Puppets

I had the fortunate experience of having a special puppetry performance just for me. No one else had brought tickets for the show which is held in an intimate theatre that only seats 15.

Puppet entertainment in Myanmar has been around for hundreds of years. They were used as a way of educating people in literature, history, religion and promoted lifestyles and customs. They were also used as a means of making people aware of current events. In the days of royalty it was a way for the people to have their say or opinion of state affairs.

Before each item there was an English explanation of each story. Very helpful.

Each puppet has no less than 11 strings. Some were attached to eyebrows, mouths or each cheek of their bottom. That really brought out the individuality of the characters.

 

The puppet characters included common people, royalty, animals, mythical creatures and religious characters.
















With each item a black curtain hid the puppeteers, but before the end it was raised so I could see how they operated the puppets. The strings were attached to two wooden cross bars, with each of those bars having numerous strings, which were then twisted around each of their fingers.

As the puppets moved around each other, in the air, and upside down the talented puppeteers never got in a tangle. 



 

This is a family puppet troupe keeping this art alive. They recently received an award in Hanoi at an international gathering of puppet troupes from around the world.

 



And, at the end I got to have a lesson. Very tricky.