The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXXI, Part 1-2, 1983 - Khamkoo

280 Annual Reports
The northeast was represented again when, on lith November, the Wong Gaen
Esarn Group of the Teachers Training College of Mahasarakam, under the leadership
of Acharn Pornchai Srisarakam, came to the Society and gave a very different programme
with ponglang, kaen and drums beating a brisk and up-to-date beat. Some dances
such as the "Serng Kao Poon" (Khanom Chine Dance) and "Serng Koop" (Frogcatching
Dance) were modern, barely a year or two old, having been choreographed by
Acharn Pornchai in the northeastern tradition since the formation of the group, but
one dance of historical interest was the "Fon Porn Suwan" which came originally from
Laos where it was known to have been used to escort and bid farewell to the Emerald
Buddha when the then Chao Phraya Chakri took the sacred image from Vientiane and
brought it to King Taksin's new capital at Thonburi in 1779 AD.
The dance traditions of the central plains were represented by a just-extant
group of ageing nang yai dancers on the outskirts of Rayong. The Wat Ban Don team
of dancers and musicians, under the leadership of Khru Praew Kaesarat, took their
giant leather puppet figures (many of which were in a sadly deteriorated condition) out
of storage for one night to give an appreciative group of Society members a performance,
accompanied by an excellent supper, of the Ramakien episode in which
Hanuman is sent to arrest Mongkol and Lop. Whilst the music itself was somewhat
debased, as the musicians had lost the ability to play many of the correct na pat
melodies associated with stage movements, the enthusiasm of the dancers and players,
and the happy ambience associated with a live performance near an upcountry village
more than compensated for the technical defects.
THAI-MALAYSIAN CULTURAL EXCHANGE:
Maintaining a now annual tradition Kesuma, the cultural troupe of Universiti
Malaya, visited Thailand for two weeks in August under the joint auspices of Srinakharinwirot
University at Prasarnmit and the Society. The 35 members of the troupe
hired their own bus in Haadyai and gave a programme at SWU Songkhla, two each at
Benjama Rajutit School in Rajburi and Karnchana Nukroh School in Kanchanaburi
before coming into Bangkok to perform at Wat Boworn School. One programme in
Lopburi opened their second week before they returned to the Bangkok region and
entertained students' at Wat Kesia Apirom, Nonthaburi, Sathit Kasetsart University,
Sathit Prasarnmit and the Phra Nakorn Teachers Training College. They also gave a
show at the Society and were featured in a TV show on Channel 5. One final appearance
in the regular Friday evening programme at the Phanfa branch of the Bangkok
Bank brought their two weeks sojourn in Thailand to a happy conclusion.