Pleng Cha Pleng Reow: The Ram Tha Wai Mue Dance in Wai Kru Khon-Lakorn Ceremony

Abstract

The article on Pleng Cha Pleng Reow: the Ram Tha Wai Mue dance in Wai Kru Khon-Lakorn ceremony aims to investigate the background and
sequence of Pleng Cha Pleng Pleng Reow postures used in the Ram Tha Wai Mue dance in Wai Kru Khon-Lakorn ceremony of the College of Dramatic Arts. The data were collected by researching information from the related books and research, interviewing the experts in Thai dance, and implementing the authors' experiences to analyze the data. The findings reveal that the Ram Tha Wai Mue dance is the dance performed by the students who study Thai dance in the essential rituals of the Wai Kru Khon-Lakorn ceremony. It occurs during the ceremony of Krob and Rubmob to worship and make merit for the teachers. The dancers dress in white shirts and wear a loincloth. They dance facing the ceremony, with the actors on the left and the
actresses on the right. The dance structure consists of dancing in Pleng Cha, Pleng Reow, and Pleng La. In the beginning, the dance steps were performed using shortened Pleng Cha (Soi Son Song) and Pleng Reow (Mae Won Luk song) which are used in practicing the basic dance of the students who study Thai dance. The songs are later called "Pleng Cha Pleng Reow Baeb Tud". Later, in 1971, Kru Lamul Yamakup and Kru Chaley Sukhavanich, shortened the slow dance process (melody of the turtle melody) to 11, followed by a quick dance from the end of the four-act dance. Six poses and three donkey poses are used in hand-offering dances so that the dance process of the monk and herself is the same. It is in unison and beautiful. It demonstrates the wisdom of Thai dance as well as the traditions that have been upheld in the past. It is worth preserving, inheriting, and maintaining a national identity.