| Cover
story: 10
June 06 / Vol.
23 No. 5 |
| By
Dararai
Photos by Induang
|
| Rama's
war chariot and his troops
|
Khon is a traditional Thai
masked drama which combines gracefulness with masculinity in
its dancing and singing. It is believed to have been performed
since the Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767) and to have originated
no less than 400 years ago. It is a classical dance drama acknowledged
as the most sophisticated form of Thai theatre. The khon roles
are male humans, female humans, monkeys and demons. The latter
two are dominant ones.
Traditionally, all its performers wore masks and all the speaking
and singing were done by the reciters and the singers sitting
at one side of the stage with the Thai orchestra. Later on,
the performers taking the human roles and roles of celestial
beings did away with the masks but still kept to the tradition
of non-utterance. Of all the players, only the clowns have always
done the speaking by themselves.
A highlight scene of khon by
kids, showing Rama
(the male protagonist) fighting against
Thotsakan (the Demon King). |
The stories played in khon presentations
are invariably those of Rama, a reincarnation of the Hindu god
Vishnu who is the hero in the Hindu epic Ramayana and its Thai
version Ramakian. A greater part of the epic is concerned with
the protracted war between Rama the righteous king and Thotsakan
the king of demons, which is touched off by the abduction of
Rama's beloved consort by the Demon King. The drama is therefore
full of love, magic and war scenes.
As khon is basically a dance, its performers must conform their
steps and poses to the recitations and songs of the chorus and
the music of the small orchestra. This requires strict training
of the dancers from their childhood.
At present few people pay attention
to khon and even less went to practise and study it in depth.
Efforts are being made, however, to change the situation. Thanks
are due to Prasarnmit Demonstration School (Elementary) attached
to Srinakharinwirot University where khon has become a requisite
course for students in Grade 4-6. Each class is required to
study khon for one hour per week. Normally, khon is taught at
the College of Dramatic Arts, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok.
A rehearsal scene |
Even though it is not a vocational school,
it seriously supports the khon courses not to produce performers
but to foster the love of this classical Thai art in the students
and to teach them fundamental moral principles needed for living
in society. This is because khon's philosophy focuses on perseverance,
concentration and discipline which constitute basic morality
necessary for the development of children's emotional quotient
(E.Q.).
|
|
Students
taking
demon roles |
Thaiways has recently interviewed
Asst. Prof. Trairat Phiphatphokphon, an instructor in charge
of khon teaching at the school, and three students learning
the leading roles. The following passages are taken from the
interviews.
The teaching has been conducted for 25 years and had led to
the establishment of the Ramakian Wisdom Study Centre
three years ago with its own rehearsal stage, collections of
khon masks, costumes and books about khon.
One of the basic poses the students
are required to be trained in. |
Background
of the Centre
It began from the problems in Thai Musical Course where male
students found themselves not fit for female dances. The teachers
then came up with an idea to teach them khon for the purpose
of preserving Thai arts and culture and to meet the fundamental
needs of boys at their ages. This is because khon is full of
magic and war scenes and has the theme of vice vs virtue which
naturally attracts their interests.
Owing to the dedication of khon instructors,
the Ramakian Wisdom Study Centre was set up. The objective of
the centre is not only to teach khon but also to publicise the
valuable knowledge from the Ramakian Epic. |
A rehearsal scene |
Students who would like to know
more about khon can come here to search for useful information
about the ornaments and body colours of different roles and
also for general information about khon. Khon
masks and props have been collected since the beginning, so
nowadays there are a complete set of khon masks for use in all
roles. However, the khon masks used for kids are specially made
to be lighter than those for adults.
The roles and practice
Boys, about 9 or 10 years old (Grade 4) are taught preliminary
poses. They must be strong in constitution with no defect in
any part of the body, must be persevering and be able to endure
the strenuous training, and must have a deep interest and true
love for the art.
After the children passed basic poses, they are divided into
two groups -- demons and monkeys according to the appropriateness
of their body figures. Each has its different qualifications:
Demons:
The actors should be big and tall. The upper and lower parts
of the body should be in the right proportion. The arms and
legs should not be too short and the fingers should be long.
The features are of no consequence since the actors are masked.
There are also small demons which should be played by actors
of a smaller size.
Monkeys: Monkeys form the main strength of Rama's army.
The performers of these roles should be rather short in every
parts of the body and agile in movement.
The monkeys |
As for the female human leading role, Sida, a girl will be selected
out of the whole female students. When the boys study khon,
the girls study traditional dances. Besides, male human roles
need actors who are tall but not too big, have a handsome oval
face with a high-bridged nose and a prominent forehead as described
in Thai literature.
After the division, the students will be trained in elementary
movements.
The demons |
As khon is known to be difficult, Thaiways asked three boys*
about their feelings. They similarly answered that at the beginning
it was very hard but when they kept trying and continued practising,
they found khon very entertaining.
*Three boys are:
1. Wit Wasinophat, 12, Grade 6, as Thotsakan
2. Phi Khlongphitthayaphong, 12, Grade 6, as a demon
3. Warot Tansuwannon, 11, Grade 6, as Sukhrip (an expert warrior
of Rama)
Hanuman, the great warrior of
Rama |
The
show
To evaluate the effectiveness of the study, all students are
to perform on the stage at Thailand Cultural Centre once a year
around January. Everything is real -- the costumes, the masks,
the recitations, the music and the audience. Even though they
are young, their performance is excellent. Mistakes are overlooked
and the show goes on. After that, the teachers will play the
recorded show and make comments on each perfor mer. This is
beneficial to the students as they will learn from the mistakes
and use the comments in self improvement.
| Rama having an advantage
over Thotsakan |
 |
The show is open to the public with tickets sold in advance.
The proceeds will go to support the Ramakian Wisdom Study
Centre. Besides, khon by adults is performed all year round
at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre on Charoenkrung Road, and
occasionally at Thailand Cultural Centre.
Thotsakan with his followers
|
The khon course will be taught for three years, so it means
after the students finished school, they might not have a
chance to further their khon study. We asked the boys if they
would like to carry on practising khon, they were not quite
sure about that. However, their instructor emphasised that
the purposes of this course do not cover the production of
khon performers. Having cultivated the love in this kind of
art in the students and making them realise the value of it
gives enough satisfaction to the teachers.
• Special thanks to Asst. Prof. Trairat
Phiphatphokphon for giving us useful information and facilitating
the interviews and to Ajarn (Schoolmistress) Atchara Chaicharoen
for facilitating the photographing.
|
