Thailand

Abstract

Delimiting a discussion of “Thai music” to the peoples living within the borders of the Kingdom of Thailand masks the true extent of the “Tai people,” a variety of linguistically related groups found in northern Vietnam, southwestern China, throughout Laos, and in northern Burma. While the majority of people living in present-day Thailand are described as “Siamese Thai,” to distinguish them from the “Laotian Thai” living in the northeastern region, the Thai population, and as a result Thai culture, is made more complex by the fact that a great many other ethnic groups long ago blended together, including Chinese, Khmer, and Mon. In addition, there are several non-Thai ethnic groups living within Thailand including Khmer in the lower northeast, small groups of Mon-Khmer in the upper northeast, Malay in the deep south, and a variety of upland minorities in the north. Thailand today is comprised of 76 provinces with a total population of 64.6 million (July, 2006). Bangkok (Krungthep Mahanakhon [“City of Angels”]), with a population of approximately 10 million, dominates the country, while Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Chiangmai are the next largest cities. The great central plain is drained by the country’s most important river, the Chao Phraya, which empties into the Gulf of Siam just below Bangkok.