The “Suea Saming” Belief in Contemporary Thai Literature: A Case Study of Tri Apirum’s Novels

Authors

  • ชนัญชิดา บุญเหาะ

Keywords:

Suea Saming (weretiger), Contemporary literature, Supernatural-fantasy fiction, Tri Apirum (Thep Chumsai Na Ayutthaya)

Abstract

This article aims to study the Suea Saming (weretiger) belief in Thai society and its portrayal in two novels, Phut Payak (1983) and Sai Phan Payak (2008), by Tri Apirum, a well-known writer of supernatural-fantasy fiction. This study shows a variety of Suea Saming beliefs in Thai society which can be divided into three categories:1)   Suea Saming is a tiger that can assume the shape of a human because it is possessed by a human spirit; 2)  Suea Saming is a human who, through association with magic and sorcery, can assume the shape of a tiger; and 3) Suea Saming is an old tiger or old person whose body changes shape by natural cause. Tri Apirum combined the beliefs in Suea Saming with his own imagination to create the novel’s main plots, characters and settings. Tri Apirum's novels are not just imaginary novels that infuse Suea Saming belief to create excitement and nostalgia, but elements in the novels also correlate with the original Suea Saming belief in society, mysterious fantasies or romantic love, to make the stories more appealing to the readership. They further cultivate Buddhist ideas and ideas of cooperation in solving problems between urban and rural people.

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Published

2021-12-25

How to Cite

บุญเหาะ ช. (2021). The “Suea Saming” Belief in Contemporary Thai Literature: A Case Study of Tri Apirum’s Novels. Journal of the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University, 43(2), 54–75. Retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jasu/article/view/238371

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Section

Research Articles