Phuk Siao: Friendship Engagement for Sustainable Community Based on Thai Buddhist Knowledge

Abstract

The current research aimed to: (1) study history and principles of the Phuk Siao friendship engagement ceremony in the Thai society; (2) study concepts and principles of friendship management based on Buddhism, and (3) propose guidelines for and application of local Phuk Siao ceremony in order to create and reinforce friendship environment in accordance with Buddhist and local Thai wisdom principles. A mixed methods design was employed, with an extensive documentary review, a field study, and interviews of key informants who participated in Phuk Siao ceremony.

Findings are as follows. 1) The Phuk Siao friendship engagement ceremony is a northeastern traditional ritual for making friendship among people. This kind of friendship is stronger than normal acquaintance because it makes a very close friendship which is full of love, faithful assistance or even risking one’s life for the other. Friend-tied ceremony is an action on strengthening unity and friendship among father, mother, their descendants and other people around them. It creates a web of love and unity within and among families, which results in wider and more numbers of close friends. 2) Friendship could be constructed inside oneself, by creating in-self friendship condition, wishing not to hurt or destroy oneself, creating goodness in mind and being self-friendly reliance. If one contains good self-friendly reliance, then one could expand this friendliness to others around him. Buddhism principles used to create sustainable friendships are Kalayanadham, Thit Hok, Sangkahawatdhu, unity, justice, etc. 3) The application of Phuk Siao ceremony as means for creating and reinforcing friendly environment within a community might be done through Buddhist and local wisdom principles. The patterns are: (1) using veracity and sincerity as baseline; (2) using the Buddhism principle of Kalayanadham to create friendship; and (3) using traditional Friend-tied ceremony as tool to create friendship based on local wisdom. Friendship is usually created along with cultural and traditional activities called Hit Sip Song, Khlong Sip Si, as well as the application of Thit Hok principle.