Characteristics of Contemporary Thai Sacred Landscapes: Tangible and Intangible Attributes
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Abstract
The study of contemporary Thai sacred landscapes' characteristics is part of a research entitled 'Interrelationship of Sacred Landscapes and Urban Changes in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area and Vicinity Region'. The study's main objective is to identify the characteristics of contemporary Thai sacred landscapes, the factors that have led to the emergence of this sacredness, and those that have made possible the perpetuation of this sacredness. Mixed methods were used for this paper, including survey questionnaires and field observation of group behaviour through eight case studies carried out on site during rituals performed on a daily basis or on specific occasions.
The findings consisted of ten contemporary Thai sacred landscape characteristics: four physical characteristics, five abstract characteristics and the collaboration of physical and abstract characteristics. The four physical characteristics of contemporary Thai sacred landscape are religious, natural, socio-physical, and complex physical characteristics. In addition, the five abstract characteristics were abstractly religious, ritualized, political, spatial-time, and humanistic characteristics.
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