Narathiwat Province of Thailand
Narathiwat Province
Narathiwat (Thai : นราธิวาส) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan.
Narathiwat Geography
The province is located on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand on the Malay Peninsula. The main river of the province is the Bang Nara River, which opens into the Gulf at the town Narathiwat. Nearby the river estuary is the Narathat beach, the most popular beach within the province.
Budo - Su-ngai Padi National Park is located within the Sankalakhiri mountain range. The main attraction within the park is the Pacho Waterfall. The park was established in 1974 and covers a total area of 294 km?, including parts of neighboring Yala and Pattani province.
Narathiwat Etymology
The original name of Narathiwat was Menara, means ‘tower’ in Malay. In Thai this was changed to Bang Nara (บางนรา). It was renamed to Narathiwat by the Thai government in 1915. The name Narathiwat, originating from Sanskrit, means The residence of wise people.
Narathiwat History
Historically Pattani Province was the centre of the semi-independent Malay Sultanate of Patani, but paying tribute to the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, Sultanate of Patani gained full independence but under King Rama I it again came under Siam’s control.
In 1909, it was fully integrated into Siam as part of Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 negotiated with the British Empire. Along with Yala, Narathiwat was originally part of Monthon Pattani. There is a separatist movement in Yala, which after being dormant for many years erupted again in 2004.
Narathiwat Demographics
Narathiwat is one of the four Thai provinces which have a Muslim majority, 82% are Muslim and only 17.9% are Buddhist. Also 80.4% speak the Patani Malay language. The Narathiwat Malays are very similar in ethnicity and culture to the Malays of Kelantan, Malaysia.
Narathiwat Symbols
The provincial seal shows a sailing boat with a white elephant on the sail. The white elephant is a royal symbol of Thailand, and is put on the seal to commemorate the animal called Phra Sri Nararat Rajakarini that was caught here and given to the king.
The provincial symbol is the longkong fruit (Lansium domesticum), the provincial tree is the Chengal (Neobalanocarpus heimii) and the provincial flower is Odontadenia macrantha.
Narathiwat Administrative divisions
Narathiwat is subdivided into 13 districts (Amphoe), which are further subdivided into 77 subdistricts (tambon) and 551 villages (muban).
1. Mueang Narathiwat
2. Tak Bai
3. Bacho
4. Yi-ngo
5. Ra-ngae
6. Rueso (Malay: Rusa)
7. Si Sakhon
8. Waeng
9. Sukhirin
10. Su-ngai Kolok (Malay: Sungai Golok)
11. Su-ngai Padi (Malay: Sungai Padi)
12. Chanae
13. Cho-airong
Local government entities within the province are the two towns (thesaban mueang) Narathiwat and Sungai Kolok, and 12 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon).
