Myanmar Puppets
Beginning in the fifteenth century, marionettes were an important part of Myanmar culture. Entire troups of manipulators and their marionettes were commissioned and maintained by the royalty. They were used in Myanmar to present the news from the capital, as a means to present bad news to the king from his subjects and as a medium for the king to reprimand members of his family so none of the family would "lose face." Often, these messages were presented in the form of parable plays--the average audience member wouldn't be aware of the real meaning behind the story, but those who were aware of the circumstances would be able to decipher the play's underlying meaning. Marionettes were also used in public performances. Unlike humans, they were allowed to dance on stage and perform in plays. They could also say things in performance that a Myanmar citizen would never be allowed to say. Myanmar marionettes were carefully constructed by their manipulators from wood, often Yamane, and human hair. Red ink was used to draw in sexual organs, and a paste made of talc and tamarind seeds was used to paint the face, hands and feet. Read more: Who Created the First Marionettes? | #ixzz1kNGXG57E
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Bagan, Mynamar
Photo credit: © Alexander Scheible / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: art, asia, asian, ayeyarwady, bagan, burma, burmese, caricature, character, china, chinese, colorful, culture, doll, dolls, figures, funny, game, happy, marionettes, medium, minister, myanmar, performance, portrait, prince, puppets, red, sculptures, show, smile, souvenir, spirit, theater, toy, tradition, traditional
