A Eulogy for His Majesty King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai Through the Literature Record of a Coronation Ceremony in the Rattanakosin Period

Abstract

Background and objective [S]: A Eulogy for His Majesty King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai was composed by Phra Nangklao Chaoyuhua (King Rama III). The literature has been categorized as eulogistic literature since it contained common characteristics of literature that praises a king. However, this literature has outstanding characteristics to distinguish it from other eulogy literature, especially the content that records the events of the coronation of King Rama II in its entirety through a literary manner. Therefore, the researcher is interested in using this literature to study according to the concept of genre theory. The objective of this study was to examine the specific characteristics of A Eulogy for His Majesty King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai and to investigate whether it can be classified as a literature record of a coronation ceremony in the Rattanakosin period. This study portrays the value of this literature in the aspect of coronation record literature and is useful for further study of the classification of Thai literature. Methodology: This study was qualitative research analyzing literary data according to the objectives of the study by considering the concept of literature classification, along with the body of knowledge about coronation ceremonies, presenting the results of the study in an analytical descriptive manner. Findings: A Eulogy for His Majesty King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai contained five key characteristics: 1) The eulogy was recorded based on the author’s experience who attended the royal ceremony. 2) The eulogy included background knowledge of the coronation ceremony and demonstration of the legitimate right in the accession of the monarch. 3) The eulogy recorded the main process of conducting the coronation ceremony. 4) The eulogy specified the place, people and equipment used in the ceremony completely. 5) The eulogy conveyed narration of the event and atmosphere, along with the feeling of appreciation of the participants in the ceremony. Moreover, literary techniques used were outstanding in terms of prosody in klong type of poetry, leading to sounds and rhythms while reading, as well as the selection of literary language, including both word selection and metaphor usage to describe the atmosphere of the ceremony and the sentiment. Consequently, this literature contains the specific characteristics of the recording of a royal ceremony that was different from other types of recordings, such as royal chronicles that often employed language to describe stories rather than depicting images and sentiments. According to the above specific characteristics, this literature was meticulously written with literary value and can be classified as a literature record of a coronation ceremony. Relevance to Thai Studies: This study is a key guideline for studying the classification of Thai literature. The research examines the relationship between the creation of literature and the coronation ceremony through Thai literary tradition. This also enhances knowledge about the coronation ceremony of King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai and the history of Thai literature in the Rattanakosin period. Conclusion: A Eulogy for His Majesty King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai is not only valuable literature as a eulogy, but also valuable as a literary record of the coronation ceremony. This literature was composed directly from the content of the coronation of King Buddha Lertla Nabhalai with the harmony of praise of the king in a literary manner. It is worth noting that some literature in later periods was also composed in the same way as this literature. For example, in Khlong Lilit Suphap Tamrap Phraboromrachaphisek Sapdama Ratcha Maha Chakkriwong B.E.2468, the coronation ceremony of King Prajadhipok (King Rama VII) was recorded in detail. It could be considered that A Eulogy for His Majesty King Buddha Lert La Nabhalai was a key starting point for the composition of the literature record of coronation ceremonies, resulting in the creation of the same characteristic of this literature that was more concrete and clearer in the later period.