Abstract

Manora, a traditional performing art of Southern Thailand, inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, reflects a complex system of beliefs and social relations. In contemporary contexts, the sustainability of Manora is challenged when cultural knowledge is reduced to performative skills within formal education. This study examines the process of participatory empowerment among actors in Manora cultural practices and develops an experiential learning framework for sustaining Manora as a living cultural system. The research employed Participatory Action Research through iterative PAOR cycles (planning, action, observation, and reflection). A total of 29 participants, including Manora cultural wisdom teachers, students, school teachers, community members, and local government representatives, were involved. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and group discussions, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that participatory empowerment functions as a dynamic mechanism that transforms roles and knowledge among actors, conceptualized into five stages: (1) opening experiential space, (2) developing cultural awareness, (3) gaining authority in defining and negotiating knowledge, (4) co-constructing knowledge, and (5) transforming roles into learning design. These stages reflect a shift from passive knowledge transmission to active cultural agency. Building on this process, the study develops an empowerment-driven experiential learning framework operationalized through a six-week learning model. This model translates the four-stage experiential learning cycle of experience, reflection, conceptualization, and application into sequential learning activities spanning community-based learning, cultural interpretation, creative application, and knowledge transfer. Cultural sustainability is achieved through participatory processes of knowledge co-construction, negotiation, and transformation within lived cultural contexts.

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