II Dai Nationality

Because of the proximity of the Dai nationality to the Burmese border and India's rather early influence on Burma, and furthermore because the Dai language belongs to the same family as Thai, the Dai were influenced by India very early on, accepting its literature and religion. The Indian Rāmāyana didn't, however, spread through China after it came to the Dai. Recent investigations show that the Rāmāyana is very popular among people in this region, or at least, there are many different versions. First, there is the longer and shorter Lang ka (《兰嘎》), being the Lang ka yai (《兰嘎竜》) and Lang ka noi (《兰嘎囡》) , where the longer Lang ka is further divided into the Lang ka sip ho (《兰嘎西贺》) and Lang ka sip song ho (《兰嘎双贺》).

In the Dai region belonging to China, the translated versions of the Rāmāyana are numerous. Here we can't look at all of them in detail. Probably every folk singer of the Rāmāyana made additions and deletions according to local conditions in their time in order to make the story suitable to their audience. This shows well the ability of the singers but brings out a multitude of differing versions.

A comparison of the plot, theme, and characters of the Sanskrit Rāmāyana of India and the Lang /ka sip ho of the Dai, shows that they are basically the same. Even the names are not too different. For example:

Rama Tsau Lamma

Sita Nangsida (or, Lang si ta)

Laksmana Lakana (apparently from Pali)

Bharata Phalata

Hanuman Anuman

Vibhisana Phijasa

Lanka Langka

Ayodhya Ajuthaja

The 22 sections of the Lang ka sip ho can be divided by contents into five sections. The main plot of the first four parts is basically similar to that of the Rāmāyana . Rama was exiled for 14 years, as opposed to 12 years in Tsau Lamma's case. The fifth part narrates how Tsau Lamma chose a queen for his son and fought with Mangkosol. Finally the two countries allied and Tsau Lamma gave up the throne for his son Loma. Tsau Lamma then died. This episode is mostly a creation of the Dai.

With respect to plot and character's names, there are some differences. In the Rāmāyana it was Visnu who divided himself into four parts, but in the Lang ka sip ho some gods go up to heaven to report on Phummatsa, telling how he bullies the gods. Then Phajainda orders the Botiya brothers to go down to earth to punish Dasaratha. The three queens became pregnant because of the bananas they ate, rather than from drinking fairy wine. In the Rāmāyana , Sita was picked up from a ditch while in the Lang ka sip ho , Nangsida is said to be the daughter of Dasaratha, and is thrown into a fiver by him. Tsau Lamma left home secretly, not because of court intrigues and exile. Phalata went to the forest to cultivate his religious spirit after returning to the palace, and his youngest brother became king. In the Xishuangbanna (西双版纳) version of the Lang ka sip ho , the aunt of the ten－headed king changes into a golden deer to lure Tsau Lamma away, giving him a chance to abduct Nangsida. This time Lakana drew a mandela around his brother's wife Xilaz, asking the god of the Earth to protect her; this plot is not found in the Rāmāyana . On the eve of the war, the ten－headed king sent a fairy girl who changed into Xi－la in order to deceive Tsau Lamma. Anuman went to the city of Langka as a scout, bringing Nangsida some amulets as a token, and not a ring. Tsau Lamma came across his wife and son while out riding on a search. So father and son recognized each other and dismissed their misunder standing not at a horserace, but upon hearing two young players acting and singing the Rāmāyana ; There are other such differences.

When we look at the details, there are some noteworthy places, for example, Dao Xiuting's (刀秀廷) translation of the Lang ka sip ho contains the episode of the killing of the blind monk's son but Dao Xingping's (刀兴平) version doesn't. Although this episode isn't important to the Rama story, it is contained in the Lang ka sip ho , This proves the close relationship between these stories.

Na Yanhan's (纳岩罕) translation of the shorter Lang ka from Xishuangbanna is much different from the Sanskrit Rāmāyana . For example, Nangsida originally was Suthamma, the wife of the god of the heavens, Phain; they met every seven days. The ten－headed king wandered into the palace and changed into the form of Phain to rape Nangsida. After this, Nangsida came down from heaven as the ten－headed king's daughter in order to get revenge. The ten－headed king tied her to a raft and cast her out into the sea where she was rescued by the fairy Phalasi and brought up by him.

The Dai, Benglong and Blang nationalities' Lang ka sip ho has some places which differ from the Rāmāyana . For example, Phalasi held a tournament in the forest to select a son－in－law. He bade the suitors draw a magic bow and carry a stone desk. The ten－headed king kept a watch on the tournament. After Tsau Lamma married Nangsida, The ten－headed king changed into a golden deer and kidnapped her. Another example is that the mother of the ten－headed king was a widow. After harming the baby Nangsida, the ten－headed king put her and his wife together on a raft and let it drift away to the sea. The waves turned the raft over and pushed it to the shore; the wife came ashore and cursed the ten－headed king every day. Later the wife married a monkey and gave birth to two sons, one of whom was Anuman, who avenged his mother by killing her enemy. Another example is that the ten－headed king abducted Nangsida while Tsau Lamma was away in a deep valley fetching water. The ten－headed king imitated the voice of Tsau Lamma, asking Lakana to go to fetch water. When the brothers were away he kidnapped Nangsida. These differences illustrate the change and development which occurred in the spread of the epic.

In summary, a comparison of the themes of the Sanskrit Rāmāyana and its Dai versions shows that they are basically the same. They all advocate justice and the defeat of evil. This proves that the people of China and India share the same morals and inclinations. While of course there are some differences, the plots of the stories are basically similar and even some details are the same. With respect to the theme the Rāmāyana preaches the Brahmanism. The main character Kshatriya is assisted by Brahman fairies. The Rāmāyana also preaches the virtue of the caste system and feudalist morality while the Lang ka sip ho advocates Buddhism, so there is a contradiction between Buddhism and local primitive religions. With respect to the plot, the difference is that when Nangsida (Si－ta) is the daughter of the ten－headed king and comes down from heaven to take revenge, Vishnu is Indra. The queens ate bananas and became pregnant, and the golden deer induced Tsau Lamma away so only Lakana was left. He drew a mandela around his brother's wife so that the devil would not harm her. This episode can also be seen in other versions.

On the whole, the story has taken on a strong Dai character. Many Indian place names have been changed into Chinese names, that is to say, names from Yunnan Province. For example, Anuman threw the Fairy Grass Mountain from heaven into the Dai region of Yunnan. Furthermore, there are some local folktales woven into the plot of the story. This is inevitable and natural. In the fifth part, Tsau Lamma and Mangkosol have a war. The battle takes place in the Dai region; this is not only a Dai characteristic, but a Dai creation.

Besides the Dai, other nationalities in Yunnan have some traces of the Rāmāyana . For example, among the Jingpo (景颇) nationality there is a long narrative poem Kainuo and Kaigang (《凯诺和凯刚》) whose theme reflects the stuaggle of people against nature and virtue. Against evil it praises heroism and wiping out of devils. The eleven chapters are named: Beginning, Birth, Growth, Forging the Sword, Fierce Fighting, Love Song, Search, Windy Cave, Reunion, Drawing the Bow, and Conclusion. The elder brother, Kaigang, symbolizes evil, marrying a monkey, while the younger brother symbolizes virtue, marrying Jain. Kaigang envies Kainuo and wants to have his brother's wife. He deceives Kainuo into a windy cave, pushes him inside and then goes to seduce Jain. This fighting is almost the same as that in the monkey kingdom of the Rāmāyana . One cannot deny the Rāmāyana 's influence.