Lakhon (dance drama)
Lakhon ( Thai ละคร [ la.kʰɔːn ], German 'theater piece' , 'drama', also: lakorn ) is next to Khon ( โขน ) a form of classical dance drama in Thailand .
Types of Lakhon
There are three different types of lakhon:
- Lakhon Chatri , ละคร ชาตรี
- Lakhon Nai , ละคร ใน
- Lakhon Nok , ละคร นอก
Lakhon Chatri
Lakhon Chatri is considered to be the oldest form of traditional performing arts in Thailand and possibly even the archetype of Thai dance drama. The name Chatri is the Thai word for 'warrior', derived from the Indian Kshatriya .
Before it was introduced in Bangkok, Lakhon Chatri was very popular in southern Siam . When King Taksin pacified an uprising in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1769 , he brought a Lakhon Chatri troop with him to Bangkok from there. 11 years later he had the regent of Nakhon Si Thammarat's Lakhon Chatri troupe come to Bangkok to compete with his own Lakhon Nai troupe at an inauguration ceremony. The actors formed a dance troupe that achieved a certain fame.
Originally all actors were male, as it was stipulated in the Palace Law ( กฎมนเทียรบาล Kot Monthian Ban , German 'Law for the Maintenance of the Palace' ) that only the Siamese King was allowed to entertain a Royal Female Dance-Drama Troupe . Only King Mongkut lifted this restriction with the Royal Dance-Drama Decree of 1861. Women were then encouraged to perform as dancers.
Lakhon Nai
Lakhon Nai, literally 'inside Lakhon', is performed alone at the royal court. It was taken over by the Siamese from the court there after a campaign in the 15th century on the Khmer capital Angkor . In the 19th century, the Lakhon Nai itself became the main influencing factor in the classical Royal Ballet of Cambodia. Initially, the actors were women from the king's harem. Only special guests of the king were allowed to attend lakhon performances. There were no male actors as men were not allowed to rehearse with women alone. Later on, both male and female roles were played by women.
Lakhon Nok
Lakhon Nok, literally 'outside Lakhon' - so about 'Lakhon outside the Royal Palace', was a popular drama from the south of today's Thailand, which arose from the Lakhon Chatri, the oldest Thai form of dance drama. In contrast to the Lakhon Nai, it was only played outside the royal court. Originally both male and female roles were played by male actors, performances were limited to temple festivals.
Long passages in which there was only dancing cannot be found in the Lakhon Nok. Dance is only used sparingly in dramatic moments. Since the audience wanted quick action and intelligible language and preferred coarse folk comedy, the religious character of the performances was also lost. Not only the lower classes enjoyed the Lakhon Nok, in the 19th and 20th centuries many pieces were written by members of the royal family. The repertoire consisted of local legends and the Jataka , stories from the Buddha's earlier life . A very popular Lakhon-Nok piece, for example, was the story of Phra Lo, which goes back to King Borommatrailokanat . Even Thailand's national poet Sunthon Phu wrote “Phra Aphaimani” for the Lakhon Nok.
At the time of its greatest popularity, nearly 100 Bangkok casino theaters were playing Lakhon Nok plays. Many professional Lakhon Nok troops only played until World War II. Today there are only occasional performances by the Thai National Theater.
Contents of the Lakhon
Lakhon can only be compared with a western play to a limited extent: narrators seated in front of the stage read a mostly epic-wide text, while the actors perform it in pantomime. The actors rarely speak dialogues. The lecture will be accompanied by musicians from a small pi phat ensemble, as in the shadow play Nang Yai . In both types of theater speaking voices are accompanied by music. In the mask drama Khon , longer passages are performed without text, which is why a larger Pi Phat ensemble is required there. The same larger ensemble is used in the Lakhon Nai as in the Khon.
The actors on stage dance choreographed patterns with synchronized movements . Small steps and graceful arm movements flow from one pose to the next. In Lakhon Nai, the robust and unrefined style of Lakhon Nok was replaced by a slower, more elegant style that was more popular at court. Over time, the dancers developed a kind of complex dance alphabet: gestures and movements became symbols of emotions and actions.
The costumes of the dancers consist of a high, golden headdress, which is covered with colored mosaic. They are barefoot and wear gold bracelets. Her sleeveless dresses are made of cross- layered fabric and a sarong- like skirt that is folded several times at the front and held by a metal belt.
The themes of the pieces were taken from the great Asian epics such as Ramakian , the Unarut ( Aniruddha ) or the Inao, which can be traced back to East Javanese origins . Inao is the Thai version of the story of Prince Panji, who recaptures his beautiful bride after many adventures. King Rama II himself had written a highly acclaimed version of the Inao for the Lakhon Nai. Texts used in performances of Lakhon Nai were forbidden for performance of Lakhon Nok. This regulation was still in effect until the time of King Mongkut .
Historical testimony
The French diplomat Simon de La Loubère , who in 1687 was the French envoy in Ayutthaya at the court of King Narai , described in 1693 in his book Description du royaume de Siam 'Description of the Kingdom of Siam' in the chapter “Of the plays and other amusements of the Siamese ":
“The Siamese have three types of theatrical shows. What they call the Cône is a dance in several appearances, under the sound of the violin and some other musical instruments. [...] The play they call Lacône is an epic = dramatic poem that lasts for three days from eight in the morning to seven in the evening. It consists of serious stories in verse, which are sung by several actors who take turns singing. One of them plays the role of a historian and the other the roles of the person whom the story lets speak; but they are all men and not women. The rabam is a double dance between men and women that is not warlike but gallant. [...] "
Note: Cône = khon , mask dance; Lacône = Lakhon
literature
- Klaus Wenk: The literature of Thai - an overview. German-Thai Society, Bonn 1992, ISBN 3-923387-17-2 .
- James R. Brandon: Theater in Southeast Asia. Harvard University Press, 1967, ISBN 978-0-674-87587-6 .
Web links
- Lakhon Nai - Website of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” of the Thai government
- Lakhon, Forms of Dance-Drama , Theater Akademy Helsinki website on Asian Traditional Theater and Dance (in English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Mary L. Grow: Dancing for Spirits: Lakhon Chatri Performers from Phetchaburi Province . In: Journal of the Siam Society . tape 80 , no. 2 , 1992, ISSN 0304-226X , pp. 105–112 (English, siamese-heritage.org [PDF; 360 kB ]).
- ↑ James R. Brandon: Theater in Southeast Asia. Pp. 64, 65, 84.
- ↑ James R. Brandon: Theater in Southeast Asia. Pp. 64, 84.
- ↑ a b Klaus Wenk: The literature of the Thai - an overview. P. 34.
- ^ David Morton: The Traditional Music of Thailand. University of California Press, Berkeley 1976, pp. 104f.
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^ German version by Ernst Christoph Gattenauer, Nürnberg 1800.
Original in French in the Google book search,
Thai translation