The illustrated adventures of Phra Malai

[Buddhism - Phra Malai]. Phra Malai Kham Luang [The Fable of Phra Malai].

€ 9.500,00

This sumptuously illustrated folding book (samut khoi) tells the legend of the Phra Malai, a beloved adventure fable of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The monk Phra Malai accumulates so much merit through good deeds and meditation that he acquires supernatural powers, with which he travels across the mortal world, into hell, and to the heavenly realm. Each of these adventures lavishly illustrated, and told with sometimes risqué good humor.

This manuscript boasts 12 hand-painted illustrations, from the writhing masses of hell to the heavenly stupas; two somewhat bawdily show nude men pursuing female figures, only to have their genitals chewed by wild animals, and yet another shows the pure gift of eight lotus flowers from a poor woodcutter.

In 19th century Thai Buddhist communities, a fine folding book like this one would probably be commissioned for a funeral celebration where monks would give a theatrical reading of Phra Malai's adventures. Beyond Phra Malai, folding books are an integral part of the manuscript traditions of Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Sri Lanka, likely originating in the latter, and are often called 'khoi books' after the bark paper from which they are made (another common term used in English is parabike, from Cambodian).

The legend itself is based on an earlier Pali story, but in the Thai manuscript tradition, Phra Malai appears in the vernacular, written in Thai and usually in the Thom Kai script, a variant of Khmer script, but which includes Thai tone markers. This manuscript was probably one of many commissioned by the family of a deceased loved one, as a traditional offering to gather merit for a soul navigating hell and reincarnation.