The Peacock Princess, Peacock Maiden[1] or Chao Sisouthone and Nang Manola[2] is a Tai legend and directly related to agricultural culture. This story features in the folklore of Myanmar, Cambodia,[3] Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, northern Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.[4][5][6][7] It is also compared to the international narrative of the Swan Maiden.[8]
History
The tale originated within the people of the Dai ethnic group who worshiped peacocks.[9][10] The Dai people worship peacocks as being messengers of peace, kindness, love and beauty.[11]
The Pannasjataka, a Pali text written by a Buddhist monk/sage in Chiangmai around AD 1450-1470, also told the story of Sudhana and Manohara from ancient India.[12] There are also many similar versions told in China (where it is known as Chinese: 悅意; pinyin: Yuèyì), Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, including the Chinese story of the Princess and the Cowherd. In these stories, seven women who can fly descended to earth to take a bath, the youngest and prettiest of whom was captured by a human, and subsequently became a wife of a male human (either her captor or the prince-hero of the story). Later in the stories, the heroine put on some magical thing that enabled her to fly or transform into a bird, and flew away; prompting the quest by the hero in pursuit of his flying wife.
Plot
Typically referred to as Princess Manohara and Prince Sudhana (Khmer: ព្រះសុធននាងកែវមនោរាហ៍),[13] the legend appears in the Divyavadana and is documented by stone reliefs at Borobodur.[14]
The story is about a young prince who falls in love with and marries the peacock princess. On their wedding night, the evil wizard puts a spell on the king and starts a war. The young prince leaves for battle and while he is gone, his princess is sentenced to death by the king. Before she is killed, she takes on peacock form and escapes. When the prince returns, he kills the evil wizard and releases the king from the spell. Everyone lives happily ever after.
Manohara, the youngest of seven daughters of the Kinnara king, lives on Mount Kailash. One day, she travels to the human realm. She is caught by a hunter (using a magic noose in some versions) who gives her to Prince Sudhana. Son of King Adityavamsa and Queen Chandradevi, Sudhana is a renowned archer and heir to the Panchala kingdom. The prince falls in love with Manohara, and they get married.
Later, when the prince is away in battle, Manohara is accused by the royal counselor of bringing bad luck to the city and is threatened with death. She flies away, back to the Kinnara kingdom. She leaves behind a ring and the directions to reach the Kinnara kingdom so that Prince Sudhana can follow her.
Prince Sudhana returns to Panchala and follows her. From a hermit, he learns the language of animals to locate the Kinnara kingdom, and the necessary prayers to win back the princess. The journey takes seven years, seven months, and seven days. Along the way, Sudhana confronts a Yaksha (ogre), a river of flames, and a gigantic tree. After the long and arduous ordeal, he meets the Kimnara king who asks the prince to prove his sincerity with various tests assessing strength, perseverance, and wit. In the first test, Sudhana is made to lift a stone bench in the garden. The second task tested his skill with the bow and arrow. The final test is to identify which of seven identical women is Manohara, who he recognizes by the ring on her finger. Satisfied, the Kinnara king consents to their marriage and the couple returns to Panchala.
Etymology
| Figures | India | Kampouchea | Laos | Siam | China | Korea | Annam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peacock Princess | Manohara | Neang Kev Monorea នាងកែវមនោរាហ៍ | Nang Manola | Manohara มโนราห์ | Náng Mùchuònà 娘穆婼娜 | Arang 아랑 | Nhồi Hoa |
| The Prince | Sudhana | Preah Sothun ព្រះសុធន | Chao Sisouthone | Prince Sudhana พระสุธน | Zhào Shùtún 召樹屯 | Mudal 무달 | Lê Tư Thành |
| The Hunter | Halaka | ? | ? | Boon the Hunter พรานบุญ | Yánkǎn 岩坎 | ? | Tiều phu |
| The Wizard | Brahmin ब्राह्मण | Brahmin ព្រាហ្មណ៍ | Brahmin | Brahmin พราหมณ์ | Yayan the Wizard 羅門巫師 | ? | Tể tướng |
| Water God | Nagaraja नागराज | Reachnahka ណាហ្គារាជ | ? | Nagaraja พญานาคราช | Lóngwáng 龍王 | Yongwang 용왕 | Hà bá |
| Seven kinnari princesses | Kinnaur किन्नर | Kenorei កិន្នរី | ? | Kinrī กินรี | Xiānnǚ 小仙女 | Seonyeo 선여 | Tiên nữ |
| The King | Adityavamsa | Atichakvong | ? | Adityavamsa ท้าวอาทิตยวงศ์ | ? | ? | ? |
| The Queen | Chandradevi | Chantea Devi | ? | Chandradevi มเหสีจันทาเทวี | ? | ? | ? |
| Sites | India | Kampouchea | Laos | Siam | China | Korea | Annam |
| Earth | Pañcāla पञ्चाल | Oudor Bangchal | Mɯ́ang Bangchal | Panchala นครอุดรปัญจาล | Měng Bǎnzhā 勐板扎 | The village | An Nam |
| Central Plains | Ocean | Lake | River | River | Heavenly lake 天池 | Heavenly lake 천지 | River |
| Heaven | Mount Kailash कैलास | Phnom Preah Someru ភ្នំព្រះសុមេរុ | Champa | Mount Kailash เขาไกลาส | Heavenly kingdom 天國 | Enchanted mountain 금강산 | Champa |
Culture
Adaptations
The tale of Manora was adapted as play in Burma (Myanmar), where the character was known as Mananhurry, one of the nine royal daughters that live in a silver mountain, located after "a belt of prickly cane", "a stream of liquid copper" and a "Beloo". Her future husband, Prince Sudhana, was translated as "Thoodanoo", the Prince of Pyentsa.[16] In this version, the princesses fly by the use of an enchanted girdle, and the Manohara-like maiden is captured by a magical slipknot.[17]
The characters of the tale are also known in Southeast Asia as Kev Monorea and Preah Sothun.[18]
The tale was also found in the Sanskrit Buddhist literature of Nepal, with the name Story of Suchandrima and a Kinnarí, where the main couple were named Mahonará and Sudhanusha.[19] In another version from Nepal, Kinnarí Avadána, hunter Utpala captures a Kinnari (unnamed in the tale) with a magical noose. Prince Sudhana of Hastiná arrives with his hunting excursion and falls in love with the Kinnari.[20]
Another translation named the prince as Sudhanu and the kinnari as Manohara, daughter of King Druma.[21]
Legacy
According to James R. Brandon, the story of Princess Manohara and Prince Sudhana is a popular theme in Southeast Asian theatre.[22] It may have inspired the Manora[23] type of drama dancing, performed in Thailand and Malaysia.[24]
The Mayilattam (மயிலாட்டம்) is an artistic and religious form of dance performed in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and Kerala[25] in reverence to Lord Subrahmanya. Mayilattam performers wear costumes from head to toe like peacock with beak, that can be opened and closed using a thread, and perform specific dances. The performers dance on a tall piece of wood attached at the end of their feet. This art requires extensive training and practise. This dance is performed in all Murugan (Lord Subrahmanya) temples as a tradition during festivals. But due to the difficulties in practise and less amount of wages for the dancers, the number of Mayilattam performers is decreasing.[26][27]
The peacock dance or peafowl dance is a traditional Asian folk dance that describes the beauty and the movement of peacocks. There are several peacock dance traditions developed in Asia, among others are peacock dances of Myanmar, and in the western and northern parts of Cambodia, West Java in Indonesia, also peacock dances of Indian subcontinent in Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. In Indonesia it is known as the peafowl dance (Merak dance or Tari Merak) and originated in West Java. It is performed by female dancers inspired by the movements of a peacock and its feathers blended with the classical movements of Sundanese dance. its one of new creation dance composed by Sundanese artist and choreographer Raden Tjeje Soemantri around the 1950s.[28] This dance performed to welcoming honourable guest in a big event also occasionally performed in Sundanese wedding ceremony. This dance also one of Indonesian dance performed in many international events, such as in Perahara festivals in Sri Lanka.
Besides, Robam Moni Mekhala (Khmer: របាំមុនីមេខលា, also known as Robam Mekhala-Reamesor) is a Khmer classical dance that portrays the story of Moni Mekhala and Reamesor. It is part of the buong suong dance suite that is among the most sacred of Khmer classical dances, serving a ceremonial purpose to invoke rain upon the land.[29] In Thailand, the Mekkhala–Ramasun dance was performed as a boek rong ('prelude dance') introduction before main performances of lakhon nai or khon dances.[30][31]
The legend was made into a Chinese film in 1963 and 1982 with the same title.
See also
References
- ↑ Dana und Milada Stovícková (1976). "Das Pfauenmädchen" [The Peacock Maiden]. Tibetische Märchen: Märchen, Mythen und Legenden aus Tibet und anderen Ländern des Fernen Ostens (in German). Hanau: Werner Dausien. pp. 147–160.
- ↑ Diamond, Catherine (February 2005). "Red Lotus in the Twenty-First Century: Dilemmas in the Lao Performing Arts". New Theatre Quarterly. 21 (1): 34–51. doi:10.1017/S0266464X04000326. S2CID 191461101.
- ↑ Porée-Maspero, Eveline (1962). "III. Le cycle des douze animaux dans la vie des Cambodgiens". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 50 (2): 311–365. doi:10.3406/befeo.1962.1536.
- ↑ Jaini, Padmanabh S. (1966). "The Story of Sudhana and Manoharā: An Analysis of the Texts and the Borobudur Reliefs". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 29 (3): 533–558. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00073407. JSTOR 611473. S2CID 190756276.
- ↑ Jaini, Padmanabh S. (2001). Collected Papers on Buddhist Studies. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1776-0.[page needed]
- ↑ "Sandakinduru Katava | Ceylonese dance-drama". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ↑ Yousof, Ghulam-sarwar (1 January 1982). "Nora Chatri in Kedah: A Preliminary Report". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 55 (1 (242)): 53–61. JSTOR 41492911.
- ↑ Shouhua, Liu (2025). The History of Chinese Folktales. Translated by Hu Wenzhi; Zhao Youbin; Zhao Xiaoyan; Zhang zhiqing. American Academic Press. pp. 11, 174–175. ISBN 9798337089041.
- ↑ Yuan, Haiwang (2008). Princess Peacock : tales from the other peoples of China. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1-59158-416-2.
- ↑ Wilcox, Emily (23 October 2018). Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-30057-6.
- ↑ Chinese Clothing. Cambridge University Press. 3 March 2011. ISBN 978-0-521-18689-6.
- ↑ Terrai, G. (1956). "VI. Samuddaghosajâtaka. Conte pâli tiré du Pannâsajataka". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 48 (1): 249–351. doi:10.3406/befeo.1956.1291.
- ↑ Schiefner, Anton; Ralston, William Shedden. Tibetan tales, derived from Indian sources. London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & co. ltd. 1906. pp. xlviii-l and 44-74.
- ↑ "The Story of Prince Sudhana and Manohara". 5 February 2003. Archived from the original on 5 February 2003.
- ↑ Legend of Laotian peacock dance
- ↑ Smith, J. (1839). "Specimen of the Burmese Drama". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 8 (91): 535–551.
- ↑ Hartland, E. Sidney (1888). "The Physicians of Myddfai". The Archaeological Review. 1 (1): 24–32. JSTOR 24707779.
- ↑ Porée-Maspero, Eveline. Étude sur les rites agraires des Cambodgiens. Tome I. École Pratique de Hautes Studes - Paris. Paris: Mouton & Co./La Haye. 1962. pp. 657-658.
- ↑ Mitra, Rājendralāla, Raja; Asiatic Society. The Sanskrit Buddhist literature of Nepal. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1882. pp. 129-131.
- ↑ Mitra, Rājendralāla, Raja; Asiatic Society. The Sanskrit Buddhist literature of Nepal. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1882. pp. 62-63.
- ↑ The Mahavastu. Volume II. Translated from the Buddhist Sanskrit by J. J. Jones. London: Luzac and Company LTD. 1952. pp. 91-111.
- ↑ Brandon, James R. Theatre in Southeast Asia. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1974 [1967]. pp. 23-24. ISBN 0-674-87587-7.
- ↑ Plowright, Poh Sim (November 1998). "The Art of Manora: an Ancient Tale of Feminine Power Preserved in South-East Asian Theatre". New Theatre Quarterly. 14 (56): 373–394. doi:10.1017/S0266464X00012458.
- ↑ Sooi-Beng, Tan (1988). "The Thai 'Menora' in Malaysia: Adapting to the Penang Chinese Community". Asian Folklore Studies. 47 (1): 19–34. doi:10.2307/1178249. JSTOR 1178249.
- ↑ "Tamil Folk Dances".
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Dance forms of Tamilnadu". Archived from the original on 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
- ↑ "Sejarah Tari Merak Jawa Barat Beserta Ciri Khas dan Gerakannya". 16 November 2020.
- ↑ Cravath, Paul. Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 179-203 (The Ritual Origins of the Classical Dance Drama of Cambodia) University of Hawai'i Press
- ↑ "เรียนรู้เรื่องรำไทย ระบำชุด เมขลารามสูร". natasinsamphan.com (in Thai). Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ↑ Prasert Sontipong (2002). กระบวนท่ารำของรามสูรในการแสดงเบิกโรงละครใน [Ramasura dance patterns in lakon nai dance prelude] (master's thesis). Chulalongkorn University. ISBN 974-17-2465-9.
Further reading
Bibliography
- Norodom Buppha Devi, Le Cambodge, renaissance de la tradition khmère. Preah Sothun (création), danse classique, Cité de la musique, Paris, France, 2004.
- Sotheary Kimsun, Brʹaḥ S'uthn nʹāng kʹaevmnʹorʹāh̊ : Preah Sothun and Neang Keo Monorea, Reading Books, 2009.
- Isabelle Soulard, Preah Sothun neang Keo Monorea, France.
- Yuan, Haiwang (2008). Princess Peacock : Tales from the other peoples of China. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1-59158-416-2.
- Wilcox, Emily (23 October 2018). Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-30057-6.
- Chinese Clothing. Cambridge University Press. 3 March 2011. ISBN 978-0-521-18689-6.
- Jaini, Padmanabh S. (1966). "The Story of Sudhana and Manoharā: An Analysis of the Texts and the Borobudur Reliefs". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 29 (3): 533–558. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00073407. JSTOR 611473. S2CID 190756276.
- Schiefner, Anton; Ralston, William Shedden. Tibetan tales, derived from Indian sources. London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & co. ltd. 1906. pp. xlviii-l and 44-74.
- Toshiharu, Yoshikawa (1984). A Comparative Study of the Thai, Sanskrit, and Chinese Swan Maiden (PDF). International Conference on Thai Studies. Chulalongkorn University. pp. 197–213.
Cites
- Bailey, H. W. (1966). "The Sudhana Poem of Ṛddhiprabhāva". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 29 (3): 506–532. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00073390. JSTOR 611472. S2CID 170831109.
- De Chiar, Matteo (2013). "The Two Recensions of the Khotanese Sudhanāvadāna". Multilingualism and History of Knowledge: Vol. I: Buddhism among the Iranian Peoples of Central Asia. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 71–102. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1vw0pkz.7. ISBN 978-3-7001-7274-1. JSTOR j.ctt1vw0pkz.7.
- Degener, Almuth (2013). "Mighty Animals and Powerful Women: On the Function of Some Motifs from Folk Literature in the Khotanese Sudhanavadana". Multilingualism and History of Knowledge: Vol. I: Buddhism among the Iranian Peoples of Central Asia. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 103–130. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1vw0pkz.8. ISBN 978-3-7001-7274-1. JSTOR j.ctt1vw0pkz.8.
- Dezső, Csaba (2014). "Inspired Poetry: Śāntākaragupta's Play on the Legend of Prince Sudhana and the Kinnarī". Indo-Iranian Journal. 57 (1/2): 73–104. doi:10.1163/15728536-05701016. JSTOR 24665889.
- Foucher, A. (1909). "Notes d'archéologie bouddhique". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 9 (1): 1–50. doi:10.3406/befeo.1909.1911.
- Ginsburg, Henry (1971). The Sudhana-Manohara tale in Thai: A comparative study based on two texts from the National Library, Bangkok and Wat Machimawat, Songkhla (Thesis). doi:10.25501/SOAS.00029528.
- Simmonds, E. H. S. (1967). "'Mahōrasop' in a Thai Manōrā Manuscript". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 30 (2): 391–403. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00062297. JSTOR 611002. S2CID 177913499.
- Simmonds, E. H. S. (1971). "'Mahōrasop' II: The Thai National Library Manuscript". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 34 (1): 119–131. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00141618. JSTOR 614627. S2CID 162819400.