2019 begins a year-long celebration for the inclusion of Khon performances on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Ramayana shadow puppets from Malaysia
Ramakien puppets (Hun Krabok)
Silver roundel of Hanuman and a demon soldier in hand-to-hand combat from the ceiling at Wat Muen San, Chiang Mai, Thailand. The iconography of characters and familiar scenes from the Ramayana on temple murals, silver bas-relief panels, and furnitur
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The brother of Phra Ram, Phra Lak has a golden complexion because he was born at dawn. In Laos, the drama is called Phra Lak/Phra Ram. The Hindu literary epic has been modified from a dramatization of the divine leadership of kings to a ja
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Male Khon dancing is as emphatic as the stomp across the stage compared with the subtle gestures of Lakon Nai dancers at the Royal Ballet PhraLak PhraLam in Luang Prabang. The corps de ballet of female dancers perform a slow dance with graceful mo
Suvannamaccha the mermaid. Ramakien performance in Bangkok The faces of female dancers are expressionless using only hand and body gestures to convey their thoughts and feelings. Traditional training involves the exaggerated bending back of th
Lakon Nai dancer as Suvannamaccha showing her fish tail. In Thailand, Rama IV adapted the Ramayana for Khon theatre and added a charming side-story involving the well known Thai folk goddess of good fortune, Suvannamaccha, the queen of the mer
I bow to the messenger of Rama, who is swift as thought, fast as the wind. Who has conquered his senses and is of mighty intellect, The son of the wind god, first among monkeys.   Hanuman is the most popular and beloved character of the Ra
Hanuman in flight with a mountain of healing herbs from the Himalayas. …less profound but certainly not less striking a departure from Sanskrit and other Indian Ramayanas is the portrayal of Hanuman, the monkey warrior who is revered in India, part
Hanuman's recent star power on the cover of a scholarly journal
Hanuman the hero monkey warrior in battle
Rama the exiled king of the Ramayana called PhraLak PhraLam in Laos. Notable for his green complexion and his prowess as an archer, Phra Ram is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Behind him is Hanuman the leader of the monkey army Phra Ram holds h
The Gods and Sages Beseech Vishnu to Incarnate Himself
Rama's mystical appearance before his mother (Kausalya)
The villain of the Phralak Phralam , the ten-headed demon king Thotsakan from a performance in Luang Prabang. Thotsakan's muliple heads are represented in two tiers that make-up the finial on his headdress. His costume is made of silk fabrics with
How to represent a god with ten heads
Hermits or Rishis are sages with magical powers that reside in hermitages in the forest. The rishi in Phralak Phralam is the guardian of a box that contains the heart of Thotsakan.  Thotsakan had his heart removed to make himself invincible in
Royal Ballet Theatre in Luang Prabang, Laos Phralak and Phralam hold court in the forest.
Against a somber and unsettling painted back drop, the fearless Hanuman grabs the demon soldier's weapon, his profile a blur of fury.  Performance in Bangkok, Thailand
A sort of freeze frame of the battle choreography (sometimes held for several moments), this grouping (Rama, Hanuman and their enemy Thotsakan the great demon king in green that started a war by abducting Rama's wife, Sita) is often reproduced
Royal Ballet Phra Lak Phra Lam, the Lao version of the Ramayana: To wage war against Thotsakan, Rama's army must cross the sea to the kingdom of Lanka. Hanuman describes his plan for building a causeway using his monkey army. Rama will use the cau
Ngyak are depictions of mermaids in Southeast Asia that are popular in Buddhist legends, jataka stories and as decorative motifs on temples.  This detail of Hanuman cavorting with the mermaids from the royal catafalque at Wat Xieng Thong in Lu
Mermaid with wings portrayed as a deva . Architectural decorative motif in a Northern Thai (Lanna vernacular) on a Ho Trai (Scripture Library) at Wat Phra Singh.
Royal Ballet Phra Lak Phra Lam, the Lao version of the Ramayana: Hanuman with his army of monkeys reach the sea. The monkey soldiers begin throwing stones into the ocean, but whatever they throw in the water is immediately thrown back. Furiou
Royal Ballet Phra Lak Phra Lam, the Lao version of the Ramayana: Hanuman seduces the mermaid queen.  From Episode 5 "Building a Bridge to Lanka"
Royal Ballet Phra Lak Phra Lam, the Lao version of the Ramayana: Hanuman wins the love and allegiance of the mermaid queen and her sisters. Massa, is also known as Suvannamaccha in Thailand. The story of the mermaids is popular in throughout Southe
Royal Ballet Phra Lak Phra Lam After the causeway is completed, Phra Lam (Rama) shoots an arrow to inform Ravana about his advance, giving him an ultimatum to return Sita. From Episode 5 "Building a Bridge to Lanka"
"Double truck" layout of Rama's monkey army. Rama, The Hero of India by Dhan Gophal Mukerji Illustrated by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Thotsakan is defeated in battle by Phralam and dies in his wife's arms.
Episode 8 of Royal Ballet Phralak Phralam: Princess Sita is put to the fire test. Photo: Saiphet Khamphasith, 2003
The curtain call of the demon army of Ravana dancers for end of the performance.   Addendum material:
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Kathakali performer posing after a performance in Kerala. Khon masks and costuming are believed to have been an adaptation of a Hindu theatre called Kathakali. The styles have striking similarities from the highly elaborate facial details and headd
Khon dancers prepare for a performance at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Small local troupes of dancers can be found around the main temples of the Angkor Wat Archeological Park in Cambodia charging fees to pose for pictures.
A dancer in a Khon bird costume emerges from the cool temperatures of the shaded interior gallery of Angkor Wat into the noonday sun.
Dressed in the heavy traditional costumes of Lakhon luong royal court performers, a group of dancers wait in the heat to pose for pictures with tourists at Angkor Thom in Cambodia.
Khon masks and a stage bow at the Royal Ballet Phralak PhraLam in Luang Prabang, Laos. Khon masks are worshipped as sacred objects possessing supernatural powers.
Full-size masks for sale in a store dedicated to the sale of religious objects: *Every kind of knowledge in Thailand has its patron Hermit ( rusii, rishi ), its original teacher who continues to guide and protect contemporary practitioner
Yantra cloth with a representation of a Wai Khru hermit used for it's magical powers.
Altar with hermit masks in a tattoo business in Chiang Mai
December 13, 2015 Thai newspaper front page image of a modern day entertainment with suspended acrobats performing in Khon masks and costumes.   Video of Khon performance in Luang Prabang
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Large Ramakien Khon dolls for sale in Chiangmai, Thailand
Thailand Post Company Limited Postage stamp celebrating the khon character, Hanuman. *scan from personal collection of author
Thailand Post Company Limited Khon Masks, Performing Arts of Siam Series of postal stamps with images of Khon Masks of Monkeys. *scan from personal collection of author    
Thailand Post Company Limited Khon Masks, Performing Arts of Siam Series of postal stamps of Khon Masks of Divines. *scan from personal collection of author
Tympanum at Banteay Srei in the Angkor Archeological Park in Cambodia. It is decorated with a scene from the Ramayana, the battle of Vali and Surgriva using a technique called continuous narrative. Several events in a story are presented and charact
A popular form of school competition for children in India is the Fancy Dress Contest. Children dress up in a wide variety of possible costumes and give speeches or dance performances as a means of personal development. Mythologoical and ancient ch
Bangkok Times article from January 2018
Detail image of silver panel depicting an epic battle scene from the Ramayana.
The Ramakien illustrated for children in Thailand. Cute and young versions of the characters are used. Peeking out from behind the children’s version is another version of the Ramakien; an illustrated version with a more threatening and sinister ben
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