Thailand Arts, Culture and Lifestyle - Majestic cultural heritage

Khmer Kingdom
Davaravati Kingdom
Lanna Kingdom
Sukhothai Kingdom
Ayutthaya Kingdom
Rattanakosin Island

Thailand's rich cultural heritage, its wealth of arts and crafts, and the unique ways of life have and still attracted visitors from all over the world.

Thailand's cultural heritage was influenced by ancient India when the Indian merchants and scholars set foot and gradually settled in Southeast Asia some 2,300 years ago. It continued for several centuries. Buddhist religion and popular myth are the most obvious examples. Much of Thailand's royal tradition is also rooted in Indian culture.

Buddhism is thought to have first come to Thailand at Nakhon Pathom, while Indian concepts of divine kingship first took root in the Khmer empire. By the 6th century AD, many independent states were flourishing in the region we now know as Thailand. One of these was the Mon's Dvaravati kingdom. Mon dominance over central Thailand has been diminished by the power of an expanding Khmer empire. Eventually, the Khmer became so powerful that they ruled the entire area. Only the southern isthmus where the Srivijaya civilisation had taken root was unaffected.

Towards the end of the 13th century, Khmer power in this area waned and new kingdoms dominated by the Thai race developed, including the northern Lanna kingdom. Beginning by nibbling away at the perimeter of the Khmer empire at Sukhothai and in Lanna some 700 years ago, the Thai race later established the glorious court at Ayutthaya, and eventually Bangkok. Over the past centuries, many peoples, among them the Chinese, Arabs, Malays and Westerners, have contributed to Thailand's cultural heritage.

Thailand's majestic cultural heritage inherited over the past centuries was dominated or influenced by many kingdoms emcompassing the area including the powerful Khmer. The remain of their cultural heritage can still be seen in many places throughout the kingdom.

The best example of Khmer culture is at Phimai, some 60 kilometres northeast of Nakhon Ratchasima. The old temple stands in the middle of the modem town. The outlines of the old fortified town can still be traced. It was strictly rectangular in plan, as were all Khmer settlements, and it was made doubtly secure by placing it on an artificial island.

The nearby Phanom Rung and Muang Tham sanctuaries are also two good examples. Other outstanding Khmer treasures in Thailand include the powerfully evocative sanctuary at Muang Singh in Kanchanaburi, and the imposing triple-spired shrines at Lop Buri.

Dvaravati culture was centred on the area between Nakhon Pathom, a littlefortified town some 50 kilometres west of Bangkok, and U Thong to the north. Its enduring emblem is Phra Pathom Chedi, the massive bell-shaped Buddhist shrine with its golden spire at Nakhon Pathom. This is where Buddhism is believed first to have been taught in Thailand. The chedi, at 120.45 metres, is the tallest Buddhist structure in the world.

Founded by King Mengrai, the northern Lanna kingdom had an exciting mixture of cultures due to its diverse populations and mountainous location. The main division was between the farmers and townspeople of the valleys and the hilltribes of the uplands. The hilltribes themselves represent several very distinct ethnic stocks, so that a multitude of languages, customs, beliefs, architectures, diets, and styles of dress exist harmoniously side by side.

Sukhothai, some 480 kilometres north of Bangkok, was the capital of the first truly Thai kingdom. Its third king, the great Ramkhamhaeng, is credited with devising the Thai alphabet from ancient Mon and Khmer scripts. The kingdom is credited with producing the most sublime religious art and sculpture ever seen in Thailand, and for manufacturing the most perfect pottery and Buddha images. Sukhothai also qeveloped the concept of the Thai town - set foursquare on the plain and protected by triple walls and intervening moats. This pattern was so successful in terms of defence (it allowed more wall forts) and flexibility to match the terrain that it was never abandoned.

Ayutthaya's art and architecture was a delicate blend of Dvaravati, Khmer, Mon, Lawa and Khmer cultures. The city site at the heart of the riverine system of the lower Chao Phraya basin was carefully chosen to allow a moated trapezoid plan and a water-borne way of life. Ayutthaya's sister city, Lop Buri, was just a short distance north. It shared in the capital's splendour. One of Thailand's greatest kings, Narai, built a palace there that can still be seen. It was these two glorious cities that Europeans first saw.

This golden age of Thai culture also produced the exquisite architecture and decoration at Bang Pa-in, a royal summer palace on the majestic Chao Phraya River just south of the capital, as well as the elegance and grace of Thai classical dance and theatre. Unhappily, all these fabulous glories were sacked by a Burmese invasion in 1767. All that remains of 417 glorious years are the ruins you Cfln see today. They are now a World Heritage site.

Present-day Bangkok continues the cultural heritage of Ayutthaya with Rattanakosin island as its heart containing the Grand Palace, Pramane Ground, and many other public symbols. The island is surrounded by water, with the Chao Phraya River on one curved side and the Bang Lamphu and Ong Ang canals on the other. Among many other indications of the same intent, the art and architecture of temples and palaces initially followed Ayutthaya styles quite deliberately. The great literary works of Ayutthaya, including the country's historical records, almost all of which had been destroyed, had to be recreated. The early Rattanakosin kings seized the opportunity to revise and update the country's legal system.