Sovanna Phum Art Association is a shadow puppet theatre company based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sovanna Phum, which means ‘Golden Village’ in Khmer, was founded in 1993 by self-taught puppet maker Mann Kosal and French circus performer Delphine Kasam. The group performs two forms of traditional shadow puppetry, Sbek Thom and Sbek Touch. They also conduct regular training and education programmes on shadow puppet making and performing.
The character depicted is the royal guard to Krong Reap, who rules over the city of Langka, as well as the main antagonist of Reamker. The guard is riding a horse amid battle. He is depicted here wearing a rounded headdress with no towering ornaments, usually known as kbang, holding a cudgel-type weapon with a pointed bulbous topper on his right hand. This type of headdress typically denotes a lower-ranking character within the Reamker narrative.
