Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Local Communities, the Nation, and Displaced Groups
Intangible cultural heritage, including local traditions, folklore, languages, traditional knowledge, performing arts, food practices, and religious customs, represents an important part of the identity and collective memory of communities. However, these forms of heritage can gradually decline when traditional knowledge is no longer passed between generations, when younger generations have fewer opportunities to participate in cultural practices, or when languages and community traditions are affected by social and environmental changes. This is particularly important for cultural practices that are primarily transmitted through oral traditions, such as indigenous languages that have no established writing system. Recognizing these challenges, Walailak University (WU) diagnoses and assesses risks to intangible cultural heritage, including the loss of traditional knowledge, oral languages, cultural practices, and community traditions. Based on these identified needs, WU undertakes activities to record, document, preserve, promote, and transmit intangible cultural heritage at local, regional, national, and community levels, helping ensure that valuable cultural knowledge remains accessible to future generations.
Arts and Cultural Preservation Division: Dedicated Unit for Cultural Heritage Preservation
Walailak University has established a dedicated Arts and Cultural Preservation Division responsible for the systematic study, documentation, preservation, promotion, transmission, and sustainable development of arts and cultural heritage. The Division serves as a specialized institutional mechanism for safeguarding cultural knowledge and heritage, with responsibilities covering research and documentation, cultural conservation and dissemination, and the development of learning resources related to the arts and cultural heritage of Southern Thailand.
Through its Academic and Research Unit for Arts and Culture, the Division conducts and supports research on local arts and culture, history, archaeology, and cultural heritage sites, including the Toompang Archaeological Site and other archaeological sites in Southern Thailand. It brings together university researchers and external experts to investigate, document, and develop cultural knowledge, while transforming archaeological and cultural sites into living learning resources accessible to students, researchers, local communities, and the wider public.
The Division’s Arts and Cultural Conservation, Promotion and Dissemination Unit further supports the preservation of local traditions, religious practices, arts, and cultural knowledge through the development of cultural archives and databases. It disseminates documented knowledge through modern information and communication platforms, enabling cultural information to be preserved in accessible forms and shared with the public. These activities contribute to the continued recognition and transmission of cultural identity and knowledge across generations.
In addition, the Unit for the Promotion and Development of Southern Thai Arts and Cultural Learning Resources develops permanent and temporary exhibitions that document and interpret the cultural heritage of Southern Thailand. These include exhibitions on the civilization of Nakhon Si Thammarat, historical trade, traditional drums, the zodiac city tradition, the Kingdom of Nakhon Si Thammarat, religious heritage, Southern Thai ways of life, local traditions, and traditional performing arts such as Nang Talung shadow puppetry and Nora dance. The University also develops archaeological sites within its area, including Toompang Archaeological Site, Ban Noen It Archaeological Site, and Wat Chan Ok–Chan Tok, as learning and heritage tourism resources.
WU also supports the intergenerational transmission of intangible cultural heritage by training young people as youth cultural guides and providing short courses in Southern Thai arts and culture. These initiatives enable younger generations to learn about local history, traditions, knowledge, and cultural practices and to communicate this heritage to others. Through these institutional mechanisms, WU contributes not only to the preservation of cultural heritage but also to its continued documentation, interpretation, public access, and transmission from one generation to the next.
Through a dedicated organizational structure, research activities, cultural archives and databases, exhibitions, archaeological learning sites, educational programmes, and intergenerational cultural activities, Walailak University demonstrates an institutional commitment to recording and preserving intangible and tangible cultural heritage, particularly the cultural heritage of Southern Thailand and its local communities.
Bachelor of Education in Thai Dance
The School of Education at Walailak University offers the Bachelor of Education in Thai Dance, providing an academic pathway for students to study, practice, and develop knowledge of Thai dance and its associated cultural heritage. The programme covers Thai dance in its diverse forms while emphasizing the importance of preserving traditional performing arts, cultural knowledge, and practices for future generations.
Through academic study and practical training, students develop an understanding of the history, cultural significance, techniques, and traditions associated with Thai dance. The programme contributes to the preservation and transmission of intangible cultural heritage by preparing students to become educators and practitioners who can pass traditional knowledge and artistic practices to younger generations.
By integrating cultural heritage with higher education, the programme supports the continued transmission of Thai performing arts while encouraging students to appreciate, maintain, and further develop Thailand’s cultural identity. It therefore serves as an important mechanism for ensuring that traditional Thai dance and related cultural knowledge remain accessible, practiced, and sustained across generations.
Preserving Local and Regional Cultural Heritage
Preserving and Promoting Nora as Southern Thailand’s Intangible Cultural Heritage
Walailak University actively contributes to the documentation, preservation, promotion, and transmission of Nora, the traditional dance theatre of Southern Thailand, which was inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO recognizes Nora as a community-based cultural practice with deep social and cultural significance for the people of Southern Thailand, incorporating regional dialects, music, literature, dance, costumes, rituals, and knowledge transmitted across generations.
As part of its commitment to preserving the cultural heritage of Southern Thailand, WU’s Arts and Cultural Preservation Division undertakes activities to record and transform local cultural knowledge into accessible learning resources. In August 2025, the Division visited Baan Nora 168 in Songkhla Old Town, a Nora learning centre associated with National Artist Assistant Professor Dr. Thummanit Nikomrat, to produce educational media documenting Nora performance and traditional costumes. The project recorded 12 fundamental “Kru” Nora dance movements through video and documented the costumes of male and female Nora performers through still photography. The resulting materials are intended for exhibition at WU’s Southern Thai Arts and Cultural Learning Centre, allowing students, young people, and the public to access and learn about Nora through contemporary media.
WU also brings Nora knowledge to broader academic and cultural platforms. In July 2025, the University participated in the Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference 2025 by presenting the exhibition “Nora: Dance Theatre in Southern Thailand.” The exhibition formed part of the research project “Nora: Cultural Capital for Sustainable Development,” which examines Nora as a form of local cultural capital and explores its cultural, social, and economic dimensions. By presenting Nora research and knowledge in an international academic setting, WU contributes to wider recognition and exchange surrounding Southern Thailand’s cultural heritage.
At the regional level, WU also presented the “Toompang and Nora” exhibition as part of the WALAILAK Nakhon Si SDG SERIES in June 2025. The exhibition connected the preservation of local cultural heritage with sustainable development and introduced the public to both the archaeological heritage of Toompang and the cultural significance of Nora. It highlighted WU’s efforts to combine research, modern technology, creative economy approaches, and public education to strengthen the continued appreciation and use of local cultural heritage.
These initiatives extend beyond simply presenting Nora as a traditional performance. By recording performances and costumes, researching cultural knowledge, producing educational media, developing exhibitions, and disseminating knowledge through academic and public platforms, WU helps preserve elements of Nora that might otherwise depend primarily on oral and practical transmission. The University’s approach also supports intergenerational learning by making cultural knowledge accessible to students, young people, researchers, and the wider public.
Through these activities, Walailak University contributes to the continued safeguarding of Nora as a living cultural heritage of Southern Thailand. The University’s work demonstrates how higher education can support the documentation, preservation, interpretation, and transmission of UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural heritage while strengthening connections between academic research, cultural practitioners, local communities, and the wider public. UNESCO itself identifies education and educational institutions as important channels through which Nora is transmitted to future generations.
Preserving Southern Thai Culinary Heritage Through Traditional Food Knowledge
Walailak University supported the preservation and transmission of Southern Thai intangible cultural heritage through activities that enabled students and staff to learn and practice traditional local knowledge. In 2025, the University organized its annual training programme on preparing traditional steamed sticky rice wrapped in mangrove fan palm leaves (Khanom Tom Bai Kaphor), a local Southern Thai food associated with important religious and community traditions.
The annual programme provided students and university personnel with an opportunity to learn the traditional preparation process through hands-on practice. Rather than treating traditional food solely as a cultural product, the activity focused on transferring the knowledge, techniques, and cultural meaning associated with its preparation to a new generation.
Khanom Tom Bai Kaphor was traditionally associated with Southern Thai religious and community occasions, including the end of Buddhist Lent, Tak Bat Thewo almsgiving ceremonies, Chak Phra traditions,
and ordination ceremonies. Its preparation therefore reflected not only culinary knowledge but also the relationship between food, religious practices, community participation, and local identity.
Walailak University supported the preservation and transmission of Southern Thai intangible cultural heritage through activities that enabled students and staff to learn and practice traditional local knowledge. In 2025, the University organized its annual training programme on preparing traditional steamed sticky rice wrapped in mangrove fan palm leaves (Khanom Tom Bai Kaphor), a local Southern Thai food associated with important religious and community traditions.
The annual programme provided students and university personnel with an opportunity to learn the traditional preparation process through hands-on practice. Rather than treating traditional food solely as a cultural product, the activity focused on transferring the knowledge, techniques, and cultural meaning associated with its preparation to a new generation.
Khanom Tom Bai Kaphor was traditionally associated with Southern Thai religious and community occasions, including the end of Buddhist Lent, Tak Bat Thewo almsgiving ceremonies, Chak Phra traditions,
and ordination ceremonies. Its preparation therefore reflected not only culinary knowledge but also the relationship between food, religious practices, community participation, and local identity.
Preserving National Cultural Heritage
Preserving and Transmitting Khon as Thailand’s Intangible Cultural Heritage
Khon, Thailand’s traditional masked dance drama, represents an important form of the country’s intangible cultural heritage. Recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Khon combines traditional dance, music, costume, visual arts, and storytelling, with performances traditionally drawing on narratives from the Ramakien, Thailand’s adaptation of the Ramayana.
As part of its commitment to preserving and transmitting Thailand’s performing arts, Walailak University organized a Khon performance at Thai Buri Hall, with active participation from students of the School of Education. The activity provided students with an opportunity to engage directly with traditional Thai performing arts while developing their knowledge and appreciation of the cultural practices associated with Khon.
The performance presented the episode “Rachasuriyawong,” featuring characters and events from the Ramakien. Through traditional movement, costumes, music, and dramatic storytelling, the performance presented elements of Thai cultural heritage in a form that could be experienced by contemporary audiences.
The event was offered free of charge to students, staff, and members of the public, providing an accessible cultural learning experience for both the university community and wider society. By opening the performance to the public, WU encouraged broader participation in and appreciation of Thai cultural heritage.
Through student participation and public cultural programming, Walailak University contributed to the preservation, practice, and transmission of traditional Thai performing arts. Such activities provide opportunities for younger generations to learn about and actively engage with cultural heritage, helping ensure that traditional artistic knowledge and practices continue to be practiced, appreciated, and passed on to future generations.
Preserving the Heritage of Displaced Communities
Preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Mani Community
Walailak University contributed to the documentation and preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of the Mani community in Southern Thailand through a research project examining and collecting knowledge about the Mani ethnic community for dissemination through the Mani Ethnic Museum and Learning Centre at Walailak University. In 2025, the research team conducted fieldwork in Pa Bon and Kong Ra Districts, Phatthalung Province, engaging with members of the Mani community to document aspects of their language, knowledge, way of life, and cultural practices.
A key focus of the research was the Mani language, a predominantly oral language without an established writing system of its own. As a result, direct conversations, interviews, and audio recordings were important methods for documenting linguistic knowledge and preserving cultural information. Recording the language also provided an opportunity to capture knowledge that is closely connected to the community’s history, beliefs, everyday life, and relationship with the natural environment.
The research recognized that language is more than a means of communication. For the Mani community, oral language provides a means through which knowledge, experiences, values, and understandings of the surrounding environment can be transmitted between generations. Documenting these spoken traditions therefore contributes to the preservation of broader cultural heritage rather than language alone.
The project also highlighted the importance of preserving cultural knowledge in the context of social and environmental change. As traditional ways of life encounter changing circumstances and increasing interaction with the wider society, the documentation of oral traditions provides a means of maintaining an accessible record of cultural knowledge while supporting greater public understanding of the Mani community.
The collected knowledge was intended to contribute to the development of learning resources at the Mani Ethnic Museum and Learning Centre, allowing students, researchers, and members of the public to learn about the community’s language, history, cultural practices, and way of life. In this way, research and documentation were connected with public education and cultural preservation.
Through field-based research, oral documentation, audio recording, and the development of museum-based learning resources, Walailak University supported the recording, preservation, and dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage of the Mani community. The initiative demonstrates the University’s role in documenting the cultural heritage of communities whose knowledge and traditions have historically been transmitted primarily through oral and intergenerational practices, helping ensure that their cultural knowledge remains recognized, accessible, and available for future generations.
Maniq Ethnic Museum: Preserving and Sharing Ethnic Cultural Heritage
Building on its research and documentation of the Maniq community, Walailak University established the Maniq Ethnic Museum as a dedicated learning and experiential space for preserving, interpreting, and sharing the cultural heritage of the Maniq people in Southern Thailand. The museum provides students, researchers, and the public with opportunities to learn about the community’s distinctive way of life, traditional knowledge, beliefs, and relationship with the forest environment.
The museum highlights the Maniq’s traditional knowledge and subsistence practices, including hunting, foraging, the use of herbal medicine, and the use of simple tools in daily life. These practices demonstrate knowledge developed through generations of interaction with the natural environment and reflect cultural approaches to living in close relationship with and maintaining balance with the forest ecosystem.
The establishment of the museum also addressed the limited availability of dedicated ethnographic learning spaces in Southern Thailand. By creating a permanent venue for presenting Maniq cultural knowledge, WU has provided an accessible platform through which this heritage can be documented, interpreted, and introduced to younger generations and the wider public.
The Maniq Ethnic Museum comprises five learning stations, each presenting a different aspect of Maniq cultural heritage:
- Understanding the Maniq Ethnic Group in Southern Thailand – introduces the community, its history, identity, and cultural context.
- The Houses of the Maniq – presents traditional housing and shelter practices adapted to the community’s way of life.
- The Livelihoods of the Maniq – explores traditional subsistence practices, including hunting, foraging, and the use of natural resources.
- Herbal Medicine and Health Care Practices of the Maniq – documents traditional knowledge concerning medicinal plants and community health practices.
- The Beliefs and Rituals of the Maniq Ethnic Group – presents cultural beliefs, rituals, and practices that form part of the community’s intangible heritage.
Together, the museum and the University’s field-based research activities create a link between cultural documentation, preservation, education, and public access. By transforming collected knowledge into learning resources and experiential exhibitions, WU supports the continued recognition and transmission of Maniq cultural heritage while providing a space where the public can develop greater understanding and appreciation of the community’s cultural knowledge and traditions.
Through its dedicated Arts and Cultural Preservation Division, academic programmes, research projects, cultural performances, traditional knowledge activities, and specialized learning spaces, Walailak University has established a comprehensive approach to recording and preserving cultural heritage. These initiatives encompass both tangible and intangible heritage, including traditional performing arts, culinary traditions, local knowledge, languages, beliefs, rituals, and the cultural practices of ethnic communities.
WU’s work with Nora, a UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural heritage of Southern Thailand, demonstrates how research, documentation, educational media, exhibitions, and public cultural programmes can support the continued practice and transmission of local heritage. Similarly, activities involving traditional Southern Thai cuisine and Khon provide opportunities for students and the wider public to learn and actively participate in cultural practices, strengthening intergenerational transmission and appreciation of Thai cultural identity.
The University’s research and learning initiatives concerning the Maniq community further extend cultural preservation to the heritage of ethnic communities. Through field-based documentation of the Maniq language and cultural knowledge, together with the establishment of the Maniq Ethnic Museum, WU has created mechanisms for preserving and sharing cultural knowledge that is primarily transmitted through oral traditions and lived practices. These efforts provide accessible learning resources while supporting greater recognition and understanding of the community’s cultural heritage.
Overall, Walailak University demonstrates its commitment to ensuring that cultural heritage remains living, accessible, and transferable across generations. By combining research and documentation with education, hands-on learning, exhibitions, performances, and public engagement, the University contributes to safeguarding the diversity of local and regional cultural heritage while creating opportunities for communities, students, and the wider public to understand, value, and continue these traditions into the future.
Beyond the marriage registration ceremony, visitors and participating couples were able to explore other attractions within the Botanic Park, including the Winter Garden, which featured a colorful display of flowers, including more than 2,100 tulips. The event also included a cocktail reception and acoustic music, creating opportunities for visitors to relax, socialize, and enjoy the surrounding landscape.
The French Style Garden therefore serves multiple purposes as an Aesthetic and Learning Green Space, combining public recreation, landscape appreciation, environmental awareness, and informal education in one accessible location. Its position at a prominent entrance area also allows visitors arriving at the university and Medical Center Hospital to experience a carefully designed green environment from the beginning of their visit.
Goal 3:
Good health and well-being
Goal 17:
Partnerships for the Goals