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Social Dynamics in African Puppetry

The use of puppets in some sub-Saharan countries is often related to the transmission and persistence of social structures. Public rituals, masquerades such as the Gelede of the Yoruba and the performances of the Kamalen ton of the Bamana serve the need to maintain social stability, but they can also act as agents to modify and adapt culture through performance. The capacity of performance to modify social practices is also reflected in the use of puppets in theatre for development and social change. These applications of puppetry illustrate the almost constant tension between the normative, rationalization and the imagination. The various manifestations of puppetry discussed in this article can, however, be traced to the same desire and driving force – namely, people's need and aspiration to continuously reinforce their world in order both to survive and to function effectively.