The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

258 REVIEW ARTICLES
Accepting these four suppositions, one can not only identify the
six places named by Marco Polo, but the two unnamed places as well.
In short, except for the Naksat Cities, there were no other important
towns or Muengs in the Peninsula at that time. The Naksat Cities first
came to our knowledge about 1200 A.D. or only a century before Marco
Polo. For no particular reason I will give the Naksat years in my
identifications as well.
After passing Nakorn, Polo got to or sailed past the Singora Inland
Sea and arrived at the first state in Java Minor which he called Ferlac.
This was Patani (Year of the Ox); from there he went south to Saiburi
on the border of Patani and Narativas Provinces (Year of the Rat,
Basman); on to Kelantan (Year of the Tiger, Samara); then round
the Peninsula up the west coast. Pahang (Year of the Rabbit) was an
inland town and Polo did not visit the place, but as this state covered
both coasts he would have asked or been told about it. The first state
on the west coast that Polo got to was Kedah (Year of the Big Snake,
Dagroian) ; then Trang (Year of the Horse, Lambri) ; and finally
Bhuket or Takua Talang (Year of the Dog, Fansur), from where he
sailed to Ceylon. Of the two unnamed locations one was Pahang, and
the other was either Pattalung (Year of the Little Snake) or Krabi
(Year of the Monkey). Pattalung is on the land side of the Singora
Inland Sea, and as Polo did not go to Singora, the chances are that it
was Krabi. As Polo stopped at Bhuket (Fansur) and Krabi is on the
opposite shore of Bhuket Bay, he would have been given its name. My
identifications, then, are as follows:
Marco Polo Identifications Naksat Years
Ferlac Pat ani Chaloo Ox
Bas man Saiburi Cbuad Rat
Samara Kelantan Khan Tiger
(unnamed) Pahang Thoa Rabbit
Dagroian Kedah Marong Big Snake
Lambri Trang Mamia Horse
Fansur Bhuket Chor Dog
{unnamed) Kra9i Vo~ Monkey