Venerating the past, traditional costume fever grips Thailand

“Out of the 30 years I’ve been running this shop, this is the peak for us,” 53-year-old Siri told Reuters as she stitched a Thai sarong for a client.

History fever is gripping Thailand and a growing number of Thais are wearing traditional dress, a phenomenon encouraged by the junta and the palace, and fueled by a popular television soap opera.

But the trend, which began with a ‘winter fair’ initiated by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in February, has also been criticized by some as an attempt to glorify an era of absolute monarchy and gloss over the junta’s shortcomings nearly four years after it took power.

“History has long been used by the elite to maintain their status in politics,” said Anusorn Unno, Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology at Thammasat University.

“Right now the junta is facing new challenges from a new generation of people so they have retreated to history to say that the past is better and more suitable for Thailand.”

Among the popular costumes are those worn during the reign of former King Chulalongkorn, known as Rama V, who ruled from 1868 to 1910 and is credited with saving Thailand from Western colonialism.

Television has also played a part.

“Love Destiny”, a soap opera set during the 1656 to 1688 reign of King Narai the Great, has taken Thailand by storm.

Many Thais are visiting the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, where scenes from “Love Destiny” take place. They pose for “selfies” dressed in traditional garb against the backdrop of the ruins.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha met with cast members this week at Government House and hailed the series as an example of the government’s longstanding policy of promoting ‘Thai-ness’.

Prayuth’s own cabinet has held some recent meetings in the traditional dress of a 19th century elite. He dressed in a buttoned up silk jacket, breeches and a wide sash.

A coup led by Prayuth in 2014 followed months of unrest as demonstrators supporting the urban middle class and military-backed elite demanded the resignation of then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose biggest following was among the rural poor.

That long-standing division shows little sign of having disappeared despite four years of military rule.

Although the junta has now promised elections for February 2019, signs of frustration over repeated delays to the ballot have prompted protests in recent weeks.