Puppet Origins?

The first mention of puppetry in was in an epic poem called the "Mahabharata" from India. The word that is used to show that the figures mentioned are puppets and not dolls is the word "Gita" which means "puller of strings." Most historians have arguments about where exactly puppets originated from. China, India and a few small parts in Asia are often argued, however some often say it was India because of the accent text. (1, 2) Different puppets however seem t have evolved and been created by different parts of the world. Egypt for instance may have been the first to make marionettes, due to archaeological findings and dating. (3) In the next posts we will go through the specific history of the different types of puppetry from different the different continents and countries. Since the most commonly belief among historians is that puppets began in Asia the next few posts will be about Asian puppetry.



1. http://www.puppetsnow.com
2. https://www.bransonshows.com/articles/PuppetShowsHistoryofthePuppet.htm
3. http://www.indiaparenting.com