Fishermen of South Thailand: the Malay Villagers Analysis Paper

Fishermen of South Thailand: the Malay Villagers Analysis Paper

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In 1966, Thomas M. Fraser, Jr. published Fishermen of South Thailand: The Malay Villagers. The book is a case study of the people of Rusembilan, in which fieldwork was undertaken in 1956, 1960, and 1964. The Rusembilan village is located in South Thailand on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, just north of the equator. This allows for a seasonal tropical climate, averaging about 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round. Strong winds and monsoons occur for three months out of the year causing some of the Rusembilan residence on the coast to temporarily move to the opposite coast, avoiding over half of the annual rainfall.

The Rusembilan differs from the rest of Thailand by their cultural and religious beliefs. Mostly all of Thailand practices the religion of Buddhist, whereas, the people of Rusembilan, and most of South Thailand, are Muslims. Located in the South Thailand area, Rusembilan people are culturally oriented towards Malaysia, where they speak the Malay language. Since the entire Rusembilan village is Malay Muslim, and little to none of the villagers speak the Thailand national language, there is hardly, if any, contact with the nearby Thais or Chinese.

Fraser conducted his fieldwork in South Thailand over a period of eight years, starting in 1956 and finishing in 1964. Beginning in 1956, Fraser lived in the village of Rusembilan for nine months with his wife. He then came back for a two week visit in 1960, where Fraser spent time in Rusembilan and also in the provincial capital of Pattani. For Fraser’s third and final visit, he returned to Rusembilan in the summer of 1964, where he stayed for two months to finalize his fieldwork. While in Rusembilan and neighboring villages, Fraser used the method of ethnographic fieldwork.

He conducted interviews which consisted of both structured and unstructured. A total of two surveys were conducted, one took place in 1956 and the second one in 1964. He also asked open-ended, discussion questions to further his research. Fraser also included participant observation in his fieldwork. He was able to live among the Rusembilan villagers, where he took part in all the village activities, such as feasts and ceremonies. Participating in fishing was difficult for an outsider like Fraser, due to the special skills and technical requirements Fraser was only able to observe from a distance.

Over an eight year period, Fraser spent a total of about a year in Rusembilan where he was able to collect important and useful information on the Malay culture. Fraser was able to witness first-hand how the economic system of Rusembilan worked and what effects are caused due to the changing of seasons. Conducting surveys and observing the Rusembilan people, Fraser was able to collect information on the type of marriage practices, along with the type of family and kinship the villagers practice.

Fraser collected data on the importance of religion practices versus the education of children; he also learned the way the Rusembilan and the Malays of South Thailand deal with the supernatural. Information was collected on the way the villagers maintain control in Rusembilan through “big men” or in this culture orang baik, meaning “good men” (Thomas M. Fraser, 1966, p. 40) Lastly,

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Fraser used information he collected in 1956 and compared it to information he collected in 1964, this allowed for him to identify any cultural change that had occurred within the last eight years, such as technological and economic change.

According to the Rusembilan people, fishing is the most important job for the men of the village. A crew of twelve to fourteen men will sent sail for sea each day to drop nets and catch fish. They will then bring the fish back to shore, were they will be divided into shares for each man. Typically, members of the crew will have their wife collect the fish in a basket, where then the wife will take out a portion to supply the family’s need for the day. The remainder of the fish will be taken to the market in Pattani, where they are sold for an amount.

The amount received for a fish depends on the supply and demand of the type of fish for that season. This type of economic system is market based; each family makes their own source of income when supplies allow for it. Fishing is the main source of resource that the village depends on, however, when monsoon season comes in the middle of October and lasting for three months, fishing has to be put on hold. Some men will gather their families and travel to the opposite coast to take advantage of the fishing season over there. This will allow them to avoid the monsoon and still supply a source of income for their family.

On the other hand, the men and families who stay in Rusembilan own land where they take advantage of the monsoon season and flooding. Second to fishing is agriculture, cultivation of rice. During monsoon season, tending to the rice crops is the main priority and is used to supply individual families, along with the rest of the village. Although fishing is the main occupation among the Rusembilan people, it is not always a promised source of income. In this case many fishermen will take up a part-time job for the down seasons of fishing.

Crop plantations of coconut and rubber trees are among the two main cash crops for economic resources. Villagers who do not partake in fishing, agriculture, or the market system help the members of the culture in variety of other ways. Some men will make the fishing net for the fishermen, where other men are highly skilled woodworkers who will supply the rest of the members of their society with furniture. Women who are not involved in the market economy tend to the household and children; this is considered a division of labor by gender.

Some women are left in the village so they are not engaging in strenuous or hazardous activities. Each village member has specific roles to make the economic system function properly, everyone relies on one other to contribute to the Rusembilan village. “The basic social and economic unit in the coastal Malay villages is the nuclear family,” (Thomas M. Fraser, 1966, p. 26). The Rusembilan people live in households with their nuclear family,

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which is structured bilaterally. The Malay culture in the social organization aspect has specific rules to follow when it comes to marriage.

Exogamous marriage is practiced, requiring both the bride and groom to be from different villages. The groom’s father is usually the one to initiate the arrangement for marriage. Monogamy is the marriage practice in this culture, if divorce occurs, the separated couple will each return to their village and marry outside of their village. The preferable residence pattern is Ambilocal residence; however, bilocal residence is usually practiced up to a year before the newly married couple decides on a village to set up residency.

After the marriage, instead of collecting bride wealth or dowry, the groom and bride will have a showing where money is collected. In this case, the bride will be shown to the husband’s village where small amounts of money and gifts will be given to the bride and her husband. Next the husband will be shown to the village of his wife, where small donations of gifts and money will be given to the bride and groom, which is used to start a life of their own. Just as every culture has marriage and family patterns, every culture also has religious and supernatural beliefs in which they practice.

In Rusembilan, the Muslim religion is recognized as more important than education, and supernatural beliefs are practiced through spirits, feasts, and religion. Although education in Thailand is free for four years of primary education, many parents and religious leaders do not encourage it among the children. Parents would rather have their children learn the concepts of fishing and housekeeping, rather than have the children attend daily classes. Religious leaders, such as the Imam, would rather have children attend religious classes and learn the reciting of the Koran than attending school.

A quote by one of the religious leaders of the Malay culture said “Literacy enables a man to disobey God. Civilization is antireligious. ” (Thomas M. Fraser, 1966, p. 84). Animism is practiced among the Malay culture and the village of Rusembilan. The Muslim culture has a shamanistic organization in which the shaman is called the bomo. Although sorcery is not practiced among the Rusembilan people, they believe that the spirits are the cause of diseases, mental disorders, and exorcism.

This is when the bomo is called upon to perform their special powers to cure the problem caused by the spirits. Even though spirits can cause harmful acts to the people, they can also be positive when the right rituals are performed for them. In Rusembilan, a small feast is held at the start of fishing season, which is recognition of the sea spirits to help grant them an exceptional fishing season. When agriculture season arrives, a bowl of colored rice is set out for the spirits, which will provide the land owner with a good season of cultivation of rice for the year.

Another supernatural some landowners will do is call upon a spirit and perform a ritual that will grant protection of their homelands and property. Religious leaders do not believe in any supernatural beliefs

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that are not practiced among Islam. However, some are left with no choice but to call upon the bomo. Over an eight year time span, Fraser was able to see a culture change in technology, the economy, a planned change of government, and where this was taking the Malay culture. Technology was changing in the way boats were eing used, instead of using oars to paddle to sea, boats were now using motors. This created fewer jobs for men due to a smaller crew required for sea. However, it brought the villagers closer together, allowing them to work together and find other ways to create a source of income. This included traveling to other towns to find work, where the Malay Muslim communities were welcoming to new members of the workforce. With a change in government the Malay people will soon come to realize the many benefits associated with it.

With more Malays in authority positions the villagers of Rusembilan, along with many other villagers in South Thailand, will find that there will be education advancements for children. Education advancements will include Malay children to receive more than four years of the primary level of education. With this, more employment opportunities will arise for the people in the villages of South Thailand. Since better education and jobs will be offered, it will just be a matter of time before the technical improvements slowly come into the Malay villages.

In conclusion, the case study done my Fraser allowed for a better understanding of the Malay culture, more specifically the village of Rusembilan. It allowed me as the reader to have a greater understanding of the culture and the beliefs and values of the people. The fieldwork conducted allowed for an understanding on how the economy works, and the way the members of the culture interact with one other during different seasons of the year. The surveys conducted showed the importance of the marriage patterns and why exogamous marriage is practice; to allow for more economic benefits in neighboring villages.

Supernatural beliefs are practiced because to gain the benefits the spirits have to offer throughout the seasons. The culture has shown to take great pride in their religion, and wants to make sure the whole Malay people know it, which is why it is more important than the education during this time. Lately, all this information leads up to the changes in the culture and South Thailand, which is continuing to change as more industrialization is taking place. Works Cited Thomas M. Fraser, J. (1966). Fishermen of South Thailand: The Malay Villagers. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.

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