Historical Record of Lamtat Ayutthaya: Lamtat Parody Songs of Phaisop Siangthong

Abstract

The main purposes of this article were 1) to record the history of Ayutthaya Lamtat and 2) to illustrate the roles as a creative medium of Lamtat parody songs. Two Lamtat parody songs composed by Phaisop Siangthong – the first was about international sightseeing and the other involved Thai provincial one – were analyzed. The results revealed that the Phaisop Siangthong’s Lamtat group emphasized amusement as their distinctive characteristic through singing parodies. Systematically sorted according to geographical areas, 180 countries were mentioned in the first song, and 75 Thai provinces were included in the other. Concerning the roles as a creative medium, two aspects were found: social and linguistic. As for the social aspect, famous tourist attractions, together with their brief locations and some prominent characteristics, significant events, national changes and world capitals were stated. With regard to the linguistic aspect, the songs demonstrated a deep understanding of how to transcribe the names of countries and capitals, as well as the interesting use of a metonymic strategy instead of mentioning the province names directly.