Fantastic Koh Lanta: Exiting History and Amazing Culture
let us understand what is history and how the name Koh Lanta originated.
- During the Early trading days, Koh Lanta is a stop-over for ASEAN and European traders. The Javanese trader used to call this island Lanta due to its shape resembling of fish grill.
- The Malayu traders who used to stop here and open business called this island ”Lantas”, Which has the literal meaning of Dryhouse. This might be because they used this island as a place for drying fish during bad monsoons and while traveling.
- The Chinese traders used to call it “Lantad su”, Which has the literal meaning of Mountain range over the sea. Koh Lanta has stunning views of mountains over the Andaman Sea.
- The sea gypsies are used to call this island “Lanta” which has the literal meaning of place for indigenous people. This island has been home to indigenous people for a long time.
Let us know what the name “Lanta” means in your native language.
Discovery of Koh Lanta:
From the scientific data and discoveries, Humans have still lived in Koh Lanta from 5000 years ago. During the expansion of trading in China, Malaysia, Singapore, and arab countries, The traders used to travel and transport products such as spices, clothes, fish, and other things via sea. The transportation of China, Singapore, Malaysia and the arab used to happen via the south Burma Sea and Andaman Sea beside the coast of Thailand.
Due to the High mountains and clear visible area, Koh Lanta is easily noticeable from far also. Thus the small island in Andaman Sea became a stopover stop for traders travelling through Andaman Sea. During the migration of Asian peoples due to internal and external wars, people used to migrate via trading ships. Soon many communities started to settle down in Koh Lanta.
During the centralization of Thailand, The Lanta island Krabi Thailand became a place of taxation hub for passing traders. The ships going to Singapore and Malaysia from Thailand and Burma used to pay taxes for passing through Koh Lanta coast.
In 2001, the Koh Lanta area became the Koh Lanta district with a long and exciting history of 5000 years.
Cultural history and building communities in Koh Lanta
In the Past, The people from Sireh Island in the Andaman Sea used to migrate in search of better land for settling down and fishing. These people are called Urak Lawoi they were the first people to settle down in Koh Lanta centuries ago. They made some basic infrastructure around the island to make it a livable place. 200 years after the Indonesians and Malaysians started to migrate and start to settling down on this island. Malaysians and Indonesians are Muslim people and thus Islam started spreading on the island.
During internal conflicts in China and china Japanese wars, More Chinese people migrated to Thailand and started building more infrastructure and houses on the island. Nowadays there are four major religions live peacefully on the island.
The majority of the population is Muslim, Buddhist from China and Thailand, and Malayu from the Urak Lawoi community. All these people live around the island and celebrate every festival and tradition together.
Culture of Modern Koh Lanta
Many communities live peacefully celebrate best traditions and follow the cultural heritage of Koh Lanta.
Religious Traditions:
Four major communities on this island mainly follow Chinese, Muslim, Buddhist, and Chao Leh traditions. These celebrations are very attractive to visit and in our following articles, we will learn more about these festivals. The Chinese New Year and other Chinese festivals are celebrated widely in Old Town as most Chinese communities still live there. The celebration of songrakan happens every year in Old Town where locals and foreigners float Krathong to pray for water.
The Choa Leh community celebrates the Loy Rua festival every year for around 2-3 days in parts near Sanga-u and Old Town Hospital. This festival is accompanied by local food and Thai music for dancing. You can see many foreigners enjoying and dancing at this festival. There are various school festivals and competitions in Old Town which are worth visiting. Food is cheap and you can see locals performing their talent in these competitions.
The Chao Leh people have been fishing for many generations and all their festivals are related to sea culture. To celebrate their catchings and pray for more catchings in the future they celebrate a festival called Le Hom. At this festival, they dance and perform beautiful skills which are worth visiting.
The Muslim community in Thailand is very cultural and follows international traditions. You can experience the wonderful mosques, The Muslim prayers, and Ramadan in Koh Lanta. Many shops around this island sell eye-catching Muslim clothes. Even though many communities on this island communicate and daily life they use the southern dialect of the Thai language sometimes referred to as bhasa Tai.
Thai people from Thailand mostly follow Buddhist Culture. You can see many Buddhist temples and attractions around the island. There are many Temples on the island and all have very beautiful sculptures and arts. The Buddhist New Year which is Songrakan is celebrated for four days on the island.
The food culture is a unique combination of Thai Chinese and Mulsim ingredients. There are many kinds of homemade Chinese snacks and delicacies in the local market. It is difficult to find this kind of combination of foods in other parts of Thailand.
Please tell us which festival you want to know more about!!!
Faq :
Why is Koh Lanta so Famous?
The Koh Lanta is famous because of its unique nature and beaches. The culture, people, beaches, and remarkable attractions make it heaven for Tourists.
What is the meaning of Koh Lanta in Thai?
Koh which is pronounced as KO has meaning of island. Lanta is a combination of two words Laan and Taa. Laan means blurry and Taa means eye. The meaning of Koh Lanta is Blurry Eye Island.
What is the population of Koh Lanta?
The population of Koh Lanta is 32000 at the end of 2023 according to recent information.
