Preservation of Traditional Art: The Case of the ... - Wacana Seni

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2Wacana Seni Journal of Arts Discourse. Jil./Vol.7.2008IntroductionNooraa is a genre of traditional performance art that is found in Southern Thailand andNorthern Malaysia 1 . It combines dance, music, singing, narrative verse, theatrical play, sorceryand ritual. It is believed to be among the oldest theatrical traditions in Thailand, and it isalso considered to be the ancestor of the Thai dance drama lakhon, which is a genre that wasdeveloped and perfected under the patronage of royalty and the aristocracy in central Thailand.Although the exact date and place of origin are not known, it is believed that nooraa dates backfive to seven hundred years (Guelden 2005: 181). According to southern Thai mythology, theperformance most likely evolved in the region around Songkhla Lake, the largest inland bodyof water in the country.Since ancient times, nooraa performers have not resided in a fixed place, as their performancesrequire them to travel around the countryside. When troupes received an offer from clients, theywould set out on a journey, but they would return home after the show to engage in farming,fishing and other work to supplement their income. The lifestyle of the nooraa performers canthus be categorised as a semi-nomadic 2 one. Their lives are divided between seasons on theroad and seasons spent working in the fields.Nooraa performers are constantly adapting to the changes in Thai society so as to keepaudiences satisfied and entertained. They are also troubled by the difficulty of finding newperformers, as the younger generation today prefers to work in modernised companies locatedin urban areas where income is more stable.In this paper, I explore the question of how nooraa performance art has changed and how it isbeing revived and revitalised. I focus on two groups of people engaged in the revitalisation ofnooraa: nooraa professional performers and amateur nooraa activists who are concerned withreviving the arts using various methods, including efforts in schools and universities. 3
3Takako IwasawaNooraa in the Traditional ContextBefore examining the current status of nooraa, we need to describe what the originalpractitioners of nooraa were like. After we gain a deeper appreciation of the history behindnooraa, it will then be appropriate to discuss the new challenges faced by nooraa performersand the transformation that is occurring in nooraa performances and among the performersthemselves.In the traditional context, we can categorise those who are involved in nooraa performanceinto two groups: members of nooraa troupes and main audiences. I will attempt to look at theroles that both troupes and audiences play.The Nooraa troupeA nooraa troupe is made up of several components. A troupe generally consists of dancers,musicians, sorcerers, and attendants. The number of individuals in a troupe can range fromfourteen to twenty people (Udom Nuuthaung 2536/1993: 31–32). The group of dancers ismade up of seven to ten people. This includes a nooraa master, known as the nooraa yai, whoplays the role of the troupe leader. The other dancers are called naang ram. The dancers have awide range of performing abilities: they not only dance but also sing songs, perform narratives,and act. However, their main role in the performance is to dance, a fact made evident by thename given to them, naang ram, which means dancer.A nooraa troupe requires five to seven musicians, called luuk khuu. The traditional musicalensemble includes the pi, a double-reed, oboe-like shawm; the thap, a pair of goblet-shapeddrums; the ching, a pair of small hand cymbals; the mong, a pair of small brass gongs in awooden box; the krap, a wooden clapper; and the klong, a two-faced drum. The musicians
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