Karagöz is the traditional Turkish shadow theatre in which translucent, colourful puppets are pressed against a backlit cotton screen called the perde and animated by a single master puppeteer who also voices every character. Named after its main hero, it centres on the comic exchanges between Karagöz, a blunt, quick-tempered man of the people, and Hacivat, his polite, learned and pretentious friend. In 2009 Karagöz was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Origins and history
Shadow theatre has a long history across Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Turkish form developed during the Ottoman period, flourishing especially from the sixteenth century onward. A popular legend links the two heroes to Bursa: Karagöz and Hacivat are said to have been workers on a mosque whose banter distracted the other builders, and who were executed; the stories of their jokes were later brought back to life as shadow play. The legend is told as folklore rather than history, but it explains why Bursa is regarded as the home of Karagöz.
Performances were especially associated with the evenings of Ramadan, coffeehouses, festivals and circumcision celebrations. Karagöz was a form of satire: through the comic misunderstandings of its characters it could poke fun at officials, social types and everyday hardships.
The stage: the perde and the lamp
The perde is a white cloth screen stretched in a frame, traditionally with a decorative border. Behind it, a light source, historically an oil lamp and later electric light, casts the puppets’ colours through the screen. The flicker of the flame gave performances a living, trembling quality that audiences associate with the form.
Before the play begins, a decorative figure called the göstermelik is displayed on the screen, often hinting at the subject of the night’s story.
The puppets
Karagöz puppets, called tasvir, are cut from animal hide, traditionally camel or cattle, scraped until thin and translucent, then painted with bright dyes. They are perforated in patterns so that light passes through, and they are jointed, typically at the neck, waist, arms or knees, so that parts can swing. The puppeteer controls each figure with rods held perpendicular to the screen, pressing it flat against the cloth so its colours appear sharp.
The puppeteer and the performance structure
The master puppeteer, the hayalî, performs alone or with an assistant, handling the puppets, singing and voicing every character with distinct accents and mannerisms. A classic performance has a recognisable structure:
- Mukaddime, the prologue, opened by Hacivat with a song and a speech.
- Muhavere, the dialogue between Karagöz and Hacivat, built on wordplay and misunderstanding.
- Fasıl, the main play, in which other characters enter the story.
- Bitiş, the closing, in which Karagöz typically apologises for any mistakes and the performance ends.
The characters
- Karagöz: the honest, plain-spoken common man, often unemployed, comic and impulsive.
- Hacivat: educated, polite, full of flowery language and schemes, always ready to find work or a deal.
- Supporting types: figures such as Zenne (female characters), Çelebi (the dandy), Tiryaki (the addict), Beberuhi (a small, excitable man) and Tuzsuz Deli Bekir (the swaggering tough), along with characters representing the many regions and communities of Ottoman city life.
The humour comes from the gap between Karagöz’s literal understanding and Hacivat’s elaborate speech. Language play is so central that Karagöz is as much a verbal art as a visual one.
The visual language
Several features make Karagöz instantly recognisable: flat figures in profile, saturated translucent colours, perforated patterns glowing with light, jointed limbs that swing rather than bend, a bright screen with softly glowing edges, and the gentle flicker of the lamp. Figures move by gliding, bobbing and turning, not by walking in a naturalistic way. A digital interpretation that respects these conventions reads as Karagöz; one that adds realistic shading or three-dimensional camera moves quickly loses the character of the form.
Digital interpretations
Karagöz has moved to screens many times: television programmes, animated films, educational apps and museum installations have all adapted its characters and look. Digital forms raise a question every adaptation faces: what to keep and what to change. Keeping the screen, the profile figures, the backlit colour and the dialogue-driven humour preserves the tradition’s identity; new stories and modern subjects keep it alive.
AI animation adds another route. Yeşilçam Studios’ Shadowmation style, part of the Cinemation family in the Animation studio, is modelled on Karagöz shadow play: a backlit screen, perforated coloured leather puppets and lamp flicker, drawn by a 2.5D animation engine with your own characters, narration and music. Since the form is built on two characters talking, it pairs naturally with dialogue; see multi-character dialogue generation. The background to the style is described in bringing Karagöz shadow play to AI animation, and the Cinemation looks overview places it among the other styles.
Uses today
- Education: introducing cultural heritage, folk humour and storytelling in class.
- Cultural events: short films for festivals, Ramadan evenings and museum programmes.
- Satire and commentary: the classic duo remains a natural format for gentle social comedy.
- Brand and city stories: local stories told in a distinctly Turkish visual language.
Frequently asked questions
What is the perde in Karagöz? The perde is the white cloth screen onto which the puppets are pressed and lit from behind. The audience watches the coloured shadows on its front.
What are Karagöz puppets made of? Traditionally of thin, translucent animal hide such as camel or cattle hide, painted with dyes and perforated so light passes through.
Who voices the characters? Traditionally a single master puppeteer, the hayalî, voices all characters, sometimes helped by an assistant.
Is Karagöz recognised as cultural heritage? Yes. It was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.