Phra Malai Manuscript Khom Script
1824
Buch
Zugriff:
This is a folding book, or leporello book, that was made from naturally cream-coloured mulberry bark paper in Thailand (formerly Siam). It contains two Buddhist blessing chants “Cullajayamaṅgala” and “Mahājaya”, both belonging to the “Mahādibbamanta” corpus. These texts, popular for chanting until the mid-19th century, are in Pali language and were written with black ink in Khmer script. The main text, however, is a longer text with the title “Phra Malai Klon Suat” (Chanted Poem of the monk Phra Malai). This text is in Thai language written in Khom script which is a version of Khmer script used exclusively to write Thai texts. The folding book contains eleven folios with paired paintings depicting Hindu-Buddhist deities and scenes from the story of the monk Phra Malai, and one larger painting of the Buddhist heavens covering a full folio. The text tells about the monk-saint Phra Malai who, thanks to accumulated merit and advanced meditation skills, was able to travel between the Buddhist realms of heavens, hells and the human world. The poetic version was traditionally recited during funeral wakes and other important occasions. The illustrations are in the painting style of the Rattanakosin era, with some Chinese and European influences that became popular during the reigns of Rama III (1824-51) and Rama IV (1851-68). The manuscript does not contain a colophon or date, but the presence of the Siamese flag (used on trade and war ships before it became the national flag in 1840) in one of the illustrations depicting a white elephant on red background indicates that the manuscript may have been created between 1826-38.
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Phra Malai Manuscript Khom Script
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Veröffentlichung: | 1824 |
Medientyp: | Buch |
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