(Burmese Mask Dance)
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Inventor – The Burmese descendants of the Burmese administrative officials who sit in the office in Chiang Mai and are in charge of northern Thailand.
Period – The Land Period
Origin: Northern Thailand
Age – more than 2000 years
Chiang Mai, the second capital of Thailand in northern Thailand, is a historical city that was ruled by the Burmese for about 200 years. The ancient Burmese ancestors called the city Chiang Mai.
In addition, the ancient Burmese still called Yun City, Yun Pay.
Than Ayutthaya in southern Thailand, the Lanna (or) Zin Mae (or) Chiang Mai areas in northern Thailand have been under the rule of Burmese kings for a longer period of time, so they have been influenced by Burmese culture.
That’s why Chiang Mai’s palace walls, pagodas, and some clothes are full of Burmese style. It can even be said to be a region where Burmese and Thai culture interacted.
(Ayudthaya was under Burmese rule for only 60 years from the Taung Ngu period and the Gone Baew period. Lanna area was under Burmese rule for more than 2,000 years from the Taung Ngu and Nyang Ran periods to the middle of the Gone Baew period.)
The Burmese Mask Dance is a Burmese traditional dance performed by Zin Manel with wet masks.
However, it was not invented by the Burmese of Burma.
The Burmans who worked and settled in Zing Mae started to develop dances in the Kone Baew period.
The dance has grown in popularity over the years, and today it has become an iconic dance in northern Thailand, attracting foreign tourists in particular.
Later there is also a mix with local Thai cultures.
The costumes worn by the dancers are Burmese sheepskin shirts, long-sleeved cloths, and sitting shirts. They danced wearing bright sarongs. Sometimes, Burmese royal costumes such as mahalatta, They also dance wearing Mallika costumes. Later, there were also traditional Thai costumes and dancers.
Thai people still call the name of that dance as Burmese Mask Dance.
Burmese people have come to know about this dance thoroughly because of the social media of the 21st century.
All generations of those who invented the dance have become mixed-blooded Thais. They don’t even know who their grandparents are anymore. But this dance is still a Burmese dance today… Many people still call it Burmese Mask Dance.
