Michael Moerman

Lue and other Thai.

16 June 1965 - Lue and other Thai. Traditional markers of Lue dress, such as sarongs, jackets and hairstyles, are on the wane. Nonetheless, the Lue language remains. Dialect is crucial, as it distinguishes the Lue from the northern Thai, or Ban Phaed people from Ban Wan people. The Lue think northern Thai people are lazy but that Lue people are not. Kalom, Thai, Lao, and Lue people speak mutually comprehensible dialects.

Eloquence.

16 June 1965 - Eloquence: Maechan, Bunsri and Ngern are all talkative. People who speak less are called “Bo Chang U” or “Bo Hu Khwam”. “Jok Len” (to tease) means to say something which makes others laugh.

Measurement.

16 June 1965 – Lue units of measurement: sok – elbow joint to tip of middle finger, sok khanad – 0.5 meter stick, wa –arm span measured from one middle finger tip to the other middle finger tip, me – width of thumb not pressed hard, kep – middle finger to thumb, kip – index finger to thumb.

Titles.

16 June 1965 - Titles: Fong called “E La” when given hurried orders. Seng called Nancoi “Pho E Pon” or “Pho Ba Nom” rather than his name. Seng called himself “Pern” when talking to old women. When Nancoi talked to Seng he also called himself “Pern”.

Suk and saj.

16 June 1965 - If a woman who has never been married has a child, she cannot be called “Mae Hang”, but is called by her name until the child is a month old, and thereafter called “Mae Balek”. A child who gets no inheritance is known as “luk thang” (child of the road). Intercourse is called “sukan bodai”. Marriage is called “aw kan te”.

Lue and other Thai.

17 June 1965 - Lue and other Thai: the markers that differentiate members of the Lue, Kalom and Lao peoples are tattoos, language, hair worn in buns, trousers, sarongs, weaving, beliefs concerning the fireplace in the centre of the home, the language children of mixed ethnicity marriages use and belief in house spirits. The attitude of Lue teenagers toward Lue costume.

School.

17 – 30 June 1965 - Names of children who continue their education beyond primary school. The headman wants to send his son to secondary school. Mun sends his son to secondary school at a cost of Bt100 per term. Once he has passed his Mathayom 6 (high school examination), he can be sent to Chiang Rai. If the boy passes Mathayom 8 he can become a teacher. It is expensive to send children to police school in Lampang. Village children do not attend school due to lack of money.

Courtship.

17 June 1965 - Courtship: courtship exchanges conducted by letter. In Ban Wan prospective lovers court each other by taking food and flowers to their loved ones in the fields. Sometime people play the “pi” (Lue flute) as part of their courtship.

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