Rasta Thailand

[Londoner]

I often stayed in Jamaica in the 90s and this, together with years spent in Brixton- London's Caribbean homeland- made me laugh when P told me that the Thai word for cannabis is "ganga". His explanation of the word was nonsensical and so I explained its origins among the Rasta communities of Jamaica.

Surely other Thais are aware of this derivation?

[10tazione]

กัญชา / kan tɕʰaː  / kan cha

wiktionary says:

ultimately from Western Cham kačha; or from Sanskrit गञ्जा (gañjā, “hemp”).

Makes sense because the plant comes from Asia 

[Londoner]

Thanks....news to me. However, the contemporary usage is undeniably Jamaican /Jamaican diaspora ......isn't it?  And Is the word used in other Asian cultures? I suspect that the popularity of Bob Marley et al may have  something to do with it.

[Ruthrieston]

I love going to Railay Beach, the promontory walled off from Krab by mountains, which you can only reach by longtail boat. There are many Rasta bars with Thais wearing their hair in Bob Marley style. Many bars, restaurants and resorts, but no roads, no cars and very few motorbikes. A great place. 

[PeterRS]

Another relatively hidden beach worth a visit is Nui Beach on Phuket's south west coast. When I went more than a decade ago it was only possible to get there by long tail boat. Now there is a small rather steep dirt track road but you have to wait for a vehcle to take you down. It will also cost 200 baht for the return journey but with no guarantee of the time of your return. Best to arrive by boat and arrange a retune time with the boatboy.

Situated almost half way between Kata Beach and Nai Harn Beach, it's a small beach and the sand is not especially fine. But it is wonderfully quiet and the water is great. There is a shaded restaurant and beyond the beach ladies offering Thai massage. There are also some basic toilets. But few beachchairs and only a few umbrellas. Apparently it's great for snorkelling but take your own equipment.

[Londoner]

 Railay beach is accessible from Aonang by taking a narrow path across the cliff which divides to the two beaches. As long as you are able to frighten away the monkeys which guard it, demanding a toll in food!

i spent a lot of time in the Caribbean prior to falling in love with Thailand (or Thais)...and always liked to compare the beaches. The Caribbean's were immeasurably superior in the main. At least, until I went to Railay.

The Rasta beach in Jamaica was called Hellshire, presumably the site of some bloody battles. It was a miserable place but the Rasta community was very welcoming and served us delicious lobster.  

[macaroni21]

13 hours ago, Londoner said:

Thanks....news to me. However, the contemporary usage is undeniably Jamaican /Jamaican diaspora ......isn't it?  And Is the word used in other Asian cultures? I suspect that the popularity of Bob Marley et al may have  something to do with it.

I think @10tazione is correct. It so happens that "ganja" was one of the first Indonesian words I learned from a young employee in our office (he was Indonesian, or maybe Malaysian - I'm not sure now with the passage of years). And if one goes to Google Translate and look up the Malay and Indonesian translations of marijuana or cannabis, one will see "ganja". It has wide usage in those countries - and now I learn that is the case in Thailand and Cambodia* too  - and is part of the formal vocabulary, as opposed to being merely a fashionable slang term imported for exoteric effect in marginal corners of society serving Western tourists who cannot leave their Western bubble behind. The way the word is so deeply embedded in the local vocabulary strongly suggests much deeper roots in terms of the word's origin and 10tazione's explanation fits the bill. 

*Google translated marijuana into Khmer "kannchhea" too.

Unlike the UK, there is no Caribbean community in Southeast Asia to identify wtih the rastafarian movement. I've had blank stares in the past when I've mentioned Bob Marley even among educated circles in the  company branch offices around the region. I think it is an improbable stretch of the imagination to think that the Southeast Asian word ganja in its various forms had anything to do with the rastafarians. 

@Londoner I think the arrow of linguistic migration is in the opposite direction. Ganja was a wild plant across Tibet and Central Asia 2,500 years ago and smoked even then. The plant and its use became widespread in many other parts of Asia in the centuries following.  It didn't reach the Americas until European settlers got there. 

If I have to hazard a guess, I think the East Indian indentured labourers which the British Empire brought to Trinidad and other Caribbean islands after the African slave trade ended (and thus the plantation owners needed a new source of labour) brought the cultivation of hemp and the word "ganja" with them to the West Indies. 

 

[Londoner]

Thanks. Very interesting and informative.

However, I do take issue with one of your assertions, namely the Rastafarian influence in Thailand.  I've seen photos of bands playing in various Pattaya bars in which a musician (or musicians) wore dreadlocks and sported Ethiopian- Rasta- colours. I've also seen the woollen hats , characteristic of Rastafarians, in markets. And Bob Marley was certainly well-known ,at least among young Thais, a decade back. If he retains his popularity now, I really don't know. However, my boyfriend certainly knew his songs back then.

So the question remains; would the word  be in general usage  (it's on a billboard outside Jomtien Complex as I write) without its appearance in popular culture? Convincing as more academic analyses of the derivation are, my view is that the popular culture influence may be the more potent.

However,  i have to admit that there was some Asian immigration into Jamaica in the nineteenth century, specifically Chinese businessmen. They remain a small but powerful community there . Many Black Jamaicans' surnames are "Wong and "Chin", indicating mixed-Chinese ancestry.  

 

[macaroni21]

 

On 7/12/2023 at 10:19 AM, Londoner said:

I've seen photos of bands playing in various Pattaya bars in which a musician (or musicians) wore dreadlocks and sported Ethiopian- Rasta- colours.

 

Pattaya bars, you say? Sounds very much like what I had earlier described as "marginal corners of society serving Western tourists".  I have also seen girlie bars with country and western music and matching decor. Their existance hardly implies that wider Thai society, including its popular culture, have substantially acquired a taste for this kind of music. 

But before we get too confused in this conversation, we should carefully segregate the question of Rasta-themed marketing from the question about the roots of the word "ganja", as used in Thailand and its neighbouring countries. There is no doubt that Rasta-themed bars and paraphernalia grew out of an imported culture-style, though I would hestiate to extrapolate from a few bars in tourist areas into an assertion that there is widespread and deep-rooted adoption in Thailand. I argue that the stylistic use of Rasta is almost entirely for tourist appeal. Consider too: no indication of import of Rastafarianism as a quasi-religious practice.

But just because Rasta-themed bars and paraphernalia are imported phenomena does not make the use of the word "ganja" in Thailand and its neighbours an imported term. It is widely accepted among those who know the history and roots of Rastafarinanism - I have found more articles on the web since my last post - that the plant and the word came from East Indians arriving in the Caribbean islands. (See  https://www.labroots.com/trending/cannabis-sciences/13574/connection-rastafarianism-marijuana  and   https://www.ganjapreneur.com/vocab/ganja/  for example).

"Ganja" is the word used in India for millennia. There have been trade, immigration and cultural exchange between Southeast Asia and India for millennia too. There are plenty of articles on this, easily found with a quick web search. It is hard to believe that Thais had not known the word "ganja" until the mid or late 20th century when Rasta fashion became useful for touristic purposes in this country. It is hard to believe that from a recent very superficial adoption of Rasta style by a few bars in tourist areas, the word "ganja" would have spread into general usage all over Thailand. On the contrary, I argue that "ganja" as a word is indigenous to Thailand (other than its origins from India millennia ago).

 

[Londoner]

Near the Jomtien sign-board which refers to "ganga" is a cannabis shop called "Bong" , opposite Dick's.

"Bong" is another word which was used by Rastafarians during my time in Jamaica and Brixton. Although it may be derived from a Thai word "buang" which refers  to a bamboo tube. However, its cannabis association- the pipe used for ganga smoking- is surely derived from Jamaican culture? The term was certainly in common usage in the 70s,and 80s.

incidentally, the Bob Marley connection was made again today for me. As I was taking my early-morning walk near the police box on Dongtan Beach, an old guy  me wearing a purple jacket bearing the legend" Bob Marley; one love."