Abstract:
This research aims to examine the entitling of Chatukarmramathep by focusing on the meanings and the relationship between the titles and Thai culture. The analysis is based on 502 titles of Chatukarmramathep, of which meanings designated by the creators are contemporarily traceable. In terms of the meaning assigned by the creators, it is found that meanings based on the beliefs of Chatukarmramatheps supernatural power are the most adopted. Other frequently adopted meanings include meanings related to the producing process of Chatukarmramathep amulets, meanings related to other beliefs in Thai society, meanings based on the attributes of Chatukarmramathep amulets, and meaning related to the life stories of Chatukarmramathep respectively. In particular, meanings related to the beliefs of Chatukarmramatheps power to bestow wealth and affluence, meanings related to the personal information of the creators of Chatukarmramathep amulets, and meanings related to the objectives of the creation of Chutukarmramathep amulets, respectively, rank the top three popular. As for semantic structure, the analysis reveals that several structural patterns are adopted, ranging from one-component structure to five-component structure. The most adopted is one-component structure. In terms of the relation between the titles of Chatukarmramathep and Thai socio-cultural context, during the beginning period (B.E. 2530-2546), the titles related to the objectives of the creation of Chatukarmramathep amulets are mostly found. Next, during the early popular period (B.E. 2547-2549), the titles emphasizing to the beliefs of the supernatural power of Chatukarmramathep are mostly adopted. Last, during the highest stage of popularity (B.E. 2550), most titles are also related to the supernatural power of Chatukarmramathep, especially the power to bestow wealth and affluence. The entitling of Chatukarmramathep is fairly related to some situations happened in Thai society during each period. In addition, the entitling of Chatukarmramathep is associated with the commercial purpose of the amulet production. Several linguistic strategies are adopted to create attractive titles including using rhythmic sound to create melodious sound, using repetition to emphasize the meaning, using compound words called khamson to emphasize the meaning, using spoken language to create distinctiveness, using adverbs to modify the meaning, and using homonyms to create double meaning. All of these are aimed to create attractive titles which are a factor of the popularity of Chatukarmramathep amulets. For the relationship between the titles of Chatukarmramathep and beliefs as well as value in Thai society, it is found that beliefs that reflected from the titles of Chatukarmramathep can be categorized into five groups: 1) beliefs in sacred power, 2) religious beliefs, 3) beliefs in superstition 4) beliefs in numbers and figures and 5) beliefs in astrology. In terms of social value, as reflected in many titles of Chatukarmramathep, wealth and affluence are highly regarded.