Yoke thé

Yoke thé (Burmese: ရုပ်သေး; MLCTS: rupse:, IPA: [joʊʔ θé], literally "miniatures") is the Burmese name for marionette puppetry. Although the term can be used for marionettery in general, its usage usually refers to the local form of string puppetry. Like most of Burmese refined art, yoke thé performances originated from royal patronage and were gradually adapted for the wider populace. Yoke thé are almost always performed in operas.

Burmese marionettes are very intricate and dexterous as they employ 18 or 19 wires for male and female characters respectively, and each puppet is controlled by only one puppeteer.

The probable date of the origin of Burmese marionettes is given as around 1780 during the reign of Singu Min, and their introduction is credited to the Minister of Royal Entertainment, U Thaw. From their inception, marionettes grew in popularity in the courts of the Konbaung dynasty. Little has changed since the creation of the art by U Thaw, and the set of characters developed by him is in use today. Until the conquest of Upper Burma by the British in late 1885 during the Third Anglo-Burmese War, yoke thé troupes thrived under royal patronage.

A Burmese marionette troupe has 27 character figures.

A traditional Burmese orchestra known as a hsaing waing usually provides the music. The puppeteers themselves often provide the voices of the characters.

The Burmese court was concerned with preserving the dignity of its members, and marionettes were often used to preserve the esteem of persons who had erred. The king could reprimand his children or his wife in this way by asking the puppeteers to put on a parable warning errant children or careless wives about their reckless ways. While the reprimand would be obvious to anyone who was in the know, it would largely pass unheeded by the people looking on, something that had a great deal of value in a court that could, and did, contain hundreds of people.

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