Phra Aphai Mani
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 Phra Aphai Mani (right) and the mermaid (left) statue on Koh Samet | |
| Author | Sunthorn Phu |
|---|---|
| Original title | พระอภัยมณี |
| Language | Thai |
| Genre | Epic poem |
| Published | 1870 (finished 1844) |
| Publication place | Thailand |
| Media type | samut thai |
| Pages | 1422 (unbridged) |
Phra Aphai Mani is a 48,700-line epic poem composed by Thai poet Sunthorn Phu (Thai: สุนทรภู่), who is known as "the Bard of Rattanakosin" (Thai: กวีเอกแห่งกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์)[a]. It is considered to be one of Thailand's national epics. With 48,686 couplets, it is listed as the longest Thai single poem. Suthorn Phu started working on this epic fantasy in 1822 and finished it in 1844; it took 22 years. It is also one of the most well-known Thai folklores that has been heavily adapted into films and comics. The main protagonists are Prince Aphai Mani, the mermaid, and the Pisue Samutra; a female ogress who can transmute herself into a beautiful girl.
Although Phra Aphai Mani contains many mythical creatures and supra-natural protagonists, its major difference from other Thai epics is that they are originally created by Sunthorn Phu himself, unlike those that are based on well-known folk stories like Khun Chang Khun Phaen. Moreover, Phra Aphai Mani was composed during the period of western colonization of Southeast Asia, and as a result, many parts of the story include characters of European ancestry, from mercenaries to pirates. Some Thai literary critics believe that Sunthorn Phu composed Phra Aphai Mani as an anti-colonialist tale, disguised as a versified tale of fantasy adventures.[1]
Synopsis
สุนทรภู่เป็นgay
Composition, innovations, and (possible) influences
The epic tale of Phra Aphai Mani is a truly massive work of poetry in klon suphap (Thai: กลอนสุภาพ). The unabridged version published by the National Library is 48,686-Bāt (2-line couplet) long, totaling over 600,000 words, and spanning 132 samut Thai books - by far the single longest poem in the Thai language,[2] and is the world's second longest epic poem written by a single poet (the longest being the Iranian epic Shahnameh). Sunthorn Phu, however, originally intended to end the story at the point where Phra Aphai abdicates the throne and retires into the wood. This leaves his original vision of the work at 25,098 lines of poetry - spanning 64 samut thai books. But his literary patron wanted him to continue composing, which he did for many years until it reached final length. Today, the abridged version - i.e. his original 64 samut-thai volumes, totaling 25,098 couplets of poetry - is regarded as the authoritative text of the epic. It took Sunthorn Phu more than 20 years to compose (from around 1822 or 1823 to 1844).
Phra Aphai Mani is Sunthorn Phu's Chef-d'œuvre. It breaks the tradition of earlier Thai poetic novels or nithan kham-klon (Thai: นิทานคำกลอน) by including western contemporary inventions, such as steam-powered ships (Thai: สำเภายนต์) which only started to appear in Europe. Sunthorn Phu also writes about a mechanical music player at the time when a gramophone or a self-playing piano was yet to be invented. This made Phra Aphai Mani surprisingly futuristic for the time. Also, unlike other classical Thai epic poems, Phra Aphai Mani depicts various exploits of white mercenaries and pirates which reflected the ongoing colonization of Southeast Asia in the early 19th Century. Phra Aphai himself is said to have learned "to speak Farang (European), Chinese and Cham languages." Moreover, the locations of cities and islands in Phra Aphai Mani are not imagined but actually correspond to real geographical locations in the Andaman Sea as well as east of the Indian Ocean. Sunthorn Phu also gives an accurate knowledge of modern sea voyage in that part of the world. This suggests that the Thai Bard (Sunthorn Phu) must have acquired these knowledge from foreign seafarers first-handedly. The multi-cultural and the half-mythical, half-realistic setting of Phra Aphai Mani - combined with Sunthorn Phu's poetical brilliance - makes Phra Aphai Mani a unique literary masterpiece.
Phra Aphai Mani as the Siamese Odyssey
European colonial powers had been expanding their influence and presence into Southeast Asia when Sunthorn Phu was composing Phra Aphai Mani. Many Thai literary critics have thus suggested that Sunthorn Phu may have intended his epic masterpiece to be an anti-colonialist tale, disguised as a versified tale of fantasy adventures.[1] In a literary sense, however, Phra Aphai Mani has been suggested by other Thai academics as being inspired by Greek epics and Persian literature, notably the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Argonauts, and One Thousand and One Nights.[citation needed]
The structure of Phra Aphai Mani conforms to the monomyth structure, shared by other great epic stories in the Greek and Persian tradition. It is possible that Sunthorn Phu may have learned these epic stories from European missionaries, Catholic priests, or learned individuals who travelled to Siam during the early-19th century. Phra Aphai, the protagonist, resembles Orpheus—the famed musician of the Argonauts—rather than an Achilles-like warrior. Moreover, Phra Aphai's odyssean journey conjures similarity with the King of Ithaca's famous journey across the Aegean.[citation needed]
Pii Sue Samut ("the sea butterfly"), a love-struck female titan who kidnaps the hero, is reminiscent of the nymph Calypso. Also, much like Odysseus, Phra Aphai's long voyage enables him to speak many languages and to discern the minds and customs of many foreign races. Phra Aphai's name (Thai: อภัย: 'to forgive') is pronounced quite similar to how "Orpheus" (Greek: Ὀρφεύς) is pronounced in Greek. In addition, Nang Laweng's bewitching beauty, so captivating it drives nations to war, seems to match the reputation of Helen of Troy. Others have suggested that Nang Laweng may have been inspired by a story of a Christian princess, as recounted in Persia's Thousand and One Nights, who falls in love with a Muslim king.[citation needed]
All of this suggests that Sunthorn Phu was a Siamese bard with a bright and curious mind who absorbed, not only the knowledge of contemporary seafaring and Western inventions, but also stories of Greek classical epics from learned Europeans. In composing Phra Aphai Mani, Sunthorn Phu demonstrates a grand poetic ambition. He became the first Thai writer to draw inspirations from Western literary sources and produces an epic based, loosely, upon an amalgamation of those myths and legends. Thus, rather than writing with a political motive, Sunthorn Phu might simply have wanted to equal his literary prowess to the most famed poets and writers of the West.[citation needed]
Phra Aphai Mani in modern popular culture
There have been some Thai films which are based on this popular legend, including The Adventure of Sudsakorn and Legend of Sudsakorn.[citation needed] There has also been a Thai comic series produced with the name Apaimanee Saga, also based on the tale.[citation needed] In some regions in Thailand, such as the Ko Samet island and Puek Tian beach, there are statues erected which are related to the Phra Aphai Mani story.[3][4] A ballad with some kind of a similar story exists in Sweden: Herr Mannelig.[citation needed]
See also
- Sudsakorn, the son of Phra Aphai Mani and a mermaid.
Notes
- ^ This honorific title applied to Phu is a play on the "Bard of Avon" title applied to famous playwright Shakespeare.
References
- ^ a b "พระอภัยมณีวรรณคดีการเมือง ต่อต้านการล่าเมืองขึ้น" (PDF). สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
- ^ "พระอภัยมณี, คำนำเมื่อพิมพ์ครั้งแรก". หอสมุดวชิรญาณ.
- ^ Ko Samet Aphai Mani and the mermaid statue
- ^ Water Figure Park, Puek Tian, Cha-am - Phra Apai Mani
External links
Media related to Phra Aphai Mani at Wikimedia Commons
