Sudsakorn ( th, สุดสาคร, , ) is a fictional character in
Sunthorn Phu's story ''
Phra Aphai Mani
Phra Aphai Mani is a 48,700-line Epic poetry, epic poem composed by Thai poet Sunthorn Phu ( th, สุนทรภู่), who is known as "the Bard of Rattanakosin" ( th, กวีเอกแห่งกรุงรัตนโกสินท ...
'', written in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
during the
Rattanakosin period. Sudsakorn, the son of Phra Aphaimani and a mermaid, was born at Ko Kaeo Phitsadan (เกาะแก้วพิสดาร, Magical Island) without ever having seen his father. His adventure begins after he grows up and begins his quest for his father. The story incorporates much of the
hero's journey
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
archetype
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...
.
Synopsis
On a magical island called "Ko Kaeo Phitsadan" (เกาะแก้วพิสดาร), a mermaid gives birth to a child named "Sudsakorn" (สุดสาคร) which means "the edge of the sea". The boy is reared by an old and wise
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
who eventually helps his mentee rescue his father from a
yakṣī called "Nang Phisueasamut" (นางผีเสื้อสมุทร).
The boy soon begins a quest for his father, Phra Aphaimani (พระอภัยมณี), and so he begs the hermit to teach him martial arts to protect himself from the dangers along the way. The hermit does so and also gives Sudsakorn a special gift, a flying horse-like creature called
Maninmangkorn (ม้านิลมังกร,
jet dragon horse), to shorten his journey. After leaving the island, this creature and the boy are lured into a haunted island by evil spirits and become lost. They fight for several hours and escape various threats.
Later in their journey, they encounter a nudist who steals Maninmangkorn and attempts to kill the boy by pushing him over a cliff. Sudsakorn unexpectedly survives the fall and sets out to retrieve Maninmangkorn. He hunts down the nudist and engages him successfully in combat. Sudsakorn is so successful that it draws the attention of a king, who decides to adopt him.
Time passes and Sudsakorn, having grown bigger and stronger, continues his quest for his father, with the help of his newly acquired brothers who board ships to follow Sudsakorn to the sea. During the second journey, a large group of giant butterflies suddenly attack the boys and capture Sudsakorn’s brothers before carrying them to an island. Sudsakorn follows the butterflies to the island and kills the insects. He proceeds to rescue his brothers and discovers his long-lost father in the process.
[''Sudsakorn''. (2016, January 31). Retrieved from Gottoknow: https://www.gotoknow.org/posts/519737]
The story of Sudsakorn in popular media
* ''
The Legend of Sudsakorn'', a 2006 Thai live-action fantasy film.
* ''Sudsakorn'', a 3D
computer animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...
TV series aired on
Channel 7 beginning from 2002.
* ''
The Adventure of Sudsakorn
''The Adventure of Sudsakorn'' ( th, สุดสาคร, also ''The Adventure of Sud Sakorn'', ''Sudsakhorn Adventure'', or ''Soodsakorn'') is a 1979 Thai animated fantasy film. The only cel-animated feature film ever made in Thailand, it wa ...
'', a 1979 Thai animated film.
References
{{Reflist
See also
*
Qilin
The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of on ...
, a similar horse-like dragon in Chinese mythology.
Fictional Thai people
Thai poetry
Characters in epic poems