Traditional

Turkish Puppets
Shadow Play
Karagoz
Alice Poon, Alicia Yan,
Kitty Chin
What is puppetry?
Puppetry: a form of theatre using the manipulation of puppets. Puppets usually
resembles human figures, and are controlled by puppeteers.

It originated from 3,000 years ago as a form of communication of stories and ideas,
as well as entertainment.

Types of puppetry:
Finger puppet
Hand puppet
Shadow puppet
Hand and rod puppet / stick puppet
Marionette / string puppet
Humanette
Ventriloquist puppet
 'Ancient' Culture
Chinas Shadow Puppetry (pi ying xi):

History of more than 2,000 years

Rise in popularity during the Tang and Song dynasties
Paper or leather puppets

Indias Stick / Rod Puppetry (Maha-Bharata and Bala-Ramayana):

Approximately 1,000 B.C.

Could be considered as the birthplace of stick / rod puppetry
Storytelling of Indian epics

Japans String Puppetry (Bunraku):

Originated in 17th century in Osaka

Controlled by strings and rods
Dolls are almost half lifesized
The Popular Theater Tradition - 'Ancient'
Culture
- Old Istanbul and other cities, and in the villages popular theater was a
pastime of the urban middle class
- Presented to the public by three classes of professional performers: live
actors, storytellers and puppeteers
- The comedian, puppet shadow play master , puppeteer and storyteller
memorized certain stock phrases some in rhymed couplets and enacted
scenes from everyday life, using the colorful idiom of their time
- Performances were not given in specific buildings, but whatever they could
be accommodated- in public squares, national and religious festivals, at
weddings , and fairs and so on
The Folk Theatre Tradition - 'Ancient' Culture
- Throughout many centuries, homogeneous and articulate
element of the nation, has maintained its own peculiar character
in the Folk Theatre Tradition.
- The isolation of Turkish villages has also created their unique
forms, of traditional peasant dances, puppet shows and puppets
shadow play.
- often display symbolic elements
- During public festivals, this type of crude drama frequently
comes along with the singing, dancing, miming and shadow plays.
 Key Fact #1
The Turkish shadow puppets,
otherwise known as karagoz
puppets, are from Istanbul,
Turkey. The karagoz shadow
puppets were made in 1396. This
idea was brought to Turkey by
Arabs, who were trading back and
forth. Turkey also borrowed the
concept from Egypt at the time,
adapting it into their own culture.
 Key Fact #2
The key structure of Karagoz plays consist
of four parts: the mukaddime, muhavare,
fasil and lastly bitis. At the beginning,
mukaddime is the introduction which
follows with the entry of Hacivat. Next,
Karagoz enters from the opposite side of
the stage and the story begins. There is
always a fight scene in the play. Nameless
characters within the play also includes
beggars, watchman, woman servant and
doctors.
 Key Fact #3
The puppets have movable arms and legs,
and were originally made from cow, camel
and ape skin, however, nowadays they are
usually made from processed paper. The
puppets are usually painted with the colours
red, blue, green, brown and turquoise, which
are the traditional colours of Turkey. The
dyes used are very natural, mainly derived
from fruits and vegetables.
 Key Fact #4
Only one puppeteer contributes to the
play and is known commonly as
Karagozlu, Hayali or Hayalbaz, also
assisted by an apprentice. The job of
the apprentice is to ring the puppets in
order of appearance and install
functions onto the stage. In the past,
the apprentice was even assisted by
another sandikar, who was responsible
for holding the equipment.
 Key Fact #5
According to Linda
Myrsiades, the Turkish
shadow puppetry was
designed to entertain and
to achieve religious
experience. Hats and
costumes also represents a
link between Central, Asia
and Islam.

What does it
sound like?
Manipulation of voice to
create multiple different
voices
A song in the prelude
Impersonation of sounds,
noises and mimicking voices
Where is it
staged?
Easy to transport - travelling
artists
Flat puppets and screens
Dark surroundings essential
for shadow casting
Oil lamp to cast shadows
End on theatre
Thank you for listening!