The performing arts world of the Thar Desert タール沙漠の芸能世界
In the Thar Desert, an area in northwestern India, various performing arts groups transcend the boundaries of migrant and permanent residents, having built a vast network while making full use of hereditary relationships with their patrons. They earned their daily bread by playing, singing, dancing, and sometimes spreading narratives: giving the desert people magical and religious power, telling them the meaning of all things in the forest as well as the colors of life. We hope that, in this section, you will fully experience the part of the world woven by these diverse performers.
Diverse expansion of performing arts communities（芸能者コミュニティの多様な広がり）
According to oral traditions, there are several hundred performing art groups in the Thar Desert. They are classified according to ethnic attributes, religion, performing forms, and instrumental repertoires; however, the overall picture of their diversity remains unclear. Performing arts have influenced all aspects of people’s worldviews, beliefs, social relations, and livelihoods. This section focuses on the major performing arts groups: Manganiyar (Muslim musicians), Bhopa (narrating mythological paintings), and Kathputli (puppeteers).
About the chamber performance scene（室内演奏風景について）
“Just chant the name of God and go on.”
The mythological world of Pabuji, the ancient heroic god displayed at the back of the room, tells the story of the union of daily human life and the supernatural world. Bhopa, who narrates the mythological paintings, Manganiyar’s singing voice that possesses the goddess of the desert, and Kathputli’s puppets that move as if they were alive convey that the world people see is an “illusion,” and that humans are ephemeral beings that sway gently like the winds in the desert.
Puppetry（操り人形）
Kathputli is a traditional puppet show that has been handed down for generations. These adorable wooden puppets embody the heroic gods, great kings, and princesses of the Rajasthan region of India, as well as the evil spirits of mountains and rivers that roam the land and manifest in people’s lives. Invited to perform at festivals and ceremonies, the “puppeteers” bring supernatural powers beyond language to the village, by blowing on their high-pitched bamboo reeds.