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'Nang talung' design, hand cut and hand painted
on cow hide.
(photo by the author)
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In
most of the countries in Southeast Asia, shadow theatre
is a traditional, rural form of entertainment. In
the big cities, Western forms of media entertainment
like movies or television have, for the most part,
taken the place of traditional art forms. In contrast,
the traditional shadow theatre of Thailand, the nang,
has been transformed into a new form of popular entertainment.
Another distinctive aspect of Thai shadow theatre
is that there are two traditional forms of shadow
play. This is very unlike the majority of countries
in Southeast Asia that practice one form of shadow
theatre in each country. In Thailand, the
oldest form of shadow theatre, more closely connected
to the court tradition, is called nang yai.
A more recent form, arising from Thai popular tradition,
is called nang talung. Modern shadow performances
often incorporate one or both of these forms, using
traditional elements juxtaposed with modern elements.
Commonly, these traditional forms are referred to
collectively as nang booraan (ancient nang),
while modern forms are referred to a nang samai (modern
nang) (Dowsey-Magog 186). Modern shadow plays have
combined traditional nang with elements
of contemporary popular culture. More than any other
influence, modern shadow plays have been transformed
by the acculturation of Western movies and television.
Paradoxically, many new innovations have arisen as
an attempt to preserve the traditional art forms
of Thailand in the face of this cultural onslaught.
As an example, I will conclude with a case study
of the work of Pornrat Damrhung, an Assistant Professor
of Drama at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok,
who is attempting to preserve these ancient forms
through innovations she has designed primarily with
education in mind.
Nang Yai
The nang yai of Central Thailand is perhaps
one of the oldest traditional forms of shadow play
in the world. In 1932, Thailand became a democracy
as the King of Thailand ceded power to a constitutional
monarchy. Thus, while the King stayed on as a figurehead.
Many traditional court practices ceased to exist
when political power was handed over to a legislative
governing body. Before this event, the Crown Princes
of Thailand used to choose a village to mount a nang
yai performance for occasions such as funerals
or wedding celebrations. Unfortunately, because nang
yai had close ties to the royal court, it has
been in decline. Now, it is an "almost defunct" art
form (Dowsey-Magog 190). The word yai means "big," and
the puppets are approximately life-sized figures
often more than one or two meters wide. The word nang means "cowhide," the
most common material of construction. Occasionally,
puppets are also made of tiger or bear skin (Bridhyakorn
8). Each leather puppet is incised with a pattern,
often an entire scene with several characters (Brandon Southeast
Asia 65). Although performances usually take
place at night, the puppets will often be colored
with plant or mineral extracts such as sandalwood,
lime, copper sulfate, and soot (Bridhyakorn 7). A
traditional ensemble consists of ten dancers, two
narrators and ten musicians (Brandon Cambridge
Guide 244). The dancers carry the large
puppets while dancing in front of and behind a large
screen, approximately ten feet high and thirty feet
long (Brandon Cambridge Guide 236). Stories
told in the nang yai are from the Ramakien,
the Thai adaptation of the Indian Ramayana.
It is interesting to note that the dance steps of
the nang yai greatly influenced the later
development of the traditional Thai court dance,
the Khon (Brandon Southeast Asia 65).
When dancing is the primary feature of the performance,
the performance is called nang ram. This
particular type of performance is a more recent innovation.
This variation uses more brightly colored puppets
during the day, typically as a prelude to a performance
of nang yai (Bridhyakorn 14). Some scholars
maintain that shadow theatre came to Thailand from
India. This is improbable given that the first official
record of the form is 1458, and shadow theatre did
not appear in India until the 17th or 18th century
(Broman 3). According to James Brandon, a form resembling nang
yai may have appeared as early as the 9th century,
possibly coming to Thailand through Cambodia from
Java (Brandon Southeast Asia 65).
Nang Talung
In contrast, the popular nang talung of
Southern Thailand gets its name from a shortening
of "Pattalung," the southern province of
Thailand where shadow play is very popular (Brandon Southeast
Asia 68). In this form, a single puppeteer,
called a nang nai manipulates several puppets
behind a small screen (Brandon Cambridge Guide 240).
In addition to the nai nang, there are approximately
eight to ten assistants and musicians, traditionally
all male (Broman 18). Five musicians accompany the
puppeteer (Brandon Cambridge Guide 244)
playing traditional lakon jatri music (Brandon Southeast
Asia 129). Nang talung puppets are
much smaller that nang yai puppets, typically
between one and three feet tall. In contrast to the
static scenes depicted in the nang yai puppets, nang
talung puppets are articulated to allow movement
at the arm and mouth. These puppets are also made
of cowhide, but the hides selected are much thinner
in order to make them somewhat transparent. They
are then colored with materials such as rust, lime,
or Chinese ink (Broman 7). Nang talung uses
stories from the Ramakien, but it also incorporates
stories from Buddhist Jataka tales (Broman
23). Perhaps due to the smaller size and translucency
of the puppets, many scholars agree that nang
talung is probably of Chinese influence, and
appeared in Thailand some time during the 17th or
18th centuries (Broman 4). This form is also
similar to traditions that exist today in the neighboring
countries of Laos and Malaysia (Damrhung). Because
of its root as a form of popular entertainment, traditional
elements of nang talung are probably employed
more often in nang talung than in the court
entertainment nang yai.
Modern Variations: Nang Samai
Nonetheless, modern shadow play, or nang samai,
employs a variety of elements from traditional nang
yai and nang talung. There are generally
two types of practicioners of nang samai.
The first type is a practitioner of nang talung,
who has updated his show with modern embellishments.
Many more "conservative" nang nai bemoan
the encroachment of modernism. Nang Liam, a traditional,
conservative practitioner of nang explains, "In
times before, nang talung was more correct.
Kings were kings, nai were nai, phrai were phrai,
women were women, and men were men" (qtd. in
Dowsey-Magog 195) complains. Another traditional nai,
Nang Sunthorn complains, "I don't like it. Now
people like the clowns to sing, they like puppets
dresses in modern clothes...it has town people and
clowns all mixed up. Now the clown sings in front
of the king" (Dowsey-Magog 195). The majority
of the modern innovations are felt necessary because
of the relatively recent arrival of the Western media
in Thailand. Often the characters speak more
rapidly in a modern show, as one villager observes "just
like the movies" (qtd. in Dowsey-Magog 191).
In fact, the Thai are so fond of comparing shadow
plays to the movies, that the word nang is
also used as the word for "movie," because
movies are thought of as a shadow projected on a
screen.
The second type of practitioner of modern nang is
a performer specializing in some other form of modern
performance that, either through a collaboration
or a deliberate attempt to revive traditional Thai
forms, has incorporated elements from nang yai and/or nang
talung into their work.
Modern Innovations: Puppets
Many
of the modern innovations to this art form involve
the construction techniques used to create nang puppets.
Traditionally the making of puppets was considered
a highly spiritually charged endeavor, only carried
out by holy men. In nang yai a single puppet
is so large that it takes an entire cow to make one
puppet. A puppet maker will choose the specific animal
to be slaughtered depending on the eventual color,
shape, and character of the puppet (Damrhung). For
example, a rishi (hermit) character can
only be made from a virgin cow (Bridhyakorn 8). Even
harder to find, the puppets for the heroes Phra Ram
and Phra Lak can only be made from the hide of a
buffalo that either died in labor or was killed by
a tiger (Moran 2003). In modern times, this ritual
connection is often lost. Some modern puppets are
made out of plastic instead of cowhide (Damrhung).
Ordinary paint is used instead of natural pigments
made from plants and minerals (Broman 7). One company
has contacted the Thailand Department of Export Promotion
to market nang talung puppets to a global
market. Although it may sound at first like an act
of exploitation, the plan actually arose out of an
attempt at cultural preservation. The Muang Taskin
Preservation and Publicity Association is a group
of 19 nang talung puppet makers and artists
who want to sell puppets to the world in order to
raise money to build a nang theatre on the
resort island of Patong Beach (Theparat 1).
Modern Innovations: Sound
Another major change in the performance of shadow
plays is seen in the sound of a typical show. Ancient nang
talung music came from traditional court styles
and instrumentation, "a mixed ensemble of lakon
jatri instruments plus pi phat melody
and percussion instruments...as well as plucked and
bowed string instruments from the Chinese group" (Brandon Southeast
Asia 129). Traditional instruments such as gongs
and finger cymbals now play side by side with modern
instruments such as saxophones, electronic keyboards
and electric guitars. Traditional songs are now replaced
with a wide variety of up-tempo modern music, from
music used in Thai boxing matches to themes from
popular television programs. In traditional performances,
the language was mostly traditional verse poetry
occasionally interrupted by prose dialogue. Today,
verse poetry takes a secondary role to extensive
dialog (Dowsey-Magog 191). Electronic amplification
is usually employed. Often, tape recorders play major
parts of the dialog and music (Broman 17). "Electric
lights, microphones, and loudspeakers are standard
equipment" (Dowsey-Magog 204). Overall the sound
of modern nang is informed by the "now
often familiar...rapid tempo of the electronic media
(Dowsey-Magog 191).
Modern Innovations: Vision
Similar innovations can be seen in the visual aspects
of a modern shadow play. The screen of the shadow
play is one primary feature of these performances
that has seen considerable change. A traditional nang
yai screen "is made of a thin piece of
white cloth in the middle with double pieces at either
side...the screen is duly decorated on either side
with colored cloth" (Bridhyakorn 8). Today screens
are not so subdued, they are highly decorated with
everything from advertisement such as Pepsi slogans,
the names of rock bands, or even the names of politicians
(Dowsey-Magog 196). In terms of staging, what was
typically a temporary and crudely built performance
hut, or rong nang, is often replaced with
a permanent building (Broman 16).
Lighting that was formerly provided by a kerosene
lamp is now provided by electrical lighting equipment
(Broman 17). Computers are even employed to run some
shows, including the latest global innovations in
electronic staging and lighting technology (Damrhung).
Other visual elements have been influenced by elements
of the Western media. In traditional nang talung,
a nang nai rarely employs more than three
or four puppets at a time. Today, it is not uncommon
for a modern popular performer to use eight or more
puppets in one scene. This results in much more rapid
flow of action on and off of the screen (Dowsey-Magog
193-194). Overall, these visual elements can
be seen as an attempt to emulate the techniques of
the modern cinema. "The visual enactment of nang
talung appears to be developing toward a more
realistic depiction of action by imitating the conventions
of television and the movies" (Dowsey-Magog
194).
Modern Innovations: Themes, Plots, and Characters
Modern themes encroach on the traditional stories
of nang booraan. Stories from the Ramayana
are used, but they are seen to be a “key” to other
important themes closer to urban daily life (Damrhung).
Stories are often written by a nang nai or
a member of the company. Other stories are lifted
from the plots of modern novels, movies, and television
shows including romances, mysteries, and Westerns.
Some new characters come directly from movies and
television, such as “cowboy," "gangster," and "terrorist" (Broman
9). New puppet props have appeared, such as "gun," "cigarette," and "cell
phone" (Dowsey-Magog 187). Often the performances
allude to current economic, social, and political
events (Broman 23). Usually, the occasion of
a performance dictates the subject matter. Siri Buakoes,
a member of a nang talung performance group,
states: "If we are dealing with a politician,
the sung part of our performance has to allude to
the local political situation...if the person who
hires us is, say, a teacher, we can praise teachers" (qtd.
in Sukphisit 1). Thus, the modern nang nai has
to keep up with what is going on in the world at
large. "This means that nang talung performers
have to read the papers and always keep up with current
events" (qtd. in Sukphisit 1). Another trend
that is worthy of note is the way in which the Thai
government has seized upon the nang as a
way to propagate cultural change (Damrhung). To this
end, performances promoted by the Ministry of Education
have promoted themes such as nationalism, social
ideals, laws, and even to spread messages about safe
sex.
Case Study
A very interesting case study in innovation for the
sake of preservation, is the work of Pornrat Damrhung,
an Assistant Professor of Drama at Chulalongkorn
University in Bangkok. For the past several years,
she has been traveling to remote villages of Thailand
to study traditional forms of nang. Damrhung
conducts workshops for children and adults, in Thailand
as well as abroad. In these workshops, elements of nang
yai, nang talung, khon masked
dance, and some elements of free-form dance are combined
together in an open expressive form. Damrhung muses: "Actually,
I am more like The Muppet Show" (Damrhung).
I was very fortunate to participate in one of these
workshops in the United States. Over a week long
period, students were instructed to create original
performances of stories from the Ramakien using
original nang talung puppets, paper cut-outs
of nang yai puppets, and paper cut-outs
of khon masks. Students were encouraged
to bring other modes of expression including elements
of free form dance and by creating their own modern "puppets" out
of sheets of colored plastic and construction paper.
The results were often surprising, but seemed to
flow forth seamlessly from the combination of traditional
forms. Some of these surprises included a rotating
multi-colored lotus flower and silhouettes cast by
the bodies of male and female performers.
Professor Damrhung has also integrated traditional
forms into her own theatrical performances. "If
you are in contemporary theatre, which I am, you
tend to use a lot of traditional elements, so I start
with traditional elements" (Damrhung). Damrhung
traveled to a remote village in Thailand, and was
able to borrow a nang yai puppet, loaned
to her from monks at a temple. She used the puppet
in a modern performance about a wife who tries to
rescue her dead husband from the lord of the dead. "I
used two kinds of movement...The lord of the dead
used traditional dance, masked dance, and the alive
woman used modern dance. So you see they are juxtaposed
in the same scene" (Damrhung).
“If it hurt – that good!” Her broken English and
diminutive stature cannot take anything away from
the heart and passion that she has for her work.
Her name is Pornrat Damrhung, and she is an associate
professor of theatre from Bangkok, Thailand. Her
nickname is “Oui,” pronounced like the French word
for “yes.” She explains that her father gave her
the nickname when she was a little girl, after the
sound of a tiny bird. “You can also spell it ‘We,’
but it is better to say ‘yes’ than ‘no.’”
Oui is an artistic missionary. Her mission is to
preserve the traditional art forms of Thailand. She
carries out this mission by traveling to the remote
villages of Thailand, in an attempt to preserve the
last remnants of a dieing art form. This form is
called nang yai, which means “big shadow
puppets.” She then brings this knowledge back to
the cities, and conducts workshops with students.
Although most of her students are children in Thailand,
Oui also does workshops with adults, and occasionally
travels out of her country to bring the nang to
the rest of the world.
“If you feel pain, that is your body talking.” The
first day of the workshop my body and I were having
a rather animated conversation. Actually, it was
more like a full-blown argument, and my body was
winning. The stretches she showed us seemed to be
a mixture of martial arts and yoga. I remembered
doing some of the same stretches in a Karate class
that I took in college, and I recognized the “cat”
pose from a yoga class that I took at the “Y.” I
was beginning to get the idea that Thai shadow puppets
must somehow be much different from the other wayang forms
that we had learned about in class.
It is the sheer physicality of the form that surprised
me the most. The descriptions I had read of nang
yai seemed to imply that it was a static art
form. Somehow I thought that these “big” puppets,
often containing a complete scene in themselves,
must be subdued and a bit boring when compared to
the three dimensional, lively wayang forms.Through
experience, I soon learned that this is perhaps the
most physical, the most energized of all of the southeast
Asian shadow forms. This is because nang yai combines
puppets with elements of traditional Thai dance.
Puppeteers must also be dancers, and commonly appear
in front of the screen with their puppets, unheard
of in other shadow forms.
Oui’s workshop combined elements of nang yai with
two other traditional art forms: the nang talung,
or “small shadow puppets” and the Khon masked
dance. This is perhaps the most innovative part of
the workshop. Oui calls this modern combination of
forms nang samai, or “modern shadow puppets.”
Over the several day workshop, we were divided into
three groups. Each group was asked to create three
short performances based on stories from the Ramayana.
The final product would be a combined performance
created through a collaboration of the three groups.
At our disposal were nang yai (big shadow
puppets), nang talung (small shadow puppets),
and traditional masks from the Khon dance,
literally photocopied out of a book by Oui. Her methods
are innovative, practical, and sometimes just downright
pragmatic.
Periodically, Oui would check in on each group’s
progress. At one point we were having trouble figuring
out what a lotus flower looked like. Oui grabbed
my notebook and scribbled several versions of the
lotus flower: from above, from the side, in bloom,
and in bud. Oui would mingle from group to group,
occasionally stopping to demonstrate a dance move
or suggest choreography. She would demonstrate conventional
ways of portraying events such as courtship, marriage,
or abduction.
At first our group struggled to grasp the big, expansive
ideas contained in this mythic text. We found that
we had to concentrate on just the essential actions
contained in the stories. Once we did this, our task
became much easier. It would have been great to have
had several more days, weeks, or even months to perfect
our performances. Nevertheless, we did the best that
we could, given the time available.
The day of the performance came all too quickly.
Our group was still discussing the cues and cutting
the script, literally up to the moment that the show
started. Nevertheless, the performance was pure joy!
Only through an experience such as this can one come
to appreciate what a traditional performance might
be like. Amidst the confusion there are strange moments
of clarity and connection with the audience. At one
point, one of the members from another group moved
one of the puppets we were about to need. Momentary
chaos ensued.
I have read that during traditional shadow performances,
a dalang may stop performing for several
minutes to find the right puppet or just to light
a cigarette. These performances often last many hours,
into the wee hours of the morning. Because our performance
was only half an hour, our momentary lapse to find
the missing puppet must have been quite noticeable
to the audience.
Still, it was one of those strange moments of clarity,
a moment of realization about the true nature of
an art form. It was this momentary lapse, a puppet
misplaced, that brought to me new meaning, and a
more complete understanding of the nang.
It is an art form that itself is an approximation,
a reflection of the divinities. No human performance
can be as perfect as the gods in their truest form.
Therefore, a shadow performance is a type of play
in which the shadows are just that - the shadows
of the gods, an imperfect approximation of the divine.
Conclusion
Ironically, the future of the nang shadow
plays of Thailand may depend on their ability to
adapt to the cultural influence exerted by Western
media forms, namely movies and television. Samai
Saengcharoen, 72, is the last member of a dying breed,
a traditional practitioner of nang talung. "Most
of the puppet masters are getting too old to continue.
They can no longer play on stage because shadow puppetry
requires a lot of strength to maneuver the puppets
(qtd. in Trakullertsathien 1). An even more rare
individual, Weera Meemuan, 53, is a performer of
traditional nang yai. He laments, "I
am not sure what the future holds. I am one of the
last performers of this form of puppetry" (qtd.
in Yin nopgcit). If not facing complete extinction,
the traditional art forms of Thailand are at least
facing a period of rapid change and adaptation. The
question in years to come will be how modern innovations
effect traditional forms. Will these changes obliterate
the traditional nang, as many traditional
practitioners fear, or will these changes somehow
preserve the traditional forms? These are the same
issues that face the theatre of the Western world,
as similar pressures are exerted on pure theatrical
forms to adapt to the pace and visual spectacle of
movies and television. Perhaps in contrast to Western
theatre, the shadow theatre has to its advantage
the fact that it is already a form of purely visual
media.
Unlike the Western theatre, in shadow theatre, the
presence of the human body on a stage is deemphasized
and obscured. At the very least, one can see the
performances of shadows on a screen are as once removed
from the presence of the human body that is manipulating
the images on the screen. This is very similar to
the ay that cinema and television do not rely on
the presence of a human actor. For the most part,
traditional Western theatrical forms are centered
on the presence of the human actor. Because of this,
the cultural forces exerted by the Western media
do more damage, in a cultural sense, to forms of
theatre that primarily rely on the presence of the
human actor. One could go so far as to say that actor-centered
forms are more subject to appropriation by the media.
That is, in a culture becoming more accustomed to
movies and television, the presence of an actor on
a screen becomes stronger and more available to an
audience than the presence of an actor on a stage.
In Thailand, the shadow theatre is already a form
that happens on screen, not on a stage. The "actors" of
the shadow theatre do not rely on presence in the
same way that the actors of the Western stage rely
on presence.
Due to this fact, the Western media may not be as
potent of an antagonist towards the shadow theatre
as it is toward the Western theatre. Appropriation
is not a factor because Thai culture is already accustomed
to viewing theatre on a screen. The Western media
is not able to appropriate the shadow theatre because
it is the Western media that has been, in turn, appropriated
to serve the purposes of the shadow theatre. If this
theory holds true, perhaps the modern innovations
that have been brought to these traditional art forms
will preserve rather than destroy. Rather than becoming
another victim of appropriation in the current trend
of globalization, perhaps the shadows will reign
again.
Works Cited
Beurdeley,
Jean-Michel. Thai Forms. New York
and Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1980.
Brandon, James R. Theatre in Southeast Asia.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1967.
Brandon, James R. The Cambridge Guide to Asian
Theatre. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University
Press, 1993.
Bridhyakorn, H.H. Prince Dhaninivat Kromamun Bidyalabh. The
Nang. 3rd ed. Bangkok:
The National Culture Institute, 1956.
Broman, Sven. Shadows of Life: Nang Talung.
Bangkok: White Orchid Press, 1996.
Chaijitvanit, Somkid. "The
dance of life." The
Bangkok Post. Bangkok: Nov 16, 2002: 1.
Damrhung, Pornrat. Personal Interview. Oct
17, 2003.
Dowsey-Magog, Paul. "Popular
Workers' Shadow Theatre in Thailand." Asian Theatre Journal.
19:1 (Spring 2002): 184-211.
Moran, Caitlin. "Jerking
my string." The
Times. London: Feb 19, 2003: 20.
Theparat, Chatrudee. "Shadow
puppet group sets sights on foreign shores." The Bangkok Post.
Bangkok: Jul 15, 2003: 1.
Trakullertsathien, Chompoo
and Chaijitvanit, Somkid. "Fading
into the shadows." The Bangkok
Post. Bangkok: Apr 24, 2003: 1.
Sukphisit, Suthon. "Rhythm
of life." The
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