The Transformation of the Manorah Story into Religious Performance: A Study of the Social and Spiritual Roles of the Manorah Master

Abstract

This article presents research on the transformation of the Buddhist Manorah story into a work of Southern Thai dance theatre and explores its changing social and spiritual roles. The main objectives are to study the transformation of the Manorah story into religious performance, to study the Manorah master, to study modernity, causes, and changes. The research setting was in Nakorn Si Thammarat and Trang. The research studies the threats of modernity affecting Manorah masters and investigates how Manorah can survive in the modern world in conjunction with Buddhism through different case studies. This qualitative study mainly uses two research models: Descriptive and Explanatory research. The content analysis and data collection are from a review of Jataka’s story and the fieldwork. The findings are that Manorah’s beliefs and practices have been syncretized well with Buddhism. Also, Manorah in related literature, had distinctive characteristics and concrete values from legends. The roles of spirit medium and ritual practices from the Manorah master are at the gate of co-existence and hybridization. Manorah can survive in the modern world within the Buddhist community. The study concludes that traditional Manorah masters can coexist with modernity and maintain the Manorah ceremony in the community. The new generation of Manorah can also be community leaders by maintaining aspects of internal peace.