#ramayama

At it's core, it's a Bollywood flick presented to the West with familiar nods to previous action films - I definitely picked up hints of Tony Jaa's influence on Asian action flicks throughout.

It's heavily focused on police corruption, something commented a lot about in India, and here, more importantly, Indian films. Just like America has its love affair with mobster flicks, Bollywood has a long history featuring films that showcase police corruption, sometimes tied into political extremism, fanatical or greedy religious leaders, and Monkey Man comments on all this as well and pays nods to that commonality. We've got televangelists and religious leaders in the states funnelling money, preaching prosperity gospel, and using it to influence politics and fund lavish lifestyles here.

Monkey Man shows this happening in India, and is filled with Indian culture and symbolism through out. The focus on Hanuman, the god and one worshiped by the strong, chaste, wrestlers, champions, and fighters. It's a common thing to have a household deity if you will. Some families might choose to focus worship on Ganesh, others Hanuman, some might do Mata Rani or Lakshmi. Here, it's the divine Vanara (monkey people race) - one of the Chiranjivi - immortals/forever-lived.

Hanuman. Themes of rebirth, common in South Asian history and mythology are present from Kid being a ringer, beat up fighter getting whooped for money to being reborn and facing his trauma through a ritual/meditate process that I don't want to get too much into to not spoil the movie. Post that, he begins his own self alchemy to really become the true Monkey Man. Nods to Ramayama, and an unapologetically Indian story featuring dialogues throughout in Hindi - don't worry, there are subtitles.

And of course a love for action flicks before it, all the way back to Bruce Lee. A beautiful use tbh of an autorickshaw (and you might know them as tuk-tuks in Thailand) which are popular in India with an added kick...I swear, that thing had to be modified with a hayabusa motor. Which is an actual thing people do - modding those dinky rickshaws with motorcycle engines, and considering they weigh nothing at all, they can REALLY FLY once you do that.

Monkey Man brings to the big screen other elements of India people might not know about, such as the gender non conforming and trans community that has a long history in India, presenting them as action stars as they go up against a system of corrupt elites oppressing part of the city, marginalized communities, and minority voices as depicted in the film. I'm not sure if people are going to get all of that without having the context, but I love that it does it without holding anyone's hands.

It's a fun action flick to see in the age of superhero films, and I say that as an obvious superhero/sff nerd. Also loved that Dev included a little bit about Hanuman's own story in the film, and the loss of his powers - almost mirrored by Kid's own loss of self/skills, strength until he confronts his trauma and is reborn, and in fact, remade (not necessarily the same). Also, the use of music was brilliant, including one scene with a tabla (the paired hand drums of south asia) - and Indian music is central to Indian stories.

This is a culture with evidence going back to the Paleolithic with cave murals showing art of Indian dance nearly 30,000 years ago. Yeah, that far back. As well as Mesolithic period art depicting musical instruments such as gongs, lyres, and more.

Indian music is some of the earliest we can find that has high developed beat and rhythm structures such as 5, 7, 9 and now the extremely common and known 4/4 and 3/4 - which so much of Western music is built upon. The foundations and experimentation of/in Jazz. John Coltrane and John Cage were heavily inspired by Indian music and incorporated a lot from it into their works. And Monkey Man blends Eastern and Western music through the narrative as comfortably as it does an Indian story in a very familiar Western accessible structure.

What is it?

Well, put simply, they are the mythical flying "chariots" out of the South Asian epics. Though, interestingly enough, the earliest mentions of them specifically exclude mentions of horses//being horse drawn.

They are entirely self moving. The word means to traverse, traverse/measure out.

In the ancient epics, they were as large as some palaces, and sometimes listed as a palace (for a character in the epics) and interesting is the evolution of the word today from the days of the epics to where it now means airship/craft.

In the Ramayama, the character and villain, Ravana (inspiration for Rahvin for you WoT fans), has a vimana described as: resembling the Sun, and a chariot able to traverse anywhere and everywhere, resembling a bright cloud, and by command, could go into the atmosphere.

Vimana can travel the skies at insane speed, and notably rain down fire and weapons of mass destruction in battles. Idk about you, but that sounds like some space ship level stuff.

Maybe Stargate was onto something. :SG1 MUSIC INTENSIFIES:

Viman can be shaped into many ways, however. One story tells of a flowery Viman shaped like an eagle that Lord Vishnu sent down to carry the soul of one person up to heaven. Important to also note that Eagles are important in the mythos as they are associated with Garuda a deity and divine bird being who is eagle-like (like not 1-1), as well as often related to a kite (the bird) and yes, the toy that flies through the air is derived in name from the bird. Anyways, Garuda is the mount of Lord Vishnu, and so through him eagles also have a level of high prominence - another example is Shyena, the divine eagle associated with Agni (god of fire).

Who are they? What are they? And what do they?

Well, simply put, they are/were storytellers -- the bards of South Asia.

They have also served as mythographers. What is a mythographer?

Think Snorri Sturluson or Ovid.

They will collect, translate, tell, or write collections of mythic stories that carry historical importance, pass it on, share it, perform.

As the valuation and societal weight of/on castes grew, eventually bards/Bhats were split into two sorts: An upper class and lower class in whom they served.

The wealthy, higher castes had their own bhats that served in many respects for a modern western comp. like the Maesters out of game of thrones. They would tell stories tied to and recite genealogy - family history as well as educational stories, and even perform storied eulogies for the passing of family members in wealthy families. The lower class bhats would do genealogy for patrons as well as a focus more on entertainment but not necessarily education (though you can argue that because stories are educational.

Unfortunately, this division and status worsened with time with sort of an upper class privileged bard/bhat that performed praise songs, story-tellers, and revered poets, vs the lower class "puppeteers or mummers telling folk tales only" -- considered riffraff.

The upper class of bards especially served Rajput families in ensuring glory, recognition, histories of their families deeds/goodness, birth, impeccable genealogy, all of which of course was used to continue to hold on to or grow political appeal/legitimacy and social status.

At times, bhats, along with monks (particularly of Jainistic backgrounds), and those of the Hindu Brahmin caste would compete in storytelling to mold/shape perception of tales among the royalty and those they wished to convince of certain ways of thinking by telling alternative histories or tales of family lines/kings past, and deeds done by them, and the kingdoms themselves.

Note: THEY DID NOT tell alternative versions of the epics/myths.

Now, that has happened through time and travel. There are alternative/localized versions of the South Asian myths and epics in many regions and other Asian countries due to travel and time - mostly carried through by Buddhism and its spread. This includes variations in Ramayama and Mahabharata in places.

But the Bhats, pandits, Brahmins, and other forms of storytellers/priests, sages, wise ones, did not by and large contribute to that. Not at least in the example and history here which is being relegated to their performance/duties for royal families, and then public with the lower class of bhats, who sadly continued to suffer as well as the upper class with British Raj which stripped many of their honor and status and left most historical families of storytellers by caste impoverished and these are just some light notes on one part of India's diverse and rich layered storytelling history and people who did it.

This part of the world had stories told by priests, sages, poets, bards, courtesans, and more.

It's the Thai national epic which is their version of the Ramayama. It was Thai King Rama VI who traced back the inspirations of the Ramakien to:

Ramayana, the Vishnu Purana, and Hanuman Nataka but how did an Indian epic come to be shaped into a Thai national epic as well?

Simply put? Buddhism.

The more complicated answer? Buddhism but through missionaries after a long history of Indianized states already made it easy to spread parts of Indian culture, stories/myths, and obviously Buddhism.

What is an Indianized state? Well, some were parts of the Indochinese peninsula known as Funan (Phu Nam - Vietnam), Champa, and more (seriously, a lot more).

TLDR, Southeast and Western Asian lands that had heavy Indian influences and or rulers at one time.

Why/how? Well, interestingly, there are Chinese books that have myths/stories of this. The Book of Liang is the most popular source, and some of its stories are reiterated in Indian and Southeast Asian folkore/stories.

They are very beautiful and cool stories but the reality as argued by historians?

Likely Indian merchants seeking wider wealth (migrating through/over the Oceanic silk road routes) into parts of South East Asia who eventually shared stories/treatises and more of Indian political statecraft, eventually leading some merchants into positions of power, rulers marrying across countries to gain/strengthen power, so on. Eventually, voila. Indianized parts of the nearby world bearing Sanskrit inscriptions, Vedic/Hindu statues, and more.

A DNA sample taken from Funan from this time period shows an individual a lot of South Asian DNA admixture approximating 50 percent. The site is what is today known as Cambodia. Note: the sample dates to that time as when the individual lived, not that the sample was collected then. Now, this tradition continued of course over time. Asia was pretty well interconnected.

India and China have a rich tradition (documented) of trade of all sorts including, political craft/statecraft, ruling, censuses, well-being of people, religion/culture, philosophy, arts, and more.

So, dialed up over time, this same Indianization is what's influenced (in part, not wholly) Thailand (as it has a great deal of Chinese influence) as well. But for the purposes of the Ramakien, in the logical sense, this is likely what happened to bring the story of Ramayama, the Buddhist as well as Vedic cultural traditions found there or what evolved from them, such as the worship and reverence of/for Hanuman including him being involved in Muay Thai (note, not credited with/creating it) but he is often depicted in imagery, has a technique named after him, and regarded by many as the ultimate Thai boxer (within the culture) for the traits of the sport he embodies.

Now full circle back to Ramakien. There are some central differences, obviously given that it's more rooted in Buddhism and its tenants than the Vedic epics focused on Dharma (cosmic order/duty) vs. a Buddhist lens of living. Some of the characters are similar (not the same) and serve similar roles with name and slight changes, of course. Not to mention the history and traditions of the Jatka tales spread by Buddhism into the area over time evolved as performed by locals on stage and other venues to be more Thai, feature Thai topography and landmarks and takes.