changing attitudes
and practices towards women. Thai women were encouraged
to receive education, to go out to work and to
enjoy social benefits like men. More women have
engaged themselves in working outside instead
of waiting for their husbands' earnings. A husband
is expected to have one wife at any given time
and it is all right for women to get divorced
and remarry. However, most Thai wives still take
the responsibilities of doing household chores
and taking care of children no matter whether
they work outside their houses or not. |
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| Superstitious
Beliefs |
| The Thais believed that everyone's
life was pre-destined and no one could change
it. So, to succeed or fail was in the control
of one's own fate. Some people believed in fate
so much that they would wait for ruek
or an auspicious time before doing anything. If
they failed to do so, it was believed that would
bring bad luck and failure to them. Such beliefs
are gradually losing grounds due to Western influence. |
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Chakri Mahaprasat Hall in
the compound
of the Grand Palace with the roofs
of the traditional Thai architecture
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Ananta Samakhom Palace
built of marble in Italian
Renaissance architectural style
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| Westerners believe that it
is one who directs one's own destiny, not any
outside factors. They admire people who work hard
to prove their ability rather than those who obtained
something without making any investment. The existence
of this influential thinking in Thai society gives
opportunities to those in the lower social level
to improve their social status by exerting themselves
instead of waiting for a stroke of luck. |
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On Songkran day, young people
convey their best wishes to their elders
by pouring water on their palms while
the elders bless them in return.
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| Seniority |
Thai society is hierarchical.
It can be divided into several categories, such
as age, social ranks and positions. Of these categories,
age is the predominant one that has been observed
throughout Thailand for centuries. This is reflected
in a Thai saying "Doen tam phu yai ma mai
kat", which literally means that one will
not be bitten by dogs if one walks after an elder.
Children are taught to be obedient and listen
to their parents, seniors and those of higher
ranks.They are expected to follow these people's
teaching and orders unquestioningly. This long
established practice presumably leads to the low
confidence of Thais. To illustrate, in a classroom,
students may not dare to question their teacher
as they feel that to do so would be regarded as
challenging the senior. However, the binding force
of this practice is weakening, especially among
children of the new generations as they have absorbed
the Western idea that encourages people to be
creative and feel free to make comments.
In summary, Thai culture has been influenced by
Western culture in both concrete and abstract
aspects. Several ideas such as those concerning
sexual status and superstitious beliefs have changed
into positive ways. People think more scientifically
than ever and cling onto the idea that one should
direct his own destination, not to let his life
drift aimlessly, waiting for a stroke of luck.
However, no matter how much Thai culture has been
affected by Western values, the true Thai spirit
still remains among the Thais. |
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*Phasin is a kind of loincloth
for women taking the form of a piece of cloth
about three metres long and more than a metre
wide, wrapped once around the body and tied in
a knot in the vicinity of the navel.
**Chong-kraben is a Thai style of wearing a loincloth
in which the cloth is wrapped around the body
and tied in a knot in the vicinity of the navel
with the ends of cloth brought together, rolled
from the top edge to the bottom edge, and the
resulting roll brought out between the legs to
the small of the back where it is stuck behind
the belt.
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