Brennan Meier

Dr. Brown

Musical Cultures of Asia & the Pacific

8 December 2017

The Folk Music of Northern Thailand and the Creation of A National Identity

The Isan region of Thailand is located along the border of Laos and Cambodia, in the

northeastern section of the country. It is made up of twenty distinct provinces and is Thailand’s

largest region, as well as being home to beautiful landmarks that undeniably create our mental

image of Thailand in the western hemisphere such as the rice paddies of the Khorat Plateau and

the stunning Mekong River, which marks the regions Northern border. It is also home to unique

blends of Thai, Lao, Cambodian and even (in some cases) Western culture in it’s folk music. The

two main types of Thai music Luk thung and Mor lam, deal with many types of struggles com-

monly found in this region. This discourse will explore how folk music in the Isan region of

Thailand has created a national identity and will analyze elements of nostalgia within the music,

while also bringing to light the fact that this music was often used in an attempt to unite Thai

people in times of civil and political unrest.

The two types of Northern Thai folk music, Luk thung and Mor lam share many similari-

ties. And to the average listener, even in Thailand, they may often be indistinguishable. But they

have a few key differences, most notably in the way the the music was born, and where. Luk

thung, although it has become a staple of the Isan region, in fact originated in the Central region

of Thailand near Bangkok, shortly after World War II. There are seemingly ironic paradoxes in

this music. It originated in the largest city in the country, however it’s lyrical content focused on
themes of Thai rural life, such as the struggles of poverty or the beauty of nature. This type of

music also was more of a blend of cultures, and featured Western instruments such as the electric

bass and trumpet, lyrical content of Isan, but a production value characteristic to Bangkok. In a

discourse about Thai music as a whole, (including Thai classical music) musicologist Terry Mil-

ler writes about how, “over time, northeastern-derived luk thung songs came to dominate the air

waves and, because the Isan population was so large, came to have commercial potential… In

Bangkok, [luk thung was] first marketed on five-inch vinyl recordings and later on audio cas-

settes.” (Miller, 100) Often known as “Thai country music,” this was the first type of Isan music

cross borders and to rise to popularity in other regions of Thailand. In fact so much so, that many

Luk thung artists rose to national fame, such as Suraphol Sombatcharoen, who was nicknamed

“Thai Elvis.” He and other artists of the time brought this music to a more mainstream audience,

and made the region of Isan more known to those in the Central and Southwest regions of Thai-

land. In addition, it was influential in giving Isan people an increased sense of pride in their

homeland something that has been ripped from them during colonization.

Mor lam, did not have nearly the same national success, however it served a very differ-

ent purpose for the Isan people. Mor lam, and luk thung share many similarities, but mor lam, in

its most authentic state remained very authentically Isan, and in turn relatively untouched by the

outside world. This type of music originated when the geographical borders of Isan rendered it

still part of Laos, before the French gained control of Laos in 1893. Thus, Mor lam is a tradi-

tional form of Lao song, still sung in the Lao dialect of the Thai language; a concept which can

evidently get very confusing. Lyrical content often contains themes of unrequited love, but is of-

ten leavened with a very dry, satirical brand of humor. This music was made with traditional

Thai and Lao instruments, the same as those used in the Piphat (Thai classical music) ensemble.
Some of these instruments include the Phin (a fretted lute), the Jahke (a fretted zither), the Khaen

(a reed mouth organ), and the Pi salad (an oboe), just to name a few. Of course, the most im-

portant element of this music was the human voice, with Mor lam literally translating to “expert

singer.” However, there is an off-shoot of this music which is commonly used to accompany

dances during cultural celebrations and festivals such as the Bun Bungfai Rocket Festival, a fer-

tility rite which has been in existence since the early 1700’s. This music is purely instrumental,

and nearly always features the phin, predominantly. This is likely the type of music that many

Isan people grew up listening to their older family members sing, but it is unlikely that they ever

heard these melodies on the radio. Traditionally, like folk music around the world these melodies

were passed down through generations aurally and were often recycled, modified and reused.

These were cultural standards for people from this region, giving them great value as a means of

cultural memory. An example of this is when during an economic crisis many Isan workers were

forced to migrate to Bangkok. Professor Charles Keyes from University of Washington touches

upon this in his recent novel about the politics of the Isan region, writing, “Isan migrants tend to

live together, to speak Lao with each other, to listen to the Isaan popular music mor lam, and,

most of all, send money to relatives at home.” (Keyes) This suggests that mor lam was both a

connection to a simpler time, before the struggles of money plagued the people of Isan; as well

as being a way for Isan people to connect with each other and foster some feeling of identity and

safety in a time when those feelings were often elusive. This is also one of the cultural aspects

that causes Isan people to associate their identity with their homeland even if they have lived out-

side of the region for years, a thought concept that is touched on by ethnographers Charles Keyes

and David Struckfess. It is such a staple part of everyday life in this region, and with its complex

dialect, and text that is “replete with local cultural allusions and double entendres opaque to non-
native speaker” (Miller, 97) this music has become something exclusive to people with ties to

Isan that outsiders often cannot understand or touch.

This thought begs the question of why Isan people have developed such a nuanced and

cultural identity and how it has been influenced by musical nostalgia. To answer this clearly, it is

absolutely crucial to know the history of Laos during the period of its colonization by the French

empire. Until the French Protectorate colonized the region in 1893, Isan was officially within

Laos borders, and it was until a treaty with Siam in 1902 that this land was transferred over to

Thailand. However, although the people in this region were granted Thai citizenship, they were

seen as “an inferior sort of Thai,” (Streckfuss) leading many to feel like outcasts. The folk music

of their home was one thing that they could hold onto, and could give them some sort of famili-

arity in this time. In addition, once Luk thung began rising to mainstream popularity, it began to

become a tool for Isan civil liberation and equality. This is something that singer Christy Gibson,

one of the few foreign singers that has made a living singing Luk thung, speaks about in an inter-

view with Time Magazine, saying “Many of the artists I’ve spoke to try to use their music as a

vehicle for positive reconciliation, to say ‘we are all Thais.’ And that is, of course, true. It’s just

that [still] today some Thais believe they are more Thai than others.” This is especially poignant

in changing the political climate in Thailand where until very recently Isan people were seen as,

as Terry Miller’s Thai friends so lovingly put it, “lazy, stupid, and dirty.” (Miller, 96) It is only

in recent times that there has been a gradual shift in the perception and practice of luk thung from

low-brow to (to put it most accurately) middle-brow, and in turn a parallel shift in the perception

of Isan people.
 It seems that this shift in acceptance of luk thung has in some ways been sparked by a

change in the style of music, as well as a shift in the perception of what is, and is not, authenti-

cally Thai. It is also worth noting that these perceptions of what authenticity means is almost en-

tirely socially constructed, and sometimes even convoluted. It is now more common than ever

for singers of luk thung to not have a rural upbringing, or furthermore to even be born in Thai-

land. In addition, it has become much more common for modern luk thung songs to incorporate

aspects of funk, and hip-hop music. However, now more than ever, luk thung is seen as authenti-

cally Thai. Part of this, is a product of contrast to the newly arising Thai pop/rock music genre

string, which is seen almost as a sell-out directed toward urban youth. Musicologist Amporn Ji-

rattikorn describes string as, “a sugary, over-idealization of love and life.” (Jirattikorn, 25) Pre-

senting a sharp contrast to the simple portrayals of the working-class folk, and the rural images

of luk thung. It seems like luk thung, in modern Thailand is more accepted not because of where

it comes from, but because it has possessed roots in Thai culture (albeit the culture of those op-

pressed) for over a century. This being said, luk thung is changing. As it becomes more modern-

ized and further enters the mainstream, many say that it loses the aspects that made it true luk

thung; and make the debate of authenticity ever more complex. Luk thung literally translates to

“child of the country,” and in his discourse on the music Jirattikorn bases authenticity on three

distinct dichotomies, “‘rural vs. urban,’ ‘tradition vs. modernity’ and ‘Thai vs. Western.’” (Jirat-

tikorn) all of which relate back to a dedication to being a “child of the country.” This is the case

regardless of whether we interpret the word ‘country’ as the opposite of the word ‘city,’ or repre-

senting the country of Thailand itself. It is a debate that rages on, with some, such as Wanich

Jarungkit-a-nand, saying that music producers in Thailand have taken the production, and the

glamour of luk thung too far, and that it is losing the nostalgia that it once had for Isan people.
He even went so far as to publish an article in a Bangkok tabloid (called Matichon Sudsapda)

bluntly entitled “Lukthung is Dead.” (Jarungkit-a-nand) However, I fear that this radical view of

the music dangerous inhibits growth and transformation, and fails to see how the stereotype-rid-

den image of Isan people has changed in a parallel direction to the wat luk thung has evolved and

become more popular. Evolution and transformation is natural in any type of music, and to at-

tempt to stop that would be to stunt natural growth.

In conclusion, Isan folk music is something that has been left relatively untouched, and in

some cases even forgotten by a large majority of ethnomusicologists, however it is both a region

and an art form extremely rich with cultural history. It has proved, throughout its existence, to be

both a connection to past and a bridge to the future for Isan people.

Works Cited

Miller, Terry E. “From Country Hick to Rural Hip: A New Identity Through Music for Northeast

Thailand.” Asian Music, vol. 36, no. 2, 2005, pp. 96–106., doi:10.1353/amu.2005.0014.
Jirattikorn, Amporn. “Lukthung: Authenticity and Modernity in Thai Country Music.” Asian

Music, vol. 37, no. 1, 2006, pp. 24–50., doi:10.1353/amu.2006.0004.

Campbell, Charlie. “Thailand: Why Isaan Feels Politically and Culturally Different.” Time,

Time, 2 July 2014, time.com/2948172/thailand-isaan-province-identity/.

Lersakvanitchaku, Kitchana. “The true voice of country.” The Nation, Thailand Portal, 6 Jan.

2017, www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30303561.

Keyes, Charles F.; Moerman, Michael. “: Isan: Regionalism in Northeastern Thailand . Charles

F. Keyes.” American Anthropologist, vol. 70, no. 3, 1968, pp. 596–597.,

doi:10.1525/aa.1968.70.3.02a00510.

Myers-Moro, Pamela Ann. Thai music and musicians in contemporary Bangkok: an

ethnography. UMI, 2001.

Chan, Brenda. “Luk Thung: The Culture and Politics of Thailand’s Most Popular Music.”

Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 89, no. 1,

2016, pp. 171–172., doi:10.1353/ras.2016.0011.