THE
ANALYSIS OF FIVE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
OF THAILAND
Presented as a final test of
Cross Cultural Understanding Class
Written by:
IFTI LUTHVIANA DEWI
2016
A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THAILAND
Thailand lies between
Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, with the Gulf of Thailand to its south. Its
culture mixes strong Indian influences, Chinese traditions, and elements that
are uniquely Thai.
Much of Thailand’s
culture comes from the ethnic Thai people.
One of the most important influences on Thai culture has been Buddhism. With
around 95% of the country being Theraveda Buddhist, the belief system and
values of Buddhism play a huge role in daily
life. In Thailand, tradition is very valued. For example, every taxi driver had
painted traditional symbols inside the car to gain God’s protection.
Thailand is one of the
most fascinating countries to visit on earth. Culturally there are many
practices and beliefs that are very different to those from Western societies.
B.
CULTURE IN THAILAND
1. GREETING
a.
The traditional
greeting is with two hands prayer-like palms together known as a wâi. The Wai must be understood as a highly
important sign of reciprocal demonstration of respect. The role of Wai are:
(1)
With less
important: Thumbs about on breast height.
(2)
With ones of
equal rank: Thumbs about on chin level.
(3)
With important
and older people: Thumbs on level of the upper lip.
(4)
With very
important people: Thumbs on level of the nose tip.
(5)
With monks (and
members of the royal family in which only meet very rarely): Thumbs on level of
the eyebrows.
2. THE ROYAL FAMILY
The Royal Family
of Thailand is held in very high respect. Making derogatory remarks about any
of the royal family is against the law. The penalty is 3 – 15 years’
imprisonment, depending on the severity.
3. ATTITUDE TO OTHER PEOPLE
a.
In general,
displays of emotion in public are viewed in a very negative light. No matter how frustrated or upset a person
might feel, Thailand people will always strive to maintain a positive and
friendly attitude, a sense of humor, and a smile.
b.
Respect for
elders and for those in higher social positions is also important. Hierarchies
of social status characterize nearly every interaction. Children are expected
to respect their parents and teachers. The young must show deference to the
elderly.
c.
Thai culture
places certain spiritual importance to certain parts of the body. You should
not point your feet at people, touch people with your feet, prop your feet up
on seats or tables or step over people sitting on the ground. The head in
contrast has a much higher importance. Avoid touching people on the head as
this is considered very rude. You should also avoid sitting on pillows meant for
head rests.
d.
Throughout all
of Thailand, if someone notices a pile of shoes at or near an entrance to a
home, shop or guesthouse, they should remove their shoes before entry; it is
considered rude.
4. FOOD IN DAILY LIFE
a.
Rice is the
staple food at every meal for most people. All food is brought to the table at
once rather than being served in courses. A meal will include rice, dishes with
gravy, side dishes, soup, and a salad. Whereas in central and southern Thailand
polished white rice is eaten, in the north and northeast people eat glutinous
or sticky rice. Fish and shellfish are popular.
b.
Curries are
eaten throughout the country, but there are regional varieties. Northern and
northeastern food is similar to that of Laos and consists of more meat,
including meat served as sausages, or as larb (a salad is usually made of raw
meat). Chinese food has influenced the national cuisine, especially in regard
to noodle dishes. Sweets are eaten as snacks.
c.
A popular snack
is green papaya salad.
d.
For beverage, beside
Thai whiskey (Mekhong) and rum (Sang Som), the local Singha-beer is everywhere
to be found. Chang-beer enjoys a larger popularity and also European beers such
as Carslberg and Heineken are available in almost all restaurants and
supermarkets. In
5. TABLE MANNER
a.
Dining etiquette
for drinking. Thai people never pour their own drink (be it beer or tea), they
must always be alert throughout the meal as to whether their neighbor's cup or
glass needs refilling. If it is less than half full, it needs refilling;
alternately, if their is less than half full, the neighbor is obliged to refill
it. If he or she does not, they not refill it themself, for this will cause the
neighbor to lose face.
b.
Dining etiquette
for utensils. Chopsticks are not traditionally used in Thailand. In Thailand,
spoons and forks are used (never knives). If they need to cut things, they use
the side of the spoon first, and then move on to the fork if necessary. If they
are right-handed, they keep the spoon in right hand and the fork in left.
c.
Dining etiquette
for eating rice. Rice is generally served in separate bowls, not on the same
plate with your food. While rice is a staple, it is not necessary to eat every
grain in your bowl; leaving some over is fine. In fact, if they eat everything
in their rice bowl or on plate, it means they want more. Do not take the last
bit of food from a central serving plate; that means there will be none left in
case someone else wants some. Also, a sauce may be mixed with the rice, and the
main dish may be eaten with the rice, unlike the practice in Japan. If they eat
noodles or broth, it is not appropriate to slurp the food, however hot tea may
be slurped quietly to cool it off as it enters the mouth.
d.
Dining etiquette
for toothpicks. Toothpicks are generally used at the end of the meal. The best
way to handle a toothpick is to work away with one hand, while keeping the
other hand in front of it over the mouth, as a sort of mask.
e.
Dining etiquette
for seating. The most honored position is at the middle of the table, with the
second most important person seated next. This means that the host will sit at
the middle of the table on one side, and the honored guest in the middle on the
other side, opposite the host. The honored guest sits on the side of the table
farthest from the door.
f.
Dining etiquette
for beginning to eat. Do not begin to eat or drink until the oldest man at the
table has been served and has begun. It is appropriate to thank the host at the
end of the meal for the fine food.
6. FAMILY
Family is central to
Thai life. Although many newly-married
couples will set up their own households, it is common for extended family to
live with them. Often, grandparents, cousins,
aunts, and uncles will all live in the same household and help to raise
children and provide for the family. Children are expected to show great
respect for their parents, and they maintain close ties, even well into
adulthood.
7. WEDDING
A Thai wedding generally consists of two parts: the
legal and the ceremonial. These are done separately. There is no requirement of
government documentation to have a religious ceremony, which is most common
with Thai people. Normally, weddings in Thailand are Buddhist.
The legal part is performed at a local district
office where the marriage is registered. It is not a chattel marriage, but a
contractual marriage. The marriage certificate is in the Thai language.
Two type of gifts from the husband-to-be, are
considered cultural requirements: khong mun and sin sod. Khong mun is a gift of
gold jewelry that is given when the wedding is announced, or before the wedding
ceremony. Sin sod is a bride price, often described less accurately as a dowry
that given to the bride-to-be's parents. It is given at the wedding ceremony in
front of all the gifts.
As a tradition a Thai man has to meet the whole
family of the bride and get the total consent before he can get engaged. Only
then he can propose to her parents for the hand of their daughter. Both
families agree the date for the wedding is fixed. But the date for the wedding
is delayed until the groom has finished his apprenticeship. The bride’s parents
get bride-money from the groom, a kind of compensation for the upbringing
consisting of natural produce or money. Many times this is returned to the
bridal couple on the wedding day. In the country the newly married often stay
with their parents.
Thailand
traditional wedding
8. FESTIVALS
a.
Loy Krathong
As the full moon of the
twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November) lights up the night sky, ‘Loy’
signifies ‘floating’, while ‘krathong’ is a small object in the shape of a
lotis flower throughout the Thai kingdom. On the evening of the festival,
thousands of people head to their local river or canal to make a wish. They do
so by lighting the candle in their krathong and setting it free to float with
the current. This is one of the Kingdom’s oldest and best-preserved traditions.
Loy Krathong festival
b.
Monkey Buffet
Festival
One of the most famous
places in Thailand to see monkeys is among the ruins of the historical city of
Lopburi. In appreciation of their efforts to attract tourists, local
businessmen put on a grand Monkey Buffet Festival for the monkeys on the last
Sunday in November every year. Over the years this has become one of the
world’s biggest monkey parties.
Monkey Buffet festival
c.
Lotus Flower
Receiving Festival or Yon Bua Festival
The Lotus Flower
Receiving Festival, or Rub Bua in Thai, takes place at Bang Phli. This festival
has been handed down from one generation to the next. It is held annually one
day before the end of the Buddhist Rain Retreat. Traditionally, local people line up on both
sides of Klong Samrong and throw lotus flowers onto the boat carrying a replica
of a revered Buddha image.
The route of the boat
covers a distance of only 1.6 kms but it takes them over 100 minutes from start
to finish. They can also watch the boat parade from Bang Phli Old Market, the
District Office and Wat Bang Phli Yai Klang.
The boat carrying Luang
Poh To wasn’t the only one on the canal. Following close behind were about five
or six large colourful floats. Some were being towed while others had its own
rowers all wearing traditional Thai costumes. In addition, there were several
hundred smaller boats belonging to local people.
Yon Bua Festival
d.
Candle Festival
The Candle Festival
takes place as the seasonal monsoon rains descends over the kingdom, marking
the beginning of the Buddhist “rain retreat” and the Buddhist Lent, or
“Phansa”. As Ubon Ratchathani province prepares for the Buddhist Lent, men with
artistic skills set about the task of moulding and sculpting Lenten candles. As
these works of art are to be presented as Buddhist merit-making offerings, the
artisans pour their heart and soul into their craft.
The Candle Festival
e.
The Phi Ta Khon
festival
The Phi Ta Khon
festival is unique to the Dan Sai district in Loei Province and reflects the
local Isan belief in ghosts and spirits. Held once a year, it is part of a
grand merit-making festival known as the “Boon Luang” festival. Young men of
the community dress up as “spirits” wearing long trailing costumes made from
colourful strips of cloth sewn together.
The Phi Ta Khon festival
f.
The Hae Pha Kuen
The Hae Pha Kuen
Festival is unique to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Holy cloth,
known as Phra bot, is draped around the stupa in a merit-making ritual. The
custom reflects a form of communal merit-making designed to strengthen
community spirit and foster unity and has been observed for some 800 years.
According to Buddhist belief, participation in communal merit-making earns an
individual more merit.
Hae Pha Kuen Festival
g.
The Tak Bat Dok
Mai
The Tak Bat Dok Mai
floral offering merit-making ritual is unique to Saraburi province. This ritual
stands out from the merit-making activities conducted in the other parts of
Thailand because in addition to the offerings of cooked rice, food, incense,
candles and other conventional sacred items, the Tak Bat Dok Mai ritual includes
offerings of Dok Khao Phansa flowers that only come into bloom during the
Buddhist Lent.
Tak Bat Dok Mai
h.
Songkran
Festival
The word Songkran is
from the Sanskrit language and means the passage of the sun from one sign of
the Zodiac to another. That means there are twelve Songkrans each year, but the
significance of this Songkran is when the sun enters the sign of Aries the Ram.
Songkran Festival, a
national celebration of the traditional Thai New Year, captures the imagination
of travellers for both its cultural and fun attributes; the latter being
enthusiastic bouts of water splashing between friends and relatives. The custom originates from spring cleaning aspect of
Songkran. Part of the ritual was the cleaning of images of Buddha. Using the
'blessed' water that cleaned the images to soak other people is seen as a way
of paying respect and bring good fortune. This takes place all over Thailand in
mid-April. The date used to vary but it is now fixed and takes place on 13-15
April every year.
Songkran Festival
THE ANALYSIS OF
THAILAND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
1.
Low context
culture vs High context culture
a.
Low context culture
In Thailand, there is
no low context culture because they cannot express negative thoughts, feelings,
and ideas as clearly in public, so that they have high context culture.
b.
High context
culture
The communication of
Thai people shows high context culture. They respect the other use gesture or
body language. It reflected when they are giving a Wai as the greeting to other
people. Also their attitude in expressing their emotion in public, no matter
how frustrated or upset a person might feel, Thailand people will always strive
to maintain a positive and friendly attitude, a sense of humor, and a smile.
2.
Individualistic culture vs Collectivism culture
a.
Individualistic culture
Loy Krathong reflects
that Thai people has individualistic culture. It shows by making a wish for
each person.
b.
Collectivism
culture
Family culture in
Thailand reflects that they have collectivism culture. It shows by new married
couple, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles will all live in the same
household and help to raise children and provide for the family. It means that they
have tight social framework and their society values having relationship among
groups more than being individuals.
3.
Low power
distance vs High power distance
a.
Low power
distance
Low power distance is
reflected on the Sonkran festival. They are splashing water between friends and
relatives, whether with the older or with the people that has higher status.
b.
High power
distance
High power distance is
reflected through the respect people all over the country exhibit towards their
Royal family, with they own family, and people who have higher status. For examples,
Children are expected to respect their parents and teachers, the young must
show deference to the elderly. For Thai,
people have different power distribution and status, which can be determined by
appearance, education, family name, job, and age. Lower status of people has to
pay respect to the higher status. Those with highly prestigious positions in
society, such as doctors, important public figures, and monks are almost
revered. Their attitude like not point their feet at people and avoid touching
people on the head shows that they are very respect the other.
4.
Uncertainty
tolerance vs Uncertainty Avoidance
a.
Uncertainty tolerance
Uncertainty tolerance
reflected in the food in daily life that they are eating. For example, Chinese
food has influenced the national cuisine, especially concerning noodle dishes.
b.
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Thai people activity
reflects uncertainty avoidance. This implies that the society values groups
norms, rules and regulations rather than flexibility. Tradition is very valued.
With around 95% of the country being Theraveda Buddhist, the belief system and
values of Buddhism play a huge role in daily life. For example, every taxi
driver had painted traditional symbols inside the car to gain God’s protection,
and it shows that they are less tolerance for different tradition. In addition,
there are many festivals show that they are strictly holding their culture,
such as Tak Bat Dok Mai festival, Hae Pha Kuen Festival, and Yon Bua Festival. Other
examples uncertainty avoidance is government will give punishment to Thai
people who do not respect to the Royal Family.
5.
Task Orientation
vs Social Orientation
a.
Task orientation
Task orientation is
reflected on traditional wedding. Thai man should meet the whole family of the
bride and get the total consent before he can be engaged. In addition, he
should fulfill his task that are khong mun and sin sod as the requirements. Thai
man is highly concerned with individual success.
b.
Social
Orientation
Family relationship has
shown that Thai people focus more on collective concerns. They help each other
to provide their family. Other example is in Monkey Buffet Festival, it
reflects that they pay attention to the other people and appreciate of their
efforts to attract tourists and local businesspersons. The Hae Pha Kuen
festival also shows that they care of their community as indicated on this festival
purpose, that is designed to strengthen the spirit of community.
REFERENCES
http://www.isvolunteers.org/blog/thailand-cultural-norms-and-traditions/
http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/guides/thailand/culture-in-thailand/
http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Thailand.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_wedding
http://www.thaibuddhist.com/the-lotus-throwing-festival-in-bang-phli/
http://learnthaiwithmod.com/2011/03/thai-traditional-ceremony-water-pouring/
http://yourworldcalendar.com/2016/11/monkey-buffet-festival-thailand/
http://paknam.com/blogs/rub-bua-festival/
http://www.kruuweeteachthai.com/1172701/phi-ta-khon-festival
http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/thai-dowry.php
