Phisuea Samut

Phisuea Samut, also known as Nang Phisuea Samudra (Thai: นางผีเสื้อสมุทร), is a sea ogress and main character from Phra Aphai Mani, the masterpiece epic poem of Sunthorn Phu. It is considered to be one of Thailand's national epics.^[1]

The statue of Phisuea Samut in Koh Samet, Thailand

Legend

According to the epic poem Phra Aphai Mani, Phisuea Samut is a sea ogress who lived in a cave beneath the sea. One day, Phra Aphai Mani, a prince from the Rattana Kingdom, was sent to study abroad by his father, with the intention of having him ascend to the throne after his passing. Aphai is a master of playing a magical flute called Pi (ปี่), which had the power to put people to sleep or even kill them. Nang Phisuea Samudra was captivated by the beautiful music of the flute and decided to rise from the sea to find its source. When she finally met Aphai, she instantly fell in love with him and began plotting to marry him. While Aphai's companions were lulled to sleep by the sound of his flute, Phisuea Samudra disguised herself as a beautiful woman to be with him. Aphai knew all along that she was an ogress in disguise, but he was unable to escape. Aphai and Phisuea lived together and had a son named Sin Samudra (สินสมุทร). For eight years, Sin was kept isolated from the world until one day, Aphai revealed the truth about his mother to him and they devised a plan to escape. Aphai tricked Phisuea Samudra into going to meditate on a distant island and fasting for three days.^[2]

When Phisuea realized she had been deceived, she became agitated and lost her beauty, transforming back into an ogress. She wandered along the beach searching for her beloved. The story ends with Aphai managing to escape and arriving on a shore, where he played his magic flute, breaking Phisuea Samudra's heart and killing her.^[3]

The statues of Phisuea were erected on the shores of Koh Samet to commemorate her strong love.^[4] Her memorial statues can be found across Rayong province, where she was worshipped as a deity known as Mother Sea Butterfly.^{[note 1][5][6][7][8]} Her story is still part of popular Thai theater, and she is portrayed as a sad romantic figure.^[9][10]

Gallery

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  Welcoming statue of Phisuea Samut at the main port of Samet
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  The statue at Samed Port
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  The statue of Phisuea Samut located at Wat Phra Yai in the north of Ko Samui, Thailand.
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  Puek Tian Beach and statue of Phisuea Samut

Notes

1. “Butterfly” (not an insect) is distorted from the word “ghost” and literally translates as “ancestral ghost”.

References

1. Lantz, Victoria Pettersen; Sweigart-Gallagher, Angela (11 July 2014). Nationalism and Youth in Theatre and Performance. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-81200-5.
2. "กราบขอพร "ยักษ์แม่ใหญ่" พระนางสุวรรณอัปสรจอมเทวี วัดนางตะเคียน จ.สมุทรสงคราม". trueid (in Thai). from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
3. แย้มเดช, นิพัทธ์ (1 January 2023). "พระอภัยมณีได้นางเงือกเป็นเมีย "รักที่ฉาบฉวยหรือยั่งยืน"?". ศิลปวัฒนธรรม (in Thai). from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
4. "บวงสรวงนางยักษ์ผีเสื้อสมุทร". บ้านเมือง (in Thai). from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
5. "ชาวเกาะเสม็ด ทำพิธีเปลี่ยนชุดให้ 'ผีเสื้อสมุทร' อัศจรรย์ฝนหยุดตกทันที". Thairath (in Thai). 1 May 2017. from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
6. "เหนือฟ้าใต้บาดาล : ศาลนางผีเสื้อสมุทร พลังศรัทธาที่มีแต่รัก". Thairath (in Thai). 24 November 2019. from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
7. เหล่ามานะเจริญ, ศิริพจน์ (4 July 2019). "ศิริพจน์ เหล่ามานะเจริญ : ผีเสื้อสมุทร ของสุนทรภู่ ได้แรงบันดาลใจมาจากทั้งรามายณะ และพงศาวดารลังกา". มติชนสุดสัปดาห์ (in Thai). from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
8. ""นางแบบสาว" ไหว้นางยักษ์ ผีเสื้อสมุทร ขอดลใจอดีตคนรักนำจยย. มาคืน". Onbnews (in Thai). 9 June 2020. from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
9. "ซ้อมปั่นเพื่อพ่อระยองเก๋ไก๋ นางยักษ์ตามหาพระอภัยมณีหนีไป Bike for Dad". Thairath (in Thai). 4 December 2015. from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
10. OoHmusic.com. "น้ำตาผีเสื้อสมุทร - Khaimoog CNY นี่แหละ T-Pop กลิ่นไอความเป็นไทย". OoHmusic.com (in Thai). from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.