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Intellectual Cultural Heritage
39
Nora
Nora
is a form of traditional, folk performing arts that
is popular in the southern region of Thailand. The main
elements and characteristics of
Nora
are the costume and
the music.
Nora
costume comprises a
soet
for the principal
performer–the “
nora yai
”. The costume is made of beads
in various colours arranged in patterns and motifs, to be
worn as a shirt. Other components and decorations are
the
pik nok aen
or
pik neng
(a pair of wings attached to
the costume),
thap suang
(pendant),
pik
or
hang hong
(a
decorative tail wing),
pha nung
(wrap-around skirt),
sanap phlao
(a pair of calf-length trousers), pha hoi na
( f ront-hanging pieces of c loth) ,
pha hoi khang
(side-hanging pieces of cloth),
kamlai ton khaen
(armlets) ,
kamlai plai khaen
(bracelets) and
lep
(“fingernails”-fingertip extension pieces). These are the
costume and decorations for the principal character, who
is called the
nora yai
or
nora yuen
, while the
khrueang
nang
or the costume for the female characters does not
have armlets, pendant, or wings.
Nora
orchestra comprises most ly percussion
instruments: a pair of
thon
or
thap Nora
(tuned one-
sided drums) with slightly different sounds, which are
beaten by one drummer. This pair of drums is the most
important instrument in the orchestra because it controls
the tempo and leads the orchestra when the tempo
has to be changed to accommodate the performer’s
movements; a drum, to complement and provide
counterpoints to the sound of the thap Nora drums;
a
pi chanai
(a kind of Thai oboe); a pair of
mong
(medium-sized gong) or double gongs; a pair of
ching
(a pair of small cymbals); and a pair of
trae
(a pair
of claves [hardwood sticks]).
Nora
is divided into two types:
Nora for
ritualistic ceremony, called Nora Rong Khru, and one for
entertainment. Here are the different characteristics:
Nora
for ritualistic ceremony or
Nora Rong
Khru
is a very important ritual dance for the
Nora
professionals. It is performed to invite the spirits of the
Nora past masters to the ceremonial stage during the
rite to pay homage to them, to make votive offering to
them, and to initiate novices–the new generation of Nora
performers. This type of
Nora
is further subdivided into
two kinds:
Nora Rong Khru Yai
and
Nora Rong Khru Lek
.
The
Nora Rong Khru Yai
is the full version of the ritual
dance, which lasts three days and nights. It usually
starts on a Wednesday and ends on a Friday and it must
be performed every year or every three or five years,
depending on the belief of different Nora schools. The
ritual performance of
Nora Rong Khru Lek
lasts one day
and one night. It usually begins on a Wednesday evening
and ends on a Thursday.
The distinctive characteristics of Nora for entertainment:
1. Each
Nora
performers must show off his or her
dance skill and talent by blending the various steps and
poses together seamlessly without corrupting or deviating
from the correct poses and steps; proficiently change the
steps or movements in response to the musical rhythm/
tempo; dance gracefully slow or swift as appropriate. Some
performers may show off their special talents such as the
contorted movements of the body and the limbs, or their
invented movements.