Thai’s Southern Folks’ Tale Literature: Main Idea and Its Inheritance

Abstract

This research has the main objective to: (1) study the association of local literature and 3 types of Southern drama, (2) to study the characteristics and summary of literature that has the association with Southern local drama, (3) to study the inheritance method of literature and (4) to study the role adaptation of literature, with means to conserve and promote.

This research is to learn from 3 different play scripts of local literature, which consists of Shadow Puppets, Nora and Local Musical Folk Drama. with procedure of utilizing the qualitative research and present the result in descriptive analysis.

the result suggested that the play scripts are crucial for the drama to be used to perform. The scripts have both writings and orals, ancients and newly-invented realism creations, in purpose to perform with ceremony, entertainment and to use for poem in local drama.

The script adaptation has been found on the main storyline, the characteristic of plot and character, as well as the ancient script that has been used on some occasions. The script that has an outstanding summary is about the world and the universe that expose how the old belief, Hinduism and Buddhism has merged; about the social system, and ethics.

The inheritance results show that learning and inheriting methods of artists are categorized into 3 types, which consist of learning from the old tradition, learning through the back door, and learning from the fashion which can be further categorized into learning with the new generation education system that inherits the content by maintaining the original, adaptation by usability condition, wholly create new one by reference the plot from old scripts, as well as establish the fantasy concept.

In the role of adaptation and the means to conserve and promote part, results show that the local drama takes a role in Southern people’s lifestyle in terms of the ceremony, entertainment, ethics training and to publish the information. This role might change according to the times, but the role that always have crucial position is the role that plays along the ceremony.

Methodology to conserve and promote is categorized into 2 points of view, which is the group that thinks local drama must be conserved in the old ways as much as possible, and the group that thinks local drama can be adapted through generations, but have to conserve old characteristics too.