In Thailand, most customs practiced are connected with religious beliefs. In my life, I’ve only ever lived in Southern Thailand. There are many more practiced beliefs that are celebrated throughout the country that I have never seen or participated in.

In ever country that you visit there will be something that you don’t understand. This is because every country has their own culture, customs, beliefs, religious views, diverse communities, and practices. The majority of Thai people are Buddhist, but there is also a very large population of Muslims. This often causes some problems between the religions and communities, but on an everyday basis, you wouldn’t even notice. Although the Buddhist and Muslim religions are very different in some ways, they have adapted and connected through specific customs and ways of life. In Southern Thailand, it is very common to drive over a bridge, most likely close to a nearby town, and find full, red Fanta bottles lined on top of the bridge rails. This is because in Buddhism, everything has a spirit and has importance. To please the spirits of the river they must give an offering. Usually this offering is something sweet and fairly easy to find. The people often take the bottles and leave a straw in them to appease the spirits. Another common siting of something rather uncommon in the U.S. is to find large trees with colorful cloths wrapped around them. The tree has a spirit inside, and because of the trees size, the spirit is to be acknowledged for living so long. There is one day a year that people are allowed to touch the cloth so they may change it out for a new one. The cloths that are taken off the tree are then burned because they are an item that has been touched by a spirit. Many trees that have a cloth wrapped around them also have a spirit house.

This picture was taken on an uninhabited island that we took a family vacation on. Even though there aren't people currently living on the island at one point in time there was and they left a spirit house for the spirit of this tree.

The spirit house is often raised up and has an offering on the pedestal so that the spirit may have some food from the human world. It is important to leave food for the spirits often so that they will not become angry at the people. In certain places there are deities that have been crafted to show respect.

In Songkla Province there is The Great Serpent Nag is the deity of the vine creation of water as well as fertility for all living things.

This is Nag's Tail and I.

The people of Southern Thailand believe that Nag, the Great Serpent, sprays diving waters as to make people feel fresh and happy, as well as purify the blemishes which occur within our minds and bodies. As a result, Nag is one of the most highly respected deities of Southern Thailand. Locals frequently pay respect to Nag and ask him to forever bring happiness and good fortune to their lives. All over the island there are segments of the serpent.

This is an example of how the segments are spread all over Songkla. There is only a small segment here and they are like this all over the island.

The body is as long as the circumference of the island itself and a segment of the serpent is found on every corner of the island as well as in every park. The serpents head pours water out back into the ocean. Around the dragon’s neck are jasmine flowers. Covering the ground below is often covered in incense and there are always many cloths wrapped around the serpent’s head.

This is Nag's head and I.

The Great Serpent is a beautiful sculpture but my favorite is the mermaid. In an ancient folk tale a mermaid sat and combed her hair on a beautiful beach on a starry night. A young fishermen met and frightened her and she fled into the sea never to return. He was said to have waited for her but he never saw her again.

A full view of the mermaid and the Cat and Mouse Island in the background.

The mermaid is often covered in gold leaf to show her importance, respect, and luck. Thai people often cover her in gold leaf every 10 – 15 years. The statue sits on the beach looking in towards the people she protects and behind her is the ocean and the cat and mouse island.

On the mermaids arm there are jasmine flowers that people leave in respect. In the background the Cat Island is visible.

To understand why the Thai people, you must first understand their mindset and their religious views. They do many things to appease the spirits of their religion. Although it is mainly part of the Buddhist religion, there are some Muslims who participate because they share customs and holidays with them. However, there are ever fewer customs that Muslims partake in and Buddhists do not. Even though Muslims and Buddhists share some customs and strive to live in peace, at least in Thailand, their children go to different schools. It is often unusual to find Buddhists and Muslims that are close friends. They co-exist but disagree on many things. This, however, does not stop them from supporting each other. There are very few truly poor people in Thailand. Tourists often see people and think that they are homeless and have no money. Most times the community as a whole care’s for these people and may of them do have family and they bring their money home to share with them. The most important rule is Buddhism is you do good, you die good, you do bad, you die bad. This is why there is a low population of poverty. To help your neighbor and friend is to do good and to watch them suffer is to do bad. Many times the people who don’t have enough money for food will be offered food from vendors and every day a different vendor will provide food for them. Other times people in the community will give them money and make sure that they buy food with it. No matter how poor you are you will have a meal and somewhere to sleep.

(The photo shows my father Stephen and Triple D) In the village that my family most recently lived in this older man was one of the beggars and our friend. We bought him breakfast every day that we all ate at the market. He did have a family who cared for him and he stayed in their home but he didn't want to sit around all day so he would come to the market to listen to people and dig through the trash. He wanted an English nickname and so my mother and I named him Dumpster Diver Dude or Triple D for short. He was kind and could not speak very well but he was always happy.

Mindset and religious views are what shape a country. People all over the U.S. are losing their religious views and it is causing our democracy to fall apart. Thailand isn’t a perfect country and the grass is never greener on the other side of the fence, no matter where you are, but there will always be another place with a culture and community different than yours.

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help other. And if you can’t help them at least don’t hurt them.” ~Dalai Lama