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Keeping Your Head Down

OK, granted. There are a lot of Thai proverbs that match what we've got in the West. For example, Nee suea, ba jorakae (literally, 'Running from the tiger, only to face a crocodile') is a near-enough parallel of: 'Out of the frying pan, into the fire'. Maeow mai yu, nu rarerng is another: "When the cat's away, the mice will play". But let me admit it - the ones I like best are the ones showing differences between the East and West. And one of my favourites in this respect comes at the end of the popular tale about a young man and some robber-monks. This particular young man had been away from his village a long time, and come back to find that robbers, in the guise of monks, had taken up occupation of the village's previously deserted temple. Horrified that his fellow-villagers were completely taken in, he went to the headman, tried to make him see the 'monks' were impostors - not just eating at all hours, but drinking whatever alcohol they could get their hands on. And what did the headman do? Had him tied up and taken to the temple, where the impostors tutted gravely and advised he be thoroughly beaten. Perhaps that would bring him round. But not having learned his lesson, the young man, having again spied on the temple, then reported orgies were taking place there. To what effect? Once again the villagers haled him before the 'monks', and this time the punishment was peppers stuffed up the nose as well as an even more severe beating. Recognising at last that nothing he could say or do would change the situation, the young man pulled himself together and left his birthplace, never to return.

The moral of the story? Nam noi, yorm pae fai… 'If you've got only a little water, don't try fighting a fire.'

In other words, unless you've got a lot of power, whatever the situation and however right you think your view of it, keep your head down and your mouth shut - otherwise you'll be in trouble.