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The purpose of this thesis was to study the dance movements of “Arkasatalai,” a hermaphroditic demon. The data collection was conducted by means of interviewing experts and those with experience performing this character and conducting analyses of the differences between the dance movements of male demons and female demons, as well as the costumes of Arkasatalai which is different from those of other demons in the Ramayana epic. The three experts who participated in the interviews were (1) Mr. Thongrerm Mongkolnat, (2) Mr. Yud Changthong, and (3) Mr. Rakhop Bhodives. The findings of the study reveal that Arkasatalai is considered a suer muang demon, or a demon which has the responsibility to protect the realm. In khon performance (or masked play), there are two dance movements which are considered unique for this particular character called “rum truoj pol” (reviewing the troop) and “rum krabuanta rob kub Hanuman” (combating with Hamuman) which are prominent in che Sueb Munka episode of khon. A comparison of the three experts’ dance movements are as follows: As for the “rum truoj pol” movement, the movements of Mr. Thongrerm Mongkholnat and Mr. Yud Changthong were identical, with a spear as their weapon, but they were was different from tf.at of Mr. Rakhop Bhodives who used a club. Regarding the “rum krabuanta rob kub Hanuman,” the dance movements of Mr. Thongrerm Mongkholnat and Mr. Yud Changthong were similar with the use of a club. The specific movements of these three experts were the same, with the Arkasatalai character touching the breast and buttock of Hanuman, or showing his embarrassment and displeasure, to name a few. In general, the performers of this character have to master the dance movements of regular male demons before practicing the specific dance movements of Arkasatalai to be performed in two types of performance-khon na jaw and khon chak. The Thai orchestra is used for background music when performing the former movement, while there is a dialogue expressing the character’s anger toward Hanuman in the latter. There are two types of costumes for Arkasatalai. When dressed as a male, the character wraps a long cloth around the waist, fan-fold the edges together and pass the folded portion between the legs and hitch it at the waist in the back, and without a pair of shorts. When dressed as a female, the character wears a floor-length tube skirt with a pleat in the front, a long-sleeved orange blouse, a shoulder wrap, and jewelry. The performance of Arkasatalai is not popular because it is not considered a major role. A lack of a specific set of dance movements combining the movements of both male and female demons as well as a difficulty in finding a performer with the right body type for the role also contribute to its lack of popularity. Therefore, this performance should be studied, preserved and passed on for generations to come. |
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