Have you ever wondered about these "Yan" on the papers, fabrics and bodies?
What does it say and mean?
Hello! View from the YouTube Channel Point of View. I'll be reading these magic letters for you today!
[the Definition of "Yan"]
It might be surprising that I know how to read these letters.
The answer lies in my history.
These letters are written in Khom-wut, ancient Khmer letters that have been modified by Thai people.
When I was in the Faculty of Arts, I used to study Khmer,
Even though I don't remember anything anymore.
There is also a course called 'Khmer in relation of Thai language'
and at the end of the semester, you are required to do a term paper.
I did mine on reading these magic letters; what are the meanings of each one.
After graduated, this paper has been forgotten.
But recently I talked to a friend about this, and everyone seemed interested on what they mean.
Resulting in me reading these letters for you.
So that we can understand the "Yans" better.
Today I'm not gonna read all kinds of magic letters, because they are too many.
I'm gonna read only 3 types of Yans. First one is "Yan-Maha-Ood", just like in the film.
the 2nd one is also popular, it's called "Yan-Kao-Yod"
and the last one is the most popular one, "Yan-Ha-Taew"
They are on many celebrities' bodies.
No more delay, let's read!
Magic letters are usually written in Khom, but the things written are not Thai.
It's not "Hello!" "Be Happy!" not like that. It's written in Bali.
The same one used in Buddhist praying.
This means, to understand the letters, you'd have to translate from Khom into Bali.
And these Balis are also not straightforward. They are written in abbreviations to fit into the limited space.
Think what would happen if we write the whole prayer...
This is so academic...
Let's start with the first type: "Yan-Maha-Ood"
In this one, the Khom letters are written as: [Namo Puttaya Isawa Su]
What does this sentence mean?
Namo means Praising, and Puttaya means the great Buddha, so the first half means praising the great Buddha.
And Isawa Su, this is the abbreviation of the renown prayer.
I comes from Itipiso, this very, very long prayer we use to praise Buddha.
Sawa comes from Sawakhato, the praise for Dharma, the ultimate truth.
And Su comes from Supattipano, the praise for the monks.
So, the Maha-Ood is all about praising Buddha, Dharma and the monks.
This is the first one, "Yan-Maha-Ood". Let's go to the next one: "Yan-Kao-Yod"
This one has more letters, so the trancription is quite long: [Asang Wisu Loputsapuppa Sangwita Pugayapa Namo Puttaya Maau Arahang]
So LOOOOOOONG!
I'm not teaching Bali or anything. I'm not a professional in Bali, and I have to research hard for it.
Please don't ask me further than this, I've already forgotten.
What does that sentence mean?
Asang Wisu Loputsapuppa is also an abbreviation of the same prayer in the last one. Each letter comes from each part of the very long prayer.
This means it's also a praise for the Buddha.
Next, Sangwita Pugayapa, this is the abbreviation for the seven holy scriptures.
which we shouldn't mind due to the long names.
Maau, can be seperated into Ma-a-u, ma represents Buddha, a represents Dharma, and u represents the monks.
To conclude, the sentence says that
"Here I praise the Buddha. I know all the holy scriptures, and I praise Buddha, Dharma and the monks."
The last one we're going to discuss is the "Yan-Ha-Taew"
This might be the one you are most familiar with, but what really is written there?
Even though it consists of 5 roles, but it's actually 5 scrambles of the same sentence.
There's only one correct sentence, that is "Namo Puttaya Nameti"
This also means, let's praise the Buddha.
Conclusion: every kind of magic letter, mostly created by the monks, has the same meaning.
That is, praise the Buddha, He is awesome, praise Buddha, Dharma and the monks. I remember the prayers.
So, where do all the specific meanings, like supporting safety and health, come from?
My interpretation is: all these praises are like a request, asking them to take care of us.
I've praised the Buddha, so please look over me.
That's it. This clip is a bit serious, full of academic stuff, because it's not about a folklore.
But I think it's what many people are interested in but cannot find information about.
Because it was hard for me when I did my term paper. So, I share this to you all
If you like this clip, please like and share it, so that I and your friends will know.
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See you next time, Bye!
This might be a bit incorrect, because, as I said, it's been so long since I did my paper.
But I remember having fun doing it. To finally know what these things we see everyday mean.
For everyone who has to do their report on any subject,
and your teacher lets you do any subject related to the course,
don't choose easy topics. Choose the topic you want to know about.
That would be best, because it will be fun and you will remember it.
Rather than doing easy things, and you'll get nothing out of it.
Like this paper, it was quite hard, but I didn't regret choosing it.
I already studied something interesting, would I do a term paper on translating fruits' names?
I don't wanna know about fruits! I wanna know about these letters! And so, here we are.