Thai puppetry - หุ่นละครเล็ก | Thailand 🇹🇭

Thai puppetry - หุ่นละครเล็ก, known as hun lakhon lek, is an ancient art form similar to Japanese buruku puppetry. Each puppet, usually just under a meter long (3.2 feet), is controlled by three people with a rope and pulley system, which help make the puppet look as if it is gracefully dancing on stage.

The shows are usually accompanied by both music and a narrator who normally tells a story derived from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Hindu Ramayana.

 

Thai puppetry has been around for about 300 years, the earliest recorded account of it being in 1685. Shows were often performed for the monarchy and were extremely popular during King Taksin’s reign in the late 1700s.

The country lost interest in the art around World War II, but in 1995, the art form made a huge comeback with the construction of Nattayasala Hun Lakhon Lek (Joe Louis Thai Puppet Theatre), the first Thai puppetry theatre in Bangkok. Despite the resurgence, however, it is not practiced very widely.

Puppeteers usually have a dance background and begin practicing Thai puppetry at a young age. During a performance, one puppeteer oversees the head and left arm, a second controls the right arm and third control the puppet’s feet.

These puppeteers normally wear all black and oftentimes put on masks to make their presence felt less by the audience.

©️Credit: เลียบวัด ชมวัง ฝั่งพระนคร