by Nurina Malinda
Shadow puppets telling the tale of the Ramayana.
I went to the House of Peace with the determination to learn more about Cambodian shadow puppetry. One of the student guides, Bunneth, a tuk–tuk driver, Rattaa and my colleague Sue Ann accompanied me there. The House of Peace is located near the War Memorial for Cambodian Heroes and the Kantha Bopha Children Hospital. The person who maintains this place is a friendly old lady who greeted us warmly. Her name is Prang and she welcomed us to House of Peace Association which was built since 1995.
Prang said that the reason she built this house was to help orphans and children who come from very poor families in Siem Reap. Children are trained at a young age to make shadow puppets so they can earn money to buy books for school. All the materials needed to make shadow puppets are attained from the market with the primary material being cow's skin.
The hot season, she said, is the best season to get good cow skin. Back in 1995, the price of cow skin was quite cheap at 1500 riel for one kilogram. However, the price keeps on increasing and has now hit over 5000 riel per kilogram. The other material used is a special liquid that is applied onto the cow's skin so that it will be odorless. There are people who teach students how to scrub the skin of a cow. Prang herself can make this special liquid but it takes a long time to make it.
There are ten children located opposite the Cultural Village,currently working to produce shadow puppets to be transported and sold at the House of Peace. The House of Peace had originally produced shadow puppets but since 2000, the home industry of shadow puppet making has moved to the opposite of the Cultural Village. The underlying reason behind this move is so the children can feel more convenient studying while working as the public school the children attend to is nearer to the new place.
Skilled students can become trainers and train up to thirty to forty students. At the moment, there is a particular student who will open his own shop near Bakong Temple, around ten kilometers from Siem Reap. Prang allows particular students who have graduated from high school and those who are skillful enough to open their own shops. She is not restraining them from growing; in fact she is providing them an opportunity to develop their own skills.
To make the smallest piece of a shadow puppet, an artist takes two to three days. As for the bigger size, an artist needs around a week to complete it. Visitors who come here sometimes buy shadow puppets but some just give donation to help the children. The prices of a shadow puppet range from 5 USD to 10 USD, 15 USD, 20 USD, 50 USD, and 100 USD depending on size.
The children who produce the puppets are able to earn money once their puppet is sold. For example, Prang mentioned that for 20 USD worth of a puppet she will divide 1.5 USD or 2 USD for the children, in order for them to buy books for school. The rest of the money will be given to teachers and to buy new cow skin. The one who are notably skillful can get around 50 USD to 60 USD per month. As for those who have graduated and are opening his own shop near Bakong Temple-just like the one I had mentioned previously, she will give 100 USD.
The story behind shadow puppetry came from one story called Riem Kay in Khmer, which is actually the story of Ramayana. For those who do not know the story of Ramayana, this is a famous Hindu story about Rama and Sida, a married couple who are actually members of royalty but get abandoned and exiled to the jungle because of jealousy and false accusations. Riem Kay is similar to the story of Ramayana from India.
Similar to shadow puppetry in Cambodia, shadow puppetry in Indonesia also use Ramayana as their main story. The difference between both of them lies in the shape of the shadow puppet. For the Cambodian shadow puppet, the male and female characters have similar attire, which makes it difficult to distinguish between Rama and Sida. For shadow puppet that come from Indonesia, the attire for male and female characters are completely different. To make that shape, Prang explains, she draws on the cow skin and carves it.
Sue Ann and I ended up buying one puppet each. At the end of the interview, we thanked Prang and I gave her a souvenir that I brought from Indonesia to show my gratitude for her kindness.
1 comment:
Does anyone know of an online source to buy shadow puppets? My sister was in Siem Reap and did not buy one and is now realizing her mistake. I would like to purchase one as a surprise.
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