Phra Malai Texts-Telling them apart: Preface or Performance

Abstract

The story of Phra Malai, the magical monk who traveled to hell and heaven, exists in many different versions in Thailand. The differences lie in language, poetic form and the ritual context in which the text is recited. The storyline is essentially the same in all versions, except that Phra Malai Klon Suat (PMKS), which is written on accordion-folded illustrated paper manuscripts (samut khoi), contains much repetition and a more detailed description of the suffering hell beings and their sins. This article has two purposes. The first is to clarify the characteristics of the different Phra Malai texts, as scholars frequently are not careful to differentiate them and consequently write things that are incorrect. The second purpose is to provide information about the social context in which PMKS was popular for the purpose of shedding light on the meaning of certain miniature paintings that appear in these manuscripts.