Bommalattam

Understand

Where Bommalattam comes from

Bommalattam (from bommai 'doll' + attam 'dance') is the puppet-dance tradition of Tamil Nadu, featuring string- and rod-marionettes manipulated behind a backlit screen to the accompaniment of music. The form has existed as an art in Tamil Nadu for centuries, with the tradition followed as a family craft where multiple generations of the same family make the puppets, maintain them and perform. Bommalattam is also known as thol pavai koothu ('dance of leather dolls') and has a related tradition of glove puppetry called Pava Koothu. The themes are drawn from the Puranas and the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and puppet shows are held during festivals and at fairs and can be part of rituals to ward off epidemics or invoke rain.

How it's practiced

Bommalattam puppets are 1-3 feet tall and may weigh up to 10 kg; they are made of lightweight wood, dressed in costume and ornamented to be visible in shadow. The puppeteers work above the screen, manipulating puppets via rods and strings attached to the heads, backs, arms and legs. The staging is a stretch of black cloth over a bench, lit from behind by lanterns or oil lamps, with the audience viewing the projected shadows. The puppeteers wear bells that sound in time with the movements, with background music played on the cymbals, harmonium and mridangam. The lead puppeteer often narrates the stories and sometimes even sings.