PERSONAL CONDUCT

Westerners can unintentionally cause offence by pointing at things with their foot, sitting in a way that their feet are pointing at a Thai and by touching or patting Thais on the head.

Such actions will cause Thais considerable discomfort even if they are too polite to say as much. Displaying physical affection in public towards a member of the opposite sex is also frowned upon by many Thais, although in recent years it has become more common to see young couples in Bangkok holding hands.

Physical contact between friends of the same sex, however, is perfectly acceptable and it is not uncommon to see young men or women walking hand in hand with a friend of the same sex.

POLITE LANGUAGE

An important way of expressing politeness when speaking Thai is to use a polite particle, a word for which there is no equivalent in English, at the end of a sentence. Thus men will add the word "krup" at the end of both statements and questions in order to sound more polite, while women will say "ka" at the end of questions and statements also.
In Thai language and behaviour it is generally better to sound too polite, than not polite enough.

Traditional Thai Dancing Ramakien

Thailand has an ancient form of stagecraft, a choreographed masked play with music originally associated with the Ramayana epic.Over hundreds of years the epic known in Thai as the Ramakien has been adapted to Thai culture and traditions.

The form of dance that has evolved is considered to be standard Thai classical dance with complex and graceful movements requiring long and dedicated training.

Khon masks are worn by performers in this ancient stage drama known as the Khon.

Each performer wears a particular mask identifying his or her individual role in the play.

Nowadays not all performers wear masks but their skill still lies in helping the audience understand the story through their actions and movements.

The masks are of great symbolic importance as the performers do not speak or sing but move and dance in harmony with the accompanying music and narration.

The making of the masks for the characters in Khon masked drama is an ancient art passed on by highly skilled craftsmen for over 200 years.

It is one of the ten National crafts of Thailand.

The highly skilled artist craftsmen use natural materials such as Sa paper, the black sap of the Rak tree, leather, pearl shells and 24 carat gold leaf.

Every mask we sell on Thaishop2you.com is a totally unique and collectable piece of art.

Each Kohn mask, be it that of the demon King Tosakanth or one of the many Khon characters, is made by hand.

Brought to life in the traditional way by craftsmen pasting layers of Sa paper ( hand made paper from the Sa tree ) over a clay mould.

After drying in the sun, the mask is removed from the clay mould by cutting in half and sewn back together.

These stitches are covered by further layers of Sa paper.

The mask is scraped smooth, another layer of Sa paper is applied and left until thoroughly dry.

The black sap of the Rak tree is used to form relief features such as eyebrows, ears, and the elaborate headdresses..

Another layer of Sa paper is applied and the face finally sandpapered.

Highlighting lines are painted onto the mask with Rak tree sap.

Masks are finished in various ways, using 24 carat gold leaf, coloured glass and shell.

Finally the faces are coloured.

The fangs of the demon mask are fashioned from pearl shells.