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The Thai Khlong Poem: Description and Examples

Joseph R. Cooke Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 100, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1980), 421-437.
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THE THAI KHLONG POEM: DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

The khlong is a form of classical Thai poetry which dates from about the middle of the fifteenth century A I)., and has continued in use until the present.The form includes a number of subvarieties, each of which is characterized by certain formal specifications as to number of syllables, per line, number of lines per stanza, and occurrence of tone and rhyme. The most popular of these subvarieties is the khlong sisuphap, a form which is characterized by a fairly rigorous set of formal specifications. The formal and literary characteristics of the khlong si suphap are here described in some detail. Also included are some sample poems of this form, along with prose and poetry translations and brief commentary.

IN THIS ARTICLE I WISH TO DISCUSS a form of Thai ,' classical poetry called khlong, / k h l o o ~ ~ / first of all defining its essential characteristics and providing a brief historical overview, and then focusing on a particular subvariety of khlong called khlong si s u p h a p l k h l o o ~ ~ suphaap/. Discussion of this sii subvariety will include consideration of its formal and literary characteristics, and also some sample poems with prose and poetry translations and brief commentary. M y chief sources of information of Thai khlong are the following: a handful of books on Thai

re language and ~ i t ~ r a t u written in Thai;2 a book on Thai poetic forms,3 and also a brief article on an ancient khlong poem,4 both by Klaus Wenk, and written in German; a small collection of Thai poems ;~ with English translations by M. R. Seni P r a m ~ j and the personal communications of a knowledgable Thai friend, Miss Prapin Manomaivibool, a graduate student at the Unviersity of Washington, whose generous and insightful help has largely made possible the writing of this paper. Unfortunately western-language materials on Thai poetry, or on Thai literature in general, are very scarce. Works written in English comprise mostly

Forms cited in italics are Thai expressions rendered for convenience in an ad hoc English transcription. For the benefit of those who wish to know the Thai pronunciations more accurately, forms are also rendered between slashes in a phonemic transcription which comprises a slightly modified version of the well-known system provided by Mary Haas. Her symbol for the palatal semivowel /j/ is here transcribed as /y/; her syllable-final stops /b, d, g/ become /p, t, k/ respectively; and her high central vowel /y/ (which also occurs in the nuclei /yy/ and /ya/ ) becomes / i / . The symbols / p , t, c, k/ represent voiceless, unaspirated stops: /ph, th, ch, kh/ are voiceless, aspirated stops: /g/ represents the 'ng' sound as in English 'sing'; double-vowel symbols represent long vowels, all of which are pronounced without offglides: single-vowel symbols represent short vowels; /ii/ has approximately the vowel quality of the vowel in 'see'; / E E / as in 'calf: /aa/ as in British-English 'bird': /uu/ as in 'boot': /JS/ as in 'caught'; /ia, /la/, and /ua/ are diphthong combinations each of which bear somewhat greater stress on the first vowel than on the second: the diacritics / , , , and '/ represent low, falling, high, and rising tones respectively: a syllable with no tone mark is pronounced with mid tone.
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Thai language materials consulted have included the following: Jones, Robert B., and Ruchira C. Mendiones, Introduction to Thai Lirerature. Ithaca: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1970. N a Nakhorn, Pluang, Prawat Wannakhadi 7'hai [History of Thai Language]. Bangkok, 1972. Upakit-sinlapasan, Phraya, L a k Phasa Thai I Grammar of the Thai Language]. Bangkok, 1937. (Includes a section on poetic forms by Ari Kanchanachiwa.) Worawet-phisit, Phra, L a k Phasa Thai [Grammar of the Thai Language]. Bangkok, 1946. ... Wannakhadi Thai [Thai Literature]. Bangkok, 1953. .. ,

laus us Wenk, Die Metrik in der thailiindischen Dichrung. Hamburg, 196 1. Klaus Wenk, " D a s khlang akspn Sam mil des Sr Mahdsot," Oriens Extremus, vol. x. 2 (1973), pp. 260-264. Pramoj, M. R. Seni, Znrerpretative Translations of the Thai Poets. Bangkok, 1965. This is an intriguing little book that has been quite popular in Thailand. Included in these translations are examples of a number of poetic forms. The khlong translations are responsible for awakening my own interest in this art.

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 100.4 (1980) straight, squared lines in the diagrams link syllables that are required to rhyme-whether syllables within the given stanza, or those in immediately adjacent stanzas. The raised symbols *, 1, and 2 indicate respectively the tones with which the syllables in question must be s~el1ed.l If we compare the different types of khlong, we can see, for one thing, that there is a differentiation according to number of lines. Thus the khlong song,/khloog s53g/, has two lines (the name means, literally, 'khlong two'), and the khlong sam,lkhloog saam/, has three lines (literally 'khlong three'), and the khlong si,/khloog sii/ ('khlong four') has four. The khlong s i is further differentiated from the others in that all four lines are divided into two hemistichs, whereas only the last line of the others is so divided. (Note, therefore, that the space between the two sideby-side blocks of lines in the khlong s i forms does not mark a division between two consecutive halves of each stanza, but of each line.) A n equally important, though perhaps less obvious, differentiation should be noted between the various khlong suphap,/khloog suphaap/, on the left-hand side of Figure 1, and the khlong dan,lkhloog d a d , on the right-hand side. The latter differ from the former in several respects. First. the khlong dun have (or in the case of khlong s i may have) a shorter last line. Also, the dun have some tonal specifications that differ from the suphap. These comprise the consecutive '2' tone syllables in the last line, and (with one exception in the khlong song) an absence of any occurrence of the asterisked tone. (Syllables in khlong suphap which have the asterisked tone are, in fact, called kham suphap; hence the name khlong suphap.) And, finally, the khlong s i dun has a much more extensive set of rhyming requirements across stanza boundaries than the si suphap. Incidentally, the iner-stanza rhyming requirements of the khlong si dun, along with the double tone-2 requirement in the last line, make this particular variety of khlong quite difficult to compose. This is no doubt one reason why the s i dun is less commonly used than the s i suphap. In fact, the si suphap is much the most popular of all the khlong forms. This latter form, then, is the one upon which I wish to focus my further discussion.
l 1 The spoken-language values of these three symbols vary according to the form of the syllable (whether long, short, or stopped) and the class of the syllable-initial consonant. The details are not given here, but will be discussed below.

brief, general articles-general introductions, historical surveys, and the like-but also a very informative monograph on contemporary poetry by James N. MoseL6 There exists, too, a limited number of poems and other literary items in English translation.' Works in other European langauges include a few articles in French8 and a growing number of works in G e r m a n 9 The khlong is a verse form consisting of one or more stanzas, each of which is required to have certain syllables occurring with certain specified written tones. The rhyming patterns and the number of lines in the stanza and of syllables in the line are also strictly prescribed. The subject matter of the khlong is usually serious, sometimes witty, and often reflective or philosophical. The formal requirements of some of the more common varieties of khlong are summarized in the schematic diagrams of Figure l . 1 Here each circle represents one syllable or kham,/kham/, optional syllables being indicated within parentheses. The
Mosel, James N . , Trends and Structures in Contemporary Thai Poetry. Ithaca: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program, Data Paper No. 43, 196 1. This monograph contains some very helpful information on Thai poetry in general, and then focuses particularly on the klon, /klmn/, the most popular form of poetry now in use. At the conclusion is a rather complete annotated bibliography of relevant works in English and French. For a listing of some of the available items in translation, see Thrombley, W. G.. and W. J. Siffin, Thailand: Politics, Econom?: and Socio-Cultural Setting. Indiana University Press, 1972. A few French-language items are cited in Mosel's article, mentioned above. My knowledge of German-langauge work on Thai poetry is extremely limited. I understand, however. that a fair amount of such work has been done in the last ten or fifteen years. l o The format for khlong song and khlong sam is laid out in this figure according to the traditional scheme. Nowadays these same khlong are usually laid out according to a new scheme in which the second line is moved up to the right of the first, thus making a twc-hemistich first line. F o r hhlong song the second hemistich of the second line then becomes the second line all by itself. For khlong sam, the third line then moves up into the positon vacated by the second, and becomes the second line in its stead. This new format is simply a matter of layout. Nothing in the composition of the lines is changed. The same khlong can be laid out in either way.

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COOKE: The Thai Khlong Poem


Figure 1. Schema depicting several varieties of khlong

Khlong song suphap

Khlong song 1 2
0 0 0 0

&

1st
Stanza

1 2
0 0 0 0

1
0 0 0 0
0 1 ,

1 2
(0) 0 0 0 0 (0 0)

1
I I
a

2 3

l *

2nd Stanza

o o

I : ; ' 1 2 : 1 2

t, o

Etc. Khlong s m supha2 a

Etc.

Khlong sam dan

o o o o g

Stanza

Etc. Khlong si suphap

Etc, Khlong si dan

1 2 1st Stanza 0 0 0 0 0

o
*

O)

O o )1 o ( g i f o O o 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0

l o q too,

2nd : 1 2 Stanza 0 0 0 0 0 Etc.

Etc,

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 100.4 (1980)


written around the time of King Trai Lokanat (144888) or shortly thereafter, shows the form already fully developed. In fact, in this poem, the exacting formal rules and their rather strict application are almost precisely the same as they have been for khlong ever since. This next example of khlong appears in a lilit,/lilit/, composed by an unknown author, and is entitled Lilit Yuan Phai, /lilit yuan phaay/, or Lilit of the Defeat of the Yuan. The term lilit identifies this as a special type of poetry in which two forms, the rai and the khlong alternate back and forth more or less at random. This particular example of lilit happens to contain only two rai passages, with the rest of the poem comprising 365 stanzas of khlong si dun. It was written to glorify King Trai Lokanat, and recounts his exploits in defeating the Yuan, or the Tai kingdom of Lanna, /laan naa/, to the north of Ayuthaya. With the next examples of khlong we jump nearly two centuries to the time of King Narai ( 1 656-1 688), a time often referred to as one of the two golden ages of Thai literature. (The second occurred during the Bangkok era in the reign of Rama 11, 1809-1 824.) King Narai, himself a poet, gathered around himself at court a whole coterie of poets and others who shared his literary interests. Many of the courtiers were in fact given to expressing themselves periodically by means of clever, extemporaneous verses-an occupation for which the khlong was a particularly favored form. One of the most famous poets in the court of King Narai was Sri Praj. This man's father was himself a court poet, and the son made his debut (so the story goes) by completing a khlong verse that the king had been unable to finish himself. It seems that Sri Praj was a man given to overboldness with the court ladies, for he was eventually banished from the capital on account ,of his indiscretions, and was placed under the care of the governor of Nakorn Sritamarat. There again he continued his indiscreet ways and was finally executed by the governor-who in turn paid for the execution with his own life when the king learned what he had done. Sri Praj was a master of the khlong form, one of his more important works being a khlong poem entitled K a m Suan, /kam suanl, or "Lament." This poem is a niras. /niraat/, a special genre in which the poet expresses his feelings during a journey, separated from his beloved. (The situation which gives rise to the niras may, however, be either real or the product of the poet's imagination.) It was written during his banishment to Nakorn Sritamarat and

Before proceeding, however, it may be helpful to ~ r o v i d ea quick overview of the khlong as it has appeared through several hundred years of Thai literary activity. The earliest poem commonly described as a khlong is a piece entitled Prakat Chaeng Nam Khlong H a , /prakaat ch$ naam khloog haa/, or, "The Khlong Five Water-Curse Pronouncement." This work comes down to us from about the time of King Ramathibodi I, who reigned A D 1350-1369. The term khlong ha, 'khlong five', in the title, reflects the fact that many of the lines of the poem (about half the total) consist of five syllables. And the term prakat chaeng nam, 'water-curse pronouncement', reflects the content of the poem. It concerns a traditional ceremony, borrowed from the Cambodian court, in which the nobles drank ceremonial water, swearing feality to their king, and subjecting themselves to a curse if they should break their oath. The poem alternates between rai,/raayl ( a simple verse form often used for narrative), and another verse form which bears a somewhat distant resemblance to other and later khlong. Altogether there are about thirty stanzas of this so-called khlong in the poem.'* Actually there is a question as to whether the khlong portions of this poem are properly classified as khlong at all. N o t only is the form rather different from that of verses usually described as khlong, but the very term khlong, as originally used to describe this particular piece, may simply mean 'verse', or 'poem'. Where this primitive khlong form itself came from is another problem. The content of the poem clearly reflects Cambodian culture and civilization. S o also does the vocabulary; and even the script in which the poem was originally written is Cambodian. But the language is Thai; and the poem's formal characteristics depend for their poetic effect upon characteristics of the Thai language. And, since Cambodian is not a tonal language, the tonal features of the poem, at least, could not have derived from that language. So the provenance of this particular poetic form remains a mystery. The immediate subsequent development of the khlong into the forms we now know-if indeed the latter did develop from this early form-is likewise unclear; for the next example of khlong, probably

F o r a brief description of the formal features of the ancient khlong ha, see Klaus Wenk, Die Metrik in der rhailhndischen Dichtung, pp. 5 2 , 5 3 .

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COOKE: The Thai Khlong Poem


expresses his sorrow over his separation from his beloved. A couple of Sri Praj's better-known onestanza khlonp are included in a sample of translated khlong at the end of this article. Two other well-known khlong poems out of the many dating from this period are: a niras named Hariphunchai, written by an unknown poet during a trip to the kingdom of Lampoon; and a very famous lilit by an unknown author, entitled Lilit Pra Law.13 The latter tells the story of a Prince Pra Law who falls in love with the two daughters of an enemy king and finally perishes with them in the denouement. The khlong in this particular poem include examples of almost every type. One verse of the poem is translated below. The next major period of literary activity took place during the reigns of Rama I1 and Rama I11 of the Bangkok era. In this period, again, the khlong form flourished, though by this time, it had yielded its place of primary importance to a simpler poetic form called the klon, /klmn/. One composer of khlong, Praya Trang, was a great admirer of Sri Praj, and collected much of the material we now have written by and concerning him. Another admirer of Sri Praj was a poet named Narin Thibes. H e is best known for his Niras Narin, a niras poem written in khlong form while the author was accompanying Rama I1 on a military exedition to the south. His handling of the khlong is considered to be of surpassing richness and beauty-displaying a perfection beyond either his predecessors or successors. Two verses from his Niras are translated below. A third well-known composer during this period was Prince Dechadison, a writer who wrote verse of many kinds. Among these was a collection of khlong called Loganit, or "Worldly Precepts,"-moral philosophy for conducting oneself in the world. Many of the khlong in this collection come from ancient Indian proverbs and sayings. Some of these are also included in the translations below. Since the time of Rama 111, the khlong has continued as a moderately popular form. Poets still compose khlong; and occasionally khlong-writing contests are held in which the contestants are expected to compose a khlong on a given subject within a time limit of a few minutes. People from all walks of life compete. It is only fair to say, however, that khlong no longer occupy center stage in the mainstream of poetic activity. Much more emphasis is given to the somewhat simpler klon, /klmn/, form, and to various new non-classical forms. Let us now proceed to a closer examination of the khlong si suphap (see Figure 1 ) . A t this point, it may be helpful to look a t an example. The following is a verse selected from Lilit Pra L a w , here set forth in romanized script, and accompanied by a poetic translation which seeks to reflect the poetic form of the original as closely as possible. Rhyming syllables are underlined. Note, again, that the two halves of each line must be read in sequence before proceeding to the next line. day day nay lBok luan ?anitkhog ~ E baap bun E thiag k M gaw tit t u a m tngnAmyuu naa ~ k j 3 la^a raksaa taam t &vun baapk

All on earth alike Yet our deeds, they Pursuing day by day. Their fruit remains a t M .

m;

Pass _aya~. Shadow-fast Good or ill, This our comfort! This our hope!

With the above example before us, we are in a better position to look at the formal rules governing the khlong si suppah. These have already been summarized briefly in Figure 1 (q.v.): it remains here to state them and elaborate them in somewhat more detail. Syllable-line-stanza format. First are rules governing the general format of syllables, lines, and stanzas. 1. The minimum khlong length is one stanza or bot, lbotl. Beyond this mimimum a poem may have any number of khlong verses in succession. And the khlong, or series of khlong, may in turn form part of a larger poem consisting of khlong and also other verse forms. 2. Each stanza or bot must have four lines or baht,

/bast/.
3. Each line or baht has two hemistichs or wak, lwaW. The two hemistichs of each line are customarily written side by side with a space between (also called wak). The result is that the completed stanza is laid out in two blocks, the first four hemistichs of each line grouped in the left-hand block, and the second four in the right. In reading each line, one must therefore jump the space in order to complete that line before proceeding to the next line immediately below it. 4. The first hemistich or wak of each line (baht) consists of five syllables. Each of these five-syllable

l 3 There is a difference of opinion among scholars as to the date of this work. Some would place it earlier, during the tlme of king Trai Lokanat; that is. about the same time as Lilit Y u a n Phai.

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Journal of the American Or.iental Society 100.4 (1 980)


effect; but the optimum spot for such internal rhyme is between the second and third syllables of the first hemistich of each line. According to modern authorities, it is also desirable, in the case of successive stanzas, to have the last syllable of one stanza rhyme with either the first or the second syllable of the next. But this pattern seems not to have been a desideratum in the case of many of the khlong of earlier periods. Two syllables are considered to have met the obligatory rhyming requirement if they both have identical vowel quality and vowel length, and have the same written tone, and the same (pronounced) final consonant (if any). It should be noted that in the case of tone, and occasionally in the case of vowel length, the acceptability of a given rhyme is determined by the way a syllable is spelled in the writing system, not by the way it is pronounced. This means, for example, that the forms /khjy/ 'gradually' and /tjy/ 'diminutive' are not an acceptable rhyming pair, despite the fact that they rhyme perfectly in ~ spoken l a n g ~ a g e . 'This is because in the written language the former is written with the rnai e k , /may "eekl, tone mark (indicated in Figure 1 and elsewhere in this article by the symbol "1 "), and the latter with rnai tho, /maythoo/, (or " 2 " ) . O n the other hand, the forms / b y / 'diminutive', and /n53y/ 'small' are an acceptable rhyming pair because, in the written language, both are spelled with the mai tho tone mark, and both are written with the same vowel symbol (there being no way to distinguish vowel length in this particular part of the writing system). In the case of optimal, or internal, rhyme. two syllables should agree in vowel quality, vowel length, syllable final consonant (if any), but not necessarily in tone. Tone rules. Specified syllables of the khlong si suphap. as indicated in Figure 1. are required to occur only with the proper specified tone. The requirements are as follows: 1 . Each syllable marked with an asterisk in Figure 1 must be what is termed a live syllable ( k h a m pen, Ikham pen/) spelled without any tone symbol. A live syllable is one which ends in a long vowel or in a

lines may in turn be divided into two minor parts, the first of which has two syllables, and the second three. This later subdivision is not, however, one of major formal significance. It is not marked by any kind of spacing in the layout of the stanza; but it may be marked by a very brief pause in oral reading. Also, the second and third syllables of the line constitute optimum, though optional, points for internal rhyme. 5 . The second hemistich ( w a k ) of each line ( b a h t ) is variable within the following limits: The first and third lines may consist of either two or four syllables, but usually two. The optional extra two syllables in these two lines are called k h a m soy, /kham sjy/. They are usually added for the sake of euphony. The second line must consist of two syllables. The fourth line must consist of four syllables. 6. The syllable comprises any consonant-vowel sequence consisting of an initial consonant or consonant cluster, plus a long or short vocalic nucleus and its accompanying tone, plus an optional final consonant. The syllable so defined functions as the basic unit for determining the length of each line or hemistich as specified in rule 5 above. There exists, however. a special type of unstressed syllable, here termed the semisyllable, which either may or may not be reckoned in the hemistich syllable count-depending on how many syllables are required in the hemistich in question. Semisyllables consist of an initial consonant or consonant cluster plus a short, unstressed /a/, or occasionally 131, and no syllable-first consonant. Examples are the syllable /pha-/ or /phayaan/ 'witness', and the syllables /th3-/ and 1-ra-/ or -th3ranii/ 'earth'. The word /phayaan/ may then count either as a onesyllable word or a two, depending on how many syllables are needed in the line. And the word I t h ~ r a n i i lmay count as having one, two, or three syllables. Rhyming rules. Obligatory rhyming rules between specified syllables of the khlong have been indicated in Figure 1. It should be noted that all these obligatory rhyming rules involve the final syllables of hemistichs, except in cases where the second hemistich of the first line happens to have four syllables. rather than two. In this case. the rhyming syllable is still the second syllable, a situation which then gives rise to a mid-hemistich rhyme at this one point. Besides these obligatory rhymes, it is considered desirable to have internal rhyming between juxtaposed syllables. Any two consecutive syllables may so rhyme. and so create what is felt to be a desirable

'"he writing system here reflects an earli-r stage of the language in which the tones in question were indeed pronounced differently. A n d in s o m e of the T h a i languages the two tones a r e still kept distinct. It is probable that the t w o tones fell together in the spoken language a t a time prior to the composition of an) of the poetry n o h extant.

COOKE: The Thai Khlong Poem


vowel (long or short) plus sonorant. Without a tone mark, such a syllable will always be pronounced with mid tone or rising tone, depending on what type of initial consonant it has. Live syllables of this type are termed kham suphap 'suphap syllables'-- and the term suphap is used then to identify any of several types of khlong which require the use of suphap syllables at specified points in the poem. 2. Each syllable marked with the symbol " 1" (Figure I ) must either be spelled with the rnai ek tone mark, or it must be a dead syllable ( k h a m tai, /kham taay/). A dead syllable is one which ends either in a short vowel or a stop consonant. Syllables with rnai ek may be pronounced with either low or falling tone, depending on the preceding consonant. Short dead syllables may be either low or high, and long dead syllables either low or falling, again depending on the initial consonant. 3. Each syllable marked with the symbol "2" (Figure 1) must be spelled with the rnai tho tone mark. Such syllables may be pronounded either with falling tone or with high, depending on the initial consonant. 4. The last two syllables of the first hemistich of the first line may if necessary be reversed, thus permitting a 2-1 tone pattern instead of 1-2. The 1-2 pattern is, however, preferred. 5. Since falling-tone syllables in Thai may be spelled either with a low-class initial consonant plus rnai ek tone mark or with a high-class consonant with rnai tho, it is considered permissible if necessary to take a syllable normally spelled with one of the above combinations and respell it using the other. Thus in poem no. 8 below, the word /siam/ 'to sharpen' would normally be spelled with a high-class 's' and rnai tho: but here it is spelled with a low-class 's' and rnai ek-to produce, again, a pronunciation /siam/. As thus misspelled, the word /siam/ then meets the requirement of a rnai ek syllable in this particular position in the khlong. Similarly a falling-tone .syllable normally spelled with a low-class consonant and rnai ek may be respelled with a high-class consonant and rnai tho, if the syllable in question needs to stand in a position in the khlong that requries rnai tho. The effect of such respelling is a little like substituting the letter 'j' for the letter 'g' in the English word "gem." Other desiderata. Among characteristics considered desirable, though not specified in terms of specific rules, is the use of alliteration. This literary device is considered to be an especially important feature of' a good khlong-more important, in fact, than internal rhyme. Thus an examination of the

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poem transliterated above reveals the fact that almost two thirds of the syllables-20 out of a total of 32- participate in alliterative sequences. One particularly desirable place to have such alliteration is across the boundaries dividing the two hemistichs of each line, so that the last syllable of the first hemistich of each line has the same initial consonant or consonants as the first syllable of the second hemistich of the same line. Actually this penchant for alliteration, and also for internal rhyme, extends beyond the use of poetry; for all speakers use, and most seem to savor, sequences of this type. Expressions like the following abound in / everyday language: /luuk 1ek dek d ~ q 'small child, new-born infant' (literally 'little child red child'); /plian p l ~ q 'to change' (from two different words / for 'change'). Another desirable feature for khlong is the use of elegant or literary language. Examples of such language in the poems translated below include the following: /thig th53t/ 'cast' (rather than simple /thirj/); /khannanaa/ 'to measure' (rather than /wat/); /mi/ 'not' (instead of /may/); I7aneek/ 'numerous' (instead of /mask/, or /maak maayl); lkhopl 'to bite' (instead of /kat/); and many others. Some authors, I understand, have tried writing khlong using more ordinary, everyday language (as is, in fact, appropriate for some other verse forms), but the consensus seems to be that such poems do not make very good khlong. One further desideratum-and one not usually embodied in any stated rules-calls for major syntactic breaks in the language to coincide with the ends of lines. Significantly, out of a total of 39 nonfinal lines in the poems presented below, 30 show a complete sentence-final break at the end of the line; 5 divide at the end of the line between a subordinate clause and a main clause; and 4 break between a complex subject and its predicate. In no case does the line end anywhere except at a major syntactic break. The division between hemistichs of the same line is an entirely different matter. There need be no syntactic break of any kind between the two halves of the line. In fact the space between hemistichs of the same line may separate two parts of a single compound word, or even the two syllables of one morphemically-indivisible word; for example, in poem no. 9 below, the two syllables of the word Ithaarunl 'cruel' are divided by the inter-hemistich break. However, such word splits are avoided if possible. Oral rendition. Khlong are, naturally, enough,

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Journal of the American Oricmtal Society 100.4 (1980) it is so savored, not just by the cognoscenti, but by the common people. We, for whom poetry above the level of doggerel has all but lost its common touch, can only look upon the Thai situation with envy and regret. Another way in which khlong may be rendered orally is by means of a special form of song or chant. The "tune" for such renderings of the khlong varies according to personal preference, and according to the changing values of the syllable forms. The singing of khlong is in fact an art form calling for considerable expertise. Competitions are sometimes held to single out those who are the most accomplished in this art. Poetic license. Since the form of the khlong is rather strictly prescribed-thus making it a matter of some difficulty to fit the language to the form- it is not surprising to find that a fair amount of poetic license is tolerated. W e hae already seen how certain words may be respelled in order to fit the tonal requirements of the verse form. And liberties may also be taken in the area of grammar and vocabulary. The most common grammatical liberties involve ellipsis of one kind or another. This includes elision of conjunctions, clause connectors, classifiers, understood verbs, and a variety of other forms. The following, for example, are a few out of over a dozen cases of ellipsis that may be found in the poems given below. Elided elements are shown in parentheses: Ichan d a y . . . (chan nanl 'just a s . . . (just s o ) . . . (no. 8); /can (duag) nigl 'one (classifier) moon' (no. 8); /b5 ciam tua (waa tua) n53y/ 'is not humble (recognizing that it) is small' (no. 2); Iyuu ph;ln din diaw (kan)/ 'live on one (and the same) earth' (no. 3). Another grammatical modification allowed by poetic license is inversion, particularly as between a verb and its modifier or complement. F o r example, /rhr maak/ 'know much' becomes /maak rhu/ (no. 11); Iyag thig day yaak t h t d 'truly hard to measure' ~ ~ becomes lyaak t h yiq thig/ (no. 6); and/lik thiisutl 'most deep' becomes Isut lik/. Poetic license may also involve the addition of an extra empty syllable (underlined) as in the word / w a t y ~ a /'measure' (no. 6)-here added partly for the sake of alliteration. Gerzeral effect of the khlong. A well-written khlong has a variety of effects upon those who read or herar it. It conveys. I believe. a sense of economy of statement, compressing as it does a significant message into the compass of a few short lines. It also conveys as sense of elegance and richness. through its abundant alliteration and through its elegant and literary vocabulary. And along with these is

intended to be recited aloud, and they fairly frequently are. In fact, not only khlong, but other forms of poetry are very much more a part of Thai oral culture than poetry is in most of the Englishspeaking world. One frequently hears poetry recited over the radio and on television; even children's programs will include the recitation of line upon line of classical poetry. Ideally, khlong should be recited slowly, in a sonorous, almost sing-song manner, with discernible pause and emphasis upon the various formal features such as rhyme (internal and external), and alliteration, end-line breaks, etc. There is even a slight pause between hemistichs of the same line, and sometimes an even slighter one between the second and third syllables of each line. In other words the poem is recited in such a manner that both the speaker and the hearer can fully savor those formal features that distinguish the poem from ordinary prose. In this respect, the Thai tradition of oral rendition of poetry differs radically from that of English, where there tends to be a studious avoidance of what is felt to be artificial, poetic-style recitation. And, of course, there is some reason for this difference between the Thai and English traditions; English rhyme and meter so easily exercise a monotonous tyranny over the oral rendition of a poem. Yet if that tyranny is avoided, the hearer-especially if he is uninitiated-so easily loses any awareness of the formal features that could render the language of the poem a delight-those features that seem to him to make the poem a poem. The Thai tradition, manages, however, to avoid both the dangers that beset the English reader of poetry- the rhyme-and-rhythm trap on the one hand, and the prose trap on the other. The tyranny of rhyme and rhythm is avoided partly, I think, because most Thai poetry has no over-riding rhythm," and partly because rhymeeven end-stop rhyme-does not come at the end of a regularly repeated pattern of syllable beats. Instead, the rhyming syllables come now at the end of the second hemistich of a line, now at the end of the first (where the pause is much briefer, and seldom at a major syntactic break). and now (in the case of hemistichs having khlong soy) within a line. All these factors, then. obviate the danger of monotony. On the other hand, the reader avoids the opposite danger of reading the poetry as if it were prose. The form is poetic. and needs to be savored as such. And

l 5 T h e only form in which rhythm plays a n important part is a verse form called the chan. /than/.

COOKE:The Thai Khlong Poem


conveyed a sense of brilliance and mastery of language, as the poet combines economy and richness within the limitations of a rather strictly circumscribed verse form. Behind all this, there may even be a further subtle type of enjoyment conveyed through the variable use of internal rhyme, and the switching back and forth of the external rhymes between the first and second hemistichs of each line-allowing one to fully savor the poetic form without suffering from any tyrrany of sameness in rhyme or rhythm. Sample khlong. I now present a few samples of khlong verse in the original Thai, along with a poetic translation and a more literal one for each poem. The selections are arranged and numbered in approximate chronological order. The titles are my own. The more literal translation of each poem is an attempt to render faithfully the meaning of the original. In reality, of course, only part of the meaning can be conveyed thus in prose form, for much of the flavor and some even of the very quintessence of the poem is bound to disappear when the form is lost. I have therefore also provided a poetic translation, attempting thereby to convey something of the form and feeling of the original-an attempt doomed perhaps to failure, or at best to mediocre success, but. I hope, worthwhile making for all that. In the poetic translations, I have made a serious atttempt to preserve as much of the form of the original as possible. I have therefore retained the basic line and hemistich structure, and have carried over the external rhyming rules. I have also adhered, roughly, in most of the poems, to the requirements as to number of syllables in each line. Tonal characteristics have, of course, necessarily gone by the board; and I have made no attempt to introduce internal rhyme. Alliteration fares a little better. but not much. A s to vocabulary. I have made a point of using poetic and literary language with some frequency. but have tried to avoid any excess of poetic license. In making the poetic translation, I have, naturally enough, been limited by the contrasting resources of the Thai and English languages. Thai, on the one hand. is tonal. syllable-oriented. and uninflected. English. on the other hand, is non-tonal, meteroriented, and inflected; and furthermore it is burdened with a number of obligatory function words (especially articles and verb auxiliaries) which Thai lacks. And these differences necessarily have a profound effect upon the form of the poetry of each language.

429

When I say that Thai is a syllable-oriented language, I mean that Thai, like Chinese and many other Asian languages, has very clearly-defined syllables that allow for a much greater degree of stress on each of the syllables of a spoken series. This means that the number of syllables in a line can be a matter of considerable significance in Thai poetry. But mere quantity of syllables has no importance at all in English. Here. instead. the meter or the number of beats in the line will often be the allimportant issue. My solution to the problem posed by these differences between Thai and English has been to create lines having roughly the number of syllables of the original, but having a clear pattern of beats to the line and hemistich. In most cases I have adhered to a 3-1, 3-1 pattern of beats; that is, three beats to the first hemistich in each line, and one to the second (with an additonal beat in the second hemistich where permitted or required by the khlong rules). In one case I followed a 3-2 pattern (poem no. 1); and in four cases I tried longer lines-mainly because I had trouble conveying the content in few enough words, but partly also as a matter of experiment. Thus poem no. 1 2 has a 4-2 pattern, and no. 2, no. 3. and no. 11 have 5-2. It is easy enough to see that the substitution of a 5-2 beat pattern for the original 5-2 syllable pattern, though perhaps effective in its own way, nevertheless sacrifices much of the economy and elegance of the original. The necessity of meeting the rhyme requirements in the brief compass allowed by the 3-1 beat pattern proved to be a matter of some difficulty. F o r one thing, English has a considerable proportion of its total syllable inventory that is not readily susceptible to rhyme-words like 'fathoms', 'countless', 'treacherous,' 'wisdom', 'comfort', to name just a few that occur in these poems. And even very simple words such as 'love', 'many', 'shall'. present their problems. Furthermore, English function words-especially verb auxiliaries and articles, often have to consume all-too-limited space in the line. One is lucky, therefore, to be able to say what needs to be said within the few syllables permitted between the necessary rhyming words-quite apart from attempting to introduce alliteration and internal rhyme too. But all this is part of the game. Perhaps some day someone will write the perfect khlong in English. I trust, meantime, that my more ordinary efforts will at least provide some hint of what is conveyed in the original poems. A Thai text follows the translations.
1. Transience and Permanence. A poem from Lilit Pra Law.

430
All on earth alike Yet our deeds, they stay; Pursuing day by day, Their fruit remains at last.

Journal of the American Oriental Society 100.4 (1980)


Be my witness here. Man of worth I stand. Have wronged, let them command But sword, if wronged I die,

Pass away; Shadow-fast Good or ill, This our comfort! This our hope! Everything on earth is transitory. Only (our) sins and (our) merit abide sure. They are shadows attached firm and tight to us. (Our fate) depends on our merit or sins. (This fact) supports and sustains us.

0 sand:
If I The sword to smite. Smite back the smiter.

2. Silly Rabbit. A poem by a court lady rebuking Sri Praj for overbold poetic advances.
Ha! Fie! Silly rabbit jumping. T o catch the moon, knowing not how low Vain flutt'ring moth. aspiring so Knowing not how low your true estate! Eyes aglow Your humble state! T o mate with flame, Silly creature! Thing of nought!

Let this earth here be my witness: I am the disciple of a master. If I have done wrong and my lord executes me, I am content. If I have not, and he destroys me, let this sword turn back against him.

5 . One Trust Alone. Two stanzas from Niras Narin, by Narin Thibes.
Shall I entrust you, love, And let the Earth-God pry Shall I let Wind to fly Brook His caresses cheap, Shall I beseech Uma And then let Uma's Lord Nay, all three worlds afford One trust alone have IT o Sky or EarthAnd peep? You safely offHis buffets rude? To guard you. loveCreep nigh? No safeguard sure; Your loving heart.

Ha! Fie! The rabbit jumps about. aspiring to the moon. It does not humbly recognize that it is lowly and insignificant. When the peacock yearns for the clouds, It does not humbly recognize that it is small. lowly, and insignificant. being a mere beast.

3. Silly Rabbit. A poem by Sri Praj, responding to the court lady's rebuke above.
Ha! Fie! Silly rabbit jumping, T o catch the lunar light shining high'r Yet beasts in season yield to their desire. Say not that slave and lady cannot love. Eyes afire Up above. Each to each. We both are human, thou and I.

Should I entrust you, my beautiful one. to Sky or Earth? Would that be good? I fear that the great Earth-God would secretly intrude upon you. Should I then entrust you to Wind to fly you upwards! The Wind would blow upon you, bruising the flesh I cherish. Should I entrust you to Uma or Laksmi? But then I know that the self-existent lords (of Heaven) would approach you. I am now finished with my consideration of all the three worlds; F a r rather than leave you to anyone (else) to look after, I can trust you to your own heart.

Ha! Fie! The rabbit jumps about, aspiring to the moon, (Which is) high up at the limits of vision in the heavens. Yet when animals are in heat. they will surely desire to unite together. D o not say that we (stand as) lady to slave. W e live on the same earth.

6. Unplumbed Depths. A poem from Loganit.


Many fathoms down, Yet yields to plumbline's sweep. The tow'ring height be steep. But who can ever know, The deep And though 'Tis scaled. O r plumb man's heart?

4. Smite Back the Smiter. Poem written on the sand by Sri Praj when about to be executed by the governor of Nakorn Sritamarat.

COOKE: Thai Khlong Poem The


Though the ocean is exceedingly deep, and (seems) impossible to measure, Yet the plumbline can be cast to measure its depth. The high mountains can be measured and their height determined. But the heart of man is truly difficult to measure fully.

43 1

10. A n End to Gossip. A poem from Loganit.


Forbid Forbid Forbid Forbid the fire to smoke. the moon and sun the years to run all these, then sign That done, T o shine. Their course. A n end to gossip.

7. Evil's Treach'rous Freight. A poem from Loganir.


Many nlountains massed Create N o load for earth; their weight Is small. But evils' treach'rous N o land freightSave Hell alone. Can bear that load at all, There are exceedingly many mountains; Yet they do not burden the earth even a little. The only thing that really burdens the earth is the evil men that deceive mankind. Only Hell can endure (such a burden).

Forbid the fire to smoke. Forbid the sun and moon to shine. Forbid the advance of age, commanding the years to turn back. When you can forbid these, then forbid gossip.

1 1 . Vast Knowledge. A poem from Loganit.


H e who, knowing little, thinks it much, Is like the frog who squats puffed up beside And, never having scanned the ocean wide And length of his small puddle-vast beyond And basks in pride, His tiny pond; Still boasts the breadth Compare-his mighty universe.

8. Already Wise. A poem from Loganit.


D o peppers beg their hot O r thorns their sharp? Sincc when Of aloe need man's ken? The sage takes wisdom's seat From Men? Did sweet Just so Already wise. H e who knows little, but thinks it much, and is pleased with himself, Is like the frog that has lived all his life in his tiny pool. H e has never seen the distant sea-out in the middle of the oceanBut he boasts that his little pond is very big and exceedingly deep.

As for peppers being hot, who makes them hot? Just SO, Thorns are sharp of themselves. W h o sharpens them? As for sandalwood or aloewood, who seals them up to make them fragrant? So the wise man can enter the family of the wise through his own wisdom.

12. One Sage. A poem from Loganit.


A thousand stars adorning heav'n, All pale in one moon's light. A myriad meaner men from sight Could we but find, could we but view. Shining bright, So too, Would dim away. One saint. one sage.

9. Dogs that Bite. A poem from Loganit.


Dogs that bite my heelsBite them back'? Then why. Men abuse. reply? O r vent on them my bile? Should I When vile O r rage? O r seethe, hearthurt'!

(Even though) there are as many as a thousand stars, They are not to be compared with (just) one moon. As for innumberable scoundrels in the world. It would be very difficult to compare them with a sage. Could it be done? 1 3 . A Friend in Need. A Khlong Krathu from

If a vicious dog bites your leg. Don't bite it back: don't be provoked. And if cruel villain accuses you. Don't be angry; don't be sullen. or answer back. taking the matter to heart.

Loganit.
A friend
Who'll love your Yet flees you

432

Journal of the American Oriental Society 100.4 (1980)


purse, Can be found with ease. Who, when disease Still loves-would share when But rare And death o'ertake, His very life for you. Friends who will eat with you, but flee when your money is gone, Are easy to find; there are many of them, numbering in the tens of thousands. But a true friend (who'll) give his life for you, Is hard to find-one to whom you can entrust yourself when you are sick, or after you die. Such a friend is truly hard to find.

In need, Is a friend Indeed

inr 4 inwIvlarkw'
1
Y

naunh
Y

~?UIIPI;~?LIUR

no ina

'

?nu7
Y

ou3=.n7uGn~'2

van run

r?uun4?u

COOKE: The Thai Khlong Poem

434

Journal of the American 0IrientaI Society 100.4 (1 980)


fell in love with the moon and asked a hermit to make a sacrifice to the object of his love. The rabbit then fell into the sacrificial fire, and his body was transported to the moon in the smoke; and there it remains affixed for all to see-so that the Thai now see a rabbit in the moon, not a man as we do. Now this legend may very well be the source of the allusions to rabbits in this poem and the following one. However, it is worth noting that the legend is not a matter of common knowledge even among literate Thai. What is common knowledge or lore is the notion of there being a rabbit in the moon, and also the belief that rabbits love moonlight. In fact moonlit nights are commonly considered to be ideal times for hunting rabbits, for the creatures are then likely to be out disporting themselves and doing their thing. At any rate. the modern reader finds the metaphor about aspiring to the moon to be a very apt symbol for men who aspire to women above their station. /bs-/ 'not'. chiefly literary or poetic: also used commonly in northern Thai. /nokyuug haak krasan thfq m e e k . . . / 'if the peacock wishes to reach the clouds, (then this shows that) . . . '. The reader will have noticed a discrepancy here between the reference to peacocks in the literal translation, and to moths in the poetic rendering. The original poem refers to peacocks, implying that peacocks have an inordinate desire to fly higher than they can actually go. Apparently this metaphor is known and understood by the Thai reader, but it is possible that this knowledge and understanding are simply the product of widespread acquaintance with this particular poem. for it seems that the metaphor is not a common one in Thai literature, In fact I do not know whether this reference to peacocks has deeper roots in written literature or folk lore from which the author might have drawn. If the figure of speech is the original creation of the author. then time and long familiarity would seem to have given it a measure of appropriateness that it may have lacked originally. That is to say, if peacocks did not (whether in fact or lore) have ambitions beyond their competence, then this figure of speech was not a Lery apt , one. Regardless. h o w e ~ e r of its aptness in the original Thai version, the figure fails to come across in English. I have therefore taken the liberty, in my translation. of using the moth rather than the peacock as the required symbol of overweening ambition. /man bs ciam tua njsy. tam tjy, diaratchaan! 'it does not humbly recognize (that) it is small. lowly and insignificant. a beast'. This sentence is someli hat compreqsed from what it would be in prose. Normhlly it would read something like the following: /man b3 ciam tua waa tua nssy. tam tjy. lc

Commentary. In the brief commentary that follows, I shall


focus upon a few matters concerning language. subject matter. and background information relevant to the understanding and appreciation of the poems I have presented. References to langauge as literary, elegant. obsolete. etc., are made from the point of view of the modern Thai reader. My comments follow through the sample texts in numbered order. 1. "Transience and Permanence." This khlong from Lilit Pra Law is a profoundly Buddhist poem. The words /bun/ 'merit', and /baap/ 'sin', refer to good and bad deeds done by the individual-deeds that bear their fruit. not as rewards or punishments meted out by a deity, but as an inevitable and impersonal consequence inherent in the deeds themselves. One might say that this is a poem about fatebut not a fate that comes as a relentless enemy bringing all our hopes and meanings to nought. Rather it is a fate that makes bearable that transitoriness of our existence. It deals kindly with us. I t does not banish religious meaning and significance. I t gives it. I t is a source of hope. A s noted previously. this poem has a striking number of alliterations. So many of them in an English poem would probably be intolerable. But I do not believe these alliterations are felt by a Thai reader to be excessive. This is true, no doubt, partly because the Thai have a grearer appetite for alliteration, even in common speech. then we do. But note also that most alliterative sequences are limited to two syllables: in only one case is there a longer sequence extending to four syllables. itrag/ (literary and obsolete) 'to be affixed. attached'. When combined here with / t n q / ' t o affix', and placed with it in modifying position. as here, the resulting phrase /trag t n g i means 'tightly. firmly'. itaam t ~ d depend on'. The implication in this 'to sentence is that what happens to us in the future depends upon out /baap/ and /bun/. inaa/ a sentence particle meaning something like 'surely', 'is this not surely so?' It is used in this sense exclusively in poetry. i18d an intensifying particle rather like inaai. meaning 'surely, truly'. Its use is limited to poetry. 2. "Silly Rabbit." The court lady's rebuke here comes in response to flirtatious poetic advances on the part of Sri Praj-a behavior for which the poet was later banished, and then eventually lost his life. ,/krataay . . . chom can/ 'the rabbit. . . looks longingly or admiringly at the moon'. Clearly the moon here is a symbol of something beyond Sri Praj's reach. The alleged aspirations of rabbits are. however, another problem. Kasem Sibunruang tells us'' of a legend about a rabbit that
-

'"ee

Kasem Slbunruang. "Lltterature

S~amo~ce."

Hisroire dc Litrercrrures. ~ o l . I . L~~c,j.clopedie dc in PI-iade. p. 1370.

COOKE: Thai Khlong Poem The


pen diaratchaanl 'it does not humble itself. recognizing that it is small. lowly and insignificant, and is a beast'. Incidentally, the repetition here of phrases from the second line is felt to strengthen the poem rather than weaken it. 3. "Sill) Rabbit." This poem is Sri Praj's response to the court lady's khlong rebuking him for over-reaching himself. In this response, obviously enough, the poet takes the lady's basic idea and turns it to his own advantage. H e also reveals his mastery of the khlong form. managing to include nearly half the stanza's syllables in alliterative sequences. Not quite as many alliterations as in the poem from Lilit Pra L ~ H abol e, but still an impressive number. ,. /khEd 'moon/ (from Cambodian), a more literary form for moon than that used by the court lady in the previous poem. /~duu ndii dsc sat suu kan naa/ literally '(at) the season. the hearts of animals surely cohabit'. The forms /ndii/ and / d s d are both rather literary expressions for 'heart'. Here they convey the idea of desire; i.e.. the animals 'desire to cohabit'. 'The word /suu/ is a contraction of /som suu/, a compouna meaning 'to cohabit. come together sexually'. The final particle /naa/ provides emphasis. 'surely (this is the case)' /raw c;iaw khaa/ should probably be construed as a contraction of /raw pen caaw khaal 'we are mistress (and) servant': i.e.. 'we stand to one another as mistress or lady to servant'. 4. "Smite Back the Smiter." This poem is said to have been written by Sri Praj on the sand just before being executed by the Governor of Nakorn Sritamarat for indiscreet poetic advances to one of the governor's ladies. For a similar crime he had, in the first place. been banished to Nakorn Sritamarat by king Narai: and now the poet has overstepped himself again. and is paying for his indiscretion with his life. thereby incidentally fulfilling his father's prophecy that he would eventually perish because of the words of his own mouth. It seems that the king, however. still cherished an affection for the overbold poet. In fact. when he banished Sri Praj. it was with strict instructions to the governor to take good care of him. Some time later. then. the king sent for Sri Praj. desiring to obtain his assistance in some poetic endeavor-only to find that his favorite had been put to death. Sc the king promptly had the governor executed for his crime. thus fulfilling Sri Praj's dying wish that the sword which killed him would "smite back the smiter." For the poetic rendering of this poem. I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness to M. R. Seni Pramoj, whose translation this resembles." /raw k3 sitqaacaan ntg baag/ ' I am the disciple of a

435

"

M. K. Seni Pramoj, op cit., p. 24

master.' In saying this, Sri Praj is claiming to be more than a nobody. H e has gone through a course of discipline and training. H e has become a man of worth, and as such is not to be lightly dispatched. The phrase /'aacaan nig/ is a contraction of'aacaan khon tug/ 'one (classifier) teacher'. /daap nii/ 'this sword'. Again the classifier (here /Iem/ ) has been omitted. Normally the expression would be Idaap 1em niil. /malaall/ 'to destroy'. poetic form. The usual word is / I a q / . Occasionally in poetry words beginning with '1' will have an initial 'm' placed in front of them. The double consonant initial is then read with intervening 'a', so that m l a a l ~ becomes lmalaagl. Another example is /malaw from / l a w 'to steal'. 5 . "One Trust Alone." These two stanzas are selected from a niras composed by Narin Tibes while separated from his beloved during a military expedition on which he accompanied the king to the south of Thailand. The language of the poem is generally considered to be of surpassing beauty. /choom/ 'beautiful one, beautiful woman'. The term should probably be construed here as a vocative topic: 'you, my beautiful one'. I k h u q c a w 'ought to'. The form /cak/ is a literary variation of /ca/ 'shall. will'. / n i / is the poetic equivalent of /rii/, whether in the meaning 'or', o r in its function as a question marker. In this line. the first occurrence of / n t / means 'or': 'should I . . . o r . . . ' (the expected answer being no to both alternatives). The second occurrence of / n i l denotes a question: /dii n i l 'would that be good?' Itheep thay/ 'god', and /th3ranin/ 'earth' are both used exclusively in poetry. /bin bon/ 'fly above, fly upward' is a contraction of /bin pay bon/ (literally 'fly going above/), or perhaps of /bin yuu bon / (lit.. 'fly to live above'). /law na/. The form /law/ is a question marker used chiefly in literary or poetic language: and l n a l provides emphasis. The two together mean something like: 'shall (I) then?'. 'and shall (I)?' !mid literally 'mother': here and in the last two lines of the poem, an affectionate form used in addressing a woman, meaning 'you. your'. An alternative interpretation of the l m k d in this first stanza (but not in the last two lines) is that this is an empty or meaningless word functioning as a kharn so),. or euphonic optional syllable. lchaki literally 'to pull'; reduced from /chak hay/. an expression which conveys in a colorful and somewhat unusual way the idea of causation: i.e.. the wind blows causing the flesh to be bruised. The form /chak/ also provides alliteration with the accompanying syllables, and it meets the requirement here for a dead syllable, or one with a m a i ek tone mark.

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 100.4 (1980)


affirmation: 'as f o r . . . , (it certainly). . . ': ' ( i f ) . . . , t h e n . . . '. 7. "Evil's Treach'rous Freight." lmaak mii/ an inversion: normally /mii maak/ 'there are many'. Here the inversion is made in order to provide the required k h a m suphap ( a tonally unmarked syllable) in the last syllable of the line. /say/ (see discussion under poem 6 , above). This form emphasizes the contrast between the trivial weight of mountains and the truly burdensome weight of evil men upon the earth. / b j mi/ a double negative. Both words are poetic or literary forms. The doubling both emphasizes the negation and provides euphony. /kralii/ poetic form for /kaalii/ 'evil men'. /mssrakaan/ 'hell'. a poetic form (the ordinary word for hell is / narok /), chosen both for its literary value, and because it has the necessary suphap tone for the final syllable. 8. "Already Wise." /khray hay phet/ 'who causes them to be hot?' In prose the idea of causing would be expressed by the combination / tham hay / (lit., 'make-cause'). rather than by the word /hay/ alone. /chan day/ 'just a s . . . '. This expression is usually followed by the phrase / c h h nan/ 'just s o . . . ' at the end of the apodosis. Here the concluding phrase is omitted. /siam/ 'to sharpen'. here respelled to fit the tonal requirements. The form should be spelled with high-class consonant and tone symbol rnai rho. but instead has lowclass with rnai ek. /chanay/ marks the end of the topic: 'as f o r . . . .'. /khray "op h5sm nt/, usually /khray l o p hay hssm rii/ 'does anyone seal them up to make them fragrant?' /wag/ 'family, lineage', normally a noun. It is here used as a verb: 'to enter the family or group, to join the circle'. 9. "Dogs that Bite." /thsrachon chaat/, probably to be construed as an inversion of /chaat thsrachon/ 'person(s) having the nature of a villain. a villainous person'. Another possibility would be to link /chaat/ with the following word, thus forming the phrase lchaat thaarun/ 'person cruel by nature, cruel person'. The line would then be translated: '(if) a villain or cruel person accuses you5. 10. "An End to Gossip." /ctg/ an obsolete variant of /cig/ 'then, so', here used to fit the rnai ek tone requirement. 1 1. "Vast Knowledge." lmaak ruu/, an inversion; usually /niu maaW. The inversion creates the preferred tonal sequence here of a rnai ek or dead syllable followed by a rnai tho. It also provides a desirable alliterative sequence across hemistich boundaries,

/riam/ (literally 'elder brother') a poetic form for 'I, me', used by a man speaking to his lover. /?umaa/ 'Uma,' the consort of Siva. The phrase /"umaa samjsn m k d means 'the beloved lady Uma'. /IEE/ an obsolete and poetic form of / I d 'and'. /Iakasamii/ 'Laksmi', the consort of Vishnu. /naa/. This form emphasizes the implications of the preceding question. and could be translated as, '(shall I . . . 7); but t h e n . . . '; '(if I do this), t h e n . . . '. lsawayomphuu cakkrii/ 'the self-existent lords', referring to Siva and Vishnu, the husbands of Uma and Laksmi respectively. /yig duay khray khrssg/ a contraction. Normally this would be expressed more fully as /yig kwaa hay khray "iin maa khrssg/ 'much rather than having someone else care for her'. /trii 1ooW 'three worlds'. The poet is probably not referring here to the traditional three worlds-heaven. earth, and hell-but rather to the three worlds he has just mentioned: earth. or the world of the Earth God (including the sky): the wind, or the world of the Wind God: and heaven. the abode of Uma and Laksmi. 6. "Unplumbed Depths." This poem and all the following ones are taken from the collection of khlong by Prince Phrayaa Dechadison. entitled Loganir or "worldly precepts"-maxims relating to life in this world. /phra samut/ 'ocean', a poetic form which usually implies personification. The usual term for ocean is / mahaa samut/. /sut lik Ion khananaa/. The usual order for /lik/ 'deep' and /sub' 'most' is here reversed-no doubt for the sake of alliteration and internal rhyme. The natural way of expressing the larger phrase would be: /bk thiisut, Ion lia thii ca khananaa daayl 'most deep. and beyond what can be measured'. T o say here that the ocean's depth is beyond measurement, and then later to add that men can measure it. would seem contradictory. The implication seems to be that one might think the ocean is deep beyond measurement. but actually it can be measured with a plumbline. /wat waa/ 'to measure'. The second syllable here has no independent meaning. It is ordinarily used (again with no independent meaning) only in the expression /wat waa "aaraam/ 'wats and temples'. In this poem the added syllable is introduced for the sake of alliteration and rhyme. lyaak t h &yag thig/, an inersion; usually /yaq thfg daay ~ yaak t h b d 'truly difficult to be able to arrive at a measurement'. /say/ a particle used in poetry to mark the end of a topic phrase (as here), or the end of the protasis clause of a complex sentence (see poems 10 and 12), or some other hinge point between phrases or clauses (poem 7). This form usually precedes and sets off a strong statement or

COOKE: Thai Khlong Poem The


juxtaposing /ruu/ 'know'. and /raaq cay/ 'to be pleased'. /pay/ (obsolete) 'not, not ever, has never'. /chalee klaag samut/ literally 'the sea in the middle of the ocean': i.e., the sea not out around the edge, but that part of it which is way off in the middle of the ocean. The form /chalee/ here is an obsolete and poetic form for /thalee/ 'sea'. Anti /samut/ is a poetic variant of I m a h ~ a s a m u t l 'ocean'. /lik Fa/ 'exceedingly deep'; usually /lik Ka kaanl. 12. "One Sage." /maak n53y thig phanl literally 'many (or few, reaching a thousand'. i.e.. 'any number (whether many or few) but at least a thousand (or thousands)', 'as many as a thousand', 'reaching into the thousands'. In ordinary speech the word Inmy1 would be omitted. I t is no doubt added here chiefly to supply the necessary m a i tho tone; but it seems also to add an element of indefiniteness to the meaning. Iduag can mgl, classifier omitted; usually / d u q can duag mg/ 'one (classifier) moon' /nt tMq/ an inversion; usually Ithig r i t l 'could one arrive ( a t a successful comparison)?' The inversion takes place because the rising tone is felt to be better than the level tone for the final syllable of a khlong-although either tone would in fact meet the kham suphap requirement. The preference evidently arises from the fact that, in singing the khlong, it is customary to pitch the final syllable on a high note-and the rising tone goes more naturally with this high pitch than the level tone does. 13. "A Friend in Need." This poem is a special kind of khlong called khlong krathu Ikhlooq krathuu/, a form of khlong in which the first one, two, or three syllables of each line (but always the same number of syllables for every line throughout the stanza) may be read downward independently of the rest of the khlong, thus forming a sort of acrostic. Sometimes the downward reading yields a proverb or other meaningful message. Sometimes it yields a series of arbitrary. nonsense syllables which the poet, as a demonstration of skill, has woven into a larger, meaningful whole.

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In this particular krathu, the first two syllables of each line may be read downward to form the Thai proverb: /phian kin haa gaay; phian taay haa yaak./ ' A friend at mealtime (literally an 'eat-friend') is easy to find: a friend at death ('die-friend' that is, a 'true friend') is hard to find.' The rest of the poem is then an enlargement upon this proverb. In my poetic translation I have created an English khlong krathu based on the English proverb: "A friend in need is a friend indeed." A t the same time, I have attempted to provide a translation of the Thai poem as a whole. The result is, perhaps, only fair poetry; but I must confess I enjoyed the challenge of bringing the various elements of the poem together. Ihaa gaay laay mitn mii maak daay/. The form ldaayl here can be construed either as in immediate constituency with Ihaal (hence I h a a . . . dhayl 'can be found/), or with /mii/ (hence Imii . . . daayl 'there can be'). If the sentence is construed in the former manner, then the form /qaay/ has been transposed from its expected place following ldaayl. The whole sentence in normal speech would read: Ihaa daay gaay; mii maak pen mitn miin/ '(they) are easy to find; there are many, (numbering) in tens of thousands'. If the second interpretation is chosen, then the sentence in normal speech would go together as follows: / h a a gaay; mii daay maak maay laay m t n / 'they are easy to find; there could be many-several tens of thousands'. /chiiwaa/ 'life'; chiefly poetic, except in compounds. The usual form is Ichiiwitl. P a a t / , poetic variant of /?aattamaa/ 'self, oneself. /faak phii khay/: usually lfaak phii faak khayl; /faak phii/ means literally 'to entrust (one's) corpse; that is, to leave someone the responsibility of taking care of the necessary arrangements, ceremonies, and merit-making after one has died. lfaak khayl means to entrust yourself to someone when you are sick. /yaak t h B ~ cak haal an inversion; usually l c a h8a daay yaak theBd 'would be truly hard to find'.

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