21 September 2008 - Village Life Update

Village Life Update
Sunday, 21 September 2008

Yesterday, we went to Tahsang Village to visit. Activity was the same there as it has been for the past month.

The rice crop is in the field or rather paddy. Everyday there are rains and the crop is looking very good. The countryside is a profusion of green.

The sugar cane crop is gaining in stature by the day. The peanut fields have been plowed under and appear to be ready for planting.

The corn (kaoput) is being harvested, steamed and sold along the roadside.

Along the highway and roads, farmers are attending their wandering herds of cattle or water buffaloes as they take advantage of free grazing. The farmer is usually wearing rubber boots or flip flops on their feet. They wear short pants, a long plaid shirt that in untucked. On their head they wear a large almost sombrero sized and shaped straw hat or they wear their pakama in a turban.

The pakama is a very versatile six foot long piece of light cotton. It is used as a hat, as a belt, to carry things and is sometimes draped over the shoulder for decoration just as westerners will wear a tie. The pakama is plaid and very colorful it helps to establish and signify a man's identity in Isaan. I have been given two as gifts by Duang's family and cherish the thoughts as well as the items themselves.

The cattle herders are usually accompanied by a couple dogs that appear to be helping or trying to help to control the bovine creatures. The dogs present themselves and act much as sheep dogs. I have witnessed varying degrees of effectiveness. I suspect some of the dogs are just enjoying the opportunity to exert some power over a much larger creature. The herder sometimes has a couple of his or her younger children along either to help or to herd along with the animals.

In Isaan there appears to be an equal division of labor. Whatever work there is to be done is performed equally by men and women. Subsistence living is a great equalizer. People at this socio economic state cannot afford the luxury of discriminatory practices. Unfortunately subsistence level living also does not afford the luxury of a long childhood. Many children leave school after 4 or 6 years to work in the fields.

The entourage wanders along the thoroughfares grazing on the lush vegetation. Quite often traffic is hindered by the grazing animals. The farmer has a long piece of thin bamboo that he uses to encourage the animals to move in a particular direction. In the case some older cattle there is a noose around the neck of the animal and a long loose end that is used to rein or restrain the animal. For water buffaloes the noose is through the nose of the animal.

As well as the ongoing agricultural activities, reeds have been harvested and placed on the village road to dry in the sun - in between outbursts frequent showers and thunderstorms. These reeds will be dyed and woven into the ubiquitous "sahts" that dominate Isaan life. The saht is unrolled and placed on the floor of houses for meal, drinking, conversations, and sleeping. The versatile mats take the place of furniture. The saht is also used outside of the home to make riding in the bed of a pickup truck more comfortable. Sahts are used on the wooden floors of the raised thatched roof platforms outside of most village homes. These platforms are where people socialize, raise their babies, drink, smoke, and pass the day.

Due to the daily rains the depth and breadth of flooded lands has increased dramatically. There are reports that the main highway, Highway 2, to Bangkok is impacted and impassable in some places due to flooding. Rail service south to Bangkok has been interrupted for three days due to flooding.

The extent of the increased water levels is very apparent on the road to Kumphawapi and in Tahsang Village. On the road to Kumphawapi there is a section of lowland that has had several very tall, about 6 to 8 feet high, skinny and for me too wobbly bamboo platforms. I had been told that these were for fishing. Well with the rains and consequential flooding of the lowlands, these platforms are now only about 3 feet or less above the waters. Most of the platforms have now been outfitted with a tarp roof as well as a long bamboo boom supporting a fine monofilament square dipping net about 8 feet by 8 feet.

Yesterday many of the platforms were occupied with fishermen and fisherwomen. My intent was to stop upon our return trip to Udonthani and photograph the scenes but I filled up my digital card in Tahsang Village so it will have to wait for another day.

In Tahsang Village the old fishing hole that I photographed before is much larger now and it has risen about 2 feet in depth. Today there were two women fishing. It rained yesterday afternoon and is raining now so it will be getting bigger and deeper.

Weather here is very odd. There are many micro climates that vary in the amount of rain that they get. Tahsang Village appears to get much more rain than Udonthani. In Udonthani, we have seen a torrential downburst in one place and nothing one-half mile away. In Pattaya I actually witnessed a medium downpour on one side of the road and no rain at all on the other side of the road - 20 feet away!!

Duang is currently outside with her son taking her first driving lesson. She is learning to drive a standard shift pickup truck. Her lesson is restricted to the village where we live and she is doing very well - I did not witness her stalling out the truck but I also don't think that she has gotten out of first gear yet! She can drive a motorbike and once owned a somlaw (three wheeled motorcycle) so the manual shift and clutch operation is not completely foreign to her. She is smiling and remaining focused as she circuits but not quite cruises yet the housing development. It is raining so the streets - all 6 of them are devoid of children, dogs, and motorbikes. It is amusing to see her pride and joy.

Hopefully tomorrow's blog will not involve any stories or calamities about learning to drive.