ROD PUPPET Indonesia photo thanks to Gerry Glaeve

BUNRAKU PUPPET (Extra Large Rod Type Puppet) Japan Image thanks to member of J.A.D.E.

MARIONETTE Burmese Thu Nge Daw (50 cm) (Royal Page Boy) photo thanks to Mandalay Marionettes & Cultural Show

Puppets ("Dancing Dolls") have been used throughout history by many cultures. They have been especially popular in Asia where many forms of puppets have developed: shadow puppets, marionettes, hand puppets and rod puppets.

Puppet performances serve a wide variety of functions. Puppets have been used (and are still used today) to educate, communicate, and entertain. They have entertained with comedies, dramatic plays and even opera performances.

"In non-Western countries the functions of puppetry are many and various. Apart from entertainment, it also has an educational function. It teaches the difference between good and evil, as well as proper behavior. At a more prosaic level, puppetry is used to inform people about topics like sound forms of agriculture, birth control measures, and prevention of diseases like Aids."

quoted from "Teaching the Difference between Good and Evil" by Elisabeth den Otter for the "Exhibition on Puppetry in Africa and Asia" (December 1995 - September 1 1996) at the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam. Elisabeth den Otter, is curator of ethnomusicology of the Tropenmuseum part of the Royal Tropical Institute.

Puppets have been used as ritualistic objects especially in Japan and China. For example: they have been used as vessels to contain deity spirits, objects in fertility rites, served as human substitutions during other "dangerous" rituals, or used as talismans to absorb and remove "polluting spirits" from a human body or geographical region. Shamanism was an important aspect of the spiritual life in Japan. Puppeteers and / or the puppets were powerful ritual specialists (see the discussion of "otherness" below). The book, "Puppets of Nostalgia" by Jane-Marie Law (Princeton University Press - 1997) fully examines the ritual origins and religious dimensions of Awaji puppetry in Japan and is highly recommended to understand some of the complex nature of these antiquated Japanese rituals.

In China "string puppet shows are also featured in a man's worship of the Jade Emperor on the eve of his wedding, and in similar ceremonies on the first birthday of a baby boy and the birthday of an elderly person. Marionettes often highlight the 'earth-thanking' ceremony conducted when inaugurating a temple or moving into a new house. On such occasions, the marionette performance is regarded not as entertainment but as a solemn rite in reverence of and in thanksgiving and supplication to the gods."

(this quote is from a now defunct web page "Traditional Chinese Culture in Taiwan")

Anatomically correct Marionette or jointed doll possibly Burmese or Thai photo thanks to Vicki Anderson Please ignore the doll stand support under the arms and across the chest.

Vicki Anderson describes her ningyo below: The brown lines you mentioned are actually red as the photo you have didn't come in clearly. This is the only puppet/doll I've seen with lines like this all over his body.  He is made of wood with wood-pinned joints. He has holes in his hands which looks like he held something there and was lost over time. The white coating of his body looks like it has a flat chalky white coating surface. You can see some of the places where the paint has chipped off. The hair looks like it was painted with the same method as the red lines on his body.  Even the ears are painted.  The eyes are painted also. I couldn't say for sure whether this is ink or not.  He may have had some clothes at one time. He measures approximately 9"x5". I bought the puppet/doll from a woman who was selling it for a man who bought the puppet/doll from an antique shop in Asia over a decade ago. The man thought it might be Thai, but she doesn't know anything other than that. This was simply sold to me as an anatomically correct asian puppet dancer doll.  When I saw the puppet/doll I thought he was very unique and wanted him.

Otherness

Otherness means being different. The puppet is always manipulated by but always perceived as being completely separate from the human puppeteer - physical and visual otherness.
 

Indonesian puppet representing Abe Lincoln ~ a political statement ~ photo thanks to Gerry Glaeve

This physical and visual separation will allow the puppeteer to talk via his puppet to people in other levels of society where perhaps he could not do so himself thereby providing a useful tool to bridge the communication gap between upper and lower classes. Otherness will also allow the puppeteer to present topics that would otherwise not be appropriate for discussion between classes or in public like exposing political inequalities, making pleas for giving the public greater freedoms, and discussing contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted disease.

But "otherness" as in "being different" is much more powerful than mere physical or visual separation. There is a tension, uneasiness, suspense and anticipation inherent in any personal contact with something or someone deemed "different" or "other".  Any non-human, significantly larger, unusually colored, or fierce featured puppet has "character otherness" - something to make it stand out and immediately make the audience tense during contact with this actor in the puppet play.

Taking "otherness" further, ritualistic puppets have a "potent otherness". It is essential that ritualistic puppets be perceived as being powerful, supernatural entities so these very special puppets are powerful in themselves. Jane Marie Law describes the potent ritualistic powers of puppets (versus the use of human actors). Her discussion is quoted and paraphrased below:
 

In addition the itinerant ritual puppeteers themselves have a quality of otherness. They typically lived in an area of town separate from good, respectable people. This "bad side of town otherness" or "outcast group otherness" stirs tension in any meeting. An itinerant puppeteer walking into a good Japanese neighborhood would be evoke a similar level of tension and sense of danger as a person from the "other side of the tracks" would evoke by coming to a fancy country club dinner party. Country club members would immediately tense and feel uneasy until this person leaves. Similarly, as soon as an itinerant ritual puppeteer was seen coming into a Japanese neighborhood, the people became apprehensive. While in the area he would sometimes stage small communal rites. He would also offer his services door to door for very personal performances and "spiritual cleansing". The overall effect of an itinerant puppeteer with his "other side of town otherness" performing "dangerous, potent rituals" with spiritually powerful puppets must have been nerve shattering. If this puppeteer wasn't shunned or told to leave, then he was treated respectfully but he was always kept at a safe distance. An itinerant ritual specialist might be invited to perform his rites at the property's gate, in the front garden or in the atrium of the home where family members could safely view the performance. Jane Marie Law points out that although puppetry rituals were deemed important and these services were once very welcomed, the neighborhood typically breathed a communal sigh of relief as they saw the itinerant puppeteer leaving the area.

Traditions and Favorite Tales:

Traditional tales may be told of heroes, mythological creatures, great battles, the lives of gods, the struggle between good and evil, or stories teaching moral values. The themes for Burmese puppet shows come from comedy, mythology, historic legends, "the ten great lives and the 550 birth stories of Lord Buddha".

All over the world comedy is enjoyed. Some of the most popular parts of a puppet performance are the small comedic skits or local jokes made by foolish characters. Burmese puppet plays often feature funny situations and jokes by jesters, old men and women - representing the voice of common folk. In Japan lengthy dramatic puppet presentations are often separated and lightened by a small comedic skit giving the audience a lighthearted break from the serious major performances.

Dramatic Forms, Sizes, Features and Coloring:

Character images are prescribed by tradition. Traditional characters have developed to such an extent that many of these puppets have become extremely widely known figures. Their features are publicly known and easily recognizable so each artist tries to recreate portraits of these characters. Of course, there are stylistic differences in the puppets created by individual Asian artists, and some puppet makers have achieved fame for their artistic abilities.
 

Red puppet with a very large mouth from Indonesia photo thanks to Gerry Glaeve Sickly yellowish green puppet from India with bulging, boldly outlined eyes photo by Jean Lotz

Puppets are designed to be viewed from a distance, so the features and coloration of puppets are often stark when viewed at close range. Features are often exaggerated: eyes might be large and bulgy, mouths might be far too big, or in exaggerated expressions. For example: ears might be enormous when good hearing is an important character trait. Some styles of Asian puppets (for example: Bunraku and Awaji puppets) can have animated features: eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and/or fingers that move. Coloration and relative size of puppets are important tools for character definition. A non-humanoid color will evoke fear, disgust, nausea, and etc. An evil character will be obviously ugly (ghostly white, red, orange, blue, pea-green or sickly, yellow skinned), while a good princess and her friends will be represented by portrayals of ideal beauties.  A larger puppet will represent someone of a higher social or political status; a very important character; or a forceful, imposing character. For example: a very dangerous, evil character is made more ominous by the greater size.

Special Effects Puppets or Asian Two-faced Puppets

Purely mechanical dolls and puppets can't compare with today's digital images being morphed before your eyes using modern special effects, but this type of morphing is what these dolls and puppets attempt to convey. Each special effect puppet offers some extra surprise ability.

An unusual example of a Japanese special effect puppet is a large male puppet dressed only in his underwear. He ends a particularly funny skit by exposing his very large wooden penis. He then proceeds to shower the audience with "urine" water through a hose drilled through it. This special effect puppet is sure to get some interactive response from the audience who squeal with laughter! Being sprayed by this water is considered good luck for women wanting babies. (see ningyo used in fertility rites above)

Some Asian special effects puppets have multiple heads and faces - simply a stage trick to quickly transform one character into another. But some use this technique because they are attempting to express an important duality inherent in the characters they represent - one being that can take on multiple forms or multiple, contrasting personalities. This duality can most effectively be portrayed in a single puppet with 2 heads which can quickly transform while still on stage.

In Japanese puppet theater productions, some complex actions are sometimes performed by human actors not puppets - for example a rapid character transformation can be quickly performed by an actor shedding layers of costumes revealing a new character with each new layer.
 

Indian 2 Faced Puppet photos thanks to private collector

Two Faced Puppets from India The heads are positioned back to back and each head represents a contrasting personality. Very commonly they represent a male and a female. The owner of this puppet states: "Unusual hand-carved doll with male head and hand holding sword on one side; female head and hand holding pot lid (as it was described to me) on the other.  Measures almost 3' long and has a long cord for hanging. Made in India and given as a gift approx. 15+ years ago (1984 or later)." I have seen photos of two other examples of Indian two-faced puppets - one puppet seemed old and the other was fairly new.  Both puppets had a fancy head-dress on top of each head that looked like a crown (a separate crown for each head).  The entire puppet is turned around during a performance to change characters.

Japanese Multiple Face Puppets
 

Two multi-face puppet heads are shown in the book "Puppets of Nostalgia" by Jane Marie Law (available via the Lotz/Amazon Bookstore). A fox appears when a string is pulled on the specially crafted, female puppet head. The second puppet represents a demon and works the same way.

These puppets are carved from paulownia wood. The fox face is a leather mask sewn into the back of the head into the wig.

Staging - the drama of a puppet show:

Fanciful stages, dramatic lighting, colorful backdrops, and music may set the scene for dramatic puppet shows at professional puppet theaters and large puppet festivals. These puppet shows require a team effort from the members of a "puppet company" to produce each dramatic event. Competition between companies led to the development of larger, more complex shows using larger puppets, more puppets, and special effects. The complexity and/or size of some puppets (more than one puppeteer may be needed to operate them) remove them from the feasibility of using them in a small scale puppet production.

Chinese Stages:

"In Chinese glove puppetry, the stage is covered with intricate carvings that are painted gold, resembling the entrance to a traditional Chinese temple. The elaborate setting is ideal for offsetting the finely embroidered costumes, exquisite headdresses, and delicately carved faces of the puppets, which stand nearly a foot high."

quote from "Puppetry in Taiwan" by The Republic of China - Taiwan - Official Home Page.

A collection of extremely fine Chinese marionettes may be used to entertain only the royal and very rich and will have stages and production effects befitting the importance of this audience. In contrast, Chinese marionette shows are sometimes presented in front of a simple backdrop and are used in rural displays and rituals.

Japanese Stages:

"The annual ningyo matsuri (Puppet Festival) took place on temporary stages, constructed each year for the event. These stages were by no means simple; they had several levels, enabling backdrops to be changed and the area of the stage to be brought closer toward or further away from the audience. The result was a stage with several depths. During the intermission, this device was put to another purpose - that of dogugaeshi, a distinct genre of performance still presented in an abbreviated form at the Awaji Ningyo Joriui Kan. The inner stage was illuminated with a row of candles, and while the shamisen performer played a lively piece with a percussion accompaniment of wooden clappers, as many as eighty-eight scenes would change on the stage in very rapid succession."

"The number of scenes that a particular theater stages (from 15 or 20 to as many as 88) reflects its prosperity."

quoted from PUPPETS OF NOSTALGIA by Jane-Marie Law.

Itinerant Awaji Puppeteer thanks to Jane-Marie Law from PUPPETS OF NOSTALGIA

In contrast to dramatic performances by large puppet theater companies, minimal stages are used in some situations. For example, in Japan, itinerant Awaji puppeteers typically worked by themselves and as "unofficial" representatives of local Shrines. They solicited door to door offering to perform various appeasement rites and rituals. They used simple boxes hung around their necks as their stage and storage for their small rod puppets. This drawing is from an 1851 travel text describing Awaji. It shows a portable puppet theater box used by an itinerant Awaji puppeteer. Local children are enjoying their special performance. NOTE: click the image for larger full drawing.

The voice and music of a puppet show

The voice of a story and dialog must be told by an outside recitor or the puppeteers as the voice of the puppet

In a theatrical Japanese puppet play, the joruri recitor tells the story which the puppets enact. The recitor chants, shouts, whispers or sobs the dialogue for all characters appearing in the play. The recitor sits with his (or her) samisen accompanist who provides the music to accompany the story and sound effects (rain, wind, etc.) to heighten the atmosphere of the scene. The joruri recitor and samisen sit near the puppet activity but do not hide their activities from the audience.

A Burmese puppet play also has a recitor, a puppet representing one of the "political figures" is used to tell the story and is not actively involved in the story line. Music is provided by an elaborate ensemble setting the mood and providing appropriate sound effects. Non puppet actors and dancers are also used to set the mood and display more of the Burmese cultural experience to the audience. How much of this non puppet performance is showmanship for the tourists versus elements dictated by the Burmese puppet theater tradition?