Bamana puppet © M. deCombes, 1990

The story of the puppets: "There used to be many wild animals in the bush. The animals devoured the people so they found a solution by hunting the wild animals. Nowadays we celebrate with puppets that resemble the wild animals" (from fieldwork interviews, M. deCombes 1990).

These animals are constructed as wooden frames, covered with straw, with a large sculpted wooden head at one end with moving parts. Inside this animal stage, usually two men perform, dancing and moving the whole animal, while at the same time manipulating the puppets which emerge from its back.

The puppets are made and performed toward the end of the year, after harvest but before the spring rains. The puppet performance is for the pleasure of the villagers and of the neighbouring villages. There is fierce competition between neighbouring villages to produce the finest puppets; they perform in nightly succession. To maintain the best show, puppet owners try to enhance or replace their puppets regularly.

	Bamana puppet © M deCombes, 1990

A broad range of social issues are enacted in these performances. The puppet characters depict local events and stories, heroes or villains and powerful animals. Hunters and warriors appear in the foreground of many puppet groups. These hunting figures recall colonial times when the military was feared: they were compared to lions, the kings of the bush. The antelope, another popular figure, is a proud animal and always remains within its group. The twins walk their dog, they too are proud, because they are so beautiful.

At the performances women of all ages sing songs which glorify the puppets and recall the special characteristic of each puppet animal performing. The animal characters compete in the performance.