Co-existence between Lan Na Culture and Islamic Belief

 

Co-existence between Lan Na Culture and Islamic Belief

Thailand is the open society for all believes or religions. As we can see over the media whenever the national occasions occurs, like the Royal members’ birthday or new year, the representative of each religion will come up and express the feeling towards such events. This image rarely found in other countries. Moreover, Thailand is the country that provides spaces for those who are facing with trouble and looking for the place to shelter during the crisis period. Economically, Thailand gives the overseas traders the opportunity to work or invest in the country. For all these, are the important factors to the mix of cultures, believes and religions.

Whenever the term Islam or Muslim is raised, the pictures which appear beside that are the veils, hats, white caps, sarong, or the strictness of practices which seem to close those Muslims from the external world. However in the non-Muslim countries, it can be difficult to identify who is or is not Muslim because of the adjustment of Muslim to the cultural context and non-Muslim society.

It can be difficult to say when and how exactly Muslims migrated to Thailand. But it may be easy to separate the origin of those Muslims. Muslims in Thailand can be divided in to four main origin groups; Thai-Malayan Muslim (มลายู), Thai-Pakistan Muslim (ปาทาน), Thai-Yunnan Muslim (จีนฮ่อ), and Thai-Bengali Muslim (บังกาลี). The Muslim religion has gradually spread to every region of Thailand. Muslims from Malaysia, Iran, Java, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China have all made their way to Thailand, where they have settled peaceably with the native population. Guided by their religious beliefs and traditions, these Muslim people have integrated into Thai society without losing their own distinct cultural identity. Today, they are Thai and they live and work alongside other Thais in harmony.

            Southern part of Thailand is the area which has the biggest number of Muslim population. Another region of Thailand which has numbers of Muslim population is at the North up from Nakorn Sawan to Chiang Rai. We can arrange the population in order of origin group as follow: Bengali-Muslim living around the area of Chiang Mai, Tak, Mae-Hong-Son, and Lampang, Yunnan-Muslim often found in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, and Pakistan-Muslim usually live in the mid part of the North in the area of Pitsanulok and all around. Although these groups of origin have the same faith and practices that believe in the words of the holy Koran and practice under the teaching of Mohammad the Prophet, the behaviors of living can be different according to the society and external culture. Some rules of practices can be blocked to do according to the laws or rules of society. According to this, Muslims have to adapt and adjust them to suit the cultural and social context.

                As a member of Muslim society among northern culture, the speaker would like to add more information about living as a Muslim in Northern or Lanna context.

Lanna culture is well-known by its strong and powerful ways of life. It is the culture that based rightly upon the Buddhism and also relates to the daily life and the working as a network. These help people from other society who move to live in this area accept to behave as Lanna people. Moreover, the similarity of Muslims and Lanna people in living uniquely with religion leads to the acceptant of some Lanna custom to practice in daily life. Those customs that are accepted by many Muslims are as follow: New House ceremony, according to the practice of Islam, there’s nothing to do before or after the house is constructed. Just bring stuff in and live. Later on many people choose the lucky day to build and to get in to the house. Asking for the Muslim leader to come to the house for good luck and have some party. The wedding and engagement, many people like to have the dinner in Northern style (Kantoke). Moreover, many husbands have to move to the wives’ house according to the Lanna custom. Funeral in Islam has to be done within 24 hours and there is no ritual thing to do at night time like inviting people to come and have dinner or anything for 3, 5, or 7 nights. But nowadays many houses try to have a night time gathering in order to pray for the dead people and prepare food for those who come.

            These new customs seem not to be told in the Koran or the practices of Mohammad, but it is not wrong in doing this. Gathering people to participate in doing something together may strengthen the relation among them. In funeral gathering at night may make people to realize that the death is all around and to warn them to live rightly as the God wish. However, the cultural mix which is happening still base on the practice and principals of Islam. In contrary, something which is mixed or accepted too much may lead to the misinterpretation or the confusing in the real practice of Islam or even those practices from another religion.