JULY 29 - The German Peace Center is located on National Highway 6 just west of Siem Reap Town. It was established to promote peace, literacy and self help for Cambodians.
It hasn't changed since my first visit 9 years ago or so and the same lady still manages it. A shop selling fair trade items made by Cambodians is just one aspect of the Center. I make it a point to check out the Center whenever I'm in Siem Reap. Usually there are a few items I can't resist buying...and because it's fair trade, I do!
Cambodia is trying hard to recover its traditional arts. T
he Center is one of the places teaching the art of traditional Khmer shadow puppet theater. These are nonarticulated puppets made of leather openwork in various sizes to as large as 2 meters high.
Dating from before the Angkorian period, shadow puppet theater along with the Royal Ballet and mask theater is considered sacred and used to take place only on specific occasions 3 or 4 times a year, such as Khmer New Year, the King's birthday or the veneration of famous people. After the fall of Angkor in 1431, the shadow theater evolved beyond a ritualistic activity to become an artistic form while retaining its ceremonial di
mension.
The puppets are made from a single piece of leather in a special ceremony for each character representing gods and deities. The hides are dyed with a solution made from the bark of the Kandaol tree. The artisan draws the desired figure on the tanned hide, then cuts it out and paints it before attaching it to 2 bamboo sticks enabling the dancer to control the puppet.
Performances traditionally take place at night outdoors beside a rice field or pagoda. A large white backdrop is held between 2 tall bamboo screens in front of a large fire or, nowadays, projectors. The shadows of the puppet's silhouettes are projected onto the white screen. The puppets come alive with precise and specific dance steps. The performance is accompanied by an orchestra and 2 narrators.
Inspired from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana, the performances stage scenes of this epic, which may last several nights and require up to 160 puppets for a single presentation.
Many of them were destroyed under the repressive Khmer Rouge regime which almost annihilated this sacred art. Since 1979 shadow puppet theater has been gradually revitalized thanks to the few surviving artists. So far, 3 shadow theaters have managed to rise from their ashes transmitting the knowledge and skills related to puppet making.
When I visit the Center I think I'm just going to look around at the fair trade items. This day when I arrive when artisans are in various stages o
f preparing puppets. When I see the painstaking hand work of the artisans, I can't resist taking pictures even though I have many pictures from prior years.
Cambodia is trying hard to recover its traditional arts. T
he Center is one of the places teaching the art of traditional Khmer shadow puppet theater. These are nonarticulated puppets made of leather openwork in various sizes to as large as 2 meters high.Dating from before the Angkorian period, shadow puppet theater along with the Royal Ballet and mask theater is considered sacred and used to take place only on specific occasions 3 or 4 times a year, such as Khmer New Year, the King's birthday or the veneration of famous people. After the fall of Angkor in 1431, the shadow theater evolved beyond a ritualistic activity to become an artistic form while retaining its ceremonial di
mension.The puppets are made from a single piece of leather in a special ceremony for each character representing gods and deities. The hides are dyed with a solution made from the bark of the Kandaol tree. The artisan draws the desired figure on the tanned hide, then cuts it out and paints it before attaching it to 2 bamboo sticks enabling the dancer to control the puppet.
Performances traditionally take place at night outdoors beside a rice field or pagoda. A large white backdrop is held between 2 tall bamboo screens in front of a large fire or, nowadays, projectors. The shadows of the puppet's silhouettes are projected onto the white screen. The puppets come alive with precise and specific dance steps. The performance is accompanied by an orchestra and 2 narrators.
Inspired from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana, the performances stage scenes of this epic, which may last several nights and require up to 160 puppets for a single presentation. Many of them were destroyed under the repressive Khmer Rouge regime which almost annihilated this sacred art. Since 1979 shadow puppet theater has been gradually revitalized thanks to the few surviving artists. So far, 3 shadow theaters have managed to rise from their ashes transmitting the knowledge and skills related to puppet making.
When I visit the Center I think I'm just going to look around at the fair trade items. This day when I arrive when artisans are in various stages o
f preparing puppets. When I see the painstaking hand work of the artisans, I can't resist taking pictures even though I have many pictures from prior years.I hope you enjoy them as much as I do for the remarkable patience, steady hands, number of steps, hours and precision required to bring one to life!
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