Nang Talung (Shadow puppetry)
Shadow puppet theater is a 5-century tradition of Southeast Asia. It is first brought to the Malay Peninsula by Middle Eastern traders, and then spread to the whole region. Thailand also contributes to this art by its distinct shadow play: Nang Talung, a spectacle of the southern Thailand.
Received the greatest popularity among three types of Nang in Thailand: Nang Yai, Nang Siam, and Nang Talung,Nang Talung bears a similarity in the performing style to the original version: performed at night behind a candle-lit cloth backdrop with music accompaniment. However, the figures are made from animal leather and often inspired from the Buddhist Jatakas, the Ramayana of Ramakien - the national epic or new written stories from modern novels. The comedian character is the most important and crucial given the hilarity added to the spectacle. Whether a play lingers in audiences’ mind depends mostly on the ability to create a successful comic part of the puppeteer.
A Nang Talungtroupe has 9-12 members including a master (called nai nang or nai rong). He is the soul and the decisive factor of each play, skillfully doing all the singing, commenting and speaking. The folk music is additionally inserted to make a lively and attractive play.
Besides its entertaining value, the lasting popularity of Nang Talung rests on the contemporary picture of society and politics that it reflects. Nang Talung has therefore been anundetachablepart of the Southern people’s life throughout the ages.
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