Animals in Isan Literature: An Exploratory Study in Ecocriticism

Abstract

This research paper aims to study animals in the Isan literature of the Phrayakhankhak by studying two major themes of ecocriticism: the representation and ethics of human-animal relationships. Animals are presented in the literature in two ways: (1) Animal representing natural powers above human beings, because animals have a better instinct, and a keener perception of the variability of nature than humans. 2) An animal representing sacred power, which is linked to the status of the Phrayakhankhak, who was born a god in the sacred world before reincarnating into the human world. In addition to the representation of animals, it has also been found that meanings have been defined for animals, which represent the ethics of the relationship between humans and animals: 1) Animals are the connector between man and nature. Even though humans commit violent acts against nature and aim to conquer it, when considering the reversal of roles, it is found that when humans suffer disasters for whatever reason, humans have to rely on nature for their livelihood. 2) The animal as an ecological balancer: the war of the Phrayakhankhak and his animals against Phrayatan, in which the animal is an ecological balancer, plays an important role in bringing the world back to normal.