Narathiwat (นราธิวาส)

Thai. ‘Residence of wise people’. Name of a province (map) and its provincial capital in South Thailand. The city has a population of approximately 41,000, and is situated 1,149 kms from Bangkok. The province borders the state of Kelantan in Malaysia, and the majority of its inhabitants speaks Yawi, a Malay dialect. The name Narathiwat, which derives from the Sanskrit words narah (नराः), meaning ‘men’ or ‘people’, and adhi-vas (अधि-वस्), meaning ‘to live’ or ‘to dwell’, is in use only since 1915. Formerly it was called Bang Nara and before that Meuang Ra Ngae, though some sources also mention the name Menara, a word said to mean ‘tower’ in Malay and which perhaps refers to the Sankalakhiri (สันกาลาคีรี) mountain range. Historically Narathiwat was the part of the Sultanate of Pattani, paying tribute to the Thai Kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, the Sultanate of Patani gained independence, but some 20 years later, during the reign of King Rama I it again came under Thai control and in 1909, it was fully integrated into Siam as part of the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, that was negotiated with the British Empire, then colonizing peninsular Malaya. Along with Yala, Narathiwat became part of the monthon Pattani. Today there is still a small but active Muslim separatist movement that, after being dormant for many years, erupted again on 4 January 2004, trying once again to liberate the deep South from Thai rule. The province has 13 amphur. See also Narathiwat data file. 回