Hand Shadow Arts

It is believed that back in the day; people used all sorts of available materials to entertain themselves and to help with storytelling. These available materials include their hands and feet.

Imagine a group of cavemen that lived thousands of years ago bored in their cave with nothing but their bonfire for warmth and food cooking. Then one of these cavemen noticed their shadows being cast upon the wall, raised his arm, and noticed how the shadow moved along and became a bird, hand, or rabbit hand shadow. Injected with a dose of creativity, it was probably then that the art of hand shadows puppetry started.

Through the years, the art of shadow puppetry has been visible through various records in history. One of the earliest accounts of hand shadows is written by the Greek author and philosopher Plato during the fourth century. He described the procession of shadows on the wall of a cave similar to what a puppeteer produces. There are also records of them such as birds, swans, rabbits, and others appearing in the history of China and India. This was then known as "shadow theater" and remains a living form of art nowadays.

The art of wall shadows can be done easily. With just the simple use of hands, ample light, and smooth surface like table or wall--it can be done even by kids. Performing rabbit hand shadow puppets is easy, close all the doors and windows to make a totally dark room, turn on a single light, and position it on a flat table or wall. Then stand a few meters away from the surface and try to cast a shadow between the wall and the light, put out your arm and see if a shadow appears.

Dating back from the ancient time in the cavemen days down to the contemporary life, the art of creatively casting shadows on a wall still exist.

Here are some simple steps to create shadow puppet animals, starting of course with the very popular rabbit hand shadow.

1. Rabbit's head Shadow-Bring hand up between the light and the wall-Make a loose fist with the fingers-Bring the index and middle fingers high up like a peace sign, these would be the ears of the rabbit's shadow-Use two folded fingers for the mouth of the rabbit hand shadow-Check the shadow rabbit hand shadow on the wall if it is performed right. If not, do some adjustments with the fingers until it finally becomes a rabbit's head shadow.

2. Dog's head Shadow-Bring hands together, similar to the praying position-Separate the small fingers from the big ones. Touch these fingers together to form the dog shadow's jaw-Bend the left pointer finger a little bit for the shadow's eye-Cross the thumbs together and point them upward for the shadow's ears

These are just some of the many ways to be creative and perform the art of hand shadow puppetry.