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ISBN :		9789748434070
WL Order Code :		E22726
Price :		US$25.00

Print :		Bangkok, 2018
Size :		425 pp., 24 pp, illus. 145 x 210 mm, pbk. Weight 0.585 kg

Author Title		Guelden, Marlane Dancing for The Gods :The Nora Bird Dance of Southern Thailand

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Update list on : 2020-04-10

The Nora Bird Dance of Southern Thailand is the first comprehensive book in English to explore the Nora (Manora) kinship gropu, an ancient community of southern Thai Buddhists. Through song, dance, and spirit possession, the colorful Nora performance has become a symbol of the Thai South in a region associated more with violence than rich cultural diversity. Following many years of anthropological research along with Thai academic sources, the author explores this untold story about a struggle between tradition and modernity that pitted cousin against cousin. At the heart of this battle are capitalist motives, gender tension, ancestral retribution, and spirit mediums communicating with the supernatural world.

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Customer Reviews

Date : 2019-05-09 23:10:40 | The World of Nora Dance

Reviewer : Kristine MIetzner

Dancing for The Gods - The Nora Bird Dance of Southern Thailand explains the many facets of this dance form: the aesthetics, origins of the dance forms, and its societal meaning. What’s more, author and anthropologist Marlane Guelden analyzes the controversies among Nora performers. Nora dance is a tradition undergoing a major transformation. In the past, Nora dance was strictly a sacred dance, performed within and among Nora family members in Southern Thailand. These days, secular forms of the dance are attracting larger audiences from beyond the region. Guelden describes and provides analyses of her many interviews with members of the families involved in the Nora dance traditions, addresses how current economic factors are changing the Nora dance, and discusses concerns of contemporary families and individuals who perform Nora dances. This is an engaging book for all those interested in Thai arts, history, and culture—anthropologists, ethnologists, dancers, actors, and all visitors to Thailand who want more than a superficial understanding of the country. Issues associated with Nora de are presented in detailed chapters; one learns about their beliefs, the origins of Nora dance performances, the meaning of the dances, the development and division into sacred and secular dancing, and the relationship of the dance to the wider Thai society.

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