Thai Food Culture

Introduction

In Thailand, rice is the essence of life. It permeates all aspects of the life of people from all walks of life. Rice is in melodies, particularly folk songs. It is in diverse forms of the creative pursuits - from verses to paintings to sculptures. It is in custom, folklore, ceremonial and even language. For most of us, life without rice is easily unthinkable. Yet rice is nearly habitually taken for granted. As societies become more affluent, they are evolving less attached to rice. The wealthy rice heritage heritage is very quick going away, and we need to do something before there is not anything left to maintain.

Thesis Statement

However, Thai food is an important role in culture, social and religion, because most of the Thai people are Buddhism. Therefore, Thai culture use food as religion ceremony or celebration the past.

Rice Rituals

Rice is the only crop that Thai farmers arranges to give 'blessings' at every stages of its life, from planting to harvesting. It is done to boost morale and reduce worries, with the hope that the produce will be abundant and will ultimately bring joy, happiness and stability to the farmers, their families and the community as a whole. Thus, the various rituals of rice are closely related to both the communal way of life and their religious beliefs. They emphasize the need to live together in harmony and to be mutually supportive.

Rice Goddesses

In most rice-growing nations of Asia, the spirit of rice resides in the Rice Mother or the Rice Goddess. In Indonesia, Dewi Sri is the rice mother and goddess of life and fertility. She is the best loved and most worshipped Hindu deity. She is everywhere, from everyday rituals -- such as putting pinches of rice along the edges of fields to keep evil spirits and animals at bay -- to grand temple celebrations with elaborate offerings of dyed rice paste, the Balinese fervently honor their Rice Mother. In Thailand, the Rice Goddess is Mae Posop. Mae Posop and the Balinese Rice Goddess, Dewi Sri, are treated in alike ways -- polite and protective. Just as mothers give food and milk to their children, so Mae Posop devotes her body and soul to everyone.

The birth and life of Mae Posop appear in the legend and folklore of all regions of the country. There is evidence indicating that the image of Mae Posop was designed at least 700-800 years ago, although that has essentially remained unchanged until today. From the way Mae Posop is portrayed (the way she sits and the way she dresses, for example), it is generally believed that she is a local goddess in contrast to most others that were taken from India. The thing that is interesting about Mae Posop, both in terms of art and her dominance as the rice goddess, is the way she is presented in all paintings and statues: that is Mae Posop always hold a rice shaft or several rice shafts in her hand.

Rice and the King

The leverage ...