Music Therapy in Thailand
Geography
The kingdom of Thailand lies in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a natural gateway to Indochina, Myanmar and Southern China. Its shape and geography are divided into four natural regions: The mountains and forests of the North, the vast rice fields of the Central Plains, the semi-arid farm lands of the Northeast plateau and the long coastline and tropical islands of the Southern Peninsula.
Thailand is comprised of 76 provinces that are divided into districts, sub-districts and villages. Bangkok is the capital city and the center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. It is also the seat of Thailand's revered Royal Family. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with His Majesty the King recognized as the Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, upholder of the Buddhist religion and upholder of all religions.
Thailand's present king, His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, or King Rama IX, the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty has reigned for more than half a century making him the longest reigning Thai monarch. Thailand embraces a rich diversity of cultures and traditions. With its proud history, tropical climate and renowned hospitality, the Kingdom is a never-ending source of fascination and enjoyment for international visitors.
Music Therapy in Thailand
Music therapy has been an important tool to rehabilitate patients and disabled people for more than a decade in Thai society. In the past, people in the rural areas used their own beliefs and traditional music therapy methods to rehabilitate their members. For example, the Pi Fa ceremony from Northeastern Thailand was handed down from generation to generation among seven provinces in this region. In this ceremony, the main instrument is a bamboo panpipe called Khaen. The important role of Khaen is to accompany vocalist- Pi Fa. The key performer named Pi Fa has the role as the shaman for each village. The members of the community who have sickness will invite Pi Fa to perform in order to chase away the bad spirit so that the patients would recover.
The Hmong is a small indigenous group from northern Thailand who until modern times also had their own musical shaman to heal their illnesses. In the central part of Thailand, music therapy became recognized after the first rehabilitation center called Sawangkaniwas started a music therapy program and provided training nationwide. Akaboshi Music Therapy which has been widely accepted in Japan was introduced to this rehabilitation center 17 years ago. Later on the adaptation of Thai musical instruments for use with the Akaboshi method built upon the patient's natural familiarity. Most patients in Sawwangkaniwas were semi- paralyzed. Their training program was periodically taught to other similar institutions throughout Thailand.
In January 2004, Rachanukul Institute - an Institution for mentally handicapped people, has established a Music therapy center to provide musical activities for special needs children from the Rachanukul School as well as the patients from the Rachanukul Hospital. They have many types of instruments available for musical activities in their classrooms. Their music therapy center is stimulating, multi-sensory environment that consists of bubble tubes, fiber-optic lighting, bean bags and mirrored balls that are available for both musical activities and relaxation. In Thailand a Glass-harp band has been successfully used as a tool to rehabilitate prisoners for many years. Pin Gaea is a well known glass harp band of 40 inmates led by Weeraphong Thaweesak. A pioneer group of inmates from Nakhon Pathom's Central Prison were so satisfied with their music therapy experiences they expressed their intention to become musicians for life because playing music has been their happiest experience in life.
Presently, there is no academic institution that offers a music therapy program in Thailand. There is only an elective course for those who are interested. One such course is a music therapy class that is part of a stress management course at Chulalongkorn University- the leading Thailand University. Even though music therapy is not set to be a major subject at an academic institution, the research in this field has been done in many different directions. For example, doctors at Sirirat hospital has done research into the effects and relationship music has on a baby's subconscious, the effect of musical activities on mentally handicapped children, the use of music therapy to reduce the pain of last stage cancer patients, the use of Thai music instruments to improve muscle strength of semi-paralyzed patients and four different types of disabled children. All of these programs are a good sign of the growing development of music therapy in Thailand. It is hoped that during the current economic and environment crisis, the growing interest in music therapy could be a focus for the coming generation in order to provide an alternative or an addition to traditional medicine in Thai society.
Reference(s)
Intermusic Center (n.d.). Takehiko Akaboshi. Retrieved September 27, 2004 from http://intermusiccenter.org/akaboshi.htm
Ministry for Justice, Thailand (n.d.). Department for Corrections, Thailand. Retrieved September 27, 2004 from http://www.correct.go.th/eng.htm
How to cite this page
Sumrongthong, Bussakorn (2004). Music Therapy in Thailand . Voices Resources. Retrieved January 09, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country/monththailand_october2004
