''Ngo Pa'' ( th, เงาะป่า, ), also known in translation as ''Romance of the Sakai'', is a Thai poem in the form of a ''
lakhon nai'' traditional play written by King
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
(Rama V) in 1906 and first published in 1913. The King wrote the play while spending eight days recovering from a bout of malaria, and took inspiration from his impressions of the
Maniq people
The Maniq or Mani are an ethnic group of Thailand. They are more widely known in Thailand as the ''Sakai'' ( th, ซาไก), a controversial derogatory term meaning'barbarism'. They are the only Negrito group in Thailand and speak a variety of ...
, a
Negrito group in
Southern Thailand. The story is a tragedy featuring a love triangle involving Sompla and Hanao, rivals competing for the affection of the beautiful Lamhab. The work is noted for employing the novel concept of ethnography in its conceptualization of the story's background, as well as its simple-yet-engaging ''
klon'' verse, and has been commonly included as reading material for Thai secondary school students.
References
Further reading
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External links
Full text at the Vajirayana Digital Library
Thai poems
Works by Chulalongkorn
1906 plays
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