Сурин провинциясы: Тарихы, мәдениеті және географиясы

Province of Thailand

Surin (สุรินทร์, ; Northern Khmer: ซเร็น, ; Kuy: สุลิน) is one of Thailand's seventy seven provinces (changwat). It lies in lower northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Buriram, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, and Sisaket. To the south it borders Oddar Meancheay of Cambodia. Surin covers a total area of from the Mun River in the north to the Dangrek Mountains in the south. The capital, Surin city, in the western central region province is 434 from Bangkok. The area of present day Surin has long history of human settlement which dates back to prehistoric times. Historically the region has been ruled by various powerful kingdoms including the Angkorian Khmer Empire, the Lao kingdom Lan Xang, and the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya. Reflecting this history as part the greater geo cultural area of Thailand known as Isan, Surin is ethnically diverse. The primary language is the Isan dialect of Lao. Speakers of Central Thai account for a small minority while nearly 50% of the population are ethnic Khmer. The remainder are speakers of various Lao languages and small tribal groups such as the Kuy and Nyah Kur. The northeast provinces have traditionally been isolated, both physically and culturally, from the rest of Thailand and Surin is no exception. The vast majority of the province is rural and relatively poor. There is little industrial development with rice farming being the primary industry. Rice farmers supplement their income by cutting sugar cane, as construction laborers, or working in the local silk weaving trade. Elephant capture and training is also an important industry in Surin. Approximately 25 percent of all the elephants in the kingdom are raised in Surin, predominantly by the ethnic Kuy people. Tourism is also important to the Surin economy. Elephants and scenery are increasingly seen as potentially lucrative by the provincial government which has attempted to make Surin a popular destination for international ecotourism.

According to legend, the province was given its current name in 1786 in honor of its royal governor, Chiangpum, whose royal title was Luang Surin Phakdi. The Surin portion of the title is a compound of two words, สุระ and อินทร์, derived from the Sanskrit words sura (Devanagari: सुर), meaning 'god' (cf. Asura), and Intar (Devanagari: इन्द्र), Indra. Prior to the 14th century, the area was part of the Khmer empire in its province of Kok Khan The name of the region during the period after the fall of the Khmer Empire until acquiring its current name has been lost to history.

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Surin Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 28 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Surin has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 27 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non municipal areas are administered by 144 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon). The earliest settlers in the region were hunter gatherers. The Neolithic period, which saw the introduction of agriculture, dates from 2,500 to 1,500 years BCE. The Bronze Age follows from 1,500 to 500 BCE, and the Iron Age from 500 BCE to 500 CE. The first evidence of human settlement in Surin emerges in the Iron Age, with approximately 60 known Iron Age sites. These prehistoric settlers are assumed to be ancestors of the various Mon Khmer peoples prevalent in the area today.

The earliest known historical period is the Dvaravati. This was an Indian based culture, which defused through the northeast region of what is now Thailand. Evidence of this culture is found in Surin region dating to between the 7th–11th centuries CE. It was in this period that Buddhism became the dominant religion of the region. Following the Dvaravati period, the powerful Khmer Empire expanded its influence throughout what is now the southern Isan region of Thailand. This period covers the 7th–13th centuries CE. Surin was an important part of the ancient Khmer empire. Temple ruins and a substantial ethnic Khmer minority remain part of Surin. Khmer stone inscriptions date from c. 600 CE. Over the next several centuries a growing number of Khmer sites were constructed in the province, most notably Prasat Sikhoraphum. These sites would have formed part of the network of Khmer infrastructure centred on Prasat Phanom Rung. With the collapse of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, Surin faded from history, not to re emerge until the 18th century. According to legend, a local Kuay leader named Chiangpum presented a rare white elephant to Chao Phaya Chakri, the future King Rama I. In gratitude, he awarded Chiangpum the royal title Luang Surin Phakdi and appointed him village headman. When he became monarch, Rama I named Luang Surin Phakdi as the provincial governor. In 1763 Chiangpum's village moved 15 kilometers to its present location and was upgraded to a city named Muang Prathai Saman. According to tradition, the move was due to better water at the new site. In 1786 the name was changed to Surin in honor of its royal governor. The province slowly grew as people returned to the area. Although there was a continual influx of people from the surrounding areas, Surin was largely self sufficient and remained somewhat isolated until the arrival of the railroad in 1922. Chinese and Indian merchants settled in the city, manufacturing increased, and Surin gradually became a modern metropolis.

As in most of Isan, the primary culture of Surin is that of the ethnic Lao people who inhabit the region. Within Thailand, the preferred nomenclature for this culture is "Thai Isan" to enforce their identity as Thai citizens and differentiate them from the Lao of Laos, but the culture of the region is markedly different from central Thais. The Isan language is a dialect of Lao, although mutually intelligible with central Thai. The Thai Isan of Surin are associated with Lao dress, Lao influenced music (e. g., the khene and mor lam) and Lao style cuisine, which includes sticky rice in contrast to the jasmine rice preferred by central Thais.

Surin province produces high quality jasmine rice. It is also known for its silk. This quality is due to its weaving process, as well as its patterns and dyes.

In Thailand's 2000 census it was reported that 99.5 percent of the province's population were Thai nationals; 29.3 percent of the population ranged from age 0–14, 60.9 percent ranged from 15 to 59, and 9.8 percent of the population is 60 and over. Surin is a province with a sizable Northern Khmer population. It was reported that 47.2 percent of the population are capable of speaking the Khmer language. This is down from the 1990 census where it was reported that 63.4 percent of the population spoke Khmer. A third large minority group, the Kuy people, also reside in Surin. Also spelled "Guay", "Suai" or "Kha" (pejoratively), the Kuy are a Mon Khmer people distantly related to the Khmer and considered by many Thais to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the region. A 1985 study found that 9.6 percent of the people in Surin were Kuy, 9.2 percent were mixed Lao Kuy, and 3.1 percent were mixed Khmer Kuy. Kuy people speak the Kuy language and most traditionally followed animist beliefs although a syncretic blend of animism with the local Theravada Buddhism is now more common.