Evolution - Puppet - Innovation

Show & Exhibition

Semathai Marionette Foundation Art for Social
Exhibition
Concept
Thai Puppetry has been a part of Thai culture and tradition since the
Ayutthaya period, and has developed and changed up to the present.  
Evolution
Hun Luang or Royal Thai Puppet 
the largest of all the Thai puppets comes
from the early Ayutthaya period. The body is
around 1 meter (from the top of the crown to
the feet).  Hun Luang’s movement comes
from pulling 16 strings hidden inside the
puppet’s body.  Through this mechanism, the
puppets were capable of beautiful movement
and dance. “Hun Luang” can be said to be the
first puppet performance.
A 14th Century Shadow Play
Nang Yai or Grand Shadow Puppet 
Nang Yai is an old form of Thailand’s traditional
performing arts.  Leather puppets represent the
characters within a story.  The puppeteers manipulate
them against a blank screen while the story progresses
through narration and dialogue.  They dance their role to
musical accompaniment as they manipulate and bring
the puppets to life.  The puppets are buffalo or cowhide
leather, cut and perforated to let the light shine through
the intricate design.  Each puppet is attached to wooden
sticks, which the puppeteers lift against a blank screen lit
from behind.  Nang Yai spectacle harmoniously integrates
several art forms:  handicraft, literature, dance, rhetoric,
and music.
Nang Talung 
Nang Talung is a shadow puppet folk spectacle in the
southern region of Thailand.  It is a prevalent form of
entertainment.  The Nang Talung is performed with
leather puppets, each representing a different
character, about 50 centimeters tall.  They usually
possess a movable, jointed arm controlled by a string.
 Nang Talung tells a story in verse, in dialect,
interspersed with dialogue, and uses the puppets’
shadows on the screen to attract the audience’s
attention.  These tasks are solely performed by the “nai
nang talung” – the Nang Talung puppeteer.  Nang
Talung has been a part of the social and cultural
landscape of the southern people throughout the ages.
Innovation
String Puppet Function
TOY
String Puppet Making From Clay
Demonstration
Workshop Shadow Puppet Movement
SHOW
Thai String Puppet
Nang Talung  Thai Shadow Puppet
Nang Yai  , the largest Thai shadow puppet