SAWADEE KA!

MY NAME IS MOSRIPA KASIM, TOGETHER WITH ZYRA FONTANILLA, JEANY

PUERTO, AND ALYSSA PALMAN, BRACE YOURSELF LITERARY-HOLICS AS
WE GO AROUND AND DISCOVER THAILAND LITERATURE!
Objectives
At the end of the discussion, the students can:
1. Identify different literary works of Thailand and approaches used.
2. Have a glimpse on Thai cultures and history reflected in the literary texts.
3. Analyze and interpret the given literary texts from Thailand particularly Epic poem
and Folktales.
THAILAND EPIC POEMS

1. Thao Hung

INTRODUCTION
Thao Hung or Thao Cheuang was one of the three masterpieces of Lao Literature, a
mysterious work known in northern Laos and northeastern Thailand from oral tradition but
with only a single extant written source so far. It is a palm-leaf manuscript taken from
Xieng Khwang, a province in Laos by the Thai army in 1883 and placed in the National
Library in Bangkok. In 1943 when Maha Sila copied the text into Thai characters and
published the work with an edition of 1000 copies.
The author of this text is quite mysterious as it was not directly written like of that other
texts. But, at the end of the manuscript, there was written ‘Chane Keo Ban Vang Ban’ and
believed to be the possible author. Ban Vang Ban understood by many as the Ban Ban
in the province of Xieng Khouang. Complete identity of the author wasn’t sure but different
critics asuured that it was written by a royal poet of the Lane Xang Dynasty.
ANALYSIS
Composition
Three perfect patterns of Lao verses in 20,000 lines.
Plot
Follows the exploits of a conquering hero Thao Hung, who even in death goes on to
lead a ghost army in the afterlife.
Characters
Some of the characters are: Thao Hung or Thao Cheuang, Khun Chomtham, Khun Lo
Khun Seum, White elephant named Phane Kham, Nang Ngom where Thao Hung fell in
love, Eng Khone, Thao Eng Ka, Thao Kwa, Nang Oua, Nai Seng, Army, and Commanders
Rhyme structure
The main body of the poem is composed in the vitsumaalii style, a fixed number of
syllables per line, and special rules for rhyme and tone placement.
The last syllable of the first line must rhyme with the first, second, fourth or fifth syllable
of the third line, and the last syllable of the second line must rhyme with the first, third, or
fifth syllable of the fourth line. There are four lines to a stanza. Thus, every stanza is linked
to the following one by this intricate rhyme pattern. In addition to the compulsory seven
syllables per line, an optional two syllables may be added at the beginning or the end of
any line in the stanza.
In every line, certain syllables must belong to a particular tone category, either Proto-Tai
tone B or Proto-Tai tone C. For Tone B, syllables ending in final stop consonants may be
substituted (dead syllables). These ancient tone categories must be adhered to in the
rhyme of syllables as well.
Theme
The theme of this epic poem represents the wholly Southeast Asian tradition. Its story
revolved on the relationship and struggle between Tai and Austroasiatic. It looks at the
struggles between the Khmu people of what is now Laos and the Tai-Lao ethnic group.
Language
The vocabulary of the epic poem uses the ordinary Lao language but old Lao.

Through history Lao people have participated in wars, sons and husbands often
abandoning families for battlefields. In the poem, wars and battles among different groups
were reflected. The story was influenced by the time of the author as he/she featured the
struggle of Lao against the Vietnamese kingdom, Dai Viet.
The text was originated in Xieng Khouang, province in Lao which has a distinction of
being heavily bombed place on earth. The wars and battles in the story might be the
reflection of those bombing incidents during the times.

2. Ramakien by J.M. Cadet

INTRODUCTION
Ramakien is the Thailand’s National Epic literally translated as “The Glory of Rama”. It is
based on Ramayana, the characters and storyline which is a Sanskrit epic poem said to
be written by the Hindu Sage Valmiki.
SUMMARY
The Ramakien is a fascinating tale about good triumphing over evil following the battle
between King Rama and Tosakanth, the King of the Demons. Tosakanth falls in love with
King Rama’s queen, named Sida. He kidnaps her and takes her to his palace in Krung
Longka in hopes that she will fall in love with him. Naturally, a magnificent battles happens
as King Rama tries to save his queen. Although Tosakanth has a powerful demon army
and evil magic spells at his disposal, King Rama has Hanuman (the god-king of the apes)
who leads an army of both monkey and human warriors, helping King Rama defeat
Tosakanth and win back Sida.
ANALYSIS
Major characters:
• Rama
• Sida
• Tosakanth
• Hanuman
Theme
Love and devotion, good versus evil, right over wrong were the major theme of the text presented through
intricate plots and sub-plots with a multitude of characters.

The mythical beings and spirits in the Ramakien reflect ideas from Thai Animism and pre-
Buddhism beliefs.
Its Sanskrit transcript cut into 25 songs for 1200 stanzas. The writing is on a roll of 14m
long.