An Essay About Thailand Culture

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Thailand is a very beautiful country inside and out. It has such rich culture, and gorgeous scenery. It has something in it for everyone. Thailand is located in Southeast Asia and is about the size of Utah and Nevada combined. Researchers believe that Thai culture, and especially music culture originated from Southern China. However there are very few legal documents that go back to the early history of their music. There is, however information available about their music system dating back to the Bangkok Period. This provides us with lists of instruments and ensembles they had. We also know that in 1238 the first capital of Siam at the time, Sukhothai had Music widely performed throughout the area. There were many key points in history that helped to shape the way that Thailand culture to the way it looks today. These points ended up affecting not only the musical identity of the country, but rather the country as a whole. Events such as the unexpected warfare with the Cambodians and Burmese that they endured through for four centuries. This constant warfare made rather large impacts on cultural and musical affairs, and how locals searched for inspiration.
Thailand was originally named Siam, however in 1949 it got renamed to Thailand. The name “Thailand" comes from the word thai, meaning "free". So Thailand directly translates into “Free land” or “Land of free”. Coincidentally Thailand is actually the only country in Asia that was never colonized by Europe! Thailand has a very rich cultural diversity throughout the country. Their population is a mixture of ethnicities from different parts of Asia. The majority of these individuals are Thai and speak Malay and follow the Muslim Religion. The rest of the population is a mixture of...

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... allowed folk and classical music to still have a firm foundation in the overall culture of Thailand.
Even though not many of Thailand’s composers “made it big” in the country’s history, there are a few individuals that stand out in in the growth and development of the country’s music. Individuals such as Phra Chen-Duriyan; the composer of Thailand's national anthem. As well as royal individuals like King Rama ll who was very interested in the listening and playing of all types of music and encouraged Thai people to become more involved with it, and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn who encouraged much of Thailand’s youth to become interested in Traditional Thai music.
It’s very clear that Thailand is a beautiful and fascinating country that we still have a lot to learn from. From it’s extremely diverse cultures and lifestlyes, to its beautiful art forms and music.

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