Menora (dance)

Menora (Jawi: منورا) is a type of dance drama originating in Southern Thailand and practised mainly in the northern states of Malaysia and southern provinces of Thailand. Menora also known as Manora (มโนราห์, มโนห์รา) Nora (โนรา) in Thai language.[1]

Menora (dance)
A modern variation of the Nora performed in Thailand.
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The basic features of the performance include a lengthy invocation, a dance by the main character, and a play or skit. The invocation is enacted by slow rhythmic movements of legs, arms and fingers.[2] The dramatic repertoire of Menora performance is based on Thai legends of Manohara, derived from the Buddhist Jataka tales, many of which already accultured into Malay society centuries ago.[3]

In the northeastern state of Kelantan and Terengganu, Menora incorporates much use of Malay language and a mak yong-style dance movements. While in the northwestern state of Kedah, it is performed in a mixture of Thai and local dialects, but adheres to the invocation-play in a distinctly north Malaysian style and incorporates some elements of Jikey and Mek Mulung.[2]

The musical ensemble consists of a pair of hand cymbals, a pair of small knobbed gongs, a pair of wooden sticks, a barrel-shaped kendang, a reed instrument and a vase-shaped single headed drum.[1]

References
  1. "Music for Theater: Menora". Musicmall Production Pte Ltd. 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  2. Terry Miller & Sean Williams (2008). The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music. Routledge. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-415-96075-5.
  3. "Menora". Dance Malaysia. Retrieved 24 September 2010.

Further reading
  • Ginsburg, Henry D. "The Menora dance-drama: an introduction". In: Journal of the Siam Society nr. 60. 1972. pp. 169-181.
  • Hemmet, Christine. "Le Nora Du Sud De La Thaïlande: Un Culte Aux Ancêtres." Bulletin De L'École Française D'Extrême-Orient 79, no. 2 (1992): 261-82. Accessed June 17, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/43731384.
  • Kershaw, Roger. "A Little Drama of Ethnicity: Some Sociological Aspects of the Kelantan Manora." Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science 10, no. 1 (1982): 69-95. Accessed June 17, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/24490909.
  • "CORRIGENDA: A Little Drama of Ethnicity: Some Sociological Aspects of the Kelantan Manora." Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science 10, no. 2 (1982): 118. Accessed June 17, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/24490818.
  • Plowright, P. (1998). The Art of Manora: An Ancient Tale of Feminine Power Preserved in South-East Asian Theatre. New Theatre Quarterly, 14(56), 373-394. [doi:10.1017/S0266464X00012458]
  • Sheppard, Mubin. "MANORA in KELANTAN." Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 46, no. 1 (223) (1973): 160-70. Accessed June 16, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/41492072.
  • Simmonds, E. H. S. “‘Mahōrasop’ in a Thai Manōrā Manuscript.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, vol. 30, no. 2, 1967, pp. 391–403. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/611002. Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.
  • Simmonds, E. H. S. “‘Mahōrasop’ II: The Thai National Library Manuscript.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, vol. 34, no. 1, 1971, pp. 119–131. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/614627. Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.
  • Sooi-Beng, Tan. “The Thai ‘Menora’ in Malaysia: Adapting to the Penang Chinese Community.” Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 47, no. 1, 1988, pp. 19–34. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1178249. Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.
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