DANCING FOR THE GODS: THE NORA BIRD DANCE OF SOUTHERN THAILAND

Guelden, Marlane; Dancing for The Gods
The Nora Bird Dance of Southern Thailand is the first comprehensive book in English to explore the Nora (Manora) kinship gropu, an ancient community of southern Thai Buddhists. Through song, dance, and spirit possession, the colorful Nora performance has become a symbol of the Thai South in a region associated more with violence than rich cultural diversity.
Following many years of anthropological research along with Thai academic sources, the author explores this untold story about a struggle between tradition and modernity that pitted cousin against cousin. At the heart of this battle are capitalist motives, gender tension, ancestral retribution, and spirit mediums communicating with the supernatural world.