Puppet theater in Thailand
About this recording
Kristin Post
- Creator
- Kristin Post
- Date created
- September 27, 2000
- Duration
- 2:09
- Location
- Trang, Thailand
- File
- MP3
- License
- This recording copyright ©2000. Terms of use
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for Asian music, blessing, dance, festivals, instruments, language, music, performance, puppets, saws, shadow puppets, stringed instrument, Thai music, Thailand, theater, and Trang.
In the classroom
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This was recorded in Trang, Thailand, a town near the southeastern coast.
During the ten-day Buddhist festival in Trang, activities and performances take place day and night. Every night at the local theater there is a shadow puppet performance. Known as Nang Ta Lung, shadow puppets in Thailand are made of cut out leather forms mounted onto sticks. The shadow of the cut-out form is cast onto a screen, and appears to move freely. The voices you hear at the end of this recording are the voices of the puppets.
The music that accompanies this play is traditional southern music, which is different from other regions of Thailand. You can hear the saw, a unique stringed instrument. There are three types, one that makes a high tone, one a low tone, and one is three-stringed. Sometimes this music instrument and is accompanied by an acrobatic dance, called the noh-ra.
Transcript
Thai language, describing what will happen at the festival.
Hans: “Fire now, big fire.”
Thai voice.
K: Was that you being blessed there? Was that the spirit?
Hans: Yeah. I become (??).
Annie: Yeah. You got that (?). Because he know you farang, so he take many, many.
Hans: Here the theater we can see every night. Normally it starts early. Today it’s only to speak about what happen the next time.
