The Ramayana (Thailand)

A Hanuman puppet from Indonesia

Long, long time ago in the city of Hồ Tôn Tinh, lived a king Jiwaka. The time came for Jiwaka to retire, and he looked upon his eldest son Lo-mo to be his successor. But one of his wives, Nang Kaikasi, wanted her own son Chaputi to be the King. One time, Nang Kaikasi had saved Jiwaka’s life, and the king had promised her one wish. Nang Kaikasi confronted the king Jiwaka and asked him to fulfil her wish. The king had no choice but to accept Chaputi as the successor and send Lo-mo on a 14-year exile. Lo-mo’s wife Rol-rNyed-ma and his stepbrother Lekkana decided to join him in exile.

Years passed, and the brothers and Rol-rnyed-ma had many adventures. They came to enjoy their stay in the forest. When an ogress Tuan Puteri Buta failed to win the affection of handsome Lo-mo, she grew jealous of the pretty Rol-rnyed-ma. She incited her brother Thotsakan, the king of Alengka, to take Rol-rnyed-ma as his wife. One look at Rol-rnyed-ma and Thotsakan was smitten. He lured the brother away from Rol-rnyed-ma, kidnapped her, and took her away to Alengka.

.The brothers were heartbroken, but with the help of an ape Anjat and monkey troops led by Subali, they took the fight to Thotsakan. Good prevails over evil, and Thotsakan was defeated and killed in the battle. Lo-mo and Lekkana returned with Rol-rNyed-ma back to Hồ Tôn Tinh. The overjoyed people of Hồ Tôn Tinh celebrated by lighting lamps and firecrackers. And this was the origin of the Deepawali festival.

The cast of characters and places:
Hồ Tôn Tinh = Ayodhya, in Vietnamese
Jiwaka = Dashrata, in Mongolian
Lo-Mo = Rama, in Chinese
Nang Kaikashi = Kaikeyi, in Laotian
Chaputi = Bharata, in Kraabi (Southern Thailand)
Rol-rNyed-ma = Sita, in Tibetan
Lekkana = Lakshmana, in Burmese
Tuan Puteri Buta = Surpanaki, in Malay
Thotsakan = Ravana, in Thai
Alengka = Lanka, in Balinese
Anjat = Hanuman, in Khmer (Cambodian)
Subali = Bali, in Javanese