Associate Professor Weena Weesapen
The Research Institute of Northeastern Art and Culture, Mahasarakham University
This article aims to study the Isan art of banana stalk carving with respect to its creative styles, purposes and wisdom. The study mainly focuses on the craving art in Ubon Ratchathani province.
The findings indicate that banana stalk carving art has existed along with other rituals in Thai society, with the carving styles having been developed through time. This type of art has been used for different occasions and for different purposes, both auspicious ceremonies and funerals. Decorating banana stalks in this manner with a carving knife is called “Thang Yuoak”. Pattern styles, artistic compositions and forms depend on the unique skills of the artists. Importantly, this artwork represents the Buddhist beliefs of the artists. The art of carving banana stalks has come a long way with Isan society. Although still remaining in many communities in Isan, such art work has lost its place in other regions of Thailand. In Ubon Ratchathani province, banana stalk carving is used to decorate crematoriums, as well as to decorate wax castles on Buddhist Lent Day, and decorate the cremation chamber in funerals to dedicate merit so that the dead will have a beautiful place to live in their afterlife. In Ubon Ratchathani, artists use many different patterns of banana stalk carving. The common patterns are the one tiered roof pattern, the three tiered roof pattern, the five tiered roof pattern, and the bird pattern. Some artists also create their own unique patterns, such as Tin Tao, Karb Yueng, Kam Poo and Krue Tao. Sizes and shapes of the banana-stalk-decorated castles or the cremation chambers are unique in each local community. The carving knowledge has been inherited and passed down from the master artists to the younger generation in the community. Nowadays, Ban Pon Sai Village in Ban Thai Sub-district, Kueng Nai District, Ubon Ratchathani has revived the art of banana stalk carving. Through schools and training programs, such carving art is taught by skillful artists. While it is widely known that there is such art in the Isan region, not many people are fully aware of its existence.
(เสนอในการประชุมวิชาการระดับชาติ "โลกกับธรรม : ภูมิปัญญาความรู้ในงานพุทธศิลป์อีสาน" ระหว่างวันที่ 22-23 กุมภาพันธ์ 2561 ณ โรงแรมพูลแมน ขอนแก่น ราชาออคิด จังหวัดขอนแก่น จัดโดย โครงการวิวัฒน์ไทยศึกษานานาชาติเพื่อการพัฒนาสังคมไทย (ENITS) สถาบันไทยศึกษา จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, สาขาวิชาภาษาและวรรณคดีตะวันออก คณะศิลปศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี และ สาขาวิชาภาษาไทย คณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยขอนแก่น)