Dance in Thailand
According to Thai historian Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, it is hypothesized that the term lakon originated from the name of Nakhon Si Thammarat—the Javanese culture during the Ayutthaya period, where the dance and drama were first introduced.
Even cultures, musical instruments, and songs from India, China, Malay, Mon, Khmer, Khom minorities in the Chao Phraya River Basin, and Myanmar, when they came to have influence, were all improved and evolved until they became exquisitely Thai in a way that was different from other nations.
Nicolas Gervaise [fr] also said more than one third of the Ayutthaya residents are foreigners; even the Palace Law Chulasakarat 720 (enacted in 1358) of the Ayutthaya royal court mentioned Indian, Khmer, Lao, Khom minorities in the Chao Phraya River basin, Burmese, HMong, Mon, Muslims, Jang, Chinese, Chams, Javanese, and all other ethnics.
[28][29] According to the Ayutthaya Royal Palace Law, under the entertainment chapter, stated that there were len, ram, rabam, ra-beng, kulati-mai, and Nang yai.
Simon de la Loubère also mentioned three types of performances: dance (rabam), drama (lakhon), and masked drama-dance (khon).
The Khon in the Ayutthaya period originated around the 11th century CE, which is modeled heavily on the Hindu epic, Ramayana, to the Thai version, Ramakien (Glory of Rama).
At this time, Chak nak Dukdamban, a "ceremony depicting the churning of the ocean to create the immortal spirit", was performed on special occasions.
Virulrak states, "These performing arts were gradually developed into Khon (masked play), lakhon nok (public dance drama) and lakhon nai (court dance drama) during the Late Ayutthaya Period (1456-1767)", adding, "this period also enjoyed various imported performing arts from neighbouring countries.
"[35] According to Paul Cravath, this ceremony performed by Khmer dancers is also depicted in bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat in Cambodia and could have been the forefather of Khon.
In the beginning, both were exclusively court entertainments and it was not until much later that a popular style of dance theatre, likay, evolved as a diversion for the common folk who had no access to royal performances.
[30][17]: 13 Evidence showing that Srivijaya culture spread from the Malay Peninsula to Chaiya (modern Nakhon Si Thammarat) and other regions, including the story of Inao (Thai version from Panji tales), Nang yai, and Likay into Ayutthaya from the southern region, is the Borobudur, built in the 9th century CE in the Srivijaya period.
[17]: 13 Since the Ayutthaya period, Thai dance evolved after being mixed with multiple cultures of the northern (Sukhothai) and southern (Chaiya) cities, the Khmer of Angkor Thom, and many local ethnic diversity; it evolved and improved both dance, drama, and Khon throughout the period to be more refined and beautiful until it became a unique culture of the Ayutthaya royal court, including traditions, local amusements, and even costumes.
The clothing and accessories of Thai dance in the Ayutthaya period flourished greatly during the reign of King Borommakot.
Moreover, Thai court dance uniforms were gorgeous and, to their taste, infinitely superior to the flimsy simplicity of the Khmer corps de ballet, while the court of the ancient Khmer Empire dancers were lightly clad like the half-naked Apsara as sculptured friezes at Angkor Wat.
In his famous account Du Royaume de Siam, La Loubère carefully observed the classic 17th-century theatre of Siam, including an epic battle scene from a Khon performance, and recorded what he saw in great detail:[41]: 49 The Siamese have three sorts of Stage Plays: That which they call Cone [Khon] is a figure dance, to the sound of the violin and some other instruments.
The Show which they call Lacone is a poem intermix with Epic and Dramatic, which lasts three days, from eight in the morning till seven at night.
[41]: 49 The accomplishment and influence of Thai art and culture, developed during the Ayutthaya Period, on neighboring countries was evident in the observation of Captain James Low a British scholar of Southeast Asia, during the early Rattanakosin Era: The Siamese have attained to a considerable degree of perfection in dramatic exhibitions — and are in this respect envied by their neighbours the Burmans, Laos, and Cambojans who all employ Siamese actors when they can be got.
[17]: 28 Prince Damrong Rajanubhap stated that the actors and actresses of Nakhon Si Thammarat were members of the Lakhon Nai who had fled from Ayutthaya.
[45] Throughout the reign of King Taksin, he composed five additional episodes (Four Folding-book manuscripts in total)[46] of the Thai version, Ramakien.
There were performances of the Khon, Ramakien, Inao, and royal drama competitions in the Emerald Buddha celebration in 1782 near the end of the reign.
[citation needed] Fon is divided into three types: The two golden periods of Burmese literature were the direct consequences of the Thai literary influence.
The first transmission happened during the two-decade period (1564–83), in which the Toungoo Dynasty briefly managed to subject Siam as its vassal state.
[49] Following the collapse of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, Cambodian dance and music incorporated influence from Thailand and Vietnam.
[60] The modern costumes and crowns used by the Royal Ballet of Cambodia are also elaborately clothed[58] showing an unmistakable Siamese influence[53] which is different from the bas-reliefs on the Angkor Wat that portray the scenes of ritual and life of the ancient Khmer ballerinas that were half-naked apsaras and nude dancers performing a sort of grand battement.
Also, George Groslier (1987–1945), a French civil servant who studied Cambodia's traditional dance art and had access to royal dancers and teachers connected to the king Sisowath’s court, wrote: Les danseuses cambodgiennes étaient si bien parties de leur malheureux pays que les derniers rois khmers, jusqu’à Norodom, avaient des troupes presque en totalité siamoises.
[68] (Translation): The Cambodian dancers were so well out of their unfortunate country (after the sack of Angkor) that the last Khmer kings, up to Norodom, had almost entirely Siamese troupes.
However, after teaching for only a few times, Thai dance masters were banned by an official of the Fine Arts Department of Thailand.
[71] In 1958, King Norodom Sihanouk propounded the theory of Cambodian performers' costumes to Malcolm MacDonald in that their dancer dresses remained an alien importation copied from the Thais.
Princess Norodom Buppha Devi said of Khmer classical dance influenced a lot of by Thai court:- From the period of Oudong with King Ang Duong to the period of Chatomuk with Kings Norodom and Sisowath, there was a lot of Thai influence because we lacked teachers.
For instance, Fédéric Maurel, a French historian working for Prince of Songkla University (Thailand) notes: From the close of the eighteenth century and through the nineteenth century, a number of Khmer pages, classical women dancers, and musicians studied with Thai Ajarn (masters or teachers) in Cambodia.
