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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand

Volume XVI-2024 (Special Issue)

After examining the assembled materials on Thai dance, Prince Damrong (1923: 4-7)

argued that although dance-based performing arts had roots in India, they had locally adapted
and evolved into distinct traditions over time, resulting in unique Thai lakorn (court based dance
drama) performances that differed from those of neighboring cultures such as Burma or Java.
He further argued that Nora developed in relation to ancient forms of lakorn nok
(dance drama outside the court) that were performed in the Ayutthaya kingdom (1351-1767).

When Ayutthaya performers traveled down to Nakhon Si Thammarat, they performed stories
like the popular tale Manohra (a beautiful kinnaree who was wed to Prince Sudhana who lost
Manorah and then had to undergo many trials to win her back). This “Manorah” name was later

abbreviated into “Nora” by locals in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Prince Damrong stressed three key pieces of evidence to support his conclusion:
1. The khum wai khru (Verses to Pay Homage to Teachers) and the Pleng Khru
(Song for Teachers) use similar names for dance music as found in old dance manuals said to
date from the Ayutthaya period.
7
2. The Serd (Headdress) worn by nai rong (initiated Nora masters) resembles a crown
worn by kings, while they are bare-chested and their costume includes long pants reaching
the ankles, a long loin cloth that folded between legs and bunched into the back into a pleat.

This appearance resembles that of celestial devas depicted on the back of doors of Thai
Buddhist ubosot (Ordination Hall).
3. Nora consists of no more than three performers – a Nai Rong (lead performer),
a Nang (female character), and Jumuad or Pranbun (a comedian hunter figure)—all of whom
were male. This was like similar dance traditions in India. Over time, additional performers were

added, expanding the Nora troupe’s size to accommodate more dancers and thus support the
growth of the art form and help them to make a living.
All these reasons suggest that Lakhon Chatri or Nora Chatri evolved from Lakhon Nok

(dance drama outside the court) in the Ayutthaya period and make it an ancient form of Thai
dance drama. These reasons may explain why His Royal Highness Prince Damrong Rajanubhab
8
placed the Nora photographs first in the order of fundamental dance poses of various forms of
Thai dance. To support this argument, the [Thai] Dance Manual is arranged around images of
dance poses in three chapters that together suggest a tentative visual genealogy of Thai dance

up to 1923.

7 This “song for teachers” (Pleng Khru) is performed as an introductory ritual before a Nora performance.
In the traditional practice, Nora performers sing this song in an extended, elaborate manner at the beginning
of their three-day Rong Khru ritual ceremony. However, in central Thailand’s ritual drama, such as
Lakorn Chatri or votive offering performances, one finds a hybrid form of this song. These performances
begin with the Pleng Khru, echoing back to the roots of Lakorn Chatri in Nora. Only then do they go on to
dance with the music of the traditional Piphat music ensemble.
8 Several Southern Thai scholars, however, propose that Nora was directly influenced by the theatrical
traditions of South India (see Pittaya Bussararat, 1996: 78–81).

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