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Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

Abstract

Phaya Ratchawangsan is a Thai adaptation by King Vajiravudh in 1911 of Shakespeare’s Othello. It mainly follows the plot of Othello, but the settings and all characters are changed to resemble Thai places and names. Othello the Moor becomes the Malay general Phaya Ratchawangsan. As Othello presents the relationship between the “blackamoor” and white Europeans, so Phaya Ratchawangsan presents the relationship between the Malay outsider or “Khaek” and Thais. This article argues that as King Vajiravudh transposed Othello to the Thai setting, the racial theme persisted. While Phaya Ratchawangsan does not exhibit a direct racist thought that targets the Malay, it uses Thai-Khaek relations to bolster Thai superiority. Phaya Ratchawangsan exhibits the story of a Khaek who can assimilate well into Thai society by adopting Thai values and serving a Thai king. This aspect of the story strikingly reflects the condition of a handful of Malays who served the Thai kingdom during the Ayutthaya and the early Rattanakosin era. This article also argues that Phaya Ratchawangsan played a part in emphasizing pride in Thainess and in supporting the idea of ethnic assimilation that King Vajiravudh introduced as a part of his nationalist project.

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