![]() Skinning, scraping, and stretching of hide involve the maker very directly with issues of death and transformation. So far, three shadow theatres have managed to rise from their ashes, ensuring the transmission of the knowledge and skills, including those relating to puppet making. The puppet is made from hide: goatskin and donkey were used in China, water buffalo in South East Asia, and goat or buffalo in India. Since 1979, Sbek Thom has been gradually revitalized thanks to the few surviving artists. Many of them were destroyed under the repressive Khmer Rouge regime, which almost annihilated this sacred art. Analysis of Current Situation of Theme In the domestic design industry, shadow puppetry has also gradu ally come into peoples vision, the Chinese Taiwan brand 'Xiazi. Inspired from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana, the performances stage scenes of this epic, which may last several nights and require up to 160 puppets for a single presentation. Those from southern China, for example Zhejiang Province, are brightly painted rather than ornately engraved. The performance is accompanied by an orchestra and two narrators. In Inner Mongolia and Northeast China, they have freehand-hollowed faces. Shadow puppets are figures that are placed between a light and a screen. This unique form of storytelling is the oldest type of puppetry in the world. I usually used popsicle style craft sticks just for safety. ![]() (I’d often use a spare overhead projector for the light source.) Typically such puppets are cut out of heavy paper, oaktag, or poster board and then taped to a stick. The animators bring the puppets to life with precise and specific dance steps. Shadow puppetry also called shadow play got its start thousands of years ago in China and India. A shadow puppet is simply anything that can cast a shadow on a large paper or cloth screen with a light behind it. The shadows of the puppet’s silhouettes are projected onto the white screen. A large white backdrop is held between two tall bamboo screens in front of a large fire or, nowadays, projectors. The performances traditionally take place at night outdoors beside a rice-field or pagoda. The artisan draws the desired figure on the tanned hide, then cuts it out and paints it before attaching it to two bamboo sticks enabling the dancer to control the puppet. The hides are dyed with a solution made from the bark of the Kandaol tree. The puppets are made from a single piece of leather in a special ceremony for each character representing gods and deities. After the fall of Angkor in the fifteenth century, the shadow theatre evolved beyond a ritualistic activity to become an artistic form, while retaining its ceremonial dimension. Dedicated to the divinities, performances could only take place on specific occasions three or four times a year, such as the Khmer New Year, the King’s birthday or the veneration of famous people. Dating from before the Angkorian period, the Sbek Thom, along with the Royal Ballet and mask theatre, is considered sacred. The Sbek Thom is a Khmer shadow theatre featuring twometre high, non-articulated puppets made of leather openwork.
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