Conclusion
Why would an Indian epics religious in nature, and a dance-
drama based on this epic become so popular in a country with
Buddhist beliefs? The answer to this question may be sought
in part by looking into the origins of Khon.
The traditional date established for the beginning of Thai
classical dance is 1431. This is the time when the Thai captured
Angkor, the Cambodian capital, and kidnapped the Khmer royal
dance troupe (Brandon 1967, p.63). However, records from prior
periods in history were lost during the sack of the Thai capi-
tal in 1767, so it is possible that dance forms existed before
this date. Khon is known to have existed in the Bangkok per-
iod, beginning in the eighteenth century, and was most likely
prevalent before this time. What may be said with confidence
is that both Khon and Nang Yai, a type of puppet play based on
the Ramakien and believed to be the forerunner of Khon, existed
during a period in history when kings all over Southeast Asia
were intentionally adopting Indian ideas on how to run a govern-
ment. Indian religious ideas were especially popular because
the kings could then equate themselves with the gods and thus
legitimize their rule. The Ramayana was popular because the
kings could equate themselves with Rama, a prince who was an
incarnation of a god. Performances of Khon and Nang Yai were
therefore visual representations of this fact and thus served
as continual reminders to the king's subjects that he was some-
one to be respected. The fact that the Thai people altered the
story to become more Thai in character emphasized the Thai king'
association with the gods even more.