History & Culture

History

A hundred years ago, Koh Phangan was not just some unknown island. On the contrary, every Siamese at that time knew that Koh Phangan was one of the most favorite places of their King, King Chulalongkorn or Rama V. On his way to visit Europe and the Malay Peninsula he had come to visit Thansadet or "The Royal Stream" as he named it visiting a total of fourteen times between 1888 and 1909.

However, the history of Koh Phangan did not start from those days. The Bronze Drum of the Dongson Culture (500 BC-100 BC) that was found in Koh Samui in 1977 and is evidence that there were settlements of people on Koh Samui & Koh Phangan more than 2000 years ago. Some historians and archeologists believe that the first group who migrated to Koh Phangan were the Muslim Sea Gypsies (Pigmy, Semung & Proto-Malay) who traveled by boat from the Malay Peninsula.

The name of Koh Phangan came from the word "Ngan" (meaning sand bar) for there are sand bars offshore around the island. These sand bars can be seen at low-tide and they protect the island from the strong monsoon.

The next occupation of Phangan was by the Chinese migrants from Hainan about 200 hundred years ago. The first group earned their living by fishing and later from the tin mines. In the reign of King Chulalongkorn, a royal officer reported that 300 families lived on Koh Phangan and most of them were Thai & Chinese.

Koh Phangan was under Chaiya administration until 1897 when it became a sub-district of Koh Samui for 63 years before being upgraded to a district in 1970 with 3 of its own sub-districts.

The big change on Koh Phangan started after the first bungalows were built to welcome foreign tourist travelers about 20 years ago. The islanders changed their ways of life to grow with the tourist industry.

Culture

Thai culture is deeply rooted in traditions and religion; the vast majority of Thais are Buddhists. The traditional Thai greeting is a 'wai' (like putting your hands together and lowering your head).

The basis of Thai culture lies in the family; the young are taught to respect parents, elders, teachers and Buddhist monks. All Thais love their King and find any words or actions against the King or religion offensive.

When speaking about traditional Thai culture the Wat cannot be left unmentioned. After Buddhism spread to Thailand the Wat became the center of the village. This can be seen in Koh Phangan, where numerous ceremonies, attended rites and festivals are held regularly at temples such as Wat Po in Baan Tai and Wat Ratjalearn in Thong Sala.

• Do not touch a Thai person on the head (the head is considered to be very sacred).
• Do not point your feet at anyone or anything.
• Do not step over anyone, instead walk around them.
• When entering a Thai house/shop/restaurant make sure you take off your shoes.
• One will not see Thai Couples hugging, embracing or kissing; explicit affection is considered disrespectful.