Styles of Traditional Thai Houses in Chorakhe Yai Sub-District, Bangplama District, Suphan Buri Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study the styles of traditional Thai houses in Ban Sala Tha Sai and Ban Ko Phai in Chorakhe Yai Sub-District, Bangplama District, Suphan Buri Province, and to study the history and traditional way of life    of the  community.The samples were 17 Thai houses. The instruments of this research were the structured interview and the unstructured interview, participant observation and non-participant observation, and questionnaire. The results showed that the houses were divided by age into three groups: the first was over 40 years old house, the second was over 70 years old house and the third was100 years old and these three groups of houses can be classified by four 4 styles of houses: 1) single houses built from two raft houses, 2) six carved-wooden teak partition houses, 3) six single shingle-walled wooden houses, and 4) three multi-dwelling houses. In terms of lifestyle, the population is mainly Lao Wiang. There are a few Lao Phuan and Thai. Most of the population are farmers and employed laborers. The beliefs are mixed with Lao Wiang culture and Thai culture. The important factors that make Thai-style houses here exist are that farming is the main occupation. This means you don't have to travel far from home to work. The geographic landform is plain, with a canal flowing through and flooding every year. The Thai-style houses in these two communities are built on stilts to prevent flooding; the high basement of the houses of which the construction is parallel to the big Chorakhe Yai Canal is designed to protect them from yearly flooding. This is truly part of the local wisdom.