Tamra Maew — the Thai Cat-Book
The Tamra Maew are Thai folding books (samut khoi) of verses and paintings about cats: which ones bring luck and which to avoid. Each copy is a little different. Here are the cats as our pixels can draw them, next to the 19th-century paintings.
- The tradition is said to go back to Ayutthaya, but the copies that survive were made in the 19th century — a British Library copy (Or 15567) is dated 1824. 📎 British Library · Or 15567 (dated 1824) · Public Domain Review · Tamra Maew
- Most versions describe 17 lucky cats. Many also warn against unlucky ones — tiger-striped cats, red-eyed cats, cats that eat their kittens. 📎 Public Domain Review · Tamra Maew
- Black cats are lucky here: 11 of the 17 auspicious cats have black bodies. "Black cat = bad luck" is not a Tamra idea. 📎 Clutterbuck 2008 · Cabinet magazine · British Library Or 16797 · on Wikimedia Commons
- Only a handful survive as breeds today; a 2023 seminar named four: Wichien Maat, Suphalak, Konja and Si Sawat (Korat). 📎 Nation Thailand 2023 · 4 of 17 auspicious cats survive · Public Domain Review · Tamra Maew
- Khao Manee, the all-white cat, is not among the 17 lucky cats in these lists. 📎 Clutterbuck 2008 · Cabinet magazine · Nation Thailand 2023 · 4 of 17 auspicious cats survive
- On 18 Nov 2025 the Thai Cabinet named five Thai cats — Wichien Maat, Si Sawat, Suphalak, Konja and Khao Manee — as national-identity animals. 📎 Thai Government · five Thai cats (18 Nov 2025) · Thailand PRD · 5 native cats national identity
The 17 lucky cats
1. Ninlarat ("dark sapphire") — Glossy black all over — even the mouth, eyes and claws are dark.
💡 Belief: brings wealth
2. Wilat ("beauty") — Black with white on the chest and belly, ears, feet and tail; green eyes.
💡 Belief: riches and many people under you
3. Suphalak ("excellence") / Thong Daeng ("copper") — A coat with a copper glint and bright eyes — today's Suphalak.
★ In the Tamra: "against all evil" — harm turns to happiness
4. Kao Taem ("nine spots") — White with nine black spots — on the head, neck, shoulders and legs.
💡 Belief: respect and high rank
5. Malet ("flower") / Si Sawat — An even blue-grey with pale roots; eyes like dewdrops on a lotus — today's Korat.
💡 Belief: luck and happiness
6. Saem Sawet ("mixed with white") — Black with white hairs mixed through; eyes that glow like fireflies.
💡 Belief: great benefit
7. Rattanakamphon ("jewelled cloth") — White with a dark band around the body from chest to back; golden eyes.
💡 Belief: rank and position
8. Wichien Maat ("moon diamond") — A pale coat with dark points — the verses count eight: lip, ears, paws and tail. Ancestor of the Siamese.
💡 Belief: wealth
9. Ninlachak ("sapphire ring") — Black as a crow's wing, with a white ring around the neck.
💡 Belief: can live well in any land
10. Mulila — Black, with two white ears; eyes yellow as chrysanthemums.
11. Krop Waen ("spectacle frame") — White, with black rings around the eyes like spectacles and a saddle-shaped patch on the back.
💡 Belief: honour
12. Pat Sawet ("brushed with white") — Dark, with a white line running from the nose to the tail; topaz-yellow eyes. A rare one.
💡 Belief: a good name for the family
13. Krachok ("sparrow") — Black with white fur around the mouth.
💡 Belief: land and money
14. Singhasep ("lion") — Black, with white around the mouth, the nose tip and a mane-like neck.
15. Karawek (a mythical bird) — Black, with a white tip to the nose; amber eyes.
💡 Belief: promotion and rank
16. Chatubot ("four feet") — Black, with four white feet.- 17. Konja — Solid jet black with yellow-green eyes — today's Konja.
💡 Belief: honour and wealth
The 6 "unlucky" cats
These are old beliefs, not facts. Kinked tails are very common in South-East Asian cats, and red eyes, shyness or lost kittens are about health and care — never about bad luck. No cat brings misfortune.
- Thuphon Phet — Dull white with blood-red eyes and a kinked tail; yowls at night.
- Pisat ("demon") — Thin, with wrinkled skin and a kinked tail; said to eat its own kittens.
- Kop Phloeng — Hides alone and runs from people.
- Phan Phayak ("tiger-coloured") — An olive coat with tiger stripes, and red eyes.
- Hin Thot — A beautiful female whose kittens die before they are born.
- Nep Saniat — Misshapen, with a patchy tail base; tucks its tail away and bites other cats.
Paintings: British Library Or 16797 (19th century, public domain). Descriptions after Clutterbuck 2008 and the manuscripts; copies differ. Luck lines marked 💡 are beliefs; ★ is quoted from a verse.
📎 British Library Or 16797 · on Wikimedia Commons · Clutterbuck 2008 · Cabinet magazine · Public Domain Review · Tamra Maew · National Library of Thailand · Tamra Maew No. 247
Made with AI · data from the sources shown · Zilo Game
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