Thewa Phupra Angkan: The Creative Contemporary Dance from Battlements’ Wat Khao Pra Angkhan in Buriram Province

Abstract

       This research aimed to study about Sema art at Khao Phra Angkhan Temple in Buriram, and to create contemporary art performances from divine person in Sema at Khao Angkhan Temple in Buriram province. This is a qualitative study based on research and field data from a group of 30 people, using a non-probability sampling method. Six enlightened persons, six practitioners, and twenty general people were the sample groups. The in-depth interview method, questionaries, non-participant observation, structured and unstructured interview forms were used as instruments in this research. The results revealed that historical evidence of Sema art at Khao Phra Angkhan Temple in Buriram was beginning to be devalued and useless when isolated from its cultural context, indicating that this art cannot live on its own without a relationship to the community. As cultural overlap was discovered during transmission in this area, there was a varied cultural art history, leading in the establishment of contemporary art performances with identity and integrity, which can reflect the community's identity. Sema's contemporary art performances at Khao Phra Angkhan Temple in Buriram discovered that "art performances" may solidify the area's importance in the community as a holy and memory landmark that can leading to increased tourism. Along with continuing to grow the local economy and recognizing the importance of the community's resources, it represents wisdom, conceptual ideas, and creativeness and also one of the tourisms promoting features.