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Intellectual Cultural Heritage
55
and understand each other’s problem. Today, the new-
generation
Phleng Khorat
singers mostly cater to the
spectator’s request and focus solely on the entertainment
value.
Consequently,
Phleng Khorat
is declining in popularity.
Be that as it may, it is widely believed that
Thao Suranari
(a local heroine who lived during 1769-1852) adored Phleng
Khorat, people often hire
Phleng Khorat
singers to perform at
night near her memorial statue as a votive offering to her
spirit. This practice keeps several
Phleng Khorat
singers, who
mostly reside in Mueang Municipal District of Nakhon
Ratchasima Province, in business.
Examples of prominent
Phleng Khorat
troupes can
be found in the Mueang Municipal District of Nakhon
Ratchasima.
Phleng Khorat
Phleng Khorat
is a kind of dialogue duet singing
tradition that has developed into a folk spectacle of the
people in Khorat–a colloquial name for Nakhon Ratchasima
Province. It is an old tradition that has been passed on, with
the unique characteristics of singing in Khorat dialect. The
earliest record dates back to 1913 AD during the reign of
King Rama VI, when Si Phatcharinthara, the Queen Mother,
visited Nakhon Ratchasima Province to preside over the
opening of the Chom Surang Yat Road and to visit Phimai
District. In the welcoming ceremony, a prominent
Mo Phleng
by the name of Mr Ri Ban Suan Kha performed
Phleng
Khorat
in her honour.
Phleng Khorat
was previously very popular because it
was the only kind of entertainment and people had ample
time in their hand and often listen to the songs from early
evening to the crack of dawn. When the
Mo Phleng
sang the
Phleng La
(a farewell song) to bid the host and other fellow
Mo Phleng
goodbye, a pi phat orchestra would accompany
his farewell song (
Phleng Khorat
uses only hand clapping and
no musical instrument to accompany the singing). The group
of
Mo Phleng
or singers will dance in a procession to the
house of the host, who will promptly pay the singers and
feat them and also give them food provision for their trip
back home. The spectators will stay on until the end of the
show before heading back home.
Today, people’s taste for
Phleng Khorat
has changed.
The art of
Phleng Khorat
itself has also changed in its
content, format, and its popularity among the
Khorat
people.
The topic depicted in the
Phleng Khorat
varies
according with the occasion on which it is to be performed.
The old masters of
Phleng Khorat
emphasise wit in telling the
Jataka tales and are strict with moral teaching. In the past
Mo Phleng Khorat
were messengers who disseminated
information because they were worldly wise with their wide
range of experiences. In the past, the
Mo Phleng
and the
spectators were as one, as they shared the same society