Phaya Naga

In Southeast Asian folklore, the Phaya Naga (Thai: พญานาค; RTGS: phaya nak; literally: lord of nāga) are nāga, serpent-like creatures, believed by locals to live in the Mekong river or estuaries. Common explanations of their sightings have been attributed to oarfish, elongated fish with red crests; however, these are exclusively marine and usually live at great depths. People in both Laos and Thailand attribute the naga fireballs phenomenon to these creatures.[1] Their appearance resembles Vietnamese dragons to some extent.

Phaya Naga
A Phaya Naga guarding the Temple of Wat Si Saket in Vientiane, Laos.
GroupingMythology
Sub grouping
Hindu mythology

Folklore

Thai folklore holds the Phaya Naga to be semi-divine, demi-creatures, which possess supernatural powers as has been described in Buddhist and Hindu cosmology.[2] The "Kamchanod Forest" (ป่าคำชะโนด; RTGS: Pa Khamchanot) Ban Dung District, Udon Thani province, which is held in high reverence and fear across Thailand, is believed to be the border between the human world and the netherworld, and is frequently depicted in Thai folklore as the site of many hauntings, but more frequently is considered to be the home of the Naga.[3]

In Shan folklore of Nanzhao Kingdom (now southern China and Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries, which was centered on present-day Yunnan in China.) believed Erhai lake is inhabited of Naga and is the creator of the Mekong.[2]

Appearance

Many people, particularly in Isan (northeastern region of Thailand), believe that the Naga are responsible for unnatural wave phenomena occurring in the rivers or lakes in the vicinity. It is also frequently claimed that the serpent-like demigods are responsible for marks on common objects, such as car hoods or house walls.[1]

A police office has also claimed to be in contact with the Naga, although the implications of this contact is not thoroughly explained.[4]

In attempts to explain these phenomena scientists and researchers at the Faculty of Science of Chulalongkorn University have attributed these seemingly preternatural phenomena to standing waves in water, and posit that the existence of Phaya Naga is similar to belief in Loch Ness Monster in Scotland or Ogopogo in Canada, and further maintain that the serpent-like tracks of the Phaya Naga are very possibly forged by humans.[5]

History

Lao mythology maintains that the Naga are the protectors of Vientiane, and by extension, the Lao state. The Naga association was most clearly articulated during and immediately after the reign of Anouvong. An important poem from this period San Lup Bo Sun (or San Leupphasun Lao: ສານລຶພສູນ) discusses relations between Laos and Siam in a veiled manner, using the Naga and the Garuda, to represent Laos and Siam, respectively.[6] The Naga is incorporated extensively into Lao iconography, and features prominently in Lao culture throughout the length of the country, not only in Vientiane.

Many Lakorn (Thai television soap opera) are based on a Phaya Naga legend, such as Poot Mae Nam Khong (ภูติแม่น้ำโขง) in 2008,[7] Manisawat (มณีสวาท) in 2013[8] or Nakee (นาคี) in 2016.[9]

A search for the Phya Naga was recently featured in a Destination Truth episode on the SyFy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel) series in Series 01 (episode 02).[10]

See also

References
  1. "ปริศนา?? บั้งไฟพญานาค : ต่างมุมต่างความคิด". ASTV Manager (in Thai). 2005-09-27. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  2. ก้อง กังฟู (2014-06-01). "ปาฏิหาริย์...พญานาคราช มีปรากฏการณ์..เหนือธรรมชาติ". Thairath (in Thai). Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  3. "คำชะโนด เกาะลอยน้ำ เผยตำนานป่าลี้ลับป่าคำชะโนด". dmc (in Thai). 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  4. "พญานาคบึงโขงหลงที่เป็นข่าว.mp4". Nation TV (in Thai). 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  5. "พญานาค..วิทยาศาสตร์ กับ ความเชื่อ". Nation TV (in Thai). 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  6. Ngaosīvat, Mayurī; Pheuiphanh Ngaosyvathn (1998). "III.13 In the Machine Room of a Grand Design". Paths to conflagration : fifty years of diplomacy and warfare in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, 1778-1828. Studies on Southeast Asia, no. 24. Ithaca, N.Y.: Southeast Asia Program Publications, Cornell University. p. 68. ISBN 0-87727-723-0. OCLC 38909607. Retrieved November 16, 2011. Lay summary (January–March 2001). The first stanza of the San lup bo sun depicted the situation allegorically
  7. "ละคร ภูตแม่น้ำโขง". Sanook (in Thai). 2008-10-13.
  8. สีสันบันเทิง 17-12-11#ฟิตติ้ง มณีสวาท. Channel 3 (in Thai). YouTube. 17 December 2011.
  9. "Nakee – The Serpent Queen". lovefia. 1 November 2016.
  10. "Destination Truth" Haunted Village/Naga (TV Episode 2007) on IMDb
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