Phumhuang 'Pheung' Duangchan, the queen of life song
I know very few Farang who are really charmed by Luk Thung, a Thai music movement that originated in the fifties of the last century and to this day, especially in Isaan, is an extremely popular genre that can best be compared in terms of content. with the tearjerkers and the tear-jerking life song of the Dutch Polderpop. Even if it is about grazing buffalo, sweating farmers and muddy rice fields.
'Anatomy of Time' a Thai drama about love and horror
In the Thai drama 'Anatomy of Time', director Jakrawal Nilthamrong intertwines love with horror. Showing moments from the past and present non-chronologically, the film opens with a serene yet shocking scene of an old woman cutting a bullet out of a dead man's leg.
Pa Chaab laughs
Word artist Alphonse has delighted us again with a new fascinating story. This time about Pa Chaab, a taxi driver. His cheerful smile and jovial nature are a sharp contrast to the fatigue after a long overnight journey. He is the epitome of the friendly, hospitable Thai, and his dedication to his job commands attention. He gives us a glimpse of his world - a world he prefers to the tranquility and predictability of a conventional life. And so begins the acquaintance with this unique figure, who is carefully and penetratingly portrayed by Alphonse.
The Thai village economy in earlier times
Thai historiography is almost exclusively about the state, the rulers, the kings, their palaces and temples, and the wars they fought. The 'ordinary man and woman', the villagers, get off badly. An exception to this is an influential booklet from 1984, which portrays the history of the Thai village economy. In about 80 pages and without pompous academic jargon, Professor Chatthip Nartsupha takes us back in time.
Seagipsys in Thailand
Thailand has a number of ethnic minorities, of which the hill tribes in the North are fairly well known. In the south, seagipsy's are a somewhat neglected minority.
A 22-year-old Thai student in Japan falls passionately in love with a married 35-year-old aristocratic Thai woman. His love fades but her love for him remains, repressed but intact, until her death.
The different views on the epic Khun Chang Khun Phaen
Any literary work can be read in many ways. This also applies to the most famous and admired epic in the Thai literary tradition: Khun Chang Khun Phaen (hereinafter KCKP).
Two joking, laughing and giggling monks
About ghosts, phantoms, ghosts and other creeps…
Belief in ghosts, phantoms, specters and other supernatural phenomena is more vibrant than ever in Thailand. The concern to keep 'those across the street' happy or at least satisfied leaves traces throughout society. Ghosts are serious business in Thailand, so I'd like to take a quick look at some of the most notable inhabitants of Thailand's very diverse and very colorful ghost kingdom.
Where do the Thais come from?
Who are they, the Thais? Or the Tai? Where did they come from, and where did they go? When and why? Difficult questions that can only partially be answered. I'm making an effort to do so.
Ramwong, Thai traditional dance (video)
At Thai parties and cultural festivities you regularly see a graceful dance with many hand movements. This dance is called Ramwong. The dancers look beautiful in Thai costumes and are beautifully made up.
'Bangkok Babylon' about strangers in Bangkok
Thailand and especially Bangkok sometimes seem like a melting pot of special people from all over the world. Adventurers, sailors, businessmen, but also criminals and downcasts. They seek their happiness elsewhere. The reason is guessable.
One of the most beautiful books I read in recent weeks was the book 'The Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha' mentioned below. It is an excellent translation from the Pali of the last ten births of the Buddha as he himself related them to his disciples. A quality of an almost-Buddha, a Bodhisatta, and a Buddha is that they can remember all their past lives. Those stories are called jataka, a word related to the Thai word châat 'birth'.
From the series 'You-Me-We-Us; indigenous people in Thailand'. Volume 37. The Sgaw Karen. Residents of Ban Ber Bla Too (บ้านเบ๊อะบละตู) live in an area that has been promoted to a 'national park'. This step makes traditional crop rotation in the fields impossible.
Narin Phasit, the man who fought the whole world
Narin Phasit (1874-1950) fought the whole world. Tino Kuis would like to have met him. What makes this man so special?
From the series 'You-Me-We-Us; indigenous people in Thailand'. Volume 36. The Sgaw Karen. Residents of Ban Tha Ta Fang (บ้านท่าตาฝั่ง) oppose the construction of a dam because they live from fishing and farming along the Salween River.
Tino Kuis unravels the connection between culture, personality and behaviour. He contests the view that personality and behavior are largely determined by the culture in which someone lives and grew up. Culture describes gardens and not flowers.