Masks and Puppets of Odisha

Odisha is well-known for crafting masks in wood, sholapith, and papier mache. These masks are used by the itinerant performers who stage plays based on the great epics. The wooden masks are usually made of light drift wood and then painted with bright colours. The craftspersons working with wood and papier mache are concentrated in and around Puri. Puppets with faces and limbs made of brightly painted wood and dressed in character are manipulated by string. They are popularly used in jatra, the folk theatre in Odisha.