Geography and the Environment in Southeast Asia: Proceedings of the Geology Jubilee Symposium, The University of Hong Kong, 21-25 June 1976

9. Urbanization and Rural Change -- Tambon Om Noi

歐 URBANIZATION AND RURAL CHANGE - TAMBON OM NOI Koichi Mizuno This is a report of field research which was carried out in n 帥的on om Noi, near Bangkok, during 1972 and 1973 with the co-operation of the National Research Council of Thailand. The purpose of the research was threefold: first to provide materials on rural change under the 恤pact of urban encroachment; second, to reconstruct the processes of ecological adaptation of those who used to be rice farmers; third, to determine the corearea of change and its consequences for different aspects of rurallife such as standard of living, family and kinsh旬， village organization,cultural premisses, and social consclousness. The field research was designed to deal with recent developments durlng the fifteen year period from 1957 to 1972 (B.E. 250。一2515). SETrlNG Tambon Om Noi is a 呱age consisting of thirteen h曲曲tS(7nÛ揖n) with a population of about 7000 in 1973. It is situated some 25 kilαnetres west of the centre of Greater Bangkok and on the east bank of the Tha Chin Ríver in the lower Chao Phraya delta (Figure 9. 1). 訂le Phet Kasem Highway , runnlng from Thon Buri to Nakhon Pathom, pωses through the village and crosses the Sedtakit Road which leads southwards to the provincial capital ofSamut Sakhon. The village i8 扭曲e province of Samut Sakhon. This pro叫nce consists of three dlstricts: Amphur Muar袍， Amphur Ban Phaeo 組d Amphur Krathum Baen. Amphur Muang, in the southern part of the province, lies across the mouth of the τ11a Chin Ríver. Fishing, salt-panning and the processing of sea products are the most important activities. Agriculture is less prosperous, and only 44 per cent of the land Is cultivatéd. 百le other two dlstricts are located In the north of the province - Amphur Ban Phaeo on the west bank and Amphur Krathum Baen on the east bank of the river. These 108 KOICHI MIZUNO F你lre 9‘ 1: Part o[ the Chao Phraya delta showing Greater Bangkok and Tambon Om NOI two districts are in the southern portion of the lower Chao Phraya delta and form an important rice-producing area. The proportlon of the total area in agnculture was as high as 90 per cent in 1965 aιcording to the Statistical Directory, Amphur Krathum Baen,in particular, is f:unous for its rice production and provides rice for Amphur Muang. Tambon Om NOl occuples the northelnmost part of Amphur Krathum Baen, WhlCh comprises ten tambon. The tambon is bordered by Amphur Sam Phran tn Nakon Pathom on the west. and Amphur Nong Kaem in Thom Buri on the east (Figure 9. 2). The vilbψcovers an area of about three kilometres along two highways, and the hamlets are sltuated on the canal rather than the roads. In some hamlets, houses are butlt in a row along T QMJAI URBANIZATION AND RURAL CHANGE THAMAI 1 」土」 Figure 9. 2: Settlement and communications pattem 01 Tambon Om Noi 109 canals, while in others they are dispersed,each being close to a canal. Before World War 11, canal systems were the only means of transportation to the district town, the provincial capital, or even to Bangkok. There are two major canals in the village, Khlong Om Noi and Khlong Si Samran, and the Buddhíst temples in the village have the same names. The town of Samut Sakhon was once a po此， known by the name of Sakhon Buri during the reign of Cakrabarti (l549-69) in the Ayutthaya períod. But Tambon Om Noí does not seem to have been settled as long ago as the port of Sakhon Burí. It was much later that the village and íts envírons deveJoped as a rice啊。ducíng area. Data suggest that people first settled somewhere ín the vícíníty of hanùet No. 4,Mübãn Khlong Om Noi, in about 1870. The date of construction of the Om Noi Canal is unknown. However, Wat Om Noí, whích is a Buddhist temple built on the bank ofthe canal, has records saying that it was founded in 1875 with the contributions of earlier 110 KOICHI MIZUNO settlers. They brought used buliding materials 1rom Wat Thammamosit, which is now Wat Rang in Tambon Om Jai, Amphur Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom. One of the contributors was the grandfather of the present headman of hamlet No. 4, who himself came...