Cambodia · Puppet Making / Theatrical Craft
ស្បែកធំ (Sbek Thom)
Sbek Thom (large shadow theater) uses non-articulated puppets about two meters high, each cut as leather openwork from a single hide, dyed with a solution made from the bark of the Kandaol tree, then drawn, cut out and painted. Two bamboo sticks hold each figure. In performance, the puppets' shadows are cast onto a large white screen lit from behind by fire or, today, projectors, while dancers move them to music and narration drawn from the Reamker. Puppets representing deities are made in a special ceremony. Inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2008 (proclaimed 2005).
Risk level: Critically Endangered · UNESCO Representative List — Sbek Thom (2008)
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