Page 597 - Proceedings Collega2023

NEGOTIATION OF THE THAI IDENTITY OF THE CHARACTERS IN
THE NOVEL THE MURDER CASE OF TOK IMAM STOPA KARDE

2,
1
Nadiya Yasee-ngo , Sulastri and Ferdinal Ferdinal 3

1,2, 3 Andalas University, Padang, Indonesia
mariposanadya@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Since the administrative reform of 1932, conflict problems have arisen along the southern border.
Nation-states, as a concept, are coming to define national identity as a unified entity and not as a collection
of divisions. As a result, these groups of people are perceived as 'others'. The aim of this article is to
examine how characters in Siriworn Kaewkan's novel The murder case of Tok Imam Storpa Karde negotiate
their Thai identity by comparing the text with the social context surrounding the concept of the modern
nation-state as a means of examining the Thai identity. The study found that writers negotiate character
identities as follows: 1) It has been observed that Buddhist and Muslim villages have a good relationship
from the past and are able to live together peacefully despite their differences in religious belief. 2) The
Imam and the Abbot are the same bloodline. It presents the spatial relationship between Islam, the major
religion in the southern border provinces, and Buddhism, the national religion of Thailand. 3) Neither the
Imam nor the Abbot are alive. The Abbot was fatally shot in the temple, and the Imam was fatally shot
before entering the mosque. The presentation of Thai identity in the novel is therefore based on Tok Imam
Stopa Karde's autobiography, where it is implied that he has the same bloodline as a pagan leader from a
nearby community.

Keywords: Negotiation; Thai identity; Southern border; Religious leader

International Conference on Local Wisdom of the Malay Archipelago (COLLEGA 2023) Page - 584 -