ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses pono’ examinations in the southern border provinces of Thailand, which are prolonged processes of examinations without formal objective measurements that are latently conducted with students enthusiastically studying from early morning to midnight by dwelling and studying in the cottages around babo’s house.
This can be partially explained by the traditional or practical nature of pono’ studying, but it can also be interpreted from Weber’s, Bourdieu’s, Foucault’s, or Luhmann’s viewpoints. However, these viewpoints, which presuppose Western European modern schools as the basis of discussion, are not fully effective in analyzing these exams. It is more appropriate to understand them in the context of international relations between great powers. The pono’ style of examinations can be considered a type of civilization, which is based not on a monopoly of violence but rather on balanced power relations.
