A Theatre Suspended in air
Where they can be foundThese articulated animals and ogres belong to Myanmar’s celebrated tradition of string puppetry, called "Yoke Thé." Suspended from wooden controls, figures like these could rear, leap, tumble, fight, and dance through stories of mythical forests, royal courts, and Buddhist legend.The marionettes can be found on the Walkway near the Palace Tower tramway stop.
Carved and painted wood, textile, string, and hair
Early - Mid 20th Century
Burma Myanmar
Traditional form of entertainment in Burma
READ THE STORY, BELOW
Burmese Marionettes - Yoke Thé
A Theater Suspended in Air
These figures were made to move. Their carved wooden bodies are divided into jointed sections and suspended from wooden controls. In the hands of a skilled puppeteer, a horse could rear, an elephant charge, a monkey leaps. Yoke thé—often translated as “miniatures”—is Myanmar’s distinctive tradition of string-puppet theater. At its nineteenth-century height, royal troupes performed through the night, combining carved figures, singers, spoken dialogue, dance, and the percussion-rich music of a hsaing waing orchestra. These were not stiff dolls pulled across a stage. A traditional puppet was assembled from numerous carved wooden sections joined to permit remarkably fluid motion. Strings linked the figure to a wooden control held above the stage. With carefully coordinated movements, one puppeteer could suggest weight, speed, hesitation, anger, comedy, or grace. tumble, or two ogres stalk and fight. In Myanmar’s yoke thé theater, animals and supernatural beings often appeared during an opening sequence set in the mythical Himavunta forest. Several figures in this case—the white horse, monkey, tiger, elephants, and two ogres—belong to that traditional cast. Other animals in the Hilton group may have been added for particular stories or to form a later expanded ensemble. The puppets performed with singers, spoken dialogue, and the powerful drums, gongs, cymbals, and reed instruments of a hsaing waing orchestra.
These figures were made to move. Their carved wooden bodies are divided into jointed sections and suspended from wooden controls. In the hands of a skilled puppeteer, a horse could rear, an elephant charge, a monkey leaps. Yoke thé—often translated as “miniatures”—is Myanmar’s distinctive tradition of string-puppet theater. At its nineteenth-century height, royal troupes performed through the night, combining carved figures, singers, spoken dialogue, dance, and the percussion-rich music of a hsaing waing orchestra. These were not stiff dolls pulled across a stage. A traditional puppet was assembled from numerous carved wooden sections joined to permit remarkably fluid motion. Strings linked the figure to a wooden control held above the stage. With carefully coordinated movements, one puppeteer could suggest weight, speed, hesitation, anger, comedy, or grace. tumble, or two ogres stalk and fight. In Myanmar’s yoke thé theater, animals and supernatural beings often appeared during an opening sequence set in the mythical Himavunta forest. Several figures in this case—the white horse, monkey, tiger, elephants, and two ogres—belong to that traditional cast. Other animals in the Hilton group may have been added for particular stories or to form a later expanded ensemble. The puppets performed with singers, spoken dialogue, and the powerful drums, gongs, cymbals, and reed instruments of a hsaing waing orchestra.
Want to see how the strings worked—and discover why puppets sometimes spoke truths that people could not? Continue on the Museum Walkway tablet.
take a DEEPER LOOK AT AN UNUSUAL ART FORM
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The Burmese Yoke Thé Marionnettes appear onWalkway Highlights Tour
The White Horse (Myin) is a classic animal character. It appears during the opening cosmological or mythological Himavunta (Himalayan forest) prologue, representing creation, royal nobility, or the first living being to descend to earth before the play's main dramatic acts begin.
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keiki connection
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