ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1 71

Political Issues Hidden in the 19th Century Chronicle

Suwipa Champawan* and Krirk Akarachinores

Lan Na Research Center, Social Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] https://doi.org/10.12982/CMUJASR.2017.0005

ABSTRACT Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai, or the Chiang Mai Chronicle, is regarded as an historical account of the Dynasty during the 13-16th centuries, Chiang Mai during Burmese dominion (1558-1776), and Phraya ’s revival of Chiang Mai in 1796. However, within this Chronicle, the Tamnan Phra Non Prua Prang, or story of the Reclining Buddha, which covers the Muang Chiang Mai restoration in the 18th century, is not consistent with historical evidence or the remainder of the Chronicle. This study aimed to analyze why the story of the Reclining Buddha was inserted into the Chiang Mai Chronicle. This study analyzes the Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai, palm-leaf manuscripts, to study the concept of transforming a legend into historical authenticity. We found that these chronicles were copied and rewritten during the 18th and 19th centuries in the reign of King Kawila, ruler of Chiang Mai; he was not a hereditary descendant of the Mangrai Dynasty according to a century-old coherent tradition. Therefore, the Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai was written to legitimate his succession and demonstrate that he was worthy of ruling the Lan Na kingdom.

Keywords: Historical authenticity, Chiang Mai Chronicle, Political issues, Kawila 72 ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1

INTRODUCTION In northern Thailand, or Lan Na, Tamnan, or folklore, is defined the Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai somewhat differently in the Lan Na is a well-known chronicle written on context; it incorporates two aspects palm-leaf; it is a collection of 37 titles according to Sommai Premchit (1997): written in the Lan Na language. The master copy was made in 1854 and is • Myth that is directly related to housed at Phra-Ngam temple, Chiang religion, but incorporating some Mai. It was translated into Thai by miracles. Chiang Mai Rajabhat University in • A chronicle that is meant to 1995 and further translated that same create a dated account or historical year into English by David K. Wyatt and record that is written contempora- Aroonrut Wichienkeeo and published neously. by Silkworm Books. This study is based on this version of the Chronicle, Of the 5,588 palm-leaf manu- as translated into Thai and English. scripts in the Social Research Institute, The eight chapters of Tamnan Phuen Chiang Mai University, Thailand, Muang Chiang Mai recorded the history 61.2 percent are devoted to teachings, of Chiang Mai since the Mangrai allegories, and Buddhist scriptures; Dynasty was under Burmese rule until 26.6 percent to traditional folk tales; King Kawila became the governor of 8.8% to tamnan or myths; and only the Chao Jed Ton family. 3.4 percent to chronicles (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Breakdown by type of palm-leaf manuscripts in the Social Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1 73

The chapters cover the following: Chedi Luang Varavihara temple • Chapter 1 – The lineage of the in Chiang Mai. After the reign of Lan Na King. Legend says that one King Tilokkarat, the king of Chiang of the Deva came down to become Mai ruled until 1558, after which Lawajungarath to support religion Lan Na was under Burmese rule and build cities in ; he until 1774. was an ancestor of Phaya Mangrai. • Chapter 6 – Burmese rule of This chapter tells the story of Chiang Mai. Many local leaders King Mangrai until King Mangrai unsuccessfully fought Burmese rule, (1239-1311) expanded the territory until Tippajuk led the fight for in- to (). dependence with the help of King • Chapter 2 – King Mangrai. He of Thon Buri and King built in 1292 of Rattanakosin. Tippajuk and then built Chiang Mai as the was the grandfather of Prince Kawila capital city in 1296. (1742-1816). • Chapter 3 – The Mangrai • Chapter 7 – Prince Kawila. Dynasty lineage. This chapter records King Rama I appointed Prince the events of several kings of Lan Na, Kawila as the ruling king of 57 cities including King Chaiyasongkhram in Lanna in 1782. (reign 1311-1325); King Saenphu • Chapter 8 – The death of King (reign 1325-1334); King Khamfu Kawila at the age of 74 in 1816. (reign 1334-1336), who was impris- Chapter 8 adds legend to King oned in Chiang Saen for protection Kawila’s past (inserted as five pages of from the Mongols; King Phayue the 24-page chapter). In the past, (reign 1336-1355), who returned King Kawila was a giant who met the capital to Chiang Mai; King the Buddha. The Buddha predicted Kuena (reign 1355-1385); King that King Kawila will dominate Saenmueangma (reign 1385-1401); Chiang Mai in the future. and King Samfangkaen (reign 1402- 1441). This study will focus on the legend • Chapter 4 – The reign (1441- aspects inserted into Chapter 8, including 1487) of King Tilokkarat. His analyzing the significance and intentions reign included many wars. This of inserting a myth into the chronicle, chapter contains the sentence, “It or why legends were written to appear is not a disease that can be infec- as historical facts. tious”, which becomes the key to Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai the rule of King Kawila, the ruler was written during a period of immense of the later Chiang Mai Dynasty. efforts under the leadership of Prince • Chapter 5 – Further events Kawila of Lampang to revive Chiang in the reign of King Tilokkarat, Mai from a state of disrepair. The including war and building the Burmese controlled Chiang Mai from 74 ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1

1558 until 1774. Then, following the of Supreme Patriarch in Lamphun. Burmese-Siamese war, the city was In 1796, when Phraya Kawila abandoned for more than twenty years. entered the city of Chiang Mai for the Restoring Chiang Mai in the late-18th second time, he replicated the ritual of century required enormous manpower. Phraya Mangrai in 1296, the founding To achieve this, from his base in Wiang monarch of the Lan Na Kingdom, Pa Sang, Lamphun, Phraya Kawila by entering the walled city through invaded the upper Lan Na state, and Chang Phuek Gate in the north after gathered many Tai people of several getting “a Lau person to lead a dog ethnicities – the Kengtung, Mong Yawng, and carry the jaek (backpack, made of and Sipsong Panna – to help repopulate rattan or bamboo split) to enter first”, the city of Chiang Mai. and then spending a night in front of Prince Kawila’s father, Prince Chiang Man before entering the Chai Kaeo, and grandfather, Phraya palace the next morning (Subcommittee Surawaruchai Songkram, ruled Lampang. for Reviewing and Revising Tamnan Prince Kawila was born in 1742. Phuen Muang in Chiang Mai, 1995) Prince Kawila began efforts to restore Stylistically, the accounts of events the city of Chiang Mai in 1782, which in Chiang Mai recorded in the Tamnan had been in a state of disrepair. In Phuen Muang Chiang Mai were typical 1782, during his efforts to restore the of an historical chronicle, noting the city, the first monarch of the Chakri exact date and even time of day of Dynasty appointed Prince Kawila as events in chronological order. The “Phraya Mangra Vajiraprakan Kampaeng addition of the Buddhist Tamnan Phra Kaeo”, the ruler of Chiang Mai City. Non Prua Prang in the eighth fascicle Before fully restoring the city of of Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, Phraya Kawila spent over quite obviously sought to legitimize the 14 years building up resources and rule of Phraya Kawila in many respects. military power at Wiang Pa Sang in Traditionally, Buddhist tamnans are Lamphun. Then, in 1791, he tried to like legendary tales, featuring myths reestablish Chiang Mai, but failed and and illustrating miracles. In the case of retreated back to Wiang Pa Sang. the Tamnan Phra Non Prua Prang, the During this period (1782-1796), Buddha prophesied of a charismatic Phraya Kawila and his relatives performed person who would be capable of several meritorious deeds to build both restoring the city of Chiang Mai, pãrami (a belief that merit is a splendor with the intended meaning that that delivers good results in the future) Phraya Kawila was destined to be a and legitimacy, or social acceptance, to legitimate ruler and maintain Buddhism. becoming king. These deeds included As Phraya Kawila was not a hereditary renovating Phra That Haripunchai in descendant of the Mangrai Dynasty Lamphun, constructing Wat Inthakhin that founded and ruled Chiang Mai in Lamphun, and consecrating the during the 13-15th centuries before Khruba at Wat Pha Khao to the status Burmese control, a persuasive argument ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1 75

can be made that he had the content gave accounts of the Lord Buddha of the Tamnan revised to legitimize his traveling the world and his prophecies rule of the city-state. This is consistent about reconstructing the city state with the insertion, sometime in the and patronizing Buddhism. The root 18th century, of a religious tamnan source, however, was Tamnan Phra related to the story of building the Chao Liab Loke, from which an excerpt Prua Prang Reclining Buddha image was amplified into Tamnan Chiang into the eighth bundle or fascicle of the Dao1 that concluded as follows: palm-leaf manuscripts of the Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai. The added ….At 80 coming close to the end Tamnan relates the past life of Phraya of his life, the Lord Buddha delivered Kawila, who was born as a Yaksha and a prophecy to living beings who will met the Lord Buddha. be incarnated as monarch to rule The objective of this paper is to the country and build a Reclining analyze and provide support for our Buddha in order to patronize Bud- hypothesis that the Tamnan was added dhism. Then this Tamnan is dealing later than the rest of the Chronicle with the history of Phra Non Nong with the intent to help legitimize Phueng, Phra Non Mae Pooka, and Prince Kawila’s rule of Chiang Mai. the detail of Phra Non Khon Muang when the Buddha took a rest at a ANALYSIS Mango Log (khonmuang). While Tamnan regarding the prophecy of taking a rest at the Khon Muang, the Phraya Kawila Buddha met with two swine brothers To gain legitimacy, Kawila had to and the Yaksha, all accepting the five overcome the long-standing tradition precepts from the Blessed One. After that the ruler of Chiang Mai had to be that the Buddha prophesized that the a hereditary successor from the Mangrai two swine brothers will be reincar- Dynasty, not a commoner. He did this nated as two brother kings in Ayothi- not only through regaining the city’s ya Lan Xang, while the Yaksha will independence and patronizing Buddhism, be reborn as a ruler of Chiang Mai but also by incorporating an episode of city by name Phraya Kawila and his past life as a tamnan in the Chiang that the trio will all come to build Mai Chronicle that suggested the Buddha the Reclining Buddha at this Khon prophesied that he would be the one Muang. worthy of ruling the city of Chiang Mai and supporting Buddhism. The part about the Yaksha, the The content related to Kawila in two swine brothers, and Phra Non the Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai Khon Muang before the passing of was taken from various sources that

1Tamnan Chiang Dao. (1925). Wat Boonnak Tambon Klang Wieng, Wieng Sa District, Nan Province. 76 ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1

Lord Buddha is also found in Tamnan Additionally, Mahatthanobon (June, Phra Non, Tamnan Kurma Yaksha, 2011) explained the meaning of Yaksha and Tamnan Intha Sangket – we will by citing the examples from the Jataka discuss this proliferation of tamnans in tales and concluded that Yaksha was a subsequent section. also “regarded as human.” Comparing the Yaksha to humans can be traced Meaning and significance of the Yaksha back to the fact that the dark-skinned in tamnan Dravidians were disdained by the According to the beliefs written conquering Aryans who had fair com- in the tamnan found in the palm-leaf plexion and occupied their territorial manuscripts about the Indian cosmos, lands. Such revulsion toward dark such as the Arunavati tale, the Yaksha skin later became the source of the were nonhumans in Tamnan Lokadhatu caste system. Once the caste system living in the north under Thao Kuvera’s was deep-rooted in Indian society, the rule in Chatumaharajika Heaven, where Dravidians, who were graded to the the Gandhabba, Kumbhanda, Naga, low caste, were eventually assumed to and Yaksha resided; they looked after be the Yaksha in the Ramayana epic. the four Dvipa. The palm-leaf text on By applying the above concept the Sankhayalok mentions the four with Tamnan Pu Sae-Ya Sae, some sides of the Sumeru Mountain protected tamnan referred to the Pu Sae-Ya Sae by the Four Great Phraya (guardians) as Yaksha; some tamnan as Lua. This is in the north above the Uttarakurudvipa consistent with the story of Lua, local continent occupied by Phraya Vessuvan, people linked to Yaksha. This practice the Lord of all Yaksha. can also be seen in the linkage of King In addition to the beliefs about the Kawila with his previous reincarnation Yaksha found in the palm-leaf texts as the Yaksha, as he was not actually regarding the Indian cosmos, Worasak a descendant of a ruling dynasty, but Mahatthanobon (December, 2011) of the Thip Chang linage that emerged compared the Yaksha to Dravidian in from a commoner. the Ramayana Epic, in which there was the war between the deity and Creation of Phraya Kawila’s legitimacy Asura or between Phra Ram and through tamnan power Dasakand, relating the accounts of the The tamnan involving King Kawila fighting between the Aryan and the derives from at least two major groups Dravidian. The Aryans were regarded of tamnan: the Tamnan Phra Chao as newcomers invading the land of the Liab Lok (or Tamnan Phra Bat Phra native Dravidians. The Aryans won That) and Tamnan Phra Non, as the war and drove the Dvaridians to described below. the south of Jambudīpa continent, or even further to Lanka Dīpa. In the The Tamnan Phra Chao Liab history of Buddhism, the Sakya clan Lok group. Tamnan Phra Chao Liab are considered the offspring of the Lok gives an account of the Buddha Aryan that conquered the Dravidian. traveling to propagate Buddhism, ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1 77

enshrining a hair relic and imprinting Yaksha in previous life of a personage his footprint at a place imagined to who would be reborn and destined to evolve into a prosperous city where rule the city of Chiang Mai. Several Buddhism would be cherished and versions of the Tamnan Chiang Dao perpetuated into the future. Specifically, and Tamnan Phra Non mentioned the in its ninth fascicle, the content is name Kawila. Although the excerpt related to the Lord Buddha giving from Tamnan Phra Non Prua Prang his prophecy to a Yaksha who would that was inserted in the eighth fascicle be reborn as Phraya Dhammikaraj in of Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai the year 3000 (when Buddhism passes did not mention the name Kawila, over 3000 years) who would live a kingly it clearly stated that “Chao Chiwit” life in the city of Chiang Dao (Lord of Life) who came to rule the and perpetuate Buddhism.2 Phraya city had seven younger brothers born Dhammikaraj was meant to be Chao of the same mother, which implied Luang Kamdaeng. As the sovereign King Kawila. standing of Phraya Dhammikaraj emerged from the Buddha’s prophecy, The Tamnan Phra Non Prua this was more important than deriving Prang group. Tamnan writing in the kingship through the Mangrai lineage. Phra Non group was an independent Similar to Phraya Dhammikaraj, act to create Phraya Kawila’s legitimacy. Phraya Kawila did not derive or gain Therefore, the writing entailed addressing legitimacy through direct descent from both proper names and words implying the Mangrai kingship line. In this way, King Kawila, who was related to Phra he would have found it politically Non Khon Muang and two brother advantageous if he could make reference kings of Ayodhaya. The offshoots of to his being a Yaksha in a previous the Tamnan Phra Non group, such as life who met with the Buddha. But he several versions of Tamnan Kumaray- would not have been able to insert this aksha, were newly written in a style story into an existing tamnan, but rather that differed from tradition – they were would have had to compose a new written taking relevant events from tamnan. This was done using some various tamnans and blending them content from the Tamnan Phra Chao with local history without any stylized Liab Lok and adding a part related to form of writing or any underlying the previous life of Phraya Kawila as a purpose, as King Kawila had already Yaksha from before B.E. 3000 when died, and thus other stories or events the reincarnation was prophesized of public interest were added instead. by the Lord Buddha. Consequently, However, the Tamnan Kumarayaksha Tamnan Chiang Dao was written by still showed clearly the tamnan influence retaining the story of Chao Luang on the popular Lan Na beliefs during Kamdaeng and adding the story of the the 18th and 19th centuries.

2Phuttha-Tamnān (Tamnān Phra Chao Liab Lok), Fascicle 9, C.S. 1185 (B.E. 2366), Wat Ban Look, Tambon Muang Nga, Müang District, . 78 ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1

Figure 2. The proliferation of tamnan events in different tamnans were derived from the same particle. The subject-matters were further fragmented and synthesized as a new informative tale about King Kawila with his previous reincarnation as the Yaksha. His story was mentioned in the Tamnan Phra Non Prua Prang, Tamnān Phra Non, Tamnān Kumara Yaksha and Tamnān Intha Sangket.

DISCUSSION The prime mover of tamnan writing Being able to compose a tamnan to support the status of Kawila’s king- to establish Kawila’s political legitimacy ship depended on the strong and unshakable The status of Phraya Kawila belief and faith of the people in such differed from previous Lan Na kings historical events. The tamnan content who had ruled the city of Chiang Mai. is characterized by an amalgamation of A tamnan was thus written with the religious beliefs derived from Buddhism hidden agenda to legimitize his reign and Buddhist treatises3 that had been over Chiang Mai. traditionally handed down from gener- Creating legitimacy for Kawila’s ation to generation. That these religious accession as ruling monarch of Chiang beliefs and historical events were used Mai City. “Prince Kawila”, while a ruler to create Phraya Kawila’s political legiti- of Muang Lakhon (Lampang), killed macy to restore Chiang Mai could be a high commissioner. As punishment, discerned from the following analyses. King Taksin whipped his back one

3Buddhapakarana is “Pakranavisesa” (or “Special Treatise”); it referred to the Buddha and was composed to propagate religion and make sacred Buddhist monuments and objects of worship; its content was not consistent with the History of the Buddha. For instance, contrary to what is stated in the Tamnān Phra Chao Liab Lok, the Buddha never traveled outside of “Majjhima- padesa” (or “Central India”). ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1 79

hundred times, “cut his ear edge”, voted to be the leader due to personal and jailed him. Prince Kawila asked competence) according to the belief for clemency through volunteering to about the successive heirs of the Sakya launch attacks on Chiang Saen. His clan of the Buddha. heroic act became a personal merit and As a result, Lan Na kings who he was appointed as the governor of came from common lineage rather Chiang Mai. Tamnan Phuen Muang than the Mangrai dynasty needed to Chiang Mai states that Prince Kawila create political legitimacy; they did so was appointed as “Phraya Vajiraprakan by creating links to a righteous lineage Kamphaeng Kaeo Chao Muang Chiang mentioned in relevant stories about Mai” in 1782.4 However, this position Buddhism. For instance, in Tamnan was as a Phraya, which was lower than Chiang Dao, a story of the Lord Buddha the title of King, which traditionally searching for someone to perpetuate could only be appointed by the monarch Buddhism is believed to lead to the of the Ratanakosin Regime. To help Buddha prophecy that the five Phraya make his case, Prince Kawila spent 14 Dhammikaraja will be reincarnated to years to restore the city of Chiang Mai, maintain Buddhism. This led to the which had been abandoned for over 20 belief in ruling circles that the legiti- years. This required enormous manpower, macy and right to rule descended from which involved invading upper Lan Aggaññasutta.5 But since the Lan Na Na to gather people from such cities monarchical dynasty emerged from and towns as Kengtung and Mong commoner lineage, and was not Yawng to reconstruct and repopulate descended biologically from Phrama- Chiang Mai. In doing so, Phraya Kawila hasammata (the first monarch of the helped enlarge the Siamese territory original dynasty in Jambudavipa), in the north. As a consequence, King they had to link to religious charisma Rama I appointed him King of Chiang in Buddhism to claim monarchical Mai (and 57 principalities) as a vassal legitimacy (Chiachanpong, 2012) as state in 1802. appeared in the Tamnan Chiang Dao Creating political legitimacy through group, including Tamnan Phra Non religious heir or religious patronage. written in the 18-19th centuries. By blending Buddhist elements with Creating legitimacy by linking to accounts conducive to legitimacy to non-Mangrai dynasty. Phraya Sulawa rule, tamnans could help legitimate Luchai or Tippachakra, the grandfather kingship. This traditional practice of Prince Kawila, was originally a began with the first monarch Phra commoner; he won back independence Mahasammata (who was popularly for Lampang so that he could create

41782 corresponds to the year Bangkok was established as the capital city in the reign of Somdet Phra Phuddhayodfa Chulalok (Rama I), the first monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. 5Aggaññasutta is found in the Tipitaka, Vol. 11, and in the Suttantapitaka, Vol. 3, Dīghanikāya, Patikavagga. 80 ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1

an autonomous government under mittee for Reviewing and Revising Burmese dominion. Tamnan Phuen Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai, Muang Chiang Mai refers to Nai 1995; Wyatt and Wichiekeeo, 1995). Thippachakra and his fighting in the Additionally, the content in Tamnan war and the right to rule the city of Phuen Muang Chiang Mai confirmed Lampang as follows: the belief that rulers of the city had to be descendants of the Mangrai ancestral The Lamphun enemy walks and line; periodic attempts by other, eats the same as we do. Don’t be non-related nobles failed. That Phra afraid in the slightest, not so much as Muang Ket in 1526, despite being a a sesame seed, unless they can move weak monarch, was considered worthy underground or fly through the air. of ruling the city because of his descen- / Even I, though not of royal blood, dance from Phraya Mangrai was also can be the strong and brave leader to evidence of this. save the country and restore in us. I Towards the end of the 16th century, will think quickly and not disgrace before Lan Na becoming a dependency Lakhon (Wyatt and Wichienkeeo, of Burma, the nobility of Chiang Mai The Chiang Mai Chronicle, 1995, had the power to remove the king, as pp. 137-138). occurred in 1538 when Phra Muang Kaeo was dethroned. The traditional The saying, “Even I, though not practice regarding succession to the of royal blood”, reflects perception and throne was strictly observed for another awareness of the traditional belief that 200-300 years. Thus, it became imperative the ruler of a Lan Na city must be of for Prince Kawila, a commoner despite the Mangrai lineage. King Mangrai’s being in the third generation of the ascent to the thrown through link- Thippachakra lineage or in the Chao ing his legitimacy to the royal lineage Jed Ton group, to build political of Poo Chao Lao Chok is a good ex- legitimacy through several channels. ample of this (Subcommittee for Re- The most prominent was to compile a viewing and Revising Tamnan Phuen tamnan to serving as a new history of Muang Chiang Mai, 1995; Wyatt and the Lan Na Kingdom in which he was Wichienkeeo, 1995). portrayed as a Yaksha in a previous life In the same way, in the reign of that the Buddha prophesied would be King Tilokaraj, Saen Khaan, thinking reborn to rule Chiang Mai City. of usurping Chiang Mai, laid siege on the Ho Kham pavilion. King Ti- Process of tamnan transformation lokaraj told Muen Lok to come from into historical authenticity Lampang, along with 8,000 men, Chiang Mai was restored by and enter Ho Kam and tell Saen assimilating several ethnicities in Lan Khaan that he could not stay there Na into a unified group by using the and led him out by hand (Subcom- power and credibility of tamnan to ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1 81

influence the people. Even today, people; both were respected, as those many in Chiang Mai still believe in referenced in tamnan were deemed the authenticity of the tamnan as more powerful than mere historical expressed through traditional ceremonies figures. and folktales, partly functioning as The mythical chiefs created included social taboos in Lan Na society. In this Chao Luang Kamdaeng, who was sup- regard, the process of transforming posed to be reincarnated as Phraya tamnan into historical authenticity can Dhammikaraj in B.E. 3000, and the be explained as follows: Mahayaksha or Kumarayaksha, for the The first is to make use ofTamnan sake of King Kawila in Tamnan Phra Phra Chao Liab Lok, which described Non Prua Prang, who was guarding the coming of the Buddha to enshrine the wealth at a mango orchard and the holy hair relic, impress the then prophesized by the Buddha that Buddha’s footprint, and prophesize he would be reincarnated as a city ruler about establishing a city and its ruler in (along with his seven male siblings) various places. People still believe this and that he would cherish Buddhism today, despite religious evidence that and build a Phra Non. The latter case the Buddha never came to the places was an attempt to create a past life mentioned in Tamnan Phra Chao Liab (Kumarayaksha in the tamnan) for a Lok. This was followed by writing and living person. Thus, the tamnan was inserting the episode of King Kawila, fabricated to legitimate the rule of a who was born as Yaksha, into the Tamnan non-royal descendant. Specifically, the Chiang Dao to build legitimacy for his process involved transforming a tamnan rule. into historical authenticity and a real The second is to produce a pseudo person into a mythical chief. tamnan featuring the events as historical record by dating each event with CONCLUSION Chulasakkaraj purposively to exact The tamnan to legitimate the an incidental emergence in line with kingship of King Kawila was written to the recording of historical accounts. convey historical authenticity to con- Tamnan Phuen Muang Chiang Mai vince people that it was a record of real thus seems reliable in terms of histori- historical accounts. This was necessary cal evidence, because it records events for two reasons – 1) to legitimate Kawila’s in chronological order. rule of Chiang Mai City and 2) The third is to mention the names influence the thoughts and beliefs of of mythical chiefs (Dhida Saraya, a diverse range of Tai ethnics forcibly 1982) in the tamnan to command the mobilized by Phraya Kawila to repop- public’s respect and create linkages to ulate Chiang Mai toward a conscience great ancestors. The mythical chiefs of unity in Tai history. that appeared in the tamnan included The Tamnan Phra Non Prua Prang real historical figures and imaginary in chapter 8 of Tamnan Phuen Muang 82 ASR: CMU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2017) Vol.4 No.1

Chiang Mai helped King Kawila, who Phuttha-Tamnan (Tamnan Phra Chao was not a descendant of the Mangrai Liab Lok), Fascicle 9, CS 1185 Dynasty, rule the city of Chiang Mai (1823 A.D.). Wat Ban Look, by making him a religious heir who Tambon Muang Nga, Muang would nurture the prosperity of Bud- District, Lamphun Province. dhism according to the Buddha’s Premchit, S. (1997). “Wannakam prophecy. The legitimacy for Kawila Tamnan nai nithan duekdamban” to rule Chiang Mai was derived from in Lan Na’s Buddhism Legend and the power of tamnan in Buddhism, Literature. Bangkok: OS Printing grounded in the principal belief House. regarding his contributions to cherish Saraya, D. (1982). The Development Buddhism while being Phraya of the Northern Tai States from the Dhammikaraj, as found in the 9th Twelfth to the Fifteenth Centuries. fascicle of Tamnan Phra Chao Liab The thesis submitted to the de- Lok, and in the elevation of King partment of History, University of Kawila to be a mythical hero in his Sydney in fulfillment of the degree previous life as a Yaksha and the of Doctor of Philosophy. Phraya Yaksha named Chao Luang Subcommittee for Reviewing and Kamdaeng prophesized to be reincar- Revising Tamnan Phuen Muang nated as the third Phraya Dhammikaraj Chiang Mai. (1995). Tamnan Phuen in Buddhism belief. Furthermore, Muang Chiang Mai, 700-Year being a Yaksha was linked to the Anniversary Publication, Chiang Mai: non-Aryan native people who were Chiang Mai Rajabhat University. placed in a lower caste than the ruling Tamnan Chiang Dao. (1925). Wat class; but the Yaksha’s legitimacy to Boonnak Tambon Klang Wieng, rule the polity arose from the prophecy Wieng Sa District, Nan Province. of the Buddha that in the next life he Tamnan Kumara Yaksha. (n.d.) Wat would become a patron of Buddhism Photharam Tambon Srithoy, Mae and rule the country peacefully and Jai District, . happily using the fundamental teachings Wyatt, D.K., & Wichienkeeo, A., of Buddhism. translate. (1995). The Chiang Mai Chronicle. Chiang Mai: Silkworm REFERENCES Books Chiachanpong, P. (2012). Tamnan. Bangkok: Matichon. Mahatthanobon, W. (June 2011). A History of Buddihism (6). Matichon Weekly, 31(1610), 42. _____ . (December 2011). A History of Buddihism: War of Angles and Demons. (5). Matichon Weekly, 32(1633), 36.