Muban

Muban (Thai: หมู่บ้าน; RTGS: mu ban, pronounced [mùː bâːn]) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). As of 2008^[update], there were 74,944 administrative mubans in Thailand.^[1] As of the 1990 census, the average village consisted of 144 households or 746 persons.

Nomenclature

Muban may function as one word, in the sense of a hamlet or village, and as such, it may be shortened to ban. Mu ban may also function as two words, i.e., หมู่ 'group' (of) บ้าน 'homes'.

• Mu, in the sense of group (of homes in a tambon), are assigned numbers in the sequence in which each is entered in a register maintained in the district or branch-district office.
• Ban, in the sense of
  geographic addresses by government agencies; Thailand Post adds a postal code
  . Village or ban names do not usually form part of such official addresses.
• Ban in the sense of
  toponyms on maps and Thai highway network
  signage, but these are not administrative subdivisions. Such village names may apply to an isolated muban, but typically apply to a group of adjoining ones, which have often been subdivided from the original settlement. Each new mu is assigned a new number, in the sequence in which it is registered; existing homes or ban in newly numbered mu are assigned new numbers starting with one. The village name of the original settlement is usually retained for the larger grouping.

Each such mu or group is led by a headman, usually called a village headman or village chief (Thai: ผู้ใหญ่บ้าน; RTGS: phu yai ban),^[2] who is elected by the population of the village and then appointed by the Ministry of the Interior. The headman has two assistants, one for governmental affairs and one for security affairs. There also may be a village committee with elected members from the village, serving as an advisory body for a village. Originally the village headman, once elected, was in office until reaching retirement age. They now only serve for a five-year term but can then apply for reelection. The same is true for the office of kamnan (กำนัน) or 'sub-district headman' at the next higher tambon (sub-district) level.

Communities (

Muban (or more fully muban chat san, หมู่บ้านจัดสรร), is also the Thai term for 'housing estate' or 'gated community'.

References