Schattentheater der Welt
II. Indien: Tholu Bommalata
Indien: Tholu Bommalata
Tanz der Lederpuppen
1993-96, Farbe, 72 Min.
Regie und Produktion der Aufzeichnung: Werner Nekes
Tolu Bommalata
Leather Puppet-Play
The leather puppets of Andhra Pradesh trace their origin back to around 200 B.C. They were used for shadow plays that travelled the countryside. A special orchestra accompanied the puppeteers and the movements of the puppets were synchronised to the sound of music.
Leather puppets are made out of the hide of goat, deer or buffalo. The hide is treated with indigenous herbs and oiled and pounded until it is translucent. Usually different parts of the body are drawn on the hide and cut out. These are then joined together with thick knotted string to make one complete figure. Split bamboo or palm leaf stems are used as rods to support the figures. Female puppets have extra joints at the head and waist for mobility in dancing. Holes are punched in various patterns to denote costumes and jewellery. The type of piercing, the colouring, the dress all have special significance and are still carried out according to tradition. The costumes and jewellery are based on the Yakshagana and Kuchipudi traditions.
The history of Nimmalakunta puppet troupe dates back to the 15th century A.D., when this art was patronised by the Devaraya kings of the Vijayanagar dynasty.
The play to be presented by the troupe is the great Indian epic "Ramayana" and a short but humourously erotic skit "Kille Kitragha".
Tolu Bommalatta
Nimakanda Puppet Association
The troupe performs an episode from the Ramayana.
The Andhra shadow puppets are unique in being larger than life figures, complex colour scheme and varied methods of articulation. Hailed as the earliest entertainment through coloured transfiguration, the shadow puppet theatre was, for long, the singular mode of entertainment for the rural people. They were also popular in Kamataka, Orissa, Kerala and Maharashtra, with the difference that they were in black and white, smaller and less articulate. Classical references indicate that the art of shadow puppetry occupied an important part of rural entertainment in Andhra at least from the 12th century onwards.
The manipulation of the highly stylised puppet figures is intricate and subtle. As the limbs of the figures are joined together and move separately, great care is to be taken to move each limb simultaneously, for the movement of the limbs denotes the expressive language of the puppets. It is intricate because it must create a stylised effect while retaining much of the realistic visual impact. The essential thing is to suggest the posture of the puppet figure on the screen which exemplifies the proper atmosphere and mood of a particular sequence.
The Andhra puppets, because of their multi coloured nature and their height, are fascinatingly articulate. The dramatic contrast of the characters is achieved, first of all, visually. For example, the difference in the figures of Ravana and Rama or Ravana and Anjaneya are brought into focus through the contrasts in colour. While the Anjaneya figure is coloured green, Rama is blue and Ravana red: the contrast when presented on the white screen against the background of white light falling on them is uniquely and tellingly manifest.
Another characteristic feature of the figures is their relative variations in height. Dramatic propriety is achieved by making certain figures 1ook more prominent than the others by their sheer height and width. Thus, the figures of Ravana, Keechaka, Bheema, Anjaneya and Rama are larger than the other figures. This visual establishment of the relative supremacy of the figures is achieved as soon as they are mounted on the screen. The figures also change sizes through quick change of puppet for dramatic effect.
The dramatic nature of the characters is intensified in the entrances and the accompanying ‘entrance songs'. For example, the character of Anjaneya always enters the screen with a few acrobatic feats. Similarly the figure of Jattivadu (a boxing champion) in Keechaka Vadha enters with great pomp and noise.
The battle scenes and fights (including duels) in the Andhra puppet show are very absorbing. The important episodes centre round such fights so that they will attract the attention of the audience. The wordy duel, followed by a few exchanges of blows with hands, then with bows and arrows, is the usual order of the fights. During the fights, the entire manipulation style changes. In the climactic scenes of the fight, the puppet figures are no longer manipulated by sticks. They are not even manipulated by two different people. Both the puppet figures are taken by one manipulator and by thrusting one on the other, by striking one figure against the other, the simulation of a fight is achieved. This is further accentuated by the background noise and the beating of the mridangam at its loudest.
Tolu Bommalatta is a composite art containing all the fine arts in it including music, sculpture and painting. Its dramatization of the narratives is often rendered through music. Thus the importance of music to a successful presentation of a puppet show is apparent: it is the 'soul' of the show. The entrances, conversations, fights, descriptions and even humorous episodes come to life through appropriate songs and poems, recited in the proper raga.
Nagabhushan Sarma
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