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Shadow Puppet Theatre
Have you ever made shapely shadows on the wall with your hands in front of a light? Many cultures throughout the world have developed this idea into a theatrical performance. Except, they use puppets instead of their hands. Sitting behind a transparent screen with a light behind them, puppeteers perform stories with shadows created by beautifully shaped puppets. Each puppet is distinct and represents a special character in the story. Made from leather, their arms, legs and head are tied on so that they can move, enabling them to do everything from walking, talking, and dancing during a play. Compare the three types of shadow puppets below. How are they the same? How are they different? |
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Miniature shadow puppet stage with gamelan orchestra circa 1960 Indonesia Plays are performed on life-sized stages like this one, with a gamelan orchestra to provide background music for the play. |
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Shadow puppet plays, or wayang kulit, have been performed throughout Indonesia for more than 1,000 years. They provide much more than entertainment. A vehicle of culture, they tell ancient stories, teach values, and have deep religious meaning. The puppeteer, or dalang, makes the puppets himself and brings the characters to life through voices, music, singing, movement and great showmanship. While many of the hundreds of the stories he tells are ancient, he improvises a great deal to relate them to the lives of people today. A full orchestra, called gamelan, provides music for the performance. | |||||||||
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| Shadow puppets circa 1960 Greece |
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| Karagiozis, or Greek shadow puppetry, emerged in Greece around 1880 and became extremely popular between 1915-1950. The puppeteer manipulated paper or leather-made puppets in front of a white screen illuminated by light from behind. Writer, musician, singer, stage designer and director all wrapped into one, the puppeteer created all aspects of the play. | ||||||||||
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Monkey King Shadow puppet India |
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| In southern India, families of puppeteers travel around to different villages to perform shadow puppet performances. Often, they are invited to a village for a special event, like a wedding, birthday or funeral or to bring rain or a good harvest to the village. The themes of the plays depend upon the occasion. Often, plays are based upon ancient Hindu stories and lore. The puppeteer troupe's arrival in the village is full of excitement! Children and elderly people alike enjoy the performances. The entire puppeteer family takes part, playing instruments, operating the puppets with rods and strings, and providing voices for the different characters. They often perform plays from evening until dawn. Villagers give them food, clothes and money in exchange for their performance.
This puppet represents Hanumaan, the monkey god. Worshipped for his strength, courage and heroism, he helped win the war of good over evil in the ancient epic Ramayana. The puppets used in shadow plays are very symbolic and often worshipped. Some people believe that during the new and full moons, the puppets come to life and perform by themselves inside their storage box. |
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