Nang Talung - Thai ancient entertainment

  Nai nang talung–the Nang Talung puppeteer.

Nang Talung is a folk shadow puppet spectacle of the southern region of Thailand. It is a very popular kind of entertainment. Academics believe that this kind of “shadow play” featured in human culture since time immemorial and was prevalent both in Europe and Asia. In Asia, shadow puppet spectacle spread to Java (Indonesia), Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand. The figures are  made from  animal  skin (cow or buffalo) that is traced over and then perforated into the shape of a human, an ogre, a god, or a hermit. Nang Talung tells a story in verses, which are sung (called “wa bot”) in dialect, interspersed with dialogue, and uses the puppets’ shadow on the screen to attract the audience attention.

The puppeteer presents the lives of the puppets and puts them into the drama that is played out in a world which moves across the screen

The principal elements and equipments for a Nang Talung spectacle are: the screen, the lighting equipments, and the musical instruments. The musicians are called “luk khu” who plays the music during the spectacle. Thap, an one-sided drum, is the most important musical instrument in the band because it controls the tempo and rhythm for the other members of the band to follow. One of  the charms of Nang Talung is the group of clown characters who are well known, for example, Ai Khainui and Ai Si Kaeo. It is believed that these clowns are real living beings and that they have special personalities that are amusing. The puppeteer presents the lives of the puppets and puts them into the drama that is played out in a world which moves across the screen. He creates entertainment for people to watch. People will talk about the jokes and the funny bits and tell others about them. If the puppeteer succeeds in creating a hilarious character that people keep talking about can be considered a truly accomplished puppeteer.

What is important is that the telling of the story is local and follows the local patterns of  simple  speech  that  the villagers use.

Most of the stories used in the performance of Nang Talung are local folk tales but besides its entertaining value, Nang Talung relates news. Its lasting popularity from the past to the present also rests on the sharp wit of the puppeteer who comments on the prevailing social occurrences and happenings through the puppets which reflects the character of the southern Thai people who are keen on following social and political development