1 See, ‘NCPO announces 12 national core values to reinforce the country’, Royal Thai Government, http://www.thaigov.go.th/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=84749%3Aid84749&Itemid=341&lang=en (last accessed 27 May 2015).

2 Pagawadee Uttamoth, Marayat ngam [Fine manners] (Bangkok: Klang Witthaya, 1966).

3 ‘Ronnarong khaniyom Thai lui pranam khonnok rit’ [Campaign to raise awareness on Thai values and wage war against heresy], Daily News, http://www.dailynews.co.th/education/257613 (last accessed 27 May 2015).

4 Kritsana Thewarak (Santa T. Komolabutra), Kritsana son nong: Naenam marayat thi ngam haeng araya samai [Kritsana's instructions to Little Sister: An introduction to the fine manners of the civilised period] (Bangkok: Prae Pittaya, 1961).

5 Srivipa Charoonroj na Ayudhaya, ‘Life and literary works of Santa T. Komolabutra’ (M.A. thesis, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 1977), p. 382.

6 The 1975 edition, however, contained a new set of photographs replacing all the original photographs and illustrations from the 1960s edition.

7 Mary Beery, Manners made easy (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1949).

8 Progress and siwilai were the discourses 1920s writers and journalists used to argue against absolutism. See Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit, A history of Thailand (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. 107–9.

9 Field Marshall Phibun Songkhram (1948–57), Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat (1957–63) and Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachon (1963–73).

10 Benedict R. O'G. Anderson and Ruchira Mendiones, In the mirror: Literature and politics in Siam in the American era (Bangkok: Duang Kamol, 1985), p. 19.

11 Norbert Elias, The history of manners (New York: Pantheon, 1978), p. 4.

12 Winichakul, Thongchai, ‘The quest for “Siwilai”: A geographical discourse of civilizational thinking in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Siam’, Journal of Asian Studies 59, 3 (2000): 528–49Google Scholar.

13 Scot Barmé, Woman, man, Bangkok: Love, sex, and popular culture in Thailand (Bangkok: Silkworm, 2002), p. 30.

14 Maurizio Peleggi, Lords of things: The fashioning of the Siamese monarchy's modern image (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2002), pp. 20–28.

15 Ibid., p. 2.

16 Pechsupa Tasanapan, ‘The idea of socializing and its impact on Thai women 1918–1932’ (M.A. thesis, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 1999).

17 Satholsathanpitak (Rang Nimitrhut), Tamra kanliang [A textbook on how to entertain] (Bangkok: Krungthep Daily Mail, 1923).

18 Damrongphaetthayakhun (Chuen Phutthiphaet), Khamnaenam samrap kansamakhom [Advice on socialising](Bangkok: Krungthep Daily Mail, 1931), p. ข.

19 Anuphaptraiphop (Chamras Thephasadin na Ayudhya), Kansamakhom waduai khanop thamniam prapheni pon thi chai kan yu rue thi khuan chai welani [Socialising: On mixed customs and traditions in current practice or that which should be practised] (Bangkok: Bumrungnukulkij, 1948), p. ค.

20 Numnonda, Thamsook, ‘Pibulsongkhram's Thai nation-building programme during the Japanese military presence, 1941–1945’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 9, 2 (1978): 234–47Google Scholar.

21 It is not my intention here to imply that Thammasak Montri favoured Western over Thai manners. In the preface to the 1957 edition, Anuphaptraiphop recorded Thammasak Montri's concern about the influence of Western civilisation on Thai society and that he asked Anuphaptraiphop to write the book soon after the 1932 revolution. Thammasak Montri suggested that Anuphaptraiphop adopt ‘the middle path’ in the book. It is beyond the scope of this article to conclude whether the book was written to preserve Thai traditional manners or as an honest reflection of what was happening at this time. Nevertheless, it did register a key moment when cultural blending was officially recognised as the way forward for Thailand.

22 Thamsook, ‘Pibulsongkhram's Thai nation-building programme’: 234.

23 Thamsook Numnonda, quoted in Manit Nuala-or, Kanmueang Thai yuk sanyalak rat Thai [Thai politics in the age of a symbolic Thai national state] (Bangkok: Dr. Manit Nuala-or, 1997) p. 109.

24 Anonymous, An introduction on manners in socializing for the military (Bangkok: Royal Thai Survey Department Press, 1939); Royal Thai Police, Social etiquette (Bangkok: Royal Thai Police Press, 1946).

25 Manit, Kanmueang Thai, p. 112.

26 Ibid., pp. 118–20.

27 Onozawa, Nitaya, ‘Thai women: Changing status and roles during the course of Thai modernization 2’, Bulletin of Tokyo Kasei Gakuin Tsukuba Women's University, 4 (2000): 72Google Scholar.

28 Onozawa, Nitaya, ‘Thai women: Changing status and roles during the course of Thai modernization 3’, Bulletin of Tokyo Kasei Gakuin Tsukuba Women's University, 5 (2001): 82Google Scholar.

29 Thongchai Winichakul, Siam mapped: A history of the geo-body of a nation (Chiang Mai: Silkworm, 1998), p. 4; see further Thamsook, ‘Pibulsongkhram's Thai nation-building programme’: 234.

30 Charn Nakphong, Lak kansamakhom [The principles of socialising] (Bangkok: Odeon Store, 1950), ‘Preface’.

31 Thak Chaloemtiarana, Thailand: The politics of despotic paternalism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 1979), pp. 81–110. See also, the revival of the royal monarchy in Baker and Pasuk, A history of Thailand, pp. 238–41.

32 Dutsadi Malakul na Ayudhaya, Marayat lem noi [Little book of manners] (Thonburi: Sutthisan Kan Phim, 1960), p. ค.

33 Jory, Patrick, ‘Thailand's politics of politeness: Qualities of a gentleman and the making of “Thai manners”’, South East Asia Research 23, 3 (2015): 357–75Google Scholar.

34 Ibid.: 358.

35 Ibid.: 371.

36 Taweewongse Tawalayasak, ‘Kiriya marayat lae kanchai thoikham nai ratsamnak’ [Deportment and words used according to the royal court etiquette], in Anuson ngan phraratchathan phloeng sop Khunying Sa-nguan Anuphaptraiphop [A cremation volume produced in the honour of Khunying Sa-nguan Anuphaptraiphop] (Bangkok: Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, 1964), preface.

37 The first competition took place in January 1961. It was presided over by HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda Sirisobhabannavadi, the only daughter of King Rama VI. The book Kiriya marayat by Taweewongse was reprinted many times, especially as a cremation volume. A book with the same title and similar contents was also written by Pi Malakul, who also wrote other books on Thai manners and court etiquette: Marayat Thai [Thai manners] (Bangkok: Signal Department Press, 1966); Marayat Thai rachasap [Thai manners, Royal words] (Bangkok: Signal Department Press, 1966); Rabiap samnak phraratchawang thi kieokap kharatchakan lae prachachon [Regulations of royal households which concern state officers and citizens] (Bangkok: Prajan Press, 1968); Rabiap kansadaeng airiyabot tang tang aan pen marayat Thai [Regulations on deportment in Thai manners] (Bangkok: Culture Bureau of the Ministry of Education, 1968).

38 Pi Malakul, Regulations on deportment in Thai manners, quoted in and translated by Jory, ‘Thailand's politics of politeness’: 372.

39 Triam-udom Suksa was founded by M.L. Pin Malakul as a preparatory school for Chulalongkorn University. Pin Malakul was Phrasadet's son and Dutsadi's husband.

40 Dutsadi, Marayat lem noi, p. ค., quoted in and translated by Jory, ‘Thailand's politics of politeness’: 369.

41 Thongchai, Siam mapped, p. 7.

42 Dutsadi Malakul na Ayudhaya, Marayat anpen watthanatham thang prapheni khong Thai [Manners as traditional Thai culture] (Bangkok: Khurusapha, 1965), p. 2.

43 Jory, ‘Thailand's politics of politeness’: 369.

44 The only source credited is Pi Malakul's Marayat Thai at the end of the article on formal presentation and interaction with the King and the Queen.

45 The chapters ‘At the table’, ‘Dining out’, ‘Social correspondence’ and ‘Traveling’ were left out. Table manners were covered in another book by the same author, however.

46 Kritsana, Kritsana son nong, p. 4.

47 This poem is based on the Indian epic, Mahabharata. In 2012 the Thai government's Fine Arts Department published Prachum suphasit son ying [A collection of didactic texts for women], which included two versions of this poem, one composed in the Thonburi period and the other in the early Rattanakosin period. More versions are believed to exist, however.

48 Fine Arts Department, Prachum suphasit son ying (Bangkok: Fine Arts Department of Thailand, 2012), pp. 21–77, 133–55.

49 Kritsana, Kritsana son nong, p. 1.

50 Onozawa, ‘Thai women: Changing status and roles during the course of Thai modernization 2’: 64.

51 Onozawa, ‘Thai women: Changing status and roles during the course of Thai modernization 3’: 93.

52 Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen, Reading images: The grammar of visual design (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 64.

53 Ibid., p. 56.

54 Beery, Manners made easy, p. 7.

55 Kritsana, Kritsana son nong, p. 12.

56 Pierre Bourdieu, ‘The forms of capital’, in Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education, ed. John G. Richardson (New York: Greenwood, 1986), pp. 241–58.

57 Roland Barthes, Image, music and text, trans. Stephen Heath (London: Fontana, 1977), pp. 25–7.

58 Barmé, Woman, man, Bangkok, pp. 143–52.

59 Saithong, ‘Wethi chiwit’ [Stage of lives], Sattrisan, Mar. 1948, p. 15.

60 Onozawa, ‘Thai women: Changing status and roles during the course of Thai modernization 2’: 68; Manit, Kanmueang Thai, p. 124.

61 Kam Paga (Luckhana Panwichai), Krathu dokthong: Ruam bot wichan wannakam lae phapphayon waduai udomkhati khong khwam rak, phet lae khwampen phet ying [‘Slut’ posts: A collection of literary and film critiques on the ideology of love, sex and female gender] (Bangkok: Aan, 2013), pp. 97–106.

62 Kritsana, Kritsana son nong, p. 8.

63 Nidhi Eoseewong, Pen and sail: Literature and history in early Bangkok (Chiang Mai: Silkworm, 2005), pp. 188–91.

64 Kritsana, Kritsana son nong, p. 1.

65 Baker and Phongpaichit, A history of Thailand, p. 109.

66 Chie Ikeya, Refiguring women, colonialism, and modernity in Burma (Bangkok: Silkworm, 2012), pp. 60–63.

67 Onozawa, ‘Thai women: Changing status and roles during the course of Thai modernization 2’: 72.

68 Kritsana-Jiraprapa (pseudonym), Kritsana son nong (Bangkok: Pittayakan, 1972). There is no indication of whether this is the first edition. However, the author refers to the 1969 moon landing and the 1971 military coup in Thailand. The book also criticises long-haired university students. I infer from these remarks that the book was written in the 1970s, after Santa Komolabutra's. It is unlikely that this is the work of Santa himself since neither the work nor the pseudonym, Kritsana-Jiraprapa, were mentioned in Srivipa's thesis on Santa or in a cremation volume produced in his honour.

69 Ibid., p. 2.

70 Nationalism was also mobilised by intellectuals and the social movements that led to the 1973 uprising which deposed Thanom. This was, however, different in character from the state-led nationalist narratives, drawing instead on the experience and ideals of anti-imperialist and national liberation movements in the developing world. The students themselves drew upon the semiotic resources of anti-authoritarian counter-cultures in the West. Criticisms of the students' non-Thai and inappropriate appearance (long hair, jeans and general untidiness) were, again, directed at the Western other. See Prajak Kongkeerati, Lae laeo kham khlueanwai ko prakot: Kanmueang watthanatham khong naksuksa lae panyachon kon 14 tula [Then the movements become visible: Political culture of students and intellectuals prior to 14 October] (Nonthaburi: Fah Diew Kan, 2013), pp. 323–35.

71 The name Santa is pronounced ‘San’. The spelling adopted here follows the one used in Srivipa, ‘Life and literary works of Santa T. Komolabutra’. Srivipa became close to the author, visiting and interviewing him 18 times and consulting him on her study throughout, as noted in the eulogy she wrote in a cremation volume, Anuson ngan phraratchathan phloeng sop Santa T. Komolabutra [A cremation volume produced in honour of Santa T. Komolabutra], 2 May 1978.

72 Ibid.

73 Apart from Santa Thewarak, Santa also wrote as Dan Sonthaya, Bo Komolabutra and Wara Worawit when writing novels and short stories. Other pseudonyms include Po Pittaya (translated short stories), Kritsana Thewarak (non-fiction on women and beauty), Nai pasa (non-fiction on manners), Thak Wesarak (general essays), Sa-nguan Likkhasit (Thai historical documentary) and Santa T. Komolabutra (translated historical documents). Srivipa, ‘Life and literary works of Santa T. Komolabutra’, p. 132.

74 Ibid., p. 121. According to an interview with Santa on 26 July 1975, Srivipa reported that the Marayat lae kansamakhom series was highly popular. They were reprinted more than thirty times, especially as cremation volumes.

75 Santa Thewarak (Santa T. Komolabutra), That khaen [Rancour] (Bangkok: Prae Pittaya, 1964), p. ค., quoted in Srivipa, ‘Life and literary works of Santa T. Komolabutra’, p. 74.

76 For more detail on Khana Suphapburut, see Suchart Sawass-sri, ‘Suphapburut-manutsayaphap: Sriburapha-Kulap Saipradit’ [Gentleman and humanity: Sriburapha-Kulap Saipradit], Sarakadee, http://www.sarakadee.com/feature/2001/06/sri_burapha.htm (last accessed 30 May 2015).

77 Santa Thewarak (Santa T. Komolabutra), Bandai haeng khwam rak lem nueng [Steps of love vol. 1] (Bangkok: Khurusapha, 1961), p. 145.

78 Ibid., p. 111.

79 Graham Greene, Ways of escape (London: Vintage, 1999) p. 100.

80 Santa Thewarak (Santa T. Komolabutra), ‘Khwamlang nai lok nangsuephim’ [My life in the world of newspapers], Daily Mail Monthly, 1 Aug. 1952, p. 52, quoted in Srivipa, ‘Life and literary works of Santa T. Komolabutra’, p. 51.

81 Jaruek Chomphuphol, ‘Su itsaraphap’ [Towards freedom], in Sri Daorueang (Wanna Thappananon), Aan laeo aan lao: Parithat nangsue kao lae nangsue hayak [Read and read again: A survey of old and rare books] (Bangkok: Aan, 2014), pp. 93–114.

82 Nai pasa (Santa T. Komolabutra), Khumue sangkhom [Socialising manual] (Bangkok: Sermwit Bannakhan, 1966), ‘Preface’.

83 Baker and Pasuk, A contemporary history of Thailand, pp. 235–9 and 251–3.

84 Kam Paga, Krathu dokthong, p. 65.

85 Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, Thailand: Economy and politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 129–38.

86 Suchart, ‘Suphapburut-manutsayaphap’.

87 Thak, Thailand: The politics of despotic paternalism, p. 92.