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Lakhon Khol

Lkhon Khol Wat Svay Andet, Cambodia, Inscribed in 2018 (13.COM) on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Lakhaoun Khaol exhibition catalogue, bilingual Khmer and English, 52 p., Reyum Publications 1999 (The catalogue also includes a technical description of the techniques used to make the lacquer masks used in performances of Lakhaoun Khaol.)
the english text of the Lakhaoun Khaol exhibition catalogue

Khoury, Stéphanie, "On Periodically Potent Places: The Theatre Stage as a Temporarily Empowered Space for Ritual Performances in Cambodia", The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, DOI: 10.1080/14442213.2017.1366545 (2017)

        —"Ramayana et cultes populaires au Cambodge: l'example du lkon khol, theatre rituel khmer",

Morotti, Fabio, "Teatro e danza in Cambogia", Collana Antigone, Editoria & Spettacolo, Pages: 368, 2010, ISBN: 8889036753 ISBN 13: 9788889036754

Phim, Toni Samantha and Thompson, Ashley: Dance in Cambodia. Oxford University Press. 2000. ISBN 978-9835600593

Preap, Chanmara, "Lakhaoun Khaol at Vat Svay Andet", Khmer version, 44 p., Reyum Publications (This book surveys a dance performance called the Lakhoan Khaol performed by the villagers at Vat Svay Andet, Kandal province. The survey also includes a brief historical account as well as an analysis of beliefs related to this particular form of performance.)

Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology, Volume IX, Dept. of Ethnomusicology, University of Califonia, Los Angeles 1992, Sam-Ang Sam: The Floating Maiden in Khmer Shadow Play

Sem Sara, Lokhon Khol au Village de Vat-Svay-Andet son Rôle dans les Rites Agraires, Selected Article from Universite Royale Des Beaux-Arts, Phnom Penh, Annales num. 1, 157-187 pp., 1967
A link: https://cdn.angkordatabase.asia/libs/docs/publications/lokhon-khol-and-agrarian-rituals/Sem_Lokhon_Khol1.pdf
And some repertory:



The masks in Vat Svay Andet

From Reyum Institute website, now gone:
"Khmer lacquer making and Lakhaoun Khaol"
    Opening reception, October 27, 1999

Lakhaoun Khaol is a type of Cambodian theater which presents scenes from the Reamker (the Khmer version of the Ramayana) as performed by mostly masked male actors. This exhibition presents masks of the main characters of Lakhaoun Khaol made by the workshop of An Sok. We accompany these masks with both a presentation of the story of this particular theatrical form as it is performed in the village of Svay Andaet, and with a brief discussion of the technical processes by which Khmer lacquer masks are made.
See also: Master An Sok (1944-2006) and his family
On opposite walls of the gallery, the two warring forces of the Reamker face each other. To the right of the entrance are the yeak or demons led by Krong Reap, the demon King of the island of Langka. On the left of the entrance are the monkey troops loyal to the hero, Preah Ream, his brother Preah Leak, and his wife Neang Seda. It is the theft of Neang Seda by Krong Reap which precipitates most of the ensuing action of the epic, pitting the army of the monkeys against the army of the yeak. Between these two sides, in the middle of our exhibition are the masks of Pipaet and the hermit, figures who are either neutral in the conflict or who have interaction at one time or another with both of the warring factions.

The masks on display are the centerpiece of our exhibition. We however wish to set these masks into two contexts. Through the accompanying photographs on the walls, arranged in sequence with explanatory text labels, as well as in the catalogue essay, we describe the performance of Lakhaoun Khaol in its village setting of Vat Svay Andaet. By exhibiting raw materials such as mrek (natural lacquer resin), unfinished masks, and lacquer ornament molds on the center tables, we wish to illuminate the processes of making Khmer lacquer masks. Only a few remaining artists, such as An Sok, keep these traditional ways of making alive in the present.

The process of preparing this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue has been an occasion for students of the Archaeology and Fine Arts Departments of the Royal University of Fine Arts to share their research on this topic and to put the display of these art objects into an anthropological light. Our exhibition and the accompanying catalogue are modest works with many missing pieces. We hope however that they will spur others, in particular students, to pursue further research which will deepen our knowledge of the subjects sketched here.

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From the Phnom Penh Post, October 29 - November 11, 1999

Making monkeys of men in lakhaoun khaol
By Sarah Stephens

Demonic grinning monkey masks loom down at the visitor, some painted violent red, others icy blue. Intricate designs on the faces are offset by towering gold headpieces, creating a regal yet eerie effect. These are hand-made masks of lakhaoun khaol, a form of Khmer theater, and they are the main draw of a new exhibition opening this week in Phnom Penh, at the newly renovated Reyum Gallery (formerly known as "Situations").

Lakhaoun Khaol, or as it has been translated, "monkey theater", is the name given to a famous section of the Reamker (the Cambodian version of the Hindu epic the Ramayana), where armies of monkeys and demons enact a vicious battle. Dancers mimicking monkey behaviour spring across the stage in leaps and bounds, wearing intricate jeweled costumes and the brightly-painted masks. But the story behind Lakhaoun Khaol is almost as fascinating as the dance itself, and, say the curators, is a key element to the exhibition.

"There were two types of Lakhaoun Khaol," says Ly Daravuth, co-curator of the exhibition. "There was firstly what I would call the high version, the court version which was performed at the palace. And then there is the village version, the local performances, which have significant variations."

While the court version is the one that most tourists and those living in Phnom Penh will have seen, Daravuth and co-curator Ingrid Muan stress that the village variation is just as important, if not more so, because of its ritualistic meaning.

The origins of the dance are unclear, but it is certain that in the nineteenth century, the Royal Palace sent talent scouts out into the provinces to find dancers who could perform lakhaoun khaol, in order to create a royal troupe. Traditionally performed by men only (as it still is in the provinces), the dance eventually became most popular when performed by the Palace's female-only troupe.

In the village of Vat Svay Andaet, where the dance is performed annually at New Year, superstitious meaning is attached to the performance, explains Daravuth."The important thing for them is that they believe that they must provide a good performance, and must perform it at the right time, or great calamities will befall the village".

According to villagers, in 1966 a section of the play where characters pray for rain was suddenly answered far too literally. Despite scorching heat and dry weather for many months, in the middle of the performance the heavens suddenly opened, drenching the participants and forcing the cancellation for the rest of the seven-day extravaganza. "And in 1964," adds Muan, "the first four days of lakhaoun khaol were performed in the village, but they then decided to take the rest of the performance to another village. When they returned home, there was an outbreak of cholera, which killed 800 people." Since then the villagers have been careful to prepare the play in exactly the right way, with special ceremonies created to appease the spirits before the play starts.

"Villagers go into a trance, and call on the spirits of the demons and monkeys," explains Muan. "The masks themselves are believed to come to life, with the spirits inside them... Gestures are made over their eyes, as if opening them, and finally a mirror is placed in front of the mask so that the spirit can see what it looks like, and who it is."

The exhibition features old photographs and descriptions of village-based as well as court-based performances, but the real draw is a set of lakhaoun khaol masks, 30 in all, commissioned for the show and created by master lacquer-maker An Sok. Regular gallery-goers may remember samples of An Sok's work being shown earlier this year in a traditional art exhibition at the gallery.

"This is a continuation of the earlier theme," says Daravuth, explaining that the gallery now comprises the whole building rather than just a small section, as before. "We have expanded, so now we are looking much more at the mysteries of the whole performance, rather than just the masks."
The exhibition is running from now until the end of the year at Reyum Gallery, Street 178, No 47.

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