Mystical Nora | Thailand

Thailand’s 500-year-old mystical dance-drama that’s been uniting southern Thais for years is now UNESCO’s international star. Nora. This stylized dance-drama has been enthralling Thais in neighborhoods, temple fairs and culture events for at least 500 years. Traditionally popular in the country’s south, this art form is Thailand’s latest international star. In late 2021, UNESCO listed it as Thailand’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Nora stories are mostly based on ancestral wisdom and Buddha’s teachings. Says assistant professor Thummanit Nikomrat, "The lyrics mention the need to respect your teachers. They teach about gratefulness, the life cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death, as well as preparation for the future. Nora can also address current social issues through the poems used. The diversity of musical tunes and lyrics used is its charm that helps Nora to survive." Thummanit teaches Nora at Thaksin University’s Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts in the southern Songkhla province. He took to Nora from the time he first heard its music as a child. The dance postures show a variety of moods. Joyous, fervent and gentle, characteristics often attributed to southern Thais. Nora costumes are a piece of art. Each costume is made of several thousand beads woven together. It can take up to a month to make a single outfit. Performers also wear long, metallic fingernails that curl out from their fingertips.