Kerala
Traditional puppetry in Kerala are Pava-kuthu (glove puppetry) and Thol pavakuthu (leather puppetry).
Pava-kuthu (Pava - doll and kuthu - dance). The puppets are very colourful and created like a kathakali actor who wears heavy and mask-like facial make-up, headgear and colourful costumes. The influence of kathakali (performing art form) is so great that pava-kuthu is also being called as pava-kathakali. Pava-kuthu puppeteers generally base their performance on atta – kathas and the musical accompaniment is exactly like that of a kathakali performance. The pava-kuthu is performed at night and the puppeteers sit on level ground behind an oil lamp. The themes for the puppet plays are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabaratha and other puranic literature. Pavakuthu in Kerala is prevalent in and around Palaghat district.
Thol pavakuthu (thol – leather, pava – doll, kuthu – dance). These leather puppets are 2½ - 3½ ft high. with one or both hands jointed. There are also figures representing trees, palace, mountains, etc. The puppet shows are traditionally performed in temples as a religious offering to the goddess Bhagavathi. The temples are located in Palaghat, Trichur and Mallapuram disricts. There are 104 temples equipped with a permanent stage (drama house) called koothu madam for the shows. The puppeteers enact only episodes of Kamba Ramayana night after night lasting for 7 days to 21 days or even more in some temples. The performance is conducted during the temple festival that is seasonal. There are nearly 13 troupes performing regularly in temples.
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