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Rajhastani
Puppets- Puppet Making
Step
1
- Carving the heads
The
first step in making a puppet of Dhola and Maru is to carve
the wood faces out of a block of wood. To carve a puppet,
a person must hold the wood in place with his feet and then
shear off pieces with a small hatchet. Later, details are
added with a knife through a similar process. According
to Indian thought, however, the feet are quite polluted
because they touch the ground, and thus it is a great insult
to place your foot on other people or valuable objects.
Because of this, after carving the puppet, Bhat puppeteers
perform a puja or worship ceremony for the puppet and offer
them sweets to apologize for having touched them with their
feet.
Step
2- Painting the Heads
After
the pieces are carved and sanded, the faces are painted
on and the arms, stuffed with cotton or wool, are attached
with nails. Differences in moustaches mark men of different
social groups
STEP
4 - Sewing the Costumes
Cast-off saris and other second-hand cloth
provide cloth for the puppet costumes. The puppet maker
cuts the costumes for his puppets, before sewing them on
a hand-driven machine.
Summary
of Stages: The Stages
One Through Three Together:
Final
Product
Some
Sample Puppets
Snake
Charmer |
A
Bride
|
A Bengali Magician
|
