Creative Buddhist Handicrafts of Community in Northern Thailand

Authors

  • Prateep Peuchthonglang

Abstract

This research was aimed to study history, form, type and patterns of Inventive Buddhist
Craftsmanships of Society in Northern Thailand. It called “Lanna lantern”, which Included traditional and
application production forms. It is a qualitative research, which uses observation and interviewing. The
research area was in Mueang Satar Luang Community, Nong Hoi Subdistrict, Mueang District, Chiang
Mai Province, Thailand. The key informants, including folk sages, community leaders, religious leaders,
producers, and traders, were totally 59 key informants by using purposive sampling. The data collection
Methods were document analysis and in-depth interview. The results have shown that: 1) Lanna lantern
is Intellectual life which intergrade Brahmanism and Buddhism. These were created through art for
worshiping the Buddha in the Yi Peng festival (Loy Krathong) according to the belief that the light from
the lanterns will give them a good life and prosperity. There are 4 types of Lanna lamps that Mueang Satar
Luang Community has produced: (1) lantern holder, (2) hanging lantern, (3) floor lantern and (4) Konming
lantern, which divided out 10 types of lanterns: (1) Sema Dhammajak lantern or octagonal lantern (2) Jar
lantern (3) Gra-Jang lantern (4) Star lantern (5) Ngiaow lantern (6) Hoo Kratai lantern (7) Gra-Bok lantern
(8) Phat lantern (9) Eo lantern and (10) Japanese lantern. There are 16 Decorative Ornamentation patterns
appreciatingly such as Dok Bua, Dok Jok, 12 zodiac animals, etc. 2) The traditional production of Lanna
lanterns used natural materials but nowadays, the application production in modern styles use available
materials in the market that are uncomplicated to find and cut the time in production. There are 5 main
steps of the traditional production and the application production: 1) preparing the equipment for making
the lantern’s structure, 2) wrapping mulberry paper or textile on the structure, 3) intergrading the lantern
tail, 4) folding and dress for the decoration and 5) decorating the lantern to the decoration design

Published

2020-11-01

Issue

Section

Articles