A beautiful, old story related to muay boran is
the story of
Nai
Kanomtom, a hero very dear to the heart of all Thais. He was
captured after
the fall of Ayutaya (1767) and deported to Burma with
hundreds
of Siamese prisoners. Burmese king Mangra was holding seven
days of religious festivities to celebrate the end of the war and the
building of a new temple and pagoda. Boxing contests
were a popular form of entertainment on such
jolly occasions. The king was curious to check how
his fighters would
perform against opponents trained in Siamese boxing
and gave a chance to one prisoner to stand up and fight. Nai
Khanomtom volunteered
and entered the arena. He graciously performed a
pre-fight dance, the wai
kruu, to pay his respect to his teacher and the
art of Siamese boxing. This somehow intrigued and almost
mesmerized the Burmese, who
had never seen the ritual performed before. The
fight resulted in Kanomtom's quick victory, but the Burmese couldn't
accept
the
verdict, claiming the wai
kruu was a sort of magic ritual which weakened and
poisoned the Burmese champion. The King then asked if he
would fight nine Burmese champions to
prove that the "muay
Ayutaya" was indeed superior to Burmese Let Wei. Nai
Kanomtom agreed
and defeated all Burmese champions in one day, one after the other.
King Mangra was so impressed he granted the unbeatable fighter his
freedom, plus the choice between a reward in riches or two beautiful
Burmese wives. Nai Kanomtom chose the wives and went back to Ayutaya
as a free man.
Another version of this story adds that the Burmese king freed all
Siamese prisoners too, as a gesture of goodwill among the two
countries.
The legend of Kanomtom has been
portrayed in many Thai movies, here below you can see the final part of
a good one:
Every
year, usually on 15-17 March, the story of Nai Kanomthom is
celebrated in Ayuttaya for the Nai Kanomthom Day and
International
Festival of Martial Arts, a three-days gathering of muay boran
practictioners, with spectacular muay boran
demonstrations and wai
kruu
contests, mostly outdoor in front of one of the most famous
temples, Wat Mahatat.
Teams from all over the world participate. In the evening of the first
day, each
practictioner who has attained a higher level of
proficiency receives his new mongkol, of a
different color,
from
the hands of the Senior Grand Master Sidhyothong during a beautiful and
elaborate
ceremony rich in atmosphere. See pics below
(edition 2009).
history
of muay thai, chao sua, ayuttaya, muay boran, burmese fighters, naresuan
