the royal khon - กระทรวงวัฒนธรรม eng__1-80… · ram’ is an old...

THE ROYAL KHON in Celebration of His Majesty the Kings

88th Birthday Anniversary On 5 December, 2015

December 11 - 13, 2015on the grounds of the Dusit Palace

Foreword

(Vira Rojpojchanarat)Minister of Culture

Chairman of the Royal Khon in Celebration of H.M the Kings 88th Birthday Anniversary Committee

In celebration of His Majesty the Kings 88th Birthday Anniversary on 5 December 2015, a wide array of events are being organized by the government and the people across the nation.

As part of this grand occasion, the Ministry of Culture is hosting a series of Khon performances by the Royally Supported Khon Troupe, within the compound of the Dusit Palace in Bangkok, from 11 to 13 December 2015.

Khon is a genre of Thai classical dance drama and a complex art form that embodies the knowledge, understanding and interpretation of many interrelated arts. It is a unique cultural heritage that had been practiced and transmitted through the successive courts during the long Ayuthaya period until Rattanakosin Era.

O n this important celebratory occasion of H.M. the Kings 88th

B irthday Anniversary, the Ministry of Culture has published a booklet entitled The Royal Khon Performance to Celebrate H.M. the Kings 88th Birthday Anniversary. The purpose of this booklet is to provide an adequate background, a synopsis and a brief history of the major characters in order to promote the audiences appreciation of each episode presented.

I sincerely hope that this booklet will serve to promote the audiences better enjoyment of the performance of this classical dramatic art. May I also venture to hope that it will enable you to share with us the love for Khon, and our pride in this national cultural heritage.

ContentForeword 5

Synopsis of Ramakien 8

The Royal Khon in Celebration 14

Act I Vishnu Subduing Nonthuk 16 (The Origin of Thotsakan)

Act II The Abduction of Sita by Thotsakan, 18 Hanuman pledged his troops to the service of Phra Ram

(The Demon Deception and Son of Vayu, Lord of the Wind pledged alliance to Phra Ram)

Act III The Road Reclamation Project, 20

The Ocean Crossing of Phra Ram

(The construction of a road and

Phra Ram with his troops march to rescue Sita)

Act IV The March to Battle 22

(The Great Battle between Phra Ram and Thotsakan) Act V The Return of Phra Ram to the City 22 (Phra Ram return to the city and The accession to the throne) The Lineage of Vishnu 25The Monkey Clan 32The Demon Clan of Longka 44Useful Information prior to Khon Performance 54The Tribute of Paying Homage to the Khon Master 60The Music Composed in the Performance 66 The Categories of Khon 74

Synopsis of Ramakien

Ramakien is defined as the H onor of Phra Ram. Since ancient t imes, the Indian people have believed t hat Rama or Phra Ram is one of the incarnations of Vishnu. The story of Phra Ram is an old tale told even before the era of Buddhism. It was made popular in India by the great rishi poet, Valmiki, who wrote the epic of the Ramayana, based on the original story. The Ramayana story became so well known that it extended to the region of S outheast Asia, namely in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. As they became aware of the story of Phra Ram, each took into account their own native literature and the story and characters were adapted to the belief, culture and the characteristics of each locality. As a consequence, the story of Ramakien in each country has great variance from the original version of Valmikis Ramayana epic.

8 The Royal Khon in Celebration

NonthukVishnu Subduing Nonthuk

The story of Phra Ram became an inspiration to much of Thai literature, was renamed the Ramakien and was in evidence since the Ayutthaya period. There are as many as ten versions of the Ramayana; such as the Narrative of Ramakien, many versions of the Ramakien scripts, the Poem on Ramakien and many lyrics and narratives written by King Rama VI, etc. Some versions were of selective parts, while many were on the whole story.

In the example of the script of Ramakien, written by King Rama I, the story begins when a demon, named Hiran Yaksa set out to practice asceticism and prayed for a blessing from Ishvara on top of the mountain of the universe. After receiving his blessing, Hiran Yaksa became a rebel and tried to destroy the universe by rolling over the land of three continents on earth, and was ready to take further destructive actions. Due to this situation, the God Vishnu had to incarnate himself into a wild pig, Varaha who overcame Hiran Yaksa.

I n another part of the story, Ishvara ordered Indra to construct the kingdom of Ayodhya for the descendants of Vishnu and Thao Sahabodi Brahma to build the kingdom of Longka for the Brahman lineage. In the meantime, on the celestial dwelling, there was a demon named Nonthuk who was given the duty to be the one to wash the feet of every angel who regularly came to have audience with Ishvara. But Nonthuk was always abused by these angels. So upset from their behavior, he appealed to Ishvara and requested from the God for a magical diamond finger whose pointing can send death. Upon being granted the magic finger, Nonthuk wickedly used it to kill a great number of angels. Again, Vishnu had to disguise himself into a beautiful angel to entice, subdue Nonthuk. Before Nonthuk died, Vishnu put a curse on him to be reborn as a demon with ten faces and twenty arms. Thus, Nonthuk was reborn as Thotsakan and Vishnu, at the same time, incarnated himself as Phra Ram, the son of Thao Thotsarot of Ayodhya.

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The story goes on to tell about the original characters in the Ramakien: Thotsakans siblings Kumphakan and Phiphek, the clan of monkeys including Phali, Sukhrip, and Hanuman, and then introduces the royal family of Ayodhya: Phra Ram, Phra Phrot, Phra Lak or Lakshman and Phra Sattarut. As for Sita, she was the incarnation of the Goddess, Lakshmi, born as the daughter of Thotsakan and Nang Montho. However, when an astrologer predicted she was to be a child of misfortune, she was put in a vessel to be floated along a river. She was found by Thao Chanok, who raised her as his own child. When she reached adolescence, her stepfather arranged a social event for the selection of a groom; Phra Ram won the competition by lifting the great arrow, Maha Thanu Moli and they entered into marriage shortly afterwards.

Following that period, Phra Rams father, Thao Thotsarot intended to descend from kingship and bequeathed the throne to Phra Ram. However, K aiyakesi, one of his wives demanded that he had promised to give the throne to her son, Phra Phrot, instead. As a consequence, Phra Ram had to flee the city to live an ascetic life for 14 years, accompanied by his wife, Sita and Lakshman, one of the brothers. On the journey, a sister of Thotsakan, Sammanakkha saw him and fell for him. She instigated the alluring idea that Thotsakan abduct Sita to be one of his consorts. Charmed by the proposition, Thotsakan ordered Maris, to disguise himself as a golden deer and dazzled Sita. When Sita saw the beautiful deer, she begged Phra Ram to follow him and catch the deer for her. Nevertheless, she became worried on the safety of Phra Ram and asked Lakshman to follow him if he needed assistance. This gave Thotsakan a great chance to come to Sita and abduct her, then take her back to his garden in Longka.

After the two brothers killed the disguised deer and came back, they saw that Sita was missing and went searching for her. Along the path, they learned from Sadayu, the Bird King that she had been abducted and taken to Longka by Thotsakan. When Phra Ram gained allegiance from the monkey troops of Hanuman and Sukhrip, he prepared to march on Longka. On the other side, Thotsakan began having bad dreams; when he consulted his brother Phiphek about them. Phiphek related the dream foretold that he should return Sita to Phra Ram. The suggestion made Thotsakan angry, and as a result, he chased Phiphek out of the city. Phiphek, afterwards turned sides and pledged his loyalty to Phra Ram and soon became the astrologer of the army.

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Back to Thotsakan, he sent his niece, Benyakai disguised as the deceased Sita, whose corpse was floated along the water to deceive Phra Ram. But she was exposed by Hanuman in a trial by fire such that she could no longer pretend to be stiff and she fled the scene, but later was caught by Hanuman. After that, Phra Ram ordered Hanuman to take her back to Longka and he followed with his army, crossing on the reclaimed road over the ocean to help Sita. On the way, Phra Ram was captured and taken to the bottom of the ocean by the demon, Maiyarap, who had drugged the army troops to sleep. Hanuman came to his rescue and killed Maiyarap before bringing Phra Ram to his camp. On the first battle, Thotsakan sent Kumphakan as the leader to enter in combat with Sukhrip; on the second battle, his opponent was Phra Lak; in the third battle, Kumphakan dammed up the water, with the hope that the monkey troops would suffer and die of thirst. The plan was destroyed by Hanuman, and this time, Kumphakan was finally killed by the arrow of Phra Ram. In his sorrow, Thotsakan became full of rage.

The March to battle of Thotsakans troops


Benyakai - Hanuman

Indrachita, the son of Thotsakan volun-teered to fight and was involved in many battles such as in the Brahmastra Battle and the Naga-bas Battle. He was finally killed by the Brahmastra arrow of Lakshman.

Throughout this time of great battles, Phra Ram and Phra Lakshman had engaged in many combats with Thotsakan and his clans until finally Thotsakan was killed by the arrow of Phra Ram. Phiphek was conferred the title of King of Longka by Phra Ram to reward him for his allegiance throughout the battle. Phra Ram, himself returned to Ayodhya in victory.

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The Royal KHONOn the Celebration of the 88th

Birthday Anniversary of His Majesty the King on 5 December 2015

Synopsis of the Grand Open-Air Khon Performance in Honor

of His Majesty the KingBased on the Epic of The Ramakien in the episode of

The Miraculous Incarnation of Vishnu as a Human on Earth


Act I Vishnu subduing Nonthuk

(The Origin of Thotsakan)

Act II The Abduction of Sita by Thotsakan, Hanuman pledged his troops to the service of Phra Ram

(The Demon Deception and Son of Vayu, Lord of the Wind who pledged allegiance to Phra Ram)

Act III The Road Reclamation Project, The Ocean Crossing of Phra Ram (The Construction of a Road and Phra Ram with his troops

march to rescue Sita)

Act IV The March to Battle (The Great Battle between Phra Ram and Thotsakan)

Act V The Return of Phra Ram to the City (Phra Ram returns and his accession to the throne)

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Act I Prologue : Vishnu subduing Nonthuk

The Origin of ThotsakanIn the heavenly world, a demon named

Nonthuk was given the duty to wash the feet of all deities who came to pay homage to Isha-vara. However, he was continually bullied and picked on by wicked angels. Miserable as he

felt, he went to pay respect to Ishavara and asked him for a magical diamond finger; the request was granted to Nonthuk.

However, Nonthuk became so enthralled with his power that he overused his powerful


finger, pointing it at too many angels and putting them to death. When Vishnu heard of these incidents, he tricked Nonthuk by disguising himself in the body of a beautiful angel to lure him with passion. When she had a good chance, the disguised angel asked Nonthuk to follow her in dance gestures whereupon he incautiously pointed his finger at his legs until they were broken and he had fallen down. At that point, the disguised angel changed back into the body of Vishnu.

Realizing that he was deceived, Nonthuk rebuked Vishnu that although the God Vishnu was a powerful deity who had four hands, was he shamefully afraid of him who only had one magic finger? Vishnu, in response to this complaint, gave Nonthuk his word that Nonthuk would be reborn in next life as a king of demons, with ten faces, twenty arms but he, Vishnu, will follow him in an incarnation as a plain human with only two hands. Vishnu promised to kill him yet again with his bare hands. After that, he killed Nonthuk with his weapon, and Nonthuk then was reborn as Thotsakan, the king of Longka (demons) and Vishnu incarnated himself as a human named Phra Ram.

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Act II The Abduction of Sita by Thotsakan, Hanuman pledged his troops to the service of Phra Ram

The Demon Deception and Son of Vayu, Lord of the Wind pledged allegiance to Phra Ram

After Nonthuk was reborn as Thotsakan, he heard talk about the beauty of Sita; he desired to have her as a wife. Thus, he had contrived a plan to have Maris, the chief demon to transfigure himself into a golden deer in order to beguile Sita into following it. As he figured, when Sita saw the golden deer, she begged Phra Ram to run after it to catch it for her. When Phra Ram followed the deer into a deep forest, he felt something was strange, so he shot one of his arrows at the animal. The wounded deer, suddenly returned into be himself, a demon, and still cried out in the disguise of Phra Rams voice, calling for help from Lakshman, his brother. When Lakshman left for the forest, Thotsakan, turned himself into a hermit, went to the hermitage and abducted Sita to his kingdom, Longka. On the way there, he encountered great opposition from Sadayu, the giant bird. Thotsakan took the ring from the finger of Sita and threw it to attack Sadayu. The ring broke the birds wing and Sadayu fell down to the ground with a broken wing. The two brothers, Phra Ram and Lakshman came back and when they realized that Sita was captured, they set out to find her. They found the wounded Sadayu on the path. Sadayu presented them with Sitas ring and informed them of the abduction of Sita by Thotsakan. Then the great bird died. Both of them kept following the trail until they encountered Hanuman, the monkey king. He asked to join the search and come to their aid as a soldier. After that he went back to bring together his big troop of monkeys to join Phra Ram in the battle against Thotsakan.


Sita - Thotsakan

Act III The Road Reclamation Project, The Ocean Crossing of Phra Ram

The Construction of a Road and Phra Ram with his troops march to rescue Sita

After acquiring an army of monkeys for his aid, Phra Ram next planned to construct a road built of rocks, in order to make a path across the ocean for his troops to march onto Longka, to engage in battle with Thotsakan. He ordered Sukhrip to assemble his monkey troops. They came from two big cities: the city of Khitkhin under the leadership of Hanuman and the city of Chomphu under Nillaphats leadership. The plan was they would work together as a team. However, the two head monkeys had some former feud with each other. Nillaphats mind was filled with hatred and wanted revenge against Ha-numan, who had insulted him over an incident when the ruler, Thao Chomphu was captured by Hanuman from Nillaphats own city. Henceforth, he planned a vendetta against Hanuman by carrying four masses of mountains and throwing them onto Hanuman. Being alert and cautious, Hanuman safely caught those mountains in time. In return, Hanuman did the same thing but he attached


big lumps of rocks onto his hair, and his whole body, and threw them off on Nillaphat. With too many rocks coming at him, Nillaphat had to use his feet to help catch and deflect the rocks. Hanuman was furious that Nillaphat insulted him by the use of his feet. In the end, they had provoked each other into a fight, which caused such a loud commotion that it could be heard clearly at the hermitage area of Phra Ram. Phra Ram sent Lakshman to find out the cause and when he saw that the two monkey chiefs were fighting, he led them to appear before Phra Ram. Phra Ram was so very angry with both monkeys that he assembled the other men to seek a suitable punishment. Sukhrip suggested that they should be separated. Therein, Phra Ram sent Nillaphat to look after Khitkhin instead, and be responsible for sending provisions to the army. For Hanuman, he must be responsible for the road construction project that had to be finished in seven days.

Thotsakan heard the news about the road reclamation project by Phra Ram that would enable his troops to cross over to do battle on the island of Longka. His response was to send his daughter, Suphannamatcha, who was born from a fish mother, and ordered her to take all the rocks away from the reclaimed area. As a consequence, Sukhrip became suspicious by the disappearance of rocks and ordered Hanuman to dive into the water to investigate. Hanuman found Suphannamatcha under the water. Upon catching her for interrogation, he learned the truth but in the end, they were enamored with each other; and so, before parting, Hanuman convinced for her to bring back all the rocks and so, the road was completed. Phra Ram, finally was able to cross the ocean to go to Longka.

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Act IV The March to Battle

The Great Battle between Phra Ram and Thotsakan

Thotsakan in Disguise

When Thotsakan heard that Phra Ram had successfully crossed the ocean and arrived at Longka ready to make war over Sita, he decided to lead his army to enter in the battle. Thotsakan could not win over the power of the incarnated Vishnu, lost the war to Phra Ram and at the end, was killed.

By the time the great Longka battle had ended, it was already a period of 14 years that Phra Ram had promised his father, Thao Thosarot to return home after his hermitage journey. Therefore, he, accompanied by his wife, Sita took a journey back to Ayodhaya and ascended to the throne. He became the great King who ruled the

country with righteousness and bring happiness to all of his people.

Act V The Return of Phra Ram to the City

Phra Ram returned to the city and the accession to the throne


The March to Battle

Phra Ram returned to the city

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Sita - Phra Ram

Phra Lak (Lakshman) - Phra Ram

The Lineage of Vishnu

Thao Anomatan Nang Mani Kaeson

Nang Thep ApsaraThao Ajaban

Thao Thotsarot

Nang Kaosuriya Nang Kaiyakesi Nang Samudhacha

Phra Lak (Lakshman) Phra PhrotPhra Ram Sita

Phra Mongkut Phra Sattarut

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Phra Ram (the first son of Thao Thotsarot and the Fourth King of Ayodhya)

Subtle green costume, one face and two arms; (if miracle performed as a four-armed figure)

Headdress: chai style or the great crown of victory. (or rishis headdress when practicing asceticism.)

Holds four attributes - trident, disc, conch and mace.

Weapon is bow with three arrows namely, Brahmastra, Pralaiwat and Agniwat.

Phra Ram is the incarnation of Vishnu as the son of Thao Thotsarot and Nang Kaosuriya. He defeats Thotsakan. His wife is named Sita and his son is Phra Mongkut. With the pledge to his father, he took an ascetic journey for 14 years with his wife and one of his half-brothers, Phra Lak. It was during this time that his wife was abducted by Thotsakan to Longka. He led the march with the support of his monkey troops to enter in battle against Thotsakan that ended with the death of Thotsakan. Phra Ram then took his wife back to Ayodhya. Later, they had some misunderstanding between them. Ishvara came forward to reconcile them and arranged for them to wed for the second time.

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Phra Phrot (Bharata) (The second son of Thao Thotsarot and the first half-brother of Phra Ram)

Vermilion red costume, one face and two arms;

The headdress, the same as a humans or the great crown of victory.

His personal weapon is a bow and arrow.

Phra Phrot incarnated from the disc, one of Vishnus attributes, the weapon given as the second son of Thao Thotsarot who was born from Nang Kaiyakesis womb. When Phra Ram left for an ascetic life in order for Phra Phrot to ascend the throne of Ayodhya, as was the wish of his mother, Phra Phrot disobeyed. Instead he waited 14 years for Phra Ram to return. He had intended to jump into a bonfire to kill himself if his brother did not return. When Phra Ram returned from Longka in triumph and became King, he had problems to solve in Maliwan and Kaiyaket cities. He gave the order for Phra Phrot to look into the matter with Phra Sattarut. They conquered the battles afterwhich Phra Phrot was rewarded with the position as ruler of Kaiyaket city.


Phra Lak or Lakshman

(The third son of Thao Thotsarot and the second half-brother of Phra Ram)

Gold costume The headdress, the same as a humans or the great crown of victory (appears in a rishis headdress when practicing asceticsm.)

Weapon is a bow with arrows and a dagger

Phra Lak incarnated from the naga throne of Vishnu as the first son of Thao Thotsarot and Nang Samudhacha. He has another brother from the same mother, Phra Sattarut and the second half brother of Phra Ram. When Phra Ram left the city, Phra Lak asked him to accompany him for assistance. He had been through many battles with Thotsakan and nearly died from many black magic weapons of demons, but survived. After Thotsakan was defeated, he was conferred the position as ruler of Romkal. But it was opposed by Hanuman who thought that Phra Lak should stay in Ayodhya to always lend assistance to Phra Ram.

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Light purple costume, one face and two arms;

The headdress, the same as the great crown of victory;

Personal weapon is a bow with arrow.

Phra Sattarut is incarnated from the mace of Vishnu as the second son of Thao Thotsarot and Nang Samudhacha. His older brother from the same mother is Phra Lak, and he was the third half-brother of Phra Ram. When trouble occurred between Thao Chakrawat, the ruler of Maliwan city and the Khothannurat who attacked the city of Kaiyaket, he was ordered by Phra Ram to suppress the situation with Phra Phrot. He was badly hurt by demon weapons so many times but remained alive. When the problems were solved with a victory, he was awarded the co-ruler of Kaiyaket city with Phra Phrot.

Phra Sattarut (The fourth son of Thao Thotsarot and the third half-brother of Phra Ram)


Sita(The wife of Phra Ram)

Creamy or soft white costume, one face and two arms;

The headdress is the one for female;

She has one son named, Phra Mongkut.

Sita was the incarnation of Lakshmi, the goddess wife of Vishnu. She is the wife to Phra Ram. She was a daughter of Thotsakan and Nang Montho who was pregnant after she tasted a half lump of rice from Kakanasul, a subordinate female demon of Thotsakan. Upon her birth, she had cried out Phlan Rap or destroy the demons as many as three times, therefore, it was predicted by Phiphek and various astrologers that she was bad luck. So, Thotsakan allowed her to live, but ordered that she be put in a vessel and floated away on the waters. The Chanok Rishi saw her and took her under his care. She was raised in a vessel, buried underground until reaching the age of 16 years. At that time, the rishi decided to cease the meditating life and wanted to go back to administer his city, Mithila. She was ploughed up and was given the name, Sita, which meant the marks of the plough. Later, she became the wife of Phra Ram. Upon the departure of Phra Ram to live a forest life, she begged him to take her along so she could be of service to him. Then she was abducted by Thotsakan to Longka and then rescued by Phra Ram and the monkey troops. After the death of Thotsakan,

they returned together to Ayodhya

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The Monkeys Clan

Indra

Nang Klla Accan (Ahalya)

Gautama Maharishi Phra Arthit (Surya)

Nang Montho Phali

Savaha Phra Phai (Lord of the wind)

Sukhrip Nang Dara

Ongkhot

Suphanamatcha Hanuman

Hanuman

Matchanu

Benyakai

Matchanu Asuraphat

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Suphanamatcha - Hanuman

The Great Monkeys

of Khitkhin City

Champhuvarat

Vermilion red, Wide-opened mouth

The Chai headdress and the weapon is a dagger.

His second name is Nilakeson

He was born from a bamboo tube that was grown in front of the hermitage site of Sukhavatthana rishi. A bamboo stick was presented to Ishvara who made it into a bow. However, when he tried out the bow, it broke whereupon Ishvara threw it onto the ground, and out came Champhuvarat from the tube. When he became an ally to Phra Ram, he was the owner of the idea about the project for road reclamation to build a bridge to Longka . Also, during one of the battles with Indrachita, he disguised himself into a figure of black big bear chief to destroy the ritual ceremony of Indrachita, by turning the Nagabas into a magic weapon. When the victory over the Longka battle was achieved, he was appointed as the viceroy of Pangtan city.


Sukhrip

Vermilion red costume, wide-opened mouth;

Headdress is in the style of a papal-shaped tip bending backwards

Weapon is a dagger; The chieftain monkey, son of the God, Surya and Nang Klla Accan (Ahalya), the wife is Nang Dara.

When he was expelled from the city by his brother, Phali; Hanuman presented him to Phra Ram and he pledged his allegiance. Once Phali was killed by Phra Ram, he was conferred the ruler of Khitkhin instead, and was given Nang Dara to be his wife. He was considered as one of the major soldiers of Phra Ram who played an important role in preparing the army before marching to battle the demons. After the great battles were over, he was appointed as Phraya Waiyawongsa Maha Suradet, the ruler of Khitkhin.

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Hanuman

White costume, wide-opened mouth

Wears no headdress in general. (a papal-shaped-tip-bending-backwards headdress only when in disguise to deceive Thotsakan and wears the crown headdress as the ruler of Nopburi city;)

The weapon is a diamond trident, hidden on his chest, only taken out when needed.


The great white monkey is the son of Phra Phai and Nang Savaha. Hanuman was created by the combination of the weapon attributes of Vishnu, a trident, disc and a mace, and the strength of Ishvara. His supernatural birth came when Phra Phai put this essence into Nang Savahas mouth and thereafter, Hanuman was born by springing out from his mothers mouth, And so, Phra Phai and Savaha became the parents of Hanuman.

His extraordinary characteristics are the wearing of earrings, his bejeweled body, crystal fangs. He has the ability, whenever he yawned, to spew stars and a moon out of his mouth. He can turn into a four-faced and eight-armed figure when exercising his supreme powers. His most important role was as Phra Rams troop leader in the combat against the demons. Furthermore, he had a major part in the killing of Thotsakan and thus was appointed to the position of Phraya Anuchit Chakkrit Phiphatphongsa after the victory. Phra Ram gave him half of Ayodhya to rule, but he rejected the offer. Therefore, a city of Nop-buri was built for him. He had six wives: Nang Sumali, Nang Benyakai, Nang Suphannamatcha, Nang Wannarin, Nang Montho and Nang Suvankanyuma with only two sons, Asuraphat and Matchanu.

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Chomphuphan Vermilion red color costume, opened mouth;

The headdress worn is in the style of Chai crown Weapon carried is a dagger.

This chief monkey was born from a creation of the sweat of Ishvara, was gifted to Phali as a son. He was born at the same time as Hanuman. Chomphuphan was keen on making medicinal potions, therefore, was given the task of being the army doctor. He was rewarded with a position as a viceroy of the Chomphu city.


Ongkhot Emerald green costume, mouth closed;

The headdress in the form of a bottle gourd crown

Weapon carried is a dagger.

He is the son of Phya Phali and Nang Montho, who was the wife of Thotsakan. When she was pregnant with Phali, Thotsakan asked for her return. The master rishi of Phali, Angkhat had to cut her womb open to bring her baby out and kept him safe inside of a goat womb instead. When full term for a fetus was due, , the goats womb was again opened for the baby monkey be born and the name Ongkhot was given to him. After his father passed away, he was brought to Phra Ram by his uncle, Sukhrip. He became one of the high ranking soldiers of Phra Ram who also played major parts in defeating Thotsakan and his troops. After the battle, he was appointed as Phraya Indharanuphap, a viceroy of Khitkhin city.

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Nillaphat Black costume that shines like lacquer, gestures with an open

mouth;

No headgear, but wears a golden garland

Carries a dagger for the weapon.

Nillaphat was the son of kla, the deity of time, but his mother is never mentioned (In the illustrated poem, he was classified into the eighteen monkeys group). Ishvara made him the nephew of Thao Maha Chomphu to assist him in the administration of the city. When Phra Ram called his troops to order, Nillaphat was presented to Phra Ram by Thao Maha Chomphu, to join, along with the all the troops, in the battle against Thotsakan. He was given the task of building a road to Longka. However, he was caught in a fight with Hanuman, who was also there with his troops from Khitkhin. The incident caused Phra Ram to be very angry. Both were punished by having Nillaphats task switched to safeguarding the city of Khitkhin and to send provisions to the army. Hanu-man stayed on alone to finish the task of building the road with his own troops but now was rushed to finish within the limited time. After the great battle in Longka, there was another conflict in Maliwan city, Nillaphat volunteered to accompany Phra Phrot to solve the trouble, in replacement of Hanuman. After the battle was won, he was appointed Phya Aphaiphatthawongse, a viceroy of Chomphu city.


Nillanon Orange colored costume, opened-mouth monkey;

No headgear, but wears a golden garland

Holds dagger as weapon.

He is the chief monkey of Chomphu city (In the illustrated poem, he was categorized into the eighteen monkeys group). He was the son of Agni, deity of fire. The name of mother is not mentioned. He was appointed a viceroy of Chomphu city after the Longka battle. During the battle in Maliwan city, Phra Phrot sent him as an emissary to invite the ruler Thao Chakrawat to negotiate but the ruler denied the offer. Nillanon, in response to that denial he showed his disappointment (annoyance) by breaking the finial of the official residence of Thao Chomphu and bringing it back to Phra Phrot instead.

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Ongkhot Chomphuphan Hanuman

Hanuman


Sukhrip - Phali

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The Demons of Longka Clan

YamaliwanKanyuwek

Phra Mongkut

Banlaikan

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Indrachita Sita Tasaphin

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Asuraphat

SahatsakumaraSiprot

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ThotkhiriwanThotkhurithon

Virunmuk

Matchanu

HanumanSuphannamatcha

Ratchadasun

Benyakai

Malika

Thotsakan Phiphek Khara Thut Trisian

Chandhavadi Khanthamali

Hanuman

Suwankanyuma Phra Ram

Trimek

Thapphanasun

Chitmalee

Asathada

Suwanamalai

Maran

Vorapraphai Ratchada

Kuperan

Kumphakan Sammanakha

Sri Sunandha

Thao Latsatian

Chaturaphak

Thao Sahatsabodi Brahman

Nang Chang Nang PlaSanomKalagni Montho

KumphakatAdulpisatVaranisun

Sahatchewha

VirunchambangMangkonkanSang-Athit

Trichada

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+ + + + +

+ + + + +


The Demons

Nonthuk(A Demon angel who was the origin of Thotsakan)

Green costume;

One face and two arms;

The weapon is a magical diamond finger.

In the heavenly world, a demon named Nonthuk was given the duty to wash the feet of all deities who ascended to the Krailas Mountain to pay homage to Ishavara. However, he was continually bullied and picked on by wicked angels who would pull his hair, knock on his head until he became bald. Miserable as he felt, he went to pay respect to Ishavara and asked him for a magical diamond finger which by pointing could bring death to anyone; the request was granted to Nonthuk out of mercy. However, Nonthuk became so enthralled with his power that he overused his powerful finger, pointing it at too many angels and putting them to death. When Vishnu heard of these incidents, he tricked Nonthuk by disguising himself in the body of a beautiful angel to lure him with passion. When she had a good chance, the disguised angel asked Nonthuk to follow her in dance gestures whereupon he incautiously pointed his finger at his legs until they were broken and he had fallen down. At that point, the disguised angel changed back into the body of Vishnu. Realizing that he was deceived, Nonthuk rebuked Vishnu that although the God Vishnu was a powerful deity who had four hands, was he shamefully afraid of him who only had one magic finger? Vishnu, in response to this complaint, gave Nonthuk his word that Nonthuk would be reborn in next life as a king of demons, with ten faces, twenty arms but he, Vishnu, will follow him in an incarnation as a plain human with only two hands. Vishnu promised to kill him yet again with his bare hands. After that, he killed Nonthuk with his weapon, and Nonthuk then was reborn as Thotsakan, the son of Thao Lustian, king of Longka.


Thotsakan(The Third King of Longka)

Green costume; (on some occasions the mask is gold color) Ten faces and twenty arms Masked headdress of three-tiered tip

in the Chai style; Numerous weapons: arrow, dagger, disc, mace, halberd, large

hammer, lance, and crossbow

The demon king was the first son of Thao Latsatian and Nang Ratchada. In his former life, he was previously Nonthuk, a demon guardian angel who had a feud with Vishnu. He rebirthed as the demon king who possessed great power but was mischievous. He liked using his charm on women, therefore had many

wives and mistresses. He had as many as 1,015 children of his own. His clan was totally destroyed

because of his playful and wicked behavior that led him to abduct Sita, the wife of Phra Ram, an incarnation of Vishnu, to Longka. It was the caused that consequently damaged him by the great battle leading

to his death.

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Maris

White costume;


Mask with headgear in the form of bottle gourd;

Carries a mace or club as personal weapon.

He was a demon living in Longka whose mother was Nang Kakanasun.

He had a brother named, Savahu. He was related as the uncle to Thotsakan. His

wife was Nang Chetsada. He was forced by Thotsakan to change himself into

the figure of a beautiful golden deer to lure Sita on. He succeeded in luring Phra

Ram, who followed him into a deep forest. As he followed, Phra Ram became

cautious and had a doubt and shot at the deer with his arrow, wounding it.

The dying Maris, tried a last attempt to make his voice imitate Phra Rams in

order to persuade Phra Lak to leave the hermitage and come to Phra Rams

assistance. And so, Thotsakan took that opportunity when the two brothers

were gone from the hermitage to carry on the abduction of Sita to Longka.


Phiphek (The Fourth King of Lonka)

Green costume;


Masked headgear in form of round bottle gourd

The weapon is a mace.

He is the third son of Thao Latsatian and Nang Ratchada and the second brother of Thotsakan. He is the incarnation of Thao Vessuyan, the deity, who comes down to earth under the command of Ishvara to become a spy for Phra Ram troops. He was knowledgeable about the Three Vedas of the Hindu religion and astrology. He has a wife, named Trichata and a daughter,called Benyakai. He was crowned the King of Longka after the Longka incident under the name of Thao Thotsiriwongse and another wife, Nang Montho,

was presented to him.

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Sammanakkha

Thut

Kumphakan


Indrachita

Virunchambang

Trisian

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Maiyarap


Sammanakkha - Thotsakan

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Phra Ram

Phra Lak

(Lakshman)

Some Information on the Traditional Performance Khon

Phra Ram

History

Khon represents the unique identity of Thai national entertainment. It is the classical dance that holds on to the regulation and methodology, created by old masters of the old days and passed on through the periods until present days. Every element in composing the performance from the training to the actual time to perform on stage, is connected to the profound customs, traditions and rites that is honored as sacredness. Khon is considered as the royal entertainment performed only on the important occasions of royal ceremony since Ayutthaya period. The performance is acclaimed as one of the royal regalia of the kings. The royal support and kind benefaction that every Thai king has always have to the performance, is the main factor that keeps Khon sustainably alive and flourish until today.

The Khon performing arts is evidently composed from many branches of arts: rabam, ram, tap, shadow play and the Churning play. Information on each performing arts are as follow:

Rabam, and Ram or Dance represents a performing art to show feelings and emotions of actors and actresses, solo and ensemble. The dance presented in ensemble emphasizes on the harmonious beauty, is called Rabam but the dancing depicting a story is called, Lakhon. Tapping is the art of dancing with the moving of legs according to the rhythm, which is the core gestures of Khon. Furthermore, there is the art of Krabi-Krabong or the martial fighting of sword and pole, which is the traditional training on the use of weapons to self-safeguarding or to fight with enemies in wartime. The art of Krabi-Krabong renders to the dignifying and graceful representations to the characters.

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Nang or Shadow Play is an old style of entertainment that occurred since Ayutthaya kingdom. Many customs, conventions and rites related to this type of entertainment are close to the practice of Khon, such as the selection of story, both are based on Ramakien, the use of Pi Phat Khrueang Ha or the traditional Thai Orchestra Ensemble consisting of 5 instruments in the performance and the playing of Phleng Na Phat or the melody of ritual songs for the performance. Also, they both use narrators and narrative scripts that are composed into verses and poems.

Shadow Play


The Chak Naga Dueak Damban or the Churning of Naga is a performance based on a legend of The Churning of the Milk Ocean that was evidently mentioned in the Ayutthaya monarch law, on the part of Indraphisek ceremony (the coronation ceremony that followed the style when Indra became the king of all deities.) Upon that ceremony, the same performance was played. Performers are dressed into the costumes and portray Sukhrip, Phali, Thao Maha Chomphu and subordinate troops of monkeys, demons and deities, etc. HRH Prince Damrong Rajanubhab assumed that the department of Khon might have been established during when, due to the needs to train royal pages to perform this act for the ceremony. The training is also drill men to be fast in

fighting which is useful in wartime.

Khon integrates these styles of art together by using the enthralling ges-tures on fighting, dancing, tapping from the Krabi-Krabong, the costumes from the Chak Naga Dueak Damban, the custom of narrating and the playing of melodies of ritual songs and some dancing styles of the shadow players and adjusted them to be beautifully perfect for the Khon performance that turned

into the conventional style of Khon afterwards.

The Churning of Naga

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P rev i ous l y , pe r fo rme rs were all men, male and female characters for heroes, demons and monkeys, therefore, the have to put on masks, except performers that portray a female part. And because the story is related to Gods, it is considered as a sacred act. Therefore, all performers must perform in a respective manner and every step of the whole performance is carefully conducted accordingly to the customs, traditions and rites.

Khon in King Rama Vs period, Thosakan in a Cave

Thotsakan


The Stage of Khon on Wat Phos mural painting

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The Tribute of Paying Homage to the Khon Master

Being commended as the classical performance, the performers of Khon need to be trained until reaching to the profound knowledge of skill and the depth of the characters. The Master is responsible for the teach-ing and the passing on of all dancing methods and gestures. The process of teaching and passing on the methods has been imparted through many generations. Khon is the conventional art that needs to depend on the Master. These masters are not only teachers but every deities involved, old masters and the artists in the past who had created fames in each branch of the specific performance, therefore, the custom in paying homage to the Masters is great important. The practice on paying respect to masters is customarily and continually exercised from generations to generation.


Demon Khon Masks

In paying homage to the masters of Khon. Lakhon and traditional music, the full ceremony includes the sacred ceremony of the Indoctrina-tion, called Krop. The ceremony was enacted as a regulation since the old period. The old master will perform the indoctrination to students only when they passed the basic instruction. To perform the ceremony, the old master will preside over the ceremony, read the verse to pay homage to invite the gods personally and spiritually to attend the ceremony. The master of the ceremony must be male and properly suitable in seniority, qualification and moral virtue.

In preparation of the venue, there must a place for a Buddha image and the masters masks, which includes deities, Phra Phirap, Rishi, Masters of male and female and demon characters of Khon. Then the ceremony begins by paying homage in a presentation of the offerings and by the playing of ritual music in the composition of the verse saying.

Monkey Khon Masks

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Rishi Khon Masks

In the ceremony to pay homage of the Khon and music masters, there must always be the mask of the Rishi. According to the legend, the Rishi mask is a personification of Phra Bharata, the rishi who composed the treatise on the art of dancing. Moreover, according to the literature, Ramakien, the Rishis are considered as masters and patrons of all the characters in the epic.


The most important master mask among the music and drama performers is the mask of Phra Phirap. According to the script on Ramakien of King Rama I, Phra Phirap is a demon deity who was responsible for looking after the forest at the mountain hill where a golden rose apple tree grew, therefore he was given the power from Phra Agni, the god of fire and Phra Samud, the god of ocean. Thus he became a terrifying figure to all angels. At one time, he became enthralled with his power and forcefully took the angels costume to put on, which led to the creation of the crowned Phra Phirap. In that scene, he encounters Phra Ram, Phra Lak and Sita, picking fruits at the site that he was safeguarding. They entered into a fight and he was killed by the arrow of Phra Ram.

Phra PhirapPhra Bharata

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King Rama IX Presided Over The Paying Homage to Masters on October 25, 1984

at Sala Dusidalai, Chitralada Palace


Paying homage to the Masters Masks

After the ceremony is complete, the chairman will anoint on the foreheads of all students and initiate them by way of placing the master masks, the Rishi, Phra Phirap of the crown onto the head of each student. This ritual ceremony is called the Khrop Khru Khon Lakhon or

the Indoctrination Ceremony.

The Indoctrination Ceremony

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The Piphat Musical Ensemble

The Pi Phat is the name of the ensemble that plays at the Khon performance. The Phleng Na Phat or the ritual melody songs are the essen-tial elements for this performing art In their melodies are used to describe the gestures, behaviours and emotions of the characters, as well as to respect-fully engage the deities, rishis and masters to participate in each auspicious ceremony. This type of song is considered to be at the most classical and sacred level in the Thai music. Therefore, it must follow the conventional ways of playing without any changes.

The songs can be divided into two types: ordinary and high level. The or-dinary one is played in general performances with gestures that suggest ordinary characters. This length of this type of Phleng Na Phat is not controlled, it can stop at any time depending on the gestures of the performers, and more usually used in the performance of Lakhon. However, at the higher level of Phleng Na Phat, the songs selected play only to describe the gestures of the main charac-ters or deities. This type of song has limited length of time; it cannot be cut or added on. Performers need to carefully listen to the song. This style of song is conventionally used in the performance of Khon and certain themes of Lakhon and on official ceremonies such as the Khrop Khru.

The Music composed for the Khon Performance


The Narration of Khon

The reciting of the narration is one of the most important compositions of the Khon performance, especially in former days when every character wears a mask and cannot himself communicate by voice. Thus, the narrators are needed communicate for them. For this important role, narrators must have full knowledge of the story, the acting method involved and must have an excellent memory of the verse in the scripts in verse. They must achieve the best sound for each character that is suitable for each scene. Furthermore, they must be capable to respond with wit and experience to solve any unforeseen

situation.

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Ishvara

There are numerous masks used in the perfor-mance of Khon: deities, rishi, male and female heroes, demons and monkeys. They are varied according to colors, styles of headdresses, differentiated by rank and also by the characteristics around the mouth and eyes. The masks are categorized as follow:-

The Khon Masks

Gods and Deities: Ishvara, Brah-man, Vishnu, Indra, Orachun and Matuli;

The Masters: Phra Phirap, Rishi, Thao Acchaban, Phra Ram, Phra Lak, Phra Bharata and Phra Sattarut, etc.

Monkeys: The group with masked headgear : Pha l i , Sukhrip, Chomphuphan; The group with golden garlands mask: Hanuman, Nillaphat; The Eighteen headgear masked group and miscellaneous, etc.


Phiphek

Garuda Chieftain

Demons: The group wearing the tier-masked headgear: Thotsakan, Phiphek, Indrachita and Maris; The group wearing a mask with no headgear or bald masked demons: Kum-phakan, Sammanakkha. Demon masked are differentiated also by styles of mouth, fangs and eyes, etc.

Animals: garuda, naga, bird, deer, horse, cow, etc.

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The main characters are categorized into four main groups: male and female heroes, demons and monkeys who take important roles to tell the story of Ramakien. The performance is based on an epic of the great battle between human (Phra Ram,) with his monkey troops and demons (Thotsakan) and his demon troops to win over the beloved woman, Sita. There are plenty of scenes using magical powers, the force of magical weapons, flying and earth diving of various characters for entertainment purposes. There are two sites of camps: the Pavilion Camp Site of Phra Ram and the Longka Site of Thotsakan. The army of Phra Ram is consists of his royal family, incarnated from Vishnu and the monkeys clan, while Thotsakan was supported by his demons clan. Both sides are the decended from related people in the past.

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Sadayu

Sadayu who was a chieftain bird was afriend of Thao Thotsarot, father of Phra Ram. He encountered Thotsakan upon his action of abducting Sita to Longka. He tried to help Sita and almost won. But unintentionally spoke out that he feared of no one except Ishvara, Vishnu and the ring of Sita. Hearing that Thotskan took off the ring from Sitas finger, and when he threw it at Sadayu, it hurt Sadayu badly Although flying with broken wings, he picked up the ring in his beak and flew to wait for Phra Ram. Upon telling the incident

to Phra Ram, he died.

Miscellaneous Characters :


The Fighting Scene of Sadayu and Thotsakan

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Sita and Thotsakan

The Indoor KhonPhra Ram, Phra Lak, Hanuman and Thotsakan

The Classification of Khon

Khon is classified into five types: an Open-Air Khon, an Open-Staged or a Bamboo-Tubed Bench Khon, a shadow play Khon and an indoor Khon or Khon with props.

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The Open-Air Khon is the performance of Khon on the vast ground,

using the landscape and natural environment as props. The theme for this type

Khon emphasizes the Marching scene for battle.

The Open-Air Khon Performance


The Bamboo-Tubed Bench Khon

The Open-Staged or a Bamboo-Tubed Bench Khon is a performance carried on an open stage but uses only a long bamboo-tubed bench placed along the length of a stage, for props. Performers sit in front of the stretched curtain. The bench is placed with enough room for performers to walk around. After each performer finishes the act, he will return to sit on the bench. The performance has only narration without any vocalists on lyrics.

The shadow play Khon is the performance in front of the white cotton curtain, stretched on the stage like in a shadow play but the curtain is cut so there are two entrances. The one on the left is illustrated with the Longka scene and the right side has the scene of a pavilion, with the figure of Mekhala deity flying above and the shining moon on top. The shadow play Khon is an evolution of this performing art that shows the integration of the two performing arts together of Khon and shadow play. No vocals of lyrics are done for this type of Khon.

The Indoor Khon is the type of Khon that is performed on the stage indoors. It is an integration of Khon and Lakhon together. The narration of Khon is mixed in with the lyrics and songs of a vocalist of Lakhon The stage has curtain like that of Lakhon.

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The Khon with props is the style that is performed on the stage but there is a use of props to depict different scenes according to the story, but still performed in the same way as in the Indoor Khon.

The Khon with Props


Later, Khon received more influences from Lakhon. Influence is seen in the way male and female characters of heroes began to perform with no masks and wear the style of headdresses like Lakhon. However, it still holds on to the style of having the narrators do the communications with the viewers, performers will not speak. Only the comedian or joker can freely talk. Another special characteristic of the Khon performance is that it will only use Ramakien as the thematic story.

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The Royal Khon in Celebration

Published and disseminated by the Ministry of Culture On the occasion of the Presentation of the Royally Supported Khon PerformancePerformed December 11-13, 2015, on the grounds of the Dusit PalacePrinted 2,000 copies

Advisors:

Vira Rojpojchanarat Minister of Culture

Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda Permanent Secretary

Anandha chuchoti Director General, The Fine Arts Department

Editorial Board:

Pakorn Pornpisut

Boonteun Srivorapot

Chutatip Khotprathum

Charan Poollop

Rattasard Chancharund

Thammanoon Klinkhum

Translated and Edited by

Somlak Charoenpot

Beverly Frankel

Printed by

Rungsilp Printing (1977) co.ltd.

Tel. 0 2118 3555

The Royal Khon in Celebration

The Royal

in Celebration

the royal khon - กระทรวงวัฒนธรรม eng__1-80… · ram’ is an old...

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