From ‘Phleng Yam Kham’ to ‘Phleng Yim Paen’: Adapting and Changes in Pipat Mon Culture

Abstract

The study aims to examine the adaptation of the traditional songs of the Piphat Mons in the funeral. The concept of musical changes of Chalermsuk Pikulsri is a theoretical framework to explain the factors of musical change, investigate how musicians recreated their new music, and analyze the characteristic of the reorganized songs, which have become a popularity order over the last decades. The qualitative research, ethnographical and ethnomusicological approaches are employed to collect the data with in-depth interviews and participant observation of the Pipit Mon of the “Khana Rungsirin Banleng”, Paktho District, Ratchaburi Province, from April-June 2022. It found that the traditional repertoires of the Pipat Mon played in the funeral have been increasingly replaced with the new form of music suite, Lukthung, Lukkrung, Lae, and popular music. However, those songs are adapted and localized in the style of Pipat Mon playing. The popularity and selection of the audiences played an important role in changing the traditional performance of the Pipat Mon in the funeral ceremony.