Togalu gombeyaata is a puppet show unique to the state of Karnataka, India. Togalu gombeyaata translates to "a play of leather dolls" in the native language of Kannada. [1] It is a form of shadow puppetry. Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat has undertaken research on this art and has a good collection of leather puppets.
Togalu gombeyaata is one of the seven shadow puppetry artform of Southern India. Scholars believed that this tradition has also migrated from India to Sri Lanka, Indonesia and rest of the Asia. Several evidence from historic texts such as Mahabhasya and Mahabharat from 2nd Century suggests that the art of shadow puppetry or similar art forms have existed since first Millennium BC. In Karnataka, the art of shadow puppetry received royal patronage in 2nd Century and further by Rashtrakutas in 10th century followed by Vijayanagara Empire in 15th century.The art form spread in other others parts of the country such as Odisha and Maharashtra during the reign of Rashtrakutas as they expanded their empire. [2]
The peak of Togalu gombeyaata was during the Vijayanagara Empire. After this an influx of Turkish Puppetry happened during the establishment of Bahmani, Kingdom which influenced the ornamentation and styling of the puppets. After the decline of Bahmani Kingdom the patronage for the art form shrunk significantly and the performances were limited to villages and temple complex, as seen today. [2]
The puppets used in togalu gombeyaata are made of leather. Goat hide and deer skin are generally used for making these puppets since they have the characteristic of transparency and can easily absorb colours. The raw hide is treated with salt and caustic soda to remove hair and other impurities and then dried. Then colours are applied on the leather using locally available vegetable dyes. Red, blue, green and black colours are usually used. [3] The hide is then cut into appropriate shapes which are joined using strings and small sticks. For puppets representing human and animal figures, the head and limbs are joined in such a way that they can be moved easily. [4] The maximum size of the puppet is 4 x 3 feet and the minimum is 6 x 3 inches. [3] The puppets are usually characters from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata . More recently, personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi have also been created using puppets. [5]
Traditionally the performance is organised outside the villages in reserved or in temple courtyards. [6] stage is set up using bamboo stems and woollen blankets. A white, semi-transparent cloth is strung across the stage to serve as a screen on which the images of the puppets are projected. The puppets are strung across a rope behind the screen and a bright oil lamp placed behind the puppets projects their shadows on to the screen. The puppeteers sit behind the screen and manipulate the puppets based on the scene being played. [4] However, innovation has entered this art with the usage of steel frames for the stage, loudspeakers to amplify voices, and an arc lamp instead of the oil lamp. [5]
Most of the scenes enacted are usually those belonging to the Hindu epics, the Ramayana , Mahabharata, the Puranas and folklores.
The performance usually starts with an invocation to the Hindu god Ganesha placed under a tree, surrounded by peacock, rooster and parrots accompanied by Hindu goddess of learning Saraswati, clowns Killikyeta and his wife Bagarakka. [6] The puppeteers also provide voice to the puppets and an accompanying music is provided using a mukha-veena (a veena played by mouth) or a harmonium. The puppets are held by bamboo rod which fits in it vertically, a thinner stick is attached to the moveable parts of the figure, mainly the arms and the head. The performances usually commence at night and continue till dawn.
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performance is also known as a puppet production. The script for a puppet production is called a puppet play. Puppeteers use movements from hands and arms to control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer sometimes speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, while at other times they perform to a recorded soundtrack.
Nang yai is a form of shadow play found in Thailand. Puppets are made of painted buffalo hide, while the story is narrated by songs, chants and music.
Wayang, also known as wajang, is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. Wayang refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra in Java, and by gender wayang in Bali. The dramatic stories depict mythologies, such as episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, as well as local adaptations of cultural legends. Traditionally, a wayang is played out in a ritualized midnight-to-dawn show by a dalang, an artist and spiritual leader; people watch the show from both sides of the screen.
Arts and architecture in India have had their course shaped by a synthesis of indigenous and foreign influences that have consequently shaped the course of the arts of the rest of Asia, since ancient times. Arts refer to paintings, architecture, literature, music, dance, languages and cinema. In early India, most of the arts were derived Vedic influences. After the birth of contemporary Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism arts flourished under the patronage of kings and emperors. The coming of Islam spawned a whole new era of Indian architecture and art. Finally the British brought their own Gothic and Roman influences and fused it with the Indian style. They have a culture infusion in their art.
Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source. A talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh.
North Karnataka is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from 300 to 730 metres elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consists of 13 districts. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra. North Karnataka lies within the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion, which extends north into eastern Maharashtra.
The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and mystics helped shape the culture, philosophy and art of South India in general and Karnataka in particular by exerting considerable spiritual influence over the masses and kingdoms that ruled South India.
The History of Karnataka goes back several millennia. Several great empires and dynasties have ruled over Karnataka and have contributed greatly to the history, culture and development of Karnataka as well as the entire Indian subcontinent. The Chindaka Nagas of central India Gangas, Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, Chalukyas of Vengi, Yadava Dynasty of Devagiri were all of Kannada origin who later took to encouraging local languages.
Tholu bommalata is the shadow puppet theatre tradition of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India with roots dating back to 3rd century BCE. Its performers are part of a group of wandering entertainers and peddlers who pass through villages during the course of a year and offer to sing ballads, tell fortunes, sell amulets, perform acrobatics, charm snakes, weave fishnets, tattoo local people and mend pots. Tholu bommalata has a history of consistent royal patronage. It is the ancestor of Wayang, the Indonesian puppet theatre play which has been a staple of Indonesian tourism and designated by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Karnataka has a variety of traditional arts, including folk dance and puppetry.
The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries, when the empires that evolved in the Karnataka region of India made a lasting impact on the subcontinent. Before this, alien empires held sway over the region, and the nucleus of power was outside modern Karnataka. The medieval era can be broadly divided into several periods: The earliest native kingdoms and imperialism; the successful domination of the Gangetic plains in northern India and rivalry with the empires of Tamilakam over the Vengi region; and the domination of the southern Deccan and consolidation against Muslim invasion. The origins of the rise of the Karnataka region as an independent power date back to the fourth-century birth of the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi, the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit. This is the historical starting point in studying the development of the region as an enduring geopolitical entity and of Kannada as an important regional language.
Kasuti is a traditional form of folk embroidery practised in the state of Karnataka, India. Kasuti work which is very intricate sometimes involves putting up to 5,000 stitches by hand and is traditionally made on dresswear like Ilkal sarees, Ravike/Kuppasa(Khana) and Angi. The Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation (KHDC) holds a geographical indications (GI) protection for Kasuti embroidery which provides intellectual property rights on Kasuti to KHDC.
Khmer shadow theatre are forms of shadow play in which leather shadow puppets are used. The two main genres are Sbek Thom, which features the Reamker, and Sbek Toch, which uses smaller puppets and a wide range of stories. Another genre called Sbek Por uses colored leather puppets. The shadow plays of Cambodia are closely related to and also resemble the shadow plays of Thailand, Indonesia (Wayang and Wayang kulit). In Cambodia, the shadow play is called Nang Sbek Thom, or simply as Sbek Thom, Sbek Touch and Sbek Por.
Medieval Kannada literature covered a wide range of subjects and genres which can broadly be classified under the Jain, Virashaiva, Vaishnava and secular traditions. These include writings from the 7th century rise of the Badami Chalukya empire to the 16th century, coinciding with the decline of Vijayanagara Empire. The earliest known literary works until about the 12th century CE were mostly authored by the Jainas along with a few works by Virashaivas and Brahmins and hence this period is called the age of Jain literature,. The 13th century CE, to the 15th century CE, saw the emergence of numerous Virashaiva and Brahminical writers with a proportional decline in Jain literary works. Thereafter, Virashaiva and Brahmin writers have dominated the Kannada literary tradition. Some of the earliest metres used by Jain writers prior to 9th century include the chattana, bedande and the melvadu metres, writings in which have not been discovered but are known from references made to them in later centuries. Popular metres from the 9th century onwards when Kannada literature is available are the champu-kavyas or just champu, vachanasangatya, shatpadi, ragale, tripadi, and kavya.
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece.
Tholpavakoothu is a form of shadow puppetry that is practiced in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It is performed using leather puppets and is performed in temples or in villages in specially built theatres. This form of art is especially popular in the Madurai and nearby districts of Madurai in Tamil Nadu and also in Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala.
Rabana Chhaya is a form of shadow puppetry from the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
The Teru Malleshvara Hindu temple is a Vijayanagara era temple in Hiriyur town near the historically important Chitradurga city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hiriyur is situated on the right bank of the Vedavati river. The "Teru Malleshvara" fair is celebrated annually for a week starting from the full moon in January or February. The Teru Malleshvara temple is a protected monument under the Karnataka state division of the Archaeological Survey of India
Wayang kulit is a traditional form of puppet-shadow play originally found in the cultures of Java and Bali in Indonesia. In a wayang kulit performance, the puppet figures are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut-oil light. The dalang manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life. The narratives of wayang kulit often have to do with the major theme of good vs. evil.
Nokkuvidya pavakali or simply Nokkuvidya is a type of puppetry from Kerala, India. It is a method of telling stories by moving small puppets fixed on a two foot long thin stick which is holding between the nose and the upper lip. It usually depicts stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata.
