Analysis local wisdom of herbs in atisarawak manuscript

Abstract

The study entitled “An Analysis of Local Wisdom on Herbs from Anti Sara Wak Scripture” is a mixed-method research. The research objectives were to evaluate the value of Anti Sara Wak scripture and to analyze beliefs in Thai society which occurred in this scripture. The samples of the study obtained from a convenient sampling were five experts of Nang Leong community. The research instrument used for data collection was questionnaire consisting of 4 parts: part 1 respondents’ general information, part 2 and 3 relevant to the experience in using herbal medicine, and the faith in Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, Prince of Chumphon, or the author of Anti Sara Wak scripture, and part 4 the open-ended section asking suggestions to further investigate Anti Sara Wak and beliefs in Thai society which appeared in this scripture. In addition, the depth interview was also used to collect the data from 5 experts of Nang Leong community. The data were then analyzed to find out the value of Anti Sara Wak and beliefs in Thai society from the scripture. The majority of the respondents were elderly people. The oldest respondent was 79 years old. These respondents rated the questionnaire: 5 for strongly agree, 4 for agree, 3 for neutral, 2 for disagree, and 1 for strongly disagree, reporting their attitudes towards the use of Thai herbal medicine. The results of the study show that the respondents strongly agreed with the use of Thai herbal medicine in daily life (80%) because it was suitable, responding to the objective. They also added that Anti Sara Wak scripture should be publicized (90%). However, there was little information available on Thai herbal medicine (30%). Additionally, the results showed a strong faith in Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, Prince of Chumphon (90%). The results of analyses show that there were beliefs in Thai society that appeared in Anti Sara Wak scripture, especially folklore beliefs such as superstitious beliefs, holy things, as well as tips and forbidden rules. Therefore, Anti Sara Wak scripture provided empirical evidence in Thai history, showing its value as one of Thai traditional medicine recipes.