Kun Lbokator Brings Carvings to Life as Lkhon Sbek Thom Lights Up the Siem Reap River
On 18 and 19 September 2026, the Cambodia Tourism Board (CTB) launched its first Cultural Pop-up Shows in Siem Reap. Two Khmer art forms inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity are on the bill: the martial art Kun Lbokator and the large shadow theatre Lkhon Sbek Thom. The shows are free and return every Friday and Saturday.
Two fighters face each other on a mat laid on the grass. One raises his knee. The other tips backwards, leg outstretched. A checked krama is tied around their foreheads, and cord is wound around their forearms. Behind them rise the carved walls of the Terrace of the Elephants. Seated on a mat, musicians dressed in white keep the beat on their drums.
This is the picture the CTB now wants to offer visitors to Angkor Thom. Kun Lbokator is performed there on Fridays, from 4:30 to 5:30 PM. On Saturday evenings, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, Lkhon Sbek Thom takes over on the banks of the Siem Reap River. Admission is free.
Pop-up Shows to Keep Visitors Longer
The idea is simple: take living heritage out of the theatre and perform it where travellers already are. The CTB also wants more to do after dark. The stated aim is for visitors to stay longer and spend more with local businesses.
Kim Minea, CEO of the CTB, points out that Lonely Planet named Siem Reap one of the world's top destinations for 2026. The city also ranks among the best cultural destinations in Tripadvisor's 2026 Travelers' Choice Awards. He wants to give it a livelier city atmosphere, beyond the temples.
Lay Kimsour, president of the Siem Reap chapter of the Cambodia Hotel Association, backs the initiative. He would like to see it held more often and spread to other parts of the province. The CTB, for its part, thanked the APSARA National Authority and the Siem Reap Provincial Administration for their cooperation.
Kun Lbokator, the Art of “Pounding the Lion”
The name translates literally as “the art of pounding the lion”. According to UNESCO, the martial art dates back to the first century. It combines self-defence techniques with a philosophy of non-violence. Training goes beyond technique. Masters, some believed to hold healing and protective powers, also pass on a code of conduct: respect nature, protect the vulnerable.
Kun Lbokator is still performed as part of ritual offerings to local deities, alongside dance, music and traditional medicine. The krama tied around the fighters' foreheads joined UNESCO's intangible heritage list in its own right in 2024.
The art nearly vanished. Under the Khmer Rouge, between 1975 and 1979, most of its masters were killed. Grandmaster San Kim Sean, who had found refuge in the United States, came home in 1995. He spent years searching for the last surviving practitioners. By 2001, he had gathered a handful of them in Phnom Penh.
On 29 November 2022, at the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Rabat, Kun Lbokator was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List. The official title refers to traditional martial arts “in” Cambodia, not “of” Cambodia. According to UNESCO's Bangkok office, the wording signals that the practice is not confined to one country. The inscription still sparked heated exchanges on Thai social media.
The Terrace of the Elephants, a Royal Grandstand
The setting is no accident. The Terrace of the Elephants dates from the late 12th century, under Jayavarman VII. It stretches for more than 300 metres in front of the former royal palace, at the heart of Angkor Thom. Its facade is lined with elephants and their mahouts carved in high relief, along with garudas and lions.
The king watched public ceremonies from here. Tradition holds that he also welcomed his victorious armies home from this spot. Today the Kun Lbokator fighters face off where the sovereign once reviewed his troops.
Lkhon Sbek Thom, Leather Shadows on the River
On Saturday night, the scene changes. Woven rattan lamps hang from the trees. The audience settles on the wooden deck. Across the water stands a large white screen, lit from behind. Three figures of chiselled leather stand out against it. Their reflection trembles on the river.
Sbek Thom, literally “large leather”, is among the oldest forms of Khmer theatre. UNESCO dates it to before the Angkorian period. Its openwork figures, close to two metres tall, are cut from a single hide and have no moving parts. The puppeteers bring them to life by dancing in front of the screen. Two narrators and an orchestra carry the story.
The episodes come from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana. A single story can run over several nights and call for up to 160 figures. Ethnomusicologist Jacques Brunet described it as the “danced counterpart to the sculptures of Angkor”.
For a long time the art was sacred. Like the Royal Ballet and masked theatre, it was dedicated to the gods. It was performed only three or four times a year: at Khmer New Year, for the king's birthday or to honour prominent figures. After the fall of Angkor in the 15th century, it became a stage art while keeping its ceremonial role.
Proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005, Sbek Thom was added to UNESCO's Representative List in 2008. Like Kun Lbokator, it emerged badly weakened from the Khmer Rouge years. Siem Reap remains one of its strongholds, home to Ty Chean's troupe and to the workshops of Roluos, where the figures are still carved.
Practical Information
Kun Lbokator: every Friday, 4:30 to 5:30 PM, at the Terrace of the Elephants, Angkor Thom.
Lkhon Sbek Thom: every Saturday, 7:00 to 8:30 PM, along the Siem Reap River.
Free and open to all. Photos and videos welcome. Access to Angkor Thom remains subject to the archaeological park's rules. Any schedule changes are announced on the Cambodia Tourism Board's social media channels.
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