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Thai for
A glass-like material obtained by baking a fused mixture of sand and clay. The term also refers to glazed pottery and is derived from the Italian town of Faënza. Often used for coloured tile work.
A Muslim who has taken a vow of poverty. In Muslim countries usually a hermit who does penance, lives from alms and chastises himself. The term is however often wrongly used for yogis who perform supernatural acts. An implement used since antiquity to either induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling oneself or to ward off insects, or to conceal ones face or a weapon, to signal someone, or one specific oriental folding fan known as the tessen or iron fan, even as a weapon. There are many kinds of oriental fans such as the folding fan, the fixed leaf fan or screen fan, etc. Most fans are handheld but some may be attached to the ceiling and moved by pulling strings, others may be placed on a stick and moved by turning the stick around manually. The folding fan was invented in Japan in the 8th century and taken to China in the 9th century. In Thai their generic name is pad and their name may be specified after the material or fabrics they are made of, e.g. pad bai laan (fig.), a fan made of the leaf (bai) of a certain species of palm (laan). But they may also be named after their purpose, e.g. pad yot (fig.), literally 'fan of rank', a fan used in certain religious and royal ceremonies (fig.). They can be made of silk, bamboo, palm leaves, paper (kradaat sah), feathers, etc. and are often beautifully decorated. In the past there even was a fan made of steel which was used as a weapon in ancient oriental warfare and on which a certain style of tai chi chuan (fig.) is based. Folding fans are also very popular in several oriental dances as well as in ngiw, Chinese opera. In Chinese a fan is called shàn (扇), a word that sounds the same as the Chinese word for 'good' or 'merit' (善), and is thus regarded as a symbol for perfection. Bo Sang district in the amphur San Kamphaeng of Chiang Mai province is Thailand's largest producer of traditional folding fans. See also padwaanlawichanie, talapat and pad daam jiw.
Chinese. 'Square hole coin'. Name for ancient Chinese coins with a round shape and a square hole in the middle. They are cast rather than stamped and made from copper, brass or iron. The shape is symbolic with the round outside representing Heaven and the square hole in the center representing Earth or the country China, referring to guo (国), the Chinese character for 'country', that equally is surrounded by a square. Different kinds of this type of coin were used in China between the 2nd Century BC and 20th Century AD. The hole enables the coins to be strung together to create a higher value and for easy transportation. This practice continues still today with yasui qian (fig.), worn for protection against sickness and death.
Name for the Chinese god of business who is also a civilian Chinese wealth god. Legend has it that he was an important figure in the Spring and Autumn Period (ca. 770 BC to 403 BC), a distinguished politician, strategist and a money-making businessman who was also very gifted and wise. He was honored as an excellent minister for governing the country and for helping King Goujian put together and train an army. He accumulated great wealth of which he distributed much to the people and thus became a Cai Shen. farang (ฝรั่ง) 1. Thai term for any Caucasian or white foreigner. It is derived from the Thai word farangset, meaning 'Français' or 'French' and was initially used some 400 years ago, during the Ayutthaya period when the country -then called Siam- was first confronted with foreign explorers from Europe, many of them French. Although the term sounds rather xenophobic and is used partially due to the nationalistic mindset of the Thai people, there is in fact no insult intended, even if there are more official and refined words to describe foreigners, such as 'khon/chao tahng chaht' and 'khon/chao tahng phrathet', words with a wider meaning as they refer to all foreign people, irrespective of race. Whereas the word 'farang' is commonly used for Caucasian people, the word 'khaek' refers to people of Indian descent and means 'guest' or 'visitor', and the terms 'khon piw dam' and 'khon negro' refer to people with a dark skin. Furthermore, the Vietnamese are referred to as Yuan and the Cambodians as Kmen (Khmer). See also huan. 2. Thai. The psidium guajava or guava (fig.).
Thai term for Français or French. From which the shortened word farang is derived, a general name for Caucasian or white foreigners. Name of the aircraft that in January 1911 carried out the first flight in Thailand, operated by the Belgian pilot Charles Van den Born.
A fountain used for ritual ablutions in a mosque. Chinese for 'wasp' or 'bee'. It has the same sound and tone as the word feng which means 'abundant' or 'plentiful', but is written with a different character. Hence wasps and bees are regarded a symbol for abundance. In Thai wasps and bees are either called pheung, taen or toh (fig.), depending on the sort.
Chinese for 'abundant' or 'plentiful'. See also feng. Chinese name for a kind of a mythical bird similar to a phoenix. Fenghuang is actually a compound word, comparable to kilen. The prefix feng refers to a male species whereas the suffix huang refers to the female. Both have become blurred into a single entity with no distinction of gender, having both male and female connotations. It is a composition of many birds and is often portrayed with the head of a golden pheasant, a short hooked beak like that of a parrot, the body of a mandarin duck, the legs of a crane bird, the tail of a peacock and the wings of a swallow. Fenghuang is considered an Immortal Bird and a representation of high merit and grace. It also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. In Thailand it is compared to the hongse.
Chinese. 'Wind and water'. Natural elements of wind and water used in a geomantic system which determines the orientation of dwellings, cities, and graves in order to harmonize correctly with nature. A dousing rod and astrological compass (luopan) are used for this purpose which is also practiced in contemporary oriental architecture. An obsolete Thai coin, equivalent to about twelve satang. Thai name for bougainville. Also ton tarut jien. Latin. Name for banyan tree, a sacred tropical tree having many aerial roots that develop into additional trunks (fig.). In Hinduism it is known as the tree under which the god Vishnu was born, and in Buddhism it is the tree to which the Buddha moved to stay, seven days after he had gained Enlightenment. It is therefore often confused with the bodhi tree, the tree under which the Buddha sat at the moment he gained bodhiyan (Enlightenment). Latin. Tree of the genus ficus, belonging to the family of trees with the Thai name krai.
Latin. Scientific name for the 'tree of knowledge', also known as a bodhi tree due to the narrative of Siddhartha Gautama who sat beneath a ficus religiosa in Bodh Gaya, to meditate until he gained Enlightenment or bodhiyan, and thus became the Buddha. The leaves of the ficus religiosa resemble the shape of a lotus, a metaphor for Enlightenment and thus a clear reference. After the original tree was cut in 600 AD, cuttings were replanted wherever Theravada Buddhism was introduced and practiced. In literature often confused with the banyan tree, the tree to which the Buddha moved to stay, seven days after he had gained Enlightenment.
See filigree. Fine ornamental work made of metal wire, usually gold or silver.
Thai for opium. Architectural term for a spire, in Thai called monkut (crown), which refers to the ornament placed on top of a stupa, tower or dome. Also found on the covers of some vessels. See pratad fai. The supreme primordial Buddha in the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Budhhism, who created himself from the original void. In true essence this Buddha is abstract, illusionary and inconceivable, and can therefore not be represented in art, unless in his revealed and more earthly forms such as Vajradhara and Vajrasattva, as found in Khmer art, and the various bodhisatvas. Vairochana is considered the Javan Adi-Buddha. Usually depicted in royal attire or in hermaphrodite unity with a consort, a principle in Vajrayana Buddhism known as yabyum. Also Adi-Buddha. See dukkha and Four Noble Truths. Material used to make artifacts, either carved sculptures or ground and moulded in combination with a resin.
See kaangkaeng le. Name for a kind of ornamental palm with the Latin name caryota mitis. Its spadix (cluster of flowers of a palm) and clusters of fruit resemble that of the areca palm. Its root is used in medicine and its soft inside is eaten, dipped in a condiment or sauce, usually nahm phrik, a sauce made of shrimp paste and chilies. Its leaves resemble a fishtail, hence its name. In Thai called tao rahng.
See talaat nahm. An ornament carved or painted in a leaf design. Thai. 'Sword Dance'. Name of a northern style dance from Chiang Mai in which the dancer handles several swords simultaneously, showing the pride in the former martial art and defense of Lan Na.
Thai. 'Fingernail Dance'. Name of a northern style dance from Chiang Mai in which the dancers wear eight lep, aluminum finger pieces, allegedly as a replacement for the candles that are sometimes used. Sometimes these long fingernails are adorned with red pompoms, a possible representation of the flame with a candle. Sometimes transcribed Fawn Lep.
foo (福) Chinese. 'Blessing', 'good luck' and 'happiness', especially with regards to material benefits. Foo is one of the most popular Chinese characters and is used in Chinese New Year or Trut Jihn. It regularly appears as an imprint or as an inscription on Chinese temples and in art, or as a jewel. It is also often posted upside-down (fig.) on the front door of a house or an apartment. The upside-down foo means good luck already came, since the character for 'upside-down' in Chinese sounds the same as the Chinese character for 'came'. Foo is also one of the Three Star Gods, Hok Lok Siw or Fu Lu Shou, and is often worshipped as an informal Chinese wealth god. The word fu also has a sound loan word meaning 'bat', the mouse-like nocturnal flying mammal. Therefore also the bat has become a symbol for good luck and often appears in Chinese iconography (fig.) as well as in Chinese art (fig.). Also transcribed fu. See also sang-i.
The four sights encountered by prince Siddhartha which made him renounce his royal life and become an ascetic. In Theravada Buddhism these are an old man, a sick man, a dead body and a mendicant ascetic who went around begging without any form of attachment or hate, and with inner peace. Attracted by the qualities of this monk and the condition of the three others Siddhartha eventually exchanges his princely life for a religious one. Often depicted in temple decorations. See also the Thai name thevathut sie.
The fundamentals of Buddhism as taught by the Buddha. The first noble truth is the recognition that suffering exists; secondly, that suffering is caused by the craving for and clinging to that which is pleasant; thirdly, that after discovering the origin of suffering one can put an end to it; and fourthly, that this can be done by following the Eightfold Path. Ritual in which the outcome of certain events are interpreted by reading the bones of a fowl. It is usually practiced by a shaman and the fowl used may be a chicken, hen, cock or even a small chick, depending on the occasion or function. In Thailand it is still common practice with most of the northern hill tribes. Prior to the prognostication the shaman will conduct an invocation. He holds the fowl with his left hand and his right hand holds the neck facing eastwards while reciting his oaths. After the incantation he kills the fowl, takes out the thighbones and pricks them with tiny pointed bamboo sticks. The right thighbone is extracted first and then the left one. They are then place next to each other and pricked with the bamboo sticks which position in relation to each other can than be read. Fowl bone prognostication is practiced since ancient times for settling discords, for guidance about certain major works, for hunting, in family affairs and for religious functions. A single bone can retain as many as seven sticks and the interpretation is rather complex. There are a total of 42 symbols that can branch off into various interpretations and a versed shaman has as much as 170 interpretations. According to Kayan lore the art of fowl bone prognostication started when an old man who wished to pass his legacy to his three sons earmarked a golden scroll for his firstborn, a silver scroll for the second son and a scroll of parchment for the youngest son. Since the oldest son lived far away and didn't come to collect his scroll as he was unaware of it, the youngest son took it over to him on his hill farm. On arrival he tried to explain about the scrolls but his brother was too busy to take heed and told him to wait. The youngest son grew bored of waiting and decided to keep the golden scroll for himself. He left the parchment scroll on a tree stump and returned home. After work the oldest son went looking for the scroll but couldn't find it and so asked his dog. It said it had eaten it and already dropped it as excrement. The man asked where it had dropped it and the dog said that a fowl had already eaten it. The man went to the fowl and asked the fowl where the excrement of the dog was. The fowl said it had been assimilated and it was now in its body, pointing with its wing tips to its thighbones. At the last resort the man had to read the bones of the fowl that had eaten the dung of the dog, interpreting the holes in them as if he was reading the script of the scroll.
Tree with the Latin name plumeria acutifolia, named after the seventeenth century French botanist Charles Plumier, who catalogued several tropical species. In total eight kinds are known, mostly deciduous trees and shrubs. It can grow up to nine meters high, but is usually smaller. It has a fairly bare structure and its green pointed leaves are thick, hard and glossy. Its branches contain a poisonous milky sap and they have scented, usually white, flowers with a yellowish centre and five petals (fig.) that flourish before the leaves sprout. Since it is often found at temples it is also called pagoda tree or temple tree (fig.). In Thai ton lanthom.
Mural painting in watercolor, or with earth pigments or minerals are applied onto wet lime plaster. Ornamental frame or decorated strip, often an horizontal band with figures, decorative designs or a decorative pattern. Pediment or gable field, like that of a gable board. The sculpturing of fruit into shapes and reliefs, usually to adorn banquets. The Thai is ponlamai kae salak, and if vegetables are used it is pak kae salak, although often one term is used to refer to both. Also called fruit sculpting.
See foo. Chinese 'bat'. Since the word fú means both 'bat' (the mouse-like nocturnal flying mammal) and 'good luck', the bat has become a symbol for good luck and therefore often appears in Chinese iconography (fig.) as well as in Chinese art (fig.). See also foo. Chinese names for Hok Lok Siw. Funan (ฟูนัน) The oldest Indianized kingdom in Indochina and precursor of Chenla. According to Chinese chronicles founded in the 1st century AD and the precursor to Cambodia. It dominated the valley regions of the Mae Khong and Chao Phya rivers between the 2nd and 6th centuries, exerting strong cultural influences on the area around the Thai Central Plains. |
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