Appending Roles of Thai Lanna Temples for Sustainable Communities: A Case Study of Wat Phumin, Nan Province

Abstract

Temples have been important in Thai society for over 700 years. When the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238 -1438 AD) was the capital city of Thailand. The great King Ramkamhang had been accepted Theravada Buddhism to be the strongest religion in the land. Later Lanna kindom (1296 - 1558 AD) was founded in mid-13th century by King Mangrai. Indeed, King Ramkamhang were friends with King Mangrai , and King Ngam Muang of Phayao Kingdom (1094–1338 AD), it is possible Theravada Buddhism had been introduced to the kingdoms during the reigns of these three Kings. Indeed, Lanna Kingdom has accepted Theravada Buddhism to be their religion. Until Rueanglada Punyalikhit31894, Lanna Kingdom combined with Siam Kingdom which is Rattanakosin period (1782 AD - present). Throughout history, temples have become an essential part of Lanna and Thais’ lives. At the present, some Thai Lanna temples are not only functions for performing religious rites, but also they become a central for Lanna and Thai communities. Temple (“Wat” in Thai) is a sacred architecture. Moreover, there are ideas to decorate inside temples with arts. Wattana Boonjub (2009) points out that Mural painting are used to teach (Lanna and) Thai people in the past. For example, Wat Phumin, Nan province. With beautiful Lanna architecture and exquisite Lanna mural paintings, these are intangible heritages. These unique characteristics have invited lots of people to visit this temple for years. Therefore, Wat Phumin became a tourist attraction that creates revenue for its community. Johan Galtung (1980) gave the definition for “Self-Reliance”, is the strategy for development to be financial independence. With collaboration from community, it becomes sustainable community. For Methodology, quantitative and qualitative method were used by collecting the data from tourists who have been visited Wat Phumin, Nan province. The data then were analyzed using mean, descriptive statistics, and qualitative data. This study concludes that Wat Phumin, Nan province has created sustainable community for it community.