Thai spirit houses - (by grantthai)

Northern Khmer people

Northern Khmer people, also known in Thai as Thai-Khmer people ( "Thais of Khmer descent"), is the designation used to refer to ethnic Khmers native to the Isan region of Northeast Thailand. Khmers have had a presence in this area since at least the time of the Khmer Empire. With the fall of the Angkor, however, the Khmers of the Isan region were subject to increasing Thai influence. In the 18th century, Thailand officially annexed the former Cambodian province of Surin. The Khmer residents became de facto subjects of the Thai monarchy and a long process of cultural assimilation began.

The Northern Khmer have maintained their Khmer identity, practicing the Khmer form of Theravada Buddhism and speaking a dialect of the Khmer language known as Khmer Surin in Khmer or Northern Khmerin English. Few Northern Khmers are able to read or write their native language due toThaification policies either enacted or encouraged by the Thai government. Thai language instruction in public schools has resulted in many of the younger generation being more comfortable using Thai as a medium of communication. However, recent renewed interest in Khmer language and culture has resulted in a two-fold increase in the usage of Northern Khmer since 1958.

When you say Buddha–you’ve said it all.

Thai monks from the Sisaket province close to the Cambodian border have constructed their Buddhist temple out of millions of beer bottles. It goes by the name of “The Temple of a Million Bottles on The Wall” or Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew.

ASEAN Community Traditional wedding dress, Thailand

What is Isan?

One of the biggest misconception about Thailand is that “Everyone in Thailand is Thai!” No, that is false!!! Thailand’s largest region in the Northeast is known as “Isan/Issan/Esan/Esarn”, but we’ll just call it Isan.

Who are the Isan people? Isan is another word for, “Lao people”. Believe it or not, there are an estimated over 15 million ethnic Laotians living in Thailand, than the 3 million Laotians that actually live in Laos.

But what happened?

In the history of Thailand, the Ayuthaya (Ayudhya in this map) began a huge series of territorial war with the Burmese. The Ayuthaya Kingdom asked the Lanxang (Lan Sang in this map) and Cambodian Kingdom to help the Thai Ayuthaya Kingdom to fight the Burmese. When they successfully won their over 200 year old rivalry war, they became the Kingdom of Siam, and turned their backs on the Laotians and Cambodians, and went to annex their nation in the 1780’s.

Then the French Colonizers came in the early 1800’s! And they took down Vietnam first. Then the Thai controlled territories of Cambodia and later on Laos was ceded to the French. But ONLY the eastern half of Laos was given to the French, and the Western half of Laos? The French didn’t care about pursuing the western half of Laos, they were already satisfied with Vietnam and Cambodia, because the eastern part of Laos was all mountains, and was more of a burden, than a profit to them. The western part of Laos was much more flatter.

So, by default, the western region that was once apart of the Lanxang Kingdom of Laos, became known as the Isan Region of Thailand! The Thai-Isan or Thai-Laotians who live in Isan, still retain many of their cultural traditions, such as eating Laotian cuisine, in their traditional dress, they use the Thai alphabet to write in Lao, and making country music that is widely popular throughout Thailand.

And also Cambodians live there too, with heavy populations in Srisaket and Surin states and elsewhere in the very southern parts of Isan.

Some Laotians still do not considered the people of Isan “true Laotians”. Isan have a culture that is identical to the one in Laos, save for some differences in regional dress, ceremonies, etc.

They are still Lao.

Technically what happened was the Burmese defeated the Manchu encroachment into southeast Asia but at the cost of holding on to Siam. During the Siamese Viet wars, Siam occupied much of the area Dai/Tai speaking people lived.

As for Khmer people in Thailand, we were there before the wave of Dai/Tai migrants into the area. There are even evidence that many of the Thai kings were fluent in the language. But during the wave of nationalism during the 1930's, some Thai people regarded Khmer as outsiders while other regarded Khmer as a backward form of Thai culture. Indeed it became illegal to speak Khmer - you would be fined a Baht for speaking the native language which is pretty expensive for most poor Khmer. It's only until recent royal interest in preserving Khmer culture that it has entered the public sphere, but the damage was already done.

Forced to fish: Slavery on Thailand's trawlers

Thailand is the third largest exporter of seafood in the world, supplying supermarkets in Europe and America, but it’s accused of crewing fishing boats with Burmese and Cambodian men who’ve been sold and forced to work as slaves. Military music is pumping out into the tropical sunshine. In front of us are some 100 police officers standing in rows, and two heavily armed SWAT teams standing at attention. General Chatchawal Suksomjit, deputy chief of police, is walking down the lines, shaking hands, nodding and saluting. With his dark glasses, slicked-back hair and shiny grey uniform he oozes importance. He ushers us on to some waiting police boats and out into the waters of the Malacca Straits, along the border with Malaysia. The general is head of a new committee set up to deal with the trafficking of men into the fishing business - an industry he describes as “dirty, dangerous and difficult”. Human rights groups claim the Thai fishing fleet is much worse than this. Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch, who wrote a report on it for the International Organization for Migration says the use of forced labour is “systematic” and “pervasive”. Read full article…

Not just Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia has been guilty of this as well.

ASEAN Community A Golden Statue of Buddha at Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Vessantara Jataki, Thailand ca. 1850-1870

In this scene, we see Prince Vessantara giving his prized white elephant to a group of brahmins from a neighboring kingdom. A white elephant was believed to bring rain and prosperity. Vessantara sits atop the elephant, surrounded by symbols of his royalty. He pours water into the brahmins’ hands as a sign of the gift being given.

(The Walters)

Dancer (by fintbo)

Buddhas, Thailand

ASEAN Community Buddha statues in silk dress, Thailand

When boys of the Shan tribe undergo the ritual “Poi Sang Long”, the focal point lies in, what in the Western world would be described as, “feminine values”. They are dressed up in bright colours and adorned with make-up. The aim is to mimic the young Prince Siddhartha before he became Lord Buddha. Even though the purpose of the ritual is to show that the boys are on their way to become mature and responsible men, it is loaded with aesthetic values and free from any physical trials. This is what sets it apart from other typical male rituals. By Ken Bamberg

This is visually stunning. 

The Dvaravati style chedi of Wat Phra That Haripunchai. Located in Lamphun, a northern province of Thailand.

Photo courtesy & taken by Hdamm

Wat Pairongwua, Central Thailand (Photo by Richard Bishop)

I am guessing these are Preta or Hungry Ghosts. Anyways, Southeast Asian temples are very Metal at times. 

Wat Arun, Bangkok

The Chase. Wall Mural Detail. Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand (Photo by Richard Bishop)

ASEAN Community Wall Mural “The Chase”, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand