Khattiyanari of Rattanakosin: Representations of Female Royalty in the Royal Proclamation of Conferment of Royal Ranks and Titles

Abstract

This article aims to examine the representations of female royalty in the 81 issues of the Royal Proclamation of Conferment of Royal Ranks and Titles in the Rattanakosin period by using the concept of representation as a framework. It is found that the main representations of the female royalty consist of the representation as Khattiyanari (royal lady) and the representation as ones who perform beneficial royal duties. The political and socio-cultural factors, namely the changing concept of women and political situations in Thailand in different periods, are responsible for these two representations which are both ongoing and dynamic. It is also found that important techniques including narrative techniques and linguistic devices are employed to construct the representations of the female royalty in a systematic and artistic way. These techniques show the correspondence with literary techniques used in other genres of Thai literature such as religious prose, biography and panegyric literature.