From enacting the Ramayana to signature stories from Thailand — all through the medium of dance — there is so much to admire about their culture and traditions, writes Umer Nangiana
Curtains rise. The trumpet blows. In come Rama and Tosakanth, floating on to the stage to fight the eternal battle between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ yet another time. The clash is triggered by the latter’s treacherous act of kidnapping Rama’s wife Sita. Subsequently, the hero and the villain in Hindu epic Ramayana are locked in a face-off. In the end, the good has to win — and it won here in ‘style’.
The ‘battle-ground’ was Doha, and the epic was enacted, this time, by dancers from Thailand dressed in intricately-designed costumes performing Khon at the Thai cultural show. Inspired by Ramayana, Khon is a musical — a masked dance, narrating the victory of Rama over Tosakanth — or of good over evil.
The Piphat ensemble played an array of Thai traditional musical instruments to regale the audience in an unrivalled theatrical experience. Thon and Rammana accompanied by Pong Lang, blended with other musical instruments, produced reverberating Thai tunes on par with the adrenaline-charged dance movements.
“This traditional form of Thai music has been composed for many years. Now it is mixed with contemporary music to adapt it for theatrical performances,” Dussadee Meepom, one of the members of the musical ensemble, explained to Community.
He was mainly playing Pong Lang, an instrument with 12 wooden bars that, with a strong rope, are tied together in a row at each end.
This instrument is played mostly on special occasions and festivals in the groups with other instruments or solo. Meepon used two hardwood sticks to strike the cords on Pong Lang. This unique Thai instrument comes from northeastern parts of Thailand.
Meepon also played Saw u, another stringed Thai musical instrument played with a bow, in the ensemble. The 400-year-old instrument proved to be the backbone of the group’s musical compositions for the night.
Ringing beside trumpet, it gave Rama all the encouragement to fend off Tosakanth and his demons during Khon. In their signature hand and body movements, the dancers narrated Ramayana artistically. In this sequel, Tosakanth asked one of his uncles, Maricha, to assume the form of a golden deer as part of the kidnapping of Sita with whom he has fallen deeply in love. Reluctantly, Maricha had to graze in the forest near the hermitage of Rama and Sita. The dazzling deer completely captivated Sita, who asked Rama to get it for her.
As Rama sets off to find the deer for his wife, Tosakanth appears in the guise of a beggar and kidnaps Sita. Conflict follows as Rama, pairing with his brother Lakshmana, decide to wage a war to win back his wife.
Until here, it was only these three characters in the dance, ‘moon-walking’ with their rhythmically moving hands and arms to narrate the story in signs.
“Thai dance is all about the movement of different parts of your body. From your hands to feet, you have to move in a particular sequence at all times,” said Nitchakan Rattanaburee, the 20-year-old member of the Thai cultural troupe from Bunditpattanasilapa Institute that performed Khon and other dances at the show.
How do the dancers manage to flawlessly synchronise their movements with each other on the stage?
“It is all about practice. It is team work. It’s like having the same mind, heart and music and then when you watch each other, you know what the next move would be,” said Rattanaburee.
In the next episode of Khon, Rama and Lakshmana on the one side and Tosakanth with his demons on the other, fight individually for Sita. Hanuman, the white monkey, also joins the fray on the side of Rama.
With more characters joining and the trumpet gaining pace, the battle is pursued in earnest but after a short while Tosakanth withdraws and retreats into Longka with his army of demons.
This part of Khon is an unrivalled level of dance movement with performers demonstrating the knowledge of warfare and dance forms throughout the show.
Khon ended but the dances continued. Another feature of the cultural night was Ra Bam Chon Kai or Rooster Fight Dance of Thailand. It is a long-established traditional game in the country’s south.
The dance was choreographed by adapting from the gesture of fighting roosters. Two dancers in the costumes of roosters, one of them being Rattanaburee, faced off as men and women gambled over who would win.
The roosters crowed and attacked with the dancers engaging the audience, informing them how the rooster fight takes place in Thailand.
The game comes from Rattanaburee’s native southern parts of the country and she said it was her favourite act in the show.
She had started performing from the time she was in kindergarten. After secondary school, she joined the cultural institution and now she is a professional dancer. The 20-year-old stage performer said she was proud to have performed her native town’s game of rooster fight.
“Culture is in our roots and I would love to see it being transferred to the next generations,” said Rattanaburee. She intends to become a dance teacher and train those children who do not get the opportunity to learn from professional institutes.
Gauging from their performances, it appears the Thais are best at telling stories through dance. Kinari, a woman and half bird creature, was another dance drama that told the story of this unique custom in a beautifully choreographed performance.
It was followed by Fon Phang, the dance form from northern parts of Thailand, featuring female dancers boasting the finest movements while holding a pair of candles each. The other performances for the night included Long-Tai, Rabam Lopburi, Fon Pootai, Klong Yao (Long Drum) and Dung Krog Dung Sak dances from Thailand.
The cultural dances were complemented by Thai cultural handicraft on display outside the arena. It featured the famous Thai silk fabric called Praewa Silk, which drew hordes of female visitors.
The centuries-old hand-made bamboo umbrellas were another attraction. Named after the village where they are produced, Bor Sang umbrellas are made from bamboo at homes during the post-harvest season. It requires only a knife and some hand drill to make them.
However, the most colourful and attractive of the handicraft were Chang Khruang Sot, the craftsmen who sculpt fresh materials such as taros and other root vegetables, pumpkin, papaya or melon.
Bunchai Tongjaroenbourgam, the master craftsman from the Royal Craftsmen School Bangkok, told Community that the art of carving fruits and vegetables originated during the Sukhothai Kingdom in 14th century in Thailand.
He first learnt it at school and has been teaching it for almost a quarter of a century. He has won the national prize for fruit carving for three years in a row. “Imagination and creativity with skills is needed to give shapes to different fruits and vegetables,” he said.
Initially, such decorations were done only at the Royal Palace but now it was also common with restaurants, he added. The decorations last until the fruits and vegetables get rotten.
BELOW:
1) BURNING BRIGHT: Dancers showcase the Fon Phang.
2) SKILLFULL: Rattanaburee performing the Kinari.
