Lakhon Khol Khmer Masked Theatre ល្ខោនខោល
Medium	Dance drama
Originating culture	Cambodia

Lakhon Khol (Khmer:ល្ខោនខោល,Lkhaôn Khaôl;Khmer pronunciation:[lkʰaonkʰaol])^[1] orKhmer Masked Theatre is a dance drama genre that is performed inCambodia.

Lakhon Khol is a traditional theatre performance ofCambodia. Mask theatre ofCambodia having its origins during theAngkor period. It is believed to have begun during the 10th century through the inscription K.99Sambor Prei Kuk temple in the reign of KingJayavarman V (CE 968-1001).^[2]Lakhon Khol is believed to be a derivative of theDrama, acronym in the High Priest's DictionaryChuon Nath. That short forms can be interpreted as a form of drama, played out in a series of short stories.The wordKhol Is encountered in a number of other rocks, such as K.566-a a rock above the Stung SrengSiem Reap province inscribed at the end of the 10th century Which refers to wearing a mask dance. The theatrical drama was developed from the Khmer shadow theatre called "Lakhon Sbeak Thom;Khmer:ល្ខោនស្បែកធំ”.^[3] Lakhon Khol was recorded byHenri Mouhot at a restaurant dinner with a dance performance in the Royal Palace in the cityOudong with KingAng Duong in 1856.^[4][5] Until the RoyalKing Sisowath, the royal dance in the form of dance was frequently performed for French diplomats or anthropologists to be entertained by the love of Khmer classical dance.George Groslier compiled the diary "Danseuses Cambodgiennes, Anciennes & Modernes" 1913.^[6] Royal dance in the form ofLakhon Khol means that the king royal dance is a form of dance masks. The evolution of Cambodian dance art is linked to nature, social class, and Brahmin religion, the original religion of the countryIndia,Hindu religion, which is related to the story incorporated into the art of Cambodian dance, the liveliness of Cambodian dances are recorded byGeorge Coedes (La dance du Cambodge) in 1944.^[7]

Lakhon Khol reappeared once again in the 20th century in KingSisowath and continued to KingNorodom Sihanouk in 1948, after the end of theWorld War II by organizing a rehearsal Initially, he visited the Vegetable History at (Lakhon Khol Wat Svay Andet) inKandal Province, which performed theatrical theatre for rainfall and peace to the community every year. The visit toNorodom Sihanouk 's Wat Svay Andet masked dance theatre was published in 1948 as the first magazine in the journal "Kampuchea Soriya" byTep Pitur Chhim Krasem or Duke of (Krosem Kuntheak Bondit).^[8] In the Soriya Magazine (March 3, 1948), the 3rd edition was published in March 1948, titled "The Lakhon Khol Wat Svay Andet" and stated in the NPL "The theatre is limited to the only thing related toHinduism. Which only plays for the divinities of divisions, such asReamker and some other things." Later, there was a Giant with Hanuman statue iconic Lakhon Khol InPhnom Penh in 1954, after independence fromFrance, but the statue lost and instead theChuon Nath statue still remains.

Another specific story of the theatrical performance is the Reamker, the Khmer legend of theRamayana. The performance includes an introduction to storytellers who play an important role in the performance and classical music of the Pin Peat. The theatre was popular in the Lon Nol era, and then became King Sihanouk's favourite wife. There were eight teams of specialist theatre and then ravaged by war, but now only one group is at Wat Svay Andet, 15 km (9.3 mi) away fromPhnom Penh. Two new groups started in the war, including the Kampong Thom and National Theater troupes from the Department of Fine Arts and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. And now the drama is also part of the schedule of studies at the University of Fine Arts. Lakhon Khol was Inscribed in a tentative list ofUNESCO intangible culture heritage as Urgent safeguarding on March 31, 2017, by the Ministry of culture and fine art.

On November 28, 2018, Lkhon Khol Wat Svay Andet was included in theList of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding ofUNESCO.^[9][10]

Lakhon Khol Characters is divided into 4 forms types of masks actors

• Lakhon KholPhnom Penh
• Lakhon KholBattambang Province
• Lakhon KholPursat Province
• Lakhon KholKampong Thom Province
• Lakhon Khol Wat Svay AndetKandal Province (List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding)
• Lakhon Khol Teok Khleang VillageKandal Province
• Lakhon Khol Khoh Rak VillageKandal Province
• Lakhon Khol Tycoon Island Or Khoh Og Nha TeyKandal Province
• Lakhon Khol Parong VillageKandal Province
• Lakhon Khol Kien Svay pagodaKandal Province

• Royal Ballet of Cambodia^[11]
• Dance of Cambodia
• Khmer culture
• Theatre of Cambodia
• Chapei Dang Veng^[12]
• Lbeng Teanh Prot
• Apsara dance^[13]
• UNESCO intangible world heritage of Cambodia^[14]
• Nuon Kan

• Carol A. Mortland, et al. (1994).Cambodian Culture since 1975:Homeland and Exile, Cornell University Press
• Theatre in Southeast Asia, by James R. Brandon (Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press 1967)
• Theatre in the East, by Faubion Bowers (New York T. Nelson 1956)
• The Cambridge Guide to Theater, by Martin Banham (Cambridge University Press)
• Dictionary of Traditional Southeast Asian Theatre by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof.(Oxford University Press. 1994.)
• Sasagawa, Hideo (2005). Post/colonial Discourses on the Cambodian Court Dance[permanent dead link], Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 42, No. 4, March 2005

• Performing arts in Cambodia
• Masked dances
• Masquerade ceremonies in Asia

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Khmer-language text
• Pages with Khmer IPA