THE AESTHETICS OF SUAN SUNANDHA: AN ANALYSIS OF SUNTARAPORN’S INSTITUTIONAL SONGS AS TOOLS FOR IDENTITY TRANSMISSION AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN IMAGINED COMMUNITY

Abstract

This academic article aims to examine and analyze the aesthetics and social roles of four institutional songs of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University composed by the Suntharaphorn band, namely: Wan Sunandha, Kaeo Chao Chom, Sunandha Ramwong, and Sunandha Alai. These songs function as cultural tools for transmitting identity and constructing an imagined community. This study employs textual analysis in conjunction with the concepts of “Imagined Communities” and “Sonic Ritual.” The findings reveal that all four Suntharaphorn songs are highly successful in operating as symbolic mechanisms that seamlessly merge the “Royal Court Identity” of the former Suan Sunandha Royal Garden with the aesthetics of modern Thai-Western popular music (Pleng Thai Sakon). This symbolic dimension can be categorized into three main aspects:

1. The establishment of sacredness and a spiritual center through the invocation of the royal name of Queen Sunandha Kumariratana in the song Wan Sunandha.
2. The linking of spatial botanical symbols through the metaphor of the institutional flower in the song Kaeo Chao Chom.
3. The organization of collective memory and the mitigation of alienation during moments of celebration and generational transition in the songs Sunandha Ramwong and Sunandha Alai.

The discoveries indicate that Suntharaphorn’s music does not function merely as entertainment. Instead, it serves as a “living cultural institution” that transforms the spatial meaning from a restricted royal ground into a higher education institution for the public. Concurrently, it sustains the threads of collective memory and attachment, effectively forging a unified spirit of “Suan Sunandha’s descendants” across generations.