42-460: Traditional The Ramakien ( Thai : รามเกียรติ์ , RTGS : Rammakian , pronounced [rāːm.mā.kīa̯n] ; lit. ' Glory of Rama ' ; sometimes also spelled Ramakian ) is one of Thailand 's national epics . It is a Thai version of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana , and an important part of the Thai literary canon. King Rama VI was the person who shed
84-411: A dialect continuum . Thai language is spoken by over 69 million people (2020). Moreover, most Thais in the northern (Lanna) and the northeastern (Isan) parts of the country today are bilingual speakers of Central Thai and their respective regional dialects because Central Thai is the language of television, education, news reporting, and all forms of media. A recent research found that the speakers of
126-565: A second language among the country's minority ethnic groups from the mid-late Ayutthaya period onward. Ethnic minorities today are predominantly bilingual, speaking Thai alongside their native language or dialect. Standard Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages—others being Northern Thai , Southern Thai and numerous smaller languages, which together with the Northwestern Tai and Lao-Phutai languages, form
168-528: A Thai context, such as the clothes, weapons, topography, and elements of nature, which are described as being Thai in style. As Thailand is considered a Theravada Buddhist society, the Buddhist history latent in the Ramakien serves to provide Thai legends with a creation myth , as well as representations of various spirits which complement beliefs derived from Thai animism. A painted representation of
210-422: A charming woman who dances in front of Nonthok, who tries to imitate the movement of her hands. At one moment, he points the diamond finger towards himself and instantly dies. Nonthok is later reborn as Thotsakan. He also has four brothers and a sister, as well as half-siblings. Thotsakan first marries Kala Akhi (Mandodari) , the daughter of Kala Nakha (Mayasura) of the underworld, and later receives Nang Montho as
252-426: A fire ordeal to test her faithfulness, Phra Ram takes her with him to Ayutthaya and grants various parts of his kingdom to his allies. After Nang Sida draws a picture of Thotsakan on a slate, Phra Ram orders Phra Lak to take her to the forest and kill her. Instead of doing as commanded, he brings to Phra Ram the heart of a doe to trick him into believing that Nang Sida is dead. In the forest, Nang Sida finds refuge with
294-533: A four-way distinction among stops and affricates . The maximal four-way occurred in labials ( /p pʰ b ʔb/ ) and denti-alveolars ( /t tʰ d ʔd/ ); the three-way distinction among velars ( /k kʰ ɡ/ ) and palatals ( /tɕ tɕʰ dʑ/ ), with the glottalized member of each set apparently missing. The major change between old and modern Thai was due to voicing distinction losses and the concomitant tone split . This may have happened between about 1300 and 1600 CE, possibly occurring at different times in different parts of
336-424: A gift from Phra Isuan. Thotsakan and Kala Akhi have a son with the first name Ronapak (Meghanada) ; after his victory over Indra, he is called Intharachit(Winner of Indra). The text then explains the origins of the simian characters Phali and Sukhrip. They are born to Kala Acana (Anjana) , the wife of king Khodam (Kesari) , as a result of her adultery with Phra In and Phra Athit. When king Khodam immerses them in
378-464: A hermit named Wachamarik (Valmiki) , and she gives birth to two sons: Phra Monkut (Kusha) and Phra Loph (Lava) . Phra Ram decides to take her back to Ayutthaya, but she refuses and disappears into the Underworld. Finally, Phra Isuan brings Phra Ram and Nang Sida together again. Thai language Thai , or Central Thai (historically Siamese ; Thai: ภาษาไทย ), is a Tai language of
420-453: A lake to test their legitimacy, they turn into monkeys and vanish into the forest. Phra Isuan grants Phali a magic trident which will transfer to Phali half the strength of anyone fighting him. Sukhrip is rewarded with a beautiful young maiden Dara (Tara), but Phali takes her for himself. Later, Phali also seizes Thotsakan's consort Nang Montho and they have a son named Ongkhot before she is returned to Thotsakan. Finally, Phali banishes Sukhrip to
462-530: A syllable that formerly began with a voiceless consonant (including glottalized stops). An additional complication is that formerly voiceless unaspirated stops/affricates (original /p t k tɕ ʔb ʔd/ ) also caused original tone 1 to lower, but had no such effect on original tones 2 or 3. The above consonant mergers and tone splits account for the complex relationship between spelling and sound in modern Thai. Modern "low"-class consonants were voiced in Old Thai, and
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#1732772448092504-443: Is a tonal and analytic language . Thai has a complex orthography and system of relational markers . Spoken Thai, depending on standard sociolinguistic factors such as age, gender, class, spatial proximity, and the urban/rural divide, is partly mutually intelligible with Lao , Isan , and some fellow Thai topolects . These languages are written with slightly different scripts, but are linguistically similar and effectively form
546-464: Is a reincarnation of Phra Narai, and his brothers Phra Lak, Phra Phrot and Phra Satarut are manifestations of Phra Narai's emblems: the serpent, the discus, and the mace, respectively. Phra Ram's consort Nang Sida is a reincarnation of Phra Narai's consort Laksami, but she is born as the daughter of Thotsakan in Lanka and adopted by king Chonok (Janaka) of Mithila . Part two deals with the main drama of
588-459: Is still read and taught in the country's schools. In 1989, Satyavrat Shastri translated the Ramakien into a Sanskrit epic poem ( mahakavya ) named Ramakirtimahakavyam , in 25 sarga s ( cantos ) and about 1,200 stanzas in 14 metres. This work won eleven national and international awards. The tales of the Ramakien are similar to those of the Ramayana , though transferred to
630-486: The Ramakien is displayed at Bangkok 's Temple of Emerald Buddha , and many of the statues there depict characters from it. The Jatakas including Dasaratha Jataka came to Southeast Asia by means of Buddhist missionaries, Indian traders and scholars who traded with Khmer kingdoms (such as Funan and Angkor ) and Srivijaya , with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties. The Thai adopted from
672-457: The Ramakien were read by a chorus to one side of the stage. This version differs slightly from the one compiled by Rama I, giving an expanded role to Hanuman , the god-king of the apes, and adding a happy ending . Since its introduction to the Thai people, the Ramakien has become a firm component of culture. The Ramakien of Rama I is considered a masterpiece of Thai literature , and
714-558: The Khmer people components of Indianized culture such as the Ramayana . In the late first millennium, the Ramakien epic (written as Ramkerti , รามเกียรติ์ but read as Ramakien ) was adopted by the Thai people. The oldest recordings of the early Sukhothai kingdom , dating from the 13th century, include stories from the Jataka legends . The history of the legends was told in
756-633: The Kra–Dai language family spoken by the Central Thai , Mon , Lao Wiang , Phuan people in Central Thailand and the vast majority of Thai Chinese enclaves throughout the country. It is the sole official language of Thailand . Thai is the most spoken of over 60 languages of Thailand by both number of native and overall speakers. Over half of its vocabulary is derived from or borrowed from Pali , Sanskrit , Mon and Old Khmer . It
798-466: The Northern Thai language (also known as Phasa Mueang or Kham Mueang) have become so few, as most people in northern Thailand now invariably speak Standard Thai, so that they are now using mostly Central Thai words and only seasoning their speech with the "Kham Mueang" accent. Standard Thai is based on the register of the educated classes by Central Thai and ethnic minorities in the area along
840-521: The Southwestern branch of Tai languages . The Tai languages are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family , which encompasses a large number of indigenous languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Guangxi south through Laos and Northern Vietnam to the Cambodian border. Standard Thai is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout Thailand. The standard is based on
882-504: The Khmer system first before the Thai borrowed. Old Thai had a three-way tone distinction on "live syllables" (those not ending in a stop), with no possible distinction on "dead syllables" (those ending in a stop, i.e. either /p/, /t/, /k/ or the glottal stop that automatically closes syllables otherwise ending in a short vowel). There was a two-way voiced vs. voiceless distinction among all fricative and sonorant consonants, and up to
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#1732772448092924-491: The Thai-speaking area. All voiced–voiceless pairs of consonants lost the voicing distinction: However, in the process of these mergers, the former distinction of voice was transferred into a new set of tonal distinctions. In essence, every tone in Old Thai split into two new tones, with a lower-pitched tone corresponding to a syllable that formerly began with a voiced consonant, and a higher-pitched tone corresponding to
966-512: The city of Ayutthaya was destroyed by armies from Burma (modern Myanmar ) in the year 1767. The version recognized today was compiled in the Kingdom of Siam under the supervision of King Rama I (1726–1809), the founder of the Chakri dynasty , which still maintains the throne of Thailand. Between the years of 1799 and 1807, Rama I supervised this well-known recension and even wrote parts of it. It
1008-495: The dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai script . Hlai languages Kam-Sui languages Kra languages Be language Northern Tai languages Central Tai languages Khamti language Tai Lue language Shan language others Northern Thai language Thai language Southern Thai language Tai Yo language Phuthai language Lao language (PDR Lao, Isan language ) Thai has undergone various historical sound changes. Some of
1050-511: The forest where he meets Hanuman. Hanuman is said to be born after Phra Isuan places his celestial weapons in the mouth of Sawaha, the daughter of Kala Acana. Hanuman at first stays with Phali and Sukhrip, but later decides to join Sukhrip in his banishment in the forest. Rama, known in the Ramakien as Phra Ram, has ancestors tracing back to Phra Narai through King Thotsarot. Phra Ram himself
1092-703: The light first on the Ramayana studies in Thailand, by tracing the sources of the Ramakien , comparing it with the Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana . He found that the Ramakien was influenced by three sources: the Valmiki 's Ramayana, the Vishnu Purana , and Hanuman Nataka (all three are from Hinduism). A number of versions of the epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Three versions currently exist, one of which
1134-528: The local patois as pronounced in Guangdong Ayutthaya , the old capital of Thailand from 1351 - 1767 A.D., was from the beginning a bilingual society, speaking Thai and Khmer . Bilingualism must have been strengthened and maintained for some time by the great number of Khmer-speaking captives the Thais took from Angkor Thom after their victories in 1369, 1388 and 1431. Gradually toward the end of
1176-551: The most significant changes occurred during the evolution from Old Thai to modern Thai. The Thai writing system has an eight-century history and many of these changes, especially in consonants and tones, are evidenced in the modern orthography . According to a Chinese source, during the Ming dynasty , Yingya Shenglan (1405–1433), Ma Huan reported on the language of the Xiānluó (暹羅) or Ayutthaya Kingdom, saying that it somewhat resembled
1218-415: The period, a language shift took place. Khmer fell out of use. Both Thai and Khmer descendants whose great-grand parents or earlier ancestors were bilingual came to use only Thai. In the process of language shift, an abundance of Khmer elements were transferred into Thai and permeated all aspects of the language. Consequently, the Thai of the late Ayutthaya Period which later became Ratanakosin or Bangkok Thai,
1260-519: The ring surrounding the Metropolis . In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages . Although most linguists classify these dialects as related but distinct languages, native speakers often identify them as regional variants or dialects of the "same" Thai language, or as "different kinds of Thai". As a dominant language in all aspects of society in Thailand, Thai initially saw gradual and later widespread adoption as
1302-492: The royal vocabulary according to their immediate environment. Thai and Pali, the latter from Theravada Buddhism, were added to the vocabulary. An investigation of the Ayutthaya Rajasap reveals that three languages, Thai, Khmer and Khmero-Indic were at work closely both in formulaic expressions and in normal discourse. In fact, Khmero-Indic may be classified in the same category as Khmer because Indic had been adapted to
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1344-465: The secret of her first meeting with Phra Ram. Hanuman is then caught by Thotsakan's son Intharachit, but escapes while setting Lanka on fire. On returning to Phra Ram, Hanuman helps build a causeway with help of Nal and Nil to connecting Sri Lanka With Indian mainland and the war with Thotsakan begins. After a lot of fighting and attempts of treachery by Thotsakan's allies, Phra Ram manages to kill Thotsakan and Intharachit and free Nang Sida. After she passes
1386-561: The shade theater (Thai: หนัง , Nang ), a shadow-puppet show in a style adopted from Indonesia , in which the characters were portrayed by leather dolls manipulated to cast shadows on a nearby screen as the audience watched from the other side. The Thai version was first written down in the 18th century, during the Ayutthaya Kingdom , following the demise of the Sukhothai government. Most editions, however, were lost when
1428-407: The story of Phra Narai in the form of a boar vanquishing the demon Hiranyaksha . This is followed by an account of the origins of the ancestors of Thotsakan. According to Ramakien, Phra Isuan grants his servant Nonthok (Bhasmasura) a boon which enables him to change his finger into a diamond and destroy anyone at whom he points it. As Nonthok begins to abuse this power, Phra Narai assumes the form of
1470-706: The story. Phra Ram and Nang Sida fall in love at first sight before an archery contest. A hunchback named Kucci (Manthara) instigates the queen to ask for the banishment of Phra Ram. He sets off to live in the forest with Nang Sida and his brother Phra Lak, where they meet Sammanakha (Surpanakha) who took on the form of a beautiful maiden. She tries to seduce the two brothers, but they resist and punish her. As revenge, Thotsakan abducts Nang Sida to his palace in Lanka. Phra Ram and Phra Lak meet Hanuman, Sukhrip and another Vanara, Chomphuphan, and ask them to help find Nang Sida. When Hanuman locates Nang Sida in Lanka, he identifies himself by showing her ring and kerchief and retelling
1512-535: The terminology "low" reflects the lower tone variants that resulted. Modern "mid"-class consonants were voiceless unaspirated stops or affricates in Old Thai—precisely the class that triggered lowering in original tone 1 but not tones 2 or 3. Modern "high"-class consonants were the remaining voiceless consonants in Old Thai (voiceless fricatives, voiceless sonorants, voiceless aspirated stops). The three most common tone "marks" (the lack of any tone mark, as well as
1554-437: The three tones of Old Thai were split have since merged into five in standard Thai, with the lower variant of former tone 2 merging with the higher variant of former tone 3, becoming the modern "falling" tone. หม ม หน น, ณ หญ ญ หง ง ป ผ พ, ภ บ ฏ, ต ฐ, ถ ท, ธ ฎ, ด จ ฉ ช Grand Palace Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1596-507: The topography and culture of Ayutthaya, where the Avatar of Phra Narai (the Thai incarnation of Vishnu , who is also known as Narayana, Govinda, Vasudeva ) is reborn as Phra Ram. The text can be split into three logical parts: the first one dealing with the origins of the main characters, the second depicting the dramatic events including the fall of Thotsakan, and the final part describing what happened afterwards. The first part begins with
1638-423: The two marks termed mai ek and mai tho ) represent the three tones of Old Thai, and the complex relationship between tone mark and actual tone is due to the various tonal changes since then. Since the tone split, the tones have changed in actual representation to the point that the former relationship between lower and higher tonal variants has been completely obscured. Furthermore, the six tones that resulted after
1680-453: Was a thorough mixture of Thai and Khmer. There were more Khmer words in use than Tai cognates. Khmer grammatical rules were used actively to coin new disyllabic and polysyllabic words and phrases. Khmer expressions, sayings, and proverbs were expressed in Thai through transference. Thais borrowed both the Royal vocabulary and rules to enlarge the vocabulary from Khmer. The Thais later developed
1722-800: Was also under his reign that construction began on the Thai Grand Palace in Bangkok , which includes the grounds of the Wat Phra Kaew , enshrining the Emerald Buddha . The walls of the Wat Phra Kaew are lavishly decorated with paintings representing parts of the Ramakien . Rama II (1766–1824) further adapted his father's edition of the Ramakien for khon drama, a form of theater performed by non-speaking Thai dancers in elaborate costumes and masks. Narrations from
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1764-523: Was prepared in 1797 under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I . His son, Rama II , rewrote some parts of his father's version for khon drama. The work has had an important influence on Thai literature , art and drama (both the khon and nang dramas being derived from it). While the main story is similar to that of the Dasaratha Nataka , differences in some tales still prevail. Many other aspects were transposed into
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