Tamra Maew

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A double page spread from a Tamra Maeo manuscript

Tamra Maew ( Thai : ตำรา แมว , RTGS : tamra maeo , literally about cat textbook ) is the generic term for traditional Thai manuscripts , which are now known as the illustrated Samut Khoi in eight different versions. Since almost all versions are written in rhyme, one also speaks of cat poems .

Collections

Of the eight versions, six are in the National Library in Bangkok, another copy is in the National Museum in Bangkok and another in the Museum of Indian Art in Berlin. There are a total of 15 copies of the following versions in the Bangkok National Library, almost all of which are in verse :

  • two versions in the meter "khlong si" ( โคลง สี่ สุภาพ , cataloged as kham khlong ),
  • a version in the meter "kap chabang sip-hok" ( กาพย์ ฉบัง ๑๖ , cataloged as kham chan ),
  • one version mainly in the meter "kap yani sip-et" ( กาพย์ ยานี ๑๑ , cataloged as kham chan ),
  • a version in the meter "clone pleng yao" ( กลอน เพลงยาว , cataloged as kham clone ), and
  • a version in prose ( ร้อยแก้ว - roi kaeo ).

Dating and content

No version of the Tamra Maeo can be dated exactly to the year. Judging by the spelling and sentence order, the oldest manuscript comes from the beginning of the so-called " Rattanakosin period". All others are likely from the early or mid-19th century. A time when King Phra Nang Klao ( Rama III , r. 1824-1851) urged the restoration of traditional texts, both literature and legal texts, which had been almost completely destroyed by the Burmese a good 50 years earlier. Groups of teachers and scholars who tried to restore texts from memory probably came together at the time.

The eight versions of the Tamra Maeo known today seem to be based on a "group of 17 lucky cats" ( แมว ให้ คุณ 17 ชนิด ), which are more or less completely listed in the individual specimens. This suggests a common origin.

The 17 lucky cats

  1. Wilat ( วิลาศ - beauty )
  2. Kao Taem ( เก้า แต้ม - Nine Points )
  3. Ninlarat ( นิลรัตน์ - Dark Sapphire )
  4. Thong Daeng ( red-gold , also Suphalak ศุภ ลักษณ์ - excellence )
  5. Dork Lao ( Lao flower , also Malet มาเล ศ - flower , Korat cat )
  6. Wichian Mat ( วิเชียร มา ศ - moon diamond , Siamese cat )
  7. Saem Sawet ( แซม เส ว ต ร - Alternating White )
  8. Ninlachak (also Ninlajak or Mongkhol, นิล จักร - sapphire circle )
  9. An Ma (also Aan Maa, อานม้า - horse saddle , or Krop Waen กรอบ แว่น - glasses frame )
  10. Ratanakampon (also: Ratanakampol, รัตน กำ พล - jewel cloth )
  11. Karawek ( การเวก - bird of paradise )
  12. Krachok (also Krajork, กระจอก - sparrow )
  13. Singhasep ( สิงห เสพย์ - lion , or Songsep โส ง ห เสพย์ )
  14. Koncha (also Konja, โกน จา - Sarus crane )
  15. Patalot (also Pattalort, ปัดตลอด - consistently lined , or Pat Sawet ปัด เส ว ต ร - white line )
  16. Chatubot (also Jatubot, จตุบท - fours )
  17. Mulila ( มุ ลิ ลา - Black )

literature

  • Martin R. Clutterbuck: Siamese Cats, Legends and Reality . White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2004, ISBN 974-4800-53-4
  • Klaus Wenk : The Metric in Thai Poetry . Hamburg, Society for Natural History and Ethnology of East Asia; Commission publisher O. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1961.

Web links

  • The Smud Khoi - Modern version of Tamra Maew: it was published on the occasion of the funeral of Abbot Somdet Phra Putthajan at Wat Anongkaram (a temple in Bangkok) as a so-called Cremation Volume under the title "Tamra Du Laksana Maew" (for example: textbook of cats -Characteristics).