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Defining Thailand's Cultural IdentityWhere and exactly how can we find cultural unity in religious diversity? By exploring the religious art of Thailand's Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian groups and seeing how their respective temples, mosques, and churches reflect the country's rich heritage. From Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand welcomes tourists from around the world and demonstrates its diversity through culture, art, and nature.
Upon most tourists arrival, they may take one glimpse at the country's radiant, extraordinarily detailed, glowing temples, and immediately connect Thailand to Buddhism. Though these folks are not wrong to make this association considering roughly 95 percent of Thailand's population is Buddhist. However, there is still another 5 percent of people who not only practice other religions, but have left their artistic footprints across the nation as well. Due to the country's tolerance and continuing support from the monarchy, four main religions consisting of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity have all coexisted peacefully for centuries. In other words, there is no required state religion, but rather a state of religious freedom. Only it was long before the establishment of the Kingdom that the land became influenced by its surrounding neighbors. The Khmer Empire in the northeast, the Mons who settled in the east of modern day Myanmar and in the center of Thailand, as well as the Sri Vijaya Empire in the south of the Malay peninsula were all key players that helped mold Thailand's cultural and religious aspects into the beautifully contrasting structure that still stands today. Once under the influence of India, each of these early empires brought their culture to the Thai people who had originally migrated from southwestern China and settling in Thailand before building their first kingdom known as Sukhothai. The fusion of tension that existed between Theravada Buddhism and Hinduism during the 10th century sparked the relocation of the political/economic center of the Khmer Empire from Angkor to Phnom Penh as well as the migration of many Cambodian officials. It was this series of events that would ultimately have the most significant impact on the religious and cultural development of Thailand. Thus, also explaining how Hinduism was originally brought to the nation. The Significance of Thailand's Temple ArtAlong with Buddhism, Hinduism has also made important contributions to Thai's culture. The closest links between Thailand and India can be seen in art, literature, and many Thai customs. During the fairly long development of Hindu art, Hindu elements slowly emerged and eventually became part of Thailand's iconography. The images below showcase several of the Hindu gods that can be seen in Thai Temples today - examples include the four-armed Vishnu, the half-man half-bird Garuda, the eight-armed Shiva, and lastly, the elephant-headed Ganesh.
Thai Values & TraditionsDespite the influence of other religions, the art of Buddhism is omnipresent and visible especially in the multitude of wats, otherwise known as Buddhist temples or mosques across Thailand. In addition, though Thai mosques are fundamentally unique in architectural structure and design, they often reveal patterns that can be dated back to early Thai art such as floral arrangements that represent a mixture of Islamic flowers and curves, or even characteristic Thai ornaments like the head of an animal that also have arranged flame patterns that almost look as if their design was inspired by old Persian woven rugs and carpets from India. Overall, each of Thailand's temples has a unique story that gives more insight into the country's religiosity, culture, tradition, and lives of the Thai people.
Unlike many other countries, Buddhism in Thailand has a direct connection to the government. To be more specific, Thailand most likely the only country in the world where their king, His Majesty, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is constitutionally stipulated to not only be a Buddhist himself, but also uphold the faith regardless of the fact that religious freedom is prevalent throughout Thailand. Without a doubt, this factor alone is a prime example as to how much religion is valued and practiced on a day to day basis by the people of Thailand for they recognize the key role it continues to play in their culture, past and present. Similar to other religions, Buddhism has defined specific places that are considered scared to buddhists. The first is known as the birth place of Buddhism, the Lumbini, then there is the realized place known as the Buddha Gaya, the first preached place known as the Saranath, and lastly, the dying place known as the Kushinagar. Surprisingly, not a single one of these sacred places is in Thailand, still each represent the life of Buddha and his teachings. All of these places sacred places can be found scattered throughout India where Buddhism originated.
The most important values Thai people hold are respect, self-control, and a non-confrontational attitude. In fact, public displays of emotions are actually very much frowned upon. No matter how angry, upset, or frustrated a person may feel, Thai people are advised to do their best to tame their emotions and maintain a positive, friendly attitude and sense of humor for a grave source of shame is brought upon Thai people who "lose face" or tell a lie.
In addition, having as well as showing respect for elders, those in higher social positions, and those with prestigious positions in society such as doctors, key public/political figures, and monks is very important. As for the young, they are brought up to show deference to the elderly. In regards to family, not only is it an aspect that is extremely valued by all Thai people, but it is central to Thai life. In actuality, it is quite common for much of your extended family to move in with you and your newlywed spouse. A traditional Thai custom, living this way makes it easier for extended family members to help raise children as well as provide support and stability for the household. By extension of this, all Thai children are raised to have a tremendous amount of respect for their parents and maintain a close relationship with them long into adulthood. Social StructureIn the past, Thai women were expected to take care of their husbands, cooperate, and be very obedient to their spouses orders. In 1861, an edict promulgated which allowed Thai men to have several wives. Thus, as it came to be shortly thereafter, men of high society would normally possess multiple wives, which eventually became an indicator as to what their socioeconomic status was. In contrast, women of Thailand used to not have no control of the way they were treated by men, no matter what social class you were born into; high or low, women were always ranked lower in status than men.
If anything, back in the day the socioeconomic status of your future husband would determine the type of circumstances a traditional Thai women would be forced to face. For instance, if women were married to men of high society, they were still considered a possession of their husband as they would be under any traditional Thai marriage agreement, however, by law these women were not allowed to be severely punished by there husbands. As for women married to men of lower socioeconomic status, their status of living was far more inferior. Overall, ordinary Thai women were expected to support the upkeep of their households for the majority of their marriage on their own. Especially, when their husband was not around during the day due to the responsibilities of his position of labour, or when he would be called to guard the capital for a period of about 4-6 months. Therefore, married women not only had to farm or weave cloth to make their family members clothing, but also bear the burden of finding any job they could in order to earn a steady income. Nowadays, Thai women lead much more confident lives and in fact, are quite pleased with their position in society. Not only do I believe these women shold be revered for all of their sacrifices from the past, but also for how they approach their daily duties now for at least now they are happy to carry out their expected duties. I feel that given the role of men in Thai society in past and present, women truly could have joined forces and rebelled against their controlling husbands. However, they did not, but instead, their passive aggression has lead them to enjoy the lives they lead today, as well as beautifully developed sort of a coalition between them In other words, Women in Thai society can be considered a group with common interests, purposes, goals, aims, etc - which is not suprising to me given how women fought to earn equal rights in the United States. Thus, goals for this Thai alliance of women now include, first and foremost, continuing the hustle, maintaining good manners/positive attitudes, seeking joy form pleasing their families, and doing their best to live up societies extremely high expectations for their role as mothers/caregivers. |
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This map shows the spread of Buddhism throughout southeast Asia.
This map shows the expansion of Hinduism throughout southeast Asia.
Wat Rong Khun, more commonly known to tourists as the "White Temple", stands today as a privately owned, unconventional, contemporary art exhibit in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Built in 1997 by the owner and designer, Chalermchai Kositpipat - The architectural style of this structure a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu design that is symbolic to Thailand's religious heritage.
Inside Wat Chalong, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand.
Atop an 830 meter peak in Petchabun, Thailand lies a "temple on a glass cliff" known as Wat Pha Sorn Kaew. Surrounding the main pagoda - the Buddhist temple and monastery - is a collection of other buildings that are adorned with over 5 million colorful mosaic tiles and pottery items. Above is an image of one the monastery's statues of Buddha, and is known as a place where Buddhist monks can go to gaze at the magnificent scenery of their homeland before them as well as meditate peacefully.
His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand
The Royal Thai Family - photo taken in 1962
Captured in the image above is Yingluck Shinawatra, one of the most renowned political, cultural, and social symbols of hope for women of Thai society. Though this moment occurred during her premiere campaign, after a very close race, Yingluck Shinawatra miraculously gained enough support to be elected the first female Prime Minister of Thailand. Her signature "number one" was gestured often to her fans and political followers as a means to empower and motivate them, as well as enlighten their perception of possibility, especially women.
Additional ResourcesThe additional link below provides an overview of Thai culture including ethnic groupings, religious and regional influences, and strong values such as respect for elders and family life - Primarily, this website is useful for ESL educators interested in teaching abroad - It provides information regarding schools located in different countries all over the world that this audience must experience:
[ http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/guides/thailand/culture-in-thailand/ ] The additional link below provides data from a variety of the five cultural universes including arts, humanities, political life, food, economy, and gender roles - In addition, Countries & Their Cultures is a very popular source that has been frequently referenced by media outlets: [ http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Thailand.html ] |
Figure 1. Average annual growth since 1960, as portrayed by gapminder.org
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Figure 2. Percentage of all female labor force that earns a salary from working since 1987, as portrayed by gapminder.org
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Figure 3. Average number of years a newborn would live since 1800, as portrayed by gapminder.org
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Like most other countries, Thailand has experienced significant changes over the years in several aspects. For instance, the overall economy of Thailand has grown immensely (Figure 1). In addition, the socioeconomic status of women has risen significantly over the years as Thai women continue to join the workforce as a means of earning a salary, as the men always have (Figure 2). This movement of women into the workforce has not only helped promote women empowerment across Thailand, but also helped contribute significantly to the boost of the economy. On a different note, life expectancy of the people of Thailand has seen change over the years as well. Essentially, the people that live in Thailand have shown a large increase in numbers in regards to how long people will live. Likewise, with each new year, newborns will now have a higher life expectancy than that of the generation prior.
Bibliographical References
Map of Major Religions in Southeast Asia http://www.slideshare.net/mshyland/23-1-southeast-asia-cultures-and-history-6833096 Map of Economic Activity & Ethnic Groups maps.nationmaster.com Image of Wat Rong Khun http://www.boredpanda.com/white-temple-thailand/ Image of Wat Pha Sorn Kaew http://aecnews.net/touch-the-beauty-and-taste-the-dhamma-at-wat-pha-sorn-kaewpetchabun/ Image of Four-Armed Statue of Vishnu http://www.nongnit.com/buddhist/misc/bdiar002.html Image of Half-man Half-bird Statue of Garuda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda Image of The Eight-Armed Shiva http://www.asianart.com/articles/bunker/3.html Image of the Elephant-Headed Ganesh http://www.thextrasuitcase.com/india/ Image of Wat Chalong Temple https://boxofphotos.wordpress.com/page/13/ |