THE ARTS OF THAILAND

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 60, Issue 4235, 24 January 1940, Page 10

THE ARTS OF THAILAND

RELIGION THE INSPIRATION. CULTURE AND DEVOTION. (By Ambrose Pratt.) The language of Thailand is a blend of an ancient primitive Thai dialect (which dates back to the third century 8.C.) and the languages of the Khmers, the Chinese and the Hindus. It has been most profoundly affected by Sanskrit, Cambodian and Pali influerices. The oldest Thai writings belong to the thirteenth century A.D., which saw the birth of the Siamese alphabet, and from that era the literary history of Thailand begins. The intellectual life of the Thai people has always been dominated by religious thought. Their national literature, therefore, is mostly of a sacred character. The two most famous clasical works (corresponding with the Iliad and Odyssey) are “Pathonima Somphotiyan,” a life of Gautama Buddha, and “Phra Malai,” the story of a priest who visited heaven and hell. Both were composed in the fourteenth century, and their popularity survives undimmed to this hour.

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw a vast outpouring of religious treatises, and several heroic poems of high merit were published. In the succeeding century lyrical poetry attained its golden age, and many of the best gems of literature of the Occident were for the first time translated into Thai. The greatest poets of that era were Sri Praj, King Phra Narayana, and the sister princesses, Lek and Yai. Many renowned poets, novelists and dramatists flourished in the eighteenth century, and although the output of religious works continued (and still continues) unabated, secular literature steadily advanced. In the nineteenth century King Rama VI., perhaps the most eminent author, poet and patron of letters the country has produced, wrote his famous plays, Phra Ruang and Nala, and translated As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet into Siamese verse. Under his influence Thailand acquired a rich scientific, legal, historic and dramatic literature, and writing as a profession was firmly established. It is due to him that Thailand possesses today almost as many talented poets, dramatists, novelists and journalists as any other country, and can point with pride, among her living writers, to at least three brilliant figures whose works can withstand comparison with the best contemporary literature of Europe and America.—Prince Damrong, Prince Bidyalankarana and Krn Deb. EVOLUTION OF MUSIC. The musical art of Thailand is very old, and has attained a high state of development, evolving hand-in-hand with drama, of which it is a vitally important feature. The Thais have many wind instruments for their private pleasing, such as the “can,” which is used by millions of young men to serenade their sweethearts. The theatre orchestra, however, is bound by classical tradition to the use of eight special instruments—the alto xylophone, the basso xylophone, the alto gong (a series of gongs graduated to scale and hung in a circular frame), the basso gong, the alto flageolet, the basso flageolet, the tomtom, and a set of three drums. These instruments must be used on all occasions, but various Thai flutes, fiddles and lutes may be added at will.

In olden times Siamese music was like European music; the instruments were played in accompaniment with song, and the melody was developed parLpassu with the pronunciation of the words sung. Later, however, the plays of Thailand became very voluminous (some cover thousands of pages, and would take up to 400 hours to stage the whole story). Therefore to speed the performance the method was adopted of devoloping the air between the words, and playing the instruments after the verbal part was over.

An attempt is now being made to revert to the old style, and play the instruments in accompaniment with the human voice, but the experiment has not yet met with general approval.

ELOQUENCE OF THE

There are two distinct forms of Siamese drama, the Khon and the Lakon. The Khon partakes of the nature of a ceremonial religious pageant. AU the actors wear distinctive masks and their acting largely consists of dancing and posturing, both of which are extremely graceful and expressive. The training of a Khon actor is long and tedious, and none but an accomplished athlete can hope to succeed. The Khon plays are all dramatic poems, and always deal with some part of the epic of Ramayana or some incident in the life of Buddha.

In the Lakon the actors do not wear masks; they express the story of the play by exquisite movements of the body, arms and hands, almost to the exclusion of muscular exertion. The words of the Lakon are sung, but not by the actors; an unseen chorus does this for them. The language of the actors is gesture language pure and simple. The Lakon is not confined to religious themes, but ranges over

the whole gamut of the comedies and tragedies of secular life. SCULPTURE AND PAINTING. Thai sculpture is exclusively confined within the art of modelling and casting. The habitual, if not the only subject, is the image of the Lord Buddha, and incalculable numbers of these images are exposed for worship throughout the kingdom. Every era has produced a different type of Buddhist face and figure, and in the National Museum at Bangkok, the history, not only of Thailand, but of Buddhism itself, can be read by the visitor at a glance by passing along the cases of that marvellous collection which present in chronological order all the sculptured forms of Buddha for 2000 years.

Thai painting is also piirely religious, and knows no other subject than the Ramayana. The inner walls of the monasteries and temples are the only canvagses of Thai artists. These mural paintings are very decorative and interesting, and they display a high development of their peculiar technique. The work is executed in flat colours, and although the treatment is naive the drawing and composition are always distinguished by a rich and lively imagination.

In the arts of wood carving, metal working, inlaying, gilding, enamelling, engraving, jewellery, and pottery, the Thais are supreme in their somewhat narrow but beautiful domain. Perhaps they are most notable for their Tompat work, known to foreigners as “niello ware.” This is the decoration of pure silver articles with (mostly religious) designs on a background of dull black enamel.

The technique of Tompat is known to the Thais alone. It is an operation that demands superlative skill, precision and patience, and in the hands of great artists it can produce effects of interest and beauty unrivalled in the world. WHEEL OF THE LAW. It will be seen that a religious inspiration permeates all forms and expressions of the cultural genius of Thailand. Even the actors and dancers in secular plays wear caps with pagoda-like peaks in imitation of the universal Buddhist temple spire. But the all pervasive influence in life and art of Buddhist ideology finds its most perfect refinement of expression in the design of the “Wheel of the Law” of Buddha, a copy of which, small or large, and made in every sort of precious or cheap material, is owned and treasured by every Thai. It is usually accompanied with a Siamese inscription of an injunction to hospitality uttered by the Lord Gautama at Badda Gaja nearly 2500 years ago. The English translation is as follows: “Let come those dear brethren who have not yet come; once they are come, let them live happily amongst us.”

This inscription may be seen above every arch or doorway of approach

through which a foreigner must pass when entering the kingdom of Thailand.