Lang Arts Year 1

Appreciating Story Setting

June 09

Begin by finding out more about Thai village life. Here are some suggested sources: http://www.chiangmai_chiangrai.com/the_thai_village.html http://www.chiangmai_chiangrai.com/village_life.html http://www.chingmai.chiangrai.com/village_lifestyle_simplicity.html from which information is extracted for this worksheet. The village the centre of Thai life The village has always been the centre of Thai life. Called moobaan, which means the village where h_________ is by the Thais, this is an accurate term because the f_________, the home and the v________ are one and the same. A close-k_______ working and living unit, the village is where the ma ority of Thai !eo!le are born and raised. "ven those who live in the large cities of the country hold many of the village v________ in their hearts. Thai villages usually consist of about #$$ homes and about %$$ !eo!le, but many are much smaller and some are a little larger. They are nearly all f__________ communities and they have been there for generations and some even for centuries. The c________-knit nature of the Thai village and the e__________ security that the lifestyle generates has made village culture dee!ly ingrained in the ma ority of Thai !eo!le. &n a village, everyone knows one another. 'eo!le coo!erate, hel! one another, !rotect one another and develo! human b________ which take the already e(tended Thai family out further to include non-blood relatives whom urbanites would sim!ly call friends or neighbours.

A sense of community and identity Children growing u! in a Thai village are among the most cared for and secure children in the world. They grow u! in an environment where they receive the l_________ of the community and at the same time learn the r_____________ within both the family and the village community. They have the t___________ of their elders and therefore a freedom which is !erha!s unmatched in most of the world. There is always someone to look after them, to t_________ with them, and to g_________ them. These factors hel! nurture and strengthen the sense of identity that !eo!le have with their village community.

CAPTURING YOUR I PR!""ION" ake notes of your impressions of the Thai village that !awan lives in as you read the book "#ing to the !awn$. To what extent does the story setting mirror life in the Thai countryside%

The Thai )illage * A!!reciating +tory +etting

,ear # -ang Arts . kgy

The #at $ centre of the village community The centre of the village community today is the /uddhist t________ or wat. The older wats in !articular were constructed by the villagers themselves, a concerted effort which enhances the sense of community. /esides serving as a !lace of worshi!, the wat is also a !lace for village meetings and social events, and often a !lace where children attend elementary school. "ntering the m___________, if only for a month, is an e(tremely im!ortant event in the life of a male Thai. &n a traditional Thai village, youths enter a wat at the age of 0$ and it is an im!ortant festive occasion for all. )illagers will ask the a_________ of the %at to intervene on their behalf in asking the s!irit of the land for !ermission to build a new house and even !urchases such as trucks, cars or motorcycles are taken to him for a blessing. +o much of village life is c___________- oriented that nearly all matters from birth to death, including illnesses, are village affairs. Two of the many characteristics distinguishing the Thai from other !eo!les originate in the traditional village. 1ne is the conce!t of s_________ or fun, arising from a s!irit of socialising and sharing among villagers. The other is known as b______ k_______ and torbtaen boon koon& or doing and returning f_________. )illagers hel! one another with building a new house, !lanting and harvesting cro!s, and !roviding hel! in times of illness or trouble. &n Thai villages where !eo!le are basically !oor, and where life and nature often come together to make things difficult, these conce!ts of fun and favours are very im!ortant.

CAPTURING YOUR I PR!""ION" ake notes of the temple setting and your impressions of the head abbot in "#ing to the !awn$. !o you think they are credibly portrayed based on what you have learnt about religious faith in a Thai village community% a microcosm! of the village itself

The traditional Thai village house

2 microcosm * formal something small that contains or re!resents all the features or 3ualities of something larger

The Thai village house is a large, o______-room wooden structure raised form the ground, where all members of the immediate e(tended family live. The one room is used as bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen, and corners are set aside for storage, and for some !rivacy. ,et there is no real !__________ in a Thai village house. This lifestyle which begins in the family home breeds a familiarity with lack of !rivacy and a communal form of living. This has resulted in an uncanny t__________ for others and their habits as the individual lives his own life, hardly !resuming to tell another what he should or should not do. The Thai village house is generally comfortable and functional. There is a !________ for everyone. 1ther villagers do not hesitate to walk in and sit down, and when !eo!le want to go to slee!, they do. 1n ground level, below the raised house, is a s!ace for farming, a_________ or machinery.

The Thai )illage * A!!reciating +tory +etting

,ear # -ang Arts . kgy

The Thai village

a sym"ol of simplicity and tradition

Today, Thailand has bustling cities, with all the traffic, skyscra!ers and myriad entertainment of urban life. 4evertheless, it is in the villages that the Thailand of old lives on, and it is there that one can best a!!reciate the uni3ue s!irit of the Thai !eo!le. A Thai !oet had this to say about returning to live in his ancestral village after staying in the city for a long !eriod of time. Here ' no presents to give anyone no beautiful colours& lights and concrete roads no noisy sounds of confusion or heaps of noise from engines& no cries for freedom or honour and rank& no talk of systems and technology& no textbooks or classrooms. Here ' only (uietude& life& love and work only goodwill& warmth and kindness which together& mean "village$

"ach northern Thai village is surrounded by !______ fields 5in the lowlands6 or 5in the u!lands6 by field cro!s, by s________, swam!s and g_________ lands. 7any village houses are constructed of bamboo, in front of which a ladder leans, and the roofs are of grass or leaves. -arge families * grandfather, grandmother, father, mother and children * live together, and also have buffalo, cattle or c________ underneath the raised floor of the house. 8hen dawn breaks, smoke drifts overhead, as the womenfolk !re!are food. Then everybody wakes u! and goes to the fields to !lough the land, to grow food or harvest it. 8hen twilight comes, they make their way home, and sit down to dinner and the latest village news, or sim!ly talk or !lay traditional s________. 8hen the rainy season is over, r________ and other cro!s are ready for harvest. 1n the rain fed agricultural land, the fields lie fallow during the dry season, so the villagers go to the mountains or forests in search of wild game, brushwood, herbs or fish from streams. ,oung !eo!le may go to town to hire out as labourers, waiters or drivers for a little tem!orary income before they return home again at the start of the ne(t rainy season.

YOUR I PR!""ION" AN& R!'(!CTION" )eview your impressions of Thai village life as you read "#ing to the !awn$. How far do you think infong Ho has succeeded in giving her story a credible setting with true to life characters%

The Thai )illage * A!!reciating +tory +etting

,ear # -ang Arts . kgy

The Thai )illage * A!!reciating +tory +etting

,ear # -ang Arts . kgy