WatA wat (វត្ត, ʋɔət; ວັດ, vat wāt; วัด, wát; 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」 (w+Da2), wa̋t) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Province of Sri Lanka and Thailand. The word wat is a Thai word that was borrowed from Sanskrit vāṭa (Devanāgarī: वाट), meaning 'enclosure'. The term has varying meanings in each region, sometimes referring to a specific type of government-recognised or large temple, other times referring to any Buddhist or Hindu temple.
BuddhismBuddhism (ˈbʊdɪzəm , USalsoˈbuːd- ), also known as Buddha Dharma, and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa–movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population.
Tai peoplesTai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, and Northern Thai peoples. The Tai are scattered through much of South China and Mainland Southeast Asia, with some (e.g. Tai Ahom, Tai Khamti, Tai Phake, Tai Aiton) inhabiting parts of Northeast India. Tai peoples are both culturally and genetically very similar and therefore primarily identified through their language.
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, German climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification.
Lampang provinceLampang (ลําปาง, lām.pāːŋ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat), lies in upper northern Thailand. The old name of Lampang was Khelang Nakhon. Lampang is in the broad river valley of the Wang River, surrounded by mountains. In Mae Mo district lignite is found and mined in open pits. To the north of the province is the high Doi Luang. Within the province are Chae Son and Doi Khun Tan National Parks in the Khun Tan Range, as well as Tham Pha Thai, Doi Luang National Park, and the Huai Tak Teak Biosphere Reserve in the Phi Pan Nam Range.
Lao languageLao, sometimes referred to as Laotian (ລາວ, láːw 'Lao' or ພາສາລາວ, pháː sǎː láːw 'Lao language'), is a Kra–Dai language of the Lao people. It is spoken in Laos, where it is the official language for around 7 million people, as well as in northeast Thailand, where it is used by around 23 million people, usually referred to as Isan. Lao serves as a lingua franca among the citizens of Laos, who also speak approximately 90 other languages, many of which are unrelated to Lao.
ThailandThailand (Thai: ประเทศไทย) (ˈtaɪlænd,_-lənd, ), officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (saɪ'æm,_ˈsaɪæm, ), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 70 million, it spans . Thailand is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea; it also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast, and Indonesia and India to the southwest.
Thai languageThai, or Central Thai (historically Siamese; ภาษาไทย), is a Tai language of the Kra–Dai language family spoken by the Central Thai people and a vast majority of Thai Chinese. It is the sole official language of Thailand. Thai is the most spoken of over 60 languages of Thailand by both number of native and overall speakers. Over half of its vocabulary is derived from or borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit, Mon and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language. Thai has a complex orthography and system of relational markers.
