Isan: Difference between revisions

The Isan region of Thailand

Isan (also written as Isaan, Issan or Esarn; Thai/Isan อีสาน) is the northeast region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, and Cambodia to the south, and to the west it is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun mountain range.

Agriculture is the main economic activity, but due to the poor conditions, output trails that of Central Thailand, and this is the country's poorest region.

The main language of the region is Isan (which is similar to Lao), but Thai is also widespread and Khmer is spoken in the south. Most of the population is of Lao origin, but the region's incorporation into the modern Thai state has been largely successful.

Prominent aspects of Isan culture include mor lam music, Muay Thai boxing and the food, in which sticky rice and chillies are prominent.

History

Main article: History of Isan

Isan has a number of important bronze age sites, with cliff paintings, artifacts and early evidence of rice cultivation. The region later came under the influence first of the Dvaravati culture and then of the Khmer empire, which left temples at Phimai and Phanom Rung.

After the Khmer empire began to decline from the 13th century, Isan was dominated by the Lao Lan Xang kingdom. Thereafter the region was increasingly settled by Lao migrants. Siam held sway from the 17th century, and carried out forced population transfers from Laos to Isan in the 18th and 19th centuries. Franco-Siamese treaties of 1893 and 1904 made Isan the frontier between Siam and French Indochina.

In the 20th century a policy of "Thaification" promoted the incorporation of Isan as an integral part of Thailand and de-emphasised the Lao origins of the population. This policy extended to the use of the name "Isan" itself: the name is derived from that of Isana, a manifestation of Shiva as deity of the north-east. The name therefore reinforces the area's identity as the north-east of Thailand, rather than as a part of the Lao world.

Geography

Isan covers 62,000 square miles (160,000 square km). It is roughly coterminous with the Khorat Plateau, which tilts from the Phetchabun mountain range in the west of the region (the location of several national parks) down towards the Mekong River. The plateau consists of two main plains: the southern Khorat plain is drained by the Mun and Chi rivers, while the northern Sakhon Nakhon plain is drained by the Loei and Songkhram rivers. The soil is mostly sandy, with substantial salt deposits.

The Mekong forms a large part of the border between Thailand and Laos to the to the north and east of Isan, while the south of the region borders on Cambodia. The Mekong's main Thai tributary is the Mun River, which rises in the Khao Yai National Park near Khorat and runs east, joining the Mekong in Ubon Ratchathani province. The other main river in Isan is the Chi River, which flows through central Isan before turning south to meet the Mun in Sisaket province. The smaller Loei and Songkhram rivers are also tributaries of the Mekong, the former flowing north through Loei province and the latter flowing east through Udon Thani, Sakhon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and Nong Khai provinces.

The average temperature range is from 30.2 C to 19.6 C. The highest temperature recorded was 43.8 C in Udon Thani province, the lowest 0.1 C in Loei province.

Rainfall is unpredictable, but is concentrated in the rainy season from May to October. Average annual precipitation varies from 2000 mm to 1270 mm in the southwestern provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen and Chaiyaphum.

The other seasons are the cool season from October to February, and the hot season from February to May.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Isan

Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy, generating around 22% of the Gross Regional Product. Rice is the main crop (accounting for about 60% of the cultivated land), but farmers are increasingly diversifying into cassava, sugar cane and other crops. Many farmers still use water buffalo rather than tractors. The main animals raised for food are pigs, chickens, ducks and fish.

Despite its dominance of the economy, agriculture in the region is extremely problematic. The climate is prone to drought, while the flat terrain of the plateau is often flooded in the rainy season. The tendency to flood renders a large proportion of the land unsuitable for cultivation. In addition, the soil is highly acidic, salineand infertile from overuse.

Since the 1970s, agriculture has been declining in importance at the expense of the trade and service sectors.

Many Isan people seek higher-paying work outside the region, particularly in Bangkok, where they fill many of the worst paid and lowest-ranking jobs. Some of these people have settled permanently in the city, while others migrate to and fro.

Demographics

Most people in Isan are of Lao origin, although the distinction between the Lao and Thai ethnicities is often blurred. Although there are certain physical features which are more prominent in the Lao, the distinction is primarily one of culture and language. The number of speakers of Isan has been estimated at between 15 million and 23 million, the majority of these being in Isan. Most of these also speak standard Thai, generally more fluently the younger they are.

The Khorat dialect, spoken by around 400,000 people, occupies a linguistic position somewhere between Isan and standard Thai.

There is a substantial Khmer minority, concentrated in the southern provinces.

Other languages spoken in Isan are as follows:

Language	Family	Speakers	Distribution
Aheu	Mon-Khmer	750	Sakhon Nakhon
Eastern Bru	Mon-Khmer	5000	Sakhon Nakhon
Western Bru	Mon-Khmer	20,000	Mukdahan, Amnatcharoen, Ubon
Northern Khmer	Mon-Khmer	1,000,000	Surin, Sisaket, Buriram, Khorat
Kuy	Mon-Khmer	300,000	Buriram, Surin, Sisaket, Ubon, Roi Et
Nyahkur	Mon-Khmer	Unknown	Khorat, Chaiyaphum
Nyaw	Tai-Kadai	50,000	Sakhon Nakhon, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom
Nyeu	Mon-Khmer	Unknown	Sisaket
Phu Thai	Tai-Kadai	156,000	Nakhon Phanom, Ubon, Kalasin, Sakhon Nakhon
Phuan	Tai-Kadai	Unknown	Udon, Loei
Saek	Tai-Kadai	11,000	Nakhon Phanom
So	Mon-Khmer	55,000	Nakhon Phanom, Sakhon Nakhon, Nong Khai, Kalasin
Tai Dam	Tai-Kadai	20,000	Nong Khai, Khorat, Loei (plus Saraburi)
Yoy	Tai-Kadai	5,000	Sakhon Nakhon

As in the rest of Thailand, the population is almost exclusively Theravada Buddhist, although this is combined with elements of animism.

Culture

Isan's culture is predominantly Lao, and has much in common with that of the neighbouring state of Laos. This affinity is shown in the region's temple architecture, customs, dress, cuisine, language, and festivals. The cultural separation from central Thailand, combined with the region's poverty and the typically dark skin of its people, has encouraged a considerable amount of racism against the people of Isan from central Thais.

Isaan food is distinct from Thai and Lao cuisines, but has elements in common with each. The most obvious characteristics are the use of sticky rice rather than plain rice, as well as fiery chillies. Popular dishes include som tam (papaya salad), laab (meat salad) and gai yang (grilled chicken).

The Buddhist temple is the major feature of most villages. These Buddhist temples are not only used for religious cermonies, but also for festivals and as assembly halls.

Isan is known for producing a large number of Muay Thai boxers: as with Western boxing, kickboxing provides a rare opportunity to escape from poverty. Isan's most famous sportsman, however, is tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan, whose family are from Khon Kaen.

The main indigenous music of Isan is mor lam; it exists in a number of regional variants, plus modern forms. In the post-war period, it was brought to Bangkok by migrant workers and began to cross-fertilise with Central Thai luk thung music, producing the luk thung Isan form. Another form of folk music, kantrum, is popular with the Khmer minority in the south. Although there is no tradition of written literature in the Isan language, in the latter half of the 20th century the region produced several notable writers, such as Khamsing Srinawk (who writes in Thai) and Pira Sudham (who writes in English).

Communications

Isan has two railway lines, both connecting the region to Bangkok. One runs east from Khorat, through Surin to Ubon; the other runs north through Khon Kaen and Udon to Nong Khai.

There are 15,000 km of highway, centred on the Thanon Mitraphap ("Friendship Highways") built by the US to supply its bases in the 1960s and 1970s. A road bridge (the Saphan Mitraphap or Friendship Bridge) connects Nong Khai to Laos near Vientiane.

There is little traffic using the Mekong river, as rapids and variable flow make navigation difficult.

There are airports at Khorat, Khon Kaen, Ubon, Udon, Nakhon Phanom, Sakhon Nakhon and Buriram.

Administration

Isan is divided into 19 provinces, although the south-western province of Nakhon Ratchasima is considered by some to be more closely connected with central Thailand.

The provinces of Isan

1. Amnat Charoen
2. Buriram
3. Chaiyaphum
4. Kalasin
5. Khon Kaen
6. Loei
7. Maha Sarakham
8. Mukdahan
9. Nakhon Phanom
10. Nakhon Ratchasima
11. Nongbua Lamphu
12. Nong Khai
13. Roi Et
14. Sakhon Nakhon
15. Sisaket
16. Surin
17. Ubon Ratchathani
18. Udon Thani
19. Yasothon

External links

• Isan: The People and Region of Northeast Thailand

• Ethnologue report on Thailand

• Books/Asedp/pdf/066_cap6.pdf Toward a Knowledge-Based Economy: Northeastern Thailand