![]() He is rude and crass. Karagöz has a round face with a large, black eye and he wears a red hat to hide his bald head. He is uneducated, reliable, usually unemployed, and always coming up with a scheme to earn money that usually doesn’t work. Karagöz represents a common, ordinary man. Whether this story is true or not, is for you to decide. As a way to preserve the memory of these two comics, a local puppet master immortalized these men in a shadow puppet play that the Sultan enjoyed so much that he later regretted his decision. When the Sultan heard the news, he ordered that the two men be executed. The two were always joking around and distracting the other workers which slowed down and delayed the progress of the mosque. Karagöz was a worker and Hacivat was the foreman. As the legend goes, these characters were based on two real people who worked on the construction of the Ulu Camii (Ulu mosque) in 1396 in Bursa, Turkey. ![]() The Karagöz plays revolve around two main characters: Karagöz (lead) and Hacivat. Photo by the author.Ĭharacters of Turkish Shadow Puppet Theater Karagöz, Çelebi, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, Turkey. In the last century, Karagöz has been performed in public theaters, cultural centers and schools across Turkey. Karagöz was usually performed during feasts, festivals, circumcisions, special celebrations, and Ramadan. Puppet shows were performed in palaces, private residences, coffeehouses, parks and gardens throughout Istanbul and around Turkey. Whatever the true journey of shadow puppets to Turkey may be, Karagöz has been embraced since its arrival. Traveler and writer, Evliya Celebi recorded that shadow puppet theater was performed in the Ottoman Palace during the reign of Bayezid I from 1389-1402. ![]() Others are convinced that it was during the 15th century when Sultan Selim, after watching a shadow puppet performance in Egypt, brought a shadow puppet master back with him to Turkey to perform at the palace thus introducing the art form to Turkish culture. ![]() Some scholars believe that when Turkic people migrated from Central Asia to Turkey, they brought the fantastic shadow puppet show with them. There is little speculation that shadow puppets originated in the far East, but exactly how shadow puppets arrived in Turkey is quite controversial. Karagöz, Tree spirit, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, Turkey. The artists behind these unique and whimsical creations dare us to dream beyond the curtain. Karagöz weaves together poetry, music, song, and dance blending ordinary tales with mysticism and humor. The art of Karagöz – Turkish shadow puppets, is beyond magical it not only brings life to flat, two-dimensional hand-drawn images using light, color, and shadow, but it awakens the dreamer in all of us. Evoking the imagination of adults and children for centuries, Karagöz (“black eye” in Turkish) is a popular and beloved Turkish shadow puppet character as well as the name of the shadow puppet theater in Turkish culture. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |