Dikir Hulu Folk Song and Peace Building in the Three Southern Border Provinces

Abstract

This research aimed to study 1) the essence of the moral and ethics in the folk songs, 2) the contents and lyrics that consistent with the lifestyle of the people, and 3) the impacts in strengthening peace in the three southern border provinces of Thailand. The respondents were 54 Dikir Hulu players and artists, government officials, and the public in Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat. The instruments consisted of the relevant documents, in depth interview, and observation. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that Dikir Hulu folk songs have served the community and insert the essence of morality, lifestyle, education, culture, and the 12 values proclaimed by the government for substantive thinking. It is the only strong culture inherited to this day because of its consistency with the lifestyle of the people in Thailand’s Deep South relating to their culture, language, dress, folk music and wisdom of the community. The songs affect both in positive and negative aspects. In good aspects, they result in the promotion and preservation of the folk culture, the deployment of teaching in the song on a daily basis, and the peacebuilding in a multicultural society. In negative aspects, they affect the lives of Muslims in the dimension of religion, and the individuals in singing a social satire. Overall, they play a significant role in the multicultural society in the three southern border provinces until today.