Thailand has a rich culture that goes back many centuries. It can trace its origins to India; the eminent French scholar Georges Coedes included Thailand among the Indianized states of southeast Asia. However, the cultural influences, although emanating from the Subcontinent, entered the country via Burma, the Khmer Empire, and the southern kingdom of Srivijaya.
The Thais are proud of their cultural achievements, and with reason. But to appreciate Thai culture properly some background knowledge is helpful. The bookshop at Silpakorn Fine Arts University has an excellent range of literature on this subject, and if you would like to engage a guide or go on a guided tour the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) can help. The following lines offer a brief introduction.
There are two important influences on Thai culture. One is Buddhism. The other is the Ramayana, the Hindu epic poem written in Sanskrit between 500 and 100 BCE by the sage Valmiki. The epic eventually spread to Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, and King Rama I wrote a version entitled the Ramakien. Themes from the epic are present in Thai murals and Thai classical dance.
Thai Dance Thai classical dance (lakhon) was originally performed only at the royal court, but it can now be seen in theaters (notably the National Theater) and is often performed at wedding parties and other celebrations as well as in tourist restaurants.
The whole of the Ramakien would take days to perform, and a performance normally consists of just one episode. A chorus and narrators recite the narrative with musical accompaniment. The dancers tell the story through the use of stylized gestures and postures, and their movements are very slow. They hold their bodies straight from the neck to the hips and move them up and down with knees bent stretching to the rhythm of the music. Their brocaded costumes resemble the dress worn by royalty and mythological figures in old mural paintings. Masks are worn where a character is a demon or monkey.
Classical Music
Thai classical music uses a tonal system different from Western music, but those who are acquainted with Indonesian gamelan music will find many similarities. Unlike Western music which has full tones and semitones in the octave, Thai music has an eight-note octave consisting of full tones.
Among the instruments used are: The ranad or Thai xylophone is usually slightly curved and resembles a boat.
Drums (glong) come in a variety of shapes and sizes; the shallow drum is known as the ram mana.
The kawng is a gong; one common variation is the kawng wong yai, which is a series of gongs (kong) suspended on a circular frame.
The saw is a stringed instrument that is played with a bow. Its body is made from half a coconut shell.
The ching are cymbals.
The bamboo pipe (pee) is a type of oboe.
The orchestra that accompanies Thai classical dance performances-known as a pipat orchestra-usually includes a ranad, pee, ching, kawng wong yai, and a glong.
