ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an attention to the existence of a passage relating to mahrasop in an unpublished Thai manuscript in the library of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This is a manuscript of the tale of Manr in verse. The text, in black ink, in a single hand, covers the first half of the Manr story to the point at which Manr was brought to the kingdom of Udn Panh by Suthon. Traditionally, in Thailand, theatrical performances and ancillary entertainments, feats, and games had an important ceremonial function. The generic term that is applied to them is mahrasop. Knowledge of the materials on mahrasop is essential to the study of the history of the drama in Thailand. The most satisfactory primary sources for the description of mahrasop in its social context are literary texts. The ceremonies which provided the raison dtre for the entertainments were of great ritualistic importance.
