Phya Anuman Rajadhon (Thai: พระยาอนุมานราชธน; RTGS: Phraya Anuman Ratchathon, also spelled Phaya Anuman Rajadhon or Phrayā Anuman Rajadhon; December 14, 1888—July 12, 1969), was one of modern Thailand's most remarkable scholars. He was a self-trained linguist, anthropologist and ethnographer that became an authority on Thai culture. His name is Yong Sathiankoset (ยง เสฐียรโกเศศ); Phraya Anuman Rajadhon is his noble title. He also took his family name, Sathiankoset, as his pen name by which he is well known.
His prolific work and his interest in a multitude of cultural-related fields, from folklore to sociology, set the foundations for a long-lasting cultural awareness among young Thai scholars.[1]
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Moved by an innate curiosity and having an eye for detail, Phya Anuman Rajadhon observed and took notes on the Thai society that surrounded him at the crucial time when much of the traditional culture was being overwhelmed by modernity. As years went by he studied in depth the language,[2] popular customs, oral tradition, social norms and the value system of the Thai people.
He worked in different places, including the Hotel Oriental in Bangkok, during his youth and middle age. In the years when Phya Anuman Rajadhon worked as a clerk at the Thai Customs Department, he got to know a Mr. Norman Mackay who helped him to polish his broken English.
He had no academic titles and did all the training he needed for his research and compilation work humbly, tirelessly and on his own. Phya Anuman Rajadhon took a special interest in popular culture. Many particular ancient habits of Thais he recorded and described would have died unnoticed if they would have not been put down into writing by him. Often his descriptions were accompanied by illustrations.[3]
As a writer he wrote novels under the pen name Sethyankōsēt, often spelled as Sathirakoses, (Thai: เสฐียรโกเศศ). He also wrote works on important Thai cultural figures, like a biography of Phra Saraprasoet '(Trī Nākhaprathīp)' (1889–1945), a likewise dedicated author and commentator in the field of Thai literature.[4]
Recognition came to Phya Anuman Rajadhon towards his old age, when he was invited to universities to give lectures and began travelling abroad. He was given the post of President of the Siam Society and ended up becoming one of Thailand's most respected intellectuals, both in the last years of his life and posthumously.[5]
The commemoration of the 100th year of his birth was staged in 1988 by UNESCO, where social activist Sulak Sivaraksa, founder of the Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation, described Phya Anuman Rajadhon as a National Hero.
Only a fraction of Phya Anuman Rajadhon's works have been translated into English.[6][7]