Thailand : People & Culture

These families are made up of several generations living in one house or in a group of houses called a compound.

» Traditional Thai music is a blending of musical elements from a number of cultures, such as Chinese, Khmer, and Indian. This applies not only to the instruments but also to the melodies. Therefore Thai music can be said to be derivative. Notwithstanding that fact, Thai music has developed into a distinct form, which is regarded as belonging to the 'high' musical cultures of Southeast Asia.

» Hardly ever seen these days except in the south are the shadow puppet plays known as "Nang Yai" and "Nang Thalung". Nang Thalung is the more popular of the two where puppets crafted from cow hide have strings attached for better character movements. The puppeteers then move these along with the music and comical dialogs. Meanwhile, Nang Yai have become rather rare these days and the puppets are larger in size than those of the Nang Thalung.

» Amongst the most famous of Thailand 's cultural show is the Khon. Khon masked drama evolved in the royal court of Siam, although its roots lies in folk dances of the countryside.

» The standard greeting in Thailand is a prayer-like gesture called the wai . Taboos include touching someone's head or pointing with the feet, as the head is considered the highest and the foot the lowest part of the body.