Thailand Voice

Anthropologist Michael Moerman spent 1959-61 in the village Ban Ping, Chiang Kham district, Chiang Rai province to do anthropology fieldwork. One of the publications based on this research is the 1969 paper A Thai village headman as a synaptic leader , which I found in the book… Read full story >>>

Thanks to Drew Kamthong , we can bring you these great pictures shot from high up in All Seasons Place on Wireless Road . The photos were taken earlier today, as protesters massed outside the US embassy in Wireless Road. Following their performing of a blood-pouring ritual at the… Read full story >>>

The cover of “Nation Weekender” this week provides a poignant headline: “Chase Away the Amataya; What You Get is Amataya.” What that really means is that the Red Shirts’ campaign to get rid of “amataya” — the so-called “elite” — may end up with their getting “amataya” any away. If the protestors… Read full story >>>

The year 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit in the both the Chinese and Thai Zodiac. 2011 will be a Metal Rabbit year. The Year of the Rabbit will begin on 3rd February 2011 and close 22nd January 2012. The Rabbit is the 4th animal in the Thai Zodiac. The Year of … Read full story >>>

From a reader who was in the vicinity of the red shirt protests as they went to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s house comes this photo: The reader writes: As a Spanish-speaker, I was startled to see a s… Read full story >>>

Yesterday I discovered the website deepsouthwatch featuring independent news on the three southernmost Muslim provinces troubled by the insurgency since 2004. Most welcome is of course the English section of the site. I only checked the captions yesterday however, so it was via … Read full story >>>

Dear, dear Thai rooster, where did you go wrong? We had such high hopes and expectations for you growing up. Didn’t your parents tell you to stay in school and complete your education? Everyone knows the value of finishing what you start. Well… Read full story >>>

Published on October 6 was an announcement by the Department of provincial administration (DOPA) on an award for the subdistrict headmen, village headmen and assistant village headmen. A total of 58 officials from 20 provinces did get awarded for the month of September. As the the title of the announcement already… Read full story >>>

Back in February I reported on the planned salary increase for the subdistrict and village headmen, their assistants and the subdistrict doctor. I now discovered the publication in the Royal Gazette which officially announces the new salaries. It was published … Read full story >>>

Today is the village and subdistrict day (วันกำนันผู้ใหญ่บ้าน), celebrated every year to honor the works of these special officials, who are both elected by popular vote but are still paid officials under the Ministry of the Interior. As found on the Panyathai wiki , the date August 10 was the date of the first election of a … Read full story >>>

An interesting contrast can be found in the description of village headmen elections in the 1990s as found in the book Democracy, Development and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand by Daniel Arghiros, and a shorter description from the 1960s in the paper ” A … Read full story >>>