Khon (Thai: โขน) is a genre of dance drama from Thailand. It is traditionally performed solely in the royal court, by men in masks accompanied by narrators and a traditional piphat ensemble. A variation of this genre with female performers is called khon phu ying
Khon performance was founded in the Ayutthaya era in the Thai history. The French ambassador to the Royal court of King Narai the Great of Ayutthaya Simon de Lulubere, wrote in his memoir that khon is a mask dance drama in which dancer wears mask and carry weapons while dancing with the beat of the instruments the dancer will follow the drum beat. Thai fiddle or other instruments.