Puppets come in all shapes and sizes and there are a variety of forms of puppetry. A general definition of a puppet is a ôfigure whose movements are controlled by another through strings, rods, or hand movementsö (Copp, 2002, 1). There are shadow puppets, string puppets, glove or hand puppets and rod puppets. Each type of puppet dictates a unique form of puppetry. String puppets commonly called marionettes are jointed figures most often controlled by strings from above, while hand or rod puppets are most often controlled by the puppeteer from underneath the figure.
Puppets and puppetry have long fascinated man and been a part of his culture. Greek accounts of fifth century BC refer to figures operated by strings and to traveling players putting on puppet shows. As one historian argues, ôGlove puppets may be very ancient. Speaight mentions that the Greek word koree as meaning both a sleeve that covers the hand, and a small statueö (Observations, 2003, 2). Like singing, however, some of the earliest forms of puppets and puppetry were central to religious ceremonies. Tribal hinged masks or jointed skulls probably represent the most primitive forms of puppets, used by African tribes. In agriculture-related festivals Native Americans used puppets and the Egyptians favored terra cotta as their favorite material from which to fashion puppets. Puppets and puppetry have evolved for centuries with a variety of countries contributing to the different forms. China, Indonesia, Europe, Turkey, Rome, Egypt, Greece and many other countries developed different forms of puppets and puppetry. For example, the Chinese originated shadow puppets, translucent figures that are brightly painted. Such puppets are displayed behind a backlit screen so their shadows are visible to audiences from the front of the screen. Typically rods or strings are used in their manipulation. While the Chinese used rods from the bottom, Turkish puppeteers u...