The Play of Water: Deconstructing the Fluid Meaning of Thai Songkran Culture

Abstract

This academic article examines the Songkran Festival in Thailand through Jacques Derrida’s concept of Deconstruction. It challenges the assumption that Songkran possesses a fixed and original meaning, arguing instead that its significance is constructed through hierarchical binary oppositions such as sacred/profane, traditional/modern, and cultural/commercial values. These oppositions are mutually dependent and continuously shape one another.

The study further argues that water, the central symbol of Songkran, functions as an “undecidable” sign, simultaneously representing purification, blessing, celebration, and social disruption. As a result, the meaning of Songkran cannot be fixed or singular. The article concludes that the fluidity of Songkran should not be viewed as cultural decline but as an ongoing process of meaning-making shaped by changing social and cultural contexts.