Shadow & Rod Puppets |
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Think about it for just a moment: cavemen (and women and children) sitting around a flickering fire in their cave. One especially artistically inclined tribe member tells a story about the great hunt. He (or she!) illustrates the story by placing shadows on the wall with his handor, a piece of fur covers the hand to create the illusion of an animal in the hunt. Thus shadow and hand puppets are born. (Remember: when you see a picture with the colored paper clips below it, you can click on it and it will get bigger and clearer.) |
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Ancient Chinese legends claim that in 120 BC, an emperor so missed his dead wife that he hired an entertainer or magician to bring his beloved wife back from the dead. The story ends tragically as the shadow puppeteer created an illusion so real behind the silk screen that the emperor was enchanted and then finding himself deceived, Sciao-Wong (or Ciao Meng) lost his head for being so clever. However, in the Sitabenga Cave in India, controversial proof exists of the semi-epic Mahabharata composed by Hunuman, which exists in the Ramayana, a 24,000 line epic poem. It would make this tale, describing the life of Rama, son to the king Dasciadha, written in the 4th century BC the oldest documented shadow puppet show known to date. Regardless of who claims the origin, this unique form of puppetry spanned the ancient world as we know it over 2,000 years ago. |
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All text & photos © 2000 Olde World Puppet Theatre