Beramas Kite Project has been an ongoing attempt by Rasmin Nititham, the project founder, who established the Khun Laharn Local Museum at Gadeng Village, Yi-Ngo District, Narathiwat Province in the South
of Thailand.  Rasmin is also a chief of this village and is currently studying for his master's degree in the faculty of Education, Prince of Songkla University. He usually organizes and promotes many cultural activities of Melayu people for the museum. For instance, he has supported young boys in
the community to practice Pencak Silat for self-defense and fighting contests. The fighter has to wear his traditional attire and hold a Java knife (Kris) in his hand. The combat session contains both dancing and fighting. Fighters from Khun Laharn Museum are ready to take up the challenge invitations from other communities and villages after the end of the Hari Raya celebration. 
Saiburi Looker is an initiative to set the campaign for peace in the Saiburi District by publicizing the South of Thailand with media such as ThaiPBS Television to expose the Muslim’s world in the South of Thailand to the public. This aims to create
understanding among Thai people from all regions as well as to present a clearer image of a unique identity from the past five years and to cooperate with researchers from Thailand and abroad to see through and cope with the root of conflicts in the South of Thailand and to counter terrorism.  |
Hala-Bala forest is still the water source for three provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. There are three large groups of Bison and many flocks of Hornbill living peacefully in this forest which is considered by many a home of the Hornbill. Apart from
using the place as a Pencak Silat training ground for boys during weekends and holidays, the museum has collected ancient wooden stencils made by Muslims in the South of Thailand. Rasmin’s father used to collect these handicrafts before he passed away. This really piques the interest from foreign tourists such as Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian to visit the local museum and see the history of Kris and old potteries from China
and Europe. As Rasmin continues his pursuit of a master's degree at Prince of Songkla University, it will be a great opportunity for him to present his thesis topic about Beramas Kite, one of the Melayu kites which is still not patented. His goal is to encourage children in the Khun Laharn community to preserve and learn the way of crafting the Beramas Kite from elders who used to make them for festivals. 
From the perspective of people who are concerned about youth, it is definitely better for the art of Beramas Kite to exist and create stability with artistic minds. So far, many Southern Thai artists exhibit their creations at educational institutions such as
vocational schools or universities. Rasmin also told me that he worried about youth and the drugs that were spreading in the community during the current conflict. What we should do to remind the government that education is the most important issue and it must be free from distrust among team members? “Help Janine to Set Up the Beramas Kite Project” is my ongoing attempt to open up more
about the South of Thailand. Unfortunately, some government officers wish to be transferred to other places as soon as possible due to the terrorism. The current trend of concern for the South of Thailand comes from the frequent turmoil. Many people there close their homes and go to sleep earlier. Many of them live with disturbing distrust for others and have to be careful all the time. The Khun Laharn community is a good example of a village that
has chosen to preserve arts from the past and publicize them to the current generation. This helps to create strong bonds among people especially youth in the community and visitors from Thailand and abroad. The 100th Year Anniversary celebration of Khun Laharn museum had a magnificent parade of elephants. It represented southern Thai local culture from the past regarded as southern wisdom. Regardless of their religion, people from government and private sectors willingly came to join the ceremony to create love and an understanding of living harmoniously in the local
community. Tara Muangsiri is a final-year student from Mahidol University. He created a documentary film about the south of Thailand for Thai people in other regions. This final thesis project required him to exhibit in Bangkok where he received positive applause and good reviews as well as two of the four awards on that day. This is an excellent result from a caring student who wants to do
something for the South of Thailand. For many years, I have been thinking about the South of
Thailand and its volatile problems. I still believe that if everyone cooperates, peace will definitely return. In the meantime, I want to publicize this project so that the government will come to help by considering community’s needs. My greatest wish right now is that young students and senior artists travel together to do workshops in different provinces and this might result in permanent activity like the training of Pencak Silat at Khun Laharn Museum that I mentioned before.  |
Crafting Beramas Kites is mainly for the competition between
Thai - Melayu contestants to reaffirm the peace of the society using sport as a medium. It is hoped that the Thai government would understand when the local communities join this event. The great news was that students from Princess of Narathiwas University participated in the workshop to craft and paint Beramas Kites at the end of this past July. Luckily, they had an artisan from Wang Saiburi to teach them from the start This was the first workshop that Khun Laharn Museum wanted to
present and it might be a good opportunity for Beramas Kite of Thai – Melayu people in Thailand to be noticeable again for true cultural preservation. Please Note: Help Janine to Set Up the Beramas Kite Project accepts donations. In Thailand you can donate to Janine Yasovant
Krungsri Bank. The Harbor branch . Huay Khaew Rd. Chiang Mai THAILAND
Saving ACC. No 319-136465-9 If you are abroad, please visit the donation site: http://www.youcaring.com/other/help-janine-to-set-up-fundraising-for-beramas-kite-project/349268 |
