Suchergebnisse

Abstract
From time immemorial until the decree of 7 April 1861, all land belonged to the Thai king. This paper explores what this meant in practice, over time. In pre-modern times, land ideally could be inherited, but this could be overruled by the king. Taking and exploiting a piece of land meant that the owner would be registered and taxed. In the Chaophraya Delta, where waterways were the dominant means of water transport, two separate types of housing developed: the house-boat and houses on rafts. The latter form of high-density living on the water was only abandoned in the second half of the nineteenth century. Finally, the question of occupying land is looked at from the perspective of the commoner.

In this article some aspects of the relationship between the degree of display of the uncovered body and sexuality are explored, using data from Thai historical sources. A close look at some illustrations in manuscripts from the Ayutthaya and Thonburi periods establishes that prior to the middle of the nineteenth century, Siamese etiquette allowed for large parts of the body to be exposed to public gaze. It is assumed that this may have affected attitudes towards sexuality. A hypothesis whereby the relatively generous display of the human body is correlated with a larger degree of matter-of-factness towards the body and has an effect on courting behaviour is tested on historical and ethnographical data. At first sight the hypothesis appears to be confirmed but because of the scantiness of the data at hand, further research is needed before a proper theory of early Thai sexuality can be developed.