Lakhon Khol
Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy port wrote: “The Cambodian lakhon khol (also lakhon khaol or lakhon bhani) is clearly a sister kind of Thailand’s khon mask-theatre. They each illustrate in the main the localised versions of the Indian epic Sanskrit literature, that is understood in Cambodia because the Reamker and in Siam because the Ramakien. square measure|they're} each thought to be national epics in their various countries and that they are closely connected to the royal courts and therefore the god-king cult. [Source:Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen,Asian ancient Theater and Dance, Theatre Academy port ~~] “Like Thai khon, lakhon khol also can involve over 100 actors, a percussion-dominated orchestra, narrators, singers, and a chorus. each khon and lakhon khol use decoratively painted and gilded papier maché masks covering UN agencyle|the entire|the complete|the full|the total} heads of the dancers who enact the demon and monkey roles. In Cambodia, however, the previous apply of conjointly covering the heads of heroes and heroines is additionally still generally followed. ~~ “The varieties of the Cambodian and Thai masks area unit clearly connected, though the lakhon khol masks area unit additional sturdy in vogue today. The lakhon khol dancers’ costumes area unit equally associated with the dance costuming of the Thai vogue that King Sisowath (1904–27) had already adopted for his own court dancers. Lakhon khol employs all the sub-techniques of Thai-influenced Cambodian classical dance. The heroes and heroines should have full command of the classical technique, whereas the monkey characters imitate animal movements and therefore the demon characters have a martial arts-influenced technique of their own characterized by the turned-out leg position.History of Lakhon Khol
“Before the start of the long amount of political unrest and wars at the start of the Nineteen Seventies there existed as several as eight village lakhon khol troupes in Cambodia. once the country was, and still is, ill from its hardships it appears that just one of those teams has survived the wars. it's the company that's active within the village of Svay Andet, across the river from national capital.
“The Svay Andet cluster has typically performed throughout vital festivals like the year celebration in period. The performances have preserved their deep ritual and even supernatural functions. The performers ar normal villagers, farmers etc., and therefore the performances, usually lasting many nights, typically involve varied members of the community. though the essential conception of the Svay Andet lakhon khol originally stems from the court tradition, there ar clear variations between it and therefore the gift court lakhon khol. As Associate in Nursing all-male company the Svay Andet cluster concentrates additional on the battle scenes and therefore on the role classes of the monkeys and demons.
“In the twentieth century many makes an attempt are created to rework lakhon khol for contemporary times and for foreign audiences. The epic Reamker was originally ne'er, or a minimum of terribly seldom, staged as an entire. Now, however, it's customary to stage productions that cowl its main episodes. These varieties of productions might last many hours or they will be reduced to a lot of shorter performances aimed for traveler selection shows.
“In the Eighties Associate in Nursingd Nineties the University of Fine Arts created a sort of a reconstruction of Associate in Nursing old-type lakhon khol with an all-male solid, all of them sporting masks. However, currently it's additionally customary to stage it with a mixed solid whereas the most heroes, Preah Ream (Rama) and Preah Albanian monetary unit (Laksmana), ar impersonated by feminine dancers. one among the explanations for this might be an absence of male dancers. this is often perceivable once the long amount of war, that severely reduced the population of Cambodia.
Post A Comment: