You have chosen Time for History
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 Thai tribes 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 Chiang-mai 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 Phra 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 Krung
Thep as called by the Thai which was founded in 1782 A.D. and has
since remained the capital of Siam or Thailand 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 came 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 one
unity, but with their regional diversities in differrent
proportions where alien elements are predominant or otherwise. Of
the four areas aforementioned the central areas the most
progressive and this influences other areas or retarded cultural
development rapidly through convenience of communications.
The cultures of Thailand as expressed in her religion, arts and
literature, social system habits and customs reveal a unity in a
general sense with her. neighbours, the Cambodians, the Mons, the
Burmese and partly the Malays, but with varied characteristics.
It can be said that the cultures of the above races are 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 absorbed 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 force. 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.
Buddhism suited their tastes and temperaments very well, so they
readily adopted 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 culture, 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.
02. December 2004