Karagiozis Puppet Brings Hellenes Back to their Roots

Written by George A.

(2005)

     The recent presentation of Karagiozis the Doctor at the Queens Public Library (April 2005) was one that will be remembered for years to come. Master puppeteer, Aris Diakovasilis brought to life the legend that is Karagiozis, bringing Hellenes of all ages back to their roots. The audience, comprised of children, adults, and senior citizens all came to enjoy the clever and comical Karagiozis as he pursued yet another adventure.

     Shadow Theater developed in the Balkan Peninsula during Ottoman rule. Its popularity grew in Greece and flourished from 1915 to 1950. It is called Shadow Theater because the puppeteer sits behind a transparent screen illuminated with bright light and moves the cloth or leather puppets with strings and wires. The Greek interpretation includes music, dancing, acting, and social satire incorporated with traditional folklore.

     The protagonist, Karagiozis, gets his name from Turkish which means “he who has black eyes” since he has dark eyes. Karagiozis is always presented as a poor figure who has no specific trade but nonetheless is willing to get involved with anything. He is most known for his pranks, setting up those around him for his own enjoyment. However, he seems to fail at everything he does and, as a result, gets into trouble. Karagiozis gave hope to the poor, since he was constantly attempting to change his fate and lash out against social injustice.

     In this very humorous presentation, Karagiozis, who is the main character, is believed to be a doctor and is ordered by the pasha (the highest Turkish official) to cure his ailing daughter. His daughter is suffering from a disease in which she is unable to speak. Karagiozis, unaware that he can cure a disease of this magnitude pleads with the pasha to place someone else in charge of this great task. However, the pasha sends his right hand man Veliggekas to beat Karagiozis into submission. After being beaten for quite some time, Karagiozis admits that he is indeed a doctor and he can cure the pasha’s daughter.

     While watching the performance, I was unable to understand why Karagiozis was open to taking the position instead of denying the fact that he isn’t a doctor. It seemed as though he was not bothered by the fact that if he indeed failed at curing the pasha’s daughter that he might face severe punishment. However, it also dawned on him that if he were successful he might have a chance of improving his standard of living. At this point I realized that Karagiozis was a symbol of hope and always tried to improve his social position at any given opportunity.

     It turns out that pasha’s daughter was secretly in love with someone that her father would not allow her to marry. In response to his authority she attempted to defy him by faking a disease which supposedly did not allow her to speak. Karagiozis secretly saw the pasha’s daughter speaking with her lover and crying about their ill-fated situation. After discovering that she can speak, Karagiozis went to the pasha and told him that he indeed found a cure for his daughter’s disease. However, he said, the only way that the cure would work would be if she marries the first man she sees walking down the street once she has uttered her first word. If not, he said, then she would sadly die. The pasha quickly agreed and summoned his daughter at once. Karagiozis kept his word to the pasha and made his daughter speak. He cleverly arranged for the first man to walk down the street to be her lover. This way Karagiozis was able to please everyone- and most of all save himself from being beaten again! As a result of his success, Karagiozis danced in the street on the way to his house.

     This performance was truly enjoyable. Aside from the main story, the presentation included other parts solely for the amusement of the audience. Some of these were conversations between Karagiozis and Hadjiavatis, Karagiozis scolding his children, and the hilarious dancing Karagiozis does to traditional folk music. The master puppeteer did an excellent job in handling all of the puppets and altering his voice in accordance with the different characters. This adaptation of Karagiozis was culturally enhancing and the use of Modern Greek throughout the performance gave the viewers a taste of the Motherland.