chapter 6. other concepts relating to sex - Windward Community ...

Modern literature emerging from Isan has tended to focus on modern problems associated
with the declining environment and poverty of the region (e.g., Child of the Northeast by
Kampoon Boontawee; People of Isan by Pira Sudham). Both Boontawee and Sudham depict a
very practical people focused on survival rather than status or frivolity. The men and women in
their stories (based on their own experiences) are poor and determined to survive. The characters
in these stories are realistic and reflect the personal characteristics and values of SWU students
much more so than do stories coming from Central Thailand. Child of the Northeast describes a
boy's life during the 1930s, but with a few tweaks, it could be describing a rural Isan village in the
1990s.
The meaning of sex-related symbols in modern Isan novels is typically subsumed by
symbols of greater concern, such as poverty and ethnic discrimination. Obviously these are sexed
since they affect men and women differently, but sex is a secondary concern. 31 The cultural
patterns revealed in Isan novels relate more to concepts of modernity, tradition, ethnicity, family,
and survival than sex and students do not refer to novels when talking about sex roles or sexual
behavior, unless directly asked to. Another cultural arena of sexual meaning not voluntarily
suggested by students, but whose sexual symbolism is explicit and public, is festivals.
Festivals and Traditional Celebrations
Festivals and rituals are commonly acceptable times for breaking or reversing social
norms (Babcock, 1978; Turner, 1982). For Isan people, who are highly conscious of maintaining
appropriate appearances, some festivals are a time to lift restrictions that maintain social order
and express things that are normally inappropriate. Some Isan festivals, such as Bun Phawèet,
which honors Vessantara, the penultimate life of the Buddha, and Bun Bâng Fay, the Rocket
Festival, bring together large numbers of people in a mix of "ceremonial reverence and most
31
For example, Sudham's "People of Esarn" (1987) is a collection of life stories about situations specific to
men and women in Isan. The taxi driver, prostitute, and monk are all sex-specific experiences, but it's the
themes common to them which captivate the reader.
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