Listening to Folk Music from Ta Pho Sub-District: Conservation, Silenced Voices, and Negotiating Thai Identity in Secondary Urban Contexts
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Abstract
Background and Objectives: Secondary cities in Thailand occupy a liminal space—peripheral to national cultural hierarchies yet subject to centralized state control. This study examines Ta Pho folk music in Uthai Thani province, investigating how local communities negotiate their identity amidst state-sponsored “cultural preservation” projects. The objective was to analyze the power dynamics that determine which songs are amplified and which are silenced in the public sphere.
Methods: Employing a longitudinal ethnographic approach, fieldwork was conducted from January 2024 to September 2025. Data collection involved 6 site visits (comprising both overnight stays and short visits), utilizing high-fidelity soundscape recording and in-depth interviews. Uniquely, this research adopts a “native ethnographer” perspective, leveraging the researcher’s insider status to access private musical practices often withheld from outsiders.
Results: The study reveals a bifurcation of Ta Pho folk music into two distinct categories: 1) sanitized heritage, performed at state festivals, characterized by rigid adherence to moral narratives and praise for authority; and 2) silenced voices, preserved only in private circles, containing sexual innuendo (song-ngae song-ngam) and subtle political resistance. Musical analysis indicates that while the traditional strophic form and heterophonic texture remain resilient, the lyrical content in public spaces has been systematically cleansed of its original “folk” vitality (jouissance) to align with bureaucratic definitions of Thainess. However, musicians employ these structures for strategic adaptation, satisfying state mandates while preserving authentic repertoires in private.
Application of this study: The findings are relevant to both students and scholars of music, highlighting that music is not merely an art form but also a site of power involving selection, audibility, and preservation. The study also offers policy implications, suggesting that musical preservation should shift from maintaining fixed forms toward supporting creative freedom for communities and artists, thereby critically reflecting the role of the state in cultural governance.
Conclusions: Cultural preservation in secondary cities functions not merely as protection but as a mechanism of control. However, the persistence of “silenced songs” in private spheres demonstrates the community’s agency in maintaining their authentic history. This supports the policy shift from “form preservation” to “supporting living cultural processes,” allowing the complexity of local voices to exist without being domesticated.
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