The Social Movement of the Phuan in Thailand

Abstract

Problem statement: The changing, modernization and globalization had the impact to the Phuan ethnic in Thailand. They faced the problem to adapt themselves and they returned to have ethnic resurgence. The purpose of the article were to study the social movement forms of social organization and to study the causal factor effecting or involving the identity construction in various contexts like capitalism and marginality. Approach: It was a qualitative research. Data collection included interviews and participation observations, document analysis and data fields. Research data was classified into groups on study topic and analyzed on the purpose of study by using descriptive analysis. Informants included 65 key informants were the Phuan informants from 4 provinces were Nhong Khai, Sukhothai, Nakhon Nayok and Lopburi. Results: The results of the study were as follows: The social movement of the Phuan in 1975 a group of the Phuan people who separately earned their living in Bangkok made an appointment to gather, interact and hold the meeting and having the get-together party starting from a small group and gradually enlarging later. In 1977, they establish the club and draft the regulations for enforcement. There were some Phuan volunteers to study as the Phuan co-ordinators in their own provinces. In the first meeting, there were 8 representative attendants’s provinces from 25 provinces-Nakhon Nayok, Pracheen Buri, Chacherngsoa, Suphan Buri, Singh Buri, Sukhothai, Pichit and Lop Buri. The organization for social and cultural operation movement in the form of club was an obvious starting point of the Phuan identity construction and resurgence and became the first step to collect the resource and capital for establishing the foundation and Thai Phuan Monks United-geographical Organization of Thailand (Sahaphoomsong Thai Phuan). The Phuan organization was firstly for collecting groups for only cultural and traditional preservation. Because they believed that even though some parts of traditional culture were destroyed by globalization, some other parts were still existing especially ethnic consciousness, shared descent feeling and social value which changed more slowly than material culture and could be resurged. In fact, the present state of 30 years old Thai Phuan Club and foundation with steadily increasing members from various walks of life from the Phuan themselves and outsiders. From this point of view, it meant that opening more space or public exposure of the Phuan society was to satisfy social acceptance needs or to be regarded as equivalent part of national state society and deserved "hearing" in the public forum involved in their own interest, economic, politic and social status. Conclusion: The using of culture as the tool for group collection and coordination was the best way of constructing and motivating the sense of selfness and same party of the Phuan. Thus, the Phuan culture was the Phuan social practice at present.