Lucien and Jane Hanks

Female and fertility

The Thai people believe that there are goddesses protecting the earth, rivers and paddy fields. Human women, moreover, are perceived as important nurturers, and because their fruitful role is often enlarged to other arenas, their fertility brings in power. Where husbands and sons work for wages, they turn their money intact over to women as the head of the household. From Neolithic times, Thailand has shared the matrilineal tendencies present in other Southeast Asian nations. However, migration and influences with patrilineal foci – whether Buddhism, Brahmanism or Judeo-Christian traditions - have flowed in from India and China.

Rite and Cosmos : an Akha Diary

1968 – A diary describing the experience of Jane Hanks meeting Akha upland people for the first time in Chiang Rai Province in the years 1963-1964. She found that much of the old cultural life was still functioning. Since then much has changed, due to the impact of the lowland Thai and their government, environmental changes, and the modern social and political world, both Asiatic and Western.

Akha wedding

1969 – The process of Akha weddings, the ritual and ritual chief, the bridal costume, ceremony and food.

Hill and valley of Thailand’s province of Chiangrai . a change relationship

1981- An observation focusing on social relations between Thai and upland groups as they move from separate parallel existences toward greater integration. This paper traces the course of this change.

A rural Thai villager’s of human character

1965 – In human beings, the khwan and winyan are both seated internally in the heart, and as such are not related to virtue born by the heart. The nature of the heart and mind is a manifestation of kam (the law of Karma).Bang Chan defined human character by the resultant of 1) the heart which dependent on merit, and 2) the winyan

Rural-Urban interaction in Bangkok : The women’s experience

1983- During the first half of the twentieth century it was rare for elite urban women, particularly those living in the royal palace, to venture into the countryside. Contact between rural and urban women was thus sporadic. Rural women perceived Bangkok to be an alien world; awesome, confusing and with many unknown and unattainable areas. In the latter years of the century, by contrast, modern means of communication and new incentives have opened Bangkok to country women, while urban women are more receptive to the countryside. Industry and labor requirements have led to rural women flowing into the city, thus leading to more opportunities for rural and urban women to interact.

Indigenous assets for use in developing Thailand.

1968 – Despite the supposed equality of those living in a democracy, the Thai government seems to retain absolute decision-making power when it comes to government projects. This is evidenced where farmers are exhorted to use new technology for cultivation, which results in the farmers being pushed further and deeper into debt.

Thai character and it’s development

The Confucian heritage among the tribes.

A study of hill tribes in a mountainous corner of Chiang Rai Province from 1963-1979. Originating in southern China, the six tribes - Lahu, Lisu, Yao, Karen and Meo – perceive themselves as Chinese, and remain influenced by their Confucian heritage. Three proprieties in particular are mandatory for a ‘barbarian’ moving into the world of the ‘civilized’: respect for elders/superiors, proper dress and proper manners.