WATER LORE: can be seen in Thai art, and the naga THAI-TAI FOLK BELIEFS character in literature, folktales, legends concerning city building, religious AND LITERATURE architecture, and in rituals. The role of the naga in Thai and Tai narratives has been Prakong modified or adapted in various local 1 traditions. Nimmanahaeminda River and water motifs are woven into Thai Abstract –Tai literature in both form and content. Impromptu recitation of sakawa (a form of Water is essential in the Thai-Tai way of folksong), niras (travelling-narration life. Thai people in Thailand as well as Tai poetry), and Karb hey Rua are related to peoples outside Thailand depend on water waterway in form; while idioms and for agriculture, domestic daily uses, metaphors, prays of characters in dilemma, transportation and recreation. This paper waterborne society in a drama or play, and is a result of an in-depth study of the marine warfare, etc. are in content. relationship between water, beliefs and literary traditions of the Thai and some Water and Way of Life of Thai- ethnic Tai groups. The findings reveal that Tai People the Thais and the Tais have religious beliefs involving water concerning four Water is essential in man’s life. The saying important water beings: first, the water “Water is life” is more than a concise spirit, known as sua nam (เสื้อน้ํา); second, metaphor. Man depends on water for เงือก the water serpent known as nguek ( ); agriculture, sanitation, cooking and third, the great serpent or naga (นาค); and transportation. His Majesty the King of fourth; the river of the dead. Thailand who is keenly aware of the significance of water in the life of Thai Of the four beliefs, the first two concerning people has devoted a fair amount of his the water spirit and nguek could date back energy and time to water resource to very ancient times and are common development and irrigation projects geared among several Tai ethnic groups. They to give access to water for his people. His provide a clear indication that the Thais Majesty’s thoughts and concerns regarding and Tais hold nature in high reverence and water needs can be gauged from his remarks. awe. With the notion that nature is regulated and protected by a life-force, a “The important idea is -there must rite to ask permission to use water from the be water for drinking, daily uses spirit is almost always staged prior to the and cultivation of plants. Since life actual use. While Thai and Tai people is where water is, the availability of recognize the benevolence of water and water spells the difference between perceive it in life-form, they are fully aware survival and cessation of life. Man of the precariousness of nature. The can live without electricity. Given pervading influence of the mythical naga electricity but without water, man cannot survive”. 1 Associate Fellow, The Royal Institute Downloaded from Brill.com09/24/2021 02:07:02AM via free access MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities (Special Issue No.9 2005) “Water is of absolute importance to Muang Om, Muang Ai (เมืองอมเมืองอาย) and agriculture. Even with poor soil and Muang Tum Hwang (เมืองตุมวาง), identified as perhaps few other obstacles to plant Wan-Nam province in Vietnam. growing, once the access to water is secured, all other favorable elements to agriculture should follow in due Black Tai, however, migrated along the Red time” (National Archives and River and eventually settled at Muang Lo Museum, 2541: 27). (เมืองลอ) on account of its vast flat land fed by a river. The bard sang about the sites of Thai and Tai societies are generally settlement at various river basins in verse characterized as rice cultures. Rice is the form, translated as follows: main staple and diet. Accounts to this effect can be found in Chinese as well as “We two live in different villages Vietnamese records. Rice growing Belong to the same chiefdom necessarily depends on water. The majority Are different progenies of the same of Thai-Tai rice farmers chiefly rely on progenitor water drawn from the river or man-made Hail from the rivers of Tae, Tao, U and reservoirs through a system of dykes. Khong Hence their paddy fields are known as na That are one and the same..” (Bhatiya Yimrawat 2544: 150) nam muang (irrigated-water paddy fields). As far as the Thai-Tai are concerned, water and paddy field are, as they are, two As Tai settlements were to be found at inseparable entities. Thus, for settlement, various river basins, it was natural that the the majority of the Thai and the Tai have nomenclature of Tai peoples was based on always shown a preference for living by a the names of the rivers near which they river basin. Tamnan Pathom Kapp, (ตํานาน settled. The first Sukhothai inscription describes two Tai groups that came to swear ปฐมกัปปพรหมสรางโลก) the Creation Myth of Tai allegiance to the Sukhothai kingdom: “The Lue in Sipsongpanna, Yunnan, China tells Tai U and Tai Khong also came forward to us about the migration of their ancestors join us”. Tai U and Tai Khong referred to from the original settlement known as the Tai people residing in the U River and Muang Lue Luang (translated as “main city the Khong River basins respectively. At of Lue people”). An outbreak of cholera present, the practice of naming Tai groups forced some one hundred thousand Lue by the rivers whence they came persists. people to abandon the city and settle in the Thus, Tai-Khoen are Tai people who settled River Khong basin where Sibsongpanna in the Khoen River basin, Chieng-tung, now stands. (Yanyong Jiranakorn and Myanmar; Tai-Mao, the Mao River basin, Ratanapon Sethakul 2544: 15) Dehong, Yunnan, China. The groups- naming system was also extended to The legends of Black Tai and White Tai include Tai-Tai (ไทใต) and Tai-Nua (ไทเหนือ) indicate the original settlements of the Tai at (southern Tai and northern Tai) in three sites: the Nam-U and Poo Fang (น้ําอูปู Myanmar and Yunnan, China, where Tai- ฝาง) basin, believed to be the original Thaen Tai and Tai-Nua referred to the Tai living city, now in China; the Hua-Tae Nam-Na south and north of the Kong or Salaween (หัวแตน้ํานา) of Muang Boh Tae, now in China; River. Chiengmai province was known as the Hua-Tow Nam-Dang (หัวตาวน้ําแดง) of Nakorn Pingka (นครพิงค) by virtue of being situated along the Ping River. 28 Downloaded from Brill.com09/24/2021 02:07:02AM via free access Water Lore: Thai - Tai Folk Beliefs and Literature From the perspective of the Tai people, system and the cultivation of rice. (Renu water and land appear to be equally Vichasilp 1996: 45) important. Tai-Lue has sayings which underline the significance of water and Living in close approximity to water-ways, land for life forms, especially for plants. the Thai-Tai peoples not only used water For example, the saying, “Land causes for planting, cultivating, drinking and things to happen and water fosters them,” cleaning, but also for waterway means the land is where fertilization of transportation. It was hardly surprising that plants takes place and water takes on the the dispute over the right of access to water task of nurturing them. Traditionally, Tai- did occur from time to time, hence the Lue in the past, despite referring to their system of arbitration and laws on water – leader as chow paen din (Lord of the related matters. “Mangrai Sastra” (มังราย Land), held both land and water to be the ศาสตร) or the Code of King Mangrai of Lanna sole property of their king. Hence, the Kingdom contained many clauses and saying “nam chow din chow” (น้ําเจา ดินเจา) articles related to regulation of water for meaning the water and the land of the Lord, livelihood. The excerpts from the version of and “chow nam chow phaen din” (เจาน้ํา เจา Soa-hai (เสาไห) district, Saraburi B.E. 2432, แผนดิน) meaning the Lord ruling over water transcribed by Professor Dr. Prasert na and land. Should there be a dispute over the Nakara, provide several articles in laws right to the throne, the contest was referred related to the construction of dykes, the theft to as “yaeng ching khet nam daen din” (แยง of water from neighbor’s paddy fields, ชิงเขตน้ําแดนดิน) meaning contentious strife for damage inflicted on neighbor’s dykes, or water and land. theft of aquatic animals. The political administration of various Tai Water resource management was part and groups was closely connected to the parcel of rice cultivation, and aqua-culture administration of paddy fields. The was almost a natural occurrence to the Thai- necessity of irrigate water for rice Tai peoples who were confirmed fish eaters. cultivation led to a system of distributing The main meal of the Thai-Tai people, at water and a system of cooperative gang least in former times, was rice and fish. The labor, “long khaek,” for digging and first inscription of Sukhothai kingdom dredging dykes and also damming irrigation described, “In water, there is fish, in paddy water. Each community had a specialist fields there is rice.” presenting the image of known as kae mueng kae faii (แกเหมืองแกฝาย) a plentiful city. Other Tai ethnic groups also in charge of irrigation and related matters. had a fair share of proverbs and sayings Thus, members of the ruling class were containing the two words - rice and fish. inextricably entrusted with overseeing the distribution of water. In all likelihood the In the Thai-Tai people’s world of water, the system of water management had a very watercourse was not only exploited for early, long history.