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Culture
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Thailand
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Thailand has a Theravada Buddhism, which is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It has been the prominent religion of Sri Lanka and the continental Southeast Asia. The Theravada Buddhism is important to modern day Thai beliefs and identity. In the southern parts of Thailand the religion is mainly Islam. There are many varieties of ethnic groups that populate Thailand. Some groups even spill over into Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. They have all maintained traditional way of the life in spite of a strong Thai cultural influence.
Very significant in the Thai society is Ethnic Chinese, mainly in and around Bangkok. The cohabitation has let the Ethnic Chinese to hold some power over the political and economic sectors. The most worth mentioning is the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who held power from 2001 until September 19, 2006 until he was ousted by a military coup d’état in September 2006. Like most Asia cultures they have a great amount for their elders and ancestors are a very important part of Thai spiritual practices.
The people of Thailand have a great sense of hospitality and generosity. Seniority is an important concept in the Thai culture as well. Thai people have such respect for the elders that they bow to the feet of their parents or grandparents in a way that shows honor. The elders rule the family and they make all the family decisions. It is a sign of disrespect to question any decision an elder makes.
Thai Boxing is the national sport just as we have Baseball. It is native martial arts also. It has a new popularity in the beginning of the 1990’s. Its popularity has spread all over the world. It is similar in martial arts and it also exists in other Southeast Asian countries. The Muay Thai has full contact rules that allows strikes to include the elbows, throws ands knees. Recently, association football has taken over Muay in the most popular sports event in Thailand. It is not too uncommon to see Thai people cheering their favorite English Premier League teams on TV.
As part of the standard greeting in Thailand, it is a prayer like gesture called the Wai. There are some strong taboos that go with the greeting. The taboos include touching someone’s head or pointing with the feet, the head is considered the most sacred part of the body. Also, by stepping over someone over is considered insulting. Even sliding a book or other documents across a table is considered a bad omen. Over time and through modernization the taboos are not so superstitious anymore, they are slowly fading out.
Over all the culture in Thailand has changed over the years. They have free press there. They have English, Thai and Chinese papers in circulation and Thailand is the largest newspaper market in South East Asia with a circulation of 13 million copies in 2003.
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