UNIMA INTERNATIONAL

21 March 2026 · World Puppetry Day

Yaya Coulibaly

President, Compagnie Sogolon · Knight of the National Order of Mali

My Dear Compatriots, UNIMA Puppeteers, Inhabitants of the Earth:

The Bamanan people of Mali, like other peoples of the world, have a concept of continuous creation, where things emerge successively from the voice of the Creator God, in swirling, spiralling words.

The spirit of the first volcano dropped to earth “Meren”, the first (Deity), a puppet to govern this still chaotic world.

This first puppet, in the image of a woman, gave birth to plants, animals, and humans (Jiriw, Sogow ani maaniw).

Reviving our past, showcasing puppetry, an important element of the world’s cultural heritage, is not only a scientific endeavour, but also a testament to intelligence and self-love.

The subject is not new, but it remains a powerful one.

In this kind of theatre, where everyone plays a double game, even a man from an excellent social background cannot escape the moral consequences of the puppet’s actions.

The play of the puppets offers a fascinating glimpse into the spirit of the times: the people are the true heroes of this theatre, embodying the joy of living and simple pleasures.

The unique beauty of the puppet, its rich and varied theatre and music, its songs and dances—reflecting an authentic civilization and ancestral beliefs—constitute an enormous source of inspiration for theatre professionals, and especially for young people engaged in the process of developing a universal culture.

The education of youth is a constant concern for the people of Mandé and the rest of the world. Therefore, the council of elders strives to provide young people with the most favourable conditions for their full physical, intellectual, and moral development through the practice of puppetry in its diverse forms of expression.

Never in our past has adult and elderly society allowed youth to act as it pleases, without guidance. Adults must not abandon young people to their own devices.

The wise person must also be a perfect example in the eyes of the young.

To make people laugh while correcting morals. The puppet that moves by moonlight, in the puppet theatre or not, like a caravan, is a village.

This is my village; this is where I live.

“When the vulture goes to the horse fair, it is to prepare for its future”, for it is going to face hunger. This enigmatic language of the Bamanan puppet from Mali teaches young people to cherish the development of new fields each year and the preservation of tradition.

World Puppetry Day is a celebration of the light of life.

Thus, within the most significant institutions of world culture, we find puppets—we find UNIMA. Primarily religious in nature, puppets, they are at the heart of life, in terms of artistic, political and social relationships.

We obey the spirits of the puppets when they speak to us. The puppet is like the sun; this sun must warm us with the heat of love and understanding. This is UNIMA, like the Love of an eternal sun.

UNIMA is a lifelong commitment. UNIMA is a high-level political and cultural institution that the people of the world must no longer do without. An instrument of awareness, an expression of solidarity and communication, puppets, in their current evolution, deserve special attention in their conception, their creation and their popularization throughout the world.

The puppet is a mirror of our cultural identity, a springboard for the blossoming of our art and culture, an irreplaceable framework for the affirmation of our creative genius. This is why the Art of puppetry must be shared.

The legendary beauty of the puppet commands everyone’s admiration. Puppetry has been, and will remain, a practice of the peoples of the world since the dawn of time. To define, in effect, is to draw boundaries, limits. The puppet is the rejection of boundaries, it refuses limits. The puppet pervades everything, it extends to everything. It is the most sovereign expression of the soul of people.

In the past, people were educated through stories, entertained with representations of small humans or animals wandering about, suspended from strings, or not, and manipulated by humans.

When does the history of puppetry in Mali begin? It’s difficult to answer this question. For many historians, the story begins in the 9th and 12th centuries… (to be continued…).

The puppet theatre of Mali occupies an exceptional place in the history of African puppetry. “Discovered” in 1878 by Paul Soleillet, it was the first among African puppet theatres to become known outside of Africa. (Soleillet, P, Les voyages et découvertes dans le Sahara et dans le Soudan, Paris, M. Dreyfous, 1881, cited by Olenka Darkowska-Nidzgorski, Théâtre populaire de marionnettes en Afrique Sud-saharienne, 1980.)

At the crossroads of African arts, the puppet in Mali is a great canoe, with or without a sail, needing only the sway of the waves to set sail.

The rivalry between communities is resolved through alliances via the art of puppetry. Puppetry has been able to consolidate and transform conflicts into alliances. UNIMA, or the puppet and art form, is undoubtedly the dream of the hyena (a totemic animal).

The story of the hyena, representing strength and impetuosity, carries us away into its dream, a dream of the future, a dream where humankind is wise and in perpetual harmony with its body and mind. A dream of communion, a dream of sharing, a dream where the hyena confronts different situations to create a tomorrow, and, hopefully, a better tomorrow. I have no trouble establishing contact with the Bamanan farmers of Mali; because when you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you’re going. And in Bamanan country, if you don’t know where you come from, all the spirits come one by one to spit the kola nuts they were chewing in your face.

I inherited my genius from my father, who in turn inherited it from his own father. My father wanted me to embody the image of the Bamanan world house and its traditions.

What’s happening to me is fabulous. I’m giving my father new ideas.

Dear fellow puppeteers around the world: the puppet is the instrument that transmits the voice of the ancestors. Its power makes it the quintessential instrument of command and the authority of chiefs. But everything depends, of course, on the region you are in.

Traditional within modernity. My principal objective is to promote traditional puppetry and ancestral practices—from sculpture to manipulation techniques—throughout the world. And then also to learn about traditional African and world theatre, the unique style of mask and puppet performance, which is based on music, dance and song.

For the children of Mali, the children of Africa, and for children everywhere in the world, I hope you will all develop a taste for this vast social memory that constitutes our universal cultural heritage.

I strive tirelessly for the Art of Traditional Puppetry to be fully recognized for its originality, its traditions and its richness.

Finally, I must express my profound gratitude to the members of UNIMA and to all those who believe in the Art of Puppetry and puppeteers worldwide. I would also like to thank the UNIMA 2025 World Congress for services rendered that cannot be quantified.

Thank you for the wonderful collaborations and expertise that have been so beneficial to all.

May BA FARO (Goddess of Water) be my country, until my country can be truly mine.

A Good and Happy New Year 2026!

Ten cola nuts for you! — Dix noix de cola pour toi !

Long live UNIMA! Long live World Puppetry Day 2026! Long live Charleville-Mézières!

Compagnie Sogolon · UNIMA International · World Puppetry Day 2026