The Narrative of Chao Anuwong in Korat Community and its Dynamics in Conveying the Meanings of Thai-Lao Relations

Abstract

Chao Anuwong (1767-1829) was hightly respected and honored by the Laotian as the great hero who saved the country in 1826. Chao Anuwong attempted to seize Korat but his troops were resisted and finally forced by Thao Suranaree, also known as Khun Ying Mo. His story has become a historical narrative which is widely recognized and presented in many different ways in Korat until now.
This article aimed to present the role, functions, and meaning of Chao Anuwong’s narrative in the Korat community, in relationship between the Thais and the Laotians. The main quests of this article were to see how the functions and meanings of the narrative has been constructed, interpreted, and changed in the Korat community. The concepts of narrative and its dynamics were employed for the study.
It was found that the narrative of Chao Anuwong presented the roles, functions, and meanings in relation to the life of the people in the Thai-Lao community in Korat 4 ways: 1) The narrative of Chao Anuwong and its role in promoting social harmony, 2) The narrative of Chao Anuwong and the binary opposition meaning, 3) The narrative of Chao Anuwong and the symbolic meaning, and 4) The narrative of Chao Anuwong and the dynamics of Thai-Lao relation.
The presentation of the meaning of Thai-Lao relation through the narrative of Cho Anuwong reflects the roles, functions, and meaning of the narrative in relation to the people in the Korat community, leading to historical awareness and harmony between the Thai and Lao people in the Korat community in the changing world under globalization and the ASEAN community trend.