Woven back to life
The royal Khon performance has revived an
ancient textile from, the Muang Nakhon brocade,
that was on the brink of extinction
Every year The Support Foundation's annual Royal Khon performance art through the staging of spectacular show. This year it's even more special: besides renewing the art of making of khon costumes, ornaments and setting, the performance has helped restore an ancient weaving technique of Muang Nakhon brocades which were worn by royals and the elite in the past. ``EVERY year,the foundation's khon performance has been supported by several handicraft centres in various areas in terms of costumes and clothing materials made by villagers,'' said Thanpuying Charungjit Teekara, assistant to the secretary-general of the Support Foundation under Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's Royal Patronage and the chairwoman of this year's khon performance."This is the fruit of the royal kindness of Her Majesty the Queen who wished for the revival of the brocades of Nakorn Srithammarat province. The art has been missing for over a century and a few of the old brocades can be found only in museums or at the Grand Palace." This year,the performance will present an episode from Ramakien (the Thai version of Ramayana) called The Battle Of Indrajit: Prommas. The show, which features costumes newly created from this old weaving tradition, starts on Nov7.