Tholu bommalata
Shadow puppet theatre of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tholu bommalata is the shadow puppet theatre tradition of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India with roots dating back to 3rd century BCE.[1][2][3] Its performers are part of a group of wandering entertainers and peddlers who pass through villages during the course of a year and offer to sing ballads, tell fortunes, sell amulets, perform acrobatics, charm snakes, weave fishnets, tattoo local people and mend pots. Tholu bommalata has a history of consistent royal patronage.[4] It is the ancestor of Wayang, the Indonesian puppet theatre play which has been a staple of Indonesian tourism and designated by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[lower-alpha 1]
This ancient custom, which for centuries before radio, film, and television provided knowledge of Hindu epics and local folk tales, not to mention news, spread to the most remote corners of the Indian subcontinent.[1] The puppeteers comprise some of the various entertainers who perform all night and usually reenact various stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.[11]