via Bangkok Post, 12 April 2020: Spotlight on the Mon people living in Thailand and their cultural practices. Ajarn Pisal is a familiar face in my office, and has worked with us to produce a couple of volumes of translated Mon manuscripts which you can download here.
Folk philosopher Pisal Boonphuk, who is widely praised by leading universities and social and anthropology institutions as an expert on Mon studies, shares with us some great but lesser-known aspects of Mon culture.
Pisal is deciphering ancient Mon manuscripts found in Mon temples into the Thai language, grouping and classifying them as references for further research.
He revealed most of Mon temples have stored the ancient scripts nicely. They were sealed in wooden boxes and placed in Hor Trai, which was built in the middle of a pond. So they were securely kept away from termites and pests. Inscribed on palm leaves, the scripts were about Buddhism, folklore, literature and history. Mon lifestyle and social values were assimilated in the folklore. He said that it was fortunate that an ancient script was found at Wat Kongkaram in Potharam, Ratchaburi. It narrated the incidents happening in Ayutthaya in BE 2292, during the reign of King Borommakose before the second fall of the kingdom. It is believed to be inscribed by Mon people during the heyday of Mon states.
Source: The other side of Songkran
