Sounding the Center

History and Aesthetics in Thai Buddhist Performance

By: Deborah Wong

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Hardcover | 15 August 2001 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
336 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.54 x 16.0 x 2.71

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$227.90

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"Sounding the Centre" is an in-depth look at the power behind classical music and dance in Bangkok, the capital and sacred centre of Buddhist Thailand. Focusing on the ritual honouring teachers of music and dance, Deborah A. Wong reveals a complex network of connections among kings, teachers, knowledge and performance that underlies the classical court arts. Drawing on her extensive fieldwork, Wong lays out the ritual in detail: the way it is enacted, the foods and objects involved, and the people who perform it, emphasizing the way the performers themselves discuss and construct aspects of the ceremony. Only those who have been initiated by a master can manifest the divine in the human realm. The power held by the master musicians, Wong shows, is both ritual and social; they are not just ritual experts, they are also leaders at the government-run National Conservatory. This esoteric knowledge, Wong suggests, has helped Thai classical music endure in the face of changing patronage and the challenges posed by the urban environment that supports it. A compact disc accompanies the book.

Industry Reviews

"This book provides a new perspective to the study of music in mainland Southeast Asia by connecting music and dance with social structure and history of Thai society. . . . [The book] not only provides new insight into the role of music in contemporary Thai society, it also serves as a useful reference for corresponding research in other areas of mainland Southeast Asia."--Giovanni Giuriata "The World of Music " "The most compelling aspect of the book, for me, is the ethnographic description. Whether she is describing performances of the ceremony, the elaborate preparation of food and floral offerings, conversations with practitioners, or even her own learning process, Wong writes with a sure eye for color and detail." --Margaret Sarkissian "Ethnomusicology "

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List of Figures
Preface: Attending a Ritual, Thinking about Ritual Acknowledgments Conventions and Orthography
Men Who Become the Deity: The Thai Body in Performance, The Thai Body as History
Performing
Knowledge and Power in Thai Culture: Teachers as Hermits
Sounding the Sacred
Inscribing theWai KhruuRitual: Two Written Accounts
Inheritance and Nationalism: The Social Construction of in Bangkok
TheWai Khruuas a Gendered Cultural System
Conclusions: Thoughts on Change
Appendixes
Glossary of Terms Used
List of theNaa PhaatRepertoire Used in the
The Deities of Thai Court Performance
Thai Instruments Mentioned in the Text
CD Contents
Guide to Commercial Recordings
Notes
References
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Sounding the Center

History and Aesthetics in Thai Buddhist Performance

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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