Shadow Puppets at Wat Kanon

Wat Kanon

It was Saturday, and my Walking Adventure group was off on another day trip! This time, we headed west to Ratchaburi Province, not far from the Burmese border. Our group of adventurers boarded a big van at 8:00 in the morning, and two hours later, we arrived at our first destination: Wat Kanon.

We had come to the temple to see a cultural show, but we were a bit early. That worked out great! It gave us time to visit the temple's market, where vendors under palm leaf booths sold fruit, fresh food, and cheap plastic toys. I bought a large iced coffee for just 20 baht!

the local market at Wat Kanon

Although it was a bright, hot sunny day (some of us commented that we actually missed the rain from a few weeks ago!), the air out in Ratchaburi was fresh and clear. It's nice to get a break from the city!

clean air outside of the city

Soon, it was time for the show. We took seats on small plastic chairs in front of a simple stage, and a group of local kids began playing Thai music on a collection of traditional instruments.

traditional music for the show

The show began with music and dancing. The announcer explained the show in Thai, but Noi (our excellent guide) translated quietly to us farangs.

ready for the show!

Wat Kanon is famous for its efforts to preserve a traditional Thai cultural art: Nang Yai.

puppeteers demonstrating the techniques before the performance begins

Nang Yai means "The Grand Shadow Play". In Nang Yai, scenes from the Ramayana (the national epic of Thailand) are presented by dancing puppeteers. The scenes are shown in front of a lit screen with puppets made from intricately carved leather.

nang yai puppetry (shadow puppets)

It's an art form dating back to the 15th century, and was inspired by Javanese puppetry. Nang Yai, in turn, inspired the modern Thai khon dance.

telling stories from the Ramayana

The puppeteers enacted a scene from the Ramayana while an offstage presenter part spoke, part sang the narration in an exaggerated and theatrical way. It was a lot of fun! Every step and movement that the puppeteers made had to be perfectly choreographed to match the story that was being told (about a battle between two armies).

a dance performance at the end of the show

Wat Kanon, which dates back to the reign of King Rama V, is home to the National Museum of Nang Yai. It is the only temple in Thailand with its own Nang Yai play, and has a collection of 313 leather puppets. This is considered to be the temple's greatest treasure, and what draws people from all over the world to see the performance.

stone chedi at the temple

The museum is built in an old wooden building which was once the temple's prayer hall. Inside visitors can see a collection of artifacts (including the leather Nang Yai puppets) and learn more about central Thai folk art and culture.

shadow puppet museum

Some of the puppets on display in the museum date back over 100 years! Many of them are still in excellent condition considering that they are made of leather and have seen a lot of use over the past century.

If the puppets looked amazing from the show, they were even more impressive up close. When viewed closely, you can see just how many small details are carved into the leather screens.

shadow puppet of King Rama IX

Another part of the museum held other treasures, including a statue of the late king, some beautiful vases, Buddha statues, and other cultural artwork.

a statue of the late king

a statue of a monk at the museum

There was one particular puppet on display that was taller than I was! It depicted two warriors riding an elephant into battle. 

Thai shadow puppetry is an art form that isn't really well known by tourists. After six years in Thailand, I had heard of it, but had never seen a performance before. I think you need to know the local places to go to see a show. I'm really happy to finally have had a chance to see Nang Yai performed, and what better place to see it than at the Nang Yai National Museum?

a giant shadow puppet of an elephant warrior