Cover story: 25 Dec / Vol. 24 No. 18

Hun Lakhon Lek

National-Heritage Small Puppets winning the 2006 Best Traditional Performance Award

By Dararai Photos by Inchan & courtesy of Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre

Origin of the Hun Lakhon Lek

The hun lakhon lek puppets were created in 1901 by Khru¹ Krae Sappawanit who had a remarkable talent for khon, a masked dance drama considered the most sophisticated theatrical art of the country. In his old age, he invented puppets having movable limbs with costumes elaborately embroidered and decorated with gems.

Named hun lakhon lek, the puppets stood about one metre tall. Their heads and upper torsos were made of papier mache while the lower part was created from pieces of wire. Strings were used to bind parts of the body to a core support running down the centre of its torso.

The Hun Lakhon Lek Troupe

Khru Sakhon, alias Joe Louis³ founded a troupe which is presently called Nattayasala Hun Lakhon Lek or Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre (Joe Louis). His troupe consists of members of his own family. Fortunately, the fondness of hun lakhon lek runs in the blood of everyone in his family -- his 2 daughters, 7 sons and all grandchildren. His valuable devotion has become widely known since he was awarded the title of National Artist in 1996. Even though he passed away in May 2007, his sons and daughters still carry on the mission in preserving this national heritage art as Khru Sakhon once said, "The existence of my troupe is to preserve this national heritage of art." We, the Thais, feel grateful to Khru Sakhon who brought the small puppets back to the stage despite the curse in the past.

The Hun Lakhon Lek Overview

The puppets of Khru Sakhon have always won compliments from the audiences. Though their height of about 2 feet is much shorter than the original, their movements are quite similar to humans. When being manipulated, they look very graceful. Their magnificence is beyond expectation. People who have a chance to view the show will get a nice impression from the performance and feel pride in this national art. Khru Sakhon had worked wholeheartedly for the puppetry, not to obtain money but to make people realize the existence of this unique art of performance.

Khru Sakhon once told Thaiways, "Hun lakhon lek puppets are charming because they can act like humans. They can nod, wave their hands, and point their fingers. They dance like we can. It is the heart of the performance that the puppeteers bring life to the puppets."

Mostly, the small puppet show performs episodes from the Ramakian epic which is a story about the battle between vice (represented by Thotsakan) and virtue (represented by Phra Ram). This is because the epic consists of various characters to add more colour to the performance. One of the protagonists that should be mentioned is Hanuman, the great monkey-warrior of Phra Ram. It is undeniable that he is the star in this puppet show. The puppet of Hanuman character is skillfully manipulated to appear very agile which is the nature of monkeys. He even comes down from the stage to greet his audience at their seats. The audience can't help cracking a smile with his playful teases.

Hun Lakhon Lek and Khon

Hun lakhon lek is highly relevant to khon for to make the head of a puppet requires a very similar process to the making of a khon mask, and to be trained to perform a puppet show, the puppeteers must know beforehand the basic gestures of khon dancing.

The smooth movements of all puppets must be credited to the puppeteers. This job requires an exceptional talent on the part of the puppeteers on the stage who, wearing black costumes, give dance movements while manipulating. Amazingly, each puppet is manipulated by three persons: one controlling its head and left hand, one its feet and the other, its right hand.

Similar to other theatrical arts, hun lakhon lek is staged with an accompaniment of Thai classical music and narrators. Even though the show is in Thai, English subtitles are shown on a screen during the performance. Also, the detailed English programmes will be given along with the tickets for the easy understanding of what is going on on the stage.

The Development of Hun Lakhon Lek

Hun lakhon lek has always been developed since it was revived. The development ranges from the techniques of the puppet creation to the stage presentation. Mr. Surin Yangkhiaosot, a son of Khru Sakhon, told Thaiways in a recent interview when being asked about this world famous performance, "We are trying to universally communicate the art of hun lakhon lek to the audience the way ballet does to people all over the world. What we try to do is to tell the story and to bring the most emotional effect to the audience while utilizing minimum verbal language."

The attempt has been proved successful as the foreign audience got in on the theme and were mesmerized by the spectacular stage show of "the Myth of Rahoo and the Lunar Eclipse" (which the writer has watched and really enjoyed).

The Next Programme

The next programme, "the Birth of Ganesha", is scheduled to be staged in January 2008. However, this is tentative. Please check the programme with the Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre (Joe Louis) on tel +66 (0) 2252 9683 to 4, +66 (0) 2252 5227 to 9, fax: +66 (0) 2252 9685 www.thaipuppet.com. One show nightly, from 7.30 to 8.45 p.m. at Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre (Joe Louis) in Suan-Lum Night Bazaar, Bangkok. If you happen to be in Bangkok, why not go to witness this world-famous small puppet show?