Rice Barns: A Reflection of Isan Farmers’ Wisdom

Abstract

This article aimed to examine Isan farmers’ wisdom and belief in constructing rice barns. This was done by investigating related literatures and field surveying through in-depth interview. Semi-structured interview was also selected to collect the data. To analyze the data, all the acquired information was categorized, interpreted to view relation of the farmers’ wisdom and belief, and concluded to reveal toward descriptive results.

The findings found that a rice barn was so important to Isan farmers that they must pursue the following traditional sanctity: 1) only good quality of materials were selected to construct the rice barn, 2) shapes, structures, positioning, and direction of the rice barn must be according to their inherited sanctity, and 3) used materials of rice barn construction must not be utilized in housing construction. Unfortunately, the farmers’ ways of life today was altered according to globalization. New values had affected the old traditional wisdom and belief that a rice barn was overshadowed.