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The Shadow Puppets Plays

Nang Talung is the indigenous performing art in the south of Thailand. It is a kind of the Thai Shadow puppet theatre that formerly spread from southern Thailand to other regions. It has much influence on the lives of the rustic people of Thailand.

As in the past there were no movies, one of the most popular entertainments always enjoyed by a multitude of Thai people was “Nang” or share puppet play. This was subsequently called “Nang Yai” (literally meaning “grand puppet”) and “Nang Lek” (literally meaning “small puppet”) which was later called “Nang Talung.” These two genres of traditional performances can still be evident up to the present days in some precincts of Thailand. But it is not clear whether Nang Yai or Nang Talung arose first.

Nang Talung is the indigenous performing art in the south of Thailand. It is a kind of the Thai shadow puppet theatre that formerly spread from southern Thailand to other regions. It has much influence on the lives of the rustic people of Thailand. Nang Talung uses the shadow of puppets in operating. Since antiquity this type of play has ever been held in many civilized countries such as Egypt, Greek, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand especially in every part of the nation. When the time went by, it is found only in southern Thailand. The provinces of Pattalung and Nakhon Sri Thammarat are the perfect places to see Nang Talung.

It is believed that Nang Talung originated in the reign of King Rama V and appeared in the village of Baan Don Maprao in Pattalung. So the southerners called it “Nang Don” after the district in which it initiated. It is assumed that it is now called “Nang Talung” becaused when it was performed in Bangkok, the people of Bangkok realized that it was from Pattalung and continued to call it “Nang Pattalung”, Afterwards, the name was abbreviated to “Nang Thalung” and finally it was abbreviated again to “Nang Talung”. Even today, the people of Bangkok still call it this, but the southerners abbreviate it as “Nang Lung” or simply “Nang”.

This regional performance of southern Thailand was previously depicted from the episode of the Ramayana epic in India. It was gradually modified to suit the time and preference of the spectators such as its content, hero, heroine and musical instrument while the joker becomes a favorite performer amongst the spectators. The chief of Nang Talung will sit behind a brilliantly backlit white screen made of cloth. His duty is to provide dialogues for every puppet and also narrate the story while the play is proceeding. Nang Talung is nowadays very famous at village festivals, temple fairs and celebrations like marriages and ordination ceremonies.

Each shadow play figure is made of good quality cowhide which has been dried and perforated into different shapes. The figures are elaborately painted with natural and water-resistant colorings. They are held up by bamboo sticks with the mouth and hads movable in tune with the narration. The Nang Talung hall has a thatched roof and three walls. Every piece of Nang Talung is manipulated with rods in order to control their movements and given life by the chief. He will express his feelings on the puppets by the prose or verse during the play. The puppets emerge only in shadow against a white screen with the light shining through from behind.

A Nan Talung troop is composed of two main parts. One is “Nai Nang”, the group leader who pilots the performance with simultaneous singing an story telling. Another is the musicians who accompany the leaders’s action. Performances may be a religious theme or the story from the Ramayana. They may also be particularly composed to include trendy reflections, songs and poems about local events and matters of current interest in the country. Presently, the Nang Talung troop comprises many members and more music than in the past as each troop is trying to modernize Nang Talung and make their group so unique amongst other troops.

Quite similar to Nang Talung is Nang Yai or the grand Shadow puppet play. Nang Yai is conceived as one of Thailand’s traditional dramatic art forms that mingles various artistic creations into astounding one. In terms of visual arts, the detailed and elaborate traditional design of the puppets is first drawn by a master artist. Then the design is applied onto a piece of leather and scrupulously etched into almost lace-like proportion. The pieces are mounted onto sticks and they are given life by the master puppeteer in a classical drama performance complete with a live Thai musical ensemble and a singer to provide the narration.

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