THE CONCEPT AND WAY OF LIFE OF THE KHMER PEOPLE IN THAILAND, SURIN PROVINCE, REFLECTED FROM THE PROVERBIAL IDIOMS

Abstract

This research article aimed to 1) study the concept in proverbial idioms of the Khmer people in Thailand, Surin province and 2) study the way of life of the Khmer people in Thailand, Surin province as to proverbial idioms.                         The researcher have gathered and selected the proverbial idioms of the Khmer people from documents which were already compiled that do not match those proverbial idioms in the standard Thai language, then studied from documents and fieldwork to observe and interview Khmer speakers in Thailand, Surin province, during the year 2020-2021. The fiedwork covered 4 districts-Mueang Surin district, Sangkha district, Prasat District and Chom Phra district in Surin province. The finding of the study showed that the concept of the Khmer people in Thailand reflected from the proverbial idioms, consists of various aspects. First, it reflects the moral concept which is in compliance with Buddhist principles which are the cultural foundation of the Khmer people. Second, it reflects the traditional belief in ghosts and also the belief in Hell and Heaven which is one of the significant concept of Buddhism. Third, it reflects the values aiming to teach people to respect the elders in society of the Khmer people. For the finding of way of life, it reveals two aspect : occupation and family. The occupation area reflect the various occupation of the people in society. The family aspect discusses the importance of parents, choosing a partner, marriage life for male and female and the importance of relatives which is the main culture of the Khmer people in Thailand.