A brief background of the socio-cultural setting of Thailand

1. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Reported by:
John Paul Tianchon
(Crim. 2-C, Group 7)

2. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Way of Life
The Thai have always been an
agricultural people of the
lowland valleys and
intermontane basins, where they
cultivated wet rice with the use
of water buffalo and harvested a

3. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
wide range of fish and shellfish
from the rivers and the sea.
These occupations were often
supplemented, especially in the
north and northeast, by the
collection of forest products,
ranging from timber, such as

4. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
teak and bamboo, to foods
stored for consumption during
the dry season. In the northern
mountain valleys, Tai-speaking
peoples developed an intricate
system of small-scale irrigation,
called muang fai. The eventual

5. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
move to the great central plain
necessitated the development of
canals for transportation and,
from the late-19th century
onwards, of much larger
irrigation and flood-control
systems. Small nuclear families

6. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
occupied villages, comprising a
wat and wooden houses on
stilts. The pattern of life was
governed above all by the
seasonal rhythm of the
monsoons and by a series of
important religious festivals.

7. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Many of these festivals were
closely associated with fertility
and the arrival and ending of the
rains.

8. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
The Thai are now an increasingly
urbanized people, with a strong
interest in shopping and trade.
Thai cookery is considered one
of the world’s great cuisines,
known for its range of subtle
spices and sauces. Favorite Thai

9. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
foods include salads of meat,
fish, and vegetables; soups;
curries (stews flavored with a
blend of ground spices); and
tropical fruits.

10. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Social Issues
Thailand faces a number of
social problems. Corruption
affects government, business,
and even the Buddhist
monkhood (known as the
sangha), and the press

11. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
frequently reports scandals.
Drugs and drug trafficking are
ongoing concerns. In rural areas,
many tropical diseases, such as
malaria, dengue fever, and
cholera, remain a threat. Wide
social gaps—between rich and

12. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
poor, city and countryside—
compound these problems.

13. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Culture
In the 13th century two Thai
chiefs united to form the
kingdom of Sukhothai, the first
Thai state. Lasting until the 15th
century, Sukhothai set forth a
cultural foundation that

14. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
developed throughout
Thailand’s history and continues
today. Under Ramkhamhaeng,
who ruled over Sukhothai during
the late 13th century and greatly
expanded its territory, the
kingdom experienced a period of

15. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
artistic growth. Ramkhamhaeng
is credited with developing the
Thai alphabet and producing the
first written inscription. The
various people living within the
kingdom were united in part by
Theravada

16. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Buddhism, which had spread to
the area from Sri Lanka (then
Ceylon). Fostered by the tenets
of this new religion, Sukhothai
reached a golden age of artistic
achievement during the 14th
and 15th centuries. In this

17. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
period, artisans produced
artifacts of exceptional quality in
stone, bronze, and fired clay.

18. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
In the mid-14th century the
kingdom of Ayutthaya was
founded in southern Thailand. It
rapidly became a major power in
the region, ultimately absorbing
the kingdom of Sukhothai as
well as the Khmer (Cambodian)

19. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
kingdom of Angkor. Located on
an island in the Chao Phraya
River with access to the sea,
Ayutthaya lay well situated to
serve as a port for the increasing
regional trade and for religious
pilgrimages and commercial

20. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
ventures from Europe. Extended
contact with foreign cultures and
the solidarity of the kingdom
inspired a flowering of the arts.
Ayutthaya lasted until the
second half of the 18th century,
when it was sacked by the
Burmese.

21. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Today, the fundamental
characteristics of traditional Thai
culture still prevail in many
mediums. However, certain art
forms, such as painting,
sometimes synthesize the ideals
of Thai beauty and form with

22. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Western-influenced modern
concepts.

23. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Source:
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. ©
1993-2008 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.

24. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Thailand
Khop Khun!!!

25. Socio-Cultural Setting
as we
Understanding

26. Socio-Cultural
Community
for
establish a

29. Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Dumarao Satellite College, Dumarao, Capiz
Theme: “Understanding Better the Political, Economic &
Socio-Cultural Setting of Southeast Asian Nations for
Peace, Prosperity & People”
March 09, 2015 (8:00-11:30 am)
Campus Library