Communication with Identity Reconstruction of Tharae Community in Sakonnakhon Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study were 1) to study communication and identity reconstruction under the context of tourism in Tharae community, 2) to study and analyze factors affecting communication and identity reconstruction under the context of tourism in Tharae community, and 3) to study perceived meaning about identity reconstruction under the context of tourism in Tharae community by people inside and outside the community. The study was conducted using a qualitative research technique and in-depth interview was used as the instrument of the study. Both people inside and outside the community involved with participant observation and non-participant observation and documentary analysis was employed in the study. This study was conducted based on the concepts and theories related to community communication, community-based tourism, identity, ethnics, and cultural reproduction as the research guidelines.

The findings from the study revealed that history played an important role in identity reconstruction of Tharae community. The factor affecting the identity reconstruction the most was stability of Christianity which is a spiritual anchor that enables people in community to live in harmony. In addition, personal media was important factor affecting identity reconstruction. The most successful strategy for identity reconstruction was changing the format. The media related to Christmas star parade festival was the most successful media as the parade is contained in the tourism festival of SakonNakhon province, making the community enter into the context of tourism that gained popularity from tourists. Besides, online media and printed matter were used to publicize the event outside the community.

Furthermore, perceived meaning about identity reconstruction by people inside and outside Tharae community was similar. Namely, it is best known as an old community having the largest amount of population who are Christians in Thailand; Vietnamese people has economic influence; and the community possesses outstanding French-Vietnamese architecture, the one and only attractively decorated Christmas star parade in Thailand. However, some people perceived the identity differently as they recognized the past identity of Tharae community as a place where dog meat was traded and consumed. Therefore, Tharae community has been twisted and turned depending on benefits they gain, as the case may be.

of Christianity which