The
Ramakian is derived from the Indian epic Ramayana,
composed by Valmiki more than 2,500 years ago consisting
of 24,000 versed. In India alone, the Ramayana or the
story of Rama, has several versions in different languages
such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, and Assamese. The most
important version, considered the holy book of the Hindus,
second in importance only to the Veda.
Beside
India, the story of the Ramayana spread to Southeast Asia
and was translated into the vernacular of Thailand. Indonesia,
Malaya, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, Laos and the Philipines.
In Thailand there are several versions and forms of the
Ramakian both court-sponsored and local editions. For
example, it exists as a play, tale, masked drama, and
is representd in other art forms, such as paintings and
sculture. TheRamakian has been widely popular ofr a long
time and is thus closly related to Thai life style, as
seen in several branches of art and daily life. The most
complete Ramakian edition is the play version that was
written by King Rama I.
Since
the Ayuthaya period from fourteenth century onwards, the
Thai peaple have enacted dramas uesing four different
types of hun or puppets: the hun luang (large court puppets),
the hun lek (small pupets), the hun lakhon lek (small
dance drama puppets), and the hun Kabog.
These
performances were also staged at funerals, being considered
the highest honour that could be paid to the deceased.
For westerners, any from of entertainment at funerals
might be considered most inappropiate, since such events
are normally solemn affairs.
Hun
krabog, or small-sized bamboo rod puppets, were first
crafted by a skilled painter and wood carver named Neng
in the late nineteenth century.
Hun krabog, which have no arms or legs, consist of a head
and hand made of light weight wood, and bodies which are
covered with material freom the neck all the way down
to the end of the bamboo them. The head, neck and headdress
(if any) are made from the same piece of wood.
Product
The highly skilled artist craftsmen use paper clay, 24K
gold leaf and crystal. Our hun krabogs. Whether full ,
mini size , are made in the traditional way, every are
is a unique, collectable pliece of art.