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าน
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54
The
tale of Sri Thanonchai
is a trickster tale.
The story was long orally told and later written
down in verse - Kap and Klon Sepha types - as well
as in prose.
Sri Thanonchai tale is one of the most popular folk
tales that is widespread in several regions of Thailand --
in the central region it is known as “Sri Thanonchai”,
while in the northern and northeastern regions it
is known as the tale of “Chiang Miang”. Although
the tale has several versions, they all share a
common structure. It tells the life story of the main
character - Sri Thanonchai - a man who uses his
wit and tricks in dealing with difficulties since his
childhood until his death. Each episode of the story is
self-contained and can be told as a stand-alone.
The Tale of Sri Thanonchai
The tale reflects the intellectual and creative
power in the art of telling jokes in an entertaining
manner portraying the wit and the linguistic power
of the main character, which often surprises the people
since the main character tends to use the techniques
of playing words in their literal sense. In addition to the
linguistic manipulation, he also adopts otherploys to
trick people and muddle his way through difficulties,
such as a ruse, psychological manipulation, a devious
and unusual association of things that are commonly not
related, and a posture that is contrary to the prevailing,
current attitude.
On closer reading, it is found that Sri Thanonchai
tale offers not only the entertainment value, but also an
intellectual one. It is embeddedwith the commonly held
attitude on the important use of wits and intelligence,
the interpersonal conflict, the social values, and the
shame of “losing face”. The Thai social and cultural
settings are incorporated seamlessly into the fabric
of the story. The tale also carries a philosophical
message of impermanence of things. No one can
win forever, and therefore one should use one’s
wits and intelligence constructively.
Sri Thanonchai tale is widely appreciated because
the audience can identify and sympathize with
the characters and situation in the fictional world.
The mockery and satire of personalities, strictly-held
social tenets and dogmas bring laughter and reveal
the role of Muk Talok (“gags, comic reliefs”) in wittily
providing a relief from social tension and stress.
Sri Thanonchai tale reflects the valuable legacy of
intellectual creativity.
Today Sri Thanonchai tale is still widespread
and appreciated in the Thai society and is also
known to foreigners. The main character’s wittiness
has inspired several forms of art such as mural paintings
at Pathum Wanaram Rajaworawihan temple in
Bangkok, films, comic books, and animated cartoons
etc.