Patani River

Patani river is the lifeblood of Patani people since the ancient time, located in the southern most provinces of present day Thailand; namely Patani, Yala and Narathiwat and part of Songkhla province. It lies about 1084 kilometers from Bangkok and bodered to the south with Malaysia .

The source of Patani river is originated from moutainous ranks in Betong district bordered with Malaysia, it flow through Thanto, Banangstar, Krongpinang, Muang district in  Yala province respectively.  From Muang Yala , the river flow futher north to Yarang and Muang district, Patani province down to the Gulf of Thailand, it take about 220 kilometers(The longest river in southern Thailand) for fresh water to travel from Betong to  the mouth of the river in Patani province before it flowing down to the Gulf of Thailand. Prior to the construction of Pattani dam, Muang,Yala in 1968 and  Bang Lang dam,Banangstar in 1976 (construction started in July 1976. In June 1981 the dam was completed. It was officially inaugurated on September 27 1981) the river was the source of fresh water fishing for the people, difference kind of fish were found including crabs and fresh water prawns and it was  also used for transportation and communication.

Map of 3 Southern Provinces

The Patani river basin and watershed are covered an area about 3,858 Sq.kilometers in three provinces : Yala, Patani and Narathiwat. The average rainfall is 1,630 Millimeter per year ,  there is 2 seasons that is hot and wet winter. The emperature is around 27.5 C' The haviest rainfall is in November-January   and the driest season in February-April.

The upper most part of the river basin in Yala province is generally mountainous and narrow valley, flat are only partly found. The middle reaches run through flood plain. Near its estuary, delta, flood plain and sea coast develop species-rich mangrove forest and offering suitable sites for agriculture and fishing activity. The predominant land use is for agriculture, the main crop plants are rubber tree, rice, coconut and fruits ( longan, durian, rambutan , orange, etc.). Domestic animals include buffalo, chicken, cattle, goat and sheep. Industries are limited to a few places.

Banglang Dam

People

The population of Thailand is now 64 million, about 10 percent or 6.4 million is Muslim living scattered through out 76 provinces in the Kingdom of Thailand. But the majority of them are concentrated in the southern border provinces namely, Yala, Patani, Narathiwat, Satul and Songkhla. The "Orang Melayu"(Malay People) in the southern border provinces has a different way of life from the Muslim in other region of the country.  The total number of population in southern border provinces varies from source to to source ranging from two to more than five millions. The highest number of Malay Muslim population was presented by Michel Gilquin(2005) in which he stated the number is more than five millions while Thai official  estimated about 3,406,563 people.  Here under is the detail number of Malay Muslim in 5 southern border provinces.

The  Following Number  is  the Detail of Population in Each Province

(Thai Official) 

Order   Name of Provinces  Male    Female      Total

    1        Patani               313,132   321,244      634,376

    2        Yala                 233,935   234,115      468,050

    3        Narathiwat        356,229  361,137      717,366

    4        Setul                138,515  139,350       277,265

    5       Songkhla           641,509  667,397      1,308,903
Total                            1,683,320   1,723,243        3,406,563

The majority of population in 5 southern border provinces is believed in religion of Islam and call themselves "Orang Melayu "(Malay People). There’s about 83 percent of Orang Melayu  in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Satul while the number of Orang Malayu  in Songkhla is approximately 39 percent from the numbers showed in the above table.

Inhabitants of Patani(1682AD) Engraving

Several inhabitants of Patani in front of a small building.

To the right a group of women, to the left a group of men with a child.

Nieuhof, Joan : Gedenkwaerdige Zee-enlantreize

The Following Number is the Detail of Population in Each Province

(Michel Gilquin)

Name of Province           Number of Population

1. Patani                               1,2030,750

2. Yala                                 1,088,500

3. Narathiwat                      1,135,050

4. Setul                                514,500

5. Songkhla                         1,036,000

Total                                  5,004,800

The number is not detailed about the gender of population but the figure is quite big gap from the Thai official and this number  not include the Malay Muslim population who lives in foreign countries.

Patani River