A small insight into Thailands social hierarchy

Part One: About the language

This is a nice little article from the Bangkok Post (28.11.2010) that  provides a rough insight into the complicated (and sometimes medieval) hierarchical structure of Thai society. It explains why so many Thais ask you about your income or how rich you are when you meet them the first time. They just want to find out where to place you in their hierarchical system and how they have to deal with you.

Dieser Artikel aus der Bangkok Post vom 28.11.2010 bietet einen groben Überblick in die komplizierte (und manchmal mittelalterlich anmutende) hierarchische Struktur der Thailändischen Gesellschaft. Er erklärt warum so viele Thais euch beim ersten Treffen nach dem Einkommen oder den Vermögenverhältnissen fragen. Sie wollen einfach nur herausfinden, wo sie euch in ihrem hierarchischen System einfügen müssen und wie man sich euch gegenüber zu verhalten hat.

Hierarchy and subordination are also very important in Thai buddhism. Women are regarded as unworthy and they are not allowed to touch monks or  to hand over food or donations directly. Hierarchie und Unterordnung spielen auch im Buddhismus Thailands eine wichtige Rolle. Frauen gelten als "unwürdig" und es ist ihnen verboten Mönche zu berühren oder ihnen direkt Essen oder Opfergaben zu übergeben.

The politics of being polite (Bangkok Post, 28.11.2010)

Language can define a social hierarchy. Thai - beautiful and intricate -  is also a tongue that fixes each social class in its proper place. The way we refer to each other by simply using variations of the word ''you'' signifies the social gap between the nai and the prai. Here are just a few examples: Mueng is an impolite word. It can be used as an insult or in anger. However, it can also be used to denote familiarity. Two friends referring to each other as mueng is normal and acceptable. A nai may call a prai mueng. But a prai would never address a nai in that manner.

Tua-eng (or tua for short) is the cutesy way some young lovers refer to each other. It's are also popular in the homosexual community. A nai and a prai would never refer to each other using tua-eng, except perhaps when they engage in a business transaction of the carnal kind. On the bed or in the bathtub, the rules of the game tend to change.

Khun is the polite and formal manner of address. It's like saying Mr, Ms or Mrs. It's a word that signifies polite equality and it can be used by anyone, a nai and a prai can refer to each other as khun.

Tan is what the nai would prefer to be called. In some cases, if you don't refer to a particular nai as tan, it's ''off with the head'',  figuratively speaking, of course.

The social hierarchy in Thailand is a bit more complicated than just ammart (aristocrats) and prai (peasants). Just below the ammart, are the nai, which can mean anything from boss to master.

Those falling into the nai category may be high-ranking officials, bureaucrats - mandarins, if you will. Certain billionaires, millionaires or highly successful businessmen also like to see themselves as nai, not as bosses, but as masters.

Whatever the case, they all have one thing in common: they insist on being referred to as tan, which is the equivalent of ''Honourable'' or ''Your Excellency''.

What that does, you see, is automatically fix the middle (or lower-middle) class people who work for them as prai, submissive to the master.



Sprache kann die soziala Hierarchie einer Gesellschaft definieren. Thai – schön und kompliziert zugleich - ist auch eine Sprache, die jedem Mitglied einer sozialen Schicht einen exakten Platz  zuweist. Die Art und Weise, wie man sich gegenseitig anspricht, indem man (in Thailand) verschiedene Variationen des Wortes „DU“ verwendet, verdeutlicht die soziale Kluft zwischen den „NAI“ (Herr/Meister) und den „PRAI“ (Bauer, Mensch niederen  Ranges).
Hier nur einige Beispiele:
„MUENG“ ist (im allgemeinen) ein unhöfliches Wort. Es wird als eine Beleidigung oder wenn man wütend ist verwendet. Wie auch immer, es kann auch dazu verwendet werden um eine Vertraulichkeit/Vertrautheit zu verdeutlichen. Wenn zwei Freunde sich gegenseitig als Mueng bezeichnen ist das durchaus normal und akzeptabel. Ein Nai kann durchaus einen Prai als Mueng bezeichnen. Aber niemals würde ein Prai einen Nai in dieser Art und Weise anreden.
„TUA-ENG“ (oder kurz Tua) ist ein Kosewort für junge Verliebte. Es ist ebenfalls sehr beliebt bei Homosexuellen. Ein Nai und ein Prai würden sich niemals gegenseitig mit Tua-Eng ansprechen, außer eventuell bei der Ausübung des horizontalen Gewerbes. Im Bett oder in der Badewanne scheinen andere Regeln zu gelten.
„KHUN“ ist die formelle und höfliche Form der Anrede. Sie bedeutet sowohl Herr als auch Frau (und wird manchmal auch bei geliebten Haustieren verwendet - Anm. d. Bloggers). Es steht für eine höfliche Form der Gleichheit oder Ebenbürtigkeit und kann von jedem verwendet werden. Nai und Prai können sich gegenseitig mit Khun anreden.
Nai jedoch bevorzugen es als „TAN“ angesprochen zu werden. In manchen Fällen, wenn man einen bestimmten Nai nicht mit Tan anredet, heißt es „Kopf ab“ - natürlich nur bildlich gesprochen.
Die gesellschaftliche Hierarchie in Thailand ist dann doch etwas komplizierter als nur „AMMART“ (Adel) und Prai (Bauer) (oder ursprünglich: Leibeigener – Anm. des Bloggers). Unmittelbar unter den Ammart stehen die Nai, was soviel heißt wie Boss oder Herr (im Sinne von Herr und Meister). Als Nai bezeichnet man hochrangige Offizielle und Bürokraten. Aber auch gewisse Milliardäre, Millionäre oder sehr erfolgreiche Geschäftsleute sehen sich selbst als Nai, nicht etwa als Bosse sondern als Herr und Meister. Wie auch immer, sie bestehen darauf mit Tan angeredet zu werden, was in etwa „Ehrenwerte(r)“ oder „Eure Exellenz“ bedeutet.
Und das wiederum fixiert automatisch die Menschen der Mittel- oder der unteren Mittelschicht, die für die (die Nai) arbeiten als Prai, dem Meister gegenüber zum Gehorsam verpflichtet.

Drill, subordination and obedience without questioning anything are part of the educational system.

Drill, Unterordnung und Gehorsam ohne zu hinterfragen sind Teil der schulischen Ausbildung.

Part Two: the behaviour

Here are just a few examples of behavior as a result of this hierarchical society. You can experience some of them by yourself nearly every day. If you are queueing up at a taxi stand in front of a nobel shopping mall like Emporium Sukhumvit or Paragon at Siam Square it could happen that a well dressed person gets into the next taxi ignoring all the other people waiting in the queue. The guard or an employee, who normaly delegates the waiting people to the taxis, just looks devastated and smiles embarrassed but he does not dare to interfere or to adress this misbehaving customer. A prai never reprimands a nai. You can experience similar situations while you are standing in front of a restaurant and wait to be seated or at the cashier in a supermarket.

Another custom is the submissive bowing down of low class people (as they sadly define themselves) in front of so called upper class people. I recognise several times a day that street vendors, construction workers, waiters (even when serving other customers), or other customers at a supermarket lowering their head when passing by. I really feel embarrassed every time and I will never get used to it.

When it comes to the ammart (nobility) the obedient behavior of the servants and the friends towards the ammart becomes particularly pronounced. During the flood 2011, while we were gathering information and impressions about the flood situation we met a noble lady, who was providing aid to flood victims. She invited us to her son's nearby house. There we could observe first hand some of the hierarchical formative attitude. For example she got her shoes taken off and put on again by a servant when she entered or left the house. While our host was sitting at a table eating some fruit (food and drinks of course served by friends or servants, same for her dog) the people approached her by crawling on their knees. As guests we were treated with extreme respect by the other people around. Some of them bowed very low (because they considered us to be important otherwise our ammart lady would not have invited us). But it was obvious, that some of her friends could not codify us into their hierarchical system and they did not know how to treat us. They watched us very intently all the time.

But during the whole visit we were treated extremely polite and friendly by our host (in contrast to the sometimes bad mannered nai as descibed above), stuffed with food and before leaving we were presented with some small gifts. And finally, though we were objecting, she paid our taxi home.

Jetzt nur einige wenige Beispiele, wie diese Hierarchie in der Gesellschaft sich auf das Verhalten der Menschen im Alltag auswirkt. Einige davon kann man selbst nahezu jeden Tag erleben. Wenn man sich zum Beispiel in eine Schlange an einem Taxistand vor einem der Nobel-Kaufhäuser einreiht, wie z.B. dem Emporium an der Sukhumvit oder dem Paragon am Siam Square, kann es durchaus vorkommen, dass eine gut gekleidete Person all die wartenden Leute in einer Schlange ignoriert und in das nächste Taxi steigt. Der Wachmann oder Hausangestellte, der einem normalerweise ein Taxi zuweist, schaut dann nur betreten zu Boden und lächelt peinlich berührt. Aber er würde es als ein Prai niemals wagen, einen sich schlecht benehmenden Nai anzusprechen oder gar zurecht zu weisen. Das Gleiche kann einem auch in einem Restaurant passieren, während man darauf wartet, einen Platz zugewiesen zu bekommen oder während man im Supermarkt an der Kasse steht.

Eine weitere Verhaltensweise, die man überall beobachten kann, ist das devote Senken des Kopfes, wenn Menschen der sogenannten Unterschicht (wie sie sich selbst traurigerweise immer noch definieren) an den Mitgliedern der „Oberschicht“ vobeigehen. Ich selbst bemerke mehrmals am Tag, dass Straßenhändler, Bauarbeiter, Kellner (selbst wenn sie andere Gäste bedienen) oder sogar andere Kunden im Supermarkt im Vorbeigehen den Kopf senken. Es beschämt mich jedesmal und ich werde mich an diese unterwürfige Geste wohl nie gewöhnen können.

Gegenüber den Ammart (Adeligen) artet das unterwürfige Verhalten der Bediensteten und der Freunde allerdings extrem aus. Während der Flut 2011, als wir unterwegs waren um Informationen und Eindrücke zu sammeln, trafen wir eine adelige Dame, die gerade Hilfsprojekte für die Flutopfer organisierte. Sie lud uns in das in der Nähe gelegene Haus ihres Sohnes ein. Hier konnten wir uns persönlich ein Bild vom Verhalten in den oberen Kreisen der Gesellschaft machen. Beispielsweise wurden ihr die Schuhe von einem Bediensteten beim Betreten oder Verlassen des Hauses an- und ausgezogen . Während unsere Gastgeberin am Tisch sitzend einige Früchte aß (wobei ihr alle Speisen und Getränke vom Personal oder Freunden angereicht wurden, das Gleiche galt für ihren Hund), näherten sich die Anwesenden auf den Knien rutschend. Wir als ihre Gäste wurden mit äußerstem Repekt behandelt. Einige senkten ihren Kopf im Vorbeigehen besonders tief (denn wir mußten ja irgendwie wichtig sein, ansonsten hätte uns die Dame ja nicht eingeladen). Einige ihrer Freunde wiederum konnten uns nicht in ihren Gesellschaftskodex einordnen und wußten nicht, wie sie mit uns umgehen sollten. Die letzteren ließen uns die ganze Zeit nicht aus den Augen. Aber unsere Gastgeberin behandelte uns während des ganzen Besuches außerordentlich höflich und freundlich, es gab reichlich zu essen und bevor wir uns verabschiedeten bekammen wir noch mehrere kleine Geschenke. Schließlich bezahlte sie, obwohl wir protestierten, sogar noch unsere Heimfahrt mit dem Taxi.

Here's a true story (from "the politics of being polite", Bangkok Post 28.11.2010) that may illustrate the point. But while based on real events, names of persons, places and things have been changed to protect the prai involved.

Reader discretion is advised.

Once upon a time in a land not-far-away, over 1,000 delegates from 135 countries belonging to an international organisation gathered in Bangkok for four days and four nights to strategise and celebrate the eternal struggle against evil.

The setting was luxurious, the food sumptuous, and memorable performances were staged. Not only did they roll out the red carpet, the Thai government agency hosting the event nailed it wall-to-wall, courtesy of the Thai taxpayers.

One man was honoured to be the host of this forum.

We shall called him Verona after that Italian city made famous by William Shakespeare _ and also because of his fondness of tragic romances. Such stories always choke him up, like Isan sausages that just won't go down because he never chews properly.

On the final day, many closing speeches were delivered.

Once they were over, Verona's co-host was to announce the names of the leading members of the international organisation so that they could take their seats in the front row for the closing ceremony. And that was supposed to be that.

But then, during the speeches, a lady short-and-round ran up to Verona. Business suit dishevelled, hair out of place, sweat pouring down her forehead. She was panting. We shall refer to her as Sista' Girl.

Shoving a piece of paper towards Verona, Sista' Girl, barely catching her breath, blurted out: ''You've got to announce the names on this list.''

Verona looked at Sista' Girl with kind eyes and slapped her with a nice smile. He said: ''Calm down, Sista' Girl. Who's on the list?''

On the list, hand-written, were names of nine nai on the board of directors of the arm of the Thai bureaucracy hosting the event. They too were to take their places in the front row. This was not on the agenda, but the nine nai made a last-minute demand.

To sit anywhere else would mean ''losing face''.

With worry in her eyes, apprehension oozing out of her every pore, Sista' Girl anxiously cautioned: ''Don't mispronounce any name! Don't mispronounce! And refer to them all as tan, not khun, but tan! Please, please, please, please, don't forget!''

Sista' Girl was ringing her hands, begging for Verona to take the matter seriously. Verona looked down at the list, trying to make out the handwriting.

He reached out and squeezed her right elbow gently; a manly-like attempt to soothe her worries. Verona said: ''Sista' Girl, worry not. I shall take care of it.''

Sista' Girl took a deep breath, and then her eyes lit up. She snatched the list from Verona and took off running, as if she were a member of the gold-medal winning Thai women's relay team at the Asian Games.

Minutes later, she returned, panting, sweating and even more anxious. She said, looking downcast, ''Two have left.''

Apparently, Verona was told, the speeches were too long. The two nai weren't happy. They didn't want to wait. They had things to do.

Sista' Girl handed Verona back the old list with two crossed out names, accompanied by a look that reminded Verona of his fourth grade teacher.

''Tan! Don't forget! Refer to them all as tan. Not khun, tan!

''If you don't, hua khad, hua, khad!''

Hua khad means ''off with the head''. She repeated it twice. Verona thought to himself: What's up with the hua khad talk? They are not even royalty!?

''Last night, the MC [there were different sets of MCs] referred to tan as khun twice,'' Sista' Girl said with dismay.

She mumbled: ''Hua khad, hua khad.''

Verona and Sista' Girl looked at each other and he understood. It's not Verona or that other MC who will be hua khad. It's Sista' Girl and other staff members who will suffer the wrath of the nai, if they don't make sure they are honoured properly, with sufficient pomp and circumstance.

And so Verona, to make sure Sista' Girl's head stayed where it was supposed to be, wrote the word ''TAN'' in front of every name in bold capital letters!

Ladies and gentlemen, double standards, the social gap and the feudal mentality _ they run deep, and are integrated into the culture, defined by the language. It isn't just between the aristocratic ammart and the peasant prai, but also between the bureaucratic nai and the prai who work for them.

How then are we to achieve equality, a cornerstone of democracy? Let's not blame the language; after all it is man who creates words. The culprit is the mindset, the attitude.

Perhaps the nai should chill out and embrace the word khun more, for the sake of all the ''sista' girls'' and the ''brothers'' out there who work for them.

After all, all men and women may not be created equal, but surely we can treat each other with fairness and equality.

Update from September 12th 2012

Here another very good article from the Bangkok Post (September 9th 2012). This time about the patronage system of Thailands upper class and how they see themselves.

Hier noch ein weiterer,  sehr guterArtikel aus der Bangkok Post (09.09.2012). Diesmal geht es um das Patronatssystem der thailändischen Oberschicht und wie diese sich selbst wahrnimmt.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/311541/yes-we-do-know-who-your-daddy-is

 

Yes, We do know who your daddy is

Bangkok Post
Published: 9/09/2012

When heir to the Red Bull empire Vorayuth ''Boss'' Yoovidhya reportedly hit Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert with his 32 million baht Ferrari while going more than 100km per hour, what did he do? The 27 year old kept driving, dragging the policeman another 200m and turned into his family's estate in Thong Lor.

When superstar Chermarn ''Ploy'' Boonyasak was accused of tax fraud, what did she do? The 29 year old told the public she could and should get away with it because she believes she's above the system.
There's a pattern of behaviour here. The same instinct kicked in for both individuals _ ''I can get away with it.'' Despite any trauma or distress, their initial reaction was that their status in society would ensure the patronage system favouring them in their plights _ and they were correct.
Pol Lt Col Pannapon Nammuang, an inspector at Thong Lor police station, arrested a scapegoat, a driver for the Yoovidhya family. The bao (servant) falling on the sword for his nai (boss) and an authority figure ready to play along.
Chermarn told the public, ''I have had a close and cosy relationship with the Revenue Department,'' and posted a photo of herself with the son of a former finance permanent secretary. Don't mess with her, she knows people.
Both cases demonstrate how the patronage system operates above the law, a reliable safety net for the rich and fabulous of society.
However, the two incidents proved too controversial, there was too much media attention and public outrage. They couldn't be so easily swept under the rug, so both individuals confessed to their crimes, teary-eyed at a press conference in Chermarn's case.
But worry not; the patronage system is sure to kick in sooner or later. If they can't get away with it now, there's still three months or a year from now.
Take Orachorn ''Praewa'' Thephasadin Na Ayudhya, her surname carries a lot of weight in Thai society. In December 2010, when she was 16 years old, she was speeding when her vehicle took out a van, killing nine people. A photo of her texting on her phone after the incident went viral online.
The outrage against her was deafening. There was no getting away with it, not at the time at least. But last week she was given a two-year suspended sentence and banned from driving until she's 25.
See, just wait a couple of years and the patronage system will kick in, your connections will save you. The only surprising thing was that she was driving a Honda Civic, not a European luxury car.
One doesn't even have to be rich, famous or have the right surname. Last month, five policemen convicted of murdering 17-year-old Kiattisak Thitboonkrong from Kalasin in July 2004 were released on bail by the Criminal Court. Three of them were sentenced to death.
Yes, death row convicts released on bail. The witnesses that testified against the policemen told reporters that they now fear for their lives. Again, the patronage system kicks in, if not sooner than later, if one wears the right uniform.
Just for a laugh, here's another. Kanpitak ''Mu Ham'' Pachimsawat, son of a former Miss Thailand and related to a former deputy police chief, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in jail for ramming his Mercedes into a crowd at a bus stop in 2007, killing a woman and injuring several others. This was another case that brought much public outrage.
He was released on bail pending appeal, but then in January 2009 he was also accused of smashing a rock in the face of a bus driver near Sukhumvit Soi 26 after his car was involved in a minor incident with the bus. Now 23 years old, he's still not in prison for any crime.
Outrage erupts like a tornado then subsides just as quickly.
In all of these cases, public outrage merely stalled the workings of the patronage system. But while one is but an emotion, the other is a system, well entrenched and practised. Sooner or later, the system triumphs as the public moves on and media find new stories to hammer. Old news is old.
Here's how the patronage system works in detail.
A cautionary tale well known in the Thai society is that involving the three sons _ Arthan, Wan (formerly Wanchalerm) and Duang (formerly Duangchalerm) _ of powerful politician and Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung. These days they have calmed down a bit, but they were notorious for their night-time antics in their younger days. Getting into fights and banging heads with the police, the youngest son, Mr Duang, was even accused of shooting a police officer in the middle of a nightclub in front of a big crowd, execution style.
Whenever they got into a confrontation with citizens or police they became infamous for screaming, ''Do you know who my father is?'' It was, of course, a rhetorical question meant as a threat.
On the night of the alleged execution, the press flocked to the police precinct where the murder was reported. Mr Duang had since vanished into thin air. Mr Chalerm rolled in with his second son, Mr Wanchalerm. He held an impromptu press conference, professing his son's innocence, red-faced, angry and slurring his words throughout.
One unwitting reporter made the mistake of asking if Mr Wanchalerm, the second son, was also there when the incident took place. The visibly upset Mr Wanchalerm immediately threatened the reporter, saying that the people of Thon Buri would have his ass for even suggesting such a thing. Thon Buri is the district of which Mr Chalerm is an MP, his lordship's fiefdom.
The next night, Mr Chalerm appeared on a TV talk show, sober and smiling, speaking politely. It was a bid to recover the face of loss from the night before.
Meanwhile, for many months his youngest son stayed disappeared. Rumour had it that Mr Chalerm hid him in the mansion of former prime minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. Gen Chavalit was the godfather of a political patronage network _ the New Aspiration Party _ that was once powerful but had since been swallowed up by the Thaksin Shinawatra political machine.
Think of Mr Chalerm as a former underboss to Mr Chavalit, and now an underboss to Thaksin. Another story is that Mr Duang fled to Malaysia.
Perhaps in a bid to mock society, Mr Chalerm proclaimed that he knew who the real killer was. It was some dude called Ai Puad. He said that he was personally hunting the culprit down.
Eventually, as public outrage and pressure mounted, Mr Chalerm and his wife brought Mr Duang to police. But somehow witnesses refused to testify, some disappeared and the CCTV footage was no longer available. The case was dismissed. See, Mr Chalerm said afterward, it was Ai Puad after all.
The incident happened in 2001. Now it is 2012 and Ai Puad has yet to be found. Meanwhile, Mr Duang has recently been appointed to the Royal Thai Police force as a deputy inspector of the bureau's training centre. One of his duties is to teach shooting. The irony.
These incidents are not isolated cases. There is a pattern that spells out a cultural norm. When something goes wrong, the first impulse for the rich and fabulous is to think, ''I can get away with it!'' _ while the less privileged among us would go, ''Oh crap! I'm chocolate fudge!''
This belief comes from the trust and reliance on the well-entrenched patronage system that ensures connections triumph over justice, that if you are a part of or affiliated with a gang or a tribe (whether political, business or one in uniform), you will get away with it.
With the right connections to a patronage network, a phu yai (an elder, a powerful person in society) will wing-ten (literally ''run and dance'' on your behalf to get you off). In the Ferrari case, even the police admitted some phu yai had been wing-ten on behalf of the son of the Red Bull empire.
These are societal norms. In this latest tragedy, public outrage erupted, but read the online forums and you will see that everyone pretty much takes it for granted that eventually the Red Bull heir will get away with it. This is because we know how the system works in Thailand.
So if we were to wonder why there's such disrespect for the rule of law, why justice is blind to justice itself, but bright-eyed to money and power, why the process and function of democracy is continually stalled _ all of this is because the most privileged individuals in our society flaunt it and abuse it with impunity, favouring the power-play of feudalism over the standards of democracy. While the rest merely express impotent outrage.
The cases described here are not mere accidents, but show a pattern of behaviour in this feudal democracy.