Village headwoman weds female teacher in Kamphaeng Phet, dowry tops 1.6 million baht

2026-03-02 - 11:03

KAMPHAENG PHET — A village headwoman in Kamphaeng Phet married her long-time partner, a local schoolteacher, in a traditional ceremony on 1 March, with dowry and gold worth more than 1.4 million baht drawing attention from the community. The wedding took place at 09:30 at a house in Ban Nong Phak Nam, Khlong Sombun subdistrict, Khlong Khlung district, which was prepared as the couple’s new home. The ceremony united Rungnapa Butsamran, 46, known as “Kru Rung”, a teacher at Ban Roi Rai School in Khlong Khlung, and Charinrat Numduea, 46, known locally as “Phuyaai Tuk”, the village headwoman of Moo 3, Ban Nong Phak Nam. The same-sex marriage ceremony attracted widespread interest among residents, not only because it was a woman-to-woman union but also due to the substantial dowry presented by Charinrat to her bride. During the engagement and wedding rites, the families counted 200,000 baht in cash along with gold jewellery and gold bars weighing a combined 18 baht weight, valued at more than 1.4 million baht. The morning began with Buddhist merit-making rituals and alms-giving, similar to traditional Thai weddings. More than 200 Chinese banquet tables were prepared to host guests from both the local community and other provinces. Later, a traditional khan mak procession was held, with Charinrat dressed in Thai attire leading the procession to formally ask for Rungnapa’s hand in marriage. The atmosphere was lively, with villagers — many of them residents under the headwoman’s jurisdiction — taking part in games and customary “silver and gold gate” ceremonies, with 10 gates set up in line with Thai wedding traditions. The ceremony concluded with wrist-tying and water-pouring blessings, attended by local residents and guests from outside the province, who offered their congratulations and well wishes to the couple. The newlyweds expressed their intention to care for one another and build a life together into old age.