The Ramayana in Southeast Asia

Originally composed in India in Sanskrit over two and half thousand years ago by Valmiki, the Ramayana is also one of the most popular masterworks throughout Southeast Asia. This is reflected not only in the literary traditions, but also in the performing and fine arts, as well as in architecture and modern design. The epic tells the story of Rama, his brother Lakshmana and Rama’s wife Sita, who was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. The main part of the epic is about the fight between Ravana and Rama, who wants to get his wife back. In this battle, Rama is supported by his brother and a monkey chief, Hanuman, with his armies.

Hanuman facing Ravana asleep in his palace after having abducted Sita. From a 19th century album of drawings by an anonymous Thai artist. British Library, Or.14859, pp. 58-59

Knowledge of the Ramayana in Southeast Asia can be traced back to the 5th century in stone inscriptions from Funan, the first Hindu kingdom in mainland Southeast Asia. An outstanding series of reliefs of the Battle of Lanka from the 12th century still exists at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and Ramayana sculptures from the same period can be found at Pagan in Myanmar. Thailand’s old capital Ayutthya founded in 1347 is said to have been modelled on Ayodhya, Rama’s birthplace and setting of the Ramayana. New versions of the epic were written in poetry and prose and as dramas in Burmese, Thai, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Javanese and Balinese, and the story continues to be told in dance-dramas, music, puppet and shadow theatre throughout Southeast Asia. Most of these versions change parts of the story significantly to reflect the different natural environments, customs and cultures.

Serat Rama Keling, a modern Javanese version of the Ramayana, illuminated manuscript dated 1814. British Library, Add.12284, ff.1v-2r

When mainland Southeast Asian societies embraced Theravada Buddhism, Rama began to be regarded as a Bodhisatta, or Buddha-to-be, in a former life. In this context, the early episodes of the story were emphasized, symbolising Rama’s Buddhist virtues of filial obedience and willing renunciation. Throughout the region, Hanuman enjoys a greatly expanded role; he becomes the king of the monkeys and the most popular character in the story, and is a reflection of all the freer aspects of life. In a series of articles on the British Library’s Asian and African Studies blog, curators Annabel Gallop, San San May and Jana Igunma explore how the Ramayana epic has been rewritten and reimagined in the different parts of Southeast Asia.
To read the articles, go directly to the Asian and African Studies blog.

Kampot Traditional Music School for Orphaned and Disabled Children, Cambodia

The Kampot Traditional Music School for Orphaned and Disabled Children (KCDI), was the first specialist music school to be built outside the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia.  The school was founded by British-born violinist, Catherine Geach, from the Royal Academy of Music and ratified as a local Cambodian non-governmental organization in 1993. The decision to build the school was made in 1991 after the founder teaching at the Royal University of Fine Arts saw at first hand the struggle to revive ancient Khmer music following the Khmer Rouge genocide when perhaps many as 90 percent of all Cambodian artists were killed.

The extreme poverty of Cambodia at that time combined with the ongoing war made it imperative that the music school should provide care, scholastic education and vocational training to the most vulnerable children. At that time Kampot, in Cambodia’s remote southwest was badly  affected by civil war and the presence of a Khmer Rouge stronghold in the neighbouring Phnom Vor mountains.

The school currently houses seventeen orphaned children and teaches a further 400 local disadvantaged children from the wider Kampot community.

However, at present the school risks closure and all those children who reside at the school and who have no parents, have nowhere to go. The school’s Cambodian staff are completely dedicated to the school and they have chosen to work without a salary rather than see the school close despite the fact that many come from poor backgrounds themselves.

Those orphaned children resident at the school receive food, clothing, medical care, scholastic education from primary school to university level, vocational training and of course specialist training in traditional Cambodian music, dance and Yike theatre. For students graduating there is a special transition program to teach them how to become music instructors and run their own performance groups as well as supporting them through the first year of University.

The 400 primary school children who attend the school on a daily basis, receive free tuition in the performing arts, both as part of their wider social development and as a specific vocational training. Both residential and community outreach children participate in examinations to prepare them for eventual entry into the Phnom Penh University of Fine Arts.

Because of the global economic crisis, the school has found it harder and harder to find donors. Though the school raises money for itself by giving official performances, has its own fundraising website, sells its own CDs, grows its own fruit and vegetables, it is still not enough to support the school in all its needs.

Yet traditional Cambodian music and dance, have been declared World Intangible Cultural Heritage and indeed the Kampot Traditional Music School is considered by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture a role model for the rest of Cambodia. In 1995, the school received a prestigious UNESCO prize, namely the World Decade for Cultural Development Award given to the best performing arts institutions.

Recently the pupils were invited to perform a première of the Bokor dance, specially choreographed for them at the National Theatre. They have also been invited to perform in Vietnam, Qatar, France, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.

Many of those who have graduated have gone on to be professional artists, as well as economists, entrepreneurs and businesswomen.

Despite reaching out to so many children and having such a strong impact in Southwestern Cambodia, the school does not have a big annual budget, mainly because there are no expatriate overheads or salaries. All members of the Board of Directors work on a voluntary basis. All funds go directly to the project.

For further information and to find out about the school’s current Appeal, please visit their website www.kcdi-cambodia.com .

Mandalay Marionettes Theater Online

The ever growing Southeast Asia Digital Library (SEADL), hosted by the Northern Illinois University, has made available access to ten videos recording various aspects of the Mandalay Marionettes Theater.

In Burma, marionette puppetry has played an important role in the history and development of dramatic art and culture over the last 500 years. Burmese puppetry served as a means of making people aware of current events; as a medium for educating people in literature, history, and religion; as a display of lifestyles and customs; and as mouthpieces for the people in the days of the monarchy.

Burmese puppet theatre show, photograph by Philip A. Klier, 1895 (British Library Photo 88/1(42))

The practice of traditional marionette puppetry in Burma has waned over the decades, and is on the verge of becoming a lost art form. In 1986, Mrs. Ma Ma Naing and Mrs. Naing Yee Mar formed the Mandalay Marionettes Theater as a step in saving this rich legacy. This troupe has been working to preserve Burmese puppetry and original Burmese traditions such as Burmese dancing and music, sculpture, sequin embroidery and painting.

The Mandalay Marionettes Theater troupe has contributed an assortment of performance videos to the SEADL. Included in these is an introduction and overview to the Burmese marionette tradition; a ritual dance that is done to respect the Nats, or the guardian spirits of the area; the Himalayas dance, featuring the horse, monkey and demons; and a dance of an alchemist or the Zaw-Gyi dance. Daw Ma Ma Naing, one of the founders of the Mandalay Marionettes Theater, also gives a brief history about marionettes. Other videos highlight the skills of the puppeteers themselves, while demonstrating the dance of the two royal pages; a humorous dance performed by two villagers named U Shwe Yoe and Daw Moe; a dance between a human being and a puppet; a romantic and sentimental dance called “Myaing Da;”and a performance from the Ramayana epic where Rama chases a golden deer for his princess, Sita.

To go directly to the video collection at SEADL, click HERE.

For further information about the Mandalay Marionettes Theater, please visit http://www.mandalaymarionettes.com/.