kaab (กาบ)
Thai
name for large, sheath-like bracts or
spathe (fig.)
enveloping an inflorescence or drupe, as well as the husk-like outer
layers of a plant which can be pealed from its soft, herbaceous
stem, like that of the banana plant, for example. In
Loei
Province, the broad spathe
of the
coconut palm is used in the making of
Phi Tah Khohn
masks (fig.).
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Kaaknasoon (กากนาสูร)
Thai.
Name of a character from the
Ramakien, a female giant belonging
to the entourage of
Totsakan, who instructed her to harm a
reusi,
who lived in the forest. She changed herself into a large
crow (fig.)
and flew to his hermitage, which she completely destroyed whilst
ferociously pecking at
the hermit. The hermit then went to see
Totsarot and told him what had happened. Totsarot then sent
Phra Ram and
Phra Lak to help the hermit and
when Kaaknasoon returned after seven days, she was shot and killed
by an arrow. Her
appearance is reminiscent of that of a European plague doctor, who
wore a leather face mask with glass eye openings and an elongated
beak-shaped nose which was filled with herbs, straw, and other
aromatic items, which not only filtered the stench of the putrid
air, but was a the time believed to also shield him from contracting
the highly contagious disease. These medieval physicians likewise
carried a stick, used to examine patients without the need to make
direct contact with them. See also
Kahkamukha.
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kaam (กาม)
Thai for
kama and
Kama, meaning
‘love’ or
‘desire’ and its personification, i.e.
the god of love and desire, also known as
Phra
Kaam (fig.). Depending on the context, the word may
also be translated as
‘sexual
desire’,
‘sex’,
‘sensual’,
‘sensuous’
,‘carnal’
and ‘erotic’.
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kaan (คาน)
See
mai kaan haab.
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Kaanboon (การบุญ)
See
Garnboon.
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kaanboon (การบูร)
Thai for ‘camphor’, a sticky white or
transparent substance with a strong, aromatic odour found in wood of
the
ton
obcheuy
yuan (ต้นอบเชยญวน)
or ‘Annamese (Vietnamese)
cinnamon
tree’,
with the botanical name Cinnamomum
camphora and
in English known as
Camphor
Laurel or
Camphor Tree
(fig.). It is widely used in
Hindu
religious ceremonies, as a fuel to light a holy flame. It is burned
to bring about purity and since it burns cool without leaving an ash
residue, it also symbolizes consciousness. Besides this, it is used
for its scent and as an ingredient in mainly Indian cooking.
One of
Pathum Thani's
OTOP
products is kaanboon hom, i.e. ‘aromatic
camphor’, a kind of herbal scent or perfume bag, often sold in the
form of a small cotton doll, known as
tukkatah
kaanboon hom, ‘aromatic camphor dolls’.
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kaan borijahk lohng sop (การบริจาคโลงศพ)
Thai for ‘coffin
donation’.
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kaan chai
thuay dood leuad (การใช้ถ้วยดูดเลือด)
Thai. ‘To make use of cups to suck blood’.
Designation for cupping or fire cupping, an acupressure technique
used in traditional Chinese medicine and in Mandarin known as
ba guan zi.
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kaancheud mangkon (การเชิดมังกร)
Thai. ‘Manipulation of the
dragon’.
Name for the Chinese Dragon Dance (fig.).
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kaancheud seua (การเชิดเสือ)
Thai. ‘Manipulation of the
tiger’.
Name for the Chinese Tiger Dance
(fig.).
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kaancheud singtoh (การเชิดสิงโต)
Thai. ‘Manipulation of the
lion’.
Name for the Chinese Lion Dance (fig.).
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kaanchon kai (การชนไก่)
Thai. ‘Cock fighting’. Name of a brutal blood
sport that, although illegal, banned or restricted in most
countries, is still widely practiced in Thailand, as well as in many
other countries of Southeast Asia. Cock fighting is a cruel ‘game’
in which fighting cocks, specially bred for aggressive behavior, are
pitted against each other. The fights traditionally involve betting
and often the birds are injected with stimulants to heighten their
aggression and sometimes even fitted with metal spurs or razor-sharp
blades. When a bird is down and wounded during a fight, it is often
prone to choking in its own blood. To prevent asphyxiation its owner
will suck the blood from its wounds and throat to clear the windpipe
so that the bird can be re-pitted until it is incapable of being
revived and a winner can be declared. Cock fights are animal cruelty
for the purpose of amusement and greed, and whilst the winners
scrape the pot, the loser ends up being served in one, or more
likely is tossed onto a heap of other dead birds. Cock fights became
a major concern for authorities during the outbreak of the deadly
avian flu, as the sucking of blood from injured roosters could
become a prime, potentially lethal, gateway for the spread of the
H5N1 bird flu virus to humans. In September 2004 the virus killed at
least one eighteen year old man who raised fighting cocks outside
Bangkok. King
Naresuan was a
huge enthusiast of cock fighting and at shrines devoted to him one
will generally find stone sculptures of cocks, often placed there as
offerings (fig.).
It is believed that King Naresuan used a
Yellow
White-tail Fighting Cock (fig.), a species known in Thai as
Kai Chon
Leuang Haang Khao and famous for its endurance in
fighting, in a cock fighting game with the
uparacha of
Burma.
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kaan fai fah nakhon luang (การไฟฟ้านครหลวง)
Thai. ‘Metropolitan Electricity
Authority’. Name for the municipal electricity supply agency for the
Bangkok metropolitan area. Electricity
was introduced to Thailand by
Chao Phraya
Surasakmontri (สุรศักดิ์มนตรี) after this chargé d'affaires to
France returned from Paris where he had been
impressed by how the French capital was illuminated with electric
light. Upon his return he tried, yet initially failed, to convince
King
Rama V,
who had never experienced the benefits of electricity, of the
importance of this new energy for the nation. Hence, he then
persuaded the Queen to assists him and eventually
the Grand Palace
was decorated with lamps and
illuminated
on the occasion of the birthday of King
Chulalongkorn,
on 20 September 1884. After this,
electricity soon became
widely used in Bangkok and in 1894 a first
electrical tramway was
established (fig.), replacing trams drawn by horses, that were in use since 1887. The tram business was sold and ownership transferred
several times, time and again changing its name, and eventually
being named Thai Electricity Corporation Company Limited. When in
1950 the concession expired, the government took over operation,
changed the name to Bangkok Electricity Authority, and placed it
under the control of the Ministry if the Interior. On 1 August 1958,
the current Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) was
established, which gradually evolved from its many predecessors,
while on 28 September 1960 the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA),
known in Thai as
kaan fai fah suan phumiphaak
(fig.),
was established as the government department responsible for
providing electricity (fig.) in 74 of the 77 provinces in Thailand, i.e.
all except Bangkok,
Samut Prakan
and
Nonthaburi.
The emblem
of the
MEA
is orange and consists of a circle
with the silhouette of
Phra Thihnang Anantasamahkom,
i.e.
the
Ananta
Samahkom Throne Hall
(fig.),
a landmark building in the capital, and four lightning bolts.
See also POSTAGE STAMP
and
MAP.
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kaan fai fah suan phumiphaak
(การไฟฟ้าส่วนภูมิภาค)
Thai. ‘Provincial Electricity
Authority’. Government department responsible for providing
electricity in 74 of the 77 provinces in Thailand (fig.), i.e. all except
Bangkok,
Samut Prakan
and
Nonthaburi,
which are served by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, known in
Thai as
kaan fai fah nakhon luang.
See also POSTAGE STAMP
and
MAP.
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kaang ha sih (ค่างห้าสี)
See
Red-shanked Douc Langur.
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kaangkaeng le (กางเกงเล)
Thai. ‘Sea trousers’. Name for the traditional Thai fisherman pants
worn by the
Chao Le, a lightweight and
oversized pair of trousers, somewhere between a
sarong
and a pair of culottes. They are made very
spacious and need to be wrapped around the waist and then tied with
a string from the back, to form a belt. They are popular as casual
wear at home and on the beach, and are usually made from cotton or
rayon, one size fits all. Due to its wide trousers legs sometimes
referred to as elephant leg pants. This kind of
long baggy pants are
also commonly worn
in
Myanmar, where they are
known as
Shan baun-bi,
i.e. ‘Shan trousers’ (fig.).
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kaangkok (คางคก)
Thai for ‘toad’.
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kaangkok ban (คางคกบ้าน)
Thai. ‘House toad’. Name for the
Common Asian Toad
(fig.).
Also transcribed kahngkok bahn and kaangkok baan.
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kaangkok sawan (คางคกสวรรค์)
Thai. ‘Heavenly toad’. Name of an auspicious animal from
Chinese mythology.
READ ON.
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kaang ngok (ค่างหงอก)
Thai. ‘Grey Langur’. A name for the
Silvered
Leaf Monkey, used alongside
kaang thao.
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kaang
pla thod (ก้างปลาทอด)
Thai. ‘Fried
fishbone’.
Name for a snack consisting of deep fried
fish bones, which can be dipped in either a sweet-and-sour
nahm phrik
sauce or a spicy
nahm jim kai sauce.
See also
nang pla thod krob
(fig.).
It is a specialty from
Ayutthaya.
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kaang sahm sih (ค่างสามสี)
See
Black-shanked Douc Langur.
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kaang thao (ค่างเทา)
Thai. ‘Grey Langur’. A name for the
Silvered
Leaf Monkey, in addition to
kaang ngok.
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kaang waen thin neua (ค่างแว่นถิ่นเหนือ)
Thai. ‘Northern Spectacled Langur’.
Designation for the
Phayre's Leaf Monkey.
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kaang waen thin tai (ค่างแว่นถิ่นใต้)
Thai. ‘Southern Spectacled Langur’.
Name for the
Dusky Leaf Monkey.
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kaanhaam (คานหาม)
Thai. Name for a sedan chair or litter (fig.).
Kaan means ‘to carry something (with both hands)’ and haam means
‘sedan chair’. Also
saliang. See also
palanquin,
yahnamaht and
yahnumaht.
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kaan jad dokmai (การจัดดอกไม้)
Thai. ‘Flower arrangement’. This art form is very traditional,
especially in the making of
puang malai, flower
garlands (fig.) made from
jasmine
and other colorful flowers, including
orchids. These are thread on a wire with a long needle. Also the
arrangement of bouquets using tropical species is very popular.
See also
Pahk Khlong Talaat
(fig.),
fruit carving
and
kaan roy puang malai.
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kaan loh (การหล่อ)
Thai. ‘Casting’.
A manufacturing process in which a metal,
often a precious metal such as bronze or gold, is liquefied, cast
into a mold and solidified again.
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kaan loh phra (การหล่อพระ)
Thai. ‘Casting
of
Buddha images’.
A manufacturing process in which liquid
bronze is cast into a mold (fig.)
and solidified into a Buddha image. First hot wax is poured into a
mold, creating a wax image of the desired shape which, once dry and
solid, is taken from the mold; then, some nails are inserted at
certain points around the wax image, which is
then covered with a mixture made of plaster, sand and water, and
tied with a metal wire (fig.); this is done a second time and then the
image is put into a kiln, in order to make the wax melt and create a
hollow cavity of the desired shape, a technique known as
lost
wax; next, hot liquid bronze is cast into the cavity, replacing the
wax; once solidified, the covering is smashed, revealing the bronze
statue; the image is then polished and decorated, and lacquer is
applied as a base colour, which is rubbed with sand paper to
smoothen it; then it is painted with black lacquer and covered with
gold
leaf; finally it is polished one more last time. See also
Buranathai
Buddha Image Foundry
(map
- fig.).
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kaan prakuat (การประกวด)
Thai for ‘competition’
or ‘contest’,
usually referring to a beauty contest, with or without a catwalk.
The word derives from
prakuat,
meaning ‘to
compete’ or ‘to
contend’. Vanity is a not insignificant facet of Thai
youth culture and beauty contests are thus very popular, both with
male, female and
kathoey
participants, though most
foreign visitors would consider Thai beauty contests rather
long-winded and boring. Participants
usually compete for money prizes
and are judged by a panel, though members of the audience most often
also have a say. They can support their favourite candidate by
buying him or her flowers. The more flowers a candidate receives,
the more votes or points he or she will get from the panel in that
particular category of the contest. Since there is no limit on the flowers one is allowed to buy or receive,
participants will try to get as many supporters as possible to come
and cheer on them.
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kaan roy puang malai (การร้อยพวงมาลัย)
Thai. ‘To
string [flowers into]
garlands’. Term for
making flower garlands,
a popular form of
kaan jad dokmai,
i.e. ‘flower arranging’.
They are usually
made from
jasmine
and other
colorful flowers, including
orchids.
See also POSTAGE STAMPS.
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kaan sadaeng khuang fai (การแสดงควงไฟ)
Thai. ‘Fire
spinning show’. Term for fire performances in which fire poi, a fire
stick or a fire rope, i.e. a baton or stick, or a rope, usually with
a handle on one end and a kind of weighted torch-like canister with
a wicking material at the other end, is spun around at night,
creating hoop-like displays of flames that lit up against the dark
of night. In Thailand, these kind of fire performances are typically
held on sandy beaches nationwide, especially on those of the more
popular tourist islands.
See also
TRAVEL PICTURE.
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kaan salak dun (การสลักดุน)
Thai. A metalworking technique in
which a malleable metal is ornamented by hammering
it on both sides.
READ ON.
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kaan seuksah (การศึกษา)
Thai for
education.
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kaan wian thian (การเวียนเทียน)
Thai. Name for a candlEnlightenment procession, in which people walk three
times around a
around a temple, an important shrine or a
stupa,
in a clockwise direction, an act also known as a
thaksinahwat.
The three circumnavigations represent the
Triple Gem.
See also
thian pansa.
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kaan yaay ton klah (การย้ายต้นกล้า)
Thai. ‘Paddy
sprouts transplanting’.
Abstract noun of
yaay ton
klah.
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kaan ying thanoo (การยิงธนู)
Thai for ‘archery’, one of the main skills that kings and warriors of the
past had to master, both as a weapon in combat and for hunting.
READ ON.
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kaap he reua (กาพย์เห่เรือ)
Thai term for any epic poetry in verse form, which makes use of
tones as well as rhymes, but lacks any definite metrical scheme or
cadence, and which in general consists of 8 to 14 verses. The most
famous of its kind was composed by
Chao Fah
Thammathibet, the viceroy
of
Ayutthaya
and the eldest son of
Somdet
Phra Chao
Yoo Hua
Borommakoht
(1733-1758 AD),
which is still sung today in the
Royal Barge Procession (fig.),
in order to give rhythm to the oarsmen.
See also
he reua.
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kabang (กะบัง)
Thai name for
a
kind of crown-like
headdress,
somewhat reminiscent of
a diadem,
and
worn by Thai
classical dancers,
as well as by certain monkeys and demons in the
Ramakien.
As such, it is the counterpart of the cone-shaped
chadah
(fig.).
It is usually
worn by less important
characters,
while the main characters by and large wear a chadah-style crown,
though there are several exceptions, e.g.
Hanuman (fig.),
who most of the time is depicted wearing a kabang. When worn by
monkeys, it is also referred to as kabang nah
ling,
whereas if worn by demons, it is called kabang nah
yak.
Also transcribed ka-bang.
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kabih (กบี่)
Thai-Pali word for monkey.
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kabihthoot (กบี่ธุช)
A standard with a picture of
Hanuman, which
Rama
used to lead his army of monkeys.
Also transcribed kabeetut.
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Kabinlaphad (กบิลพัสดุ)
Thai for
Kapilavatthu.
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Kabin Maha Phrom (กบิลมหาพรหม)
Thai name of a deity who had his head cut
off after losing a wager.
Kabin Maha Phrom was the deity that looked after all important
ceremonies in the lives of humans, until one day, a certain rich man
who had no children asked the god
Indra for
help, who gave him a son. The boy, named Thammakumaan (ธรรมกุมาร),
which can be translated as ‘Child of the
Dhamma’
or ‘Righteous
Prince’,
was very gifted and even understood the language of the birds. He
was given the same responsibilities over human ceremonies, as
Kabin Maha Phrom, exciting the jealousy of the latter. To stop the
competition, the deity challenged the boy by giving him three
riddles to solve, and made a bet with him, saying that if he knew
the correct answers to the riddles within a week, the deity would
cut off his own head, but if he couldn't give him the correct
answers, he himself would be beheaded. Nearing the end of that week,
Thammakumaan who still didn't know the correct answers, was resting
underneath a tree. In the tree were some eagles, who were looking
forward to soon be feasting on the flesh of the dead body of the boy
who would fail to solve the riddles. Whilst relating the story of
the wager between the god and the young man, the eagles revealed the
right answers to those three riddles. being able to understand the
language of the birds, Thammakumaan was now well informed and on the
appointed day he gave the Kabin Maha Phrom the three right answers.
The god hence lost the wager and cut off his own head, but since his
head had intense heat, it would cause an inferno if it were to touch
the earth, or parch the sea if it would fell into the sea, his head
was deposited in a cave in the heavens. Every new year, i.e. on
Songkraan Day,
Nang Songkraan, i.e. one of the
god's seven daughters in turn will carry her father's head in a
parade. Though the seven daughters are often referred to as one, by
the name Nang Songkraan, each one separately also has her own name,
attributes, mount and other characteristic. Each one corresponds
with a day of the week and in the annual parade, the one
representing Miss Songkraan, i.e. will carry the head of Kabin Maha
Phrom, will be
in
compliance with the day of the week on
which the festival falls, and is hence different each year, thus
taking turns in this role. The deity
is usually referred to as
Tao
Kabin Maha Phrom and his name is often transliterated Kabil Maha
Phrom. His name
is similar to that of Phra Phrom, i.e. Brahma, and like Phra Phrom,
Kabin Maha Phrom is also depicted with four faces.
See also POSTAGE
STAMPS.
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Kabin Paksah (กบิลปักษา)
Thai-Pali. ‘Monkey-bird’. Name of a mythological creature from
Himaphan, half-bird and half-monkey, i.e. the torso of a
monkey (kabih)
and the legs and tail of a bird (paksah). In
addition it has a pair of small wings
on its upper shoulders and is often depicted holding a staff.
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kacchera (ਕਛੈਰਾ)
Punjabi. Name for the
undergarment worn by
Sikh
devotees as
one of the five articles of their faith. It is similar to boxer
shorts, yet has to be made entirely from cotton, and thus has a
drawstring at the waist rather than an elastic band to keep it in
place. It is worn as a reminder that one should control ones
kama,
i.e. sexual desire or lust.
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Kadru (कद्रू)
Sanskrit. Name of the daughter of
Daksha, wife of
Kasyapa and mother of the
nagas in the
Mahabharata, but in the
Ramayana she is described as being the daughter of Kasyapa and
Krodhavasa, who is also a daughter of Daksha.
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kae (แกะ)
Thai for ‘sheep’, while a ‘goat’
is called
phae.
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kaeb moo (แคบหมู)
Thai for ‘pork cracklings’.
Deep fried strings of pork rind, i.e. the tough outer layer of
bacon. It is a crispy, popular snack, often served with other
dishes, such as
nahm phrik
oung
(fig.),
and during
khantoke
dinners (fig.).
It is an
OTOP
specialty
from
Phayao
and is also widely made (fig.) and sold on the Kaad Thung Kwian (กาดทุ่งเกวียน)
forest market of
Lampang.
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kaebon (แก้บน)
Thai. To fulfill a promise by making a votive offer, often in the
form of a paid dance performance near an important shrine, where one
earlier prayed or asked for a good result from an event or occasion.
Alternatively, one can put up a set of miniature dancers known as
tukkatah ram thai (fig.),
that perform a more permanent dance
performance
called
lakhon yok (fig.).
Also transcribed gaebon.
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kaek (แขก)
Thai.
‘Guest’ or ‘visitor’. Term used to
refer
to people of Indian descent
(fig.),
i.e. the indigenous people from the Indian Subcontinent, including
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc. It may also be transcribed khaek or Kaek (Khaek), with a
capital letter.
See also
farang.
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kaen (แคน)
1. Thai. A
bamboo
mouth organ. A
traditional Thai wind instrument with multiple pipes and a polyphonic sound, somewhat like that of
an organ, and which is mostly
played by the people of northeastern Thailand (fig.).
It is made from the firm stems of reed (fig.)
and usually left in its natural colour, although occasionally it may
be dyed to make it look more attractive (fig.).
It is held with both hands and played by blowing air into the
mouthpiece (fig.),
whilst alternately covering and uncovering small tone holes with the
tips of ones fingers, to
alter the pitch of the sound produced and which
is proportional to each pipe's effective length.
There is
just
one tone hole on each pipe,
located just above the mouthpiece. An instrument representative of
Isaan (map),
it is often displayed in art of that region (fig.).
Also transcribed khaen. See also
gaeng.
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2. Thai. Name in
Isaan
for the
takian thong,
a tree in English known by the name gagil and with
the botanical name Hopea odorata.
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kaeng (แกง)
Thai. Generic name
for a variety of typically Thai, often soup-like, curries. It may be clear and
thin, or spicy and thickened with
coconut milk,
depending on the variety, which is often specified by adding a suffix, e.g.
kaeng phanaeng,
kaeng khi lehk,
kaeng khiao wahn,
kaeng som, etc. To those different curries,
meat, fish or seafood will be added, according to ones choice and liking, and to
specify the dish more accurately, the Thai word for the kind of meat, fish or
seafood used, will hence be added to the name of the curry. Many curries are
typically eaten with some raw vegetables that are served on the side, such as
yod
krathin
(fig.).
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kaeng khiao wahn (แกงเขียวหวาน)
Thai. ‘Sweet green
curry’.
Name
of a kind of
curry
(kaeng),
made on the basis of green
chili paste
(fig.)
and
coconut milk,
which is mixed with water and cooked in a
wok,
whilst adding other
ingredients, such as a little palm sugar and
fish sauce,
meat or fish, crisp eggplant (makheua
proh -
fig.),
pea or cluster
eggplant (makheua
phuang -
fig.),
kaffir lime
leaves (makrud
-
fig.),
Thai Basil
(hora-phaa)
leaves (fig.),
and sliced red chili peppers.
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kaeng khi lehk (แกงขี้เหล็ก)
Thai. Name of a kind of curry (kaeng) made
with the young leaves and flowers of the
khi lehk american, a kind of cassia tree
also known as
suwannaphreuk.
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kaeng phanaeng
(แกงแผนง)
Thai. Name of a kind of red
curry (kaeng) with plenty of
coconut milk,
what makes it milder and thicker than regular red curries. It is
made with little shreds of
kaffir lime
leaf, sliced red
chilis
and bite-size chunks of either beef, pork or chicken, naming the
dish after the meet, e.g. kaeng phanaeng moo (pork) for the dish
with pork, kaeng phanaeng kai (chicken) for the dish with chicken,
etc.
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kaeng som (แกงส้ม)
Thai. ‘Sour
curry’ or ‘orange
curry’.
Name
of a kind of
thin,
curry-like
soup
(kaeng),
made of
tamarind
paste, which is orange in
colour and somewhat sour in taste. This then forms the basis, in which other
ingredients are added to form a dish, which is further named according to
the ingredients that are added, e.g.
kaeng som cha om kung
(fig.).
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kaeng som cha om kung (แกงส้มชะอมกุ้ง)
Thai. Name of a
thin,
curry-like
soup (kaeng), known in Thai as
kaeng som, made of
tamarind
paste,
fish sauce,
sugar and lemon juice, and which is orange in colour and somewhat
sour in taste. In it, thick, square-cut blocks of omelet mixed with young green
Acacia leaves called cha
om, are added (fig.),
as well as
kung,
i.e.
‘shrimps’.
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kaen tawan (แก่นตะวัน)
Thai. Name for the Jerusalem
artichoke, the root of a kind of
sunflower,
with the botanical designation
Helianthus tuberosus, and which is also commonly known as sunchoke and earth
apple.
It is cultivated for its edible tuber and in Thailand, where it is grown
commercially in
Khon Kaen
and
Phetchabun,
the root is sliced and eaten raw as a herbal snack.
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kae salak (แกะสลัก)
Thai term used for the art of making three-dimensional
sculptures or relief forms, by either chiselling, carving, engraving,
etching and sculpturing wood, stone or other materials, including even fruit
and vegetables (see
fruit carving). Other
methods of producing statues or three-dimensional, such as casting or
moulding, are called differently, i.e. for ‘casting’ the term loh (หล่อ)
is used which is also slang for ‘male beauty’, and for ‘moulding’ the
word pan (ปั้น) is utilized.
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kae salak dun (แกะสลักดุน)
See
kaan salak dun.
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kae salak pak (แกะสลักผัก)
Thai. Carving of vegetables
into sculptures following tradition. See also
fruit carving.
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kae salak ponlamai (แกะสลักผลไม้)
Thai. The artistic carving of
fruit into sculptures or reliefs following tradition. See also
fruit carving.
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kaew (แก้ว)
Thai for ‘glass’, especially
‘cut glass’
or
‘crystal’,
as distinguished from sheet glass, which is called krajok (กระจก).
The term is also used as a designation for precious and exquisite
things, such as gemstones, and
often appears in names of places, places and temples, as in
Wat Phra Kaew.
Also transliterated kaeo.
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kaew chao jom (แก้วเจ้าจอม)
Thai. ‘Crystal minor
wife of a king (without his child)’.
Name for a small tree with the
botanical name Guaiacum officinale, commonly known as Roughbark
Lignum-vitae. It originates from the East Indies and was introduced
in Thailand by King
Rama V,
who brought it with him from Java after a visit to the island, and
subsequently planted it in the Royal Palace's garden. Today the
showy blue to bluish-white flower is the symbol of the Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏสวนสุนันทา)
and is portrayed on a postage stamp issued in 2002 AD (fig.).
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Kaew Jom Kaen (แก้วจอมแก่น)
Thai. ‘Crystal,
[the]
core leader’.
Name of a book composed by Princess
Sirindhorn
under the pseudonym Waen
Kaew (แว่นแก้ว),
and in English referred to as ‘The Mischievous Kaew’ (fig.). The literary
work is a youth book based on the princess' own experiences from her
childhood. The main character of the book is a girl named Kaew
(Crystal), who
is also the core storyteller. Each chapter she tells about one of her
adventures, describing both her mischief and her knowledge. She
introduces her friends and nephews, and even gives recipes to make
Thai desserts. When UNESCO in 2013 presented the honorary prize of
World Book Capital 2013 to
Bangkok as the 13th city in its capacity
that was declared the
metropolis of reading in order to encourage learning by
books at an international level, the princess granted royal
permission to print the cover of Kaew Jom Kaen on a commemorative
postage stamp, issued to mark the event (fig.).
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kaew mangkon (แก้วมังกร)
Thai name for the
dragon fruit.
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kaffir lime
See
makrud.
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kah (ก๋า)
Thai. Another name for
wih.
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Kahkamukha (काकमुख)
Sanskrit. ‘Crow-faced’,
sometimes translated as ‘raven-faced’. A form of
Mahakala (fig.) depicted with a black (kala)
complexion, wings and the head of a crow. This form of Mahakala,
i.e.
the
Hindu god of time and
a form of
Shiva
as the personification of
Kala
in a terrible form,
occurs especially in
Tantric
Buddhism and hence
in the religious art of Tibet.
The name is also
transcribed Kakamukha and he is sometimes referred to as Kahkamukha
Mahakala, or Kakamukha Mahakala. Compare with
Kaaknasoon.
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Kahn
Pheungboon Na Ayutthaya (ก้าน พึ่งบุญ ณ อยุธยา)
Thai.
True name
of an early 20th century novelist, who
wrote under the pseudonym
Mai Meuang Deum.
READ
ON.
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kahng kahw (ค้างคาว)
Thai name
for ‘bat’.
Literally kahng means ‘to be left dangling’ or ‘perching’ and kahw
means ‘to stench’ or ‘stink’.
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kahng kahw kitti (ค้างคาวกิตติ)
Thai. Name
for the hog-nosed
bat
which is also known as the Bumblebee Bat, the world's smallest bat
with the scientific name Craseonycteris thonglongyai. It has an
adult body weighing only between 1.5 and 2.0 grams, and a
wingspan of about 16 centimeters across.
These rare bats are insectivores and are only found in Thailand and
Myanmar,
where they are known to live in just a few limestone caves in
forested landscapes. It gets its name from
Kitti
Thonglongya
(กิตติ
ทองลงยา), a Thai scientist who in 1973 first listed this species
which he discovered in a cave in the
amphur Sai Yohk (ไทรโยค)
in
Kanchanaburi
province.
Before that
time it was unknown to science. In
1986 it was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's
smallest known mammal.
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kahng kahw mongkut (ค้างคาวมงกุฎ)
Thai. ‘Diadem
bat’. Thai term for
Horseshoe Bat.
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kahsahwapad (กาสวพัสตร์)
Pali-Thai. The robe of a Buddhist monk. See also
traijiewon and
pah kahsahwapad.
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kahthah (คาถา)
Another transliteration
for
kata.
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kahtiyaw (กาเตียว)
Thai. Northeastern Thai name for the
krajiaw.
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kai betong (ไก่เบตง)
Thai. A breed of domestic chicken, that originated from the langshan
(แลงซาน) variety from
China
and was introduced to Thailand by Chinese immigrants. It is named after
the place where it was first bred for consumption, i.e. the
Amphur
Betong in
Yala
Province. Adult males have a reddish-yellow plumage and females are
whitish-yellow. Adult males have a reddish-yellow plumage and females
are whitish-yellow. Both sexes have yellow legs and feet, and a single
red comb. See also
Bantam.
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Kai Chao Liang (ไก่เจ้าเลี้ยง)
Thai. Literally ‘Ruler-bred
Cock’, but usually translated as ‘Royal
Fighting Cock’. Another name for the ‘Yellow
White-tail Fighting Cock’, besides
Kai Chon Leuang Haang Khao and
Kai Chon Phra
Naresuan.
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Kai Chon Leuang
Haang Khao (ไก่ชนเหลืองหางขาว)
Thai. ‘Yellow
White-tail Fighting Cock’. A special breed of fighting
cock, also known in Thai as
Kai Chao Liang and
Kai Chon Phra
Naresuan.
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Kai Chon Phra Naresuan
(ไก่ชนพระนเรศวร)
Thai. ‘Phra
Naresuan
Fighting Cock’. Another name for the
‘Yellow
White-tail Fighting Cock’, in addition to
Kai Chon Leuang Haang Khao and
Kai Chao Liang.
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kai dam tun yah jihn (ไก่ดำตุ๋นยาจีน)
Thai. ‘Chinese medicinal steamed black chicken’. Name of a dish
prepared from an attractive Chinese breed of chicken with the binomial
name Gallus Gallus Domesticus Brisson. It has a unique, fluffy plumage,
which is usually white (fig.), but may also have other colours, including
black. Its feathers are said to feel like
silk and the animal is hence given the name Silkie
(Silky). They are among the most docile of poultry and are considered
ideal pets, as well as ornamental fowl. Unlike most other breeds, it has
five toes (others usually have four), a black skin (fig.), black meat and
bones (fig.), and is both eaten (in
Thailand usually as a soup) and used as an ingredient in
traditional Chinese medicine, for its high levels of carnosine, a natural
anti-oxidant that has a number of beneficial properties, believed
amongst others to improve muscle strength and alleviate the
effects of ageing and diabetes. Though this substance is also
commonly found in ordinary breeds of chicken, Silkies have proven to
have twice as much of it. In Thailand, they are sold on
markets, already slaughtered and plucked, and prepared in restaurants in
Chinatown,
as well as
in places with large Chinese communities, such as
Nakhon Sawan
and Doi Mae Salong in
Chiang Rai
province. Also known as Black-Bone Silky Fowl.
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kai fah (ไก่ฟ้า)
Thai. Literally ‘sky fowl’ or ‘blue fowl’. Though,
used as a term, it translates as ‘pheasant’ and refers to fowls that are members of the family Phasianidae, which also includes birds
other than pheasants, such as the
Red Junglefowl, the
Green Peafowl
and the
Indian Blue Peafowl,
as well as several kinds of partridges and
peacocks.
In fact,
the family Phasianidae recognizes only eight species
of pheasant living in
Thailand,
i.e. the
Silver Pheasant,
Siamese Fireback,
Crested Firebak, Crestless Fireback, Kalij Pheasant, the Hume's Pheasant,
the Malayan Peacock-pheasant, the
Bar-tailed Pheasant, and the
Grey Peacock-pheasant. Most of them belong to the genus Lophura, apart
from the two Peacock-pheasants, that belong to the genus Polyplectron,
and the rather rare Hume's Pheasant,
which as only species belongs
to the genus Syrmaticus.
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kai fah lady (ไก่ฟ้าเลดี้)
Thai. ‘Lady fowl’. Name for the
Lady
Amherst's Pheasant,
alongside
kai fah lady amherst.
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kai fah lady
amherst (ไก่ฟ้าเลดี้แอมเฮิรสท์)
Thai. ‘Lady Amherst fowl’. Name for the
Lady
Amherst's Pheasant,
alongside
kai fah lady.
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kai fah lang
khaw (ไก่ฟ้าหลังขาว)
Thai. ‘White-backed fowl’. Name for the
Silver Pheasant,
alongside
kai fah lang
ngun.
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kai fah lang ngun
(ไก่ฟ้าหลังเงิน)
Thai. ‘Silver-backed fowl’. Name for the
Silver Pheasant,
alongside
kai fah lang
khaw.
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kai fah lang thao (ไก่ฟ้าหลังเทา)
Thai. ‘Grey-backed fowl’. Name for the
Kalij Pheasant.
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kai fah phaya loh (ไก่ฟ้าพญาลอ)
Thai name for the
Siamese Fireback.
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kai fah sih thong
(ไก่ฟ้าสีทอง)
Thai. ‘Golden-coloured fowl’. Name for the
Golden Pheasant.
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kai jae (ไก่แจ้)
Thai. ‘Dwarfed fowl’. Name for the
Bantam.
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kai juk (ไก่จุก)
Thai. ‘Tufted fowl’. Name for the
Crested Partridge. See also
juk.
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Kailasa
(कैलास)
Sanskrit. A mountain in the
Himalayas, the dwelling place of
Shiva and
Parvati. In Thai
Krailaat
and in Sanskrit also called Kailash.
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kainn pone pain (ကင်းပုံပင်)
Burmese name used for the
snake cucumber,
besides
kainn pone thee.
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kainn pone thee (ကင်းပုံသီး)
Burmese name used for the
snake cucumber,
besides
kainn pone pain.
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kai pah (ไก่ป่า)
Thai. ‘Forest fowl’ or ‘wild fowl’. Name for the Red
Junglefowl, a tropical bird with the scientific name Gallus gallus
and a member of the Pheasant family, Phasianidae. Roosters are more
brilliantly coloured that their tame relative, Gallus gallus
domesticus, and can easily be distinguished by two white patches on
either side of the head. It is native to Southern Asia, including
Thailand. Like many birds in the Pheasant family, males and females
show very strong sexual dimorphism (fig.). Males are much larger with
bright gold and bronze feathers and a tail composed of long, arching
feathers that look black, but shimmer with metallic blue, purple and
green in the light. It has a large red comb on the head and fleshy
wattles near its throat. The female has a rather small comb and no
fleshy wattles and her plumage is rather dull, designed for
camouflage, as she alone looks after the eggs and chicks (fig.). Red junglefowls are herbivorous and insectivorous, feeding on worms,
grass, corn, soybeans, and different kinds of grains found on the
ground.
See also
kai fah.
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kai thong (ไก่ทอง)
Thai. ‘Golden fowl’ or ‘golden chicken’.
Name of a kind
herb of which the golden-brown hairs, that grow
on this tuber-like plant's root, are used in traditional medicine to
stop bleeding.
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kajae (ກະແຈະ)
Lao for
thanaka (fig.) or
wood powder
used as a traditional make-up.
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kaki lima
Malay.
‘Five foot’. Architectural term for a
covered pedestrian walkway in front of colonial-style buildings,
often shophouses, in many old parts of cities and towns throughout
Malaysia and Singapore, as well as in the old part of
Phuket Town. The portico-like walkway is either sunken
into the ground or elevated from the road, yet in either case
leveled with the ground floor of a building, and provides a
corridor to shield pedestrians from the sun and rain by the
overhanging upper floors of that building.
The name kaki lima derives from the fact that these walkways were
initially about five foot wide, although many are now wider. Hence,
the term is nowadays used generally for any type of veranda or
corridor,
regardless of its function or
width. Since many hawkers use the walkways to to sell a local food,
snacks and drinks, the term kaki lima is in Indonesia slang for food
vendors, though it is asserted that the Indonesian term may also
derive from the fact that originally those peddlers on the sides off
the road had mobile push carts, and were referred to as kaki lima or
‘five footers‘,
because of the two wheels, the back stand, and the two legs of the
guy pushing it.
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Kakku (ကက္ကူ)
Name of one of Asia's largest and most
spectacular ancient monuments, and one of
Myanmar's
hidden gems, consisting of an 12th century AD historical
Pa-oh
site, with a collection of around 2,000 ancient
stupas,
tucked away in the scenic highlands some 50+ kilometers south of Taunggyi,
Shan
State’s thriving capital.
The stupas in this remote location are packed closely together in
ranks and while the main stupa stands about 40 meters tall, most are around 20
meters high. According to legend, the first stupas were built by
King
Alaungsithu (fig.),
the 12th Century King of
Bagan.
Many stupas are richly decorated with religious and mythological
sculptures and figures, and while those allegedly date to the
17-18th century, some of the other structures are clearly much
older. In full its name is Mwe Taw Kakku (မွေတော်ကက္ကူ).
See
MAP.
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Kakusandha
Pali.
A
buddha of the past
and a precursor of
Sakyamuni,
i.e.
the
historical
Buddha. He was born in Khemavati, today's
Gotihawa near
Lumbini
in southern Nepal as the son of a
brahmin
priest, who was a
chaplain to the king of Khemavati. Like
the historical Buddha, he was married and also had a son.
According to legend, Kakusandha was 40 cubits (ca. 18.3 meters)
tall, lived for 4,000 years until he renounced his worldly life, and
died at the age of 40,000. He is one of the four giant standing buddha's in
Ananda Phaya in
Bagan,
located at its North Gate, the others being
Kassapa facing South (fig.),
Konagamana facing East (fig.),
and
Gautama at the West
Gate (fig.). Initially, this giant
Kakusandha image purportedly had a large blue diamond in its
forehead, which was stolen and
later, in the 16th century, surfaced
again in India, where it
became known as the Hope Diamand.
In Sanskrit, this buddha is known as Krakucchanda, in Thai he is
called Kukasan (กกุสันธ) or
Phra
Kukasan
Phutta Chao
(พระกกุสันธพุทธเจ้า), and in Burmese Kakuthan (ကကုသန်).
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kakuthaphan (กกุธภัณฑ์)
1. Thai. The Thai Royal Regalia (fig.),
which consist of
the Great
Crown of Victory (fig.) or
Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut
(fig.),
the Sword of State or
Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri
(fig.),
the Royal Sceptre or
Tahnphrakon
(fig.),
the Golden Fan or
Padwaanlawichanie
and
Yak's
Tail (fig.),
and the Golden Sandal or
Chalong Phra Baht
(fig.).
In a ceremony on
Coronation Day,
which is held annually on May the fifth, these Five Insignia of
Kingship are placed on the throne in
Dusit Maha Prasat
Throne Hall (fig.).
In 1988, the
Royal Regalia
appeared on a set of postage stamps, issued to mark
the Longest Reign Celebrations of King
Rama IX (fig.).
Also transcribed kakuttapan.
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2. Thai. Royal insignia or emblem, as well as the regalia or royal
signs of royal privilege.
Also transcribed kakuttapan.
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3. Thai. Name of Prince
Siriraj
Kakuthaphan (fig.),
the
59 child of King
Rama V.
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Ka Kwe Bu Pe
Kayang name for a
female
dragon.
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kala
(कला)
1. Sanskrit. Term used to express time and energy, death and
creation, as well as the destruction of the universe. Personified as
Kala or
Mahakala (fig.), the
Hindu god of time and
a form of
Shiva, and as
Kali or
Mahakali, a
form of his consort
Devi. Both represent the terrifying
destructive aspects of time, and it is Kala who orders
Yama, the god of
death, who will die.
The Thai word for time (kaan,
กาล) is derived from it. Pronunciation is ka-lah.
See also
Phra Kaan,
golden parrot,
and compare
with
kala.
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2. In
Thailand,
Cambodia
and
Indonesia, term for
kirtimukha. Pronunciation is ka-lah.
Compare with
kala.
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kala (काला)
Sanskrit-Pali. ‘Black’. The name
Kali
is derived from it and it also occurs in the name
Kalasin
which means ‘black water’
or ‘black river’. Pronunciation is
kah-lah. Compare with
kala.
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kalachakra (กาลจักร)
Sanskrit-Thai. ‘Wheel of time’ or ‘time-wheel’, a circular frame or
disc associated with the dance of time
and eternity performed by
Shiva., as well as with the universe, as
displayed in certain
kilkhor or sand
mandala
from Tibet
(fig.). See also
Nataraja.
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Kaladevala
Sanskrit name for
Kalewin.
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kalae (กาแล)
Thai. V or X shaped, often flame like ornament at the top of
traditional gabled roofs (fig.)
in North Thailand. ‘Ka’ literally means to cross, and ‘lae’ means to
look or to keep an eye on something. The origin is disputed, but
possibly goes back to the crossing of the slanting side beams
at the ridge of gabled roofs (fig.),
as can still be seen in simple huts today (fig.).
However, the word ‘ka’, which may also be transliterated as ‘kah’,
also means ‘crow’ (fig.),
a possible reference to the
chofa, that according to some represents a
highly stylized form of the
garuda or
hamsa. Also transcribed galae.
See also
THEMATIC STREET LIGHT.
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_small.jpg)
kala face
See
kirtimukha.
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kalaga
(ကန့်လန့်ကာ)
Burmese. ‘Curtain’
or ‘screen’.
A kind of
appliqué tapestry, which is
heavily
embroidered with
gold thread or
filigree
(fig.),
and
often
decorated with small pieces of coloured
glass and/or small mirrors.
It is
typically used as Burmese
temple cloths and is usually made in relief using
kapok
as a filling. For the production of larger
embroidery pieces, some collaboration is required.
Whereas one or more workers sit on a makeshift scaffolding
erected over the top, i.e. the front side of the cloth, thus creating the
visible part, another team works from below, i.e. on the invisible back of the
cloth, while laying on their backs. The workers on the scaffolding push the
needle and thread through the fabric from above, passing it on to the aids
below, who push it back up from below
(fig.).
Kalaga is in Burmese also referred to as
shwe gyi do, which
translates as
‘gold
thread embroidery’.
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ka-lah (กะลา)
Thai for
‘coconut
shell’.
The term is used especially to refer to the hemispherical parts,
after the hairy
inner shell of a whole
coconut
has been split into two halves, with one half being somewhat
pointed, the other
with
three distinctive germination pores at the base.
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kalamae (กะละแม)
Thai. Name for a kind of Thai toffee made of
sticky rice
flour,
coconut milk and
sugar which is boiled and stirred (kuan)
until it has turned sticky and dark. Although traditionally Thai,
its name is derived from the French word caramel meaning ‘burnt
sugar’. The
Mon people,
especially those from
Samut Songkhram,
have their own variety called kalamae
raman, said to be the most
delicious as it is made with plenty of
coconut. It is wrapped
in the dried, woody, bark-like spathes (bracts that envelop a
flower-cluster) of the
betel palm,
called kahb
(กาบ)
mahk. It is sold either uncut or cut up
together with the wrapper, in bite-size pieces. The wrapper is not
edible.
See also
TRAVEL PICTURE.
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kalamplih (กล่ำปลี, กะหล่ำปลี)
Thai. Name for a kind of Thai cabbage of the genus Brassica, which
is used as a leafy green vegetable. It has smooth leaves, that are
packed rather compact together. There are two kinds, i.e. a round
form and a pointed form. The latter is also referred to as kalamplih
hua jai, with the word hua jai (หัวใจ) meaning
‘heart’
and referring to its shape. It is eaten fresh, usually sliced in
small chunks, and served as a complimentary vegetable with certain
dishes. Also transliterated galamplee.
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kalan
Term from
Cham religious architecture referring to a
sanctuary in the form of a tower.
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kalapaphreuk (กัลปพฤกษ์)
The official Thai name for the pink shower tree or
pink cassia
(fig.),
a deciduous tree that grows up to 12 meters tall and has the
scientific Latin name Cassia bakeriana. The name kalapaphreuk
however, is often used generally to refer to all cassia trees with
pink flowers, i.e. pink cassia trees. See also
kalaphreuk.
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kalaphreuk (กาฬพฤกษ์)
The official Thai name for the horse cassia, a kind of
pink cassia
(fig.),
a deciduous medium sized tree that grows up to 20 meters tall and
has the scientific Latin name Cassia grandis. See also
kalapaphreuk.
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kalasa
(कलश)
1. A flask or water pot alleged to contain the
amrita. It is one of the eight auspicious symbols or
Ashtamangala and
is frequently seen as one of the
attributes of
Padmapani,
Kuan Yin,
Maitreya, and
Kubera. See also
Treasure Vase
and
puranakata.
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2. In Hindu and Buddhist architecture the term used for the peak
that crowns a
stupa.
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Kalasin (กาฬสินธุ์)
Thai-Pali-Sanskrit. ‘Black water’ or ‘black river’. Name of a
province (map),
as well as its capital city, in Northeast Thailand, 519 kms
Northeast of
Bangkok.
READ
ON.
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kaleb (กะเหล็บ)
Thai. Name of a type of
basket, which is woven from
bamboo
and used by the men of the
Lao Sohng
minority people from
Laos,
as a container to store
mahk (areca
nuts -
fig.)
and
bai chaphlu
(betel
leaves - fig.),
i.e. two ingredients used in
betel nut
chewing (fig.),
as well as gold ornaments. All these items are typically used as a
dowry in their marriage rituals.
This kind of basket is round and bulbous above and rectangular at
the base.
See also POSTAGE STAMP.
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Kalewin (กเลวิน)
The
reusi who paid homage to the newborn prince
Siddharta
and to whom the infant showed his first
miracle by placing himself on the turban of the sage. Other texts,
however, mention a hermit with the name
Asita. In Sanskrit
Kaladevala.
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Kali
(काली)
1. Sanskrit. In Vedic times the name meant ‘the Black One’ and was
associated with
Agni, the god of fire, who had seven
tongues with which he licked the offerings of butter. Of these seven
tongues Kali was the black, terrifying tongue. See also
kala.
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2. Sanskrit. ‘Black goddess’. The horrifying form of
Devi, the consort of
Shiva. She is sometimes depicted with a
terrifying face with a protruding tongue (fig.)
and tusks, and smeared with blood, and four or more
arms, one of which holds a weapon and another sometimes the head of
a giant dripping with blood. Her ornaments include
snakes, skulls,
and figures of children. She is a form of
Durga.
See also
Mahakali (fig.).
See also
kala.
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3. Sanskrit.
Fourth and last of the four
yugas, and the present time cycle according
to Indian cosmology. For more see
Kali Yuga.
Compare with
kala.
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Kalidasa
(कालिदास)
Sanskrit. ‘Servant of
Kali’.
Name of a renowned poet in India (app. 550 AD) and author of the
Sakuntala, a drama in Sanskrit which was
translated into Thai by king
Vajiravudh. By some called the Indian Shakespeare.
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Kalij Pheasant
A species of pheasant with the
scientific name Lophura leucomelanos, and found in South and
Southeast Asia, especially in the foothills of the
Himalayas, from
northwestern India to western Thailand. This species is closely
related to the
Silver Pheasant
(fig.)
and has several subspecies, which can
roughly be divided into two main groups, according to their
geographical appearance. Besides the nominate race, the first group
includes the subspecies Lophura hamiltoni,
Lophura melanota,
Lophura moffitti and
Lophura lathami, which are found in the
western and central part of its range, the second group includes the
subspecies Lophura williamsi,
Lophura oatesi,
Lophura lineata and
Lophura crawfurdi, which are found in the
eastern central part of this bird's range. The males of
the first group are glossy blue-black, with white to the rump or
underparts in most subspecies, and similar to the
Vietnamese Pheasant
(fig.),
the westernmost subspecies Lophura hamiltoni has a white crest,
whereas that of all others is blue-black. The plumage of males in
the second group is also glossy blue-black, but the tail and
upperparts are white or very pale grey, with most feathers densely
vermiculated with black. Females are brownish, with most feathers
pale-edged, giving the plumage a scaly appearance (fig.),
whilst in some subspecies the underparts are distinctly marked in
whitish and black. In Thai, known as
kai fah lang thao.
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Kalika (कालिक, กาลิกะ)
Sanskrit-Thai. ‘Relating to time’, akin to the Thai word
kaan (กาล).
Name of
one of the eighteen
arahats,
who is usually depicted sitting on an
elephant
whilst studying a scroll.
Though some sources state that he formerly was a
mahout,
the
elephant, an animal of immense strength, endurance and perseverance,
is more likely an allegory for the power of Buddhism, whereas the
scroll represents the
sutra.
In Chinese he is known as the
luohan
Qi Xiang (骑象, or in traditional Chinese: 騎象), literally ‘To Mount an
Elephant’. In English he is referred to as the Elephant-Riding
Lohan
or the Dust Cleaning
Arhat, indicating the dusty mind
that needs to be cleaned and akin to
Chudapanthaka, the Door Watching Arhat, who sweeps dusty
floors as a cleaning meditation. In Thai his name is pronounced
Galiga, but he is also called Kagkahti (คักขาทิ).
In Vietnamese, he is called
Ky Tuong La Han (fig.).
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Kalitas (กาลิทัส)
Thai name for
Kalikdasa.
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Kaliya
(कालिया)
The
naga
serpent king with five heads, which was subdued by
Krishna when he was a mere child. It lived
in a whirlpool of the river
Yamuna (fig.), polluting the neighborhood with
its poison, until it was removed by Krishna. This scene is often
depicted in art as the young Krishna dancing on the head of the
snake. See also
Naak Galyah.
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Kali Yuga (कलीयुग)
Sanskrit. The present era or time period and the most depraved of
the four
yugas, the cycles of creation. This cycle began in
3,102 BC and will last 432,000 years, according to
Brahman beliefs.
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Kali Yuk (กลียุค)
Thai name for
Kali Yuga.
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Kalki
(कल्कि)
See
Kalkin.
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Kalkin
(कल्किन्)
The tenth, still to appear
avatara of
Vishnu in the form of a white horse. Riding
this horse he will destroy all evil with a blazing sword and restore
the innocence in the world, at the end of the present
Kali era. Vishnu also has another equine
form known as
Vajimukha,
which is Sanskrit for ‘horse face’
(fig.). Also
called
Kalki.
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ka-loong put (k'loong put)
Vietamnese. Name of a highland
ethnic musical instrument made from hollow
bamboo
pipes, arranged horizontally and
in increasing length, akin to a xylophone. The latter is in
Vietnamese known as trung (t'rung) and the ka-loong put is also
referred to as
trung ka-loong
put. The
instrument is played by softly clapping the hands in front of the
openings of the pipes on one side, making the wind blow through them
and thus creating sound.
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kalpa
(कल्प)
Sanskrit. The duration of a cosmic period equaling 4,320,000,000
years for mortals, but just one day and night for
Brahma.
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Kalwar (กาลหว่าร์)
Thai name for
‘Calvary’,
i.e. Golgotha, the place where
Jesus Christ
was crucified. A Portuguese 18th Century Roman Catholic
Church in
Bangkok
is named
Bot
Kalwar, i.e.
‘Calvary Church’
(map).
After the fall of
Ayutthaya to the
Burmese in 1767 AD,
the Catholics
had moved from the former
Siamese capital to the
western bank of the Chao Phraya River
in
Thonburi,
where they in 1770 AD
built the
Santa Cruz Church
(map).
The original building had a rather Chinese design and was nicknamed
Kuti
Jihn
(กุฎีจีน),
i.e.
‘Chinese
Kuti’,
and the community that grew around it became known by that name up
to present. Yet, when in
1786 AD the
Catholic Portuguese
rejected French clergy,
King
Rama I
granted them a
plot of land on the eastern bank of the
Chao Phraya
River, where the
Portuguese
built a new church. This original building no longer exists and the
present-day church in gothic-style architecture is in fact the third
church building, that was
constructed in the reign of King
Rama V.
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kalyanamandapa
(कल्याणमण्डप)
Sanskrit. ‘Mondop
of good fortune’
or ‘auspicious mondop’. A
hypostyle hall used for the symbolic marriage of
the temple deity.
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kam (กรรม)
Thai for
karma.
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kama
(काम)
Sanskrit. ‘Love’ or ‘desire’. In
Hinduism,
kama is personified by the god of love, that is to say
Kama, and
it is a theme often celebrated in Hindu art, such as in the
Kamasutra, i.e. the
sutra or
‘discourse’ on kama, and in the erotic sculpted
bas-reliefs of the Hindu-Jain
temples of Khajuraho in India. In
Buddhism, kama refers to both the senses and
visible phenomena.
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Kama
(काम)
Sanskrit. The
Hindu god of love and desire, portrayed as the most handsome of all gods.
He is the son of the goddess
Sri. He is sometimes depicted
with wings and carries a bow made of
sugarcane, with a string of
honeybees and arrows decorated with fragrant flowers. His mount is a
parrot and the
apsaras
are his servants. He shoots his
love arrows to humans in order to inspire romantic love and is the Hindu
equivalent of Cupid. His consort or
shakti is called
Rati (fig.). He is also known as
Madana,
Manmatha and Kamadeva. In Thai called Phra
Kaam.
See also
kama.
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kamala (कमल)
Sanskrit. ‘Lotus
flower’, i.e. a
red lotus. Pink, white and blue lotuses are called differently, i.e.
padma,
pundarika, and
utpala, respectively. The red lotus
signifies the original nature and purity of the heart, and as such
it is the lotus of love, passion, and compassion, as well as all
other qualities of the heart. It is therefore also the flower of
Avalokitesvara,
the
bodhisattva
of compassion.
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kamaloka (कामलोक)
Sanskrit-Pali.
‘Sensuous world’, i.e. the world
of the five senses, which comprises the six lower celestial worlds,
the human world (manussaloka)
and the four lower worlds or
apaya, i.e. the animal kingdom (tiracchahnayoni),
the realm of ghosts (petaloka), the demon world (asuranikahya), and
the hells (niraya/naraka).
The term is a compound of the words
kama and
loka.
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Kamboja (कम्बोज)
Name
for a state in
Cambodia,
that existed between the 6th and 8th centuries AD, after the fall of
Funan, and also
known as
Chenla.
Kamboja derives
from the
Sanskrit name
Kambuja.
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Kambuja
Name of the ancient
Khmer people. They are the supposed descendants of
the Hindu sage Kambu Svayambhuva, their eponymous ancestor.
An ancient legend tells that
Shiva gave him the
apsara Mera, a celestial
nymph, as his bride. From their names the word Khmer is said to have
derived, i.e. Kambu and Mera became Kamera, later to be pronounced
Khmer. A royal lineage came forth from this couple and the name
Kambuja means ‘born from Kambu’. In another legend, it is told that
the father of Mera was a
dragon
king who ruled over a watery kingdom. When
his
daughter was to marry an Indian Brahmin named Kaundinya (another
name for Kambu) and in need of a dowry, he drank all the water of
his kingdom in order to provide his son-in-law with land. That land,
is told, was named Kambuja. This is reminiscent of a Thai
legend in which a
phayanaag, the chief of the
nagas, drank
all the water of the world to provide his son-in-law with land, but
was ordered by
Vishnu to return it all and was
squeezed until he had expelled all the water he had consumed. These
stories are perhaps inspired by
Cambodia's
Tonlé Sap (fig.), the largest
freshwater lake in Southeast Asia (map
-
fig.), which dimensions swell and shrink
up to five times its original size, depending on the seasonal
monsoons and the flow of the Tonlé Sap river that in the Southeast converges with the
Mekhong river.
In the rainy season, when the level of the Mekhong rises rapidly, it
reverses the natural flow of the Tonlé Sap river, causing it to flow
upstream, into the lake.
The
name Kambuja is still in use in
Cambodia
today. In Sanskrit known as
Kamboja.
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kammataan (กรรมฐาน)
Thai-Pali-Rajasap. Meditation in the Buddhist manner, leading to
Enlightenment and tranquility of mind.
See also
Thai Forest Tradition.
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kamnan (กำนัน)
Thai. An elected official who oversees the general welfare of the
people in a
tambon.
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kamphaeng
(กำแพง)
Thai for a ‘surrounding wall’ or a ‘fortification’. When built
around a city or citadel, it is called kamphaeng
meuang.
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kamphaeng kaew (กำแพงแก้ว)
Thai. ‘Jewelled wall’. A decorated wall built in a temple or palace
compound to separate a specially sacred area, as well as a parapet
built around a monument.
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Kamphaeng Phet (กำแพงเพชร)
Thai. ‘Jewelled wall’ or ‘diamond wall’. Historical capital of a
contemporary province (map)
of the same name in North Thailand.
READ ON.
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Kamphon Wacharaphon (กำพล วัชรพล)
Thai. Founder of the Thai Rath newspaper, who was praised by UNESCO
for his work in
education
and promoting and developing journalism in Thailand. He was lauded
by the organization as an individual of great importance for his
establishment of the Thai Rath Vithaya School network and the Thai
Rath Foundation. Kamphon devoted the last part of his life to
promoting formal education for those in rural and remote areas of
Thailand, building new schools, which now add up to over a hundred
and with around 30,000 students. Originally from
Samut Sakon,
where he was born on Saturday 27 December 1919, he built the first
school under his Thai Rath Vitaya school project in
Lopburi,
in 1969.
He passed away on 21 February 1996 zt the age of 77 and is
commemorated with a Thai postage stamp issued in 2019 on the
occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Also transliterated Kamphol Vacharaphol.
See POSTAGE STAMP.
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Kamphucha (กัมพูชา)
Thai name for
Kambuja and for
Cambodia.
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kampie (คัมภีร์)
Thai. Something profound, sacred manuscripts, the bible. Also
transliterated kampih, khampih, khamphi, or similar.
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kampieweht (คัมภีร์เวท)
Thai name for the
Vedas.
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kampiewehttahng (คัมภีร์เวทางค์)
Thai name for
Vedanga.
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kan (กัณฑ์)
Thai. Classifier used to indicate the ‘number’ of ‘sermons’ (thet).
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Kanaka Bharadvaja (कनकभारद्वाज, กนกภารัทวาช)
Sanskrit-Thai.
‘Golden
Bharadvaja’.
Name of one
of the eighteen
arahats, who
was a Buddhist mendicant monk known for begging with his
alms bowls and eyes upraised, accepting
food without shame. This is contrary to normal practice, as monastic
precepts prohibit monks to eyeball anyone at any given time and
monks on
bintabaat are
instructed to submissively bow their heads toward the ground (fig.)
when accepting food (fig.).
He thus represents one who can receive gifts graciously. He is
usually portrayed standing on one foot with one knee pulled up and
both hands stretched out in the air, holding a small alms bowl. It
is assumed that as joy descends from heaven, he raises the bowl to
receive happiness. In
Vietnam,
where he is called
Cu Bat La
Han (Cử Bát La Hán),
he is sometimes depicted seated on a
fenghuang
(fig.),
i.e. a
phoenix-like
bird (fig.). In paintings he is sometimes pictured with a
small disciple at his side. In Chinese, he is known as the
luohan Tuo Bo (托钵, or in
traditional Chinese: 托缽), literally ‘To Hold An Alms Bowl Up With
The Palm’. In English, he is referred to as the Raised Bowl
Lohan
or Alms Holding Arhat.
In Thai his name is pronounced Kanaka
Pharathawat, but he is also known
by the name Kaya Khaap Sulijarn (กะยะขาปสุลิจารย์).
His Sanskrit name is in part similar to
Bharadvaja
and
associated with the
Bhardwaj or Bharadvaja Bird, i.e. a name used in India for the
Greater Coucal
(fig.). Sometimes Kanaka Paridhvaja.
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Kanaka Vatsa (कनकवत्स, กนกวัจฉะ)
Sanskrit-Thai.
‘Golden Calf’. Name of
one of the eighteen
arahats,
who
was a
well-known public speaker and debater of the Buddhist doctrines and
famous for his sermons on happiness which he described as
experienced through the five senses, in contract to bliss which
defined he as joy not coming from the five senses, but from deep
within, like a feeling in ones his heart and not
being subject to changes on the outside, it could be sustained
indefinitely.
He often smiled during debates and
is sometimes portrayed banging cymbals in joy.
In Thai, his name is pronounced Kanakawatcha, but he is also known as
Khayaket. In Chinese he is known as the
luohan Xi Qing (喜庆, or in
traditional Chinese: 喜慶), literally ‘To Be Happy and Celebrate’. In
English, he is referred to as the Happy
Lohan
or Jolly
Arhat.
In
Vietnam,
he is called Khanh Hy La Han (Khánh
Hỷ La Hán)
and may be depicted
seated on a hoofed
mythical animal while
holding a rice bowl
(fig.).
Also
written Kanakavatsa.
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Kanaung (ကနောင်)
Burmese. Name of a Prince of
Burma.
He was the
younger brother of
Mindon Min
(fig.),
with whom he on 11 July 1853 forced their half
brother
Pagan Min,
the 9th King of the Konbaung Dynasty, to abdicate, making Mindon Min the new
King and Kanaung the Heir Apparent.
He is acclaimed for his attempts to modernize the country by sending
scholars to Western countries and by founding an arms industry.
However, his efforts were cut short when he was killed by his two
nephews, sons of King Mindon Min, in an unsuccessful palace coup.
His remains lie buried at
Sanda Muni Phaya
(fig.),
a Buddhist temple
at the foot of Mandalay Hill.
Often referred to as
Kanaung Mintha,
i.e. ‘Prince Kanaung’.
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Kanaung Mintha (ကနောင်မင်းသား)
Burmese for ‘Prince
Kanaung’.
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Kanchana Aranyawasi
(กัญจนะ อรัญวาสี/อรัญญวาสี)
Thai. Name of a
senior Buddhist monk of Wat Soong Men (วัดสูงเม่น), a forest temple
in the northern Thai province of
Phrae.
READ ON.
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Kanchanaburi (กาญจนบุรี)
Thai. ‘City of gold’. A provincial capital of app. 37,000
inhabitants in West Thailand, 128 kms from
Bangkok.
READ
ON.
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Kanchana Phisek (กาญจนาภิเษก)
Thai-rajasap
for
‘Golden Jubilee’.
Term often used when referring to structures
built or projects initiated for the
Golden Jubilee of the
King, e.g.
Kanchanaphisek Bridge
(fig.)
and Kanchanaphisek
Lighthouse (fig.).
Also transliterated Kanchanaphisek.
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Kanchanaphisek Bridge
Name of a cable-stayed bridge over the
Chao Phraya River in
Samut Prakan
Province, built as part of the Outer Ring Road project. It was
opened to traffic on 15 November 2007 and consists of a two pylons,
from which the suspension cables extend to the road surface, lifting
the 500 meter long main span, the longest of its kind in the nation,
more than 50 meters above sea level. The total length of the bridge
is 951 meters, has six lanes and is 36.7 meters wide (fig.). In Thai, it is
called Sapaan Kanchanaphisek (สะพานกาญจนาภิเษก),
meaning ‘Golden Jubilee Bridge’,
named after Highway 9, which is also called Thanon
Kanchanaphisek, i.e. ‘Golden Jubilee Road’,
and that runs
over the bridge. The name was changed in 1996
from Highway 37, in
honour of king
Rama IX
and to commemorate his Golden Jubilee on the throne
that year.
See MAP.
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kandara (कन्दर्)
Sanskrit for ‘elephant goad’. See also
kho chang.
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Kaneht (คเณศ)
Thai name for
Ganesha. Also
Phra Kaneht.
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kang (กัง)
A generic Thai name for
macaque,
though often specifically used for the
Pig-tail Macaque,
officially known as
Southern Pig-tail Macaque
and in Thai as
ling hang san.
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kang (กั้ง)
Thai generic name for ‘mantis shrimp’, a semi-large marine
crustacean, which despite its designation, is not a shrimp.
READ ON.
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kanga (ਕੰਘਾ)
Punjabi. Name for a small wooden comb used and worn by the
Sikh
and one of their five articles of faith. It is used both to untangle
their
kesh,
i.e. uncut hair, usually twice a day, and to keep the hair, which is
eventually wrapped into a topknot on the head, tightly in place,
after which it is covered by a scarf-like under-turban called
patka
and/or a turban known as a
dastar or
pagri.
The kanga is a symbol of cleanliness and reminds Sikhs that their lives should
be tidy and organized.
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kang han nahm chai pattana (กังหันน้ำชัยพัฒนา)
Thai name for the
chai
pattana aerator (fig.),
an invention of King
Bhumipon Adunyadet used to increase the
oxygen content of water. A sculpture of the device, officially
referred to as
Tribune [to the] Rama IX Waterworks, was raised in the
King
Rama IX Royal Park in
Bangkok, on the
occasion of the 80th birthday of this monarch.
See
MAP.
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kanit
(กนิษฐ)
A Thai term for ‘younger sister’ and a
synonym for nong (น้อง). Also transliterated ganit. In Thai it is also spelled
otherwise and then transliterated
khanit.
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kanitah (กนิษฐา)
A Thai term for ‘younger sister’
and a synonym for nong (น้อง). Also transliterated ganitah. In Thai
it is also spelled otherwise and then transliterated
khanitah.
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Kanji (漢字)
Japanese. Literally ‘Han character’, i.e. the
Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese writing
system, along with hiragana and katakana, as well as the Indo-Arabic
numerals, and the occasional Romanization of Japanese words. It is
believed that Chinese script first came to Japan on articles
imported from China
during the Han Dynasty, thus introducing the script when the
Japanese language itself had no written form. Since 1946, a
modified, simplified form of the Kanji script, called Shinjitai,
i.e. literally ‘New character form’, was officially adopted. In
comparison, Shinjitai relates to Kanji in a way similar as to what
Simplified Chinese is against Traditional Chinese, yet is less
extensive in its scope. See also
Ateji.
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Kan Khwan
Kayang. Name of a traditional religion as practiced by the
Kayang (Kayan)
people of Burma and Northern Thailand. Its doctrine asserts that the
world was created by the eternal creator Phu Kabukathin assisted by
two other deities, that is Ti who created the earth and La Taon who
created man and the animals. Kan Khwan belief trusts that all
components of the Universe are linked together by a giant spider's
web, embracing the earth, the moon and all the stars. In the
beginning the land of the earth was fluid, so, the god Phu
Kabukathin planted a small post in the ground. As the post grew the
earth also grew into seven outer and inner layers and it became
firm. The post was named
Kan Thein Bo, meaning ‘the means of
formation of earth’ and is today an important part of their
religious worship. Kan Khwan belief is in practice since the Kayang people emigrated from
Mongolia during the Bronze Age.
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Kannabhorn Bejaratana (กรรณาภรณ์ เพ็ชรรัตน์)
Thai. See
Kannaphon Phetcharat.
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Kannaphon Phetcharat (กรรณาภรณ์ เพ็ชรรัตน์)
Thai. Name of the daughter of Queen
Sunandha Kumariratana
(fig.)
and King
Chulalongkorn
(fig.),
born on 12 August 1878 . The young princess drowned together with
her mother
on 31 May 1880,
when the boat (fig.)
they were traveling in on
their way to the Royal Summer Palace (fig.) in
Bang Pa-in got involved in
an accident and capsized. Despite the presence of many
onlookers, no one dare come to her rescue, as the law forbade
commoners to touch any royal, even in order to save their lives.
King
Rama V had a
memorial erected for them at the Bang Pa-In Palace
(map
- fig.).
The princess' name is also transliterated Kannabhorn Bejaratana.
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kannikah (กรรณิการ์)
Thai name for an up to 10 meter
tall, perennial shrub or a small tree, with the botanical name Nyctanthes arbor-tristis,
and commonly known as Night-flowering Jasmine or
Night-blooming Jasmine. The fragrant
flowers, that grow in clusters of two to seven, have five to eight
white petals, that form a corolla with an orange-red centre. They
open at dusk and close at dawn, hence the name
Night-flowering Jasmine. The scientific
Latin designation
arbor-tristis
means ‘sad tree’ and refers
to the fact that the flowers lose their brightness during daytime,
which led to the tree sometimes being nicknamed ‘tree of sorrow’.
Its fruit consists of a heart-shaped to round capsule of about two
centimeter in diameter, which is flat at the sides and has two
swollen sections in the centre, each containing a single seed. This
shrub is native to southern Asia, including Thailand, and appears in
several
Hindu
myths. It also has several medicinal uses.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
is portrayed on a Thai postage stamp issued in 2002 AD (fig.).
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kanok (กนก)
1. Thai-Sanskrit. ‘Gold’ or ‘golden’, as in ‘kanok
nakhon’ (golden city).
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2. Thai. A flame-like design consisting of double curves. See also
kranok and
THEMATIC STREET LIGHT
(1),
(2),
(3)
and
(4).
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kanom
(ขนม)
Thai.
General name for sweets and sweetmeats. The term is both used
generally, and as a prefix with other names to define the type.
Thailand has a large variety of sweetmeats, many made on basis of
rice
flour,
coconut and sugar. In
the past sweets were only made on special days and occasions, either
as part of merit making or
tamboon,
during festivals or when receiving important guests. The making,
eating and offering of sweets is still a common custom during
certain festivals today, e.g.
krayahsaad
which is
eaten during the
saad festival,
in
Isaan locals
offer sweets to each other during
phen
time on the day of
boon khaw sahk,
during
boon khaw
pradap din when
sweets are offere to both deceased and living family members, etc.
Thai sweets are often painstakingly and elaborately prepared
in order to make their appearance as attractive as their taste.
About the origin of the word kanom opinions are divided. Some
believe the word has derived from
khao nom
(ข้าวนม), i.e. ‘rice’ and ‘milk’, the main
ingredients of many
sweets in India. However, most Thai sweets
don't have an Indian origin and use rice and
coconut milk as a basis, rather than milk,
and in Thai, coconut milk is called
ka-thi,
not nom. Others therefore believe the word is a Thai-Khmer compound of either
khao
(ข้าว) or
khao
(เข้า) and
nom.
Both Thai words khao have a falling tone, thus making the spelling
unsure, but the first word khao means ‘rice’ and the latter ‘to
enter’ or ‘to add’. The word nom is Khmer and means ‘food prepared
with dough’ and ‘cake’. This would be consistent with the word for
bread which is
kanompang
in Thai and
nompang in Khmer. Also transcribed khanom.
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kanom a-lua (ขนมอาลัว)
Thai. Name for a traditional sweet made of
coconut milk,
all purpose flour,
mung bean flour and sugar. The texture of
this jelly sugar candy is a little hard and dry on the outside but
soft, moist and tender on the inside, whereas they are usually dyed with various
pastel colours and shaped as little whipped cream cones.
See POSTAGE STAMP.
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kanom beuang (ขนมเบื้อง)
Thai. Name for a very ancient sweet which original recipe
came from India and was brought to Thailand by Indian
brahmins in the
Sukhothai period. It consists of a small crispy pancake made from ground green gram
or mung bean flour, baked onto a hot plate and finished with various toppings,
such as whipped cream made from
coconut juice and sugar; golden threads made of
either duck egg yolk (light orange) or of minced shrimps mixed with a saffron
(dark orange) colouring agent; long scraps of shredded coconut (almost ripe) and
some coriander. When ready they are folded. It has been around for more than
2,000 years making it the oldest known sweet in existence. An ancient legend
tells the story of
Gosiya,
a contemporary of the
Buddha. He was a very rich but
stingy man who loved eating kanom beuang pancakes. To avoid having to share them
with anyone he told his wife to make the sweets upstairs, away from public eyes,
so he could eat all by himself. When the Buddha found out about the man's
behaviour he sent
Mogallana to visit Gosiya during his
bintabaat alms round and told him to beg for kanom beuang as
an alms offering. Gosiya, although unwillingly, couldn't
decently refuse the monks request thus came up with the idea to offer only a
very small pancake. However, each time his wife put the dough onto the
baking plate it miraculously swell until it had the size of the hot plate
itself. After several attempts to make just a small kanom beuang, he gave up his
efforts and eventually became a generous man. Also transcribed kanom bueng,
khanom bueng and khanom beuang.
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kanom
chan (ขนมชั้น)
Thai.
‘Steamed layer candy’. Name for a kind of ancient
traditional dessert made in layers, usually
nine,
as this is an auspicious number, and is steamed similar to dumplings. It is also
often made in the shape of a flower, akin to
kanom cho muang (fig.),
though whereas the latter have a pinkish, violet, purple or lilac hue, kanom
chan can be of any colour.
See also POSTAGE STAMPS.
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kanom cho muang (ขนมช่อม่วง)
Thai.
‘Purple bouquet candy’. Name for a
kind of ancient traditional dessert, which is less familiar to the younger
generation in Thailand. It is consists of steamed dumplings that are fashioned
as flowers and
that have a pale to dark violet, purple or lilac
hue, or a comparable tinge.
It is reminiscent of
kanom
chan (fig.),
an ancient Thai traditional dessert made in layers and resembling flowers, as
well as of the Vietnamese dish
banh bao banh vac,
known in English as White Rose Dumplings (fig.),
a culinary specialty and
signature dish from Hoi An.
See also
POSTAGE STAMPS.
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kanom dara thong (ขนมดาราทอง)
Thai.
‘Gold Star Candy’. Name for a kind of traditional dessert,
that consists of
jasmine
scented gold dough balls with sugar-coated and dry-fried
watermelon
seeds. It is also known as
kanom jah mongkut
(fig.).
They resemble small stars (dara)
or crowns (mongkut).
See also POSTAGE STAMPS (1)
and
(2).
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kanom gui chai (ขนมกุยช่าย)
Thai. Name for a type of steamed dumpling,
filled with a mixture of chopped Chinese leek flowers (fig.)
and any kind of cooked meat as a matter of choice.
READ ON.
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kanom jahk (ขนมจาก)
Thai. Name for a sweet made from the flesh of a young
coconut, mixed with pounded
lotus seeds (fig.),
beans and
taro (fig.).
It is named after the leaf of the
nipa palm (fig.),
called
bai jahk (fig.)
in Thai, where it is wrapped and baked in. Also khanom jaak.
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kanom jah mongkut (ขนมจ่ามงกุฏ)
Thai. ‘Master's crown’. Name of a small cake-like candy
made of wheat flour, a chicken egg, egg yolk,
sugar, the thickest part of
coconut milk and watermelon seeds. Its bottom resembles a
miniature tart which is filled with an orange coloured candy made of
egg yolk,
sugar and coconut cream
and which is flanked by peeled watermelon seeds. They resemble small crowns (mongkut)
or stars (dara)
and are hence also known as
kanom dara thong
(fig.). Also
spelt khanom ja mongkut.
See also POSTAGE STAMPS
(1) and
(2).
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kanom jihb (ขนมจีบ)
Thai. Savoury sweetmeats made of thin sheets of
rice or wheat dough
enclosing minced meat and steamed in small round bamboo baskets
called
kheng (fig.).
The dough wrapping is usually either light green or beige and they
come in a variety of different tastes, including pork, crab and
shrimp mincemeat. Some varieties are topped with a small piece of
carrot as garnishing. Also khanom jeeb.
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kanom jihn (ขนมจีน)
Thai. ‘Chinese pastry’.
Noodles
made from
rice flour, produced by pressing rice flower paste through
a sieve, into boiling water. Kanom jihn is served mixed or topped
with
curry or condiments. When
mixed with bean curry it is called kanom jihn nahm phrik (a
spicy-sweet peanut-like sauce), if mixed with a catfish curry it is
called kanom jihn kaeng plah dook (catfish curry), if topped with
meat curry it is called kanom jihn kaeng neua (meat curry), if mixed
with a fish soup it is called kanom jihn nahm yah (herbal sauce),
when eaten with a curry seasoned with dried
dok ngiaw
flowers (fig.)
it is called kanom jihn nahm ngiaw, and when eaten with powdered
shrimps and
pineapple slices,
coconut and
krathiam (garlic) it is
called kanom jihn sao nahm (stirred juice). The dish is especially
popular in Southern Thailand where it developed its own culinary
genre. In Isaan called
khao pun and in the North known as
kanom sen.
Also transcribed khanom jihn, kanom jin, khanom chin, or similar.
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kanom kai hia (ขนมไข่เหี้ย)
Thai. ‘Monitor
lizard egg sweets’. A
sweet snack of small balls rolled from a dough made from sticky
rice flour mixed
with a paste of sweet potatoes, and with a filling of salted green beans. The
balls are then fried in oil
until golden brown and crispy. hen done they can be coated sugar, or for those
who don't like them too sweet, they can be sprinkled with
seeds instead, such as sago or
sesame,
which is done before being fried, so they stick to the dough. This snack originates from the beginning of the
Rattanakosin
Period and was formerly known
as
kanom
kai
hong, i.e.
‘hamsa
egg sweets’. Also spelled
khanom khai hia.
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kanom kai
nok kratah (ขนมไข่นกกระทา)
Thai.
‘Partridge egg sweets’. Another name for
kanom kai tao.
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kanom kai tao (ขนมไข่เต่า)
Thai. ‘Turtle egg sweets’. A sweet snack of small
balls rolled from a dough made from tapioca flour mixed with self-rising
baking powder, undiluted coconut milk, egg yolk, sugar and salt, and
fried in oil until golden brown and crispy.
Besides this, there is also a slightly larger variety, which is coated
with light -or a mixture of light and dark- sesame seeds (fig.).
The latter is also called
kanom nga,
but is often sold together with kanom kai tao and regularly
referred to by the same name. Due to the added
self-rising flour the small fritter-like balls are
rather light and frothy, somewhat resembling Dutch and Belgian oil balls
(oliebol/smoutebol) but smaller. They have the shape and size
reminiscent of turtle eggs, hence the name. They are on occasion served
with
cinnamon
sugar, also called
kanom kai
nok kratah
and sometimes
transcribed khanom khai tao. See
also
ma tuan.
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kanom kliaw
(ขนมเกลียว)
Thai. ‘Whorled sweets’, ‘coiled sweets’ or
‘plied sweets’. A glacé, bread-like snack, made from wheat flour and
egg, and seasoned with salt and pepper. The obtained dough is twisted it
into a helix-shape, which is fried until crispy and then coated with
sugar and sometimes with seeds or pieces of preserved fruit, etc. It has
a sweet taste and originates from
Sukhothai, where it is widely available. Also
transcribed khanom kliao, or similiar.
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kanom koh (ขนมโก๋)
Thai-Chinese name for a kind of candy, made
mainly from
sticky rice
powder and sugar, and a typical Chinese wedding candy. They are made either plain or with a filling, usually
a sweet bean paste. Often, they are made into a round, disk-like shape,
with a relief imprinted on the top, or into a specific form, such as
fish,
a Chinese symbol for ‘excess’
or
‘surplus’. Originally it is white
(fig.), but sometimes a colour is
added. Often the used food colouring is red, the colour associated with
Chinese weddings
and a symbol for wealth, good luck, beauty and purity, but which makes
the outcome rather pinkish.
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kanom kong (ขนมกง)
Thai. ‘Wheel sweets’. A
kind of traditional sweet from the central to southern regions of
Thailand and in English is usually referred to as cartwheel candy, as it
is fashioned in the form of a
circle with a cross. It is made from a dough that consists of a mixture
of
sticky rice
flour and wheat flour which is fried in vegetable oil. Due to its
distinctive form, which resembles the
dhammachakka,
i.e. the Buddhist
Wheel of Law
(fig.),
this candy takes an important
place in certain Buddhist festivals and ceremonies, such as the ten
month of the
praphenih sip song deuan
tradition
in
the south, as well as in
wedding ceremonies, where it is given to newly wed couples as a kind of
ancestral ornament, in order to whish them good luck, progress and
growth, i.e. going forward just like the Buddhist Wheel of Law keeps on
turning, spreading
the
dhamma
endlessly.
This type of candy is depicted on a postage
stamp issued in 2018 as part of a set of six stamps on traditional
Thai sweets (fig.).
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kanom krachao sida (ขนมกระเช้าสีดา)
Thai. ‘Sida's
basket candy’. A kind of Thai sweet consisting of small basket-shaped
tarts filled with pastel-coloured, shredded
coconut.
The name derives from an episode in the
Ramakien
story in
which
Sida, when
was abducted by
Totsakan
to be taken to
Langka,
dropped the basket that she was carrying in the forest, where it
overgrew with vines.
See POSTAGE STAMP.
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kanom krok (ขนมครก)
Thai. ‘Mortar sweets’. A kind of Thai
sweetmeat consisting of tiny bowl-shaped pancakes. They are made on a
specially designed griddle with small curved-in cavities, comparable to
a wafer iron but with round hollow spaces and without a lid. They are
prepared from
sticky rice
flour, sugar and
coconut milk.
When ready they are usually topped with some chopped spring onion. In
English sometimes referred to as
coconut-rice pancakes (fig.) and in Thai also
called kanom
krok
boraan.
The Thai word
krok
means ‘mortar’ and refers to the fact that
the sticky rice needs to be ground in a mortar in order to make it into
flour, whilst the word boraan literally means ‘ancient’, but could in
this context be translated as ‘after the old fashion’ or ‘in the old
manner’. Also khanom krok.
See POSTAGE STAMP.
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kanom look chub (ขนมลูกชุบ)
Thai. Marzipan-like sweets (kanom) made from a paste of steamed
green beans mixed with thick
coconut milk, sugar and water moulded into miniature
tropical fruits or vegetables (fig.) and coated with a thin layer of jelly,
applied by dipping (chub). These gracefully created sweets can be
found on food markets as well as at buffets in hotels and
restaurants, as a dessert. The term look is a classifier for fruits
and vegetables, used in Thai language to express a unity or
quantity.
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kanom met kanun (ขนมเม็ดขนุน)
Thai. ‘Jackfruit seed candy’. A kind of
kanom thai, i.e.
golden bean paste and egg
yolk-based sweets, in the form of
jackfruit
seeds (fig.). See also
kanun
and
POSTAGE STAMPS.
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kanom moji (ขนมโมจิ)
Thai-Japanese. A Japanese-style sweet, similar to
kanom pia
(fig.) and made from a dough of steamed, pounded
sticky rice and
cane sugar, filled with a paste, usually of beans.
It was first introduced into Thailand by
Thai people who brought the sweet back from Japan as a souvenir or present for
relatives, after visiting the country. When production in Thailand began, its
taste was adapted to fit Thai tastes. It is a
specialty from
Nakhon Sawan,
where Thai production first started, about 20 years ago. In English it is called
mochi, which is the same as the Japanese name
mochi (餅), and which refers to the
fact that it is made from glutinous sticky
rice, which is also known as mochi rice.
One remarkable kind of mochi, which looks like a large drop of water, is called
Mizu Mochi, literally
‘Water Mochi’, yet it is usually referred to as Raindrop Cake
(fig.).
See also
mooncake.
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kanom nga (ขนมงา)
Thai. ‘Sesame candy’. A kind of sweet consisting of
crispy balls rolled from a dough made from tapioca flour and self-rising baking
powder, and coated with light or a mixture of light and dark sesame seeds. Due
to the expansion of the dough, the pastry is hollow on the inside, and this
cavity is filled with a sweet bean paste, akin to that used in
kanom look chub, hence they are also known
as kanom nga sai tua (ขนมงาไส้ถั่ว), i.e. ‘sesame candy filled with beans’. They
are often sold together with
kanom kai tao
(fig.)
and sometimes confusingly referred to by the same name. In English, they are
called sesame balls or sesame seed balls, a name which is also used for an
outwardly similar looking Chinese candy called
ma tuan (fig.).
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kanom nuad mangkon (ขนมหนวดมังกร)
Thai. ‘Dragon beard candy’. A
kind of handmade traditional Chinese nougat-like candy, made using a 2000-year old
technique first introduced to the imperial court in ancient
China,
in which a skilled candy-maker (fig.) repeatedly stretches a small mass made of
boiled sugar, maltose and some vinegar, until several thousand fine
strands are formed, which are then trimmed in dry-fried glutinous
rice
flour to prevent excess glueyness, and coiled into a cocoon-like sweet. Alternatively, the
strands of sugar may
be wrapped around finely chopped, lightly roasted
coconut,
peanuts or sesame seeds. Dragon beard candy has a delicate crispness,
and melts on the tongue, but is best consumed within an hour after
production, as after a while it loses its fine texture and starts to
become sticky. In Chinese, it is called yin si tang (银丝糖), which can be
translated as ‘silver silken candy’, ‘silver strings sweets’ or ‘silver fine
threads candy’, and in English it is sometimes referred to as Chinese cotton
candy.
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kanom pahk moh (ขนมปากหม้อ)
Thai. ‘Pot-mouth candy’. General name for a kind of sweets
(fig.),
that consist of a soft, often coloured dough, made from
sticky rice
flour stiffened with starch, and which is used as a wrapper for certain types of
filling, usually a mixture of grated
coconut, finely chopped peanuts and
minced meat, with salt and sugar. The dough is steamed on a piece of cloth
spanned over the mouth of a large pot and covered by a cone-shaped lid, similar
to the process of making
tapioca balls (fig.). Once the
dough has stiffened enough, the filling is added and the dough wrapped around
it. It is typically served with lettuce leaves and
prik khee noo
chilies, and usually sprinkled with fried garlic or sometimes with
sesame seeds and a little
coconut milk.
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kanompang
(ขนมปัง)
Thai for ‘bread’. Compare with the
Khmer word
nompang.
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kanompang nah moo (ขนมปังหน้าหมู)
Thai. ‘Bread topped with pork’. Name for snack
that consists of small, square, bite-sized slices of bread, topped with minced
pork and fried in oil until crispy, becoming a kind of golden-brown mini-toasts
covered with meatloaf. Prior to being spread on the bread, the
minced pork is mixed with garlic, coriander and eggs, and seasoned with
soy sauce.
They are typically eaten with a sweet dip, which is made by boiling a mixture of
vinegar, sugar and a little
fish sauce,
which is then cooled down and either mixed with slices of fresh cucumber and red
shallots, or with finely chopped coriander and thinly sliced
prik khee noo
chilies (fig.).
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kanom pia (ขนมเปี๊ยะ)
Thai. A kind of light pastry cake filled with a paste, most
often of beans, but also other fillings, such as a
durian
paste (fig.)
or minced pork are sometimes used. The top is coated with egg yolk, making it
typically darker than the rest of the cake, and often bears the stamp of a
Chinese character, printed on it in red. Some varieties may have extra toppings,
such as sugar or
sesame
seeds. In English it is usually referred to as Chinese cake or Chinese puff. It
is typically offered to monks on
bintabaat at the end of the
rainy season, during
owk pansa. Also transcribed khanom piya.
See also
kanom moji and
mooncake.
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kanom sakoo (ขนมสาคู)
Thai. Generic name for any snack or dessert made with sago.
There are several kinds, and the most commonly found desserts
include
kanom sakoo sai moo (tapioca
balls -
fig.) and
kanom sakoo piak (tapioca pudding -
fig.). Also spelled khanom saku.
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kanom sakoo piak (ขนมสาคูเปียก)
Thai. ‘Wet sago-dessert’. Name for a
watery, pudding-like dessert, usually referred to as
tapioca pudding. There are several types, each named after the main
ingredient it is served with, e.g. kanom sakoo piak maphrao aun (ขนมสาคูเปียกมะพร้าวอ่อน)
for tapioca pudding with young
coconut, kanom sakoo piak met bua (สาคูเปียกเม็ดบัว)
for tapioca pudding with
lotus seeds (fig.),
kanom sakoo piak khao poht (ขนมสาคูเปียกข้าวโพด) for tapioca pudding
with corn, etc. The dish is sometimes made with
coconut milk and according to ones
taste and liking, some may add syrup or liquid palm sugar and
crushed ice to it. Also spelled khanom saku piyak.
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%20tapioca%20pudding%20with%20corn_small.jpg)
kanom sakoo sai moo (ขนมสาคูไส้หมู)
Thai. ‘Sago-snack filled with pork’. See
tapioca balls.
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kanom saneh jan
(ขนมเสน่ห์จันทน์)
Thai. Name for an old kind of
sweet, which loosely translates as ‘charming
sandalwood
candy’.
READ ON.
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kanom sen
(ขนมเส้น)
Northern Thai name for
kanom jihn. Also transcribed khanom
sen, or similar.
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kanom tahn (ขนมตาล)
Thai. A kind of cake made from
banana,
coconut milk,
rice
flour, yeast, and palm sugar, and topped with shredded coconut. It
usually served in small cups made from a banana leave.
See POSTAGE STAMP.
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kanom thai (ขนมไทย)
Thai. A kind of orange coloured sweetmeat made of
egg yolk, sugar and
rice flour. It is traditionally eaten on special
occasions and ceremonies. There are many kinds, each known by its
specific name e.g. kanom
foi thong (ขนมฝอยทอง),
i.e.
‘shredded or fluffy golden sweets’,
also nicknamed
‘angel hair’ which is considered auspicious
and often served in local ceremonies, although it is not a typical
Thai desert, but came from the half-Portuguese half-Japanese female
royal chef in the
Ayutthaya period who introduced
these sweet golden strands at the
court; kanom thong yib, meaning
‘picked gold sweet’; kanom met kanun,
that is
‘jackfruit seed sweet’,
kanom thong yod, which translates as
‘oily gold sweet’ and kanom thong phlu,
i.e.
‘rocket gold
sweet’.
This kind of sweet can be soft or crunchy and if crunchy, the word
krob (กรอบ), meaning
‘crispy’,
is added to the name. Thong means
‘gold’ and refers to its orange colour. Also
khanom Thai.
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kanom thang thong (ขนมถังทอง)
Thai. ‘Golden Tank Candy’. Name
for a kind of traditional street food dessert
that consists of a
type of pancake made from
rice
flour,
coconut
and sugar, and which originally is topped with sweet shredded
coconut, though nowadays also other toppings may be used.
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kanom thong ek
(ขนมทองเอก)
Thai.
‘Prime Gold Candy’. Name for a kind of traditional dessert,
that consists of
dumplings made with wheat flour and egg yolk, and topped with a
small peace of real
gold
leaf.
See also POSTAGE STAMPS.
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kanom thong muan (ขนมทองม้วน)
Thai. A traditional sweetmeat made of flour,
coconut milk and egg. They are baked on
a waffle iron-like hot plate (fig.)
and resemble small pancakes, made into rolls (muan). There are two
kinds, i.e. soft or ‘fresh’ ones called kanom thong muan sod (สด)
and crispy ones called kanom thong muan krob
(กรอบ -
fig.). Both types are dotted with
black
sesame
seeds.
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kanom thuay foo (ขนมถ้วยฟู)
Thai. ‘Spungy Cup Candy’. Name for a kind of
(mini) rice
flour muffins, usually referred to in English as steamed cup cake.
Also transliterated khanom thuai fu.
See also POSTAGE STAMPS.
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kanom wai phrajan (ขนมไหว้พระจันทร์)
Thai. Literally
‘moon revering candy’.
Name used for a Chinese-style pastry commonly referred to as
mooncake.
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Kantarat (กานตรัตน์)
Thai. Name of an 18 holes golf
course, uniquely and seemingly out of place located in between two
airstrips
(fig.)
at
Don Meuang
Airport (DMK) in
Bangkok (fig.),
i.e. in between the
runway
used by the Royal Thai Air Force and the one reserved
for civil aviation. Though situated in a secured area and in a way
—at least in part— on military domain, beside military personnel
also civilians are welcomed here to play golf amidst the continues
flow of air traffic and to the amazement of the many often
flabbergasted passengers that land and take off from this airport,
especially those who are confronted with this incongruous golf
course for the first time.
See MAP.回

Kanthaka
(कण्टक)
Sanskrit. ‘Rebel’. The snow-white horse of prince
Siddharta, born on the same day as
its master. After carrying the prince away from the palace during
the
Great Departure, the horse died of sorrow. Also
Kantaka.
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Kanthakumara
(कण्टकुमार)
Sanskrit. ‘Rebel prince’. Son of
Uma or
Devi, the
shakti or consort of Shiva.
Also
Subramaniam and in Thai usually called
Phra Kanthakuman. Sometimes transcribed
Kantakumara.
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Kan Thein Bo
Kayang. ‘The means of formation of earth’. Name of a kind of
totempole worshipped by the
Kayang people
of Burma and Northern Thailand. It is said that after the creation
of the earth all land was fluid and Phu Kabukathin, the eternal
creator, therefore planted a small post in the ground, enabling
earth to grow and the land to become firm. This eventually enabled
the Kayang people to settle down. Every year between March and
April, the Kayang erect a new pole, if possible, made from the
Eugenia, the first tree said to ever been created. The pole
comprises of the sun, at its peak; the sanctuary, a place where the
deities reside; and the streamer, a ladder that connects earth with
heaven, with at the top a spider's web that humans need to pass to
go to heaven. See also
Kan Khwan.
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kanthet (กัณฑ์เทศน์)
Thai. A chapter in the
jataka. See also
kan and
thet.
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kan thuay (คันทวย)
Thai term for an
eave bracket.
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kanun (ขนุน)
Thai name for the
Artocarpus heterophyllus (fig.),
a large fruit (fig.)
and its tree, of the genus Artocarpus which also includes the
breadfruit tree, and has the western nickname ‘jackfruit’. The
fruits have a dark yellow and very sweet flesh (fig.)
which sit like small bags around the thumb sized seeds in an
enormous brown-green husk with short, hexagonal, blunt prickles.
Jackfruit seeds
are also be consumed and have certain health benefits. They are a
rich source of dietary fiber and are said to give instant relief
from indigestion and treat constipation.
The Thai name for the tree is
ton kanun and
kanom met kanun,
i.e. ‘jackfruit
seeds’, is the
name given to a traditional Thai candy (fig.). Its fruiting season is from January to May
(fig.).
In Vietnam, the wooden dolls (fig.)
used in
water puppetry
(fig.)
are typically carved from jackfruit wood.
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kanun sampalo (ขนุนสำปะลอ)
Thai. See
sake.
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kanya (กัญญา)
See
ganya.
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kao
(เก่า)
Thai for ‘old’ or ‘of long standing’,
a word associated with the number
nine, due to its similarity in
pronunciation,
although the word for
‘old’ has a low tone (เก่า), whereas the
word for ‘nine’
has a falling tone (เก้า). Sometimes transcribed gao. See also
boraan.
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kao
(เก้า)
Thai for ‘nine’,
considered a lucky number associated with
long life,
due to it similarity to the word for
‘old’. Though pronounced similarly, the word for
‘nine’ has a falling tone (เก้า), whereas
the word for ‘old’
has a low tone (เก่า). Sometimes transcribed gao. See also
Rama IX.
Its Thai numeral is ๙.
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kao kih (เก๋ากี้/เก๋ากี่)
Thai name for the ‘wolfberry’
or ‘Chinese
wolfberry’,
which is also known by a variety of other names, including the
commercially used designation goji berry, i.e. the circa 2
centimeter-sized,
orangey
red, ellipsoid fruit of a plant with the
botanical name Lycium chinense, or of the very closely related
Lycium barbarum. The berries are prized for their highly nutrient
and medicinal value. Though rarely found in fresh form outside of
their production region, fresh they are used to make certain
beverages, but in food they are generally used in dried form and
their shape and structure to some extent resembles that of raisins. They
are used in a variety of dishes, but are traditionally cooked first
(fig.).
They are sweet and, according to some, they also have a slightly
nutty taste. In Thailand, they can be found in bulk on the markets
of
Bangkok's
Chinatown.
Sometimes transcribed kao kee and also known by the names huay kih (ฮ่วยกี้),
and malet kao kih (เมล็ดเก๋ากี้)
or met kao kih (เม็ดเก๋ากี้),
i.e. ‘goji
seeds’ or ‘wolfberry
seeds’.
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kaolad (เกาลัด)
Thai. ‘Chestnut’. Name of a glossy hard brown edible nut, a seed of
the tree bearing it. Roast chestnuts or kaolad
kua have a oily sweet taste and are
considered a real delicacy. The tree has a Chinese character and
roast chestnuts are widely sold at Yaowarat Road in Samphantawong,
Bangkok's
Chinatown. Also transcribed
gaolad.
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Kao Suriya (เกาสุริยา)
In the
Ramakien the wife of the mythological
King
Totsarot of
Ayutthaya, and
mother of
Rama.
MORE ON THIS.
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kapala (कपाल)
Sanskrit.
‘Skull’, ‘cranium’, ‘cup’, or ‘alms
bowl’.
Name for a ritual bowl
made from a human skull, and in
iconography
used as an
attribute
of several
Hindu
and
Mahayana
Buddhist deities, especially in
Lamaism,
Tantrism,
and
Vajrayana
Buddhism.
READ ON.
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kaphrao (กะเพรา)
Thai name for a species of basil, with the scientific names Ocimum
sanctum and Ocimum tenuiflorum. In English it is known by the
designations Tulsi and Holy Basil, the latter
not to be confused with Thai
Basil, which is a variety of Ocimum basilicum, known in Thai
as
hora-phaa (fig.). Yet another type of
basil commonly found in Thailand is maenglak (แมงลัก), which is
known in English as lemon basil (Ocimum citriodorum). Kraphao is an
aromatic plant with hairy
stems and slightly serrated leaves,
about five centimeters
long and strongly scented. Flowers are
purplish and grow in elongate racemes. There are two
main morphs of Ocimum sanctum, i.e. one with
green leaves, the
other with purplish
leaves. The leaves are
used in Thai cuisine, most commonly in a dish known as
khao pad kaphrao kai (ข้าวผัดกะเพราไก่),
i.e. ‘basil [leaves] fried [with] chicken [served over plain boiled]
rice’. Usually pronounced kaphao,
without the
‘r’.
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kapi (กะปิ)
Thai. ‘Shrimp paste’. A salty paste made from pulverized marine
shrimps that fermented in salt. It is used as
an ingredient to flavour food, and is a main ingredient in a dish
known as
khao kluk kapi
(fig.).
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Kapilavasthu
Pali for
Kapilavatthu.
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Kapilavatthu (कपिलवस्तु)
Sanskrit. The empire in nowadays southern Nepal (formerly India)
where king
Suddhodana, the father of the historical
Buddha ruled, and consequently the
birthplace of prince
Siddhartha.
See also
Lumbini. In Pali called
Kapilavasthu and in Thai
Kabinlaphad.
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kapioh (กะปิเยาะห์)
Thai-Malayu. Name for a traditional kufi-like hat worn by male
Muslims in
southern Thailand, especially in the deep southern provinces of
Pattani,
Yala and
Narathiwat,
near the border with
Malaysia, where it is called kopiah.
They are either coloured, usually with a patterned design (fig.),
or entirely white. Sometimes transcribed as kapiyo, kapio or kapiyoh.
See also
taqiyah.
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kapok
Name
of a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae.
Its scientific name is Ceiba pentandra and previously it was
separated in the family Bombacaceae. There are many different
species and it is also known as ceiba, silk-cotton tree, Java cotton
or Java kapok. In Thailand the tree is of a medium size and grows up
to 15 meters but some species may grow as high as seventy meters
tall with a very substantial trunk up to three meters in diameter
and
buttressed roots.
Adult trees produce several hundred seed pods
(fig.)
which contain black seeds surrounded by a light, fluffy,
cream-coloured fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose, and
which is also called kapok. The fibre is buoyant, very resilient and
resistant to water, but cannot be spun. Instead it is used as
filling in mattresses, pillows,
triangular floor pillows called
mon khwahn,
Burmese temple cloths with
filigree
and images in relief (fig.),
cuddly toys and for insulation.
It was previously much used in life jackets and
similar appliances.
But kapok is also highly flammable and villagers
often utilize it as a fuel to ignite a ‘taban
fai’
lighter (fig.).
When still young the
cucumber-like
seed pods are soft and green and its flesh is
edible (fig.),
both fresh or as an ingredient of a Thai curry called kaeng or
gaeng, but when they ripen the pods turn hard and light brown, and
its flesh becomes fibre.
The seeds produce a vegetable oil.
Today kapok has largely been replaced by synthetic
materials.
In Thailand, Kapok Trees yield between February and
April and are called
ton
nun.
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kara
(ਕੜਾ)
Punjabi. A round iron or steel
bracelet worn by
Sikh
devotees at all times, as
one of their five articles of
faith, and as
constant reminder that whatever a person does with his or her hands
has to be truthful and worthy towards God, with the circular form of
the bangle symbolizing God's eternity.
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karahi (कड़ाही)
Name of a
wok-like, yet deeper, circular,
open cooking pan, used in India. It is also known by a variety of
other names, including karai, kadai, etc.
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karanda
Common name for a species of
flowering shrub, with the botanical designation Carissa carandas,
which produces berry-like fruits that are rich in iron and Vitamin
C, and are said to have certain health benefits. They purportedly
reduce blood sugar levels, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, and
prevent heart diseases. The shrub grows naturally in areas of the
Indian subcontinent, including in lowland rain forests of Sri Lanka,
India, and Nepal, at the lower elevations of the
Himalayas.
In India, the berries are are commonly used as a condiment in
pickles and spices. In Thai, known as
manao mai ruh hoh,
or simply
manao hoh.
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karaoke
(カラオケ)
Japanese. ‘Empty orchestra’. Entertainment in nightclubs, bars,
saloons, roadside shops, etc. Customers sing to a backing track
whilst the song text appears on a video or computer screen. In
Thailand this form of entertainment has become so popular causing
the spread of so-called karaoke booths, solitary enclosures with a
private coin-operated VCD player, microphone and screen where one
chooses a listed song by typing in its code, jukebox-style (fig.).
Karaoke-equipment can even be found in some
Bangkok taxis allowing
customers to spend their time in traffic jams in a relaxing manner.
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karawak, karawake, karawek, karaweik (การเวก,
ကရဝိက်)
1. Thai.
A mythical creature half human and half bird. See also
Garuda and
Vayupak.
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2. Thai name for a
bird-of-paradise, in full called
nok
karawak.
Its tail feathers are used on a certain royal hat, which is known as
Phra Malah Sao Soong.
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3.
Thai. Common name for
kradang nga ngaw (fig.).
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4. Burmese.
A mythical swan-like creature, supposedly with a melodious cry,
which is used as a ceremonial
royal
barge in
Myanmar. A replica of this
Burmese royal barge
known as the
Hintha Barge
(fig.)
and with the figurehead of a
hintha
bird (fig.),
is used by the
Intha
people to transport the
Hpaung Daw U Buddhas (fig.)
during their annual festival and procession on Inle Lake.
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Karen
With around
265,000 the
Karen
are the largest hill tribe in Thailand. They have lived in the
region for many centuries and are divided into several subgroups. In
Thailand, the most numerous are the
Sakoh (Sgaw),
Pwo
and
Kayah, besides the
Kayang and
Paduang, both
Long-neck Karen. The word ‘Karen’ is not known to
the different subgroups themselves and the Thai call them
Kariang
and
Nyang.
The term is however generally used by anthropologists when referring
to certain tribes who speak closely related tongues and who are not
that related to the languages of other hill tribes. They are
therefore placed in a separate category within the Tibeto-Burman
family of the Sino-Tibetan language group.
MORE ON THIS.
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Kariang (กะเหรี่ยง)
Thai name for
Karen.
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karin (करिन्)
Sanskrit for ‘elephant’.
See
Asian Elephant.
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karma
(कर्म)
Sanskrit. The law of cause and effect, in which one's present state
is the result of actions from the past, either in this life or in
former lives. Karma ends when one attains
nirvana and the cycle of death and rebirth is
broken. Karma is closely linked with
samsara
and transmigration. In Thai
kam.
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karry (กะหรี่)
1. Thai for
curry.
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2. Thai slang for a prostitute.
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Karttikeya
(कार्तिकेय)
The god of war, leader of
Shiva's troops and usually considered to be the
son of Shiva and
Parvati.
READ ON.
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Karuppu (கருப்புசா)
Tamil. ‘Black’. Name of a Tamil deity,
usually referred to as Karuppu Sami, with the word sami meaning ‘deity’ or
‘god’.
According to legend,
Rama
had sent
Sita
to stay in the
ashram of
Valmiki, when she was pregnant with
Rama's heir. While there, she gave birth to a son.
Some days later, she left the ashram in order to do some chores and
asked Valmiki to keep an eye on her child in the cradle. Whilst he
was watching the infant he went into a deep meditation. When Sita
returned and found Valmiki in meditation, she didn't want to disturb
him and took her child. When Valmiki came out of his meditation, he
found the child missing. So, he put some holy grass in the cradle
and chanted a mantra that turned the grass into a real human child.
When he later found out that Sita had already taken her child,
he asked her to treat the newly made baby also as her own. When Sita
returned to Rama, he was surprised to see her with two boys. Able to
have only one heir, Rama wanted to test the purity of the boys. He
lighted a bonfire and asked the boys to approach him by crossing the
fire, saying that whoever was to be his heir would have to cross the
fire unhurt. In obeying Rama, the boy made from grass got stuck in
the middle of the fire and burnt his body, becoming very dark. Rama
made the real son his heir, but also blessed the other boy by
appointing him as his escort god, and named him
Karuppu,
but he also goes by a variety of aliases. In compliance with his
name, he is usually (though not always -
fig.) portrayed with a black, or alternatively, with a
dusky or greyish-blue complexion,
his hair plaited
in a thick
tuft (jata)
that hangs over to one side, and
three horizontal lines (tri-pundra)
applied on his forehead. Besides this, he stands upright
and wields a weapon with his right hand, in general a scimitar-like
sword, whilst he leans on a mace
(gada)
with the other hand. His image is often found in
Hindu temples, where he is usually
called
Sri
Karuppana Swamy. As part
of his worship he is
offered holy ash and alcohol, and a lit cigar or cigarette is placed
in his mouth. All those items relate to fire and refer to his ordeal
in the flames. This deity is popular among the Tamil community of
southern India, and shrines devoted to him are always found at the
outskirts of their villages, as he is believed to be a warrior who
masters all land and who prevents all evil from entering a boundary,
and thus from entering the village, an idea which is reminiscent of
the
Akha
spirit gates (fig.).
He is often worshipped alongside
Muneeswarar.
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kasalong (กาสะลอง)
Thai name for the
Indian Cork Tree, an evergreen tree
with
white, slaverform flowers.
In Thai, it is also known as
pihb.
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kasalong kham (กาสะลองคำ)
Thai name for a tree with the botanical
name Radermachera ignea, which in Thai is also known as
pihb thong.
This
evergreen or
semi-deciduous tree grows to a height of between 6 to 20 meters and
blooms from January to May, displaying clusters of tubular, bright
orange flowers with a sweet jasmine-like fragrance, that grow on old
branches. It is the provincial tree of
Chiang Rai
province and is
said to symbolize simplicity, endurance, advancement and
peacefulness. It is sometimes referred to
by the common name
Tree Jasmine, a designation which
is however also commonly used for the
Indian Cork Tree, which in Thai is
known by the names
kasalong
and
pihb.
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kasat (กษัตริย์)
Thai-rajasap meaning ‘king’, ‘raja’,
‘ruler’, ‘potentate’ and ‘monarch’. Its is an abbreviation of the
Thai word
kasatriya which itself is derived
from the Hindi word
Kshatriya.
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kasatriya (กษัตริยา)
Thai-rajasap meaning ‘king’, ‘raja’,
‘ruler’, ‘potentate’ and ‘monarch’. Its is derived from the Hindi
word
Kshatriya. It is generally used abbreviated
(kasat),
whereas the full word appears only in compound words, called
kham samaht.
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Kasetsart (เกษตรศาสตร์)
Thai. ‘Agriculture’. Name of the
first agricultural university and the
third university in Thailand.
READ ON.
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kasin (กสิณ)
Thai. Meditation of the four elements, but in general also used as a
term for any form of meditation.
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Kashyapa (कश्यप)
See
Kasyapa.
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Kassapa
1. Pali. A
buddha of the past, a precursor of the
historical
Buddha. He is the third of the five buddhas
to spread
Enlightenment
in this world and
one of the four buddha's in
Ananda Phaya in
Bagan,
located at its South Gate, the others being
Konagamana facing East (fig.),
Kakusandha facing North (fig.),
and
Gautama at the West
Gate (fig.).
In Sanskrit he is known as
Kasyapa,
in Thai he is called
Phra
Kassap
Phutta Chao
(พระกัสสปพุทธเจ้า), and
in Burmese Kathapa (ကဿပ).
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2. Pali. The monk who succeeded the
Buddha as leader of the
Sangha. In mural paintings usually
portrayed as an old man accompanied by the young monk
Ananda, the Buddha's nephew and his most
important disciple. Also
Maha Kassapa.
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Kasyapa (कश्यप)
1. Sanskrit. Name of a
rishi who is the father of the
devas,
asuras,
nagas and all
humans. He has several consorts, i.e. the thirteen daughters of
Daksha, with whom he had several offspring, e.g.
Garuda and
Aruna are
his sons with his consort Vinata, the
apsaras are his children
through Muni, the nagas are his sons from
Kadru,
Agni and the
Adityas
are his sons by his wife
Aditi, etc.
Also transcribed Kashyapa.
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2.
Sanskrit. Name of one of the
candidates for inclusion as the 17th or 18th
arahat, especially when referred to as
Maha Kasyapa which is
sometimes spelled
Maha Kassapa. As Maha Kasyapa the
name may also refer to one of the four initial arahats, whom the Buddha had
asked to remain in the world to propagate the
dhamma, one for each of the four directions of the
compass.
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3. Name of
the monk who after the
Buddha's
Mahaparinirvana succeeded him
as leader of the
Sangha.
He is one of the
Ten Principal Disciples.
Also
Maha Kasyapa and
Maha Kassapa.
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4.
Sanskrit.
A
buddha of the past
(fig.), a precursor of the
historical
Buddha. In Pali, he is known as
Kassapa (fig.).
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kata (คาถา)
Thai term for a verse in
Pali or the text of a
thet or sermon, but also for an incantation or a
(magic) spell. Pronounced kaathaa (kahthah).
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katha (คทา)
Thai name for
gada.
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Kathavarayan (กัตตะวรายัน)
Name of a Indian-Tamil kind of
nat, who according to
legend was born from the rays that radiate from
Shiva's
third eye.
The
goddess
Devi
appointed Kathavarayan as watchman of a garden that she had created
on the banks of the river
Ganges.
One day, Kathavarayan took away the dresses of women who came there
to bathe, and thus he was cursed by Devi, declaring that he had to
take birth seven times. In addition, he was convicted by the king to
die on pointed stake for his offence. However, when he was about to
die on the stake, Devi took pity on him and he got relieved from the
curse. She then instructed him to sit on her northeastern side and
bless all those who come to see her. As such, his image is often
found near the entrance of Hindu-Tamil temples, such as Wat
Sri Mariamman
on
Silom
Road in
Bangkok.
This deity is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of
Chitirai, i.e. April-May, when his image is taken around the temple
is a procession.
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ka-thi (กะทิ)
Thai for ‘coconut
milk’.
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kathin (กฐิน)
Thai. The period of one month following the rainy season or ‘pansa’,
when pious laymen bring gifts and robes to all the monks of a
temple, usually in the month of November. For this ceremony people
will collect money on a small leafless tree by going around or by
placing it in their business or at the temple to which anyone
can makes a donation (tamboon)
by attaching a banknote to its branches. On a certain day, or when
the
money tree
(fig.)
is considered full, it will be taken to the local local temple in a
procession and offered to the monks, often together with monk's
robes. This tradition goes back to the assignment the Buddha gave to
his first disciples to find their own robe, rather than buying one.
He pointed to pieces of cloth hanging from tree branches in the
forest, torn off from passer-by's clothes. These could easily be
used to make a robe by stitching them together and then dying it.
This is one reason why a needle is one of the things (borikaan)
Buddhist monks are allowed to posses. See also
kathin phra racha thaan,
kathin luang,
thod phah pah,
kreuang kathin
and
krob trai. Also
known as thod kathin.
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kathin luang (กฐินหลวง)
See
kathin phra racha thaan.
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kathin phra racha thaan (กฐินพระราชทาน)
Thai. The
kathin ceremony performed by the king or a
state dignitary in name of and representing the king. Also
kathin luang. See also
Royal Barges.
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kathoei (กะเทย)
See
kathoey.
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kathoy (กะเทย)
See
kathoey.
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kathoey (กะเทย)
Thai for transvestite. In Thailand the term refers usually to men
who dress as girls or act girlish. In most large cities, many
cabaret shows are performed by those so-called ‘lady boys’ and draw
large crowds of curious tourists from all over the world
(fig.).
Kathoey
shows
are also very popular with Thai gays and most gay
discos and pubs have lip-sync performances with guys in cross-dress
doing their act. From a distance it is often hard to tell if the
performer is a girl or a kathoey.
Sometimes called the third gender and also transcribed kathoy,
kathey, kathoi, kathoei, kathui and kathuy.
The term is comparable with the Chinese expression
nan se.
See also
look sawaat
and
phi seua kathoey.
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kathputli (कथपुतली, कठपुतली)
Rajasthani-Hindi. ‘Puppet story’ or ‘wooden puppet’. An Indian form of marionette theatre from Rajasthan,
which uses string-puppets made from
mango
wood and often without
legs and feet, as the lower body is instead covered in long skirts. The
arms are always stuffed with cloth for flexibility and to give them
a natural, human-like appearance. The puppets have strings attached
to the head, waist and hands, but not on the lower body. With animal
puppets, such as camels and horses, usually only the neck is
movable. Puppeteers are traditionally
from the Bhatt community and the
main puppeteer is called sutradhar. He is accompanied by a
narrator-singer or bhagavat, drums, cymbals and the harmonium, as
well as a reed-like bamboo instrument that emits a shrill sound and
is used to attract attention (fig.). This performing art is believed to be
more than two thousand years old and is said to be
the most popular form of Indian puppetry. In the
past, puppeteers used to travel from place to place and performed in
villages to entertain the local people, narrating stories and folk
tales of legendary heroes or historic events, though nowadays
kathputli performances mostly find place at hotels to entertain
tourists.
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kathuy (กะเทย)
See
kathoey.
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Katu
Vietnamese-Laotian. Name of an
ethnic minority group, that lives in
Vietnam and
Laos,
and that has an estimated population of around 61,000.
Their language belongs to the
Mon-Khmer
linguistic family. Their funeral traditions include the construction
of small funeral huts in which the coffin is placed, and which are
adorned with wooden carvings, oftentimes of animals, such as water
buffaloes (fig.).
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Kaunghmudaw Phaya (ကောင်းမှုတော်ဘုရား)
Burmese. ‘Royal Merit-making
Pagoda’.
Name of a Buddhist temple in Sagaing.
READ ON.
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kaupina (कौपीन)
Sanskrit. A kind of loincloth worn as underclothing by certain men
in India. It consists of a rectangular piece of cloth, which is
bound around the waist with a horizontal strap, cord, or even a
chain (fig.). It somewhat resembles the Japanese fundoshi (褌),
the string-like wrap as worn by sumo wrestlers, for one. It
is the recommended undergarment for
Brahmacharya,
and is typically worn by Indian
yogi
(fig.),
sadhu
(fig.),
brahman priests and novices (fig.),
celibates, and other ascetics. It is even said that all great,
realized masters wore but the kaupina. Also pronounced kaupin.
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Kauravas
(कौरव)
Descendants of the Lunar king
Kuru, a royal
family branch in the Indian
epos
Mahabharata. See also
Pandava.
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kaustubha (कौस्तुभ)
A magical gem that surfaced during the churning of the
Ocean of Milk and is worn
on the chest by both
Vishnu and
Krishna.
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Kawila
(กาวิละ)
Ruler of
Lampang and
Chiang Mai in
the beginning of the
Chakri dynasty. See
Chao Kawila.
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kay (เกย)
Thai. Name
of a platform used to ascend or
descend a
riding animal, such as an elephant or a horse, as used in the past by royalty. The platform is permanent and can be
either part of a building or freestanding, in which case it will
also have a staircase. Also
transcribed gay or qay, and perhaps etymologically related to the
English word quay. A mounting platform
for royalty which
can be moved and hence is not
permanent, nor part of a building and usually made of a lighter
material, is called kaylah (เกยลา).
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Kayah (คะย้า)
A subgroup of the
Karen
in Thailand.
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Kayan
1. Name of
one
of the subgroups of the
Long-neck Karen,
in Thai called
Kayang.
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2. Name of
an indigenous tribe from the
island of Borneo, categorized as a part of the Dayak people, to
which also the
Iban (fig.)
belong.
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Kayang (กะย้าง)
One of the subgroups of the
Long-neck Karen in Thailand, originally
from Burma. They live mainly in the provinces of
Mae Hong Son and
Chiang Rai,
close to the border with
Myanmar.
The name also refers to their language.
Their women's traditional costume includes the wearing of brass
coils. After 1000 AD the Kayang people dealt economically and
socially with the neighbouring
Shan
and the women were often seduced by these outsiders. Then the
Pwo from the Thaton region alerted the
Kayang about atrocities the Burman people had inflicted upon them,
so the Kayang started to look for a solution on how to avert these
threats. Since they are descendants from
Lan Nan
Htu Su and
Ka Kwe Bu Pe,
they decided to institute a status symbol for their women. According
to
folklore, when the girls Mu Don and Mu Dan visited their
grandmother, the lady
dragon, they
were presented with gold bars when they left. They then started to
decorated themselves by winding gold coils around their wrists and
necks. As gold was rare the need for brass arose. This was obtained
by exchanging silver with the Shan traders, mainly provided by those
of the Satoung village. Since 1070 AD the Kayang women have worn
brass coils. There are several reasons for wearing them e.g. to
avoid an unwelcome advances by the Shan and Burman chiefs; as
cultural identity to distinguish themselves from other ethnic groups
and to protect the women from intermingling with other races; and as
a status symbol, as they are descendants of the mother dragon they
adorn themselves in her likeness, with the idea that how longer the
neck is, the more graceful the looks are. The Kayang Long-necks
start wearing brass coils from the age of four. From then onward the
rings are changed about twice until the age of fourteen, with loops
being added to the spiral about every three years, as the girl grows
and ages. Brass coils for adults usually consist of multiple parts
that is, a main coil of 16-22 windings, with at the base a separate
5-6 coil winding, onto which a smaller coil of 62 mm diameter with 5
loops is attached perpendicularly, at the back (fig.).
Each set of brass rings is made in one piece from a single brass rod
and a total set of rings for adults can easily weigh up to 8 kilos,
depending on the number of coils. The men prepare the brass rods but
it are the women who fix the rings. Brass is a tough metal and the
winding is done manually by any strong woman with exceptional
talent, called a fixer.
MORE ON THIS.
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Kayaw (กะยาว)
A subgroup of the
Karen
hill tribe whose women are typified by their long earlobes.
MORE ON THIS.
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kayih (กาหยี)
Another Thai name for
velvet tamarind, next to
yih.
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Keeled Box Turtle
Name of an Asian species of box
turtle,
with the scientific name Cuora mouhotii. It is found in
Thailand,
Laos,
Cambodia,
Vietnam and
Myanmar, as well as in
China and
India. It is alternatively known as Pyxidea mouhotii. Keeled Box
Turtles are characterized by a dorsally flattened, yellowish to
reddish or dark brown carapace, which is strongly serrated at the
back. It has three distinctive keels, i.e. one medial and two
lateral keels. Its limbs are gray to dark brown or black, with the
anterior surfaces of the forelegs being covered with large scales.
The toes are only partially webbed. This species is largely
terrestrial and only rarely enters water. It prefers moderately
moist habitats with plenty of vegetation and ground litter for
cover. In Thai it is called
tao jan.
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Keinnaya (ကိန္နရာ)
Burmese term for
Kinnara, a
mythical bird with human head and torso.
In
Myanmar,
Buddhists believe that 4 of the 136 past animal lives of the
Buddha,
i.e.
chaht that the Buddha embodied in
the form of an animal, were Keinnaya, e.g. the
Canda Jataka.
It is also one of the 108 symbols on the
Buddhapada,
i.e. the
footprint (fig.)
or soles of the Buddha
(fig.).
The female form of a Keinnaya is called
Keinnayi. The Keinnaya is the
symbol of the Red
Karen
people.
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Keinnayi (ကိန္နရီ)
Burmese. Female form of a
Keinnaya.
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kendi
A spherical drinking vessel, usually with a bulbous spout.
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kendo (剣道)
Japanese.
‘Way
of the sword’.
Name of a modern Japanese fighting sport and martial art, which uses
bamboo swords known as shinai (竹刀), both for practice and
competition. Participants wear protective gear called
bogu
(fig.),
which literally means
‘armour’
and that is also known as kendogu, i.e.
‘kendo
equipment’.
This protective gear consists of a mask and breastplate, similar to
those used by a catcher in baseball, though the kendo mask also
hood-like helmet and shoulder protectors attached to it, making it
somewhat reminiscent of a coal hood or the monastic hood
worn by Christian monks. In
addition, the combatants wear gauntlet-like hand and forearm
protectors, as well as a skirt-like leg and groin protector.
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keng (เก้ง)
Thai for
Barking Deer.
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keng (เก๋ง)
Thai. Architectural term for a house with a Chinese-style roof,
which typically has
upward curved corners, a
feature related to
feng shui, in which it is
believed that curved lines ward off evil spirits, whilst straight
lines are said to attract evil.
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kes
(केश)
Sanskrit-Hindi word for hair and which may also
be transliterated
kesh,
especially when referring to the practice of having
uncut hair.
Also
transliterated keza.
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kesh
(केस)
Hindi term for uncut hair.
The practice of allowing one's
hair to grow naturally as a symbol of respect for the perfection of
God's creation. With the
Sikh,
the long
hair
is knotted on top of their head and usually held in place with a
comb known as a
kanga. Both the kesh and kanga are
worn by Sikh
devotees as
part
of the five articles of their faith.
The topknot is covered by a
turban known as
dastar or
pagri,
or by a scarf-like kind of under-turban called a
patka (fig.).
Also transliterated kesha or
keza and also spelled
kes.
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Ketu (केतु, เกตุ)
1. Sanskrit-Thai. The lower part of
Rahu that represents his tail and is
considered the personification of comets and meteorites, whilst the
upper part of Rahu travels through the universe in a chariot pulled
by eight black horses. The demon Rahu was cut in two by
Vishnu using his
chakra for secretly lining up among the
gods and receiving a portion of the
amrita. Ketu is one of the nine gods
worshipped in the
phra prajam wan system of the Hindus, lined
up in the northwestern corner, facing South. The Rahu name also
appears in the Buddhist
Phra prajam wan geut system as
the
pahng pah leh laai Buddha pose, corresponding with
Wednesday after sunset.
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2.
Sanskrit-Thai. Name of
the planet Neptune.
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Ketumati (เกตุมดี)
Thai-Sanskrit. The earthly paradise that the
bodhisattva
Maitreya will preside over when he descends
from
Tushita heaven as the future
Buddha.
It is often referred to as the Pure
Land
and the name is sometimes translated as ‘endowed
with brightness’.
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Keua Nah (กือนา)
Name of the eight
king of the Mengrai Dynasty ruling the ninth reign of the northern kingdom of
Lan Na
from 1355 to 1385.
READ ON.
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keub (คืบ)
Thai. Ancient Thai unit of
linear measure. In the past it
represented 12 inches (30.48 centimeters), but nowadays it is fixed
at 25 centimeters.
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keyuradhara (केयूरधरा)
Sanskrit term for a ring or bracelet worn
around the biceps on the upper
arm. It may be worn
as a
charm and is hence reminiscent of the Thai
prachiad
(fig.).
However, if the ring or bracelet is made of gold, then either the
Sanskrit term rukmaggada or kajcanaggadin will be used.
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kha (ข่า)
1. Thai name for the blue or
‘Thai’
ginger, a rhizome with
culinary and medicinal uses either of the genus Alpinia or of a
type known as
krachai
in Thai. There are four species, i.e. the greater galangal (Alpinia
galanga), lesser galangal (Alpinia officinarum), krachai or fingerroot
(Boesenbergia pandurata -
fig.) and krachai dam or sand
ginger (Kaempferia galanga -
fig.).
The rhizomes of the genus Alpinia are typified by their light
colour and pale purple-rose stems.
Also called galanga,
galangal and
galingale.
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2. A hill tribe of the
Mon-Khmer race
living in the North of Thailand and the
Shan States.
Another
tribe with the same name belongs to the Malay race.
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khaet (ខេត្ត)
Khmer. Term used
for
a
‘province’
in
Cambodia
and related to the Thai word
khet,
meaning ‘domain’ or ‘zone’.
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khai jab san (ไข้จับสั่น)
Thai. ‘Shivering fever’. A name for
malaria. Also
khai pah.
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khai khao (ไข่ข้าว)
Thai. ‘Egg
rice’.
Name of a dish consisting of a fertilized
egg with a nearly full-developed embryo
inside
which is boiled alive and then eaten.
Originally from
China,
where they are called maodan (毛蛋)
or ‘furry eggs’, they are popular all over Southeast Asia and in the
Philippines it is a national dish called balut. In
Vietnam, they are
referred to as trung
vit lon (trứng
vịt lộn) or hot vit lon (hột vịt lộn), and in Cambodia as pong tia kohn.
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khai khem (ไข่เค็ม)
Thai for ‘salted egg’. Also called
khai phok, literally ‘daubed
egg’, i.e. daubed in salt. It can either refer to an egg preserved in
saline water, or to an egg daubed in ashes or in a mixture of chaff and
(iodized) salt. Usually ducks' eggs are used. Occasionally called khai
phok khem.
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khai khem din so phong (ไข่เค็มดินสอพอง)
Thai. ‘Marl salted egg’. A salted egg produced by
coating it with a mixture of marl (soil of clay and lime), water and
salt, and preserving it for a certain period of time. This kind of egg
is a well-known souvenir of
Lopburi. See also
khai khem.
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khai leuad awk (ไข้เลือดออก)
Thai. ‘Bleeding fever’. Thai name for
haemorrhagic fever.
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khai look kheuy (ไข่ลูกเขย)
Thai. ‘Son-in-law eggs’. Name of a dish of hard boiled eggs, cut in
half and fried in oil until they are golden brown and blistered.
They are served in a sweet, syrup-like sauce, made of tamarind
paste, soft brown or palm sugar, a little fish sauce and lime juice,
mixed with topped fried onion, dried red chilies and chopped
coriander leaves. In English usually referred to as deep fried boiled eggs.
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khai mot daeng (ไข่มดแดง)
Thai. ‘Eggs of red ants’. Pupated larvae of
Weaver Ants, in Thai known as
red ants. These white, roughly one centimeter long larva are found
in the ants nests (fig.),
high up in the trees (fig.).
The local population of
Isaan and North Thailand consider them a real
delicacy. Uprooting these nests is not easy, due to the painful but
harmless bite of the red ants.
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khai muk (ไข่มุก)
Thai for
‘pearl’
or
‘pearly egg’.
READ ON.
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khai nok kra-tha
(ไข่นกกระทา)
Thai.
‘Quail's egg’.
Eggs of a small bird in the pheasant family, with the scientific
name Coturnix coturnix. These small eggs are considered a delicacy and widely sold on markets
as a snack, either hardboiled or as tiny eggs sunny-side up. As
such, they are typically served with
soy sauce.
Another popular snack consists of hardboiled quail's eggs wrapped in
wonton, known in Thai as
kiyaw,
and deep-fried until crisp (fig.).
Quail's eggs are also typically sold in small baskets or nets at
hot springs, to allow visitors to boil
them naturally in the wells (fig.), when picnicking. In
sushi,
they are sometimes used raw.
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khai pah (ไข้ป่า)
Thai. ‘Jungle fever’. A name for
malaria. Also
khai jab san.
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khai phalo
(ไข่พะโล้)
Thai. Name for a dish of eggs boiled hard in
soy sauce,
making the outside of the egg white turn brownish-beige. This dish
is actually named after a dish of pork stewed in a kind of gravy,
which besides the meat juices and soy sauce, also contains a powder
called phong phalo (ผงพะโล้), which is made from coriander seeds
(fig.),
cinnamon (fig.),
pepper (fig.),
cardamom
(fig.),
and star anis (fig.).
The dish is typically eaten with large, block-like pieces of stewed pork,
known as three-leveled pork, referring to the different levels of
meet and fat, but also with chicken drumsticks and pieces of fried
tofu. This kind of eggs are also
commonly served with the dish
khao kha moo bohraan
(fig.).
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khai phok (ไข่พอก)
Thai. ‘Daubed egg’. Another name for
khai khem.
The term may refer to khai khem phok din, meaning ‘salted egg daubed
with soil’, i.e. marl (soil of clay and lime), as in
khai khem din so phong,
or to khai phok khem, when daubed in ashes or in a mixture of chaff
and (iodized) salt.
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khai ping (ไข่ปิ้ง)
Thai. ‘Toasted egg’ or ‘baked egg’. Name for a chicken egg in its
shell, skewered on a thin wooden stick and roasted over a charcoal
fire. Prior to grilling the egg,
kreuang prung,
such as pepper and
soy sauce
are injected, and mixed with the yolk and egg white, blending them
together, so it seems as if it is an ordinary boiled egg without egg
yolk.
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khai sah (ไข้ส่า)
Thai
for
dengue fever.
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khai samphao (ไข่สำเภา)
Thai. ‘Samphao egg’ or ‘Chinese
junk egg’. Another name for
khai yiew mah.
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khai yad sai (ไข่ยัดไส้)
Thai. ‘Stuffed egg’. Name of a dish that consists of a lightly
cooked omelet, that is folded into a square and filled with minced
meat mixed with some other ingredients.
READ ON.
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khai yiew mah (ไข่เยี่ยวม้า)
Thai. ‘Horse urine egg’. Name
of a
preserved egg, usually a duck's
egg, prepared by soaking
it in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime and
rice
straw for several weeks to
months, depending on the method of processing. Sometimes, the eggs
are coated with rice chaff (fig.),
in order to prevent them from sticking to one another.
The process turns the
yolk into a dark greyish green to black colour, whereas the egg
white becomes a dark brown, transparent jelly (fig.).
The transforming agent is alkaline and after the process is
completed the egg will have a strong odor of sulfur and ammonia.
In English, it has several names,
including century egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg or simply
preserved egg. The Thai name refers to an old myth that claims
century eggs once were prepared by soaking eggs in horse urine, but
this is not plausible. The myth may have arisen due to the ammonia
smell that sometimes is released during certain production
processes. Century eggs
originally came
from
China, where they are called
either
pidan (皮蛋), meaning
‘leather egg’ or ‘skin egg’, or sonhuadan (松花蛋), what translates as
‘pine-patterned egg’. The origin of the latter is not clear. It
might be due to either a
snow crystal or pine
branch-like pattern near the surface of the albumen with some century eggs,
or due to the fact that the eggs in China were originally preserved
in large ceramic pots with patterns of pine trees. Since the Chinese
first came to Thailand often in junks, the egg is in Thai also
called
khai
samphao,
meaning ‘Chinese junk egg’. Today, China is the world's largest
producer of century eggs. It is popular all over Southeast Asia and
in
Vietnam, where it is called hot vit bach tao (hột
vịt bắc thảo) or trung vit bach tao (trứng
vịt bắc thảo), century eggs are often sold still
covered in the black ash used to salt them, thus assuring customers
that they were made using the traditional method (fig.).
In Thailand, century eggs are nowadays usually not longer made in
the traditional way, but by using a newer method that achieves the
same results and in which the eggs are soaked in a mixture of brine,
calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate for about ten days, after
which they are wrapped in plastic and left to age for several weeks.
On Thai markets, these century eggs are easy recognizable by their pink coloured egg shells,
used to distinguish them from other duck eggs, such as ordinary duck
eggs and salted duck eggs, which are left in their natural colour (fig.). See also
Burmese jelly egg.
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Khajon Jaratwong (ขจรจรัสวงษ์)
Thai.
Name
of
a Siamese prince
of the
Rattanakosin
Period, with the title of momchao.
READ ON.
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khakkhara (खक्खर)
Sanskrit. Name for a ringed staff held by certain
arahats, monks and
bodhisattvas
in
Mahayana Buddhism. It is
meant to inform people of their presence through the jingling sound
caused by the rings and in order to seek alms, as well as to warn
small and crawling creatures of their approach, so as to avoid
stepping on them. By announcing their arrival in this way they avoid
speak unnecessarily. It is also used by
Shaolin
warrior monks (fig.)
as a weapon and in prayer, e.g. by the abbot of a Chinese temple
usually wields the staff during grand ceremonies, striking the
ground three times to symbolize the breaking of ignorance. The
khakkhara consist of a usually thin, wooden staff capped with metal
loops and rings which are either four, six or twelve in number,
indicating the
Four Noble Truths, the
Six Paramitas
or the
Twelve Nidanas,
respectively. Occasionally, the rings may be double (fig.).
The bodhisattva
Ksitigarbha (fig.)
is usually depicted carrying a khakkhara, which he also uses to
force open the gates of hell, and the
arahat
Chudapanthaka (fig.)
was given one by the Buddha, to stop him from knocking on
doors when begging for alms. In Chinese called xi zhang (锡杖),
literally ‘thin cane’ or ‘thin walking stick’, but also ‘bestowing
staff’. It is sometimes referred to as a Buddhist beggar's staff.
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Kham Hai Kaan Chao Krung Kao (คำให้การชาวกรุงเก่า)
Thai. ‘Word (or Testimony) given by the People of the
Ancient City’. A chronicle
in the archives of Thai history, which dates from the
Ayutthaya
Period and records the kingdom's inception up to its destruction by the Burmese
in 1767 AD. It is an important book on the history of Thailand and was assumed
by Prince
Damrong Rachanuphaap,
the Father of Thai history, to be the source for the story
Khun Chang Khun Paen
(fig.).
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Kham Chanoht (คำชะโนด)
Thai. Name of a
forest temple
in
Udonthani,
and a place of pilgrimage and worship,
which is believed to be located at the palace of the
Phayanagaraat (fig.),
i.e. the
Naga King, known as
Chao Poo Sri Sutho
Nagaraat
(fig.), and his Naga
Queen called
Chao Yah Sri Patum Mah
Naki (fig.). It is also known as
Wat Pah
Kham Chanot,
Meuang
Chanot or
Wang
Nakarin
Kham Chanot. It is idyllically located in the middle of a field surrounded by
water, inside a ca. 200
meters wide grove of Taraw Palms (fig.), which in Thai are called
ton
chanoht,
hence the name of this forest temple.
See also TRAVEL PICTURES (1)
and
(2),
and
WATCH VIDEO (1) and
(2).
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khamin (ขมิ้น)
1. Thai term used for both ‘Curcuma’ and ‘turmeric’,
the first one (Curcuma) actually being a genus in the plant family Zingiberaceae, which
contains species such as turmeric and
Siam Tulip,
the latter (turmeric) being a species with the botanical name Curcuma longa, within the
genus Curcuma.
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2. Name of a
limestone cave in Tai Rom
Yen, a circa 425 km² National Park in
Surat Thani,
known in Thai as
Tham Khamin (fig.).
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kham meuang (คำเมือง)
Thai. Northern Thai dialect. Typical is the slow rhythm of its
speech, much slower than the other three main dialects in Thailand.
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kham samaht (คำสมาส)
Thai term for a compound word or a combination of words.
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Khamu (ຂະມຸ)
Laotian for
Khmu.
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khan (ขรรค์)
Thai. A
kris-like dagger (fig.),
one of the regalia of kingship. Also Phra Khan and
Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri (fig.).
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khan (ขัน)
Thai. A bowl, cup or basin possibly placed on a pedestal called
phaan (fig.),
like a
betel-set. See also
khantoke.
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kha-nah (คะน้า)
Thai name for Chinese broccoli,
a leaf vegetable in the family Brassica,
with the scientific name Brassica alboglabra. It has long, thick
stems and leathery, bluish-green leaves. It is very similar to another
member of the Brassica family, i.e. Brassica campestris, that is
commonly known in Thai as
phak kwahng tung,
but which additionally has yellow flowers
(fig.).
Also known as kai lan and Chinese kale.
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khan dong (khăn đóng)
Vietnamese. Term for a turban, which in
Vietnam is tidily wrapped and worn by boys and men (fig.) as part of the traditional
ao gam
(fig.)
or ceremonial dress (fig.).
In English usually referred to as Vietnamese turban.
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khanit (ขนิษฐ)
A Thai term for ‘younger brother
or sister’ and a synonym for nong (น้อง).
In Thai it is also spelled otherwise and then transliterated
kanit or ganit.
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khanitah (ขนิษฐา)
A Thai term for ‘younger brother
or sister’ and a synonym for nong (น้อง). In Thai it is also spelled
otherwise and then transliterated
kanitah.
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khan kaew (ขันแก้ว)
Thai. ‘Crystal bowl’ or ‘glass bowl’. Name for a wooden,
usually triangular,
phaan-like
tray on a pedestal that consists of three legs, and which is
generally
decorated with paintings or carved figures, not seldom of
nagas.
It is used in Buddhist temples as a vessel to present religious offerings
such as flowers, known as
kreuang bucha.
The triangular shape represent the
Trairat
or
Triple Gem.
Occasionally, the tray may also be round in shape and the triangular
form is therefore also be referred to as khan kaew thang sahm (ขันแก้วทั้งสาม),
to specifically identify the triangular variety.
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khanmahk (ขันหมาก)
Thai name for a
betel-set.
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khantoke (ขันโตก)
Thai. A small round floor table (toke)
in
Lan Na, usually made from rattan and
sometimes painted with lacquer, on which a typical northern Thai
meal is served in a set of small bowls (khan).
The diners sit on the floor around the table and share a number of
dishes. Also khantohk.
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khantohk (ขันโตก)
See
khantoke.
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khao
(ขาว)
Thai word for ‘white’. Probably etymologically related to
khao,
the Thai word for ‘rice’.
It has a rising tone.
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khao (ข้าว)
Thai for ‘rice’,
though the term is also used for other cereals, such as ‘grain’, and
in general for ‘food’ as a whole, as in the expression
kin khao (กินข้าว), i.e. ‘to eat’, literally
‘to eat [rice/food]’.
The word has a falling tone. See also
rice.
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khao (เขา)
Thai for ‘mountain’ or ‘hill’. The word has a rising tone.
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khao (เข้า)
Thai for ‘to enter’, ‘to come/go inside’, or ‘to add’. The word has
a falling tone.
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khao chae (ข้าวแช่)
Thai.
‘Soaked
rice’.
Name of a traditional dish from
the central region.
It consists of boiled
jasmine rice
soaked and served in iced water, which is scented with
flower leaves, and eaten with assorted
side dishes, typically including fried shrimp-paste balls similar to
look chin
kung thod or
kung ra-beud
(fig.),
deep fried fine threads of meat,
hua chai poh wahn (fig.), and various fresh vegetables,
such as wild
ginger, raw
mango,
cucumber, green shallots and red
chilies.
Initially, khao chae was a dish that the
Mon people,
who also call it peung sangkraan (เปิงสังกรานต์), used to offer to
the monks in ceremonies during the
Songkraan
festival. In the reign of
Rama V, it was introduced to the court by palace
officials, who offered it the king. After the king's death, the dish
became familiar and widespread with commoners, who initially called
it khao chae chao wang (ข้าวแช่ชาววัง), literally ‘soaked rice of
the court attendants’ or ‘soaked rice of the court people’.
The dish is typically served during the hot season and eaten only
for lunch or in the afternoon.
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khao din (เขาดิน)
Thai. ‘Earthen hill’ or ‘dirt hill’. Short for
khao din
wa-nah.
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khao din wa-nah (เขาดินวนา)
Thai. ‘Earthen forest hill’. Popular name used by the locals
to refer to
Bangkok's zoo, officially known as
Suan Sat
Dusit, i.e.
Dusit Zoo.
Often abbreviated khao din.
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khao fahng (ข้าวฟ่าง)
Thai for millet or sorghum, a genus of numerous species of grasses,
some of which are raised for grain. It is a tropical cereal plant
bearing small nutritious seeds that pop like corn when roasted. Some
kinds are used as fodder plants or pasture, since it belongs to the
family of grasses.
It is somewhat
similar to
look deuay.
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khao ho bai bua (ข้าวห่อใบบัว)
Thai. ‘Rice
wrapped in
lotus leaf’.
Name of a traditional dish of cooked or fried rice mixed with some
ingredients, wrapped in a lotus leaf and steamed in a bamboo basked
called a
kheng,
thus transferring the fragrance of the leaf onto the rice, giving it
its special aroma. Ingredients can vary and besides some spices
often include shrimps, shredded pork, sliced sweet Chinese sausage
and a
shiitake mushroom. Sometimes also cooked lotus seeds (fig.)
are added.
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khao kha moo bohraan (ข้าวขาหมูโบราณ)
Thai. ‘Rice
with pork leg in the old style’. A dish consisting of
stewed pork leg,
khai phalo (fig.),
i.e.
a sliced up egg boiled hard in
soy sauce,
and some steamed vegetables served over
rice. This dish is usually sold
at roadside food stalls, front-home shops
and in the coupon-style mass restaurants of
large shopping malls. It has though a
very high calorie value.
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khao klong (ข้าวกล้อง)
Thai term for milled but unpolished
rice,
also referred to as half-milled rice. It is an
OTOP
product from
Prachuap Khirikhan,
for one. See also
khao som
meua.
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khao kluk kapi (ข้าวคลุกกะปิ)
Thai. A dish of
rice mixed with shrimp paste
(fig.),
known in Thai as
kapi,
and typically served with shredded omelet, dried or fried shrimps,
slices of fried Chinese sausage (kun chiang),
thinly sliced sour
mango (ma
muang man) or grated
papaya,
sweet pork (wok-fried pork seasoned with
fish sauce, dark
soy sauce
and sugar), dried chilies, chopped red onion or shallots, chopped
long beans, and a wedge of
lime,
though also other ingredients may variably be used. In Englsih, this dish
may be referred to as rice seasoned with shrimp paste, or simply as
shrimp paste rice (fig.).
Also
transliterated khao khluk kapi.
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khao kon thod (ข้าวก้อนทอด)
Thai. ‘Fried
rice
ball’. A kind of food made from boiled rice
mixed with egg, garlic, pepper, sugar,
fish sauce,
light
soy sauce
and sometimes with a little minced pork and some pulverized parsley
stems, moulded into balls and are coated with a layer of finely
crushed breadcrumbs before being deep-fried, thus creating a golden,
crunchy outer layer. They are a specialty from
Isaan and
are typically eaten with
naem,
slightly fermented, salted pork (fig.),
as an ingredient in a dish called
yam naem (fig.).
Their size is generally slightly smaller than that of a tennis ball.
Also called
kluk khao
thod, with the word kluk meaning ‘to mix’ or ‘to
roll’.
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khao kriyab waw (ข้าวเกรียบว่าว)
Thai. Thin slices of
rice flour crisped over an
open fire (fig.),
often using a
tao tahn.
The ingredients for this fragile, round crackers include pounded
sticky rice and oyster sauce.
Usually also some sugar is added. Though, there are several
varieties and they are generally referred to as just khao kriyab (fig.). In the past it used to be a kind
of snack or
kanom,
that was only found during certain
boon
festivals, especially
boon phrawet, or in the cold
season, after the rice harvest. Due to this association with the
past, it is by many youngsters seen as a rather ancient snack. In
Isaan it
is called khao pohng (ข้าวโป่ง), i.e. ‘inflated rice’ or ‘blistered
rice’, or khao khiyab (ข้าวเขียบ); in the North it is named khao
tuab (ข้าวฅวบ), khao phong (ข้าวพอง) or khao pong (ข้าวปอง) -which
derives from pohng (โป่ง) or pong (ป่อง)- and also means ‘inflated
rice’ or ‘blistered rice’; and in the South it is known as kriyab
niauw (เกรียบเหนียว), referring to
khao niauw, i.e. sticky rice. The name
waw
is derived from its flat form and light weigth,
which is reminiscent of a traditional Thai kite (fig.),
called waw in Thai.
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khao kung krob
(ข้าวกุ้งกรอบ)
Thai. Name for a crispy dish made with
rice and
shrimps, mixed together and then deep-fried.
It is a local specialty from
Uthai Thani.
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khao lahm (ข้าวหลาม)
Thai.
Sticky rice
or
khao niauw
grilled in a
bamboo cylinder called
krabok. The sticky rice is mixed with sweet
coconut milk and
other ingredients, such as corn, Thai custard, beans, etc. It is
eaten by hand after the cylinder is peeled opened like a banana (fig.),
and is ideal to take as a snack on hikes or, as is often seen
upcountry, when going to work in the fields. In
Chonburi
province is a rural highway named Khao Lahm, and in
Bangkok
is a street that bears this name. Also transcribed khao
laam, khaw lahm and khao lam.
See also THEMATIC STREET
LIGHT.
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khao man kai (ข้าวมันไก่)
Thai. ‘Chicken oily
rice’.
A dish of chicken over rice cooked with
coconut milk.
In English, it is referred to as Hainanese
Chicken Rice, and is said to be a specialty introduced to Singapore
by immigrants from Hainan Island, off the coast of China, though
their own invention and not ready available in their home country
and hence also called Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice. In Thailand,
it is traditionally served with some sliced
cucumber, a soup made from chicken broth and parsley, to which
sometimes also chicken liver and coagulated blood are added, as well
as with a spicy sauce made from ingredients, that include
prik khee
noo chilies, ginger and garlic. It is typically
found at markets and roadside restaurants.
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khao mao (ข้าวเม่า)
Thai. Shredded
rice
grain. Nearly mature rice which is harvested
just before it has fully ripened. It can be made of either glutinous
or non-glutinous rice and eaten uncooked as well as prepared. First
the rice is soaked in water to loosen the husk, then it is roasted (kua)
and pounded until it is flat. After this it is winnowed to remove
the husks and dust. Its natural colour is grey to light green, but
often its colour is made more attractive bright green by mixing the
rice with some fresh leaves of a tree called ton kahm pu (ต้นก้ามปู)
whilst it is being pounded, although nowadays more often a green
colouring matter is used instead. When popped it is called khao mao
rahng (ข้าวเม่าราง -
fig.) which can be mixed with Thai
herbs or spices and is then also known as
khao
kua ob samunphrai, i.e. ‘popped (kua) and roasted (ob) herbal
(samunphrai) rice (khao)’. Herbs may include fried onion, peanuts,
dried
chilis and dried
makrud leaves (fig.).
When fried and mixed with bean curds and dried prawns it is called
khao mao mih (ข้าวเม่าหมี่) and fresh it is called khao mao sot
(ข้าวเม่าสด -
fig.). Another variety is khao mao
krayahsaad
(ข้าวเม่ากระยาสาตร -
fig.) which is
caramelised with sugar and usually mixed with other ingredients,
especially seeds and nuts like the krayahsaad sweetmeat (fig.).
Glutinous khao mao finely ground into a powder and mixed with sugar
and grated
coconut is used to make a candy known
as
kanom
khao mao (fig.),
as well as a wrapper for a snack of deep-fried
banana called
gluay khao mao thod ().
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khao mo (เขามอ)
Thai-Khmer.
‘Small Rocky Mountain’. Name for an artificial
miniature hill. There are two types of khao mo. One is a small-sized
and potted, i.e. a form of miniature garden with a miniature hill of
rocks and stones, arranged in potted plants, in the same category as
penjing,
i.e. ‘miniature landscape’ (fig.)
and
bonsai, which means ‘potted plant’ (fig.).
The other is large-sized, i.e. built on the ground or in the middle
of a pond, and consists of a structure of genuine or replica rocks
and stones, piled on top of another to form a miniature hill, with
coves and nooks
(fig.), and sometimes with
waterfalls and caves. This second
type of khao mo is designed to decorate monasteries and royal
palaces, a garden architecture that dates back to the
Ayutthaya
Period. Whereas
the Thai word khao means ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’, and mo can be
translated as ‘small hill’, the term mo is actually said to derive
from the
Khmer
word t’mor, which
means ‘rock’.
A popular khao mo in
Bangkok
is that of
Wat Prayun Wongsahwaht
(fig.)
in
Thonburi,
adjacent to the main entrance of this Buddhist temple, and part of
it. It is built in the middle of a pond filled with
turtles
and
fish,
and surrounded by a rock garden and a number of miniature
chedis
and
stupas,
cathedrals, pavilions, and rare plants. In the evening, it is
illuminated with both large spots and countless tiny Christmas or
LED lights.
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khao mok kai (ข้าวหมกไก่)
Thai. Name for a dish known in English as
chicken biryani, that originated in Persia, i.e. present-day Iran,
and which in Thailand is made almost exclusively by the
Muslim
population. It consists of steamed
rice, sometimes mixed with raisins
and sliced toasted almonds, which
is fried, mixed and seasoned with a sauce made from
curry powder
and some other herbs, such as ground
turmeric, ground
cinnamon, clove, star anise (fig.), coriander
seeds (fig.), black pepper
(fig.), fennel
seeds, and black
cardamom (fig.), and then topped
with fried red onion slices and with fried or marinated chicken, which are
prepared separately. The dish is usually also eaten with some fresh
vegetables, such as sliced cucumber and spring onion.
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khao moo kaolih (ข้าวหมูเกาหลี)
Thai. ‘Korean pork
rice’.
Name of a dish that consists of chunks of pork, as well as cabbage,
stir fried separately in a
wok.
It is
served over steamed
rice
and optionally with some slices of cucumber and topped with a fried
egg. It is usually served
with a small bowl of broth-like soup, often with some
phak chih,
i.e. coriander,
and a piece of
cooked
fak, i.e.
winter melon (fig.).
Also referred to as khao nah moo kaolih (ข้าวหน้าหมูเกาหลี), i.e.
‘rice topped
with Korean pork’.
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khao neung (ข้าวนึ่ง)
1.
Thai. ‘Steamed
rice’. Name of a dish which is prepared by soaking
hulled rice in water, dry it and then steam it. It may be mixed with
steamed, crumbled fish and is usually served with fresh
bai chaphlu, chilies and slices of an
Isaan style sausage.
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2.
Thai. ‘Parboiled
rice’. Name for rice that has been boiled in the
husk, thus improving its nutritional value. After this the rice is
polished by hand to remove the bran layer. The word parboil is a
compound of partially and boil, meaning ‘to boil until partly
cooked’.
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khao niauw (ข้าวเหนียว)
Thai. ‘Sticky rice’. Name for glutinous
rice, a variety of
rice
which is soaked in water and then steamed in
a
huad
(fig.)
placed over a boiler, rather than cooked, and eaten with the
fingers. It is usually served in a small basket made of bamboo and
called
aeb (fig.),
kong khao or
kratib (fig.).
It is especially popular in
Isaan and
Northern Thailand, and has many different applications, e.g.
khao niauw moon, sticky rice mixed
with
coconut cream eaten as a desert with barracuda
mango, a sweet and soft kind of
mango with yellow flesh;
grilled in a
bamboo
cylinder a snack known as
khao lahm; ground and made into a
kind of rice cracker, stuffed with sweet or savory fillings and
wrapped in leaves, used as the basis for brewing
sato, fried rice balls (fig.),
khao
kriyab waw (fig.), etc. Also referred to as as sweet rice, waxy rice
(fig.), botan rice, mochi
or moji
rice (as in
kanom moji), and pearl rice. Often transcribed khao neaw or khaw niao.
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khao niauw chup khai thod
(ข้าวเหนียวชุปไข่ทอด)
Thai snack of glutinous rice,
i.e.
sticky rice, which is steamed and then made into a ball, put on
a stick and dipped in egg yolk, and then grilled over a
charcoal
fire.
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khao niauw moon (ข้าวเหนียวมูน)
Thai. ‘To mix
sticky rice with
coconut cream’. Name of a kind of
desert consisting of glutinous rice (khao
niauw) mixed with palm sugar and coconut cream, and
served either with barracuda
mango, a sweet and soft kind of
mango with yellow flesh, or
durian.
See also
POSTAGE STAMP.
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Khao No–Khao Kaew (เขาหน่อ-เขาแก้ว)
Thai. ‘Offshoot
Mountain—Crystal Mountain’ or ‘Spire Mountain—Glass Mountain’. Name
of a twin karst or
limestone
mountain
in
Nakhon Sawan
province. Also transliterated Khao No-Khao Kaeo.
See also TRAVEL PICTURE,
PANORAMA PICTURE,
and
MAP.
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khao pansa (เข้าพรรษา)
Thai. ‘Entering the rainy season’. The beginning of the rainy season
in Thailand. It is the start of a three month period when Buddhist
monks retire to their temples to study and meditate, and in which
they refrain from travelling. At the start of this festival people
perform a
thaksinahwat (fig.)
in the temple and young men and boys are ordained as monks or
novices for a short period of time. Other lay people hold
celebrations in and around the temple and many make vows they will
try to keep during this period, such as -temporary- refraining from
drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. The period starts with the casting, procession and offering of large
thian pansa candles (fig.),
usually in the middle or at the
end of July, and marks the start of the
Buddhist Lent, that ends about three months later with
ouk pansa, literally ‘exiting the rainy season’.
Also transcribed khaw pansa/phansa.
See also
Wax Candle Festival.
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khao phad (ข้าวผัด)
Thai term, usually translated as ‘fried
rice’. Whereas
khao literally means
rice,
the word phad should actually be understood as ‘to mix food in a
wok with a little oil’, i.e. ‘to
stir fry’. The main ingredients are cooked rice, an egg, sliced
onion, finely chopped garlic and ditto spring onions, and optionally
some chopped tomato. When meat or other constituents are added the
Thai word for that ingredient or supplement is then also added at
the end, e.g. khao phad kai (ข้าวผัดไก่) for ‘fried rice with
chicken’, khao phad moo (ข้าวผัดหมู) for ‘fried rice with pork’,
khao phad poo (ข้าวผัดปู) for ‘fried rice with crab’, khao phad
talae (ข้าวผัดทะเล) for ‘fried rice with seafood’, khao phad
kung (ข้าวผัดกุ้ง) for ‘fried rice
with prawns’, etc. On request a fried egg (khai dao) can also be
ordered with it which is served on top and the dish is then referred
to as khao phad khai dao (ข้าวผัดไข่ดาว). Khao phad is typically
served with some sliced cucumber, green onions and half a lime to
squeeze on top, and sometimes with lettuce and some slices of tomato
as well. Also transcribed khao pad, khaw phad, khaw pad, khaw phat,
khaw pat, khao phat and khao pat, or a similar variety.
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Khao Phaeng Mah (เขาแผงม้า)
Thai. ‘Horse Stall
Mountain’. Name of a hilly area
in
Wang Nahm Khiauw district
of
Nakhon Ratchasima
province, which is well-known for
its
krathing
viewpoint.
Here,
on a small hill,
Wildlife Fund Thailand offers a Gaur-watching programme,
within
the scope of its wildlife conservation activities.
From this hill, some large herds of
Gaurs
(fig.) can be observed in the wild, especially when they come out in the
open to
graze on plants and grasses in the
surrounding fields, typically
between 6.00 and 8.00 AM and 4.00 to 6.00 PM. This particular spot
is also excellent to observe other animals that live in this area.
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Khao Phra Wihaan (เขาพระวิหาร)
Thai. ‘Temple mountain’ or ‘sanctuary on the mountain’. A
Khmer
temple built between the 9th and 12th centuries AD,
during the
Angkorian Period.
It is considered to be
one of the most
spectacular sites of the ancient Khmer Empire and was constructed over a period of
nearly 300 years. It straddles the border with Thailand, near the
present day Thai province of
Sri Saket,
where the temple's two satellite
stupas known as Prasat Santhop are located (map),
and
Cambodia, with its entrance clearly on Thai soil,
while the main complex is on Cambodian territory, in the
khaet
Preah Vihear. This has caused a long
standing dispute about its ownership, until the International Court
in Den Haag in 1962 eventually allocated it to Cambodia, where it is
known as
Prasat Preah Vihear. However,
the dispute flared up again in July 2008 after the site was listed
as an UNESCO World Heritage site, angering envious Thai
nationalists. Tensions escalated into a military confrontation with
both sides accusing each other of violating ones autonomy. The
complex lies at 657 meters above sea level in a sandstone mountain
range but ends abruptly on an overhanging cliff. Because of this the
temple can only be entered from the North, on Thai territory. Nearby
is Pha Mo Ih-Daeng (ผามออีแดง), a
viewpoint (map -
fig.)
from where one has a panoramic view of the Cambodian landscape
below, as well as of the
Khao Phra Wihaan
temple complex in the distance. Pha Mo Ih-Daeng, sometimes
transcribed Pha Mor E-Daeng or Phah Mo-I-Daeng, means
‘red small hill cliff’, and from its top,
a staircase leads down to bas-relief carvings located at the
mountain's side, which is part of the
Dangrek
mountain range. It features three figures
wearing
Khmer costumes and seated in the
lalitasana
pose, and probably dates
back to the mid-11th century (map
- fig.).
Both the temple, Pha Mo Ih-Daeng and the
surrounding area on Thai territory are
part of Khao Phra Wihaan National Park,
which covers an area of about 130
km², partly stretching into
Ubon Ratchathani
Province.
Also transcribed Khao Phra Viharn.
See MAP.
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Khao Phutthong (เขาพุทธทอง)
Thai.
‘Golden Buddha Hill’. Name of an arboretum established in 1980 AD,
at the main shrine of
Suan Mokkha Phalarahm,
in
Chaiya
district of
Surat Thani
province, which has a
garden
ubosot
that
is used as a meditation centre by followers of
Phuttathaat,
i.e.
Buddhadasa
Bhikku.
In full it is known as
Suan Rukkhachaht Khao Phutthong.
See also POSTAGE STAMPS.
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khao pun (ข้าวปุ้น)
Name used in
Isaan for kanom jihn.
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Khao Sahm Muk (เขาสามมุข)
Thai.
‘Three Porches Mountain’ or ‘Hillock of the Three Porticos’.
Name of a small coastal mountain in
v
province, located on a spit of land, roughly in between
Bang Saen Beach
(fig.)
and Ang Sila fishing village.
It offers a panoramic view over both those areas and features on the
provincial coat of arms (fig.).
The seashore hillock
has a
sala with a statue
of the goddess Chao
Mae Sahm Muk, of whom it is believed that she protects seafaring fishermen,
as well as the local
population. Khao Sahm Muk is occupied by large groups of
Crab-eating Macaques,
that live here in the wild.
See MAP.
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Khao Sahm Roi Yot (เขาสามร้อยยอด)
Thai.
‘Three Hundred Mountain Peaks’. A
National Park (map)
in
Prachuap Khirikhan,
which covers an area of
about 98 km². It is
located along the shoreline of the
Gulf of Thailand
and is home to
Tham Phraya Nakhon,
a cave (fig.)
which houses a royal pavilion (fig.)
known by the names
Phra Thihnang Khoo Ha Khareuhaat
and
Phra Thihnang Khoo Ha Sawan,
and which features
on the
provincial emblem of Prachuap Khirikhan (fig.).
See MAP.
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khao san
(ข้าวสาร)
Thai for ‘polished
rice’.
Khao San Road, a famous tourist hub in
Bangkok's subdistrict
Banglamphoo, is named after
it. This walking street has a daily market and many shops that stay
open until late. The area is very popular with backpackers and has a
rather hippie-like atmosphere. There is a wide variety of pubs and
bars, as well as low-budget hotels and guesthouses. It is one of the
few places in Thailand where one can watch street performances. The
street and the adjacent area has a nice mixture of visitors,
including tourists and expats, as well as many Thai people. Pronunciation khaw saan and sometimes transcribed khao sarn or
khao sahn.
See MAP.
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khao soi (ข้าวซอย)
Thai.
Name
of a northern Thai dish of thin flat egg noodles that are poured
with a curry-like broth made of chicken, beef or pork and topped
with the same noodles fried crisp, some small red onion slivers and
cuts of pickled Chinese lettuce. Fresh lemon and
nahm phrik
phao,
a sauce of dried chilies fried in oil (fig.)
are used to spice up the dish.
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Khao Sok (เขาสก)
Thai. Name of a mountain, as
well as of a National Park in
Surat Thani Province,
which covers an area of about 738 km².
READ
ON.
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khao som
meua (ข้าวซ้อมมือ)
Thai. ‘Hand-polished
rice’. Coarse rice,
also referred to as half-milled rice. It is an
OTOP
product from
Roi Et,
for one. See also
khao klong.
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khao tok (ข้าวตอก)
Thai. ‘Popped
rice’.
Puffed rice, in Southeast Asian tradition, typically obtained by
heating the rice kernels in a large
wok
mixed with some
fine sand, usually from a nearby river.
READ ON.
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khao too (ข้าวตู)
Thai. Abbreviation for
khao too maprao oun.
Also spelled khaw tuh.
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khao too maprao oun (ข้าวตูมะพร้าวอ่อน)
Thai. Name for a kind of sticky candy or sweetmeat (kanom),
in English referred to as granulated
rice balls or granulated rice
cakes. It is made
of sundried cooked rice, which is pounded and then stirred
over a soft fire, adding water,
coconut sugar,
coconut
milk, grated
coconut meat, and some scraped flesh and
juice of a young
coconut (maprao oun). The mixture is then made fragrant with a
thian ob, sometimes using
jasmine
or
ylang ylang. The soft paste is
then rolled into elongated balls, similar in shape to
khai mot daeng (fig.),
or alternatively pressed into rounded moulds, to make small,
disc-like cakes, that are similar in shape and size to hockey pucks.
Also called
khao too.
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Khao Yai (เขาใหญ่)
1. Thai.
‘Big Mountain’. Name of Thailand's oldest national park,
established on 18 September 1962 and covering an area of 2,168 km².
It is situated largely in the province of
Nakhon Ratchasima,
but also includes parts of
Saraburi,
Nakhon Nayok
and
Prachinburi.
The park's altitude ranges from 400 to 1,000 meter above sea level
and consists of evergreen forests and grasslands. There are around
3,000 species of plants, 320 species of birds and 67 species of
mammals, including the
Asian Elephant
(fig.),
tiger,
Asian Black Bear
(fig.),
Gaur (fig.),
Barking Deer
(fig.)
gibbon,
etc. There are also several
waterfalls,
including the
three level
nahm tok
Haew
Narok
(เหวนรก),
the biggest in the park of which the name means the
‘abyss of hell’
(map
-
fig.)
and which
appears on a Thai definitive postage stamp issued in 2008 (fig.), Haew Suwat
(เหวสุวัต), a 25 meter high cascade (map
-
fig.), and
Sarika.
Haew Narok is nicknamed Susaan
Chang Pah (สุสานช้างป่า),
i.e.
‘Wild Elephant's
Graveyard’,
as sadly, many wild
elephants
have died here after falling into the waterfall, that seems to live
up to its name. On
5 October 2019, eleven wild
elephants
died here, all believed to belong to the same herd, and
making it one of the biggest losses of wild elephants living in
National Parks in Thailand on record.
See MAP.
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2. Thai. ‘Large Mountain’. Name of a male
spirit or protector deity with the title
Chao
Pho (เจ้าพ่อ), who is venerated on Koh Si
Chang, where he has a shrine on the slope of Mount
Phra
Chulachomklao
(fig.).
See also TRAVEL PICTURE
and
MAP.
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khao yam (ข้าวยํา)
Thai. ‘Rice salad’. A southern
dish consisting of cooked dry rice, served with some pounded dry
shrimps, roasted shreds of
coconut, pound roasted
prik kee noo
chilies and some fresh
vegetables, that include sprouted soybeans,
finely shredded young
makrud
(kaffir lime -
fig.) leaves,
thinly cut
takrai
(lemongrass -
fig.),
sliced
tua
fak yao (Chinese long bean -
fig.), as well as finely sliced
mango and some
manao
(lemon) on the side,
and most importantly, a sauce called
nahm budu
or
nahm kheuy.
It is typically eaten as breakfast by pouring the sauce over the
ingredients, which are then tossed as a salad, squeezing the
lemon over it. It is often sold on markets and at simple food
stalls.
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Khawih-Honwichai (คาวี-หลวิชัย)
Thai. Name of a Thai folktale about the friendship between a tiger
cub and a calf, that were changed into humans by a
reusi
(hermit), in order that their friendship could last forever without
becoming hazardous. The calf was named Khawih (Khawee) and tiger cub
was named Honwichai. The boys were then asked to stay with the hermit until they reached
adulthood, so that they would be able to study. As they grew up and
the time came for them to leave, the hermit changed their clothes
into those similar to princes and gave them sacred knives in which
he enclosed their hearts, so that they could not be killed.
The story is also referred to with the names in the opposite order,
i.e. Honwichai-Khawih, and often transliterated differently, e.g.
Khawee-Honwichai, Kawih-Holwichai, Kawee-Honwichai, etc. In 1999, a
scene of the folktale was depicted on a Thai postage stamp (fig.).
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Khawin (คาวิน)
Thai. Name
of a hermit,
who appears in the epic
Ramakien, where
he cast a spell that anything thrown in the water would immediately
sink to the bottom, in order to avoid anyone from building a road
for the monkey army of
Phra Ram
(fig.)
to cross into
Longka.
However, by carrying the task out alone without
the aid of others, the curse could be broken. Hence, the
monkey-warrior
Nilaraat (fig.),
volunteered to take the task of throwing boulders into the sea upon
himself and thus got around the spell.
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Khayaket (ขายะเคช)
Another Thai name for
Kanakavatsa.
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kheng (เข่ง)
1.
Thai. A round platter-like basketwork or crate made of bamboo, used
to pack or transport fish. It is used for packaging
pla tu for one, each kheng usually containing two
or three fish (fig.).
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2.
Thai. A small or sometimes large (fig.)
round bamboo basket used to steam
kanom jihb and
dim san (fig.).
They are designed to be easily stacked upon each other and single or
top baskets might be covered with a chequer plaited lid.
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3.
Thai. An indefinite unit of capacity roughly equivalent to a basket.
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khet (เขต)
Thai. ‘Domain’ or ‘zone’. Term used for the division of
Bangkok into different zones, which is than
upcountry, where zones are called
tambon.
Besides 45 zones or khet, Bangkok also has
5 districts called
amphur
which are administrative subdivisions of the
province or
jangwat
of Bangkok. Bangkok's capital city is the khet Phra Nakhon. The
zones are divided into subdistricts called
khwaeng. The
Thai word khet is related to the
Khmer
khaet, the term for
a
‘province’
in
Cambodia.
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Khet Raksah Phan
Sat Pah (เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่า)
Thai.
‘Domain to preserve breeds of wild animal’. Name for any
Wildlife Sanctuary in the country, which exist in addition to the
many National Parks and National Marine Parks, in general known as
Uthayaan Haeng Chaat.
MORE ON THIS.
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khi lehk american (ขี้เหล็กอเมริกัน)
Thai. Another name for the
suwannaphreuk.
See also
kaeng khi
lehk.
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khim (ขิม)
Thai. A stringed instrument (fig.)
of Chinese origin, constructed on a similar principle as the piano
and played with two percussion sticks.
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khimar (خمار)
Arabic. Term for ‘veil’ or ‘headscarf’, as used by
Islamic
women. Compare with
hijab.
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khing (ขิง)
Thai for
ginger.
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khing daeng (ขิงแดง)
Thai word for
red ginger (fig.).
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khlui (ขลุ่ย)
Thai. Name of a kind of end-blown woodwind instrument, traditionally
made of a long segment of bamboo and sometimes decorated with skin,
though they also exist made from hardwood and even from plastic.
Unlike the
pih,
this flute has no reed, but has instead a wooden plug that, apart
from a small slit known as the duct, almost completely closes off
the front part of the cylindrical segment and serves as the
mouthpiece. Near the top of the flute, just a small distance
underneath the mouthpiece and beyond the wooden plug, is a -often
rectangular- hole with a bladed edge through which the breath
escapes, and which creates a whistling sound. The amount of breath
that escapes can be regulated by opening or closing off the finger
holes, which will influence the tones. The khlui generally has seven
finger holes and originally came in three sizes, namely small,
medium and large, each of which is known by its specific name, i.e.
khlui lib,
khloi phiang-ou and
khlui uh,
respectively. However, later someone created a flute with a higher
sound, which goes by the name khlui kruad (ขลุ่ยกรวด) and which is
used mainly with modern musical instruments, such as those used in
rock or pop. In 1970, the
khloi phiang-ou was depicted on one of a set of four Thai postage
stamps featuring Thai musical instruments (fig.).
Also spelled khluy. See also
khluythip.
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khlui lib (ขลุ่ยหลิบ)
Thai. Name of a small-sized
khlui,
which is around 36 centimeters long and about 2 centimeters wide.
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khloi phiang-ou (ขลุ่ยเพียงออ)
Thai. Name of a medium-sized
khlui,
which is around 45 to 46 centimeters long and about 4 centimeters
wide. In 1970, the khloi
phiang-ou was depicted on one of a set of four Thai postage stamps
featuring Thai musical instruments (fig.).
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khlui uh (ขลุ่ยอู้)
Thai. Name of a large-sized
khlui,
which is around 60 centimeters long and about 4 to 5 centimeters
wide.
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khlong (คลอง)
Thai for ‘canal’.
Bangkok has a large network of canals. A boat tour on the canals of
Thonburi
(map)
is a popular tourist attraction. Many canals also have
public boat services and they are a fast way
to get around town. See also
Khlong Saen Saeb,
Khlong Maha Naak,
and
Khlong Rop Krung.
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%20khlong_small.jpg)
Khlong Banglamphoo (คลองบางลำพู)
Thai. ‘Banglamphoo Canal’.
Additional name used for the northern section of
Khlong Khoo Meuang (fig.),
which runs from the Fan Fah Bridge
near
Pom Maha Kaan
(fig.),
where
it connects
with
Khlong Maha Naak
(fig.),
to the
Chao Phraya River (fig.)
near
Pom Phra Sumeru
(fig.)
in
Banglamphoo
District.
See MAP.
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Khlong Jik (คลองจิก)
Thai. ‘Pinch Canal’. Name
of a
canal
in
northeastern
Bangkok.
READ
ON.
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Khlong Kacha (คลองกะจะ)
Thai. Name
of a
canal
in northeastern
Bangkok,
that connects
Khlong Jik
(fig.)
with Khlong Hua Mahk (คลองหัวหมาก).
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Khlong Khoo Meuang (คลองคูเมือง)
Thai. ‘City Canal Ditch’.
A canal dug in 1783, on the orders of King
Rama I,
after he moved the capital from
Thonburi
to its present
location in Phra Nakhon, thus
surrounding the new capital and enclosing it
akin to
the moat of a fortified city. In the West, the city already had its natural
border, i.e. the
Chao Phraya
River, and with the canal dug, he consequently created an ‘island’,
which became known as Koh
Rattanakosin.
The canal
semi-circumvents inner
Rattanakosin
Island,
flowing
alongside
Atsadang
Road, and making a curve from the banks of the Chao Phraya River
at the
Phra Pinklao
Bridge
(fig.) in the North,
formerly known as Tha Chang Wang Nah
(ท่าช้างวังหน้า), to
the Pak Khlong Flower Market
(fig.)
and the Rajini (ราชินี) School in the South. Somewhere halfway,
the canal features the
Pihkun Bridge
(fig.),
i.e. a pedestrian bridge
built in 1911 by
Queen
Saowapha
that connected inner
Rattanakosin with outer
Rattanakosin and eastern
Bangkok.
Confusingly,
the name Khlong Khoo Meuang (fig.)
is also used for
a second
canal dug in 1785 when the city expanded and which is also known as
Khlong Rop Krung
(map
-
fig.),
a similar meaning that translates as the ‘Canal Encircling the City’. To
avoid a mix-up, the older canal is
usually referred to as
Khlong Khoo/Kuh Meuang Deum (คลองคูเมืองเดิม),
i.e.
the ‘Original
City Canal Ditch’,
while in
English, it
is known as the Old City
Moat.
See
MAP.
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khlong lon (คลองล้น)
Thai. ‘Overflow canal’.
A canal that extends sideways from another canal and which is dug to
be used as an overflow or drainage system during heavy rainfall to slow the rise of the
water level in the main canal or waterway.
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Khlong Maha Naak
(คลองมหานาค)
Thai. ‘Canal of the Great
Naga’.
A canal dug around 1785, on the orders of
King
Rama I.
READ ON.
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Khlong Nakhon Luang (คลองนครหลวง)
Thai. ‘Capital
City Canal’. Name of a canal in
Ayutthaya,
once the capital of
Siam.
It flows from the
Pa Sak river towards
Bang Pa-in,
passing through
the districts Nakhon Luang and Uthai. Along its route it has four
sewer canals, namely the canals
6, 26, 27 and 28,
whilst the section of the canal that flows in front of the
Singha's
Wang Noi Beverage Distribution Centre, is lined with colourful light
displays that at night are visible from afar.
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Khlong Ohng Ahng (คลองโอ่งอ่าง)
Thai. ‘Bowl Jar Canal’. Name
of the
southern
section of the lager
Khlong Khoo Meuang (fig.),
a canal that
semi-circumvents the old
city and is hence also known as
Khlong Rop Krung. It
connects to
the Chao Phraya River (fig.)
near
Wang Burapha Phirom,
adjacent to and to the southeast of
Praisanihyakahn
(fig.).
The name drives from the fact that
in that neighbourhood there was
once a centre where
Mon
and Chinese earthenware was
sold. It is
the middle and second of 3 canals that
semi-circumvent
Rattanakosin
Island in the east
and together with the river in the west form a three-layered
protective barrier, the inner one being the
Old City Moat
(map
- fig.),
the outer one
Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem
(map
-
fig.).
Though, since they all enclose the old city, any one of these may
also be referred to as
Khlong Rop Krung,
though this name is
especially
used
for the
the first two
canals.
See MAP.
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Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem (คลองผดุงกรุงเกษม)
Thai. ‘Canal to Keep the
City Secured’.
A canal dug in 1851
on the orders of King
Rama IV
and to serve
as a new outer moat for the expanding city.
It connects to the
Chao Phraya
River at
Wat
Devarat Kunchon Worawihaan (วัดเทวราชกุญชรวรวิหาร) in the North and
runs to River City in the South, roughly forming an arch that passes
by Bobae Market
and
Hua Lampong Train Station
(fig.).
See MAP.
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Khlong Prawet Burirom (คลองประเวศบุรีรมย์)
Thai.
‘Access to the Pleasing City Canal’. Name of a
46 kilometer long
canal
in
eastern
Bangkok.
READ ON.
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Khlong Rangsit Prayoonsak
(คลองรังสิตประยูรศักดิ์)
Thai.
Name of a major canal in
northern
Bangkok.
READ ON.
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Khlong Rop Krung (คลองรอบกรุง)
Thai. ‘Canal Encircling the City’. A
second canal ring
dug in 1785 on the
orders of King
Rama I,
when expanding the new capital.
It was completed by
connecting
Khlong Banglamphoo
(fig.) with
Khlong Ohng Ahng
(fig.), and dug with
the use of 10,000
Khmer
prisoners of war.
The canal runs in a
large curve from the banks of the Chao Phraya River near
Banglamphoo in the North, to
Wang Burapha Phirom in the South. It is 85
sen and 13
wah
(3,426 meters) long, 10 wah
(20 meters) wide and 5
sok (cubit)
deep. It formed the ancient capital's eastern, northern and southern
frontier and consequently some forts were built alongside it, e.g.
Pom Maha Kaan
(fig.).
In total, 14 forts defended the city, tough today only 2 remain.
As is often the case with alleys (soi) and canals (khlong) in
Thailand, the local community refers to it by their own designation,
naming it after whichever well-known area it runs through or after
whatever famous building or meeting place that may be located in its
vicinity, and parts of it may therefore bear different names. In Banglamphoo, for example, the canal is called Khlong Banglamphoo and
in another area it may be
given any of the names of the bridges that it passes under. In one
place it is known as
Khlong Ohng Ahng,
meaning ‘Bowl Jar Canal’, because in that neighbourhood there was
once a centre where
Mon
and Chinese earthenware was
sold. The current name is only officially in use for the whole canal
since 7 December 1982,
the year Rattanakosin celebrated its bicentennial,
and it is also known as
Khlong Khoo Meuang
(fig.).
In addition, the name is confusingly also used for the smaller Old City
Moat
(map
- fig.)
which semi-circumvents inner
Rattanakosin
Island,
flowing
alongside
Atsadang
Road,
from
Phra Pinklao
Bridge (fig.)
in the north to the Pahk Khlong Flower Market (fig.)
in the south.
See MAP.
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Khlong Saen Saeb
(คลองแสนแสบ)
Thai. A canal
connecting
Bangkok
with
Chachengsao.
READ ON.
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Khlong Sathorn (คลองสาทร)
Thai. A canal in
Bangkok's
Sathorn
District, which is
named after
Luang Sathon Rajayukta,
who in 1895
engineered the digging of the canal that connects the
Chao Phraya
River (underneath the
Taksin Bridge) with the Wat Hua Lamphong Canal,
which runs parallel to —and to the south of—
Rama IV
Road. The canal was dug in order to help improve
public transportation inside the city.
See MAP.
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Khlong Seua Tai (คลองเสือตาย)
Thai. ‘Dead
Tiger
Canal’. Name of a canal in
Samut Prakan,
that runs away from
Bangkok
in roughly
southeastern to eastern direction, parallel to Sukhumvit Road.
READ ON.
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Khlong Sok (คลองศก)
Thai. ‘Era
Canal’. Name of a river in
Khao Sok (เขาสก
-
fig.),
in
Surat Thani Province.
Note that, though having the same transliteration in Latin script,
the Thai spelling of the name for the river (ศก) differs from that
of the place name (สก).
The Sok River is formed by the confluence of Khlong Phra Saeng (คลองพระแสง),
which emerges from the Chiaw Lan Reservoir
(fig.)
at the Ratchaprapha Dam (map
-
fig.), with
the Phum Duang (พุมดวง) River, a tributary of the Ta Pi (ตาปี) River
which empties in the
Gulf of Thailand, just after passing the
city of Surat Thani. Due to its proximity to Khao Sok National Park,
the Khlong Sok River is a popular venue for rafting, canoeing and
river tubing.
See MAP.
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khluythip (ขลุ่ยทิพย์)
Thai. ‘Divine flute’.
Name given to a famous bronze sculpture of a boy playing a flute (khlui).
The original was initially created by the Thai artist Khien Yimsiri (เขียน ยิ้มศิริ),
but it has often been copied, both in bronze and in other materials,
especially wood. Also spelled khluithip.
See also POSTAGE STAMP.
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Khmer
(ខ្មែរ)
1. The
inhabitants of
Cambodia.
From the 7th to the 15th century AD they established a powerful
kingdom based at
Angkor
from where they expanded their empire to rule over much of
Indochina. Officially, the Khmer Empire was proclaimed in 802
AD and lasted until 1431 AD.
The Khmer
were also present in Thailand's central river basin as early as the
Dvaravati Period, mixing with the local
Mon
who were already there,
and ultimately Dvaravati was invaded by King
Suryavarman
II in the first half of the 12th century,
until
the Thai King
Phra Ruang
in 1238 AD
rejected their sovereignty. Their 7th
to 11th centuries conquests brought
cultural influence in the form of art, language and religion, and
due to their political domination triggered the decline of the Dvaravati culture. They made
Lopburi their central outpost and it became
a religious centre.
For etymology and Khmer legends see also
Kambuja.
MORE ON THIS.
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2. Architectural style and art style from the Khmer period, in
Thailand especially present between the 7th and 13th centuries AD in
Central and Northeast Thailand. Its characteristics can however
still be found later, mixed with other art styles.
The Khmer
style architecture found in Thailand positively resembles that of
Angkor Wat in
Cambodia.
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3. The
official language of
Cambodia,
also referred to as Cambodian. With an estimated 16 million native
speakers, it is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic
language, after Vietnamese.
In addition, about one million people speak Khmer as their second
language. The dialect known as Northern Khmer is widely spoken in
the Thai provinces of southern
Isaan, i.e.
Buriram,
Surin,
Sri Saket
and
Ubon Ratchathani.
See also KHMER SCRIPT.
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Khmu (ขมุ)
Name of an ethnic hill tribe minority group in Thailand, but which
is also found in
Vietnam, Myanmar, Southwest China, and Laos, where
with a population of around 450,000, it is one of the largest ethnic
groups of the country, based mainly in the North. Vietnam has the
second largest population with around 43,000 Khmu people, whereas
Thailand has a Khmu population of around 10,000, the same number as
found in China, where they are however not recognized as a separate
ethnic group, but instead listed as an undistinguished ethnic group.
Most Khmu people in Thailand arrived as refugees from Laos and
Vietnam. They are closely related to the
Mlabri. Usually pronounced Khammu,
from the Laotian word
Khamu, but sometimes spelled Kemu,
and in Vietnamese known as Khơ Mú.
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kho (ขอ)
Thai name for
angusa. Also
kho chang.
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khoa (खोआ)
Hindi term for condensed milk, i.e. dried cow or water
buffalo milk which is thickened, usually by simmering in a
karahi, i.e. a
wok-like, yet deeper, open pan, and
used as an ingredient in Indian cuisine, especially in various types
of sweets, such as
pedah (fig.).
There are several varieties, depending on the percentage of moisture
left within the cheese-like substance.
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kho chang (ขอช้าง)
Thai. ‘Elephant hook’. Instrument used by
mahouts to drive elephants. Also an
attribute of
Ganesha (fig.)
and
Indra,
symbolizing control or the
possibility to steer someone in the right direction.
Ordinary elephant hooks
usually have a simple wooden handle, but others may be made of
expensive materials such as
ivory whilst some
are elaborately carved or decorated (fig.).
In Thai also
kho
and in Sanskrit
angusa
or sometimes
kandara. See also
patak
(fig.)
and
kho ngao (fig.).
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khoi (ข่อย)
Thai name for the
Toothbrush Tree, a kind of tree which is also known as the Siamese
Rough Bush, and with the botanical name Streblus asper. Its wood
has been important in
papermaking in Thailand for many centuries, as it produces a kind of
paper that
is durable, even in the
tropical high-humidity climate, does not burn easily, and is
resistant to yellowing and insect damage. It is today still used in
the production of Thai
khon masks.
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kho kai thod (ข้อไก่ทอด)
Thai. ‘Fried chicken knuckles’. A dish of deep fried chicken joints,
i.e. the soft gristle at the end of a chicken bone. It is a crispy
dish popular in
Isaan and usually served with fresh
vegetables such as salad, sliced cabbage and cucumber. Its full name
is actually
hen kho
kai thod which translates as ‘fried chicken
ligaments’ or ‘fried chicken tendon’. Sometimes transcribed kho gai
thod.
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khom (ขอม)
1. Thai. A member of the ancient
Khmer race.
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2. Thai. The Cambodian script, used in religious books in
Pali (fig.).
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3. Thai adjective for
Khmer or Cambodian.
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Khom dam din (ขอมดำดิน)
Thai-Khmer. ‘Ground submerging
Cambodian’. Name for the Khmer envoy who
was sent to arrest
Phra Ruang. According to legend, he
was able to travel underground by using magic powers. However, when
he emerged to deliver the Khmer King's message, legend says he was
turned into stone by Phra Ruang.
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Khon
(โขน)
Thai. Classical
dance theater, typically with themes from the
Ramakien.
READ ON.
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kho ngao (ของ้าว)
Thai. A scythe-like weapon with a hook underneath the blade
and used particularly in hand-to-hand combat on elephants’ backs, a
type of warfare known as
yutthahadtie. See also
kho chang and
Suriyothai.
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%20มาลาเบียง%20(หมวกพระนเรศวรมาหาราช)%202_small.jpg)
Khong Beng (ขงเบ้ง)
Thai name for the
wise counsellor and clever strategist in the story
Three Kingdoms.
In Chinese he is referred to as
Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮). He is often depicted wearing a robe and holding a
fan made of crane feathers. He is also known by the nickname Wo Long
(臥龍), i.e.
‘Sleeping
Dragon’.
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khong dee (ของดี)
1.
Thai.
‘Good article’
or ‘good product’. Name for specialties or goods characteristic to a
certain area. Each community has it own specialty, going from
handicrafts to food products. If the products are from to a certain
province, they are called khong dee khong
jangwat.
Many of these domestic articles may also be local
OTOP
products.
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2.
Another name used for a charm,
amulet or protective
talisman, alongside the words
kreuang rahng,
kreuang rahw and
yan.
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Khongkha (คงคา)
1. Thai name for
Ganges.
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2. The goddess of the waters, rivers and canals, in Thailand. She is
worshipped in the annual festival of
Loi Krathong
and her mount is the
makara,
which in
iconography
may also take the
shape of a crocodile (fig.). Her name is
etymologically related to the Indian word
Ganges. Also
Mae Khongkha.
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Khon Kaen (ขอนแก่น)
Thai. ‘Core (or heart) of the tree-stump’. A university town and
large provincial capital (fig.)
in the heart of
Isaan.
READ
ON.
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khon mask
See
hua khon.
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khon saai khao wat (ขนทรายเข้าวัด)
Thai. ‘To carry sand into a tempel’. Annual practice during
Songkraan
in which sand is brought back to the temple in order to replace all
the sand that has been carried out from temple grounds sticking to
visitors feet, as it is not considered good to take anything away
from a Thai temple, even unwillingly. Figuratively it also means to
do something for the general good. Nowadays the sand is often used
to make sand chedis, a local form of folk amusement called
ko phra chedi saai (fig.).
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khoon (คูน)
The official Thai name for the
rachaphreuk.
Pronunciation khun.
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Khu Bua (คูบัว)
Thai. ‘Lotus
Moat’.
Name of an archaeological site,
situated about 12 km southeast of
Ratchaburi
town, and which dates from the
early
Dvaravati
period.
READ ON.
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Khue Van Cac (Khuê Văn Các)
Vietnamese.
Name of
a
pavilion in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.
READ ON.
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Khun (ขุน)
1. Thai. A non-hereditary title or
bandasak
of the lowest rank, just
under a
Luang.
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2. Thai. A title given to a prince or king of a region, before the
integration of Thailand. Also
Khun Luang.
Familiarly called
Tan Khun Khun Luang, the next title in
ascendant lineage, now in disuse.
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Khun Chang (ขุนช้าง)
The comic but faithful husband from
Khun Chang Khun Paen
(fig.).
Khun Chang is depicted on the second design of a set of four postage
stamps on the story (fig.),
issued in 2011 to mark National
Children's Day.
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Khun Chang Khun Paen (ขุนช้างขุนแผน)
A classic of Thai literature written in verse by King
Phra Phutta Leut La, the second monarch of the
Chakri Dynasty.
LEXICON.
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Khun Chinnarat (ขุนชินราช)
Thai.
‘Royal Accustomed
Nobleman’.
The name and title of a palace official with the duty of
guarding the inner image hall, usually a confidant with special
privileges, who has free access to this part of the royal palace at
all times. The position is one rank higher than that of
Phan But
Sri Thep, the official with the responsibility of
guarding the outer image hall. The title cam also be transcribed
Khun Chinnaraj and might be translated as ‘the
Khun
leading (chin) to the king (raj)’.
The word chin is Pali and means ‘to lead’.
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Khun Luang (ขุนหลวง)
Thai. A title given to a prince or king of a region before the
integration of Thailand. See also
Khun.
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Khun Paen (ขุนแผน)
The dashing lover and able warrior from the story
Khun Chang Khun Paen
(fig.). His
life-sized
statue can be seen at Wat
Pah Leh
Laai
Worawihaan (วัดป่าเลไลยก์วรวิหาร)
in
Suphanburi,
as well as that of
Nang Phim.
Khun Paen is depicted on the first design
of a set of four postage stamps (fig.)
on the story, issued in 2011 to
mark National Children's Day. Also transcribed Khun Phaen.
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Khun Sa (ขุนส่า)
Thai
name of the now disposed
opium warlord who in the sixties fought in the region of the
Golden Triangle for control
of the local opium trade and who in the early eighties retreated to
Burma
to operate from there. He was born from a mixed marriage having an
Unnanese father and a
Shan mother. He graduated
from a college in Tong Khi (Myanmar)
and became chief of the Myanmar Intelligence Unit before being
appointed a colonel in 1963. Due to his powerful position he was
able to benefit from the local production of opium and heroin, as
well as from the trade in
jade, gemstones and
ivory. Being a freedom fighter for his people the money
gained from their skills in the above mentioned trades was used in
their battle for an independent Shan state. In 1966 Khun Sa was
captured by the Burmese and imprisoned in Myanmar for seven years.
He regained his freedom after his friend Fa Lan (Chan Xu Chien) took
two Russian doctors, who were sent to Myanmar in an international
aid project, hostage in exchange for the release of Khun Sa. After
this he rejoined the United Shan Army and later founded the
Meuang
Tai
Army which grew
to become one of largest armed forces in existence in that period.
Well aware of the harm drugs do to people worldwide, he stated that
he regretted this but said it was a necessary evil for the sake of
the freedom of his country, the Shan State. In 1986 however, he
finally laid down arms and surrendered to the Burmese. He went to
live in Rangoon where he continued to benefit from the profits of
his many trades. He was nicknamed the King of Opium and is also
known as Chang Xi Fu.
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khwaeng (แขวง)
Thai. Name
for a subdistrict in
Bangkok,
as opposed to the name
tambon,
which is used
upcountry, i.e. outside Bangkok.
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kiblat
Malay for
qibla.
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kickboxing
See
muay thai.
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Kiku
(菊)
Japanese. ‘Chrysanthemum’.
Name for the Chrysanthemum Seal, i.e. the Imperial Seal of Japan.
READ ON.
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kila (कील)
Sanskrit.
Name for a ritual, three-sided, dagger-like peg, used in Tibetan
Buddhism to affix things, especially to pin heavenly things on
earth, and as such represents the connection between Heaven and
Earth. Whereas the handle is usually composed of a triune form of
faces, the blade is generally decorated with two intertwined
serpents or
naga,
which is reminiscent of an ancient Chinese myth, which claimed that
the world was surrounded by two intertwined
snakes, which symbolized
the power and wisdom of the creator.
The handle is sometimes made in the form
of a
vajra, a royal symbol of
power, absolute truth and indestructibility,
and the kila is then referred to as
Vajrakila. It is mainly used in
Vajrayana Buddhism, where it
also occurs as an
attribute
of certain
deities. In
Tibet, it is known as
phurba. Also transcribed keela or
kihla.
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kilah chon hua (กีฬาชนวัว)
Thai.
‘Bull fighting sport’. Name for an ancient sport in which two bulls
fight each other. It originated in southern Thailand and is still
held weekly in the province of
Nakhon Sri Thammarat,
with different districts taking turn to host the event. Bulls
selected are those which have the best breeding and will be trained
and carefully looked after.
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kilen (กิเลน)
Name
for a creature of Chinese fables. In Chinese, it is called khiling, a
compound word consisting of the prefix khi and the suffix ling. Khi
stands for a male kilen, whereas ling represents a female kilen.
They are therefore often depicted in pair (fig.).
In traditional
iconography the kilen has a scaled, dear-like body, with on its back
short curly manes and a bushy tail; legs with hoofs like those of a
horse; and the head of a
dragon with one dear-like horn. But
in popular iconography (fig.)
it is usually depicted with a scaled body with long manes on its back;
a bushy tail; legs with the paws of a wild dog; the head of a
dragon, but somewhat resembling that of a lion; and two dear-like
horns. Besides this, other varieties with slightly different features
may also occur. In addition, the kilen is the animal that in the
Ming and Qing Dynasties was used for the insignia of a military
officer of the first rank, akin to the
crane
used on the
Mandarin square
(fig.)
for civil officials of
the first rank. The kilen
is one of the mounts of the
Chinese goddess of
mercy, i.e. the
bodhisattva
Kuan Yin (fig.).
The kilen represents truth and as such it is often found at the
entrances of palaces and temples in
China
and
Vietnam, suggesting one has to
enter with a truthful heart, leaving untruthfulness and any lies at
the door, i.e. to be honest to the ruler or deity one is about to
address. Sometimes transcribed as kilin, kylin, kirin or
qilin. Compare with
toh
(fig.).
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%20from%20Chinese%20mythology_small.jpg)
kilet (กิเลส)
Thai. In Buddhist theology the term for an unwholesome thought that
causes unhappiness and barring the way to bliss, metaphorically
depicted as the demon
kiletsamaan.
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kiletsamaan (กิเลสมาร)
Thai. Name of a demon who bars the way to bliss. The name is formed
by merging the term
kilet and the name
Maan (Mara).
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kim giao
Vietnamese name for a coniferous
tree in the family Podocarpaceae and with the botanical name Nageia
fleuryi.
READ ON.
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kimono (着物, きもの)
Japanese.
‘Thing to wear’.
Name for a Japanese traditional robe.
READ ON.
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Kim Qui (Kim Quy)
Vietnamese.
‘Golden Turtle’. Name of a mythological turtle, known in Chinese
as Jin Gui (金龟), that according to a legend first appeared during
the third century BC to help King An Durong Vurong in the defense of
the ancient capital of Co Loa, by giving him a magical cross-bow
that in a single shot was able to fire multiple arrows. In the 15th
century AD, the turtle appeared again to reclaim a magical sword
that a fisherman had pulled out of the lake in Hanoi where the
turtle lived (fig.). He had given the sword to Le Loi, a Vietnamese
peasant, who had used it to lead a rebellion against the then
occupying Chinese armies, which he had successfully overthrown. He
consequently became emperor and returned the sword to Kim Qui,
afterwards naming the lake Hoan Kiem, which means
‘Returned Sword Lake’
(fig.).
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king amphur (กิ่งอำเภอ)
Thai. ‘Subdistrict’. A sub-amphur, an administrative district equal
to an
amphur. Thailand has a total of 81 king amphur.
Also transliterated king ampheu.
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King Cobra
With a body length of up to 585 centimeters, the
King
Cobra
is by far the world's longest venomous
snake. Its colour is
variable, from uniform brown to grey-brown or green-grey, or uniform
gray to black, and Northeastern Thai species can also be
orange-yellow to brown, with dark edged white bands along the body.
Juveniles are black with yellow bands and a yellow chevron on the
neck. Its hood is longer and narrower than that of common cobras,
and it also has pairs of prominent occipital scales on its head.
They are often found in
all parts of Thailand, especially in the southern provinces
and in bamboo reed forests, where they like to nest.
King cobras feed mainly on other snakes, in particular rat snakes,
and occasionally on lizards. It is
known by the scientific name
Ophiophagus hannah, with the
Latin
word ophiophagus literally meaning ‘snake eater’. The
venom of this dangerous snake is a very potent neurotoxin and is
fatal if left untreated. Victims of this snake will experience
severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness and paralysis,
followed by cardiovascular collapse and coma. Death then soon
follows due to respiratory failure. Fortunately, being a shy and
reclusive animal, people not often get bitten by this snake,
especially if compared to the
Monocled Cobra,
the
Siamese Russell's Viper and the
Malayan Pit Viper.
In case an accident does occur, an antidote manufactured by the
Thai Red Cross Society,
is available in hospitals nationwide. Notwithstanding
the fact that the snake family Colubridae is named after them,
cobras themselves belongs to the family of Elapidae, more
specifically the genus Naja. It is sometimes referred to as
hamadryad and in Thai it is called
ngu jong
ahng. In 1981, it was depicted on the first stamp
of a set of four Thai postage stamps featuring venomous Thai snakes
(fig.).
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King
Crow
Another name for the
Black Drongo
(fig.).
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king kah (กิ้งก่า)
Name for any kind of lizard, but also generally used for the
king kah hua daeng.
See
also WILDLIFE PICTURES.
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king kah hua daeng (กิ้งก่าหัวแดง)
Thai. ‘Red-headed lizard’. Name for the Oriental Garden Lizard, a
small tropical lizard that is able to change colour (fig.) according to its
surroundings, for camouflage
or when offended, though not quite
as rapidly as
chameleons,
as well as in the breeding season when the frontal half of males
becomes red, often
with a black throat patch.
Its scientific name is Calotes versicolor and it belongs to the
family of Agamidae. It has a long body and tail, four legs, and a
rough scaly hide. Since males
in the breeding season get a red head, neck and throat,
it is commonly -yet
incorrectly- named Bloodsucker (