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Hand Puppet

MOA: University of British Columbia

3381/34 a-b

Hand puppet of a 'Capitão (captain) João Redondo' character with a separate straw hat (part b). Head and hands are carved from wood and painted. He has bright pink skin, almond-shaped black eyes, a large nose, a closed mouth, and adhered white hair and full beard. He wears gold-rimmed glasses. His fabric body / tunic is a light blue and white gingham with brightly-coloured plant patterned sleeves. The fabric covered foam tubes are adhered to the hands. Operated by inserting a hand inside the body of the puppet to control its head and movements.

  • History Of Use

    The puppet represents a character from a form of popular puppet theatre, found in northeastern Brazil, called mamulengo. This type of theatre is prevalent in disenfranchised communities with ancestral ties to colonized Indigenous peoples and uprooted, enslaved Africans. Mamulengo performances are entertaining events that can last all night long, with puppeteers (mamulengueiros) using 70 to 100 puppets in one staging. The stages are pop-up stands (empanadas), made of brightly coloured, floral-printed cloth. The shows consist of short sequences (passagens), or skits from popular stories that expose the inequalities and dramas of everyday life, profiling stock characters such as rich landowners and peasant labourers. The whole is spun together with humour, satire, lively music, and audience commentary.

  • Type of Item puppet
  • Culture Brazilian
  • Material metal, wood, fibre, paint, plant fibre
  • Measurements height 66.5 cm, width 32.0 cm, depth 12.5 cm (overall)
  • Creator Daniel Angelo da Costa
  • Previous Owner Associacao Cultural de Amigos do Museu de Folclore Edison Carneiro
  • Received from Associacao Cultural de Amigos do Museu de Folclore Edison Carneiro, Museum of Anthropology Exhibitions Budget
  • Made in Itaja
  • Creation Date during 2018
  • Ownership Date before July 25, 2019
  • Acquisition Date on July 25, 2019
  • Condition good
  • Accession Number 3381/0034

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