E-San folksongs: E-san identity and social media

 E-SAN FOLKSONGS: E-SAN IDENTITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA 
 Hataiwan Maneewong 
 Ph.D. Student of Thai Language, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen 
 University, Thailand /Lecturer of Nakhon Ratchasima RaJabhat University. 
 Rattana Chanthao 
 jratta@kku.ac.th 
 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand 
 Abstract 
 The objective of this article is to study E-san identity through online social media. 
The study data and information are collected from 15 E-san folksongs that broadcast in 
online social media selected only songs that earn more than 10 million views. It is found 
that folksongs on online social media, to date, has much influenced E-san identity, since 
online social media is easily connected with common people. As a result, people no matter 
where they live are able to acknowledge and understand E-san identity. 
 Key Words: Identity, E-san, Online Social Media, E-san Folksongs 
 1. Introduction 
 E-san region is the largest region of Thailand, so E-san identity study is interesting, 
as E-san region aspect is different from other regions in many ways. Importantly, E-san 
region consists of various groups of people such as E-san-Laotian, Laotian from Laos, 
Kuy, Nyaw, Tai Phuan, Phu Thai, etc. These groups of races have their own history and 
tradition before. There are sources providing information for the identity study especially 
from anthropological study such as legends, tales, rituals, and folksongs. 
 2. E-san Folksongs 
 Thai songs has evolved for a long time from native folksongs, lullabies, Pleng 
Kiaw Khao, Pleng Mho Lam Mho Kan, Pleng Bog to present folksongs (Kingkaew 
Attakorn, 1976). These songs contain different contents and melodies according to 
environment and way of life of each locality particularly folksongs which is one of the 
literatures that narrate local stories efficiently. Wit Sivasriyanon (1971: 95-97) stated 
that literatures and society influence each other, since literatures recorded stories of a 
society in that time intentionally or unintentionally by the creators of literatures. 
Therefore, folksong literatures can be accounted as a method in recording and depicting 
stories of local life. 
 Sa-nga Kanchanapan (2003: 46) said that Thai folksongs have been influenced 
by native folksongs and traditional Thai songs of which words and lyrics can be 
understandable easily, and the melodies are both adapted from the traditional songs and 
newly arranged and composed. Most of them are easy listening, and uttering is used for 
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singing. The contents of the songs are widely related to Thai society value and the local 
way of life, for not only the folksongs reflecting the local life in agricultural way, but also 
indicating the strong bond between the people and tradition, culture, religion, and belief. 
These are the key leading the listeners to understand the local Thai society identity. 
 E-san folksongs is remarkable in word expression, melody, content, and literary style 
which is highly valuable in literature. As well, E-san folksongs carry on beliefs, values, 
ideas, traditions, and social ideals which are considered as a local heritage (Lakkhana 
Suksuwan. 1978: 59). People that appeared in the songs mostly are rural or poor, and they 
describe their love, working, housing, dressing, dietary, entertainment, and sometimes the 
reflections of belief and the reflections of the belief and value system of their locality like 
superstition and astrology, nation, religion and monarch. It is also included the materialistic 
values in wealth and properties, values in estates and power, values in city life, values in 
allurements and feminine. It is sometimes reflected in some songs when a female lost 
virginity or beguiled by a man from a city, the woman will be blamed, etc. 
 E-san folksongs change accordingly through ages. To be clarified, when a cassette 
recording business losted its popularity, the investors had their singers recording their 
songs, only one or two, as a ―single‖ to estimate the sales. If any single earned well 
reputation, that singer then had a chance to release a compilation or a long-play 
consecutively. Later on when the digital period had come up, Thai songs imitated foreign 
songs, or they was called string songs. Luk Krung songs gradually faded away, and Thai 
folksong business were very marginally. Business was fully covering Thai music. The 
advancement of technology raised its role in the business. There was no longer recording 
that recorded all instruments in one time, since it changed to be partially recorded. Besides, 
there is an online broadcasting through social media instead of releasing as a single. There 
is a motion picture for a song or a music video, so listeners can appreciate the content of a 
song through the acting in a music video, instead of listening the song only. There are 
many songs that are interested and imply social culture within. 
 3. Online Social Media 
 Online social media is a media that a sender shares the formation that in various 
formats to the receiver through online network in which they can interact to one another or 
between sender to receiver, or one receiver and another receiver. Online social media is 
divided by frequent using including Blogging, Twitter and Microblogging, Social 
Networking, and Media Sharing. 
 To date, online social media role affects the life of people in the society much. It is 
obvious that we can simply access or use online media via communication devices like 
computers, mobile phones, tablets, or other devices that can access to internet connection 
or mobile phone networking. From a report of ETDA (Electronic Transactions 
Development Agency (Public Organization)), Ministry of Information and Communication 
Technology, that surveyed internet usage behavior of Thai people in B.E. 2017, it is found 
that the top three of the most popular online social media were Youtube at 97.1%, 
Facebook at 96.6%, and Line at 95.8%, respectively. 
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 Image 1, Source: https://www.etda.or.th/content/thailand-internet-user-profile-2017.html 
 3. Folksongs and Online Social Media 
 The role of online social media does not affect only the way of life of common 
people in communication but also E-san folksongs in identity distribution of the 
northeastern people to be known and understood widely. 
 As mentioned above, now Thai folksongs are in the digital age, so be E-san 
folksongs. To be clarified, access to E-san folksongs does not longer require any cassette 
or any CD. People can get an access to E-san folksong easily and fast including the motion 
picture that help people to be more understood and acknowledged the condition of E-san 
society especially through the most popular online social media like YouTube and 
Facebook, which publishing E-san folksongs and make the songs to be popular as well. 
 To be an example, I pick up one of E-san most popular folksongs this time around, 
which contains not only attractive melody, but its content and music video as well. It is 
very interesting because this song can represent E-san people‘s lifestyle including beliefs, 
tradition, culture, and their living. The song is named Tao-Ngoi by Jintara Poonlap. The 
story of this song is about a girl from Tao-Ngoi District, Sakon Nakhon provice, who has 
been waiting for her lover from the same district, and it is described in the song that she 
keeps thinking of him until it causes her body lean. Simultaneously, in the lyrics, there is 
an implication of E-san identity of people in Sakon Nakhon province including their belief 
that Tao-Ngoi statue can be blessing and give one fortunate, the origin of E-san rocket (Pha 
Daeng Nang Ai), etc. other than the lyrics, the music video also shows the locations and a 
worshipping tradition in this region. 
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 Image 2-3, Song “Tao-Ngoy” by an artist named Jintarha Poonlap 
 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oppMTue4gRE 
 There is another popular song that can be a good example as well, the song called O-
La-Nor by an artist named Kong Huai Rai. It is a story of a local E-san boy who tried to 
change himself according to the fashion trend of Korean dressing style, listening to modern 
music, and living as modern as city life does, but finally he fails to change because of his 
E-san blood inside his body brings him back to the reality. In the end, he accepts his identity. 
 The words of the song reflect E-san society nowadays that E-san teenagers or new 
generation are trying to keep away their identity including tradition, culture, living style, 
etc., but finally there is no E-san offspring can leave E-san identity. The music video 
shows precisely clear images of E-san lifestyle and culture even in a few minutes. 
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 Image 4-7, Song “O-La-Nor” by an artist named Kong Huai Rai 
 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3AFM-MSASM 
 3. Conclusion and Discussion 
 From the sample songs above, we can see that online social media performs it role 
against E-san folksongs in E-san identity very well, for online social media, to date, has 
diversity and is the fastest and easiest media to access as well as it can be approaching 
most people. Therefore, online social media is initially important in E-san society identity 
distribution to public to understand and connect. 
 4. Reference 
 1. Electronic Transactions Development Agency. How Thai People Use the 
Internet in Year 60 [Online]. Source: https://www.etda.or.th/content/thailand-internet-
user-profile- 2017.html [19 March 2017] 
 2. Hathaiwan Maneewong. (2012). Metaphors Related to Males and Females in E-
san Folksongs. Master of Arts Thesis Khon Kaen University. Jintara Poonlap. Pleng Tao-Ngoi 
[Online]. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oppMTue4gRE [19 March 2017] 
 3. Kingkaew Atthakorn. (1976). Folkloristics. Education Supervisory Document 
Issue 184. Bangkok : Supervisory Unit Kong Huai-Rai. Pleng O-La-Nor [Online]. Source 
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3AFM-MSASM [19 March 2017] 
 4. Lakkhana Suksuwan. (1978). Folksong Literature. Master Degree Thesis 
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of Goodness and Sin in E-san Folksongs. Buddhist Studies Thesis Journal Page 320-330. 
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