Culture, tradition, identity

"Culture" originates from the term "cultivation," implying that one has "grown" through knowledge
or experience. (F. KENNEY 1994) These knowledge or experience are shared and accumulated by all
the people that lived in the area, moulding the community to grow in its own unique way that is
identifiable and differentiated from the rest of the world. Culture should be understood as a system
of common, interconnected beliefs and values amongst the people. (F. KENNEY 1994) However, we
should not simply label culture as completely ubiquitous. In fact, through my experience in Songkhla
I have learnt that culture can sometimes strive in the middle ground between unity and diversity in
its people. A small city in Southern Thailand, Songkhla is a humble looking town that may be
neglectable in one glance but proves to be immensely rich in culture and places of heritage when
scrutinised. In the short 4 days 3 nights trip, we have managed to gain a deep understanding of
Songkhla’s culture and its people’s tradition and sense of identity by studying its architectures,
interacting with the locals, and learning from our heritage guide.

Theorists such as TS Eliot believed that for a culture to grow and survive, it must include 3 elements -
organic structure, geographic analysability and balance in religion. (F. KENNEY 1994) Firstly, organic
structure is the shared system of beliefs that cannot be planned or artificially induced, and it is
passed down from one generation to another (Eliot 1988). This is observed amongst the Songkhla
people as traditions that have been passed down from their ancestors. For those who live near
ports, most of them are fishermen just like their ancestors. Despite the advancement of technology,
many still practice the tradition of collecting wild oysters and seafood straight from the sea instead
of adopting the more widely practised method of harvesting from fisheries. Not only that, many
traditional trades and crafts that had become extinct in Singapore are still existing in Songkhla. For
example, the craft of basket weaving that has been rendered irrelevant in Singapore still has a place
in Songkhla’s market.

Architecturally speaking, traditions are passed on to the next generation in the form of a family
house. In Songkhla, there are 4 main types of shophouses: the traditional Chinese shophouse
(1800s), commercial Chinese Shophouse(1920s), Sino-European Shophouse(1960s) and the Modern
Chinese Shophouse(1980s). Almost all of these houses bear Chinese Architectural elements symbolic
of the East Asian culture, such as tiled roof, courtyard for easy gathering, and the presence of little to
no windows on the lower floor for defence purposes. (Wang, Li, and Liao 2012) This is because most
of the Songkhla locals are decedents of Chinese immigrants and traders that migrated to Thailand in
the 14th century. (Schottenhammer 2001) These shophouses were then shared amongst the elder’s
many children, using partition walls to separate the different families. Even today, traditions are
continued to be practised in the household. For example, even with fresh tap water, we were told
that most locals still keep wells in their house to continue assessing the groundwater supply. Some
locals would also continue the tradition of keeping bird posts to allow Swiftlets to make nests, from
which they would collect 3 times a year and sell for profit. Dragon, which is a symbol of power,
strength and good luck in Chinese culture is also commonly used as gate decorations and carvings in
many housings.

Secondly, geographic analysability described culture to be responsive to their regional context in

terms of the use of available resources, natural surroundings and terrain. (F. KENNEY 1994) This can
be seen from stilted houses owned by fishermen near the port in Songkhla, where the houses are
built on high wooden stilts above the sea level so that they can adapt to the changing tides of the
day and even during harsh weather conditions such as storms. Some Tropical architectural elements
are found in both Singapore and Songkhla due to them situating in the hot and humid tropical
climate. For example, balconies are a commonplace in both countries to prevent direct sunlight from
penetrating into the house to reduce heat gain. Wind tunnels and alleyways are also created
deliberately to facilitate ventilation and enhance cooling.

Lastly, religion has always been seen as one of the most important cultural elements in architecture.
(F. KENNEY 1994) For Songkhla, the majority of the population is Buddhist with a large proportion of
Muslims, especially in the rural areas fringing the Malaysian border. (Yegar 2002) During our visit to
Songkhla, we observed diversity in religion as some mosques can also be found despite the majority
being Buddhists. There were many Buddhist temples know as Wats, where multiple gold plated
buddhas would be placed in the central shrine for worshippers to pray to. These Wats have beautiful
and intricate engravings on their exteriors, depicting Buddhist history and stories and also to ward
off evil. (Hays 2018) The wat is also an embodiment of the Buddhist teachings themselves, and to
imitate heaven to create the sense of peace, lightness and floating in accordance with the Buddhist
philosophy. (Hays 2018) where the sense of peace is achieved through the symmetry of the
structure, lightness achieved through the curving designs in the form of arched roofs and the curved
kernel’ end, and the sense of floating achieved through the multi-tiered roof. (Hays 2018) The
arched roofs are also observed in some Buddhist households as an emblem of protection.

I feel that TS Eliot’s definition of culture is exhaustive. However, I do not agree to TS Eliot’s rather
extremist stand that the most ideal organic society should be homogeneous. He believed fiercely
that the adulterated culture resulted from cultural mixing should be considered greatly undesirable.
(Eliot 1988) I believe that his conservative viewpoint no longer stands in this current day and age
where more often than not different cultures mix together due to globalisation and increased
migration. This can be observed in both Singapore and Songkhla, where the locals pride themselves
on the diverse culture created by the interactions of different ethnic groups, and forming a new
unique culture consisting of both diversity and unity. One example would be the Peranakan culture
in Singapore, formed from a convergence of Chinese and Malay culture; and the Thai-Chinese mix of
culture in Songkhla. It is not surprising to find Chinese shophouses being included in a compound
surrounding a Thai Wat. Even though the locals did face a sense of identity crisis, it was not due to
the harmonious blend of the two cultures, but rather due to the failed conservation efforts of the
officials to remake a culturally saturated town that is Songkhla into a factory-molded copy of Penang
in order to boost their tourism. It was the underappreciation of their local culture and heritage that
has made them confused about their place in the world and sadly, starting to devalue their long and
rich history.

Karen Cheung Kai Ning

A0188454R
Citation

F. KENNEY, STEPHEN. 1994. “CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON ARCHITECTURE.” Texas Tech University.

Eliot, Thomas Stearns. 1988. Notes towards the Definition of Culture. London: faber and faber.

Wang, Shao-Sen, Su-Yu Li, and Shi-Jie Liao. 2012. “The Genes of Tulou: A Study on the Preservation
and Sustainable Development of Tulou.” Sustainability 4 (12): 3377–86. doi:10.3390/su4123377.

Schottenhammer, Angela, ed. 2001. The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000-1400.
Sinica Leidensia, v. 49. Leiden ; Boston: Brill.

Yegar, Moshe. 2002. Between Integration and Secession: The Muslim Communities of the Southern
Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books.

Hays, Jeffrey. 2018. “THAI RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE: CONCEPTS, TEMPLES, SYMBOLS AND PARTS
OF TEMPLES | Facts and Details.” Accessed October 28.
http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Thailand/sub5_8e/entry-3260.html.