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27 CHAPTER 1 Mae Naak and Phra Ram keeping Company on the Contemporary Thai Stage In the On Nut suburb of Bangkok, behind the large Buddhist temple complex of Wat Mahabute, is a small dark shrine. Fortune-tellers and vendors, selling everything from cold drinks to turtles and birds that one can buy and set free to obtain merit, congregate in its courtyard. Beneath tall broad takien trees wrapped in multicolored ribbons by devotees, the jerry-built shrine has walls lined with glass cases filled with women’s traditional dresses. Offerings of dolls, flower garlands, baby bottles, incense, makeup, cakes, and fruit are set before a seated figure whose face is covered in flakey gold leaf pressed upon it by her worshippers. Kneeling before her are not only women in love and young men facing military conscription, but those wishing to win the lottery; only pregnant women steer clear of this place. The thickly gilt figure is Mae Naak—supposedly a real woman who lived 150 years ago—an iconic figure possessed by a love so powerful that it repelled death and had to be contained lest it wreak havoc on society. Also known as Nang Naak, she has become an institution in Thai popular culture from the seemingly inexhaustible versions of her story in television, film, drama, dance, musicals, and even opera. She embodies the duality of many female characters in traditional, folk, and popular narratives, and exemplifies the contradictions imposed upon women that can become terrifying when carried to their extreme. Nearer the center of Bangkok, thousands of raucous but peaceful demonstrators amass every weekend to demand the resignation of the prime minister, media tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra.1 Though he had long incurred the wrath of the urban middle class, it was his selling off of part of his enormous Shin 28 | ChAPTer 1 Corporation holdings to a Singapore company for a billion dollars in January 2006 that sent people out into the streets. Not only did the sale prick sensitivities about selling off Thailand’s national assets to competing Singapore, but Thaksin used loopholes in the law to avoid paying taxes on the transaction. Despite the growing protests, Thaksin remained obdurate, saying that he would only leave if King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) “whispered in his ear” that it was time for him to go.2 After he had been summoned to the palace, however, he did not announce his resignation but called for snap elections to try to receive a mandate to stay in power. He easily won the elections because opposition parties boycotted them. After months of chaos, on September 19, 2006, while Thaksin was attending a meeting in New York, Thais awoke to news of a bloodless military coup, apparently with the king’s blessing. As the world’s longest reigning monarch, King Bhumibol exerts tremendous influence on most Thais because he personifies the spiritual as well as political center of the nation. While Thaksin’s bravado inspired street theatre satire, the drama most affiliated with the king is based on the Ramakien, the Thai Ramayana. Its standard version is primarily the work of the present Chakri dynasty (1782–present), beginning with Rama I’s (1782–1809) and Rama II’s (1809–1824) contributions to rewriting the Sanskrit text. The adventures of the princely protagonist, Phra Ram (Rama), culminate in the battle with Thotsakan (Ravana), the demon king who abducts Phra Ram’s wife Nang Sida (Sita). Remaking the Indian ruler into their own ideal image, Thai kings then reaffirm their association with the epic through its performance: King Rama I was to personify Vishnu Incarnate, the Great Preserver, who saved the world of Siam from its evil enemies and who restored peace and prosperity to the land. The cult of Rama, the ideal king, the incarnation of Vishnu most significant in its association with monarchy and warfare, was made alive by the monumental composition of the Ramakien and its dramatic performances in khon, nang yai, and lakhon nai . . . . 3 Several of the Chakri kings wrote new Ramakien dance-dramas to put their own stamp on Phra Ram’s character: “Thai monarchs adopted the cult surrounding Rama (and Vishnu) by leading the audience to associate the king, as the patron of the performance, with Rama. Through this connection, the king was established as a sacred being. If the king wished to maintain his divine status, he had to ensure the continued existence of these classical performances.”4 The kings also gave Phra Ram more...

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