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THAILAND |
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THAILAND |
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The capital city most know as Bangkok was originally a village (bann) where olives (kok) were found. The Thais themselves have named their capital Krungthep (City of Angels), but the Guiness Book of Records hastens to point out that the full name is really the longest place name in the world. IN THAI: IN ENGLISH: |
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Thais are Therevada Buddhists who like other Buddhists, do not believe in a supreme being, but believe that with effort they can come to understand the world in which they find themselves. The great teacher, Buddha, lived 553 years before the birth of Christ, and developed the thesis that the trials people have may be conquered through their own efforts and may even become sources of enlightenment. Most Thai men become monks for least three months of their lives, usually before they marry. Others choose to remain monks for many years but may leave at any time. As monks, they are not permitted to provide shelter or food for themselves, but must depend entirely on the support and respect of outer society. With the exception of the rainy season when they remain in their temples or wats, the monks walk daily through the neighbourhood gathering food which ordinary Thais place in their offering bowls. Thais believe that by doing so they honour themselves, and the Buddhist monks who represent the first great teacher, Buddha. Thais consult monks about all aspects of life, asking for help to sort out daily problems, and even what lottery number to choose. The Lord Buddha, urged people to find a middle path, a path of tolerance free from extremes. Following this precept results in the Thais being very tolerant of other religious viewpoints, never trying to convert others to their way of thinking. They believe that the path they follow is of their own devising, a path they make themselves as they seek to improve their lives. A few years ago when the Thai monk, Pra Cha, was asked why he thought so many foreigners had been inspired to join a temple in the jungle near his home, he answered in typical Buddhist form: “Some men eat sweet fruit while others prefer sour fruits. Who knows what fruit what man will eat on what day. Incidentally, a Thai Buddhist monastery of the forest tradition is located near Kamloops. You can look in on their Internet site at: http://www.birken.ca/
His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej is the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty. Born in December, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father, His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkhla was studying medicine at Harvard University, H.M. King Bhumibol ascended the throne in 1946 and is already the longest reigning Thai monarch. As a constitutional monarch, he maintains neutrality at times of crisis. Thai people have a deep and traditional reverence for the Royal Family. To a very large degree, H.M. King Bhumibol's popularity mirrors his deep interest in his people's welfare. He concerns himself intimately with every aspect of Thai life. He and his wife, H.M. Queen Sirikit, devote much of their time inspecting and improving the welfare of the people. In 1995-1996, Golden Jubilee (50 years of reign) of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej was celebrated, which was marked by major events and royal ceremonies throughout the country which rejoiced on the very special occasion. The King is a jazz fan, and plays the clarinet. To encourage university schooling he did at one time personally present each graduate with the earned degree, but numbers have grown so much in recent years that he must call upon his son and daughters to assist in this task. His Royal Highness is devoted monarch who follows the seven rules of kingship as set out by Asoka, the Great Buddhist King of India. The King visits every one of the seventy-three Thai provinces at least once every year. Interested in science and the welfare of his people, he runs an experimental farm on the grounds of his Bangkok palace, promotes alternate crops among the opium growing hill tribes in the north, and has undertaken cloud seeding in the northeast to alleviate droughts. He is always readily available to his people and their concerns modelling his life after the founder of the Thai Kingdom, Ramkomhaeng of Sukothai, who had a bell affixed to the palace gate which any citizen could ring when seeking the advice of their monarch. King Bhumipol Adulyadej is the longest reigning monarch in the world today.
(for information on each member of the Royal Family go to: http://www.thaimain.org/eng/monarchy/family.html) THAI NEW YEARS Although Thailand officially uses January 1st of the Christain calendar as New Years Day, the old lunar new year celebration persists. That this puts the celebration in the middle of the hot season gives everyone an excuse to break from the consequences of the heat. Songkran is officially celebrated on April 13th but the celebration persists through the next two days. The day itself begins with early morning merit-making with offerings of food to monks, releasing of caged birds into the air, of fish into rivers, and of the paying of homage to ancestors. Paying respects to elders involves pouring scented water over the palms of their hands while saying a blessing. Household Buddha images are washed with scented water, and the famous Pra Putta Sihing image in Bangkok is paraded through the streets to allow crowds to throw scented water over it, too. But the water throwing doesn't stop with the rituals. Everyone gets water thrown at them, regardless of station or attire. A lot of fun!
The celebration of the Christian millennium reminds us that the Thai calendar is tied to the Buddhist Era which starts 543 years before Christ. This means that the Year 2000 on Christian calendars was the year 2543 B.E. on Thai calendars. The second millennium for Thais occurred 543 years ago which we should note did not end in a catastrophe: calendars are man-made. The Thai alphabet was borrowed from India along with the Pali language which although a "dead" language is still used by monks in the Buddhist temples. The alphabet consists of 44 consonants and 33 vowels. The vowels may occur before, after, above or below a consonant. The consonants: กขซคฅฆงจฉชซฌญฎฏฐฑฒณดตถทธนบปผฝพฟภมยรลวศษสหฬอฮ chicken (gai)
- ไก Note the vowel (sara ai) comes before the consonant in the words for chicken and egg, while the vowel (sara ah) in elephant comes after, and the vowel (sara oo) in mouse under. Words are not separated by spaces as in European languages. Grammar, as in most oriental languages, is extremely simple with no changes to word endings. Tenses consist of only simple past, present and future with context indicating meaning. For instance, to speak of a past event, merely add the equivalent of our "already" as in "I already go store." The Thais use five tones (normal, high, low, rising and descending). They also use classifier nouns to indicate the nature of events. For instance, in translation: "Have five farmers people come." where people is the classifier. Several sounds are difficult for English speakers. For instance: "ng" at the beginning of a word. Even more difficult is a "bt" consonant which can not be detected by the human ear (only an electronic oscilloscope can detect it) yet is spoken correctly by adult Thais. English is the official second language of Thailand. http://thaiarc.tu.ac.th/host/thaiarc/index.html
Click the title above to see a *video of the Royal Barge Procession held annually on the Chao Phrya River. Sixty or more royal barges move down the river, one of them carrying the King. The singing you hear is that of the barge coxswain who calls out the beat to the paddlers who then answer him in turn. *The video requires you to have Real Player installed on your computer. THAI
KICK BOXING Thai Kickboxing is known throughout the world as a unique form of combat. The fighters use every part of their bodies including the feet, elbows and head.
Although their are many styles of Muay Thai, the Kiatbusaba style found in the North produces many champion fighters. For life in a boxing camp, click on the under noted Internet address: http://horizonmuaythai.com/muay_thai.html INTERNET LINKS TO THAI NEWSPAPERS THAI RATH
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Four movies have been based on the writings of Anna Leonowens who served as an English teacher for five years to the children of King Mongkut. That Anna has proven to be an unreliable teller of the truth, and greatly exaggerated most of what she did and saw in her five years in Thailand is well established academically. However, the mythology continues mostly because it is a charming story even if almost totally untrue. The Thai people are not amused. That the most recent movie shows King Mongkut as a dapper young man interested romantically in Anna is particularly puzzling as he was aged 58 when she arrived in Thailand, in fact is pictured above five years before she arrived. Anna was 38 years old at the time. For views of Thai students, take a look at this Internet site: http://thaistudents.com/kingandi/ Thais greet each other with the wai. That is, the two hands are clasped together as in prayer, brought up to the chest where the head is bowed and the words "sawadee, kha" are spoken. In the case of a male, the spoken words are "sawadee, khrap". The same greeting is used when meeting and when parting, however, there is more to it than just that. For instance, the younger always greets the older first, and the height to which the hands are raised varies according to the age or importance of those being addressed. The returned greeting might not occur if the person addressed is older or important than the greeter. A child addressing father or a teacher would not expected to be saluted in return, but equals (two friends) for instance would mutually wai each other.
Thais are famous for their smiles. But beware! The Thai smile can say many things, from "I love you" to "I am about to kill you!" Thais smile when they are happy, amused, embarrassed, uncertain, wrong, annoyed or furious. As westerners, we are not generally able to interpret the type of smile we are receiving - just be aware that it may not mean what you think it means, and proceed with caution.
Classical Phi Phat Essemble CLICK HERE TO PLAY |
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