Nang Sbek, The Cambodian Shadow Theater

The author, a distinguished scholar in Khmer language and connoisseur of Cambodian arts, was able to witness ceremonial performances of the sacred art of ល្ខោនណាំងស្បែក (lakhon nang sbek, literally ´theater of leather hide figures´) in Siem Reap in the 1960s, before the Khmer Rouge tried to entirely suppress an art form coming from pre-Angkorean times.

Each large ´puppet´ is made of one single chiseled cow hide that has been previously tanned, coated with sap from the Kandaol tree and let to dry in the sunlight. The author notes that these figures are kept with devotion between performances in a specially dedicated building, always facing East.

What is described in this report was a Sbek Thom performance, representing specific episodes of the Reamker (the Khmer Ramayana) during solemn ceremonies such as cremations, where ​‘dancers’ (the men moving the figures behind the screen) are accompanied with a narrator and an orchestra. Sbek Touch (the ´small´puppets, sometimes made from several articulated parts like in Java, Malaysia or Thailand) represents a less solemn repertoire, based on folktales.

ADB Input: About Ty Chean’s Sbek Thom company in Siem Reap, and how this art almost entirely destroyed by the Khmer Rouge is finding a new life in Cambodia, watch Patrick Kersalé’s report (in French).