“Creative Tales of the Mutelu Community”: Folklore with Narrative Creation to Present Concepts of “Mutelu Tourism”

Abstract

This research aims to study a set of 15 videos on the Mutelu community’s creative narratives publicized via the Department of Tourism’s YouTube channel during 2023-2024, using the notion of Mutelu tourism and folklore concepts. The result shows that this set of creative narratives presents the Mutelu tourism concept through various kinds of folklore-related content, especially beliefs, myths, and rituals. Folklore, therefore, functions as “Mutelu Resources” for tourism purposes and is used to exhibit the identity of the Mutelu community. Regarding presentation techniques, the use of personal experience narratives, discourse, and explanations of Mutelu’s benefits for tourists can be witnessed. On the aspect of concept, these creative narratives show both Mutelu-related and Mutelu tourism concepts. Moreover, this set of creative narratives plays an important role in creating Mutelu tourism recognition to the public, in building acknowledgement in value of cultural resources in communities that have potentials for Mutelu tourism, and in opening areas to welcome cultural diversity, especially in dimension of religions and ethnic groups in Thai society.