Basic HTML Version
Intellectual Cultural Heritage
51
Mo Lam Klon
Mo Lam Klon
is a kind of duet singing in which a male
singer and a female singer respond to each other in sung
verses. The verses are called
Klon Lam
which encompass a
variety of topics such as the way of life, folk tales, nature,
Buddhist literature, the northeasterners’ old wisdom, moral
saying, thought and advises in response to each other’s
comment, and verses about other fields of knowledge.
Mo Lam Klon
performance comprises two mo lam
(singers)-a man and a woman–each with his and her
mo
khaen
(
khaen
player). The focus of attention is on the verses
that the two singers sing in respond to each other’s
“challenge” with sharp wit. A good mo lam needs extensive
knowledge in var ious subjects–hi story, geography,
livelihood, vocations, customs and traditions, morality, social
values, rel igious teachings,
Jataka
tales and current
actualities. They must be sharp-witted and be able to
quickly solve the immediate problem on stage. They must
also know how to dance beautifully to accompany their
verses.
The principal and sole musical instrument for a
Mo
Lam
performance is
khaen
. The appropriate type of
khaen
for a performance is chosen by the mo
khaen
. Male singers
are usually accompanied either by a
khaen chet
(“
khaen
seven”–a khaen with two rows of seven bamboo sticks or 14
tubes) or a
khaen paet
(“
khaen
eight”–a khaen with two
rows of eight bamboo sticks or 16 tubes), both of which have
a slightly higher pitch than the
khaen kao
(“
khaen
nine”)
that usually accompanies the female singers.
Besides providing entertainments,
Mo Lam
Klon
also
enlightens the audience by passing on knowledge, thoughts,
moral teachings, beliefs, customs and traditions; promotes
ethics and morals; upholds social norms; and contributes to
the preservation of literature and folk arts. It also reflected
and communicated folk opinions and community wisdom
dur ing those days when educat ion has not been as
well developed as it is today. It served as a kind of non-
formal education that focused on inculcating good conduct
and promoting morality. At one time,
Mo Lam
contributed to
the dissemination of political education, teaching people to
understand democracy, and imparting other information such
as good family planning, birth control and food hygiene, for
example.
Today,
Mo Lam Klon
faces the same fate that befalls
other folk recreat ional plays and performances: i t is
disappearing from the Northeast. Adaptation is therefore
inevi table in order to keep up wi th the fast soc ial
transformations. The various styles of
Mo Lam
that has
developed from
Mo Lam Klon
and are replacing
Mo Lam
Klon
in popularity today are:
Mo Lam Phloen
,
Luk Thung
Mo Lam
, and
Mo Lam Sing
, for example.
A prominent Mo Lam Klon singer who observes the
authentic, original style of the art is National Artist
Chawiwan
Phanthu
.