How It All Began

By CARESSE SPENCER
Puppetry is a very ancient art form originating centuries ago; with puppet shows existing in almost all civilizations and periods. There is even evidence that puppets were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread. Puppets have been used since the earliest times not just to entertain, but also to animate and communicate the ideas and needs of human societies. Archaeologists have even uncovered wire- controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have also been found in Egyptian tombs.
Most scholars agree that puppetry was popularized as an art form in China with the introduction of the shadow puppet during the Han Dynasty from 202 BC – 220 AD. These puppets were made from stretched donkey skins, dried sheep skin, water buffaloes, pigs, or fish. 
However, that is only one particular kind of puppet
and one kind of puppetry. 
 Puppetry seems to have existed in many other countries, 
in many other art forms, 
long before the formal introduction of the shadow puppet and shadow theater in China.


Some of the earliest kinds of puppets had their beginning in the tribal society as ritual masks with hinged jaws or jointed skulls used in religious ceremonies. Native Americans also used puppets in their corn festivals and ceremonial dances.
 It suffices to say puppets have been a part of man's history.


The Turkish puppeteers added waist movement to the Chinese shadow puppets and began controlling rod arm movements from the side, rather than the bottom, as the Chinese had done. Later, three dimensional rod puppets would evolve from shadow puppets.
In The Middle Ages the Christian Church used puppets to spread church doctrine with monks and priests as the puppeteers. The Nativity, the story of the birth of Jesus, was a favorite play.
Between the 14th and 15th century, puppeteers began to explore themes other than religious ones. The Church decided puppets were no longer suitable for their teaching. However, puppetry found a new home in the streets and fairs of the working class. By the sixteenth century, puppet theaters existed all over Europe.

In the 17th century, a comedic influence popularized hand puppets. They were also easier to operate, cheaper to make and more mobile as shows could be given from the back of wagons and from small portable stages. Puppet characters could comment on things the masses didn’t dare to as local politics became a common topic.
“Puppetry has survived due to the efforts of all the world's puppeteers through the ages. When barbarians overran Rome and puppet theater vanished, it was the traveling puppeteers who kept the art and the craft alive. Troupes of puppeteers, jesters, jugglers and entertainers breathed new life into the world's tales and histories, 
as they moved from place to place and puppets found a home in folk art.”