Editing Shadow play (section)

==By country and region==
===Australia===
[[Richard Bradshaw (puppeteer)|Richard Bradshaw]] is an Australian shadow puppeteer known for his characters like "Super Kangaroo".<ref>Logan, D, ''Puppetry'', p.13</ref> Bradshaw's puppetry has been featured in television programs made by [[Jim Henson]] as well as the long-running ABC children's TV series ''[[Play School (Australian TV series)|Play School]]''.

The Shadow Theatre of Anaphoria<ref>[http://anaphoria.com/shadow.html The Shadow Theatre of Anaphoria]</ref> (relocated to Australia from California) combines a mixture of reconstructed and original puppets with multiple sources of lights. The company is under the direction of [[Kraig Grady]].

Australian company Shadowplay Studios' debut game ''Projection: First Light'' was inspired by shadow puppetry and its art style replicates the traditional shadow play canvas using black props and sepia backgrounds. They visited Richard Bradshaw to gain more insight into shadow puppetry, to make their game more authentic and to get references for the game's shadow puppet characters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Projection: First Light – An Interview with Michael Chu|url=https://puppetplace.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/projection-first-light-an-interview-with-michael-chu/|website=Puppet Place News|access-date=16 April 2018|date=13 February 2018}}</ref>

===Cambodia===
{{main|Khmer shadow theatre}}
[[File:Sita, Nang Sbek, Cambodia - Museu do Oriente - Lisbon, Portugal - DSC06801.JPG|thumb|upright|Cambodian shadow puppet depicting Sita]]
In [[Cambodia]], the shadow play is called ''Nang Sbek Thom'',<ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Banham|title=The Cambridge Guide to Theatre|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh|url-access=registration|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-43437-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh/page/153 153]}}</ref> or simply as ''Sbek Thom'' (literally "large leather hide"), ''Sbek Touch'' ("small leather hide") and ''Sbek Por'' ("colored leather hide").<ref name="Kravel1995p1">{{cite book|author=Pech Tum Kravel|title=Sbek Thom: Khmer Shadow Theater|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCnlMEIU6BkC|year=1995|publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=978-0-87727-620-3|pages=iii-iv, 2–8}}</ref>

It is performed during sacred temple ceremonies, at private functions, and for the public in Cambodia's villages. The popular plays include the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata]]'' epics, as well as other Hindu myth and legends.<ref name="Kravel1995p1"/> The performance is accompanied by a [[pinpeat]] orchestra.<ref name=banham155/>

The ''Sbek Thom'' is based on the Cambodian version of the Indian epic ''Ramayana'', an epic story about good and evil involving [[Rama]], [[Sita]], [[Lakshmana]], [[Hanuman]] and [[Ravana]].<ref name=kravel4>{{cite book|author=Pech Tum Kravel|title=Sbek Thom: Khmer Shadow Theater|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCnlMEIU6BkC|year=1995|publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=978-0-87727-620-3|pages=3–5}}</ref> It is a sacred performance, embodying Khmer beliefs built on the foundations and mythologies of [[Brahmanism]] and [[Buddhism]].<ref name=kravel4/>

Cambodian shadow puppets are made of cowhide, and their size are usually quite large, depicting a whole scene, including its background. Unlike their Javanese counterparts, Cambodian shadow puppets are usually not articulated, rendering the figure's hands unmovable, and are left uncolored, retaining the original color of the leather. The main shadow puppet production center is [[Roluos]] near Siem Reap. Cambodian shadow puppetry is one of the cultural performances staged for tourists alongside [[Dance in Cambodia|Cambodian traditional dances]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

The ''Sbek Thom'' figures are unlike puppets because they are large and heavy, with no moveable parts. The ''Sbek Touch'', in contrast, are much smaller puppets with movable parts; their shows have been more popular.<ref name=kravel4/> The ''Sbek Thom'' shadow play involves many puppeteers dancing on the screen, each puppeteer playing one character of the ''Ramayana'', while separate narrators recite the story accompanied by an orchestra.<ref name=banham155>{{cite book|author=Martin Banham|title=The Cambridge Guide to Theatre|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh|url-access=registration|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-43437-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh/page/n172 155]}}</ref>

===China===
[[File:The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Han shadow puppet.jpg|thumb|This Chinese shadow puppet is illustrative of the ornate detail that goes into the figures. From the collection of [[The Children's Museum of Indianapolis]].|left|233x233px]]

====Chinese mainland====
There are several myths and legends about the origins of shadow puppetry in China. The most famous one has it that Chinese shadow puppetry originated when the favorite [[concubine]] of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (156 BCE – 87 BCE) died and magician Shao-weng promised to raise her spirit. The emperor could see a shadow that looked like her move behind the curtains that the magician had placed around some lit torches. It is often told that the magician used a shadow puppet, but the original text in ''[[Book of Han]]'' gives no reason to believe in a relation to shadow puppetry.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZu9Cje8TfkC&q=shadow%20theatre%20history&pg=PA22|title=Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion, and Women Warriors|author=Fan Pen Li Chen|year=2007|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP |isbn=9780773531970}}</ref> Although there are many earlier records of all kinds of puppetry in China, clear mention of Chinese shadow play does not occur until the [[Northern Song]] dynasty (960–1127). A 1235 book mentions that the puppets were initially cut out of paper, but later made of colored leather or parchment. The stories were mostly based on history and half fact half fiction, but comedies were also performed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dolby |first1=William |title=The Origins of Chinese Puppetry |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |date=1978 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=97–120 |jstor=615625|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00057803 |s2cid=194042455 }}</ref>

Shadow play in China is called ''piyingxi.'' There are two distinct styles of shadow play:  Luanzhou (North China) and Sichuan (South China). Within Sichuan, there are two styles: Chuanbei piyingxi (Northern Sichuan) and Chengdu piyingxi. Cities that are included in the Northern Sichuan are Bazhong, Nanchong, and Guangyuan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rui |first=Tang |date=2018 |title=The Heritage of Wang Piying Troupe: Shadow Puppetry in North Sichuan |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/atj.2018.0012 |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=53–69 |doi=10.1353/atj.2018.0012 |s2cid=165900356 |issn=1527-2109|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Shadow theatre became quite popular as early as the [[Song dynasty]], when holidays were marked by the presentation of many shadow plays. During the [[Ming dynasty]] there were 40 to 50 shadow show [[wiktionary:troupe|troupe]]s in the city of [[Beijing]] alone.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} The earliest shadow theatre screens were made of [[Rice paper|mulberry paper]]. The storytellers generally used the art to tell events between various war kingdoms or stories of [[Buddhist]] sources.<ref name="Ewart">Ewart, Franzeska G. [1998] (1998). Let the Shadows speak: developing children's language through shadow puppetry. {{ISBN|1-85856-099-3}}</ref> Today, puppets made of [[leather]] and moved on sticks are used to tell dramatic versions of traditional fairy tales and myths. In regions such as Shaanxi, Shandong, Gansu, and Sichuan, young apprentices learn to carve shadow puppets from ox hide using traditional tools like half-moon knives and fine awls, preserving both craftsmanship and performance through hands-on practice.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yingjie |first=Zhu |date=2023-02-01 |title=Chinese shadow play art: ways of inheritance |url=https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=50250946 |journal=OOO "Zhurnal "Voprosy Istorii" |volume=2023 |issue=2-1 |pages=220–229 |doi=10.31166/VoprosyIstorii202302Statyi28|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In [[Gansu]] province, it is accompanied by [[Music of Gansu|Daoqing]] music, while in [[Jilin]], accompanying [[Music of Jilin|Huanglong]] music forms some of the basis of modern opera.<ref name="Cvista">Chinavista. "[http://www.chinavista.com/experience/piying/piying.html Chinavista.com]." ''The Shadow show.'' Retrieved on 2007-05-26.</ref>
[[File:Chinese shadow puppetry.jpg|thumb|Chinese shadow puppetry is a form of theater whereby colorful silhouette figures perform traditional plays against a back-lit cloth screen, accompanied by music. From Kaifeng Prefecture.]]
Chinese shadow puppetry is shown in the 1994 [[Zhang Yimou]] film ''[[To Live (1994 film)|To Live]]''.

====Taiwan====
The origins of [[Taiwan]]'s shadow puppetry can be traced to the [[Chaozhou|Chaochow]] school of shadow puppet theatre. Commonly known as leather monkey shows or leather shows, the shadow plays were popular in [[Tainan City|Tainan]], [[Kaohsiung]], and [[Pingtung City|Pingtung]] as early as the [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1911 A.D.). Older puppeteers estimate that there were at least seventy shadow puppet troupes in the Kaohsiung area alone in the closing years of the Qing.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puppeteering |url=https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=20,29,35,45&post=25372 |access-date=28 December 2021 |work=Free China Journal |date=1 January 1986 |quote=The origins of Taiwan shadow puppetry trace back to the 17th or early 18th Centuries. When General Koxinga (1624–1662) expelled Dutch occupation forces from Taiwan, growing numbers of settlers crossed the Strait to the island. Among them were shadow puppeteers from Chaochow in Kwangtung Province. And in the interstices of time, their artform took root and gradually developed into an indispensable element of rural life in southern Taiwan. The early troupes of shadow puppeteers concentrated in the Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas. According to contemporary shadow-puppet master Chang Tien-pao, his grandfather once told him that in the waning years of the Ching Dynasty (1644–1911), there were forty-odd puppet troupes in Kangshan, and thirty-odd in the single village of Hsialiao, both in Kaohsiung County—an astounding popularity.}}</ref> Traditionally, the eight to twelve-inch puppet figures, and the stage scenery and props such as furniture, natural scenery, pagodas, halls, and plants, are all cut from leather. As shadow puppetry is based on light penetrating through a translucent sheet of cloth, the "shadows" are actually silhouettes seen by the audience in profile or face on. Taiwan's shadow plays are accompanied by Chaochow melodies which are often called "priest's melodies" owing to their similarity with the music used by Taoist priests at funerals. A large repertoire of some 300 scripts of the southern school of drama used in shadow puppetry and dating back to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries has been preserved in Taiwan and is considered to be a priceless cultural asset.

====Terminology====
A number of terms are used to describe the different forms.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

* 皮影戏, ''píyĭngxì'' is a shadow theatre that uses leather puppets. The figures are usually moved behind a thin screen. It is not entirely a show of shadows, as the shadow is more of a silhouette. This gives the figures some color on the screen; they are not 100% black and white.
* 纸影戏, ''zhĭyĭngxì'' is paper shadow theatre.
* 中国影戏, ''Zhōngguó yĭngxì'' is Chinese shadow theatre.

===Europe===
[[File:Greek Shadow Puppetry.jpg|thumb|An example of shadow puppetry in Greece]]
In [[Plato]]'s [[allegory of the cave]] (circa 380 BCE), [[Socrates]] described a kind of shadow play with figures made out of stone, wood, or other materials, presented to prisoners who in all of their life could see nothing more than the shadows on the wall in front of them. This was an imaginative illustration of ideas about (false or limited) the relations between knowledge, education and a truthful understanding of reality. Plato compared a wall that screens off the people who carry the figures to the kind of partitions used by puppet ([[marionette]]) players to hide behind.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plato, Republic, book 7, page 514 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plat.+Rep.+7.514&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0167 |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> Apparently, there was no existing form of shadow theatre known in [[ancient Greece]] that Socrates/Plato could refer to.

[[File:Théatre d'Ombres in Le Chat Noir.jpg|thumb|Stagehands moving zinc figures behind the screen of the Théatre d'Ombres in [[Le Chat Noir]]]]Shadow plays started spreading throughout Europe at the end of the 17th century, probably via Italy. It is known that several Italian showmen performed in Germany, France and England during this period.<ref name=light&movement1/>

In 1675 German polymath and philosopher [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]] imagined a kind of world exhibition that would show all kinds of new inventions and spectacles. In a handwritten document he supposed it should include shadow theatre.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/379115|title=Leibniz and the Lantern|first=Deac|last=Rossell|year=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dr%C3%B4le_de_Pens%C3%A9e,_touchant_une_nouvelle_sorte_de_repr%C3%A9sentations|year=1675|title=Drôle de Pensée, touchant une nouvelle sorte de représentations|author1=Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref>

French missionaries brought the shadow show from China to [[France]] in 1767 and put on performances in [[Paris]] and [[Marseille]], causing quite a stir.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} In time, the ''ombres chinoises'' ([[French language|French]] for "Chinese shadows") with local modification and embellishment, became the ''ombres françaises'' and struck root in the country.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} The popularity of ''ombres chinoises'' reflected the [[chinoiserie]] fashion of the days.<ref name=light&movement1/>

French showman [[François Dominique Séraphin]] first presented his shadow spectacle in a [[hôtel particulier]] in [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]] in 1771. He would go on to perform at the [[Palace of Versailles]] in front of royalty. In 1784 Séraphin moved to Paris, performing his shows at his permanent theatre in the newly opened [[Palais-Royal]] from 8 September 1784. The performances would adapt to the political changes and survived the [[French Revolution]]. Séraphin developed the use of [[clockwork]] mechanisms to automate the show. His nephew took over the show after Séraphin's death in 1800 and it was continued by his heirs until the theatre closed in 1870.<ref name=light&movement1/><ref name="Altick">{{cite book|title=The Shows of London|first=Richard Daniel|last=Altick|date=January 1978|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674807310}}</ref><ref name="Pupazzi">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/lespupazzinoirso00lemeuoft/lespupazzinoirso00lemeuoft_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Les pupazzi noirs"|date=1896 |publisher=Paris C. Mendel |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="Stafford">{{cite book|title=Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen|first1=Barbara|last1=Stafford|first2=Frances|last2=Terpak|publisher=Getty Research Institute, U.S|date=1 February 2002|isbn=978-0892365906|page=77}}</ref>

In 1775, Ambrogio (also known as Ambroise and Ambrose) staged ambitious shows in Paris and London.<ref name=light&movement1/>

[[File:Ombra francese seconda.jpg|thumb|right|alt=French shadow puppets|Part of the collection of the [[Museum_of_Precinema|Museo del Precinema]], Padua, Italy]]
The art was a popular entertainment in Paris during the 19th century, especially in the famous Paris nightclub district of [[Montmartre]].<ref>Thomas, Richard; Cate, Philip Dennis; Chapin, Mary Weaver; Coman, Florence E. (2005). [https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/toulouse-lautrec-and-montmartre.pdf ''Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre'']. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, Princeton University Press. pp. 37-41. {{ISBN|0691123373}}. {{OCLC|56632116}}.</ref> The cabaret [[Le Chat noir]] ("The Black Cat") produced 45<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/events/exhibitions/in-the-musee-dorsay/exhibitions-in-the-musee-dorsay/article/le-cabaret-du-chat-noir-1881-1897-6768.html?cHash=2525e3a5cd|title=Musée d'Orsay: Le Cabaret du Chat Noir (1881-1897)}}</ref> ''Théatre d'ombres'' shows between 1885 and 1896 under the management of [[Rodolphe Salis]]. Behind a screen on the second floor of the establishment, the artist [[Henri Rivière (painter)|Henri Rivière]] worked with up to 20 assistants in a large, [[oxy-hydrogen]] back-lit performance area and used a double optical [[Magic lantern|lantern]] to project backgrounds. Figures were originally cardboard cut-outs, but were replaced with zinc figures since 1887. Various artists took part in the creation, including [[Steinlen]], [[Adolphe Willette]] and [[Albert Robida]]. [[Caran d'Ache]] designed circa 50 cut-outs for the very popular 1888 show ''L'Epopée''. [[Musée d'Orsay]] has circa 40 original zinc figures in its collection. Other cabarets would produce their own versions; the ''ombres'' evolved into numerous theatrical productions and had a major influence on [[phantasmagoria]].<ref name="light&movement1" /><ref>''The Spirit of Montmartre: Cabarets, Humour and the Avant-Garde, 1875-1905''. edited by Phillip Dennis Cate and Mary Shaw (1996) <!--Publisher?-->, excerpted on line as [https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040302130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/13071/20040303-0000/www.acmi.net.au/AIC/RIVIERE.html Henri Riviere: Le Chat noir and 'Shadow Theatre']{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, [[Australian Centre for the Moving Image]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/decorative-arts/commentaire_id/infantry-mounting-an-assault-17678.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=846&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=843&cHash=922d5c2b6f |title=Musée d'Orsay - Works in focus: Infantry mounting an assault}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.montmartre-secret.com/article-montmartre-le-cabaret-du-chat-noir-2-rue-victor-masse-salis-69278723.html|title=montmartre-secret.com - Montmartre: Le cabaret du Chat Noir (2) rue Victor Massé|date=19 March 2011 }}</ref>

In Italy, the [[Museum of Precinema]] collezione Minici Zotti in [[Padua]] houses a collection of 70 French shadow puppets, similar to those used in the cabaret Le Chat Noir, together with an original theatre and painted backdrops, as well as two magic lanterns for projecting scenes. So far, the shadow plays identified are ''La Marche a l'étoile'' (introduced by Henri Rivière), ''Le Sphinx'' (introduced by Amédée Vignola), ''L'Âge d'or'' and ''Le Carneval de Venise''. The shadow puppets were presumably created for a tour in France or abroad at the end of the 19th century.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Nowadays, several theatre companies in France are developing the practice of shadow puppets: Le Théâtre des Ombres,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theatredesombres.free.fr/|title=Theatre des Ombres : une compagnie spécialisée dans le théâtre d'ombreset les ombres chinoises, la réalisation de spectacles d'ombres, lesreprésentations de spectacles d'ombre chinoise, atelier et spectacle de théâtre d'ombre, stage de theatre d'ombres, shadow puppets, shadows show, shadowtheater}}</ref> Le Théâtre du Petit Miroir, Le Théâtre Les Chaises, and La Loupiote.

===India===
[[File:Hanuman and Ravana in Tholu Bommalata, the shadow puppet tradition of Andhra Pradesh, India.JPG|thumb|[[Hanuman]] and [[Ravana]] in ''[[tholu bommalata]]'', the shadow puppet tradition of [[Andhra Pradesh]], India]]
Shadow puppets are an ancient part of India's culture, particularly regionally as the ''keelu bomme'' and ''[[Tholu bommalata]]'' of [[Andhra Pradesh]], the ''[[Togalu gombeyaata]]'' in [[Karnataka]], the ''charma bahuli natya'' in [[Maharashtra]], the ''[[Ravana chhaya]]'' in [[Odisha]], the ''[[Tholpavakoothu]]'' in [[Kerala]] and [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=chen25/><ref name=orr69/><ref name=ccrt>{{cite web|title=Puppet Forms of India|url=http://ccrtindia.gov.in/puppetforms.htm|publisher=Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Ministry of Culture, Government of India|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515224842/http://ccrtindia.gov.in/puppetforms.htm|archive-date=2013-05-15}}</ref> Shadow puppet play is also found in pictorial traditions in India, such as temple mural painting, loose-leaf folio paintings, and the narrative paintings.<ref>Lopes, Rui Oliveira. (2016) "A new light on the shadows of heavenly bodies. Indian shadow puppets: from still paintings to motion pictures". Religion and the Arts, vol. 20, no. 1-2, pp. 160-196. DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02001008</ref> Dance forms such as the [[Chhau dance|Chhau]] of [[Odisha]] literally mean "shadow".<ref>{{cite book |title=South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia|last=Claus|first=Peter J.|author2=Sarah Diamond |author3=Margaret Ann Mills  |year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=0-415-93919-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC |pages=108–110 }}</ref> The shadow theatre dance drama theatre are usually performed on platform stages attached to [[Hindu temple]]s, and in some regions these are called ''Koothu Madams'' or ''Koothambalams''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Beth Osnes| title= Acting: An International Encyclopedia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WTkCI62oXjEC&pg=PA335 |year=2001| publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn= 978-0-87436-795-9|pages= 152, 179–180}}</ref> In many regions, the puppet drama play is performed by itinerant artist families on temporary stages during major temple festivals.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544"/> Legends from the Hindu epics ''[[Ramayana]]'' and the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' dominate their repertoire.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544"/> However, the details and the stories vary regionally.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Arjun Appadurai|author2=Frank J. Korom|author3=Margaret Ann Mills|title=Gender, Genre, and Power in South Asian Expressive Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9j68pRNtezAC&pg=PA379 |year=1991|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=0-8122-1337-8|pages=379–391}}</ref><ref>Stuart Blackburn (1998), ''Looking Across the Contextual Divide: Studying Performance in South India'', South Asia Research, Volume 18, Issue 1, pages 1-11, Quote: "If performance is the cultural organisation of behaviour, it is interesting that these cultural forms vary so widely from area to area. To return to south India, tales are told and songs sung throughout the region, but the same is not true for long narrative singing (epic and the like), or for dance, or for drama; even masks, so widespread in Kerala and other parts of south India, are not significant in Tamil culture."</ref>

During the 19th century and early parts of the 20th century of the colonial era, Indologists believed that shadow puppet plays had become extinct in India, though mentioned in its ancient Sanskrit texts.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544"/> In the 1930s and thereafter, states Stuart Blackburn, these fears of its extinction were found to be false as evidence emerged that shadow puppetry had remained a vigorous rural tradition in central Kerala mountains, most of Karnataka, northern Andhra Pradesh, parts of Tamil Nadu, Odisha and southern Maharashtra.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544"/> The Marathi people, particularly of low caste, had preserved and vigorously performed the legends of Hindu epics as a folk tradition. The importance of Marathi artists is evidenced, states Blackburn, from the puppeteers speaking Marathi as their mother tongue in many non-Marathi speaking states of India.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544">{{cite book|author=Stuart Blackburn |editor=Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond and Margaret Ann Mills|title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA543 |year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93919-5|pages=543–544}}</ref>

{{Listen
 | filename    = Tholpavakooth at Kollam.ogv
 | title       = A shadow play in Kerala
 | description = Ramayana legend, with audience response (45 seconds)
 | format      = [[Ogv]]
 | pos = left
}}
According to Beth Osnes, the ''[[tholu bommalata]]'' shadow puppet theatre dates back to the 3rd century BCE, and has attracted patronage ever since.<ref>{{cite book|author=Beth Osnes|title=Acting: An International Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTkCI62oXjEC&pg=PA335 |year=2001| publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn= 978-0-87436-795-9|page=335}}</ref> The puppets used in a ''tholu bommalata'' performance, states Phyllis Dircks, are "translucent, lusciously multicolored leather figures four to five feet tall, and feature one or two articulated arms".<ref name="Dircks2004p110">{{cite book|author=Phyllis T. Dircks|title=American Puppetry: Collections, History and Performance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVQd4UD7k40C&pg=PA110 |year=2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1896-1|page=110}}</ref> The process of making the puppets is an elaborate ritual, where the artist families in India pray, go into seclusion, produce the required art work, then celebrate the "metaphorical birth of a puppet" with flowers and incense.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Bell|title=Puppets, Masks, and Performing Objects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUrt2TWsHNIC |year=1999|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-52293-9|pages=146–147}}</ref>

The ''tholu pava koothu'' of Kerala uses leather puppets whose images are projected on a backlit screen. The shadows are used to creatively express characters and stories in the ''[[Ramayana]]''. A complete performance of the epic can take forty-one nights, while an abridged performance lasts as few as seven days.<ref name="Osnes2001p335">{{cite book|author=Beth Osnes|title=Acting: An International Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTkCI62oXjEC&pg=PA335 |year=2001| publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn= 978-0-87436-795-9|pages=335–336}}</ref> One feature of the ''tholu pava koothu'' show is that it is a team performance of puppeteers, while other shadow plays such as the ''wayang'' of Indonesia are performed by a single puppeteer for the same ''Ramayana'' story.<ref name="Osnes2001p335"/> There are regional differences within India in the puppet arts. For example, women play a major role in shadow play theatre in most parts of India, except in Kerala and Maharashtra.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544"/> Almost everywhere, except Odisha, the puppets are made from tanned deer skin, painted and articulated. Translucent leather puppets are typical in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, while opaque puppets are typical in Kerala and Odisha. The artist troupes typically carry over a hundred puppets for their performance in rural India.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p544"/>

===Indonesia===
{{main|Wayang|Wayang kulit}}
[[File:Dalang cilik di Pasar Malam Semawis, Semarang.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Wayang kulit]] shadowplay performance in Semarang, [[Central Java]].]]
Shadow puppet theatre is called ''[[wayang]]'' in [[Indonesia]],<ref>{{cite book|author=James R. Brandon|title=Theatre in Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-tAlBV5_LkC |year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02874-6|pages=44–56, 143–145, 352–353}}</ref> wherein a dramatic story is told through shadows thrown by puppets and sometimes combined with human characters.<ref name="Rubin2001p184">{{cite book|author1=Don Rubin|author2=Chua Soo Pong|author3=Ravi Chaturvedi |display-authors=etal |title=The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Asia/Pacific|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maGU4ziPQJQC&pg=PA184 |year=2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-26087-9|pages=184–186}}</ref> Wayang is an ancient form of storytelling that renowned for its elaborate puppets and complex musical styles.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web|title="Wayang puppet theatre", Inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2003) |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00063 |publisher= UNESCO |access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> The earliest evidence is from the late 1st millennium CE, in medieval-era texts and archeological sites.<ref name=miyao142>{{cite journal | last=Miyao | first=J. | title=P. L. Amin Sweeney and Akira Goto (ed.) An International Seminar on the Shadow Plays of Asia | journal=Southeast Asia: History and Culture | publisher=Japan Society for Southeast Asian Studies | issue=7 | year=1977 | doi=10.5512/sea.1977.142 | pages=142–146| doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=bonnefoy162>{{cite book|author=Yves Bonnefoy|title=Asian Mythologies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4I-FsZCzJEC&pg=PA162 |year=1993|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-06456-7|page=162}}</ref> Around 860 CE an Old Javanese charter issued by Maharaja Sri Lokapala mentions three sorts of performers: atapukan, aringgit, and abanol. Ringgit is described in an 11th-century Javanese poem as a leather shadow figure.<ref name=Rawling1999/> Unlike India's shadow plays that incorporated little to no musical performance, Indonesia ''wayang'' includes an assemble of gamelan music.<ref name="chen25" />

''[[Wayang kulit]]'', a style of ''wayang'' shadow play, is particularly popular in [[Java]] and [[Bali]]. The term derived from the word ''wayang'' literally means "shadow" or "imagination" in [[Javanese language|Javanese]]; it also connotes "spirit". The word ''kulit'' means "skin", as the material from which the puppet is made is thin perforated leather sheets made from buffalo skin.

Performances of shadow puppet theater in Bali are typically at night, lasting until dawn.<ref name="Rubin2001p184"/> The complete ''wayang kulit'' troupes include ''dalang'' (puppet master), ''nayaga'' ([[gamelan]] players), and ''sinden'' (female choral singer). Some of the ''nayaga'' also perform as male choral singers. The ''dalang'' (puppet master) performs the ''wayang'' behind the cotton screen illuminated by oil lamp or modern halogen lamp, creating visual effects similar to animation. The flat puppet has moveable joints that are animated by hand, using rods connected to the puppet. The handle of the rod is made of carved buffalo horn. On November 7, 2003, [[UNESCO]] designated ''wayang kulit'' from Indonesia as one of the [[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]].<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web|title="Wayang puppet theatre", Inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2003) |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00063 |publisher= UNESCO |access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref>

===Malaysia===
[[File:Rama, Kelanton, Malaysia - Museu do Oriente - Lisbon, Portugal - DSC06699.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Rama]] in Malaysian shadow play]]
In [[Malaysia]], shadow puppet plays are also known as ''[[wayang kulit]]''. In [[Malay language|Malay]], ''wayang'' means "theater", while ''kulit'' means "skin/leather" and refers to the puppets that are made out of leather. There are four types of shadow theaters in Malaysia: ''wayang kulit Jawa, wayang kulit Gedek, wayang kulit Melayu,'' and ''wayang kulit Siam.'' W''ayang kulit Jawa'' and ''wayang kulit Melayu'' can be traced back to Javanese Shadows while ''wayang kulit Gedek and wayang kulit Siam'' are traced back to Southern Thailand's shadow theaters.<ref name="chen25" /> Stories presented are usually [[mythology|mythical]] and morality tales. There is an educational moral to the plays, which usually portray a battle. Malay shadow plays are sometimes considered one of the earliest examples of [[animation]]. The ''wayang kulit'' in the northern states of Malaysia such as [[Kelantan]] is influenced by and similar to Thai shadow puppets, while the ''wayang kulit'' in the southern Malay peninsula, especially in [[Johor]], is borrowed from [[Javanese culture|Javanese]] [[Indonesian culture|Indonesian]] ''wayang kulit'' with slight differences in the story and performance.

The puppets are made primarily of [[leather]] and manipulated with sticks or [[domestic buffalo|buffalo]] horn handles. Shadows are cast using an [[oil lamp]] or, in modern times, a halogen light, onto a [[cotton]] cloth background. They are often associated with [[gamelan]] music.

===Thailand===
[[File:Grand shadow play at Wat Khanon Temple 003.jpg|thumb|270px|upright|''[[Nang yai]]'']]
{{Main|Nang talung|Nang yai}}
Shadow theatre in [[Thailand]] is called ''[[nang yai]] (which used large and steady figures)''; in the south there is a tradition called ''[[nang talung]]'' (which uses small, movable figures).<ref name="chen25" />''Nang yai'' puppets are normally made of [[cowhide]] and [[rattan]] and are carried by people in front of the screen compared to behind it.<ref name=":0" />''Nang talung'' shadow play usually occur at domestic rituals and ceremonies or at commercial and temple fairs but they are starting to occur on Thai television.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Dowsey-Magog |first=Paul |date=2002 |title=Popular Workers' Shadow Theatre in Thailand |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/atj.2002.0002 |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=184–211 |doi=10.1353/atj.2002.0002 |s2cid=161444140 |issn=1527-2109|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

There are different kind of performers in Thailand's shadow play. ''Nang samai'' performers are more modern in terms of music and dialogue while ''Nang booraan'' performers are more traditional.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Dowsey-Magog |first=Paul |date=2002 |title=Popular Workers' Shadow Theatre in Thailand |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/atj.2002.0002 |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=184–211 |doi=10.1353/atj.2002.0002 |s2cid=161444140 |issn=1527-2109|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Performances are normally accompanied by a combination of [[song]]s and [[chant]]s. Moreover, there are specific types of performances in Thailand that are political than theatrical like which are called ''nang kaanmuang''.<ref name=":1" />

Performances in Thailand were temporarily suspended in 1960 due to a fire at the national theatre. ''Nang'' drama has influenced modern [[Cinema of Thailand|Thai cinema]], including filmmakers like [[Cherd Songsri]] and [[Payut Ngaokrachang]].<ref>[http://www.mahidol.ac.th/thailand/shadow.html Nang Yai] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021225005656/http://www.mahidol.ac.th/thailand/shadow.html |date=2002-12-25 }} from [[Mahidol University]].</ref>

===Turkey===
{{Main|Karagöz and Hacivat}}
[[File:Turchia, marionette karagoz, xx secolo, karagöz e hacivat (protagonista e antagonista) 02.jpg|thumb|Shadow play Karagöz puppets from Turkey]]
A more bawdy comedy tradition of shadow play was widespread throughout the [[Ottoman Empire]], possibly since the late 14th century. It was centered around the contrasting interaction between the figures [[Karagöz and Hacivat]]: an unprincipled peasant and his fussy, educated companion. Together with other characters they represented all the major social groups in Ottoman culture.<ref>Emin Şenyer: [http://www.karagoz.net/english/shadowplay.htm Karagoz Traditional Turkish Shadow Theatre]</ref><ref>{{cite book | last= Schneider | first= Irene |pages= 193 | chapter= Ebussuud |editor= Michael Stolleis|title= Juristen: ein biographisches Lexikon; von der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert |edition= 2nd |year= 2001 |publisher= Beck |location= München |language= de |isbn= 3-406-45957-9}}</ref> The theatres had an enormous following and would take place in coffee houses and in rich private houses and even performed before the sultan. Every quarter of the city had its own Karagöz.<ref name="Lewis 1988 124–126">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Raphaela |url=http://archive.org/details/everydaylifeinot00raph |title=Everyday life in Ottoman Turkey |date=1988 |publisher=New York, NY : Dorset Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-88029-175-0 |pages=124–126}}</ref>

The Karagöz theatre consisted of a three sided booth covered with a curtain printed with branches and roses and a white cotton screen by about three feet by four which was inserted in the front. The performance had a three man orchestra who sat at the foot of a small raised stage where they would play for the audience. The show would start when the puppet master lit the oil lamp.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Raphaela |title=Everyday life in Ottoman Turkey |date=1988 |publisher=New York, NY : Dorset Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-88029-175-0 |pages=124–126}}</ref> The show could be introduced by a singer, accompanied by a tambourine player.<ref name="Alok2">Ersin Alok, "Karagöz-Hacivat: The Turkish Shadow Play", ''Skylife - Şubat'' ([[Turkish Airlines]] inflight magazine), February 1996, p. 66–69.</ref> The background and scenery would sometimes include moving ships, riders moving on horseback, swaying palm trees and even dragons. The sound effects included songs and various voices.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Puppets were made to be about 15 inches or 35–40 centimeters high and oiled to make them look translucent. The puppets were made of either horse, water buffalo or calf skin. They had movable limbs and were jointed with waxed thread at the neck, arms, waist and knees and manipulated from rods in their back and held by the finger of the puppet master. The hide is worked until it is semi-transparent; then it is colored, resulting in colorful projections.<ref name="Lewis 1988 124–126"/><ref name="Alok2">Ersin Alok, "Karagöz-Hacivat: The Turkish Shadow Play", ''Skylife - Şubat'' ([[Turkish Airlines]] inflight magazine), February 1996, p. 66–69.</ref> Karagöz theatre was also adapted in Egypt and North Africa.<ref name="light&movement1">David Robinson in ''Light and Movement'', Chapter 1, 1995</ref>