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Intellectual Cultural Heritage
37
Several scholars and experts in Thai traditional dance share
the opinion that
Lakhon Chatri
might be the oldest form of Thai
traditional performing arts and possibly the prototype of all Thai musical
and dance dramas. It also stands as a testimony to the link between
the dramatic performances of the central region and the Nora dance of
the southern region.
Some think that “
chatri
” means a master of weaponry, who
knows how to protect himself from all kinds of weapons; others suspect
that it might be a corruption of a Sanskrit word “
kshatriya
,” which is
pronounced “chattriya” and which was clipped by the Thai tongue to
its present corrupt form of “chatri”. This hypothesis stands on the
rationale that the
Lakhon Chatri
presents the story of kings -- its
costume also looks like that of the kings in the ancient time. Still, others
suspect that
chatri
is a corrupt form of yatri or
yatra
, which mean
“to travel, to take a journey”. They reason that even today there
exists in India a type of travelling performing troupes called “
chatri
”.
Lakhon Chatri
had enjoyed widespread popularity in the
southern region before it was introduced to Bangkok in three periods.
The first time was in 1769 AD, when King Taksin of Thonburi led the
army to suppress the ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat in Thailand’s
southern region. The king brought with him on his return to his capital
of Thonburi several people including the
Lakhon Chatri
troupes. The
second time was in 1780 AD, during the celebration of the Emerald
Buddha Statue, King Taksin commanded the Lakhon Chatri troupe that
belonged to the ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat to come to Thonburi for
performance in competition with the royal court’s dance drama troupe.
The third time was in 1832 AD, during King Rama III’s reign. Somdet
Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawong (Dit Bunnag), at the time the
head of the administration, led the army to suppress an uprising in the
southern region, brought back with him on his return several talented
performers of
Lakhon Chatri
, who asked to accompany him to Bangkok.
These performers banded together as a performing group that became
famous and the
Lakhon Chatri
genre continues to be passed on to
younger generations until today.
Lakhon Chatri’s distinctive characteristics:
1. In the past ,
Lakhon Chat r i
t roupes marked thei r
performance area by setting up four poles in four corners in a square
shape area with one bench in it and a middle pole called
Sao
Mahachai
(“great victory pole”). The performance area has a roof over
it, but there was no scenery.
2. The
Lakhon Chatri
troupe in the past comprised an all-
male cast and they performed shirtless. The principal character, which
donned a more elaborate costume than the other characters, was also
topless but wore
sanap phlao
(a pair of calf-length trousers) under a
wrap-around cloth secured by
chiarabat
(a kind of sash wi th
decorative strips hanging down over the thighs),
hoi na
(a decorative
cloth strips that also hang down in front from the waist,
hoi khang
(a decorative cloth strips that hangs down aside from the waist). Other
decorative accessories are the
sangwan
(jewel sashes hanging from
the shoulders and crisscrossing the chest),
thap suang
(a pendant),
Lakhon Chatri
krong kho
(an embroidered
collar), and a
soet
(a pointed
crown-like headdress). In
later development, female
performers participate in the
Lakhon Chatri
show and a
blouse i s added to the
costume, in similar fashion
to the
Lakhon Nok
.
3. The performance
begins wi th an homage-
paying rite to the teachers
and past masters, followed
by
Hom Rong Chat r i
(Chatri’s overture) by the
Pi Phat orchest ra,
Rong
Prakat Na Bot
,
Ram Sat Na Bot
(
Sat Na Bot
dance) to the music by the
principal character who dances in an anti-clockwise circle. In the past,
the principal character chanted an incantation, a spell, while dancing in
a bid to invoke protection from the evil force or the hex. This is called
Chak Yan
(“Spinning the
Yantra
; Casting a spell”). After that the story
begins as the principal character sits on the bench. From this point
onwards the principal character sings himself, whi le the other
characters in the story sing as chorus. When the performance finishes,
the principal character performs a
Sat
dance again, but this time he
chants the incantation backwards and moves in a clockwise circle,
called
Khlai Yan
(“Undoing the spell”), to undo the spell.
4. The orchestra originally comprises a
pi nai or pi chani
(Thai oboe) for melody, a
thon
(a tuned two-faced drum), a pair of
klong chatri
(a kind of small drums), and a pair of gongs. Today the
orchestra is of the piphat
ranat ek
type.
Lakhon Chatri
has developed and changed through time. The
singing to progress the story was formerly performed in the Nora
tunes, such as
Na Trae
and
Rai Chatri
tunes. Today simple tunes of the
central region in level 2 tempo (moderato–Thai traditional musical
tempos are divided into three levels, with level one the quickest) are
used and a
ranat ek
(“first xylophone”) is added to the orchestra to
better support the singing and the dancing. The Sat Chatri dance to
pay homage to the teachers and past masters is skipped and replaced
by dances in
Phleng Cha
,
Phleng Reo
, and
Phleng La
(“Slow tune,
Quick tune, and Farewell tune)–these are called
Ram Thawai Mue
(“Veneration dance”) by the Lakhon Chatri dance troupes that are
hired to perform at shrines as an act of votive offering or
Ram Kae
Bon
. One can safely say that the original type of Lakhon Chatri
disappeared almost 40 years ago from Thailand and the type that is
performed today is used as an act of votive offering.
Examples of prominent
Lakhon Chatri
troupes in existence
today are Udomsin Krachangchot of Ayutthaya Province and Bencha
Sitchalongsi of Phetchaburi Province.