วารสารอารยธรรมศึกษา โขง-สาละวิน...

วารสารอารยธรรมศึกษา โขง-สาละวินMekong-Salween Civilization Studies Joural 13

วารสารอารยธรรมศึกษา โขง-สาละวินMekong-Salween Civilization Studies Joural14

บทคัดย่อ สารัตถะดนตรีพิณ: แนวทางสู่การสร้างสรรค์เพลงตับ “พิณทุกขนิโรธคามินี

ปฏปิทา”เป็นส่วนหนึง่ของวทิยานพินธ์การสร้างสรรค์ผลงานทางดรุยิางคศลิป์เรือ่งเพลงตบั

“พิณทุกขนิโรธคามินีปฏิปทา”โดยมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาข้อมูลดนตรีพิณตามแนวคิดทาง

ศาสนาจากหลกัฐานประเภทต่างๆ เอกสารโบราณแห่งอารยธรรมไทยและอารยธรรมอนิเดยี

รวมถึงคัมภีร์พระไตรปิฎก ผลการวิจัยพบว่า ส่วนท่ี 1 ข้อมูลจากหลักฐานพบพิณปรากฏ

2ประเภทคือ(1)เครื่องดนตรีประเภทลิวท์แบ่งออกเป็น2แบบคือแบบเครื่องดีดคอยาว

ปรากฏลักษณะเดียวกับกระจับปี ่ และแบบเครื่องดีดคอสั้น ได้แก่ พิณห้าสาย และ

(2) เครื่องดนตรีประเภทเรโซเนเต็ด โบว์ คือพิณน�้าเต้าและพิณเปี๊ยะ ส่วนที่ 2 การศึกษา

ประเด็นเครื่องดนตรี พบว่าเครื่องดนตรีพิณ (bin) และวีณา (vina) ของอินเดียปรากฏ

5ลักษณะคือ(1)เรโซเนเต็ดโบว์ (2)โบว์ฮาร์ป(3)สติ๊คซิทเทอร์ (4)พลั๊คลิวท์และ

(5)กาตราวีณา(gatravina)(ใช้ค�าว่าวีณาแต่หมายถึงการขับร้อง)ส่วนเครื่องดนตรีตระกูล

พิณไทยนั้นพบ 2 ลักษณะคือประเภทเรโซเนเต็ด โบว์ และประเภทเครื่องดีดคอยาว

ด้านหลงัแบนส่วนที่3พณิในพระไตรปิฎกพบว่า(1)ด้านความหมายพณิมนียัแห่งหลกัธรรม

ค�าสอนโดยอปุมาจากสายและเสยีงของพณิเปรยีบดัง่ความเพยีรความพยายามความซือ่สัตย์

ความตั้งมั่น ความเสียสละ ความลุ่มหลง และพิณยังมีนัยแสดงสถานะ เช่น ผู้มีบุญบารมี

ผู้เป็นบุคคลส�าคัญสิ่งประเสริฐและธรรมเนียมปฏิบัติ(2)ด้านลักษณะทางกายภาพของพิณ

สันนิษฐานได้ว่าเป็นรูปแบบฮาร์ป ลิวท์และโบว์ ซ่ึงเป็นกลุ่มเคร่ืองดนตรีเดียวกันกับที่มีใช ้

ในยุคหลังพระเวท (3) ด้านบทบาทหน้าท่ีพบว่าพิณสามารถเป็นเครื่องท�าท�านองและ

เครื่องท�าเสียงดรอน ใช้ประกอบการขับร้อง จึงน�าไปสู่การสร้างสรรค์โดยใช้ลักษณะดนตรี

ที่ปรากฏในพระไตรปิฎกเชื่อมโยงกับดนตรีอินเดียในยุคก�าเนิดพระพุทธศาสนา

ค�าส�าคัญ: พิณ, วีณา, การสร้างสรรค์ทางดนตรี, ทุกขนิโรธคามินีปฏิปทา, การประพันธ ์

เพลงไทย,ดนตรีพุทธศาสนา

Abstract ThisarticleispartofadoctoralthesisonthecreationoftheThai

musiccompositionof“Phin-Dukkhanirodhagaminipatipada”,whichaimsto

study phinmusicfromthereligiousperspectivesfromvarioustypesofevidence,

ranging fromancientdocuments in theThai and Indiancivilizations to the

TripitikataBuddhistscripture.Theresearchfindingsaredividedintothreeparts.

First, it revealstwotypesofphin:1)alutefalling intotwodifferenttypes:


namelythelong-neckedpluckedlutes,similarinshapetothekrachappi,and

theshort-neckedpluckedlutesuchasaphinhasai(aphinwith5strings),

2)aresonatedbowincludingthephin nam taoandthephin pia. Secondly,

thefindingswithrespecttoorganologyfromastudyofIndianlutes(thebin

and vina)revealfivedifferenttypesofthoseinstruments:(1)resonatedbow,

(2)bowedharp,(3)stickzither,(4)pluckedlute,and(5)gatra vina(theword

vinaherereferstosinging),whiletherearetwotypesofphin instrumentsfound

inThaiculture:resonatedbowandlong-neckedpluckedlutewithflat-backed

soundbox.Thirdly,aphinmentionedintheTripitakaBuddhistscriptureshows

that:(1)intermsofmeaning,aphinisconveysimplicationsofBuddhistteachings.

The strings and its sonority are used as metaphors for perseverance,

industriousness,honesty,determination,sacrificeandobsession.Aphin also

implies the status of an individual, such as a person of greatmerits and

charismaticauthority,apersonofgreatimportanceandcustomofexcellence;

(2) In terms of its physical characteristics: harp, lute, and bow types of

phin found,which correspond to the Post-Vedicmusical instruments; and

(3) Intermsofrolesandfunctions,aphincanbebothmelodicanddrone

instruments accompanying singing. These findings provide a conceptual

frameworkforthecreationofaThaimusiccomposition,whichthemusical

traitsappearing intheBuddhistTripitakaand inconnectionwiththe Indian

musicthatexistedattheonsetofBuddhismareutilized.

Keywords: phin, vina, music creation, Dukkhanirodhagaminipatipada, Thai

musiccomposition,Buddhistmusic

Introduction Thisarticle isa summaryof the researchfindings for thesecond

objective(outofthreeobjectives)ofthethesisonthecreationofaThaimusic

composition of“Phin-Dukkhanirodhagaminipatipada”. Under this research

topic,theresearchprojectisgrantedFY2018ThesisGrantforDoctoralDegree

StudentestablishedbyTheNational ResearchCouncil of Thailand (NRCT).

Additionally,alongsideanadviceandinformation,thisthesisissupportedby


TheCentreofExcellenceforThaiMusicandCultureResearch,FacultyofFine

andAppliedArts,ChulalongkornUniversity.

The thesis isacreativecompositionofphinmusicbasedon the

BuddhistdoctrineofMajjhim Patipada(theMiddlePath)whosefullnameis

“Dukkhanirodhagaminipatipada”.Thisdoctrine,whichcompriseseightpaths,

evolvedfromthediscoveryofaprocessforthecontemplationandunderstanding

ofthenaturalphilosophythatwilleventuallyleadtothecessationofsuffering.

ThesaidpathtothecessationofsufferingisassociatedwithIndra,

animportantHindugodwhoiswidelyknownandhighlyreveredbymostThais.

Indra isaprincipaldeity in Indianmythologywhohascloseconnectionto

BuddhaandBuddhism;heappearsinmanyeventsinthelifehistoryofBuddha.

BuddhistsbelievethatIndraappearedinavisiontoBuddhaduringhisself-

periodmortification,playingathree-stringedphintoremindhimofthetrue

pathtothecessationofsuffering.Thepluckingofathree-stringedphinhas

thefollowingimplications:“…Too tight a string will break upon plucking, too

loose a string will not resonate well. Only a string that is moderately, not too

tightly or too loosely stretched, will produce a perfect tune. Upon listening to

Indra’s phin music, Phra Mahasat [the Buddha] recognized the implication of

the vision and realized that “Majjhim Patibat” (the practicing of moderation)”

is the only path to enlightenment…”(SomdetKromPhraParamanuchitchinoros,

1965,117).ThisanecdoteisaperfectsynthesisofthebeliefinIndiangodsand

aBuddhistdoctrine. It representsa creative thinkingprocess thatprovides

solutiontotheexplicationoftheMiddlePathdoctrinethroughaneffective

metaphorfortheapplicationofthisBuddhistdoctrinetotheBuddhists’ways

oflifeandactionsandmostimportantythewaytoattainenlightenment.The

musicaltraitsofthephinwereaptlyemployedtoexplainoneofthemost

importantBuddhistteachings.

Astudyofthemusicalandreligiousessenceofaphin, a bin or a

vinarevealedtheapparentaspectsofphinmusicthatarerepeatedlymentioned

in various religious contexts regarding themeanings, origins, evidence and

musicaltraitsofthemusicalinstrumentsinthephinfamilyduringtheBuddhist


period.Thispart alsodiscusses the storiesof aphin that appeared in theTripitakaBuddhistscripturewhichinconnectionwiththeexistingsocial,culturalandreligiouscontextsunderlyingtheusageandelementsofphin music in eachperiod.ItalsoexaminesimplicationsoftherelationshipbetweenreligionsandculturesthatcontributetothepresenceofaphininThaimusicculture.

Research Objective Theobjectiveofthisarticleistoexaminedataonthereligiousaspectsofphinmusicfromdiversesourcesofevidence,includingancientdocumentsintheIndianandThaicivilizationsandtheTripitakaBuddhistscripture,withinthree areas: (1) essence of thephin as a musical instrument regarding its meaningsandtheoriginoftheword“phin”aswellasclassificationofphin musicalinstrumentsandevidenceoftheirexistence;(2)musicalinstrumentsinthevinafamilyinIndiancultureanda phininThaiculture;and(3)phin in theTripitikaBuddhistscripture.

Research Methods Qualitativeresearchmethodologywasemployedinthefollowingsteps: 1.Datacollectionanddocumentaryresearch.Surveysofrelevantdocuments,textbooks,academicpapers,thesesandbooksinvariouslibraries,suchasTheFacultyofArtsLibrary,themusiclibraryandtheOfficeofAcademicResourcesatChulalongkornUniversity,TheNationalLibraryofThailandandnineotherlibrariesintheUnitedKingdom,namely,(1)TheBritishLibrary,(2)TheBritishMuseum,(3)SchoolofOrientalandAfricanStudies,UniversityofLondon(SOAS),(4)UniversityofYork,(5)MusicLibrary,RoyalHolloway,UniversityofLondon,(6)DurhamUniversity,(7)UniversityofOxford,(8)TheCityUniversity,and(9)HornimanMuseum&Garden. 2.In-depthinterviewsandsemi-structuredinterviewsofauthoritiesandexpertsinthefieldstudiesofreligionandmusic. 3.Conductananalysisandsynthesisoftheresearchdatawithbringing

abouttoaframeworkforthecreationofaThaimusicalcomposition.


Research Results 1. Essence of the phin musical instruments

1.1 Meanings and origins of the word “phin”

Theword“phin”intheThaimusicculturereferstoatypeof

plucked string instrument. The instrument canbe calledbybothPali and

Sanskritterms(Yupho,1980,5).TheSanskritwordforthisinstrument,which

isgenerallyusedinBuddhistcontexts,is“vina”.Forexample,theword“vina

and vinang” appear in the Pali Tripitikata. Because of its associationwith

Buddhism,Thaishavebeenfamiliarwithandrecognizedtheword“phin”asa

typeofmusicalinstrumentthathaslongexistedinThaisocietyandculture.

InthetraditionalmusiccultureofThailand,theword“phin”

ratherthan“vina”isusedtorefertoagroupofcommonhand-heldstring

instruments.Musicscholarsandmusicianstendtoagreethatthewordphin

hasitsrootsinandisacorruptedformoftheword“vina”,whichistheword

forstringmusicalinstrumentsinIndia.The“v”consonant(/v/)intheword

“vina”wascorruptedintothe“b”consonant(/ph/)intheword“phin”,and

themeaningof“phin”isconfinedtothepluckedstringinstrumentsinstead

oftheentirerangeofstringmusicalinstrumentsinitsIndiansenseoftheword

(Pikulsri,2001,49).Theuseoftheword“phin”denotingthepluckedstring

instrumentisalsoconfirmedbyevidencefromdifferentperiods.Forexample,

various scholarsandmusiciansagreed that theword“phin” foundon the

stoneinscriptionsofKingRamkhamhaengreferstoanancientstringinstrument

withagourdresonatorlikethephin nam tao (a gourd phin)andthephin pia

(Yupho,1980,5).A“phin”asancienttypesofpluckedstringinstrumentswas

alsofoundinmuralpaintingsdepictingvariouseventsinthelifeofBuddha.

The influenceofSanskrit language inJavaandMalaysiancultureswasalso

responsible for the use of this word to refer to similar types ofmusical

instrumentsinsuchcultures.

Insummary,thewordphinintheThaimusiccultureisused

torefertothepluckedstringinstrumentonly.Itisalsothegenericwordthat

Thaipeopleuseintheirgeneralcommunication.Phin instruments are called


by different names in different regions and vary in terms of their shapes,

characteristics,structures,andperformingtechniques.Theword“vina”inThai

societyandculturehasitsrootsinboththePaliandSanskritwordsthathave

been incorporated into Thai language following the spread of Buddhism.

ThailandhasalsoembracedotheraspectsofIndianculturesthatarehighly

valuedbyThais,suchasIndianreligiousbeliefs,customs,traditions,ritualsand

literature.Referringtothephintypeofmusicalinstrumentbythenamesof

“vina or bin”isoneofthedistinctindicatorsofthesocial,religiousandcultural

bondsthatexistbetweenthetworegions.

1.2 Classification of musical instruments

UndertheIndianmusicalinstrumentclassificationprinciples

of theNatyashastra Treatise (Text on the performing arts) and the Sangita

RatnakaraTreatise(TextonMusicandDance),“phin”belongstothestringed

instrumentcategoryof“tata”.However,aphinisclassifiedastheplucked

stringinstrumentintheThaimusicculture.Accordingtothesystemofmusical

instrumentclassificationofErichVonHornbostelandCurtSachs,suchthephin

isclassifiedasachordophone.Chordophonesaredividedintofivebasictypes

ofbows,lyres,harps,lutesandzithers(Midgley,1976,164).Astudyofreferences

to a phin inThaicultureandthevina or bin inancient Indiandocuments

revealsonlyfourmajortypes:(1)resonatedbows;(2)bowedharps;(3)plucked

luteswhicharedividedintotwosubtypesofround-backedandflat-backed

luteswithshortneckorlongneck,frettedandunfretted;and(4)stickzithers

whicharedividedintofoursubtypes:type1-luteswithhollowtubularbody

andtwogourds,frettedandunfretted;type2-unfrettedluteswithtwogourds

andwide-neckbow;type3-frettedluteswithwideneckandonegourd;and

type4-lutesoftype3butunfretted.

Classificationofphinmusicalinstrumentsinthisstudyislimited

to a phinmentionedinBuddhisminordertoexplainthecharacteristicsand

typesofmusicalinstrumentsinthephinfamilyfromdocumentaryevidence

pursuanttothemusicaldevelopmenthistoryofphin instruments in Indian

andThaimusiccultures.


1.3 Phin musical instrument evidence

Theexistenceoftheword“phin”andpluckedstringmusical

instruments inThailandwasapparent fromtheevidenceofSukhothaiand

subsequent periods. Such evidence includes ancient inscriptions, ancient

documents,oraltraditions,literatures,paintings,sculptures,etc.Dataobtained

from different scholars and documentary sources, linguistic and language

development analysis aswell as historical data of each period produced

consistentdatathatledtothefollowingconclusions:

1.3.1 Inscription evidence

The types ofmusical instruments that occupy on

inscriptionevidencewerenotclearlyspecifiedandareonlyspeculated.There

aretwodistinctgroupsofopinionsonthissubject.

Group 1Theword“phin”isbelievedtomeanboth

pluckedandbowedstringmusicalinstrumentsasdemonstratedbythephrase

“siang phat siang phin [the sounds of the phat andphin]” on the stone

inscriptionofKingRamkhamhaeng(Naksawat,1987,155),whichimpliesthat

thesoundsofthephinarethesoundsofagroupofstringedmusicalinstruments.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth Buddhist centuries,Mueang Lop Buri shrine

inscriptioncontainsthephrase“nak dit 1 khon nak si 1 khon[oneplucked

string instrumentmusician, one bowed string instrumentmusician]” (The

NationalLibrary,1986,255-256).Thislineclearlyindicatesaclassificationof

musicalinstrumentsanditispossiblethatpluckedandbowedstringinstruments

werealreadyinuseduringthatperiod).

Group 2Theword“phin” isbelievedtomeanonly

bowedstringinstruments.Itappearsinmoststoneinscriptionswrittenafter

1357(B.E.1900).Forexample,thestoneinscriptionofWatPhraYueninLumphun

provincecontainsthephrase“ti phat dang phin[tostrikethephat,tomake

asoundofthephin]”(Naksawat,1987,157).Theword“phin”alsoappears

onthestoneinscriptionofmountSumonkoot(OfficeofthePrimeMinister,

1978,115)andonthestoneinscriptionofPa Nang Kham Yia(TheNational

Library,1986,313).Forstoneinscriptionsofthefifteenth-sixteenthBuddhist


centuryperiod,theSdok Kok Thom IIstoneinscription,whosecharacterisin

Sanskrit,containstheword“vina”,whichreferstothephinmusicalinstrument.

Theinscriptiondescribesvina asoneofthearticlesthatKingUttayatitworaman

IIdonatedtothisshrine(TheNationalLibrary,1986,194).

Basedontheopinionsofbothgroups,scholarsshare

thesameopinionsthatphin or vina was used to mean a musical instrument

intheancientpluckedstring instrumentgroup,namely,thephin nam tao,

phin pia and krachappi,whichareprimarilyclassifiedasluteandresonated

bowtypesofmusicalinstruments.

1.3.2 Documentary evidence

Therearementionsofthephin inanumberofdocuments

such as in the book San Somdet (communications between two Princes),

Kotmai Tra Sam Duang(theThreeSealsLaw)andBot Phleng Yao Wai Khru

Mahori (acertainmahorirepertoire).San Somdetdiscussesthehypotheses

about thephinmusical instruments of ancient times in relation to their

characteristicswhichincludethoseofthepluckedandbowedstringinstruments.

Forexample,theword“phinphat”canbesplittomeantwoseparategroups

ofmusicalinstruments;phinlikelyreferstopluckedandbowedinstruments

while“phat”likelyreferstopercussionandwindinstruments.InKotmai Tra

Sam Duang, there are clear references to plucked string instruments, the

krachappiandthejakhae,whichevolvedfromthemusicalinstrumentsinthe

“phin” family, suggesting that thesemusical instrumentshavebeen inuse

sincethetimeofAyutthayaperiod.InPhleng Yao Wai Khru Mahori,theword

“phin”appearsinconjunctionwithwordsforothertypesofmusicalinstruments

insomeverseswhich,whentranslatedintoEnglish,read,“…cha dit si khab

rong thamnong klon[intermsoftopluck,tofiddle,andtosingverses]”or

“…so, krub, krachappi, rammana, thon, khlui, ching, chab, ranat, khong…

[Thaimusical instruments]”or“…hai pricha chancheaw nai choeng phin…

[tobeskillfulandproficientintheartofthephin]”.Itcanbeseenfromthis

listofmusicalinstrumentsthattheywerepartsofamahoriensemblewith

musicalinstrumentsinthepluckedandbowedstringaswellasthepercussion


andwind categories,whichwere performed as an accompaniment to the

singingforcourtentertainment.Thisformofmusicaltraditionwasoriginated

intheAyutthayaperiodandhascontinuedtotheRattanakosinperiod.

1.3.3 Literary evidence

Atotaloffiveliteratures,namely,Traiphum Phra Ruang,

Lilit Yuan Phai, Anirut Kham Chan, Kaki, and Kap Phra Chaisuriya, were studied.

Traiphum Phra Ruang,whichwascomposedbyKingLithaiofSukhothai in

1345,describesaprocessioninwhichIndra(theHindugod)wassurrounded

bymaleandfemaledeitieswhoweredancing,singingandplayingmusicto

entertainhim.Theprocessionwasledbyagroupofphin musicians.Thephin

referredtointhisliteraryworkisatypeofpluckedstringinstrument,possibly

thephin nam tao, phin pia or krachappi.Thereisahypothesisbasedonthe

contentsofLilit Yuan Phai,aprominentliteratureofAyutthayaperiod,that

phininstrumentswereboththepluckedandbowedstringinstrumentsplayed

inanensemblecalled“phinphat”.InthebooksofversesofAniruth Kham

Chan, Kaki, and Kab Phra Chaisuriya,whicharetheliteraryworkscomposed

betweenAyutthayaandRattanakosinperiods,therewereclearreferencesto

thetermphinasthetypeofpluckedstring instrumentandthekrachappi.

StudyofliteraryevidencefromSukhothaiandsubsequentperiodsledtoa

hypothesisthatphin ofearlyperiodsmayhavereferredtothetypesofplucked

stringinstrumentslikethephin nam tao, phin pia and krachappi.Theliteratures

oflateAyutthayaandearlyRattanakosinperiodsclearlyspecifiedthenames

ofpluckedstringinstrumentsandthekrachappibutthewordphin was still

usedtomeanamusicalinstrumentofthestringedtype.

1.3.4 Sculpture evidence

Phin instrumentsdepictedonsculpturescanbedivided

intotwotypes,short-necked/long-neckedlutesandresonatedbows.Oneof

themost distinctive examples of such sculptures is the Dvaravati stucco

sculpture of the twelfth and thirteenth Buddhist centuries, discovered at

KoobuoVillage,Ratchaburiprovince.Thissculpturedepictsagroupoffemale

musiciansholdingtwotypesofphin.Thefirsttypeistheshort-neckedlutes


withfivestringswhilethesecondtypeisthephin nam taoorthephin pia

belongingtotheresonatedbowgroup.Thissculpture isaproof thatboth

typesofphinwereinusedatthetime.Similarevidenceofthesameperiod

foundrepresentsinformofasculptureofakinorn(amythicalcreature)playing

thephin pia,asculptureofJullapathon ChediinNakhonPathomProvince.

Anothertypeofphinofcontemporaryperiodisthatofthelong-necked,flat-

backedlutethatappearsonthesculptureofDhataratthagodthatadornsthe

Merumas(goldenfuneralpyre)ofKingRamaIX.Thisgodholdsathree-stringed

phinashispersonalmusicalinstrument.

1.3.5 Painting evidence

Mostmural painting evidence in this study indicates

musicalinstrumentsandmusicalensemblesdepictingvariouseventsinthe

lifeofBuddha,scenesofcourtentertainmentandobjectswithmagicalpower

suchasKingKanthana’sphinandmusicalinstrumentsofvariousdeities.There

are,forexample,paintingsofIndraplayingathree-stringed phinfromthetale

oftheMiddlePathorpaintingsofKingPanjasikharaplayingthephin inthe

processionofgodsandgoddesseswhocongregatedtowelcomeBuddhaon

hisreturntripfromDaodeung(inPaliDavadingsa)heaventoearth.Painting

evidencerevealsthatmostdepictionsofthephintypesofmusicalinstruments

arethoseofthelong-neckedluteofpluckedstring instruments,whichare

heldandplayedinaverticalposition,andtheresonatedbowtype.Components

ofsuchinstrumentsarebasedonthereligiousaccountsandbeliefsthatvary

fromsocietytosociety.

These pieces of evidence, whether they are the

etymologicalhypothesesabout thewords thatappearedonvarious stone

inscriptions,ancientdocumentsorliteraryworks,revealvariousaspectsofthe

phin instruments. However, the evidence seemingly points to the same

conclusionthattheword“phin”or“vina”primarilyreferstopluckedstring

instruments,possiblydenotingthephin nam tao, phin pia and krachappi.In

summary,evidenceofphinmusicinThaisocietyrevealstwoprincipaltypes

of phininstruments,lutesandbows.Thereareboththelong-necked(e.g.the


krachappi)andshort-necked(e.g.thefive-stringedphin)typesofThailuteswhileThaibowsareclassifiedasthe“resonatedbow”type(e.g.the phin nam tao and phin pia).

2. A study of “phin” musical instruments 2.1 Musical instruments in the vina family in Indian culture InstudyingmusicalinstrumentsinthevinafamilyinIndianculture,themajorityofresearchersfrequentlylimitedthescopeofthisstudytovinaasthepluckedstringinstrumentsonly.Thetimeperiodsunderthisstudyweredividedintothreemajorperiods:period1–ancienttoVedicperiods,period2–Post-Vedicperiod,andperiod3–Medievalperiod.Detailsofthestudyresultsareasfollows: Period 1 Ancient to Vedic periods Characteristics of vina music and musical instruments in the ancient to the Vedic periods The data on Indianmusic appears primarily in the Vedas.“Vina”areconsideredtheprincipalIndianmusicalinstrumentsofgreatantiquityand consists of both the plucked and bowed string instruments.Most ofevidencesuggestthatthevinaofthisperiodwereharp-likemusicalinstruments(Deva,1974,6).Otherscholars, includingChalermsakPikulsri,B.ChaintanyaDeva,S.KrishnaswamyandSwarnLata,remarkedonthevinamusicalinstrumentsoftheVedicperiodfromthreegroupsofdata:(1)varioussourcesofevidence,(2) relationship with other contemporaneous cultures, and (3) musicaldevelopmentoftheperiod.Itcanbeconcludedthatthereisevidenceof15typesofvinaduringthisperiod:(1)bana veena,(2)kara kari,(3)kanda veena/kand veena,(4)apakhatila,(5)gotha,(6)sattatantri veena or maha veena and katyayani vina/maha veena,(7)vana,(8)alabu veena,(9)vakra veena, (10)kapisirsha/kapisheerash veena,(11)chala veena,(12)pichoda/ pichhora, (13)talluck veena,(14)gatra veenaand(15)yazh(whichappearedinTamilliterature).Allofthesevinainstrumentssharedthesamecharacteristics.Fromthis list, thecharacteristicsand typesofvina inperiod1,ancient toVedic

periods,canbesummarizedasfollows:


Table 1: Summaryofthecharacteristicsandtypesofvina instruments

ofperiod1(AncienttoVedicperiods)

Period 2 Post-Vedic period

Characteristics of vina music and musical instruments in the

Post-Vedic period

Post-Vedicperiod isessential to thestudyof Indianmusic

historyandevolutionasit isregardedasthegoldenageofIndianartsand

knowledgeunderthegenerouspatronageofIndianmonarchs.Pluckedstring

instrumentswereconsideredtheprincipaltypeofmusicalinstrumentofthis

period. It can be concluded from the Natyashastra Treatise (Text on the

performingarts)thattherearesixspecificnamesreferringtovina instruments

ofthisperiod:(1)thevipanchi vina,(2)thecitra vina,(3)thekacchapi,(4)the

ghosaka,(5)thesaptatantri vinaand(6)theparivadini.Theseinstrumentscan

bedividedintotwotypesregardingtheirdistinctshapes,bowedharpsand

lutes.Asummaryofthemusicalinstrumentsofthisperiodispresentedinthe

table below.


Table 2:Summaryofthecharacteristicsandtypesofvina instruments

ofperiod2(Post-Vedicperiod)

Period 3 Medieval period

Characteristics of vina music and musical instruments in the

medieval period

IndianmusicoftheMedievalperiodwasinfluencedbythe

encroaching Islamic culture at the timewhenHinduwas thepredominant

cultureundertheruleofEmperorAkbaroftheMoguldynastywhoprovided

continuingpatronagetoIndiamusic(Pikulsri,2001,36-37).Underthesecultural

influences,IndiaunderwentaprocessofculturalassimilationbetweenHindu

andIslamiccultures.Suchassimilationbecameapparentinthemusiccultures

ofNorthernIndiaor“Hindustanimusic”andSouthernIndiaor“Carnaticmusic”.

Themusicculturesofbothregionswerenoticeablydifferentasthefretted

stickztithertypesofpluckedstringinstrumentsbecomingpredominantinthe

Northwhilethelong-neckedlutesorunfrettedpluckedluteswerepredominant

intheSouth(Wade,2001,307).Long-neckedpluckedluteswereinfluenced

bythepluckedlutesofCentralandWesternAsia(Miner,2000,344).However,

with Islamic culture came Persian and Arabicmusic cultureswhich, after

subsequentassimilation,hadsignificantimpactsonthedevelopmentofboth

thetraditionalandfolkmusicofIndia.Thisisevidentfromtheformsofavina


ofthemedievalperiodasthebowedharptypesofvina werelargelyreplaced

bythelutetypesofvina.

Musicalinstrumentsofthisperiodweremostlycitedinthe

SangitaRatnakaraTreatise(TextonMusicandDance)writtenbySarngdevaof

theeleventh-thirteenthBuddhistcenturies,whichspecifiedtenpluckedstring

instruments:ada tantri, nakula, tri-tantri, chitra, vipanchi, mattakokila, alipini,

kinnari, pinaki and nishant-vina.TheSangitraParijataTreatiseoftheseventeenth

Buddhistcenturymentionssevenmusicalinstruments:rudra-vina, bhama vina,

taumbura, swaramandala, pinaki, kinnari and ravanakara (Bandyopadyaya,

ascited inWrazen,1986,36).Fourmusical instruments,whosenameshad

beenknownsincethePost-Vedicperiod,thatremainedinexistenceuntilthe

fifteenthBuddhistcenturyare:(1)the tritantri,(2)thechitra,(3)thevipanchi

and(4)theswaramandala.Contemporaneoustotheseinstrumentswerethe

followingfourmusicalinstrumentsinthefolkmusiccategory:(1)theektara,

(2)the gopiyantra,(3)thegottuvadyam,and(4)thekinneri.Theyareconsidered

thebasicformsofinstrumentsintheearlydevelopmentofotherIndianmusical

instruments.

Vinainstrumentsthatexistedduringthemedievalperiodcan

bedividedintotwogroups.Group1regardingastickzither(bothfrettedand

unfretted)typeconsistsof(1)thebin or rudra vina,(2)thekinneriand(3)the

gottavadyam.Group2regardingapluckedlutetypecanbedividedintotwo

types:type1-long-neckedpluckedlutes,includingthesitar,thetambura,

thesurbahar,thesarasvati vina,theektaraandthegopiyantra;type2-short-

neckedpluckedlutes,consistingoftherababandthesarod.Asummaryof

musicalinstrumentsofthisperiodispresentedinthetablebelow.


Table 3:Summaryofthecharacteristicsandtypesofvina instruments

ofperiod3(Medievalperiod)

2.2 Musical instruments in the “phin” family in Thai culture

MusicalinstrumentsinthephinfamilyinThailandareapparent

inthreemainregions.Aphinisknownasthekrachappiintheancientcourt

musicincenterregion,asthephin pia, phin nam tao and suenginthefolk

musicoftheNorthernregion,andasthesungorphinandthephin krasae

mui3 (in Thai-Khmer culture) in the Northeastern region. Thesemusical

instrumentscanbeplayedbypluckingwithfingersandwithaplectrumand

existintwovarieties:group1belongstoaresonatedbowconsistingofthe

phin nam tao or phin krasae mui, and phin pia.Group2belongstoalong-

neckedpluckedluteconsistingofthekrachappi,thesueng, and phin.Among

3Theword“phin krasae mui”or“khsae muoy” inKhmerlanguage(Narom,2005,111). Itcanbecalledbymanynames,suchasphin krasae diew/phin sai diew,whichare thecorruptedtermsof“sadiu”(Kunst,1949,25).Themeaningofthiswordis‘monotone’ phinorone-string(Wiwatthanapathapi,1995,21).Thisphinisapparenttobeindentical inshapetothephin nam taooftheSouth-easthern(Isan)folkcultureofThailand.


bothgroupsofmusicalinstruments,thekracchapiistheonlyinstrumentthat

isstillused intraditionalThaimusicalensembles,appearing inthemahori

khruang si(fourpieces)andmahori khruang hok(sixpieces)musicalensembles.

Asummaryofmusicalinstrumentsinthe“phin”familyofThailandispresented

inthetablebelow.

Table 4:Summaryoftheclassificationofmusicalinstrumentsinthephin

familyofThailand

Apart from identifying the connection between different

familiesofmusicalinstruments,thepresentstudyofmusicalinstrumentsin

thevinafamilyofIndiaandinthephinofThailandcanalsoexplaintheflows

ofsocialandculturalexchangesviamusicandmusicalinstrumentsbetween

thetwocountriesthatresultedintherolesofmusicintheirwaysoflife.Such

exchanges and assimilations are theoutcomesof the religiousbeliefs and

developmentthatspreadfromIndiatoSoutheastAsia.Theseareevidentfrom

theuseofsimilarnamesforsimilarmusicalinstrumentsinbothregions,such

asthePaliandSanskrittermsofphin and vina.Thesearethelanguagesthat

theLordBuddhausedinthedisseminationofBuddhismandthelanguages

forthewrittenrecordsofBuddhistteachings,providingthefundamentalroots

forvariouslanguagesinSoutheastAsiaoveralongperiodoftime.

Byimplication,asatypeofmusicalinstumentthewordphin

indiverseforms,bin or been and vina (or veena),althoughrepresentingvarious

formsoftheirorthography,theyseeminglydenotetheidenticalmeaning.In


Indianculture,thewordbinorbeenisprevalentinNorthernIndiaculturesor

inHindustanimusicwhilethewordvina (or veena)isprevalentinSouthern

India cultures. Such languagedifferences are the results of the competing

religious influences between the long-establishedHinduism and themore

recentIslamindifferentpartsofIndia.InThaimusicculture,theword“phin”

is theprincipalandgenericwordusedto refer toa typeofpluckedstring

musicalinstrument.ThePaliword“vina”isalsofoundexclusivelyinPalitexts

orwrittenrecords,suchasinthePaliversionoftheTripitakaBuddhistscripture.

In summary, therearefivevarietiesofbin or vina musical

instrumentsinIndia:(1)resonatedbows(unfretted),(2)bowedharps,(3)stick

zithers(bothfrettedandunfretted),(4)pluckedlutes(long-neckedandshort-

neckedwithround-backedsoundbox)and(5)gatra vina (thewordvina is

usedhereinthesenseofsinging).Themusicalinstrumentsinthephinfamily

ofThailandarefoundintwovarieties:resonatedbowsandpluckedluteswith

longneckandflat-backedsoundbox.

3. Phin in the Tripitika scripture

Adiscoveryofthephin-relatedaccountsthatappearin45Volumes

ofthePaliTripitaka–consistingoftheVinaya Pitaka,theSuttanta Pitaka or

Sutra,andtheAbhidhamma Pitaka–ofSiaminThaiscriptandtheThaiTripitaka

ofMahachulalongkornrajavidyalayaUniversity.Fourphin-related accounts in

theVinaya Pitakaandfourtythreephin-relatedaccountsintheSuttanta Pitaka

havebeenfound.Insummary,thesephin-relatedaccountswerestudiedwithin

threeaspectsasfollows:

3.1 Meaning

Themeaningsoftheword“phin”appearingintheTripitaka

canbelikelycategorisedintotwodistinctaspects:directmeaningswithmusical

implications and implicitmeaningswith religious implications of Buddhist

teachingsanddoctrines.Initsdirectmeanings,phinisusedwiththemusical

connotationthatthewordiswidelyknownandunderstoodasreferringtoa

typeofmusicalinstrumentswhosesoundisproducedbythepluckingofstrings.


It refers toamusical instrumentwithvariouscomponentsof trough,bow,

string, peg, and so on. It is themusical instrument performed for the

entertainment,relaxation,recreation,welcomingandcongratulatingofgods,

kings, and commoners alike. It can also be used as a gesture of respect,

worshippingormelodiousofferingtoBuddha.Initsimplicitmeanings,theword

phin isused,for itsmusicaltraits,asametaphortoexplain(ortosimplify)

sophisticatedabstractBuddhistdoctrinesandteachings tobetangibleand

simplyunderstandable.Themetaphorcanexplicateabstractconceptswith

concreteexamplesforbetterunderstandingbytheaudience.Buddhafrequently

usedmetaphorswith concreteexamplesof realeventsor incidents inhis

teachings.Theuseofthestringsandsoundsofthephinasametaphorcan

besummarizedasfollows:

Metaphor 1Usingdistinctstatesoftensioninphin strings as

ametaphor forperseverancebycomparingthetight, loose,andmoderate

tensionofthestringstotheMiddlePathdoctrine.

Metaphor 2 Usingthestraightnessofphinstringsasametaphor

forhonestyandintegrity.

Metaphor 3Usingtheperfectpitchesagainstdiscordofphin

stringsasametaphorforstrongdeterminationtoadheretosexualabstinence.

Metaphor 4Analogybetweenthestretchingofahumanbody

andthestretchingofphin strings on phinbodyisusedforametaphor,which

sacrificeandabilityofproblemsolvingisconsideredapropertythatleaders

should possess in order to bring happiness to the people under any

circumstances.Thismetaphorappears inthetaleof themonkeykingwho

stretchedhisbodyacrossarivertoallowhisfollowersasafecrossing.

Metaphor 5Usingthestretchingorstraighteningofaphin

stringasametaphorforgreatindustrious.

Metaphor 6Usingthesoundsofthephinasametaphorfor

infatuationandobsession.Musicalsoundisconsideredforbiddenbecausethey

couldarousetheemotionalstatesofChanta(pleasure)andRakha(passion).

TheLordBuddhacomplimentedPanjasikhaonhismusicwhichisconsidered


themost beautiful songwhose lyrics refer toBuddha, Dharma (Buddha’s

teachings),Sangha(monks)andtheArahants(onewhohasattainedNirvana).

Apartfromthemetaphorsprovidedbythestringsandsounds

ofthephin,otherimplicitmeaningsofphinareasfollows:

Phin as an indicator of great merits and powers. Thephin

isusedtoindicateBuddha’sgreatmeritsandpowersthataresogreatthat

theycancausemusicalinstrumentstoproducemusicalsoundsontheirown

intheabsenceofmusicians.

Phin as an indicator of a person’s important status.The

phinisusedtorepresentgreatwealth,prosperity,fertility,statusandnobility

ofimportantpersonslikeaking.

Phin as an indicator of sublimity or items of sublimed

quality. Thephinisusedtosignifysublimityoritemsofsublimedquality,such

assaints,godsandgoddessesinheavenlyabodesorhumanbeingswhohad

accumulatedvastamountofmeritsintheirlifetimeandresideinheavenly

abodesafterdeath.

Phin as an indicator of the observation of customary

practices. Thephinisusedtoindicatetheobservationofcustomarypractices

thatstudentsshouldhavefortheirteachers.Studentsmustrespectandhonor

theirteachersandshouldnotbehaveoffensivelyorcompeteagainstthem.

ThismeaningofthephinappearsinthetaleofKhuttilajarnandhisstudent,

Musila,whocompetewithoneanother.

3.2 Phin characteristics

Theexacttypesofphin or vinainstrumentshadneverbeen

clearlyspecifiedintheTripitakaaccounts.However,itcanbepostulatedfrom

the contexts of these accounts that they belonged to a variety ofphin

instrumentsthatincludesharp-shaped,gourd-shaped,andlute-shaped,which

thetypesofphinarefoundinthePost-Vedicperiod.Twoconclusionscanbe

reachedonthisissueasfollows:

Conclusion 1 Phin varieties

The Tripitaka accounts that mention a variety of phin


instrumentsmayhaveusedtheword“phin”(atranslatedformofThai)or,

alternatively,“vina”(anoriginalformofPalisystem)todenotealltypesof

musicalinstruments,excepttheleatherinstruments(Pikulsri,1997,270)orto

meana varietyofphin instruments. Post-Vedicmusical instruments in the

TripitakaaccountsarementionedinVolume28andVolume32oftheTripitaka.

InVolume28oftheTripitika,theSuttanta Pitaka in Volume 20 - Kuthathaka

Nikaya Jataka, Mahosatha Jatakapart2,therearestatements,whentranslated

intoEnglish, like:“Kho Prachachon Thang Lai Chong Dit Phin Thuk Chanit

[letallpeoplepluckalltypesofphininstruments]”(Ku.Cha.(Thai)28/777-

779/303-304)or“ahanyantu sapphavina”inPali(Ku.Cha(Pali)28/685/244),

andphrasesfromtheWessandorn Jatakalike,“dit phin [pluckingthephin]”

“dit jakhe[pluckingthejakhe]”or“sappa vina”and“kotha”inPali(Ku.Cha.

(Pali)28/1239.5-1239.7/443-444).InVolume32oftheTripitaka,theSuttanta

Pitaka inVolume24 -Kuthathaka Nikaya Upathanapart1, in thesection

where there is a reference toBuddhaasapersonof greatperfectionand

sublimedpowers,thereisaphrasethatreads:“...phin took chanit jong banleng...

[alltypesofphinshallplay]”(Ku.OrPor.(Thai)32/43/7)or“vina sappa”in

Pali(Ku.OrPor.(Pali)32/1/42/5).Theseaccountsusedthewords“phin”inthe

samesenseastheThaiphrase“phin thang lai[allkindsofphininstruments]”

or“sappa vina”and“kotha”.Therefore,itcanbepostulatedthatmentions

ofphin instruments in the Tripitaka refer tomore than one type ofphin

instruments,possiblyharps,bowsandlutesofthePost-Vedicperiod.

Conclusion 2 Harp type

Thishypothesiscomesfromthementionsofthephin in many

documentsthatclearlyindicatethattheywere,basedonthedescriptionsof

theirshapes,thenumberofstrings,andharptype.Suchaccountsappeared

inVolume18,Volume26andVolume28oftheTripitaka.InVolume18ofthe

Tripitaka,theSuttanta Pitaka in Volume 10 - Sangyutta Nikaya Sarayatana

Wakka,isanaccountwhich,whentranslatedintoEnglish,reads:“as for phin,

there are many factors involved. For a phin that had been well crafted by a

craftsman to produce perfect melodies, it has to rely upon its many components,


namely, the trough, leather, bow, pegs, strings, plectrum and suitable human

effort for a particular phin”(Sang.Sara(Thai)18/246/260-261).InVolume26

oftheTripitaka,theSuttanta Pitaka in Volume 18 - Kuthathaka Nikaya Wimana-

Petawatthu Theratheri KathaisthetaleofKhuttatilla Wimanaandhisstudent

inwhichKhuttilajarntalkedabouthis7-stringedphinmusicinstructiontothe

studentinthewordsthatcanbetranslatedintoEnglishasfollows:“behold

god Kosi, it is I who taught my student, Musila, to play the most melodious

and delightful tunes of the 7-stringed phin”(Ku.Peta.(Thai)26/327-326/53).

AnothermentionofaphinwasfoundinthetaleofMaharatha Wimana(the

Great WimanaCarriage)inwhichaverylargemagicalcarriageappearedtoa

cowherdsmanwhohadbeenaccumulating greatmerits. Thecarriage can

producebeautifulsoundssimilartothesoundsmadebyawell-craftedphin

withperfecttroughandbow.Astatementfromthistale,whentranslatedinto

English,reads:“my supreme god, the sounds made by the carriage, elephants,

horses and the accompanying music on both sides of the garden amuse you

in the same way that the beautiful phin music made by a perfectly assembled

trough and bow”(Ku.Peta.(Thai)26/1033/128).AnotheraccountfromVolume

28of theTripitaka, theSuttanta Pitaka in Volume 20 -Kuthathaka Nikaya

Jataka part2,thetaleofMahajanaka Jataka,aboutBuddha’scommenton

thepracticeofhisWiriya Barami inthewordswhich,whentranslated into

English,read:“when will I be able to straighten my mind in the same way

that a phin musician can straighten all seven strings of his phin to produce

the most delightful and captivating sound? When will my intention be realized?”

(Ku.Cha.(Thai)28/238/219).Alloftheaboveaccountsgivecleardescriptions

ofthephin.Besidethenumberofitsstrings,thearchedharp-shapedwasalso

indicated. These descriptions are consistent with the opinion indicated

byChalermsakPikulsrithataphinofthisperiodbelongstotheharp-shaped

type.Healsoexplainedthatthesixcomponentsofsuchphin,whichare,tona

(soundbox), jumma (leather), tantha (bow-shapedwood),upavina (tip of

a phinwhichcanbedecorated),tanti(string),andkona(plectrum)(Pikulsri,

1997,274-275).


3.3 Roles and functions of phin

Theabovementionedconclusionsabouttheshapeofaphin

canleadtotheidentificationofitsrolesandfunctions.Aphin can be used as

amelodicanddroneinstrumenttoaccompanysinging.Hypothesesonthe

rolesandfunctionsofaphinareasfollows:

A hypothesis that phin is used to accompany the

singing

ThishypothesisisbasedontwoaccountsfromtheTripitaka.

ThefirstonewasfromVolume5oftheTripitaka,theVinaya Pitaka in Volume

5-Mahawakkapart2, thetaleofKosampika Khanthaka Thikhawuwatthu

relating to Thikhawukumara. Thikhawukumarawaspracticinghismusicwhile

residinginanelephanthousenearapalaceinthecityofBanareswhenKing

Prommathatkasirajorderedhimtocometothepalaceandlaterappointed

him his trusted page. This tale identified the use of phin music as an

accompanimenttosinginginthewordswhich,whentranslatedintoEnglish,

read:“one early morning, after waking up Thikhawukumara started singing

beautifully to the accompanying tunes of a phin near the elephant house.

King Prommathatkasiraj, who woke up at that moment and heard the distant

singing and phin music from the direction of the elephant house, asked

courtiers, ‘Who woke up so early to sing and play phin music in the direction

of the elephant house? The courtiers answered, “It was the young student of

Hatthajarn who woke up early to sing and play the phin at the elephant

compound”(Wi.Mor.(Thai)5/461/348-349).

ThesecondaccountwasfromVolume10oftheTripitaka,the

Suttanta Pitaka in Volume 2 - Thikha Nikaya Mahawakka, the tale of

Sakkapanyahasutra,relatingthetaleofThaoSakka’sproblems.Thao Sakka

(Indra)ordereddeitiesfromtheDaoduengheaventoseekanaudiencewith

BuddhaandorderedPanjasikha,aGandharvas(low-rankingdeity),toplaya

yellow phininthecolorofamatoomfruit(abael)whilerecitinganincantation

atthemeeting.Theincantation,whichwasaserenadesangbyPanjasikha,

containedstatementsaboutBuddha,Buddha’steachings,theSangha, Arahants


(enlightenedmonks)andKama(carnaldesire).Buddhapraisedtheserenade

foritsbeautifulmelodiesandthephininstrumentforitsroleandfunctionin

keepingthemelodytothesamepitchesasthesingingvoice inthewords

which,whentranslatedintoEnglish,read:“…Panjasikha, the sounds of your

phin strings are harmonious with your singing voices and vice versa. The sounds

of your phin strings are not unequal to your singing voices and vice versa…”

(Tee.Mor.(Thai)10/349/277).

A hypothesis that phin is a melodic instrument

ThishypothesisisbasedonsixaccountsfromfourVolumes

oftheTripitaka-Volume4,Volume22,Volume26,andVolume27,whose

contextstobetakenintoconsiderationareasfollows:

TheaccountfromVolume4oftheTripitaka,theVinaya Pitaka

inVolume4-Mahawakkapart1,thetaleofSakulabutrawhich,whentranslated

intoEnglish,reads:“that night Yasakulabutra woke up before the others and

saw some of his attendants asleep. Some female attendants had a phin lying

near their armpits, some had a taphon(aspecifickindofdrum)next to their

necks while others had a Pong Mang(anotherkindofdrum)on top of their

breasts”(Wi.Mor.(Thai)4/25/31).

TheaccountfromVolume22oftheTripitaka,theSuttanta

PitakainVolume14-Ungkhuttara Nikaya Panyajaka-Chakkanibat,thetale

ofHathisariputtasutra, relates the storyofPhra Jittahatthisaributrawhich,

whentranslatedintoEnglish,reads:“having been muted by the sounds of the

elephants, horses, chariots, foot soldiers and the resounding dins of drums,

the bandor [small drums], the conch shell, and the phin”(Ang.Panjaka.(Thai)

22/60/558).

Threephin-relatedaccountswerefoundinVolume26ofthe

Tripitaka, namely, the tales of Khuttatilla Wimana, Pesawati Wimana and

Kanthaka Wimana.IntheSuttanta PitakainVolume18–Kuthathaka Nikaya

Wimana-Petawatthu Theratheri Katha, thetaleofKhuttatilla Wimana, are

thestatementwhich,whentranslatedintoEnglish,reads:“behold Thao Kosi,

I had taught the art of the 7-stringed phin, which has the most melodious and


delightful sounds, to my student, Musila. He, however, intends to have a

contest of phin music against me on stage. May you give me support on this

matter”(Ku.Peta.(Thai)26/327-328/53).Thewordsthatappearinthetaleof

Pesawati Wimana,whentranslatedintoEnglish,read:“your heavenly dwell

(wimana) is full of ambient music of the big phins, drums, the cymbals, and

the small bells. It is as prosperous and thriving as the city of Indra”(Ku.Peta.

(Thai) 26/649/72). The account from the tale ofKanthaka Wimana, when

translatedintoEnglish,reads:“You rejoice in dancing, singing, music and being

delighted by the sounds of drums, the conch shell, the taphon, the phin, and

the bandor[asmalldrum]”(Ku.Peta.(Thai)26/1180/148).

Volume27oftheTripitaka,theSuttanta Pitaka in Volume 19

–Kuthathaka Nikaya JatakapartI,thetaleof Khutthatila Jataka,containsthe

sameaccountastheoneinVolume26oftheTripitaka,theSuttanta Pitaka

in Volume 18 - Kuthathaka Nikaya Wimana-Petawatthu Theratheri Katha, the

tale of Khuttatilla Wimana.

Theabovementioneddatarevealsthatthephinhadbeen

usedinconjunctionwithotherrhythmicinstrumentslikedrums,thecymbal,

thebandor,thebell,etc.Itis,therefore,possiblethatthephin,inthiscontext,

can be used as the principalmelodic instrument. Narratives on thephin

instructionthatKhuttilajarngavetohisstudent,Musila,andtheirphin contest

ledtoahypothesisthatphinwasmorelikelytobeamelodicratherthanjust

adroneinstrument.Inaddition,opinionsontherolesandfunctionsofphin

instrumentsasindicatedintheTripitakasuggestthatphincouldbeusedboth

asanaccompanimenttosingingandasamelodicinstrument.Thishypothesis

isconsistentwiththeopinionofChalermsakPikulsri(Pikulsri,1997,271-272)

whoasserted that thereare two typesofphin instruments–one thenon-

melodic instruments,orcalledadrone,toaccompanythesingingandthe

otherthemelodicinstruments.Heclearlystatedthatthetypeofphinwhich

canbeusedasamelodicinstrumentisaharptype.Therefore,the7-stringed

phinmentionedinthetaleofKhuttatila Jataka ispresumablyaharptype

functioningasamelodicinstrument.


Conclusion and Discussion Theresearchresults found implicitdatathatcanbedivided into

three parts: phin from themusical perspectives, phin from the religious

perspectives,andphinfromthephilosophicalperspectives.

Part 1 Phin from the musical perspectives

Phin or vinainstrumentsthatexistedattheonsetofBuddhismand

duringtheperiodsinwhichitflourishedinIndiawere:thePost-Vedicharp,lute

andbowtypesofpluckedstringinstruments.Aharpexistinginthatperiod

generallyappearedasastringinstrumentwiththelargestnumberofstrings

whencomparedtootherstringinstrumentsofthesameperiod.Harpsarealso

ancientmusicalinstrumentsthathaveexistedinIndiasincetheAncientperiod.

Indianmonarchs,suchasthoseoftheKuptadynasty,hadhighregardforharp.

Bowstringinstrumentsareanothertypeofmusicalinstrumentsthathadalso

existedinIndiasincetheancientperiod.Theyareidenticalinshapetothe

instrumentsinthephin nam tao and phin pia,andareoftendepictedinbas

reliefsculpturesofIndiaandSoutheastAsia.Thisgroupofmusicalinstruments

generallyappears inHinduculture inwhichthebeliefs inGodsanddeities

prevail.Anothertypeofphinisthatofthepluckedstringlutes,whoseexistence

inthePost-Vedicperiodhasbeenconfirmedbyvariousevidence,andbybas

reliefsculptures invarioussitesthat indicated itsconnectiontoBuddhism.

Therearealsoseveraldocumentswithsimilarmentionsofthephininstruments,

forexample,thereisatypeofmusicalinstrumentcalled“kacchapi”thathas

theshapeofashort-neckedlutewithroundbackandthreeorfivestrings.It

wasdepictedintheKoobuostuccosculpturesasaninstrumentcalled“phin

ha sai(a5-stringedphin)”.

Furthermore, a hypothesis about the type ofmusic that existed

duringtheperiodsinwhichBuddhismflourishedcanleadtothediscoveryof

thelinkbetweenPost-Vedic phininstrumentsinIndiaand phin instruments

thatappearinThaiculture.Thedataonthecharacteristicsofphin music and

musicalinstrumentsinIndianandThaiculturesbringstolightthetimelineand

tracesofthearrivalofvariousmusicculturesthatcametoThailandviasocial,


religiousandeconomiccontacts.Suchmusicculturesarethefinalproducts

ofthesocial,religiousandeconomicinteractionsbetweenIndiaandSoutheast

Asia that has begun since the seventh-eighth Buddhist Centuries. These

interactionsbroughtwiththemthebeliefsystems,thefaithsinBrahminism

andHinduGods, Buddhist doctrines and the Islamic cultureof Persia that

reachedSoutheastAsiaviaIndianculture.Thesearethereasonsforthesimilarity

thatexistsbetweenmusical instrumentsof theharp,bowand lute types.

Examinationofthelinksbetweenmusicalinstrumentsinthephinfamilyof

ThailandandofIndiarevealedmanyconsistenciesandconnectionsbetween

thetwomusiccultures.

Thefourmajortypesofphinor lute instruments in Indianmusic

cultureare:(1)harp,(2)bow,(3)luteand(4)stickzitherwhileonlytwomajor

typesexist inThaiculture: (1)bowsand (2) lutes.Suchdifferencescanbe

explainedbythefactthatabowinThailandhadreligiouslinkwithIndiamusic

cultureoftheAncientperiodtotheVedicperiodswhilealuteislinkedtothe

musiccultureofPost-Vedicperiod.However,thelinksbetweenThaiandIndian

lutesinthePost-Vedicperioddifferonlyintheshapeoftheinstruments.Thai

lutesofthisperiodwerelong-neckedluteswhileIndianluteswereshort-necked

lutes. The connections between the instruments of the two countries are

showninthetablebelow:

Table 5:Comparisonoftheconnectionbetweenmusicalinstrumentsinthe

IndiaandtheThaiphinfamilies


Therefore,itcanbepostulatedthattheThailong-neckedplucked

lutemayberelatedtotheIndianvinaofthemedievalperiod,whichwasthe

timewhenIndiahadassimilatedIslamic,PersianandArabianculturesintoits

musicculture.Long-neckedpluckedluteappearedingreatnumberfromthat

timeonwardandhadbecomethepredominantformofIndianvinaofthe

medievalperiod.AlthoughtheThailong-neckedpluckedlute,thekrachappi,

isapparentlysimilarinshapeaswellastypetotheIndianlong-neckedplucked

lutesoftheMedievalPeriod,thisThaiphinnaming“kachappi”accordingto

lutetypesofthePost-Vedicerahasbeenstillusedpresent-day.

Tosumup,theresultsrepresentingthesimilaritieswithrespectof

nomenclatures,shapes,andtypesinmusicalinstrumentsofSoutheastAsian

communitiespresent-day indicate the traceofparticipation in culture and

religionamongthecultures,whichIndiancultureisstronglylikelyregarded

an origin.

Part 2 Phin from the religious perspectives

InBuddhism,thephinandtheconceptoftheMiddlePathareused

asametaphorforachievingofthecessationofsufferingthroughperseverance.

Thephin is compared to the gateway to success thatwill allowBuddhist

practitionersaclearer insight into theBuddhistdoctrineofMagga8or the

eightfoldpathtothecessationofsuffering.Accordingtothetaleaboutthe

visionofthe3-stringedphinoftheMiddlePath,phincanintroduceustothe

understandingoftheactualstateofthings,generateideasthatevolveintothe

necessaryknowledgeandunderstandingthatwilleventuallyputoneonthe

MiddlePath.Indra,theGodwhoappearedintheroleofthe3-stringedphin

musicianinthistale,customarilyassumedtheroleofapatronofBuddhism

and leaderofallgodsanddeities inheavens.Sinceheappeared inmany

eventsinthelifeofBuddha,hisconnectionwithBuddhawaswidelyrecognized

andrememberedbymostpeople.Therefore,aphinthatappearinBuddhist

accountsusuallyhavecomponentsthatcanconveymeanings,expressideas

andindicateone’srolesandstatusesaswellastheoccasionsforandtheuse

ofphinmusic.DescriptionsofphininstrumentsintheTripitakamadeitpossible


topostulatethatthreemajortypesofphininstrumentsexistedattheonset

ofBuddhism,namely,harps,lutes,andresonatedbows.Thiscanbepostulated

despiteanabsenceofclear identificationof thenamesandtypesofsuch

instruments.

Part 3 Phin from the philosophical perspectives

ThephilosophicalimplicationsofphinfortheBuddhistdoctrineof

theMiddlePathcanbedividedintothreeconcepts:(1)aphin fromtheBuddhist

philosophyperspectivesof,(2)aphinfromtheBrahminandHinduphilosophy

perspectives of, and (3) aphin from themusical philosophy perspectives.

Detailsoftheseperspectivesareasfollows:

Concept 1 Phin from the Buddhist philosophy perspectives

Thephin-relatedaccountsintheTripitakauseaphin to indicate

theenhancingofwisdomandasametaphorfortheperseverance,industriousness,

knowledge,ideasandunderstandingsoftheactionsthatwillputapersonon

thepathtothecessationofsuffering.Fromthereligiousphilosophyperspectives,

suchaphinsymbolizesthedevelopmentofwisdom.InthetaleoftheMiddle

Path,thefocusisevidentlyonthethreeattributesandqualificationsofthe

stringsofaphinratherthanonthenumberofthestrings.Forthisreason,thus,

itseemstobetrueforaphintobeusedwithouttheconditionofspecific

instrumentaltypesorthenumberofstringsitcontains.Thisfactisdemonstrated

intheexplanationsofvarietiesofthetensionofthestring:tootightastring

willresultdistraction,toolooseastringwillresultlaziness,andastringthat

isnottootightortooloosewillresultasuitablelevelofmoderation.The

soundsofphinmusicarealsotakenasimplyingthebeautyorgoodnessthat

lureoneintokilesa(desire).A phincanbeaninstrumentfortheattainment

ofwisdomandabetterunderstandingofBuddhistteachings.Itisthroughsuch

paththatBuddhagainedwisdomfortheunderstandingofthehighestlevel

of Buddhist philosophy, Sammasambodhiyarn (enlightenment). This is

theultimatewisdomthatonlyBuddhaandallArahants(enlightenedmonks)

hadattained.


Concept 2 Phin from the Brahmin and Hindu philosophical

perspectives

From the Brahmin and Hindu philosophy perspectives, the

implicationsofphinarebasedontheBrahminandHinduideologiesthatoften

appear in associationwith the Buddhist principles. The reasons for such

associationare, firstly,because they share thebeliefs indifferent typesof

deities,gods,goddesses,angelsandGandharvas (low-rankingdeities).Apart

frombeingreveredandworshippedfortheirinfluentialandsignificantinfluences

overhumanlives,thesedivinebeingsarerelatedtothebeliefsinthesupernatural

powersand,therefore,canbeusedtoreinforcecertainBuddhistteachings

andlegends.Thestrongbeliefs inHindumythologymakepeopleconsider

anything that is related toGods or divinebeing as having thequalities of

excellence,holiness,mysticismandmiraculouspowers.Secondly,thecaste

systeminBrahminismandHinduismprovidesclearperspectiveonthehierarchies

ofhumanbeingsandhasextensiveinfluencesoverthemusicculturesofIndia.

Forexample,itisthedutiesofslavesanddependentstoplaymusicfortheir

kingswhoareregardedasdivinekings.Therefore,anythingoranypersonthat

isrelatedtokingsorpersonsinequivalentlyhighstatusarebelievedtobe

imbuedwithsimilarlygreatmeritsandpowers.Forthisreason,suchobjector

personmustbecarefullyselectedanddealtwithbecauseofitsexaltedand

specialstatus. Phinmusicsymbolizesthegreathonorandspecialstatusof

peopleofhighcaste.

AphinmentionedinthetaleswithrespecttotheMiddlePath,

therefore,reflectthereligiousphilosophiesofBrahminismandHinduismthat

arecloselyrelatedtothereligiousbeliefsandfaithsthatarewellunderstood

byBuddhists.Thisreligiousphilosophyisclearlydemonstratedinthedepictions

ofIndraplayinga3-stringedphinthatoftenappearinmuralpaintingsinthe

contextofaTripitakaaccountofBuddhatalkingaboutsocialhierarchieswith

anemphasison the statusofdeities. InBrahminismandHinduism,aphin

symbolizes the instrument thatmanuses to communicatewithGods and

divinebeings.ItisthemusicalinstrumentoftheGodsandthesymbolofa


specificGandharvaswhoplaysthatinstrument.InfluencedbyBrahminismand

Hinduism,itisnormaltofindphininstrumentsinfusedwithbeliefsinmysticism,

miraclesandthesupernatural.

Concept 3 Phin from the musical philosophy perspectives

ThemusicaltraitsofaphinintheTripitakaaccountsrefertothe

common traits ofphinmusic as being delightful,melodious,mesmerizing,

enchanting,poised,equalized,moderateandproper.Thekeyimplicationof

theseTripitakaaccountsisthatmusicplayssignificantrolesingivingmeanings

tovariousobjects.Forexample,thesoundsofphin music are considered divine

forthefactthattheyarecreatedbyadivinemusicalinstrument.Apartfrom

beingamusicalinstrumentoftheGods,aphinisalsoregardedtheinstrument

foramusicalofferingtoBuddhaandprominentpersons.Therefore,thesounds

ofmusic andmusical instruments signify something special, something

miraculous and extraordinary. Phinmusic,therefore,signifiesobjectsofhigh

values,uniquebeautyandpurity. It isanaestheticmediumof subtleand

profoundmessagesthatarecrucialtohumanphysicalandspiritualwell-being.

Fromthemusicalphilosophyperspectives,phinsignifyobjectsof

highvaluesandspecialbenefits.WhenusedinBuddhistcontexts,thesounds

ofphinmusicareusedasameanstoenhanceone'swisdom,asymbolof

purity,truthandserenity.WhenusedinBrahminorHinducontexts,phin music

isbelievedtobeamediumforthecommunicationbetweenhumanbeings

andGodsorsupernaturalbeings.Itisused,forexample,intheperformingof

ritualmusic or as symbolic representation of various Gods.Phin music is

generallyperformedasagestureofreverence,faithsanddevotion.Whenused

inmusicalphilosophycontexts,phinmusicisoftenusedtodisplaythebeauty,

melodiousness,anddelightfulnessofthemusicalsounds.

Conceptual framework for a creative composition

Asaprocessofbringingvarious ideas intoa frameworkofmusic

composition,thisstudyembracesmethodandtechniquesfromthepreceding

works:suchasthework,entitledPlengRuangPuja Nakon Nan,isbasedupon


thesacredPujadrummingofNanprovince(Komkhum,Pornprasit,2015,52);

The Music of Rice in Amphawa(Thatsanabanjong,Phoasavadi,2017,492).These

works,creatinganewpiece,botharebaseduponthetechniqueinThaimusic

principleofemployingpillartones(siang lak or luk tok)derivedfromoriginal

melodiesbelongingtofieldworkdata.Althoughtheseworksbotharedealt

with musical style of piphat mai khaeng ensemble, its methods and

compositionaltechniquesrevealingareusefulinthisresearch.

Findingsfromthestudyof phin instrumentsinthephinfamilyand

phin-relatedaccountsintheTripitakawereusedtodeveloptheconceptual

framework and direction for the creative composition of “Phin-

Dukkhanirodhagaminipatipada”.Theconceptualframeworkwasderivedfrom

threegroupsofdata:(1)religion,(2)philosophyand(3)music.Themusical

dataobtainedfromthisstudyfocusedmainlyonphinmusicthatexistedduring

theBuddhistperiodinIndiaandtheMiddlePathphilosophy.Theconceptual

frameworkofthisresearchisillustratedinthechartbelow.

Chart 1Conceptualframeworkforcreatingthemusiccomposition

Themusiccompositionisdividedintosevenelements:(1)meaning,

(2)objectives,(3)status,(4)melody,(5)playingtechnique,(6)musicalinstrument

and(7)musicalensemble.Themusiccompositionwaspresentedinthreeparts

asfollows:

Part 1 Overture

TheoverturecontainsthreesymbolicelementsofBuddha,deities

andhumanbeings.Therelationshipsbetweenthesethreeelementsisexpressed

via phinmusic in connection to themusicalmeaning and goals of this


composition,whichare,topresentamusicalofferingtoBuddha,tocreatea

serenadesandbyaGod(Indra),andtoentertainhumanbeings.

Part 2 Song of the Buddhist teaching

Inthissection,songoftheBuddhistteachingoftheDukkhanirodhagamini

patipadadoctrineorthepathtothecessationofsufferingwasselectedto

developthekeyconceptual frameworkforthecomposition.Themelodies

werecreatedfromthephilosophicalimplicationsofthestringsandthesounds

ofphin,basedonthemetaphorsthatBuddhausedforthetwooppositesides

ofphinmusic.FromtheLokiya (worldly) side,phin strings were used as a

metaphorforthetwoextremes(tightnessandlooseness)ofhuman’saction.

FromtheLokuttara (transcendental)side,phinmusicwasusedtoconveythe

conceptofmoderationinhuman’sactioninordertofindtherightpathtothe

cessationofsuffering.Aphinwasusedinthemeaningofameanstoenhance

one’swisdomandasametaphorforperseverance,industriousness,knowledge,

ideaandunderstandingofmoderationinaction.

Themelodiesofthispartlinkedsuchmetaphorstothetheoriesof

musical sounds, performing techniques,musical instruments andmusical

ensemble,basedontheconceptualframeworkofphinmusicfromtheBuddhist

perspectives.Thispartconsistsofthreesectionsasfollows:

Section1Buddhistteachingonthefirstpathof“tightness”

Section2Buddhistteachingonthethirdpathof“looseness”

Section3Buddhistteachingonthesecondpathof“moderation”

(Dukkha nirodhagaminipatipada or Magga8-thenobleeightfoldpath)

Part 3 Song of the path to the cessation of suffering or “Vimutti”

Thefinalpartofthecompositionisapresentationofthesongof

thepathtothecessationofsuffering,whichisasummaryoftheimplications

ofphinoftheMiddlePathwiththeimplicitmeaningsofbrightness,serenity

andcessationofsuffering.


Recommendations This researchon phinmusic from the Buddhist perspectives has

openedupnewoutlooksandnewfrontiersonthestudyoftherelationship

betweenmusicandBuddhism,whichcancontributetoamorecompleted

bodyofknowledgeonbothaspects.Thegreatnumberofvery interesting

referencestomusicintheTripitakascripturecanprovidebetterunderstandings

ofthereligious,socialandculturalaspectsofThaisociety.Aphin inthevarious

cases representing as amusic culture also reflectmany of the cultural

foundationsthatSouthAsianandSoutheastAsiancountriessharewithone

another.Nevertheless,theexplanationsandinterpretationsofthesephenomena

fromthemusicalperspectivesremainquitelimited,studiesonothermusical

aspectsofBuddhismshouldbecarriedouttoprovidemorecomprehensive

databaseandguidelinesforfutureresearchesintheThaimusic.

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