Woman between Two Kingdoms by Leslie Castro-Woodhouse

Author:Leslie Castro-Woodhouse [Castro-Woodhouse, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781501755521
Google: v7sTEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2020-01-15T22:25:25+00:00

Dara Rasami’s Musical and Dramatic Interests

As mentioned briefly in the last chapter, Dara Rasami and her entourage were themselves practitioners of music and dance within Dara’s household. It appears that Dara had undergone some training in the arts of music and dance during her childhood in Chiang Mai, but the record is unclear as to the nature or extent of the training.67 Within the Inner Palace, however, Dara and her ladies were well known for their talents in singing, dancing, and playing various musical instruments:

Upstairs, [Dara Rasami] had many musical instruments, including the jakay [a three-stringed musical instrument], saw [a fiddle], kluy [flute], glong [drum], tone [a shorter, smaller tom-tom drum], ramanah [one-sided, shallow drum], a piano and a mandolin; but they did not play the phipat [or Thai orchestral instruments], because they were instruments for a man. There was a stringed band and a mixed combo; the governor and family practiced energetically. [Dara Rasami] would sing central Thai songs and was not shy in her merriment while singing. They said that those who came to stay at her residence, besides being beautiful and sweet-voiced already, looked like they had nearly equal talents in singing, dancing, and music.68

Playing some kind of musical instrument “at least a little” was apparently a requirement for kinswomen who wanted to become part of Dara’s entourage.69 Dara’s musical interests encompassed the musical traditions of Lan Na and Siam, and embraced Western music as well. In addition to training an all-female orchestra in Siamese music, Dara incorporated several Western instruments—including the violin, mandolin, piano, and pedal organ—into her ensemble’s repertoire.70

Dara Rasami’s musical talents and interests reached well beyond the walls of the Inner Palace. One of Prince Narathip’s early dance-drama productions, Phra Law, was based on an old northern story, the dramatic poem Lilit Phra Law. Prince Narathip’s wife and musical director, Mom Luang Tuan, sought out Dara Rasami as a resource, learning Lan Na vocal styles and instruments from her to enhance the northern setting of the play. “Chao Chom Manda Dara Rasami was pleased to have Mom Luang Tuan visit her often for instruction in Lao musical intonation. This resulted in the palace playing Lao songs more often.”71 In addition, since a major component of the lakhon rong style was the incorporation of foreign elements to suit the story, it was only appropriate that Phra Law’s dancers also “dress in Lao-Thai costumes, dance and sing to Lao-type musical tunes, and speak with touches of Northern dialect.”72 Through their relationship with a Lan Na “Other” residing within the palace—Dara Rasami—it was possible to incorporate authentic Lan Na cultural elements to create exotic appeal for a popular audience outside the Inner Palace.

Dara Rasami was also involved in developing the texts of Narathip’s northern works. Chulalongkorn himself sent parts of Narathip’s script of Phra Law for her to review while visiting Chiang Mai in 1909.73 Later that year, King Chulalongkorn ordered a performance of Phra Law to celebrate the first fruit of Dusit’s recalcitrant lychee trees.74 For

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