Roles of Women in the Culture of Kui Ethnic Group in Sisaket Province

Abstract

             The purpose of this research was to study the roles of women in the culture of the Kui ethnic group in Sisaket province. The target groups used in this research were four Kui communities in Sisaket province by using purposive sampling. Informants consisted of community leaders, female leader, and cultural leaders were selected, Data were collected using an in-depth interview of 12 knowledgeable people, focus group of three times, and a summary as descriptive. It was found that the Kui community has a character as a closed society and believes in Buddhism, mixed with belief in ancestor ghosts and grandfather ghosts. Roles on the rites, Kui people believed that women could link the human world and the spirit world together through rites. So, a woman takes a role in inheriting tradition and belief in community. Roles on the family, woman will be background and story heir in family and community of herself, descendant by bringing up a child and watching over the house. Roles in society, women will be rites assistants and rites in the community. Roles on the economy, women will have roles in supporting production and selling products. Roles of Kui women begin to change more and more in the period of regime change. Kui women are being educated more and more. They have changed their roles in all aspects. Besides, as housewives, they still have roles in the cultural inheritance in their community, being community leaders, serving under the crown, trading, self-employed businesses and they can go out to work outside. Although their roles have been changing, but what still indicates the identity of Kui women is obviously giving precedence to the system of relatives, rites, belief, and intellect inherited from their ancestor, which can reflect the roles of Kui women very well.