Hand puppet of a 'Boi (bull) Coração' character. The brown bull is carved from wood and covered with fabric. It has carved small ears, black horns, and a long black tail. Black eyes and nose, and nostrils are painted on. The bull has a silver applique bridle on its head. In place of legs, a tube of blue with red and yellow floral fabric extends down, with orange-yellow lace border, which is where the hand is inserted.

• 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.

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• Type of Item puppet
• Culture Brazilian
• Material wood, fibre, paint
• Measurements height 38.5 cm, width 10.5 cm, depth 33.5 cm (overall)

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• 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

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• Made in Itaja

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• Creation Date during 2018
• Ownership Date before July 25, 2019
• Acquisition Date on July 25, 2019

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• Condition good
• Accession Number 3381/0043