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Performing Arts Domain
Intellectual Cultural Heritage
37
Lakhon Nai
(court dance drama) is a dance
drama with chorus singing and accompanied by a Pi Phat
ensemble. It is a court entertainment which features an
all-female cast (with the male roles performed en
travestie) and has a long history dating back to
the Ayutthaya era. Lakhon Nai only depicts four stories
--the Ramakian, Unnarut, Dalang and Inao.
The formand the customof Lakhon Nai performance
begin with the Pi Phat ensemble playing a suite of Hom
Rong (overture) music, excluding PhlengWa tunewhich is
played when the dance drama is about to begin. After
the Phleng Wa comes the Boek Rong (prelude), which
can be either of the two types: a non-narrative dance
and a narrative one. Of the former type, only three
are in existence today: Boek Rong Praleng, Boek Rong
Ram Dok Mai Ngoen Thong (performed by the dancers
of hero role), and Boek Rong Ram Chui Chai Dok Mai
Ngoen Thong (performed by the dancers of the heroine
role). Of the latter type, only one dance is in existence:
Boek Rong Wasanta-niyai (Ramasun and Mekhala).
After the Boek Rong, the main story begins and the
performance duration usually takes no less than four
hours to finish. Today, two hours’ duration is preferred
and therefore Boek Rong is excluded from the show.
LakhonNai focusesonthebeautyof thechoreography
that corresponds to the singing and the music, which are
in slow tempo; while the progression of the story is of
secondary concern. Theperformance adheres to tradition
andcustominitsform, forexample,ajourneybyacharacter
must be portrayed in this sequence: the bathing (Bot
Long Song), the inspection of the troops (Bot Chom
Thap), the comment on the horses and carts (Bot
Chom Ma Chom Rot), the survey of the forest (Bot
Chom Dong). The traditional formulaic sequence
results in the decline in popularity as the spectators
today find the performance too slow-paced.
The Pi Phat ensemble provides the music
accompaniment for Lakhon Nai which normally uses
Lakhon Nai
the Pi Phat Khrueang Ha with padded mallets for
softer tone. The evidence from the existing Lakhon Nai
librettos/scripts reveals that originally only a limited
number of the song tunes and the Naphat tunes are
used in Lakhon Nai, and that it primarily uses Phleng Rai
Nai to progress the story. After Lakhon Duekdambam
was created, many more tunes were used for singing
and this has become the norm today.
Every Lakhon Nai performer wears a costume
designed for a character of royal status or high social
status and a headdress befitting the status and social rank.
The stories and rites depicted in the Lakhon Nai
reveal the way of life of the royal court in the past
and serve as a repository of rites, rituals, traditions and
customs -- for example, the royal court’s rites and
customs regarding the royal ceremonies, festivities,
entertainments, fashion, food, troop formations in war,
processional formations, diplomatic dialogue etc.
These are historical records - a wealth of information
for several fields of study.
Lakhon Nai is recognized as the valuable legacy
of Thai performing arts which should urgently be
safeguarded and perpetuated for future generations as
an intellectual cultural heritage. The performances of
all episodes of Lakhon Nai should be organized and
promoted before they are lost forever.