The Social Meanings of the Poysanglong Ceremony of the Tai Yai People in Maehongson Province

Abstract

This article aims to analyze and explain the evolving meaning and function of the Poysanglong Ceremony in the Tai Yai community, which has undergone social and economic transitions from the traditional period up to the present day. The subject of the study is the Tai Yai community in Muang district, Maehongson Province.

The study finds that, in the traditional period, the Poysanglong Ceremony served such purposes as: signifying the Tai Yai people’s beliefs in Buddhism; providing means to education and occupational skills training for Tai Yai males; and establishing social relationships and cohesion within the Tai Yai community in Maehongson province, whose livelihood depended upon agriculture, forestry and trade.

With the evolving socio-economic environment, the meaning and function of the Poysanglong Ceremony has also undergone transformation. At the present day, the Ceremony mainly functions in the following ways: catering to the emerging trends of localism and nostalgia among the Tai Yai people; to promote local tourism; strengthening the consciousness of the ethnic identity of both the local Tai Yai people and the Tai Yai migrants; and creating new forms of social relationships which correspond to the changes in modern society.