KING RAMA shadow puppet from Thailand--*AEK Baan Don*

Thank you for stopping by.

Aek, the artist, is a shadow puppet maker and a puppeteer from Thailand who has created hundreds of Nang Yai shadow puppet. He has been regularly invited to demonstate Thai shadow puppet making and playing including in Greece and Sweden. This year Aek and his group just recieved Unima award as the outstanding performers in the field of puppetry from Interdock festival in Lund,Sweden. For this puppet, Aek spent one whole week to finish it.His work place is in the peaceful located Buddhist temple.This puppet made from cow leather with the ancient method that Aek has learnt from his puppet master. Since we believe that cow sacrifice its life for our art, it's the tradition that the puppeteers have wowed not to eat beef for all their lives.  This is a piece of art that needs patience and faith and now he's the only one in his town who is still making Nang Yai.  This Nang Yai is a highly respected kind of puppet. We need to Wai (pay respect) to the puppet every time before we hold it up and after we put it down. It's very suitable for home decoration or a perfect gift for very special occasion. It is truly hard to find even in Thailand.

Nang Yai is the oldest puppet in Thailand and it's the origin of  traditional dance and drama (Khon). This puppet in the pictures is King RAMA from Ramayana in Thai version. He was a god incarnated to kill all the bad demons. He is the most important character in Ramayana and the most sacred puppet shadow the human form.

Hand made by Thai well-known Nang Yai puppeteer
Perfect for wall decoration!