Bussakorn Sumrongthong
Music Department, Chulalongkorn University
The scope of this paper is a subset of the author’s Ethno musicological research carried out in nearly all of Thailand’s provinces. The Lanna region in particular refers to an ancient kingdom of northern Thailand. Today, this region is comprised of Phrae, Lumpoon, Phayao, Mae Hongson, Chang Mai, Chang Rai, Lumpang, and Nan provinces. The body of this research shows that various types of food play very significant roles in the Lanna musician’s ritual known as the Wai Kru ceremony. This paper addresses the question of how food interacts with people’s belief systems as manifested in the Lanna Wai Kru ceremonies. This research describes the types of Wai Krus as well as discusses the main foods that comprise the offerings. Additionally, a comparison with the role that these foods play out in other countries is presented as well.
(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))