The puppet traditions of
India are richly diverse and historical. Puppetry is an intricate and colorful
folk art that has been handed down the generations.
Puppetry takes many forms in the process of animating objects through human
agency. As objects deciphering meanings within a narrative structure and as
characters brought alive through artistic brilliance, puppets— within a system
of language—operate as agencies of revelation.
The earliest reference to puppetry is found in the Tamil classic, Silappadikaaram,
written around the 2nd century BC. In the Buddhist work, Therigatha, there
are references to various kinds of puppets as also in the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata. ‘Sutradhara’ in classical Indian theater literally
means ‘holder of strings’ and refers to the one who introduces and directs the
play. Puppet theater has been in existence in India for thousands of years to
entertain and teach people about Hindu religious heroes. Archaeologists at
Harappa and Mohenjodaro in the Indus Valley discovered parts of clay dolls with
holes for strings, supporting the theory that puppet theater existed more than
5,000 years ago.
Perhaps
the origins of puppetry can be dated back to the prehistoric period when Man,
living in caves, was enamored of the dancing shadows cast on the walls by his
cooking fires, perceiving himself and his fellow beings, with all their
gestures and attempts at communication, replicated visually upon the cave
walls. This seems to be the genesis of Man’s efforts to recreate his own
likeness. Images and idols were also used for shamanic rituals, to appease
malevolent natural forces.
The
religious aspects of puppetry developed especially in South India Tour when shadow
puppets performed stories and episodes from the epics and the Bhagavat Purana.
Puppets have featured in major religious festivals like Shivratri at the
Srisailam Temple of Andhra Pradesh as indigenous entertainment. Tolpava
Koothu, a puppet play of Kerala, is performed as part of the annual
festival in temples of Bhagavati or Bhadrakali in Palghat, Kerala.
The
sense of sacredness of the puppets could be discerned from the fact that they
enacted stories and episodes taken from the epics and the Puranas, and
also deriving from local beliefs. Disfigured or torn puppets are never kept
along with intact puppets. Once the puppets can no longer be presented to
audiences due to excessive wear and tear, after appropriate worship they are
either consigned to the river or symbolically cremated. In some puppet
traditions, the marking of eyes on the puppet, which signifies the infusion of life
into it, is observed with sacrifices. The puppets are also worshiped on
certain religious occasions.
As
a ritual, puppeteers regularly apply Neem or eucalyptus oil on the
puppets. This acts as a protective agent against insects and fungus. For the puppeteers,
the puppets are not merely theatrical devices to earn a livelihood but revered
objects deserving care. In certain puppet traditions of India, the performers
fasted before the show and sacrifices were made while putting up posts for the
erection of stages. Such proceedings invested the performance of puppets with
an aura of mystic ritual. Puppet theater also serves as a means of spreading
religious ethos and beliefs through the enactment of plays with religious
themes. Apart from providing entertainment, puppet shows disseminate important
ethical lessons, especially through the portrayal of conflict between good and
evil and the ultimate victory of the former.
While
anyone can move a puppet, it needs a skilled puppeteer to lend life to it. In
India, puppetry is a living tradition and 18 different forms of puppetry exist,
belonging to 11 states. There are mainly four genres of puppetry commonly
found—shadow puppets, rod puppets, string puppets and glove puppets. Shadow
puppets are one- dimensional—flat cut-outs of paper or leather that are
projected against a tightly stretched white cloth screen so that the audience
sees the shadow of the puppet on this screen. Shadow puppets are found in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Glove
puppets are also known as hand puppets. In this form, the puppeteer wears the
puppet like a glove and fits his fingers into the hollow head of the puppet and
controls its movements. This form of puppetry is found commonly in Kerala,
Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The rod puppets, often larger than glove
puppets, are supported and controlled by rods of various types and sizes. Rod
puppets are commonly found in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. String puppets
are also known as marionettes, where the body parts of the puppets are
connected through strings which are used to control their movement. This form
of puppetry is prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. While Rajasthani
puppets—Kathputli—seem to be omnipresent, other forms are equally colorful!
Kathputli-Rajasthani String Puppets
According
to an Indian legend, the origin of puppetry is attributed to Brahma (the deity
who was assigned the function of creating the universe and is the first of the
Hindu Trinity). It is said that, for the entertainment of his consort,
Saraswati, Brahma created and gave life to the Adi, the first nat or
puppeteer. He then created another figure for the Adi to manipulate and thereby
entertain the goddess. However, Brahma was not very pleased with his efforts
and he banished the puppeteer to Earth. Hence the birth of the first bhat. It
is conjectured that this legend might have originated in Rajasthan Tours since the nat
bhats are the caste of puppeteers belonging to the region.
Kathputlis
are like large wooden dolls—carved from a single piece and dressed rather colorfully. Their large eyes, arched eyebrows and well-defined lips give these
puppets a life-like appearance. The garments are inspired by the traditional colorful attire of medieval Rajasthan that is popular even today. The
Kathputlis are made to ‘dance’ with two to five strings that are tied to a
puppeteer’s fingers, which he moves to make the puppets dance animatedly. The
stories performed by the natbhats range from tales based on reworkings
of the epics to legends espousing the heroism and valour of the local heroes.
The narratives of Amar Singh Rathore, Prithviraj Chauhan and Dhola-Maru are
popular folk legends interpreted through puppetry.
Bahulya—Maharashtra’s
string puppets Bahuli means a doll and its plural is bahulya. Most
bahulyakars or puppeteers usually belong to nomadic tribes and are
always on the move, taking their puppets and theater equipment with them
wherever they go. The puppets are made of clay or carved from the light wood of
the pangara or coral tree. According to the character represented, the
height varies from 20 to 45 cm. Each figure is divided into two sections.
Leather puppets are called Chamadyachya Bahulya or Chamadi Chitre and string
puppets are called Kalasutri Bahulya. The performances usually start with an
invocation to Lord Ganesh and Saraswati. In bahulya, stories are mostly
narratives centered around the elephant-headed god, Ganesh, and his exploits
though legends of Chhatrapati Shivaji also abound. Stories from the Ramayana
are an all-time favorite. This is one form of puppetry that needs a
desperate boost as it is on the verge of dying out.
Pavakathakali—Kerala Glove Puppets
In
Kerala, the traditional glove puppet play is called Pavakoothu or
Pavakathakali. This form, that came into Besides its artistic side, puppetry
also has cultural significance, especially in South India, where shadow puppets
are used to enact stories from the epics existence during the 18th century is
believed to be heavily influenced by Kathakali, the classical dance-drama of
Kerala. The height of Pavakathakali puppets varies from one to two feet. The
head and the arms are carved of wood and joined together with thick cloth, cut
and stitched into a small bag. Legends from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata
constitute the more popular narratives.
Ravanachhaya—Oriya Shadow Puppets
Ravanachhaya
is one of the most dramatic forms of puppetry since it relies on the interplay
of light and shadows. The puppets are joint-less and are made in one whole
piece out of deerskin leather. They are not colored, hence they throw opaque
shadows on the screen. Apart from human and animal characters, many props such
as trees, mountains, chariots and so on are also used. Although Ravanachhaya
puppets are smaller in size, the largest not more than two feet, since they
have no-joint limbs they throw very sensitive and lyrical shadows.
Tholu Bommalata—Andhra Pradesh
Andhra
Pradesh’s shadow theater has a rich and strong tradition. These shadow puppets
differ from Odisha’s shadow puppets in that they are not only colored on both
sides but also have joints at the waist, shoulders, elbows and knees. Being
coloured, they throw colored shadows on the screen. The themes derive from the
Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata and the music is influenced by
the classical music of the region. The manipulators of these shadow puppets in
Andhra Pradesh are known as Pulavars—meaning scholars or poets—emphasizing the
respect accorded to them.
Baner Putul, West Bengal
Puppetry
has a rich tradition in Bengal that thrives not only on epic stories, but also
Bengali literature and now even contemporary issues such as AIDS awareness,
female infanticide and so on. Baner Putul, or dolls of commercial people, is a
form of puppetry most popular in southern West Bengal. The puppeteers
characteristically belong to the scheduled caste of Kahar, the
palanquin-bearers of yore. The puppets are nearly two feet high, with
terracotta heads and wooden arms. The puppeteers sing songs during the show and
play small drums called domru to attract crowds. The puppets have
anklets fixed on the arms, which are used to keep rhythm by clapping. There are
pairs of male and female puppets manipulated by the puppeteers with both hands.
The themes are based on social events such as linguistic differences, escapades
of lovers, and even family planning. The puppeteer begins his career early in
life and roams from fair to fair, charging money for each song.
Bommalattam—String
Puppets of Tamil Nadu
Bommalattam, the puppet theater of Tamil Nadu,
combines the techniques of both rod and string puppets. They are made of wood
and the strings for manipulation are tied to an iron ring which the puppeteer
wears like a crown on his head. A few puppets have joint arms and hands, which
are manipulated by rods. The Bommalattam puppets are the largest, heaviest and
most articulate of all traditional Indian marionettes. Bommalattam performances
are given in villages and temples to ensure rain as well as to placate the gods
to prevent outbreak of disease. The puppeteers perform ritualistic sacrifices
before fashioning the puppets and also once they are complete. While making
characters like Ravana, Kali and the like, fowls are sacrificed and the puppets
are given a black tinge as the final touch.
Bommalattam theater has elaborate preliminaries which are divided into four
parts—Vinayak puja, Komali, Amanattam and Pusenkanattam.
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