Male and Female Puppets, South Africa

Puppets have been used in ritual and social contexts for centuries across Africa. Puppets were utilized in a variety of forms and for a wide array of purposes, including healing, initiation, education, divination, and judicial decisions. Performances by puppeteers told stories both mythical and historical, preserving religious beliefs and instilling moral values while entertaining the community.  

From what is known of puppets in South Africa traditions, they appear to have been used primarily for entertainment, and by diviners. The charming pair of articulated puppets offered here correspond to a type distributed by Tsonga diviner/healers across a territory from Mozambique to northern KwaZulu-Natal. 

Both puppets are armless, with jointed knees that allow the lower legs to swing, as they would have when suspended on the puppeteer’s lines. Their faces show shallowly incised, almost geometric features, and their heads are encircled by stylized coiffure rings of adult men. Classic Nguni beadwork panels and bands adorn their torsos and ankles. The larger figure is clothed in a mantle of hide strips and sports feather attachments to the crown of its head, while the smaller wears a beadwork headband.

Late 19th century
Wood, leather, fiber, beads, feathers, metal rings
Height: 9 in (for the taller figure, excluding feathers)
Provenance:
Item Number:
749
Request Price
Active
Click To Enlarge

Keep In Touch

Stay up to date on new acquisitions, collections, updates, and more.
Thank you, we'll be in touch.
Apologies—something went wrong. Please try again.