Sin-sod

Sin-sod
by Steve Graham © Udonmap.com
Magazine Issue 9

Sin-sod can best be explained as a form of dowry. In its purest form, it is given to the bride’s parents for the loss of the daughter from the family home and more recently, it tends to be given back as a present to the happy couple. This is a tradition that has gone on for many years and was normally conducted by elders from each family in a very discreet way. There would be talk about how fertile the land was and the “bride-price” was decided by asking “How loud the thunder was,” and the answer could be something like, “Ten Thousand.” Of course, over the years this practice has become more and more distorted, with amounts of one million baht being bantered about.

For those Thais who were brought up in Bangkok, the tradition of sin-sod is something deemed more for those people who live up country. There are many Thais who live in Bangkok who are from the Isaan region of Thailand and still believe in sin-sod as part of the wedding ceremony. I was married a long time ago, so inflation has taken its toll and society has changed; however, there are still many places that continue to adopt this custom today.

I can’t remember how much I paid, but I do remember it being in the range of 13,000 baht plus. The number was a strange number. By tradition, it is usually an even number and when I asked why it was this specific number, I was told it was lucky. Lucky for whom? I didn’t feel very lucky paying it out; however, my wife was not insistent on even having a traditional Thai wedding, so I thought it was the least I could do seeing as we were getting married after all.

My parents came from England for my Thai wedding and were part of the ceremony. I remember when it came to the handing over of the sin-sod, I whispered to my mum, “Well, that’s it, bought and paid for,” which resulted in a discreet punch to the ribs. Call me a coward, but since then I have never knelt down in front of my mother again.

Sometimes, with the sin sod comes a request for gold. This I find very disturbing as traditionally I am not the most generous of people and the idea of family members wearing large “bling blings” filled me with horror. Luckily I was able to talk my way out of that one; however, impending husbands need to be aware that the sin-sod and gold seem to go hand in hand these days and a small rural wedding may well cost you an arm and a leg once all the expenses have been added up.

Bearing in mind the tradition of sin sod, it is not a bad thing; however, if the talk of this subject takes precedence over everything else at your impending wedding, I would seriously think twice about what you were about to do. I paid the price and the only pain I suffered was dished out by my mother.