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PRESENTATION IN ENGLISH 49

changed. Chao Konekeo Inthaleng passed away and the regency was held by his sons,
1
including Chao Kong Tai , who ascended briefly the throne of Keng Tung.
Judging by the condition of the manuscript, worn out but in good condition, and
by the annotations of the poet, we can say that it is an original work and not a copy. The
Mæt Lanka is now in the monastery of Wat Chiang Yün, under the safekeeping of Somdech
Ajyadhamma ( l˜≤gfºvk=3kT,≤N), the Patriarch of the Saßgha of Keng Tung. He allowed
us to make a scan and we put it at the disposal of researchers and students at the Graduate
School, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.

B. Text language and Translation

2
Like Lao and Tai literature of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, the Khün literature
distinguishes itself by various forms of versification, ranging from the simplest to the
most sophisticated. In our previous publications, we dedicated long chapters to the Lao
and Tai poetry. In this work, we shall mention only the So and the Mæt, which are
particularly appreciated in the Khün prosody.
Above all, we think it is worth noting that the text, as it appears in the manu-
scripts, is not split into verses. Words follow one after the other. It is up to the poet who
reads or sings the epic, to give a particular significance and a suitable pace based on the
benchmarks. As for the Mæt versification, we have, during a recent visit to Burma taken
advice from a well-known scholar in Keng Tung. The final text in Khün, as given in this
publication, and its transliteration in Thai, therefore meets the very precise rules of the
Mæt ’s metrics.

The poems or the classics of Khün literature are usually read before an audience.
In the local tradition, it is rare that a reader goes through the text right in front of his eyes
without pronouncing a single word. In fact, he does not read but hums in a low voice,
savouring here and there the passages where the rhymes well placed give all their magni-
ficence to the lines.
If a comparison could be made, we can say that the So is very close to the Mæt,
except the first one appears as a triplet and the second one as a quatrain. The rules of
versification, based on melodic tones and on rhymes, are virtually the same. In both

sides, the poem begins and concludes with a couplet.

1
Chao Kong Tai became regent from January to October 1937 and was assassinated at a religious
festival, at the end of Buddhist Lent. A long period of regency followed before seeing Chao Sai Luang
ascended the throne of Keng Tung in 1947.
2
It should be noted that Thai refers to the main ethnic group living in Thailand while Tai designates
people related to Thai (Siamese) living inside and outside Thailand, among these the Lao, the Yuan
of Chiang Mai, The Shan, the Khün of Keng Tung and the Lü of Xishuangbanna (Yunnan, Southern
China).