Elements of the Carnivalesque: the Shadow Puppet Theatre of Andhra Pradesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37130/w71yrj57Keywords:
shadow puppetry, folk humour, elements of the carnivalesque, street performances, SundarakandaAbstract
This paper presents the study of folk humour in the shadow puppetry tradition of Andhra Pradesh, India. The article is based on the recording of a shadow puppet show of the Sundarakanda of the Telugu Ranganatha Ramayanamu. It explores the carnivalesque environment that folk humour brings to the epic theme of the Ramayana and studies the grammar of shadow puppetry, which localises classical themes like the Ramayana in an entirely unsophisticated and uncouth carnivalesque environment. This, indeed, is the credit of such street performances like the shadow puppet theatre, which release these classical themes from their pious setting.
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