Puppets in Bukhara (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Puppet Maker in Bukhara (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
ای بخارا شاد باش و دیر زی
Oh Bukhara! Be joyous and live long!
شاه زی تو میهمان آید همی
Your King comes to you in ceremony.
— Rudaki
In my travels over the past ten years through Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I’ve been on the lookout for puppets everywhere I’ve gone. Though I was fortunate to visit Uzbekistan several times, it wasn’t until my last trip to the legendary city of Bukhara that I finally found a puppet shop–and had the chance to speak with an Uzbek puppet maker.
“I made this one for 1,0001 Nights,” he said–pointing to a puppet of Shahrizad.
The rest of them, he explained, he made for performances of the Shahnameh–sometimes referred to as “the Persian Odyssey.” In Bukhara and Samarkand, Tajik (a dialect of Persian) is spoken more than Uzbek–so the Shahnameh (along with the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz) is especially admired in these two Silk Road cities. One of the many things that I love about Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, is that I can speak Russian, Tajik and Uzbek in both places–and even blend them together when I’m tired…
Fall Craft Idea from Uzbekistan? (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
As you can see in the photo above, many of these puppets are made from gourds. Maybe these Uzbek puppets will inspire some crafting ideas to do with the kids…
Puppet Royalty (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Calabash gourds are multi-purpose. I’ve used them to make berimbaus for capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art), to serve as shakers at a trance ceremony in Bamako, and to make music with the kora (below) at a Save the Children’s school in Kolondieba. Since the complex, soothing melodies of this African harp are virtually impossible for anyone who’s not a musical genius to master, I’m always content to just strum a few notes…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wneaapj9as8
To see the berimbau–a one-stringe instrument carved from a gourd and used in capoeira–here’s a video of young kids playing a difficult rhythm on the berimbau. When I’ve made berimbaus with other capoeiristas, we carve out the inside of the gourd first, let it dry, and then decorate it with either paint or a wood burner. Afterwards, we strip down some car tires to get at the steel wire inside, and attach the wire to the wood of a beriba tree–which can only be cut on a full moon after several rituals have already been performed…
From Uzbek puppets to Malian harps and Brazilian martial arts, gourds are all the rage. So, how about you? Got gourd?
Puppets in Uzbek National Costume (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
