CHINESE HERITAGE ON THE WEST COAST OF SOUTHERN THAILAND: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO IDENTIFICATION AND CONSERVATION

Abstract

The West Coast or Andaman Coast of Southern Thailand comprises six provinces: Ranong, Phang-nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang, and Satun has a long history which have Chinese Cultural Heritage with very significant features. There are some very fine examples of Chinese-heritage architecture such as shophouses, Chinese Shrines, the first Governor’s Tomb and wooden houses showing the signs of Chinese clans over the doors that have significant features in this region. Moreover, one part of this Chinese culture is a hybridization called Peranakan Chinese which deeply blends customs and traditions from Thai, Malay, and Western culture along with its own indigenous Chinese culture. In addition, one of the most significant Chinese cultural influences on the architecture is Peranakan Chinese style which blends Chinese and European styles and this Peranakan Chinese Architecture has existed for more than one hundred years in this area. Another significant feature in this region is Peranakan Chinese Apparel. The women have exquisite dresses of flower-patterned blouses with sarongs called “Pa-tae”, which have very beautiful and graceful patterns. Furthermore, Chinese food is used for offering to deities and the local people’s ancestor to seal vows and to mark the different seasons and festivals. There are different kinds of food in this region that have significant features such as Chinese Roast Pork and Hokkien Fried Noodles. In addition, there are Chinese snacks such as Khanom Morlao and Roti Kapai. Moreover, there are Chinese sweetmeats such as Khanom Anggoo, Khanom Pak Tong Koh, and Khanom Khao Niao Aut. Furthermore, the significant Chinese cultural and religious activities in this area are Chinese God Worship Day, Chinese Ancestor Worship Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival, The Moon Festival, and Chinese Vegetarian Festival. Furthermore, all of these Chinese cultural and religious activities have been taking place for over a hundred years in this area. In addition, most of these Chinese cultural and religious activities has significant rituals which are different from other places in Thailand.

The purpose of this research project is to study Chinese history, Chinese cultural heritage and the background of the Chinese communities of the West Coast of Southern Thailand including conservation heritage management in this area. The result of this study will be to analyze the aforementioned aspects in order to recommend and contribute to interpretation plan, streetscape upgrades, conservation heritage management, and cultural tourism for Chinese Heritage on the West Coast of Southern Thailand.

The research gained in this paper involved many lengthy interviews with local people from the area over a period of many visits. In addition, to the first hand sources, a lot of information with comes from data revealed in literature associated with particular aspects which were important to describe details when the personal interviews were found to be insufficient for adequate descriptions of certain points.

It is hoped that this paper will be useful for those who want to study and conserve Chinese Heritage and pass their community identity on to future generations.

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