Boats: Local Wisdom Relations with Folk Life and Social Role in Central Region of Thailand

Abstract

The research aimed firstly to study local wisdom of boat building,
secondly to find out the relation of boats and way of life of people in the central
part of Thailand, and lastly to describe the changing role of boats in the diverting
social context of the central part of Thailand which included 10 provinces of the
Chao Phraya Basin. The data were collected from 3 groups of people regarding
the fields of information: 1) boat building, 2) boat usage, and 3) role of boat in
the present. Interviewing and participant observation were used to collect the
data, and descriptive analysis was used to analyzed the data.
The findings were as follow.
In terms of boat building, in the past the knowledge of boat building was
passed from generation to generation through the process of learning by doing.
Then, this kind of knowledge was taught in schools. Because of few numbers of
wooden boat builders and specialists, boats were then transformed to serve
specific purposes. Materials and technology in boat building were changed.
For the relation of boats and folk life, it was found that boats were
strongly related to economy. They were used for import and export goods. Boats
were also related to politics and Governance. Boats were also related to belief
and religion. People believed in holy spirit of boat guardian. Boats were related
to folk custom and royal custom.
For the role of boats, it could be stated that boats were still important to
society and people’s way of life because people used boats in their daily life.
People used boats for transportation. They also used boats in their occupations

which was local fishery and weighty goods transportation. This meant that boats
played an important role in strengthening community economy. In terms of
tradition, boats were used in long-tailed boat racing and royal robe offering
ceremony. In terms of tourism, boats were used in tourism-related businesses
such as floating market, traveling cruise and dinner cruise.