南タイ農村の経済生活 : タイ・イスラム村落での実態調査

Abstract

This is the fourth of the serial articles titled "Socio-Economic Basis of Social Communication in Southern Thailand". The main aim of this article is to present the author's observation of the economic activities in a rural community in the South and also of individual households in it. In Chap. I, occupational classification of the villagers is tentatively made, although sources of income are not very much diversified. They are still highly dependent on rubber, betel and coconut for cash, while they cultivate rice only for domestic consumption. Attentions are paid to the non-traditional categories of income sources as well. In Chap. II, the author scrutinizes the villagers' marketing activities which are mostly conducted on the occasions of a weekly "talaat nat". A "talaat nat" or periodical market system is widely institutionalized in rural sectors of Thailand, but, in the South, it is predominantly important as channel of flows of goods and money as activities of middlemen are not highly developed. In the last chapter, items of household expenditure are examined with special attentions paid to religious expenditure including "zakat" and also to the villagers' habit of hoarding. The incidental aim of this article is to try to verify the age-old myth of "Rich South". After all, however, the author has failed to corroborate the assertion as absolutely correct.