''Nang yai'' ( th, หนังใหญ่, ) is a form of

shadow play Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-ou ...

found in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move ...

s are made of painted buffalo hide, while the story is narrated by songs,

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

s and music. '' Nang'' means "leather" ("leather puppet" in this case), and in common usage refers to a dance-drama shadow puppet show. ''Nang yai'', whose name specifically means "large shadow puppet", features life-size puppets, while '' nang talung'' (a similar tradition of shadow puppetry whose name derives from

Pattalung Phatthalung (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phatthalung Province. The town covers ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and provi ...

, a southern city where the tradition has long been popular) features much smaller puppets. Both are particularly popular in

southern Thailand Southern Thailand, Southern Siam or Tambralinga is a southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand region by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bounde ...

. According to James Brandon, most scholars believe that ''nang yai'' came to Thailand via

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

and the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

''Nang yai'' and ''nang talung'' incorporate various episodes of the Indian epic ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' (known as the ''

Ramakien The ( th, รามเกียรติ์, , ; ; sometimes also spelled ) is one of Thailand's national epics, derived from the Buddhist Dasaratha Jataka. Fundamentally, it is a Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Ramakien is an importa ...

'' in Thailand). The art form's traditions originated around the beginning of the 15th century. ''Nang yai'' performances were a popular means of entertainment during the Ayudhaya period and are mentioned in a poem called "Bunnovat Khamchan", written by the Buddhist monk Mahanag sometime around the years 1751 to 1758, at the end of King

Boromakot Borommakot ( th, บรมโกศ, ) or Maha Thammarachathirat II ( th, สมเด็จพระมหาธรรมราชาธิราชที่ ๒) was the king of Ayutthaya from 1733 to 1758. His reign was the last blooming perio ...

's reign. The earliest known mention of ''nang yai'' in Thai records is from 1458, according to Brandon. Performances are traditionally held in open spaces such as a lawn or village dirt space. A white cloth screen about long and high, with a decorated border, is stretched across the stage. Behind the screen, a bonfire is lit to project the puppets' shadows (electric lights are often used instead now). During the show, a Thai instrumental ensemble (usually a ''

piphat A ''piphat'' is a kind of ensemble in the classical music of Thailand, which features wind and percussion instruments. It is considered the primary form of ensemble for the interpretation of the most sacred and "high-class" compositions of the ...

'') plays music appropriate to each episode, synchronized with the puppets' action. Offstage reciters tell the story in a sort of heightened speech. The puppet figures are made from perforated cow or buffalo hide, each weighing about three or four kilograms. The biggest puppet is one which characterizes a place, weighing around five to seven kilograms. ''Nang yai'' influenced '' that khon'', a dance-drama art form from Thailand which involves masked pantomime. ''Nang yai'' can be found throughout Thailand. For example, in

central Thailand Central Thailand (Central plain) or more specifically Siam (also known as Suvarnabhumi and Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) ...

, ''nang yai'' is performed at Khanon in Ratchaburi, Wat Plub in Petchaburi, Wat Sawang Arom in Singburi, and Wat Pumarin in Samut SongKram, while in

eastern Thailand Eastern Thailand is a region of Thailand bordering Cambodia on the east, Northeastern Thailand in the north, and central Thailand on the west. Geography Eastern Thailand lies between the Sankamphaeng Range, which forms a natural border with t ...

it can be found at Wat Donin in

Rayong Province Rayong province ( th, ระยอง, ) is one of seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Chonburi, and Chanthaburi. To the south is the Gulf of Thailand. , per capita ea ...

.สำนักงานคณะกรรมการวัฒนธรรมแห่งชาติ
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References

{{reflist

External links

Transmitting the Ramayana Epic from India to Southeast Asia and the West through Shadow Puppetry and Visual Art
Siew Lian Lim, Northern Illinois University (2009)
Invocations to Nataraja in the Southeast Asian Shadow-Plays

S Singaravelu Singaravelu Sachithanantham (22 December 1936 – 13 January 2020) was a Malaysians, Malaysian Indology, Indologist and lawyer. He was Professor emeritus, Professor Emeritus at the University of Malaya. Early life and education Singaravelu Sach ...

, Journal of the Siam Society (1970) Puppetry Thai culture Shadow play Cultural history of Thailand

See also

References

External links