Yoke Thé- Traditional Burmese Marionette Puppetry - Bagan Myanmar 2023

Yoke thé ရုပ်သေ (literal translation is "miniatures") is the Burmese name for marionette puppetry. Like most of Burmese refined art, yoke thé performances originated from royal patronage and were gradually adapted for the wider populace. Yoke thé are almost always performed in the form of Burmese operas.

Burmese marionettes are very intricate and their use requires dexterous skills, as they employ 18 or 19 wires for male and female characters respectively, and each puppet is controlled by only one puppeteer.

The probable date of the origin of Burmese marionettes is given as around 1780, during the reign of Singu Min, and their introduction is credited to the Minister of Royal Entertainment, U Thaw. From their inception, marionettes enjoyed great popularity in the courts of the Konbaung dynasty. Little has changed since the creation of the art by U Thaw, and the set of characters developed by him is still in use today. Until the conquest of Upper Burma by the British in late 1885 during the Third Anglo-Burmese War, yoke thé troupes thrived under royal patronage.

Yoke thé troupes, like most artisans in pre-colonial Burma alongside the Sangha, enjoyed great royal patronage. However, like most forms of traditional arts, patronage vanished upon the colonization of Upper Burma by the British in November 1885, following the Third Anglo-Burmese War.

In the late 1990s, General Khin Nyunt of the ruling junta lent official support to marionette actors and troupes reviving a rapidly dying tradition. Nowadays, marionettes are very common as tourist attractions and also among the populace.

The skill of the artists as well as the stories are very entertaining. It’s a great part of Burmese culture and worth seeing.

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