Culture and Traditions of ASEAN
With similar climate, geographic features and ethnicities, ASEAN countries have similar bases for their respective ways of life. In addition, because of centuries of trade and interaction, many countries have exchanged or adopted similar customs and traditions. In this regard, there are three distinct cultural groupings:
1. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam Culture Group
The lands around the Mekong River have nurtured civilizations for thousands of years. Consequently, the customs, culture and beliefs of the people of these countries possess certain similarties.
- Religion - Most people in the Mekong region are Theravada Buddhists.
- Language - Thai and Lao are very similar as spoken and written languages; those who are fluent in either of these languages can communicte with one another.
- Food - ASEAN is an important rice-growing region, thus the staple food of ASEAN countries is rice. However, each country has different rice varieties and methods of cultivation. This has an influence on practices such as ceremonies for requesting rain and ideal weather for growing rice or forms of recreation after the planting season.
- Songkran Festival - This is considered the start of the traditional New Year, and it takes place in Thailand, Laos, Comcbodia and Myanmar on varying days during the same month of April. In each country it involves similar activities such as making merit, ritual cleansing of Buddha images, offering food to monks, blessing elders with water and playfully splashing one another with water.
- Dance and Music - The traditional dances and music of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have borrowed elements from and influenced, one another since ancient times. For example, each country has its own version of the gong, lute and fiddle.
- Cloth Weaving - This is a tradition of the region that goes back many centuries; each country thus has similar weaving methods. The difference is that each country has its own distinct weaving patterns and designs.
- Ramayana- This Indian mythological epic is an intimate part of ASEAN's dance tradition. It extends beyond the Mekong group of nations and is also prevalent in the cultural expressions of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
2. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore Culture Group
This grouping covers the ASEAN nations in the south of the region. The people of this group are mostly Muslim. Language, customs and culture are tied to their lslamic heritage.
- Language - The people of this group, as well as people in the southernmost provinces of Thailand, generally speak Malay and can easily communicate with one another.
- Dress and Food - Due to their religious beliefs and practices, the people in this grouping have similar ways of life. For example, they have contain pork and often contain some coconut-based ingredient, as coconuts are a staple of the area.
- Shadow Puppetry - Using light and shadows, this from of puppet performance has its origins in Indonesia. This art form has spread throuhout the Malay Peninsula, including to Thailand's southernmost provinces.
3. Philippines Culture Group
Altough the Philippines is an island nation like Indonesia, it is in its own geographichical group when it comes to cultural traditions. This is largely bacause the Philippines was a Spanish colony for a long time and most of the population is Roman Catholic. The Filipino culture, customs and beliefs are a mix between those the East and West. Despite its unique differences, the Philippines retains some similarities to the rest of ASEAN in terms of the people's appearance and food with rice as a staple.