Book
Changing features of a rice-growing village in central Thailand: a fixed-point study from 1967 to 1993
Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco, • Tokyo • Published In 1995 • Pages:
By: Tomosugi, Takashi.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of economic and social change in a Thai village over a 25-year period. Although foreign capital stimulated this change, Tomosugi argues that pre-existing cultural patterns actually facilitated economic growth and development in the region. These patterns include periodic markets, extensive social networks based on kin and locale, and a shared Buddhist faith. Tomosugi first chronicles agricultural changes from the unique cultivation of floating rice varieties, which made use of the seasonal flooding of the vast Chaophraya basin, to the adaptation of high-yield varieties, which use fertilizers and government-built irrigation works. Tomosugi documents the socioeconomic change through the life histories of village members. He also focuses on the artificial flower-making industry, which has been very profitable for a few entrepreneurs, and is organized as a cottage industry, using mostly female labor. In his conclusion, Tomosugi comments on the importance of Buddhism in providing a basis for shared identity in face of change and also in the change in belief patterns from one in magic and malevolent spirits to one in money and markets.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Cereal agriculture
- Water supply
- Retail marketing
- Labor supply and employment
- Individual enterprise
- Rest days and holidays
- Prophets and ascetics
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Central Thai
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southeast Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1967-1993
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1946-1993
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tonyang village and vicinity, Angthong and Singburi provinces, Thailand
- NotesAdditional notes
- Takashi Tomosugi
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-117) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 97131698
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Thais